GammaTron: *hums Detective Pikachu title screen music while polishing new Detective Pikachu Amiibo* I am so happy I got this guy...but I'm sad that it came from Toys R Us because the stores in America are all closing down…
SZ: Yeah...which is pretty sad. I loved going to Toys R Us as a kid…
GT: *nods* It was my favorite toy store aside from KB Toys…And now where are we gonna get Legendary Skylanders from? Amazon?
SZ: Or GameStop most likely…
GT: Right. *nods* Now then...as I'm sure a lot recall, our stinger at the end of last chapter...was surprising, no?
SZ: Indeed. Real head scratcher eh?But...enough of that, let us begin with ze story. You guys already know who we own and don't own, so let's start things off!
GT: Righty-o! We…*hears hissing and looks to see two angry Salandits, one male and one female* ...PROTECT THE CROCONAW! *flees*
SZ: *runs as the screen burned down from a double Dragon Rage*
Entry 028: Hello~! Makoto Nanaya here once again to give you the 101 on what happened! You see, we were at the Pokemon Center getting Pikachu and Nobel checked on from that battle against Team Rocket. Noel asked about the Pokemon Contest demonstration they were gonna be doing and Nurse Joy gave her some papers to fill in to get into the demonstration. We talked about it, and found out the ins and outs of it. Heck, Misty wanted to try it out too, and Kajun was already coming up with different strategies and performances for Noel to do for both rounds of the Contest...and was roping Brock into doing Noel's outfits. Hikari played a bit of speed swapping, sending Krabby back to the lab and bringing back Ash's Eevee...though Koko did NOT look happy when she saw a scar on Eevee's head. I don't get the big deal, though. I mean, scars are kinda cool on guys.
Anyways, Misty and Noel worked the entire day after that on routines for the first round, which was basically showing off your Pokemon doing moves in new ways, and then the contest began the day following that. Noellie looked so cute with Nymph in the first round! Those Seal Balls really sell it for these Contests! I wonder if they have any with an acorn motif...That'd be so yummy~ *a smack was heard* OWIE! Right! Right! Right! Anyway, next person up before Misty was...Jessandra….yeah...I immediately knew that was Jessie because of that huge ego of hers. I mean...who names their kid 'Jessandra'?! And she ended up going into the second round! And she ended up going against Misty in the second round...and she won….by cheating.
As for how...well let me ask you guys this; Who accompanies miss egomaniac all the time when they're stalking us? Yup...James and Meowth. They applied the same method that sexist douchebag Brick used back in Saffron AKA using a Glare from Ekans to paralyze a Pokemon, specifically Misty's Goldeen. And when Noel won her battle before the final match, the old hag made a big mistake: she mocked Yuki. Ya see...while Noellie has some...self-confidence issues...you never ever ever insult her friends or cute and fluffy animals and things. Oh, and if you think 'Jessandra's' 'trump card' would work? Yeah...me and Tsubaki had her covered. Just had to find the right area that an Ekans would be able to hit a Pokemon on the stage with Glare at any given position the Pokemon was in; in other words, we found them on the platforms above the stage near the top of the tent. As for what we did...well...let's just say they now know what happens when you try and mess with one of our friends.
In the end, Noellie won, Jessie got exposed, and we got to see that cool Lurantis in person this time to see them send Team Rocket flying off! Oh and guess what? Since Noellie got the first place prize, a Pretty Scale, she immediately used it on Umi, and she evolved into a Milotic. Yeah...I can see why people call it the most beautiful Water-Type in the world, especially as a Shiny. Of course...Noellie fainted after that, either from exhaustion from being in front of such a huge crowd or from sheer excitement on having a Milotic is anyone's guess. Man...Four months here sure does do a lot to people from where we're from, huh?
"So let me give a recap to make sure I got everything," a young woman in a white, semi-open (the area over her chest was the only thing buttoned) lab coat with long sleeves, a pair of tight red pants/shorts, cat ears, and two pink tails turning white at the tips noted, "You two…" she pointed at Dulse and Zossie, who were sitting across from her with Zossie drinking some hot chocolate and Fifi was in Dulse's lap, "...Are from another universe entirely where a dragon took all the light out of your world."
"Yes," Dulse nodded.
"And she…" the woman motioned to Fifi, "Is from another universe different to yours where the girls are all capable of turning into creatures capable of amazing powers who you ended up marrying but pure complete accident?"
"Oui," Fifi replied as Zossie tried hard to not laugh as the purple blush on Dulse's cheeks, "My Darling did not know that he was proposing to moi when we first met."
"...I see…" the woman noted, "And you came here, chasing after an...Ultra Beast, you called it now?"
"Yes. It came to this world before leaving and we've been tracking it down with our Solgaleo," Dulse confirmed.
"Solgaleo?" the woman repeated with a raised brow.
"An Ultra Beast we use to travel between universes via Ultra Space," Zossie explained, "He's so big and cool!"
"Uh-huh…" the woman nodded slowly.
"And this universe of yours is rather...interesting," Dulce stated.
"Why thank you," Tager nodded.
"...Hold it," the woman spoke up, "Say...hypothetically, one of my subordinates and a few friends of hers...possibly fell into a wormhole created by one of these Ultra Beasts, and are possibly stuck in who knows where…Is there anyway of tracking them down, or are they stuck there permanently…?"
"There is, actually," Dulse replied, "When people go through Ultra Space, they soak in a bit of its energy into their bodies."
"An organization where I am from dub these people as 'Fallers,'" Fifi added, "Because the majority of the time, these people have fallen into our world from Ultra Wormholes."
"Ultra Beasts such as Solgaleo or our Nagadanel dubbed Stinger can track these Fallers because they will have a lingering scent of Ultra Space due to their status," Dulse continued.
"...And if an Ultra Beast that isn't Solgaleo or Stinger finds them...what happens?"
"..." Fifi and Dulse shared looks before Fifi covered Zossie's ears.
"Aw come on, Big Sis~"
"They think the person is a way back home and, when exposed as not being a way home, the Ultra Beasts...become violent," Dulse informed.
"...Violent how…?" the woman frowned.
"...Nihilego...possibly one of the more dangerous Ultra Beasts out there has the ability to poison someone's mind and...there are some cases where the one intoxicated by one ends up fusing with one…" Dulse explained.
"Then there's Guzzlord who...tends to eat literally anything in its path," Fifi added, grimacing, "It's rumored that its stomach is a literal black hole that its body is capable of housing."
"...You need to leave. Now."
"Excuse moi?" Fifi blinked.
"There's an organization in this universe that won't hesitate to take your Ultra Beasts and extend their corrupt ruke to any other universes."
"...Giovanni is here then?" Dulse pondered as Fifi removed her hands from Zossie's ears.
"...I don't know who that is, but who...or rather what I'm referring to is the Norvu Orvus Librarium...or NOL for short," the woman explained.
"NOL?" Zossie repeated.
"It sounds best that we leave then," Dulse admitted, "Would you still like for us to find your missing subordinate and their companions? They're more than likely in the same universe that the Ultra Beast we're tracking is in right now."
"Yes. In fact...Tager?"
"Hmm?"
"You're accompanying them. You'll be my eyes and ears for this mission..." the woman ordered.
"...And just how…"
"I programmed a camera into you during your last upgrade."
"Of course you did, Kokonoe…" Tager sighed.
"The big guy is coming with us?!" Zossie beamed.
"So long as he does not refer to me as a beast again, I will not mind his company," Fifi noted, twirling a bit of her hair with a finger.
"...For the last time, I was referring to you as a Beastkin," Tager sighed, "A type of human that's half animal. Such as Kokonoe."
"Oh? So I'm an animal, eh?" Kokonoe noted.
"Oh for the love of…" Tager sighed.
"We'll need to contact Captain Phyco and request a Lunala to carry you, but it will be a pleasure to work alongside you," Dulse noted.
'I can never get a break…' Tager thought, 'Kajun, finding you and your friends better be worth this trouble.'
"Both the Trainer and Gym Leader are down to their last Pokemon!" the referee declared as Ash and Erika stood across from each other, "Send out the last Pokemon!"
It had been several days since the Contest demonstration and the Gym was finally ready for Ash's rematch. Erika threw out a ball and Tangela came out, whipping the ground with a vine. Ash grinned as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and onto the field, cheeks sparking.
