By noon, Brock finally managed to guide the group towards where they should have been last night. He had to steal the map, grabbing it in his mouth from Ash, but eventually, he managed to find the road again and led the group to their intended destination.
They walked into a large maritime town in the middle of a busy work day with the streets running rampant with the bustle of Pokémon moving from place to place.
An expansive chain of docks served as the main thrust of the settlement, with the rest of the town being built out from it with roads reminiscent of veins on a leaf spearing out from a stem. Buildings were much the same as they had been in Opalton, except there was an odd eccentricity in that some buildings were in the shape or likeness of Pokémon, particularly the owners. As they walked through, Brock could tell there were at least a few houses in the shapes of Pokémon heads, a Keckleon themed grocery store, a Kangeskhan shaped bank standing against a Persian themed bank, and a patchwork Meowth tent that seemed to serve as a carnival or fair grounds.
All eyes turned to Zorua.
"It looks a bit like a carnival," Brock suggested. "It happens back home, too, but only in the entertainment industry. It feels different when you know it's the owner basically putting their own face on the building and trying to make a serious business out of it."
"Yeah. It'd be really weird to have a me-shaped head for a building," Ash laughed. "That would just be silly."
Pikachu stuck out his tongue. "I dunno. Your head is kind of roomy. I wouldn't mind living there, rent free."
"Hey!" Riolu patted Pikachu with a laugh.
Brock chuckled as the two playfully got on each other's nerves. Of all of them, Ash certainly took to becoming a Pokémon easiest, with his friendship with Pikachu becoming something more than even just a trainer and his Pokémon; Brock, on the other hand, had yet to come to terms without having, well, hands.
Zorua answered, "I've been told it's about brand recognition."
"It does draw attention," Brock admitted. On the other hand, maybe it was just a double-standard. After all, maybe the only reason why Pokémon shaped buildings felt more normal was because Pokémon shaped buildings were something he was already familiar with. He shook his head when he heard Misty trying to talk Togepi out of making a building shaped like the Buizel's head.
"Okay, so where's the Gym, or I guess it's called a Dojo here?" Ash declared. "I'm pumped up and ready to go have my first Gym battle!"
Brock gave the RIolu a smirk. Obviously, Ash had eight badges already, but he knew what the Riolu really meant. In a way, Brock shared the same feeling, too; what was it like being the challenger? "Careful, Ash. You might have won against us, but the situation is different now," he cautioned. "We don't know what the full rules are."
"We should at least figure out where we're going now before we get lost again," Misty suggested.
"We can spend a Moon between each Dojo," Zorua stated before returning a grimace. "Though with how we somehow managed to lose a road, I would hope that we don't need all of that time just traveling from place to place. Thankfully, I know my way around here."
Nodding, the group followed the fox Pokémon down the road, passing through stores and workshops of every sort. Between the bakery run entirely by Charmeleons, the daycare owned by a Chansey, and even the post office staffed entirely with Kramorant and Peliper, there was simply more here, compared to Opalton.
Zorua led them towards a set of buildings that stood out from the rest. On one side was a small Pagoda, a small wooden tower that was not too dissimilar to the ones Brock had seen in Ecruteak. It hinted at a sort of spiritual or religious significance.
Nearby was a large single-roomed building that was obviously the Dojo itself.
Ash ran towards it once he caught sight of it, Pikachu in tow.
Exasperated, Brock turned an eye to Misty who let out a defeated sigh.
The two Gym Leaders followed suit.
Ash stopped in front of the Dojo, his eyes fixated onto a poster, his face contorted into a frown.
Brock saw this. He read the sign outloud. "'To all visitors. Quartz Bay Dojo is currently busy on important matters. We will be returning within the week. Please use this time responsibly.' Huh, it sounds like they're busy."
"Wait, where are they?" Ash complained.
"It's a bit irresponsible for an entire Dojo to just up and leave like this. You can't do this if you're a Gym Leader unless you have really pressing issues," Misty explained. "Like, we aren't the only Gym Leaders back home, so we could go on sabbatical with you Ash. In contrast, I don't think say, Blaine is in a good position for it, though I think Koga might."
"It's a bit different here," Zorua explained. "Every member of the Dojo is a representative of it and is allowed to certify you provided they are appropriate for your skill level; so you could even battle the newer initiates to earn your Emeras since you have none. For an entire Dojo to leave like this, initiates and all, it generally means an emergency… or they were assigned a task. So, they might have their reasons."
"It's not like we have much choice," Brock commented. As eager as he was to find out what it was like being the challenger, the young Gym Leader knew that there was no changing facts; the Dojo's occupants were simply not there.