"I'm surprised you've lasted this long," Erika noted, "I was taken back by your last move during the last match."
"Yeah...Sorry about the tree, though," Ash admitted, glancing over at a tree with a Primeape-shaped indent and a Gloom-shaped indent in it.
"Don't worry. Synthesis from Tropius can heal that up quickly," Erika assured.
Ash nodded as he looked down at his partner, "You ready, Pikachu?"
"Pika!"
"Begin the last battle!" the referee declared, throwing her flags outwards.
"Pikachu, use Quick Agility!" Ash called.
"Pika!" Pikachu replied as his body glowed with Agility before shooting off into Quick Attack.
"Tangela, Stun Knot!"
"Tangela~!" Tangela replied, releasing a blast of Stun Spore at Pikachu.
A pair of vines came out of the ground, trying to grab at Pikachu, but the electric rodent used his tail as a spring at the last second, sending him into the air above the released spores.
"Ancient Power!"
"Ion Tail!" Ash called.
Pikachu's tail flashed with Iron Tail before electricity from a Thunderbolt erupted around it. Pikachu cried out as he swung his tail, smashing apart the thrown fossils and sending their electrified remains back down at Tangela.
"...Tangela, Power Whip!"
"Power what?" Ash blinked.
Tangela's eyes glowed before his vines shot out in blurs, rapidly striking the electrified fossil remains until they were nothing but dust.
"?!"
"Pika?!" Pikachu exclaimed in surprise as he landed across from Tangela.
"Um...what was that?!" Makoto gawked as the group watched from the sidelines.
"Power Whip, a rather powerful Grass Type move," Kajun explained, holding her Pokemon Move notebook, "Basically, the user whirls their vines, tentacles, or the like to harshly lash out at the target."
"Not many Trainers see Tangela use Power Whip," Erika noted.
"We're not gonna quit yet," Ash noted, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt the ground!"
"Pika-CHU!" Pikachu shouted, releasing the attack and struck the ground between Tangela and himself, creating a cloud of smoke.
"Tang…" Tangela looked around in the smoke generated from the attack.
'Now what are you planning, Mr. Ketchum?' Erika pondered.
"Pikachu, PVT!"
"PVT?" Erika repeated.
"PVT?" Misty, Mai, and Tsubaki repeated while Brock cringed and Makoto grinned excitedly.
"Pika-pika-pika-pikapikapikapika!"
"Tangela?" Tangela turned just in time for the smoke to disperse through a Thunderbolt-coated, Agility-infused Quick Attacking Pikachu with an Iron Tail wrapped before his face, "LA?!"
"Pi-KA!" Pikachu roared as he slammed into Tangela, sending him crashing into a tree while being electrocuted...before Tangela fell into the water around the tree it crashed into and electrocuting it further to the point of knock out.
"?!" Erika's eyes widened in surprise.
"PVT… Oh, I see now…" Kajun realized, "'Pseudo Volt Tackle.' Clever use of an acronym, Ashton."
"Ash and I practiced it with Pikachu and Berry with Onix as the target," Makoto explained.
"Tangela is unable to battle! The winner is Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" the referee declared as red leaves from the struck tree fell around the place.
"Yeah! We did it!" Ash beamed, pumping his fist in victory.
"Pi-pikachu!" Pikachu cheered as he ran over and jumped into Ash's arms, nuzzling happily into his cheering Trainer.
"I must say that I've never had such an exciting battle from a Trainer coming here for their fifth Badge," Erika noted as she walked over to Ash, "Lurantis."
"Lur," the Alolan Pokemon jumped down from the red tree, carrying a case.
Erika opened the case and pulled out a badge. It resembled a flower with each petal a color of the rainbow. She gave a nod to Lurantis, who closed the case and jumped back into the tree, before turning to Ash.
"For defeating me, I award you the Rainbow Badge," Erika informed, "You more than earned this badge."
"Thank you," Ash nodded as he looked at his latest badge, "Only three more left…next stop, Fuschia Xity."
"Oh? If you're heading there, then why not check out the Safari Zone once you're done with the Gym?" Erika suggested.
"Safari Zone?" Ash repeated.
"It's a regulated area where you're given special PokeBalls that are the only ones that work there," Erika explained, "You're not allowed to use Pokemon while in the Safari Zone, but that's due to the kinds of Pokemon there and due to damages caused by Trainers in the past. There was even a rather aggressive, yet very talented trainer that visited there quite often. I think his name was...Billy."
"?!"
"...Something the matter?"
"N-no no. Just...remember running into someone with a similar name is all," Ash answered with a sheepish chuckle.
"Hi, Mom!" Ash greeted.
=Well it's about time!= Ash cringed at the shout on the phone =You haven't called once since I last saw you at that beach last month!=
"Yeesh...Ash is in trouble~" Makoto cringed.
"I knew I should have had Ashton call her before we left Saffron," Kajun sighed.
"Sorry mom...just been...busy as of late," Ash muttered.
=I know that, but you could at least call in once in a while!= Ash's mom argued before speaking softer now that she had calmed down =You know I worry about you, sweetie=
'Worry…' Makoto thought, her ears drooping a little, 'I wonder if my ma, pa, and little sibs are worried…'
"I know...and I don't mean to worry you…" Ash admitted with a small sigh.
=It's okay this time, Ash= she assured =But please try to call just a little more often than what you've done so far?=
"I'll try to call at every center I come to," Ash nodded.
=That's all I ask, dear= she noted =Though, I'm surprised. Where's Pikachu?=
"Oh. He's with Nurse Joy right now. We just got through a hard battle at the Celadon Gym," Ash replied before showing the badge, "We won!"
=Oh! Well congratulations, Ash!= Delia smiled =You just need three more, correct?=
"Yeah. One from Fuschia, one from Cinnabar, and one from...uh…" Ash paused as he pondered a bit, "Not sure where I'm gonna get my last badge..."
=Ahh...well I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later= his mom noted with a small smile.
"Right," Ash nodded.
"Ash Ketchum, please come to the front desk, please," Nurse Joy called.
"Oh. That's me. Gotta go, mom," Ash noted.
=Okay. Love you, and be safe honey= Delia smiled as she hung up.
"Your Pokemon are all healed up," Nurse Joy informed as she slid a tray with Pikachu and two Pokeballs on it to him when he walked up.
"Pika!" Pikachu cheered as he jumped onto Ash's shoulder.
"Heh heh. Glad to see you too, buddy," Ash chuckled, gently rubbing Pikachu a bit before looking back at Nurse Joy, "Thank you."
"It's no trouble," Nurse Joy replied.
"So where are we going to next?" Mai asked once Ash walked over to where they were sitting.
"Where else? Fuchsia City! I wanna try the Safari Zone there!" Ash beamed.
"Hmm...The quickest way there is through the Cycle Road," Kajun noted, looking at a map.
"?!" Ash flinched as Misty gave him a look.
"Excuse me!" Misty's start of a rant at Ash about her bike was cut off by a Trainer running into the center, carrying a wounded Vaporeon, "Nurse Joy! Please, you have to help my Vaporeon!" he skidded to a halt before the desk, "She's been hurt!"
"Let me see," Nurse Joy ordered as the Trainer gently put the Vaporeon on the counter, "How did this happen?"
"That Entei came out of nowhere…" the Trainer clenched his fists on the counter.
"?!" many of the Trainers in the center looked over at the counter at that.
"Entei?" Noel repeated before she, Makoto, Mai, and Tsubaki looked at Kajun...who had dropped the notebook she was writing in with wide eyes aimed at the counter.
"One of the Legendary Pokemon of Johto, and a member of the Elemental Dog Trio…" Kajun explained.
"A...A Legendary Pokemon?" Makoto gasped, "Here?!"
"Don't worry. We'll treat Vaporeon at once," Nurse Joy informed as her Chansey gently laid the injured Pokemon on a stretcher.
"Thank you so much…" the Trainer sighed in relief before realizing other Trainers, Ash included, had come over.
"You really saw an Entei?" a Trainer asked.
"Yeah. I tried to catch it, but...but it was on a whole other level," the Vaporeon Trainer explained, "Ember…" the light of the ER went on, "It just used Ember and we were beaten within moments."
"All that damage...from an Ember?" Misty gasped.
"It's known as a Legendary for a reason…" Kajun explained as she walked over, "It's said that should Entei truly roar, it can create volcanoes beneath its paws."
"?!"
"You should be lucky you and your Pokemon are both alive right now."
"Y-Yeah...I'm glad we got out of the forest so fast," the Trainer admitted.
"...And there goes the trigger…" Makoto sighed, noticing the sudden silence that followed...before it was broken by Trainers running off.
"It's probably still there!"
"Hurry!"
"D...Did they not hear you saying that it makes volcanoes?!" Misty gawked.
"Apparently, that's more of a motivator to catch than to avoid…" Kajun sighed.
"You two realize Ash just ran off with them, right?" Mai asked.
"...Tsubaki, we're going to give Ashton a lecture on not running into dogs that make volcanoes when we grab him and bring him back here," Kajun ordered, her eye twitching.
"Agreed," Tsubaki frowned.
"Come on! Entei has to be somewhere around here!" Ash shouted as he ran through the forest, Pikachu hanging onto his shoulder.
"Pi~ka~!" Pikachu screamed.
"Oh man, if I can get my hands on Entei, Gary's gonna be SO jealous!" Ash grinned to himself, "Red might think it's pretty awesome and Leaf…" he stumbled a bit as he shuddered, "...I really hope she doesn't fine me for catching Entei and not telling her the very instant I did."
"Pika…" Pikachu mumbled in a deadpanned tone.
"...Wait...can I even use a Legendary Pokemon in the Pokemon league?" Ash pondered as he skidded to a halt, "...If there isn't a rule...then I'd be the first trainer to use one!"
"(Sheesh this human is excitable…)" Zorua, disguised as a Pidgey, deadpanned as he watched from a branch, "(At least they're out of that city now. That purr-foom-e stuff stunk!)"
"...wait. Why am I standing here for?!" Ash exclaimed, "I need to go find Entei a-"
"Ashton Satoshi Ketchum…."
"?!" Ash tensed up, slowly turning to see Kajun and the others standing behind him, a stern glare on her and Tsubaki's face, "...How…"
"Kirli…" Hikari raised a hand in reponse, her other holding onto a book she was reading.
"(Welp...I'm go…)" Pikachu prepared to jump off Ash's shoulder.
"Stay," Kajun ordered, glancing at Pikachu, who froze with a nervous sweat, "Ashton...you are in a lot of trouble."
"...But….Entei…" Ash began.
"Did you not hear what Kajun said about it, or saw what happened to that trainer and his Vaporeon?" Tsubaki asked in a firm tone.
"But En..."
"No, it seems you didn't," Kajun frowned, "It can make volcanoes, Ashton. Volcanoes. By just giving a roar."
"..."
"Ashton...if anything happened to you, how would you think your mom would react? How would everyone you know and care for react if they heard you got hurt badly facing an Entei?" Tsubaki asked.
"?! I...didn't really think of that…" Ash replied, "But Entei…"
"Ashton, we are not talking about Entei right now. We are talking about…" Kajun began before Hikari looked behind them, widening her eyes, and quickly used Confusion to turn Kajun and Tsubaki around...to see a large Pokemon in a clearing up ahead, "...Entei…"
"?!"
The large Pokemon in question was a massive, leonine quadruped with some mastiff qualities. Its body was coated in a thick brown fur with a cream-colored fur on its chest and lower jaw. Its four large paws were a smoky grey, almost as if they were made of ashes, with brown pads under them and four black rings of metal on each of its legs. Metal fins emerged from the sides of its back and just below its neck. Its face was covered by a red metal going down the sides with a gold crest on the top of its head, while a mane of smoke went down its back, also making a tail. Ash gulped as he pulled out Dexter with a shaking hand...whether it was from anticipation of fighting the Pokemon or something else was anyone's guess.
=Entei, the Volcano Pokemon. A Legendary Pokemon and member of the Elemental Beasts Trio. When Entei barks, a volcano erupts, and it's said that a new Entei is born every time a volcano appears. A proverb claims that the warmth of summer is created by Entei racing through the clouds= Dexter informed.
'And that just confirms it…' Tsubaki thought, her face a bit pale.
'This...is a Legendary Pokemon…' Kajun thought, giving a nervous gulp, 'We're not even noticed by it...no...it doesn't even see us as anything important to look at.'
Zorua nearly lost its illusion, "(A...An Entei?! HERE?!)"
"...I think we better get the heck out of here…" Makoto whispered to the others, her tail shooting straight up.
"Water Shuriken!"
Entei jumped, easily jumping over a series of water-made shuriken that hit where it had been. The Legendary Pokemon soared over the group before landing right behind Ash. The eleven-year-old spun around and the eyes of two met. Ash gulped as he swore he was seeing a roaring inferno within the burning red eyes of the Legendary Beast. For Entei, it could feel something...familiar with this human. Before anyone could do something, Entei jumped back and landed on a large rock, avoiding a kick from a Greninja.
"Isn't that...Kage?" Brock pondered.
"Darn...missed it," Ken's voice muttered, causing the group to turn and see the Trainer and his Greninja facing off with, "Let's try again...Kage, Scalding Ice!"
Kage inhaled before firing the freezing waters at the Legendary. Entei growled before the area erupted into heat. Entei proceeded to give out a loud roar, the entire area shaking as Kage's attack dissipated. The ninja-like Frog tensed before he was suddenly forced back into his Pokeball.
"Gah! Every time!" Ken complained a bit, "I hate hate HATE Roar!"
Flames lit up in Entei's jaws before it let out a blast of flames at them. The group braced for the attack, only for the flames to strike the ground before them, erupting into a wall of flames that soon dispersed, revealing Entei long gone.
"...Oh thank Arceus it's gone…" Makoto sighed in relief as she fell to her knees, her tail still shooting straight up, 'It felt like a massive dog was staring me down and wanted to use me like a chew toy!'
"We should be lucky that it didn't make a volcano with that roar," Brock noted, sweating a bit from both the rise in temperature from when Entei was about to use Roar and from worry of having a volcano appear before them.
"We should be lucky we're alive right now…" Kajun stated.
"Ken, what are you doing here?" Ash asked, managing to shake off his awe and surprise from his close encounter with the Legendary Beast.
"Well...I kinda ran into La again, and we were talking before I heard mention of Entei in the area and...eh heh heh…" Ken chuckled sheepishly, "My inner Trainer got the best of me…"
"Gee...sounds like someone ELSE I know…" Misty muttered, shooting a stink eye at Ash.
A rumble went off just as Ash opened his mouth.
"Oh Arceus! Is it back?!" Makoto panicked, looking around...before a raindrop hit her on the head.
"No...I think it's just about to storm out…" Mai noted as she looked up at the sky.
"...I think it's best we go get La and head to the Pokemon Center," Ken suggested.
"Good idea…"
"And...there," La smiled as she offered a tablet to Scramble, the Trainer and her Shiny sitting on a rock in the forest, "Do you think this is a good report so far, Scramble?"
=Magnezone=
"Huh?" La looked at the tablet, "Oh shoot! Thanks. I can't believe I mispelled that…"
"Let…"
"Hmm?" La blinked as she looked at a nearby tree, seeing a small Eaglet-like Pokemon on a branch, one of its talons tied up by a rope, "?! Oh, you poor thing. Scramble."
=Mag= the Shiny Magnezone complied as she got on it and hovered up to the Eagle.
"There there..let me just…" La began, reaching for the rope before the eaglet began pecking at her, "Ow ow ow ow!"
"Rufflet!" the eaglet squaked as it tried to fly away from her, only to be pulled back down by the rope as it landed back on the branch.
"I haven't been pecked at this much since Sam was a Rufflet himself…" La grimaced.
"Hey, La!"
"Hm?" La looked down to see Ken, "Oh! Ken! Up here!"
"Is she riding on her Pokemon?" Makoto blinked a few times.
"It's a thing in Alola," Ken answered, "They're called Ride Pokemon."
Scramble floated down and let La off, who ran over and spoke, "Someone's tied up a Rufflet in that tree. I tried to get him down, but..." she motioned to the marks on her face from the pecking.
"Ooh…" Mai cringed a bit at the peck marks, "...Let me see if I can try."
"I…" La began as Mai ran over to the tree, looking up at the eaglet.
"Ruff?" the eaglet blinked as Mai began climbing up the tree.
"...That rope looks a week old…" Mai noted as she reached out for the rope, only to pull back when the eaglet tried to peck her hand, "...wait…" she noticed a few ruffled feathers on the eaglet, "...Are you...waiting on someone…?"
"Let!"
"I wonder who he's waiting for…" La noted before frowning, "It better not be a Xatu fortune telling again…"
"...oh please, don't let it be another Damien…" Noel whispered.
"Hey, La? Can Scramble carry Charmander up there?" Ash asked, sending out his Fire-Type.
"Hmm? Oh sure!"
"Just be careful. Rufflet can be pretty nasty when it comes to their territory," Ken warned.
=Mag…= Scramble spoke as it hover up to Rufflet, Charmander on its back.
"(Thanks,)" Charmander noted to Scramble before looking at Rufflet, "(Hi there!)"
"(Grr…)" Rufflet growled, giving Charmander a glare.
"(Are you waiting for the one who tied you to this tree?)" Charmander asked.
"(...I am, but I'm getting stronger for him too…)"
"(Stronger?)" Charmander repeated, getting a bad feeling in his gut.
"(...why am I talking to you? My Trainer believes interacting with weaklings makes you weak in turn,)" Rufflet huffed.
"(Ah...Good thing I'm not one then,)" Charmander noted, using his blanket like a whip to grab an apple from the tree beside Rufflet that was just barely out of reach for the eaglet, "(Apple?)"
"(...Lucky shot…)" Rufflet frowned.
"(Your Trainer wouldn't happen to have blue hair and a cocky attitude, would he? Goes by the name 'Damien?')" Charmander asked.
"(No..but my Trainer ran into someone by that name...showed him his place, too, as a pathetic Trainer.)"
"(How long? Because last I saw, he was being taken off by an Officer Jenny for a long list of things,)" Charmander noted.
"(...two months ago.)"
"(Two months ago?!)"
"(Yes...but my trainer left me here so I can get stronger!)"
"That's one talkative bird…" Makoto noted before her ears twitched a bit, "...Someone's coming."
"Huh?" Misty looked over at Makoto, "Where?"
"That way."
Makoto pointed at a path and, true to her word, a figure was approaching. The figure was a young man, roughly around the same age as Makoto, with wild orange hair, two large tuffs crossing over his forehead in an 'X.' He wore an open black sleeveless jacket with various pockets over a white shirt, red explorer jeans, black combat boots, and black bands around his wrists. He had a yellow backpack on his back and a pair of tags on a silver chain around his neck.
"?! Rufflet!" the eaglet beamed as it flew down a bit from the tree, looking at the young man before him before rubbing against him a bit.
"...Still haven't gotten rid of that attitude of yours…"
"Ruff?" the eaglet blinked before the young man pushed him harshly into the tree, "Let!"
"What the?! What are you doing?!" Ash snapped.
"Hmm?" the young man raised a brow as he looked over, "What does it matter to you? What I do with my Pokemon, whether they're still mine or not, is none of your business."
"How could you do that? Why would you do that? The Rufflet's been there for two months waiting for you!" La scowled.
'How'd she know that?' Makoto pondered.
"I left it there to get stronger…" the young man argued before looking at Rufflet, "I see that was a waste...not even tying it down would get rid of that attitude...It's worthless."
"?!" Rufflet's eyes widened at that before the young man held up a Pokeball.
"Incineroar...crush it," the young man ordered as an Incineroar came out, grabbing the pokeball before crushing it with its bare hands, "There...now I won't have to deal with a worthless piece of trash like you anymore…"
"...Let…" Rufflet looked down sadly.
"Grr…" the Incineroar growled, raising one of its claws before the young man held a hand up.
"Don't...it's apparent it's a lost cause anyway…"
"This guy's really rubbing me the wrong way…" Makoto growled out.
"Pachi/Emol/Vui!" the fluffy trio agreed, poking their heads out of Makoto's tail
"...Why are your Pokemon out of their Pokeballs?" the young man demanded, noticing Pikachu, the Fluffy Trio, and Yuki.
"What's wrong with them being out of their Pokeballs?" Ash frowned.
"Because it obviously shows how pathetic you are as Trainers if you can't reign in your own Pokemon," the young man frowned back.
"Hey!" Misty snapped, "What's wrong with you?! How can you just tie up a Pokemon and abandon it? He would've starved!"
"Because there's only one thing that matters when it comes to Pokemon...survival of the fittest," the young man frowned, "If you can survive out in the wild, then there's nothing you can't beat. A Pokemon that acts the way that piece of trash does...it's not even a Pokemon at all."
"What?! That's terrible!" Misty snapped.
"A Trainer's job is to bond with their Pokemon, a-" Brock began.
"No, it's not," the young man frowned, "'Friends with Pokemon'? Stuff like that makes them weak and pathetic…"
With that, the young man turned and walked off. Ash grit his teeth and was about to chase him when La beat him to it.
"Don't just walk away like that!" La snapped, anger evident in her eyes.
The young man roughly shoved her hand off his shoulder. His Incineroar prepared to tackle La when Manny caught his shoulders.
"...You have a problem?" the young man asked with a frown.
"Of course I have a problem! Two months! Rufflet's been here for two solid months, tied up there and waiting for you to come back and prove it was stronger than when you left!" La informed.
The young man glanced at La's wrist, seeing the Z-Ring on it, "Tch. An Alolan? I'm not surprised you'd be this riled up from listening to the truth."
"The truth?" Ken frowned at that as he walked over, "What part of abandoning a Pokemon because you deem it as weak is 'the truth'?!"
"Because strength is what matters most. In this world, that is what defines victory and loss." he spoke up, "It could have left all things considered. But...it didn't...Isn't that the truth as well? I see it like this: it stayed there stagnant, rather then better itself. So I don't need it."
"Why you…" La growled.
"Besides, why would bonds with Pokemon matter with strength? What do you get with that?"
"They become your family," Mai replied.
"Ruff?" Rufflet looked at the blunette.
"That changes very little. The Legendaries are solitary and no one can touch them," he argued, "That is true strength; power to overcome anything in your path. Win no matter what. Anything else is just simple words to comfort the weak."
"That's it! This guy's been asking for it!" Makoto growled as she cracked her knuckles, about to stomp over before her friends held her back, "Oi oi! Let go!"
"My name is Cross, and I will become the greatest Trainer ever," the young man informed before walking off, his Incineroar growling at Manny before releasing a Smokescreen to prevent them from following.
"That jerk…" Mai growled before Rufflet collapsed, "Oh! Rufflet!"
"Ruff…" Rufflet cried weakly, the eaglet just hanging upside down from the rope as he had an empty look in his eyes.
"It has a fever," La noted after placing two fingers on its forehead before thunder rumbled as the skies opened up with rain, "And of course it starts raining…Thank you for nothing, you useless weather app."
"We need to get him to a Pokemon Center stat," Ken added as Mai carefully undid the knot in the rope, "I'll…"
"Hikari, if you please?" Kajun spoke up.
"Kirl…" Hikari began before the psychic aura she was forming flickered out as her stomach grumbled loudly, "Kirl~"
"You forgot to eat?" La pondered.
"...Kajun, stop rubbing off your bad study habits on your Pokemon!" Makoto facepalmed.
"There's a cave near here we can take shelter in," La noted.
"Good idea," Tsubaki nodded before thunder rumbled in the sky once more, "...Let's hurry before the storm gets worse."
"Agreed," Brock added.
"Char~!" Charmander cried as he used Ember to ignite a small campfire in a cave, "Char!"
"Great work, Charmander," Ash grinned before looking over at La as she was grinding something in stone bowls and then over at Mai, who was carrying the sick Rufflet.
"Ken, I need a cold wet towel for Rufflet," La ordered.
"On it," Ken nodded, Kage already out as he began putting a towel into a bowl of cold water he made.
"Brock, do you have any Aspear Berries I could use for the medicine?" La asked.
"I stocked up at the market yesterday," Brock replied, handing her a few berries.
"Thank you," La nodded before glancing over at Rufflet, "No Pokemon with that level of loyalty is going to be left untreated."
"No…" Mai shook her head, carefully holding Rufflet in her arms, "Just hang on, Rufflet…"
"Char!" Mai looked down at Charmander as he held up his blanket, having been folded into a nest shape.
"...Are you sure?"
"Char!"
"He calls it a miracle blanket that saves lives," La noted, "Was it used to save his life?"
"Well, yeah. I gave him the blanket when I first saw him abandoned by his last Trainer," Ash explained.
"Did you just understand what Charmander was saying?" Tsubaki asked as Mai gently placed Rufflet in the blanket-nest.
"A gift from the Tapus," La replied.
"?!" Kajun nearly dropped her notebook before she was instantly before La, "You met the Tapus?!"
"Yes. Tapu Koko saved me on the day I met Manny when he was a Litten," La explained, "He was trying to protect another Pokemon on a bridge to where Tapu Koko lives from some Spearow and I shielded them with my body until Tapu Koko arrived and beat them up before saving us when the bridge broke." she held up her Z-Ring, "He gave me my Z-Ring."
"Ahh…"
"...Um...wh-what are the Tapus?" Noel asked, Yuki resting near her.
"Four Legendary Pokemon, and guardian deities of the Alola region," Kajun explained.
"Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Fini," La added before walking over to Mai and Rufflet, Kage moving back after putting the cold cloth on the eaglet's forehead, and gave Mai the stone bowl filled with a remedy inside of it, "Okay. Make sure he swallows at least two spoonfuls of this. After that, it's just a waiting game for the medicine to work its way."
"Ok," Mai nodded.
"Grr...that Cross…" Ash frowned, looking at the sick Rufflet as Mai did what she was instructed, "How could he do something like that?"
"I'm contemplating on who's worse: him or Damien," Makoto added with her own frown, "And so far...Cross is proving himself to be even worse."
"And why did he sound so disgusted when he called you an Alolan?" Tsubaki pondered.
"It's because of Z-Moves are believed to come forth from the strong bonds between Trainer and Pokemon," La noted, "Alolans tend to see Pokemon as more than just partners...but as Ohana; Family." she looked over at Mai, "And I'm glad to meet someone outside of the region who also sees Pokemon they've bonded with as family as well."
"Thank you. I just...I couldn't stand with how we was talking about bonds like that…" Mai admitted.
"Yeah! If you hadn't stopped him, I would've done it, La," Ash noted, "It's just not right. Pokemon are our friends, not just...like what he thinks Pokemon are."
"Exactly! They grow up alongside us, bond with us, and we help one another in all aspects of life," La nodded.
"Grenin…"
"I am not trying to convert people or Pokemon to a new religion," La deadpanned, "Honestly, you and Hanzo are really alike in that aspect…"
"Nin…"
"...Been meaning to ask, but what happened with Takuma?" Misty couldn't help but ask.
"Honestly...haven't seen him since Saffron," Ken answered, "He left to go try out the Fighting-Type Gym there."
"I heard that it became the Gym for the town while the Psychic-Type Gym is doing something that prevents them from operating," La noted.
"Well, Sabrina does have a lot of years of repressed laughter to go through," Ash noted.
"...Why do I get the feeling you did something?" Ken asked.
"He did and it gives me a headache whenever I try to figure out how it worked," Kajun replied.
"...Noted."
"We even tried out the Fighting-Type Gym while we were there...fixed a HUGE problem with the place too," Makoto added.
"Why? Wh-"
"It was ran by a cheating sexist jerk that kicked out all the female trainers there because he deemed them weak, and destroyed the home that belonged to my Buneary, Honey."
"?!" Manny growled.
"Joke's on him, though. The real Gym Leader showed up and he got booted out and blacklisted from all the Gyms," Makoto grinned, earning a thumbs up from the scarred Incineroar.
"Are you training to be a Pokemon Nurse, La?" Mai asked.
"Hm? Oh no, not at all. I'm a Pokemon Professor on a vacation for the Indigo League," La replied before noticing Ken gawking at her, "...I never mentioned that, did I?"
"Uh...no you did not!" Ken exclaimed.
"Shh!" Mai hushed.
"Sorry…"
"You're a Professor? But you're not that much older than us," Makoto noted.
"Thank you," La smiled.
"So what is it that you study?" Kajun asked.
"Legendary Pokemon on the side, but my main focus is Ultra Wormholes," La replied.
"?!" the girls of Team Remix Hearts' eyes widened a bit at that.
"What's an Ultra Wormhole?" Ash pondered.
"They're 'holes' in space-time," La explained, "Connecting our world to countless others."
"...What creates Ultra Wormholes? Ultra Beasts?" Ash guessed.
"...Where did you hear that name?" La asked in surprise as Manny's sole eye blinked owlishly at the youngest member of the group.
"Wait, what?" Ash blinked, "...Wait. There is such a thing?! Are they Pokemon?!"
"In a sense, they are. Just from other universes," La explained, "In the Alola Region, some Pokemon can soak in the energy released from an Ultra Wormhole and grow to abnormal sizes and gain an aura that boosts their abilities. We call them 'Totem Pokemon' in the Alola Region, but there have been reports of other Regions having these kinds of Pokemon randomly show up."
"..."
"...Ash, no," Brock frowned.
"But…"
"Ashton Satoshi Ketchum…no…" Tsubaki frowned.
"I hope he wasn't thinking of having his Pokemon go through an Ultra Wormhole," La noted, "There's a good chance that if they did, they wouldn't make it back."
"I wasn't thinking that! I...was thinking if we ran into a Totem Pokemon or something like it, I…"
"Finish that, and we skip Fuchsia City entirely," Tsubaki threatened in a stern tone.
"...Okay…" Ash pouted.
"That would be difficult to catch if that's what you're thinking. The aura that Totem Pokemon release actually break Pokeballs," La advised, "In fact, the only recorded times a Totem was caught is when they wanted to be caught."
"Oh…"
"By the way...Why were you all out in the forest?" La pondered, "And why did you run off without saying something, Ken?"
"...You didn't know about the Entei in the forest?" Makoto asked.
"Excuse me?" La blinked, "There was an Entei here?"
"Yeah. Ken fought it with Kage and then it ran off after using Ember to make a wall of fire," Makoto explained.
"...Please tell me we do not have to contact the map makers for a new volcano..." La pleaded while giving Ken a look.
"All he did was Roar and forced Kage back into his Pokeball. That's all…" Ken answered.
"...Okay, I'm trusting you on that," La replied before Ash and Noel sneezed.
"It's getting cold in here, even with the fire…" Ash noted before Pikachu and Charmander nuzzled against him to offer some warmth, "Thanks, guys."
"Should we put everyone into their Pokeballs to keep them from getting sick from the cold?" Tsubaki pondered.
"I'd like to do that, but Pikachu hates going inside of his," Ash replied, showing Pikachu his Pokeball and earning the electric rodent's response of jumping back from it.
"Pika-pika!" Pikachu shook his head in outright refusal.
Almost as if on cue, the Pokeballs on Ash's group of friends popped open and their Pokemon came out. Onix curled around them to help keep the cold away as the more fluffier Pokemon jumped into their Trainers' laps. Keibi and Luxy popped out of their balls to curl around La when she had sat down beside Manny, the Incineroar wrapping an arm over her shoulder to share his natural heat to help keep her warm.
"I think your Pikachu's trying to start a trend or something," Ken noted.
"...Heh...looks like…" Ash chuckled a bit, gently rubbing Pikachu.
"L...Look for Entei you said...capture it you s-said...make us the favorites over th-achoo! Boss' daughters you said…" Jessie shivered as she and James glared at Meowth, the trio standing out in the rain while trying to use a box for cover, "Well look what happened!"
"How was I supposed t' know Entei would be long gone!" Meowth argued, "Besides, you guys were da ones who ran out in da middle of a freakin' storm!"
"Well you should've talked us out of it!" James snapped.
"I tried, but Jessie told me ta shut it!"
"Well you should've tried harder!" Jessie snapped before sneezing, "Ugh...how else can this get worse?!"
"...WHY~!?" James and Meowth whined.
"Huh?" Jessie raised a brow before the ground beneath them shook...and the Onix they had put the box they were using for cover on got up with a roar, sending the trio over several trees.
"Looks like Team Rocket's Blasting off too soon~~~!"
It was the sound of steam hissing that caused most of the group to wake up.
"Wh-Wha's goin' on…?" Ash mumbled before being fully awoken at the sight of Entei calmly entering the cave followed by a bunch of smaller Pokemon, the Legendary steaming from the raindrops evaporation off its form...and once more making eye contact with Ash, "?!"
Entei continued its walk until settling itself on a flat rock away from the Trainers. The smaller Pokemon all followed after the Legendary and curled up around Entei. Entei closed its eyes as the Pokemon around it startled to fall asleep.
'...Entei...'
"While Legendaries are considers loners, it's said that some of them, such as the Legendary Beasts or the Four Swords, tend to protect Pokemon and, if needed, will stay with them until they feel their duty is complete," Ash looked over at La, "Even the Tapus visit one another and even challenge random Trainers for fun."
"Oh…"
"Do you know the legend of how the Legendary Beasts came to be?" La asked.
"..." Ash shook his head in response.
"It's a bit of a bittersweet tale," La noted as she looked at the ceiling, "Centuries ago, there were two towers in Ecruteak City. They were the Tin Tower and the Brass Tower. The towers were places of worship to the Legendary Birds Lugia and Ho-Oh respectively. One day, a vicious storm came over the city and a bolt of lightning struck the Brass Tower." her eyes softened, "The fire burned strongly until a strong rain put out the flames. The Brass Tower was lost...as were the lives of three Pokemon."
"?!" Ash's eyes widened.
"It's debated on which Pokemon died. Some believe them to be three random Pokemon; others think they were a Flareon, Vaporeon, and Jolteon. Despite that, Ho-Oh arrived and, with its sacred ashes from when it would burn away from old age and revive as a younger version of itself, revived the three Pokemon and embodied three things inside of them," La continued as she pulled out three Evolution Stones and put a Thunder Stone down before Ash, "Raikou was born from the Lightning that struck the tower," she placed a Fire Stone next, "Entei was born from the flames that engulfed the tower," she then placed the Water Stone down, "And Suicune was given life through the rain that put out the flames."
"Wow~" Ash quietly awed as he looked over at Entei.
"Indeed. Three natural forces given flesh and three lives brought back that were struck down by those same forces," La nodded, "And yet...back then…People were frightened by them and thought they were monsters. Despite this, the three ran and would protect all Pokemon no matter if they were considered protectors or monsters."
"...And what of Ho-Oh?"
"He never returned to the Burned Tower after that. Be it enraged or saddened by the reaction of the people towards the miracle that was performed," La replied before pulling out a sketchbook and opened it, showing Ash a picture of Ho-Oh, "I was lucky one day and saw him when I was at Mt. Silver."
"Ah!" Ash exclaimed, waking up the others with his shout, before he ran over to his hanging jacket, "I've seen Ho-Oh!"
"Eh? Really…?" Ken asked with a yawn.
"Yeah...This even fell from Ho-Oh when Pikachu and I saw him on our first day of our journey…" Ash continued as he pulled a feather from his jacket.
"?!"
"You were given a Rainbow Wing!" La gasped, none of them noticing Entei open his eyes and glanced over at Ash.
"Rainbow...Wing? Um, La, I hate to break it to ya, but that's a feather," Makoto noted as a pair of orange/red eyes appeared in Entei's shadow.
"No, no, no. While it is a feather, it is called the Rainbow Wing," La explained, "Ho-Oh has never been seen by humans except on extremely rare occasions! And it is said that once a Generation, Ho-Oh will pick a single human that it likes to give one of its feathers!"
"Really?"
"Yes," La replied, grabbing Ash's hands in her own, "Those people are called the Rainbow Hero, because they are the only ones that can find Ho-Oh and even are given a chance to catch Ho-Oh!"
"?! Catch….Ho-Oh…?" Ash repeated with wide eyes.
"A-Are you sure?" Brock asked.
"The last Rainbow Hero that caught Ho-Oh ended the Kanto-Johto War two hundred years ago," La replied.
"...Wow…" Makoto whispered.
"...We are not letting Team Rocket find out about this thing...at all," Kajun stated, "Heaven forbid what those three will do if they get their hands on it."
"Most likely break it before they can even use it…" Makoto deadpanned.
"No..that's not a good idea," La shook her head, "If someone with a tainted heart touches the Rainbow Wing…well..."
"...W-well what?" Noel asked as the eyes moved from Entei's shadow to Ash's before vanishing.
"There isn't anything concrete, but...there's a story that the Rainbow Hero that had the Rainbow Wing touched by a tainted heart...was killed by the Legendary Beasts," La explained.
"?!" everyone looked over at Entei, who had closed its eyes once more.
"..." Kajun moved Ash closer to her, "Team Rocket is to never learn of this feather. Ever!"
"Mmm mm…." Ash rapidly shook his head, fear in his eyes.
"ACHOO!" the mentioned Trio sneezed...before screaming as the branch they had ended up caught on broke and crashed to the ground, "Ahh!"
The next morning, the last of the rain clouds had finally subsided as the clouds cleared away, letting the morning sun shine down. Makoto yawned as she was the first to awake. She grunted as she stretched a bit.
"Okay, it's official...rocks are horrible beds…" Makoto noted to herself before seeing Entei and the Pokemon it had brought were gone, a lone Fire Stone being where they were, "Guess they left the moment the storm was gone."
"Ee…" Booster yawned as she poked her head out of Makoto's tail, "Eevee?"
"See, Booster? No more Entei," Makoto replied as she hopped over to the rock...before blinking, "Wow...This rock's still warm."
"Chipa~" Berry yawned as she hopped out of Makoto's tail, wearing a pink sleeping gown...before freezing, "Chi! Papapapa!" she bounced around before managing to get off the rock and blew on her paws, "Su…"
"...should've seen where you were going, Berry," Makoto snickered a bit before carefully picking up the Fire Stone, "...Huh...if I recall, I think these are used to evolve certain Pokemon."
"Eevee?" Booster blinked, looking at the stone over Makoto's shoulder.
"You wanna look at it, Booster?" Makoto held it up.
"Ee…" Booster nodded, closing in on the stone a bit while giving it a sniff or two.
"Morning already…?" Misty mumbled as she started waking up...just in time to see Booster paw at the Fire Stone.
The Fire Stone and Booster began to glow. The stone melted away and Makoto barely held back a yelp as the fire inside of it was released and soaked into Booster. Her fluffy mane swelled up as it turned a bright yellow while yellow fur grew over her tail along with a tuff of it growing atop her head. The rest of her fur changed, becoming a vivid scarlet. Her ears became a bit bigger and more angular as the insides turned blue while she grew a bit bigger. Booster blinked and her big black eyes had become a brilliant blue.
"Flar?"
"...Too early for this…" Misty grumbled, going back to lie down.
"Booster! You got fluffier!" Makoto exclaimed, snuggling the evolved Pokemon, "Ooh~ You're nice and toasty, too."
"Flar~" Booster purred happily.
"Mm...what's going on…?" Ash muttered as he woke up, instantly noticing Booster, "..." he quickly took out Dexter and pointed it at Booster.
=Flareon, the Flame Pokemon, and the evolved form of Eevee exposed to a Fire Stone. Flareon's fluffy fur has a functional purpose-it releases heat into the air so that its body does not get excessively hot. This Pokémon's body temperature can rise to a maximum of 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit= Dexter informed as Makoto hopped over to them.
"Where did you get a Fire Stone?" Brock asked, the others having also woken up from Makoto's exclamation of Booster getting fluffier.
"...It was on that really warm rock over there," Makoto answered, pointing at the rock Entei was originally sleeping on, "Not sure why, but it was there…"
"It could be Entei left it as thanks for not trying to catch it nor the Pokemon it was protecting," La guessed.
"Really?"
"Most likely," Ken shrugged.
"Huh...cool," Makoto grinned as she looked at Booster, "Can't wait to see what you can pull off since you 'grew up' Booster."
"Flar!" Booster chirped...before sneezing out an Ember.
"?!" Kajun's hands shot out and covered Ash's eyes as Ken and Brock turned around, looking at a wall.
"Bless you," La noted.
"Flar…?" Booster blinked.
"Fortunately, I keep a spare set of clothes in my pack…" Makoto muttered, using her tail to cover her chest as the last of the top-turned-ashes fell off.
"...Always be prepared I suppose…" Tsubaki whispered.
"Good planning, Makoto," Mai nodded.
"Ruff…" Mai looked down to see Rufflet slowly waking up, "Rufflet?"
"...You sleep well, Rufflet?" Mai asked.
"...Let…" Rufflet slumped, remembering what happened yesterday.
"What'd he say?" Ken whispered to La.
"He's still saddened by his abandonment," La whispered back before pulling out a PokeBall, "Sam, come out please."
The ball bounced once before transforming, becoming a large eagle twice as big as La with dark red feathers on its back and dark blue feathers on its underside. Its tail feathers were red, turning to yellow, and then blue at the tips. Its legs were long and thick with yellow feet that each have a digit facing backward, and three facing forward. Each digit was tipped by a short, thick, black claw.
It had a long, thick beak with a blue cere. On either side of the cere were its eyes, which were black with small white pupils. Sprouting from above the eyes were three large, white feathers. At the base of the feathers was a red, three-pointed design that was spread across all three feathers. On each side of its face, sprouting out from behind the feathers on its forehead, were an additional three white feathers pointing horizontally and downward. Behind the three feathers on its head was a large plume of white feathers, extending most of the way down its neck. These features combined resembled a Native American war bonnet. What Makoto noticed was the myriad of scars littering the bird's chest.
"Braviary!" the eagle screeched, spreading out its wings before Tsubaki and La spluttered, "Bra?"
"Pfft!" the two girls spat out some feathers before giving the bird annoyed looks, earning a sheepishly chuckle-like squawking from the eagle-like Pokemon.
=Braviary, the Valliant Pokemon, and the evolved form of Rufflet. Braviary is extremely aggressive, but for noble reasons. It will fight fiercely to help and protect its friends. Even if it is injured or has its life threatened, it will still fight. The more scars it has on its front, the more respect it gets from its peers. Scars on its back will bring it ridicule however. It has earned the nickname "hero of the skies" due to its extreme dedication for its friends. Aiding its valiance, Braviary is extremely strong, capable of lifting a car and flying with it= Dexter informed.
"...Let?"
"Sam, this Rufflet is like you when we met," La explained.
"(Really now?)" Sam asked, a rich Southern accent heard to the girl, before looking at Rufflet, "(Abandoned by your first Trainer?)"
"(...don't bother talking to me…)" Rufflet said as he turned away, "(I'm nothing but a worthless piece of trash...I'm a lost cause…)"
"(Ah...I know the feeling. Before La became part of my flock, the last Trainer I had told me those exact words,)" Rufflet looked at Sam, "(In fact, he went so far as to break the PokeBall he had for me with his own hands and sicced his Starter on me. La beat his Starter and he left, but instead of leaving me be like I felt I should be so as to not bother others with my being a 'piece of trash unfit for even Grimer to eat'...she took me to the Center and then to her home with her grandmother until I was better.)"
"(...and you didn't get deemed 'weak' by the other Pokemon?)"
"(Deemed weak?)"
"(My…old trainer believed strength is all that matters, and emotions and bonds make you weak…)"
"(Well...That's a big steaming pile of Mudsdale dropping that I've ever heard of,)" Sam huffed, "(You see my scars, young fledgling? These are from battles, vicious ones that nearly killed-and even have killed-some of my flock members, La included. Why, look at the scar over Manny's eye there.)" he motioned to Manny as he was putting on an Alolan shirt, "(He got that scar protecting me from a surprise attack that would've ended me. And this large one on my chest? I got that from the First Impression of a Golisopod...a Totem Golisopod. I got this from protecting La...and it triggered my evolution into the Braviary you see before you.)" he looked at Mai, "(And this little lady...I can tell she's got the same eyes that La did when we first met. If you feel that you still see yourself as 'weak' and 'useless,' then I think you should stay with this little lady you're being held by.)" he winked at Rufflet, "(Trust a grizzled veteran of a Champion in that bit of advice.)"
"(?!)" Rufflet's eyes widened at that as he looked at La, "(Your Trainer..is a…)"
"(Eeyup. Gave it up after a few years when she got her doctorate in being a Pokemon Professor, but only after her successor gave her the battle of her life...and our Flock,)" Braviary chuckled, "(Now the choice is up to you. Will you wallow? Or will you go out there with the little lady who's most likely not once left your side since you met and show that there former Trainer that he done threw away a strong Braviary hidden in a Rufflet's feathers?)"
"(...I…)" Rufflet paused as he looked over at Mai, "...Rufflet."
"Hmm?" Mai blinked as Rufflet hopped over, "Rufflet?"
"Rufflet...ruff-rufflet…"
"Rufflet's asking if he can come with you," La translated.
"?!" Mai's eyes widened a bit at that as she looked down at Rufflet, "Are...you sure?"
"Ruff…"
"But on one condition...he wants both you and him to get stronger, strong enough to show his former trainer he isn't weak," La continued.
"Well...You don't have to worry about that, Rufflet," Mai assured before Terra picked her up, "Terra's a training nut."
"(I am not a nut. I love working out so I can beat the 100 straight wins Sandslash when we meet again!)" Terra declared.
"...And Aqua...well I guess you can call her the big sister of my team…" Mai added as said mentioned Buizel popped out of her Pokeball.
"(And the one who has to keep this idiot from going too far.)"
"(Says you! I learned Strength all on my own! Though we need to get more Onix or get Onix to evolve into Steelix, he's getting too light for my workouts.)"
"And Celsius is most the in-between for these two," Mai finished as her Eevee walked over to Rufflet.
"(It's nice to meet you, Rufflet. Please tell me you're not going a crazy as Terra when it comes to training.)"
"(I can hear you, ya know!)"
"(You were meant to hear it.)"
"(Girls, girls, you're both pretty. Let's move on,)" Aqua waved a paw in amusement.
"(I ain't no g-Blblbblblbl!)" Terra gurgled when Aqua sprayed him in the face with water.
"(Point is...you can count on us to help you out,)" Celsius assured Rufflet.
"...Rufflet." Rufflet nodded.
"...In that case…" Mai began as she pulled out a Pokeball and offered it to Rufflet, "Welcome to our group...Ventus."
"Ruff!" Rufflet cheered as he pecked the ball, letting it catch him.
"...Ventus?" Ken raised a brow.
"Well...I've been going with a elemental theme as of late for my Pokemon, so...I just think it would be fitting," Mai answered.
"At least it's not as bad as Makoto's naming sense," Tsubaki admitted.
"Hey. What's wrong with my naming sense?" Makoto asked, wearing an orange tee underneath an acorn colored vest, "Berry, Cherry, Honey, and Booster are good names."
"The former three are food based names."
"And 'Booster' is actually the old name Flareon were called by ancient Kantonians," Kajun added.
"...I have a good naming sense," Makoto huffed, crossing her arms as she turned away.
"Oh wow! Look! It's a rainbow!" Misty called from the cave entrance.
"Huh?" the group blinked as they hurried over to the cave entrance.
Sure enough, the morning sky showed a few clouds from the end of the rain. Yet imposed over it all was a magnificent rainbow, only made more stunning in the morning sky.
"Well, this is a sign that today's going to be good," Brock noted before glancing over at Ash, noticing his jacket's inner pocket was glowing through the fabric, "Uh, Ash? Did you put the Rainbow Wing in your jacket?"
"Huh?" Ash blinked before noticing the glow, "Woah! What's going on?!"
"It's said that the Rainbow Wing will glow when there's a rainbow and that the brighter it gets, that's the way you go to find Ho-Oh," La explained as Ash pulled out the glowing feather.
"That's really impressive," Brock admitted as Ash moved the feather from one side of the rainbow to the other where it started glowing brighter.
"What's that way?" Ash asked.
"That's where Fuchsia City is, but past that is a series of mountains called the Raizen Mountain Range," Ken explained as he looked at La's tablet.
"Really?"
"Yeah," Ken nodded, "If you wanna get there fast, just walk down the path nearby, go through the nearby city, and you should reach the Cycle Road."
"...Which is a problem bec-" Misty began.
"They rent out bikes for cheap for anyone passing by," Ken added.
"..."
"How cheap?" Makoto asked.
"Well, if you keep them in good condition when you turn them in, they're about...100 Poke per person," Ken replied.
"...th-there's eight of us so...eight hundred each…" Noel guessed, "But...what if the bikes aren't in good condition?"
"...Hmm…" Ken muttered as he looked at La's tablet again, only to cringe, "...2500 Poke each…"
"And this is why I prefer riding on Ride Pokemon or one of the Pokemon in my family," La shook her head, "Honestly, I don't get why people like bikes so much…"
"Says the girl who fell off when she tried to ride the one I bought during my trip to Hoenn…" Ken muttered.
"...I was curious…" La muttered with a blush.
"Heh...Sounds like when Noellie tried to climb up the rope during gym class," Makoto chuckled, earning an embarrassed blush from Noel.
"L...let's just go please…" Noel begged.
"Okay! It's settled!" Ash beamed, "I'm going to go to Fuchsia City to get my next Badge...and then I'm going to go to those mountains and meet Ho-Oh to battle him!"
"What?! Ashton, did you not forget th-" Kajun began.
"He's already gone…" Brock and Noel sighed.
"...Oh for...Ash!" Misty snapped as she ran after him.
"Are you going to join us for the trip?" Brock asked.
"No thank you," La replied, "I need to go check where Ken encountered Entei to record anything I can that Entei left there."
"And I'm gonna head to Celadon to go restock," Ken added before pondering for a moment, "Hmm...actually, I think I'll accompany La on her journey."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Travels are always better when travelling with friends," Ken smiled.
"...You sure it's nothing else~?" Makoto teased.
"Eh?"
"You su-"
"Makoto, no," Tsubaki frowned.
"Makoto, yes!"
"I already have a boyfriend," La deadpanned.
"I met the guy. Total history lover," Ken added, "Even his Pokemon are nicknamed after historic figures…"
"Oh…" Makoto blinked, "...Sorry for the assumption then."
"It's cool," Ken nodded, "Now...don't you guys have an excitable 11-year old and a tomboy to go after?"
"Ack! You're right!" Brock exclaimed before running after Ash and Misty, "Wait up, you two!"
"Ashton, get back here and be prepared for a lecture!" Kajun shouted as she followed.
"Ack! Misty, run faster! She's gonna lecture!" Ash freaked.
"Just keep running you two! Just! Keep! Running!" Makoto shouted as she went next.
"Um...t-take care you two!" Noel waved as she ran.
"Might as well follow after them, Mai…" Tsubaki sighed as she followed after the others.
"Right…" Mai nodded before looking back at La and Ken, "You two stay safe."
"We will. Oh, and if you guys encounter Cross again…" Ken paused as a frown grew on his face, "Show him what a real trainer is."
"You can bet on that," Mai nodded.
"Here, a gift," La spoke as she handed Mai what resembled a fossilized beak on a necklace, "It's called a Sharp Beak. If you give this to Ventus, his Flying-Type moves will increase greatly."
"Oh. Why thank you," Mai smiled, "I'll make sure to put it on him when we find a place to take a break." she ran off, "See ya!"
"...They're a very interesting group," Ken noted.
"I'll say," La nodded, "And while I know they're concerned with Team Rocket getting the Rainbow Wing...that Cross jerk is someone else they should be wary of if he ever hears Ash is the Rainbow Hero."
"Agreed…" Ken nodded, "Zygarde forbid what would happen if he ever took the Rainbow Wing for himself…"
La nodded before grabbing the back of Ken's clothes and dragged him now, "Now where did you first encounter Entei in this forest? Despite the storm last night, we might be lucky and there's still evidence of it having been here."
"...It's not too far from where we originally camped, specifically north west of it," Ken answered.
"Thank you."
"Yeah...You're not the first one to do that," Zossie admitted as she stood near Tager as he was behind a tree.
"Ugh…" Tager groaned, "I never want to do that again unless I have to…"
"It gets better," Fifi tried to assure as Dulse looked at a handheld device.
"This is the world where the Ultra Beast came out of when it left your world," Dulse noted before a Spearow landed near them, "Oh. It's filled with Pokemon."
"I see…" Tager noted as he looked around, seeing various Pokemon running around the area, "...Kokonoe, are seeing this?"
=Yes, actually. Props to those three for this bit of tech= Kokonoe admitted.
"It seems they're not shifters like where I'm from," Fifi noted before a branch broke and hit the Spearow, "Oh no."
"Eep," Zossie squeaked.
"What?" Tager asked as the Spearow's head grew a bump...and glared at the four.
"Spear…"
"And it now thinks we hit it with the branch," Fifi groaned.
"...I take it that's bad?" Tager asked before an entire flock of Spearow appeared.
"...Yes. Definitely bad…"
"Spearow~!"
"And they just said 'Peck the…' well...I can't say that word with a child present… 'to death,'" Fifi translated.
"Stinger," Dulse threw out a blue and gold sphere that transformed into the dragon/insect hybrid.
"I do hope you can handle yourself, Monsieur Tager," Fifi advised before her body glowed and she changed into a poodle-like Pokemon with her tail and hair style, "Furfrou…"
"I still don't see the…" Tager began before two Spearows tackled his face and began to peck and scratch at it, "Ah! They're going for the eyes!"
"They always go for the eyes…" Zossie shook her head before squeaking as she ducked a swooping Spearow before hiding behind Fifi as she bit at the birds, her teeth glowing with a dark aura.
"...Stinger, scare them off," Dulce ordered.
"Naga…" Stinger's eyes flashed before unleashing a barrage of poison-made needles all over, striking many of them before inhaling deeply before expelling a purple/blue fire in the form of an Eastern Dragon that slammed into more of the Spearow until they all retreated, "Nagan~!"
"...Yeah, you better run!" Zossie shouted at the fleeing Spearows, "You feeling okay, big guy?"
"I'm fine. Fortunately, Kokonoe made these reinforced," Tager replied, adjusting his goggles a bit before one lit up, "Ah. It seems the tracker's working for Kajun. Seems she's...that is quite the distance from here."
"We'll need to blend in," Zossie noted.
"We do not need to…"
"Darling, no offense, but even I considered you and Zossie here weird in our current attire," Fifi bluntly put it, having shifted back to her Beastkin-like form.
"...I do suppose that's true…"
"Fortunately, I took it upon myself, with Kokonoe's assistance in trade for the bit of communications device for her to stay in contact with you, Monsieur Tager, to purchase some appropriate clothing," Fifi continued as she pulled out a few wrapped bundles from the satchel she had on her.
"...ugh...I suppose those will do for now…" Tager sighed.
"And we can say that our 'Uncle Tager' is a big cosplay fan for an obscure game!" Zossie beamed, earning a look from Tager, "...What? You do look like one."
"..."
"...did...I say something wrong?"
"Zossie...where did you learn that term?" Fifi asked.
"Ross told me about saying we're cosplayers if people give us weird looks," Zossie explained.
"Of course he did," Fifi facepalmed.
"Do I want to know who this 'Ross' is?"
"A Pokemon Trainer from where I am from whom gives me a headache nearly every time we meet," Fifi explained in annoyance, feeling a headache forming from just the name being mentioned.
"...noted."
GT: Hoo boy...That was a chapter of sorts, wasn't it?
SZ: Indeed...some big reveals, and...the debut of a certain trainer from the Pokemon I choose You movie.
GT: Very big stinker that Cross.
SZ: yup..with a very toxic mind set.
GT: Agreed.
SZ: Yeah...anyway, that's all for now I suppose. Tune in next time as we get to an episode from the anime...but before we leave, GT? Anything you wanna say?
GT: Yes. Please Read and Review!
Ash Ketchum: Pikachu [Starter], Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle(At Prof. Oak's ranch), Krabby(At Prof. Oak's Ranch), Eevee, Gengar(At Prof. Oak's Ranch), Primeape
Misty: Goldeen, Staryu, Horsea, Starmie [Starter]
Brock: Geodude, Onix [Starter], Zubat, Vulpix
Makoto Nanaya: Berry(Pachirisu) [Starter], Needles(Beedrill), Cherry(Emolga), Booster(Eevee/Flareon), Honey(Buneary)
Noel Vermillion: Yuki(Alolan Vulpix) [Starter], Nymph(Eevee), Umi(Milotic)
Tsubaki Yayoi: Luka(Riolu) [Starter], Astrea(Eevee), Sorin(Rockruff), Izayoi(Honedge)
Mai Natsume: Terra(Sandshrew) [Starter], Aqua(Buizel), Celsius(Eevee), Noble(Cubone), Ventus(Rufflet)
Kajun Faycott: Hikari(Ralts/Kirlia) [Starter], Koko(Espeon)