Ash grumbled under his breath, but the Riolu settled down. "Uh, do we know what type they are? Maybe we can learn some moves to counter them?"
"Type? What do you mean by that?" Zorua asked before giving it a thought. "I suppose Quartz Bay's Dojo uses Psychic, Fighting, and Fairy types."
Everyone blinked.
"Wait, it uses three types?" Pikachu balked. "Is that even legal? Can they do that?"
"It's not Kanto," Brock answered. "They do things differently here." After all, there were no trainers who studied under the Gym Leader, the Pokémon themselves were the students, rather than under a commander.
"What's even a Fairy-type anyways? How could I miss an entire type?" Ash just stared.
"It's not really your fault, Ash." Brock shook his head. "Because of how many Poison-types are in Kanto, the Clefairy and Jigglypuff families are the only native Fairy-types in Kanto. They're strong against Dragon-types and weak against Steel-types and neither of those are really common in Kanto either."
Ash looked like he was about to have a melt down.
"There's a Steel-type?" Pikachu shared his confusion.
"Even I was not informed of such," replied Staryu. "I am mildly embarrassed."
"You guys didn't know?" Psyduck interjected.
Brock was about to open his mouth and say there were plenty of Pokémon that became Steel-type, but Onix and Scissor were only capable of that through artificial evolution. "... I think Magnemite is the only Steel-type you guys would know, if we're sticking to Pokémon native to Kanto. I'm not surprised you wouldn't realize it. There are some Pokémon that evolve into Steel types back home."
"Riolu become Steel-type. After evolution," Onix lumbered close, his voice booming.
"How does that even work? Would I become a robot? Or would I be stuck in a suit of armor?" Ash questioned.
"It's more your bones will turn metal and you grow some spikes on your wrists when you evolve, but I don't think we'll have to worry about that any time soon." Brock answered. "Just know that some Pokémon can learn Steel-type moves to give them an edge versus Rock-, Ice-, and Fairy-types. In fact, if you had known that, you could have taught Pikachu Iron Tail instead of trying to electrocute Onix. Though, I'm told it's much harder to learn without a TM."
"Iron Tail preferable," Onix agreed.
"Yeah, attacking the gigantic rock snake with my tail. That sounds really helpful," Pikachu spat a snide remark. "Your physical defenses are your defining trait!"
Ash broke himself free from his confusion. "Okay, uh yeah. I get it, there's alot I don't know about, but why three types? Gyms back home only hand one."
Zorua thought for a moment and then came up with an answer. "Dojo's are not built in adherence to a specific type, but rather a philosophy or theme. Quartz Bay's Dojo adheres to traditional warrior codes and honor, not a specific type. Combat here is between two opponents of matching skill level. It is merely that the three I listed are the ones with the largest representation within this Dojo."
Misty spoke. "Right, remember Blaine? He had a Rhydon. His theme isn't strictly Fire-types, because it was about his volcano. The Pokémon he had naturally lived around it."
Ash sighed. "I guess that makes sense." He paused. "What are we going to do until they get back?"
Brock nodded. "While we're waiting for them to return, we have to work on your cooking lessons. We need to come up with a plan to pay off the ferry ride to the next island anyways and that means we need to make money, got it?"
Ash nodded before asking, "So, is sound a type I should be worried about? Because I know there's so many moves that involve sound."
Brock chuckled. For ages, people have been trying to reclassify some Normal-type moves as being Sound-type. So far, experiments have been unable to verify anything. Though honestly, it would make more sense if they reclassified Flying-type and most Normal-type sound based moves to fall under a Wind-type; after all, both are not very effective against Rocks. "I don't think so. In the meantime, we'll teach you how to use Metal Claw… after I teach you have to use a metal pan."
Ash truly started to appreciate the fact that Brock had been cooking for him ever since he had gone through Pewter City and before that, his Mom. It never really occurred to him what it took to become a good cook, up until he had no choice but to learn how to do it himself.
The Riolu looked out to the setting sun and thought about the lessons he had been given earlier.
After finding an inn that offered both rooms and a place to cook at a reasonable price, Brock had requested that everyone with hands had to learn how to prepare food, while everyone else worked to support the chefs.
That meant, Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Geodude, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur were under Brock's watchful blue eyes for the majority of the day. Cooking rice went off without any problems beyond the resultant product either needing more or less time in the pressure cooker. Soup was easy, but Ash added way too much salt. Baking bread from rice dough… left a mess.
Overall, the Riolu had come off understanding the amount of work both Brock and his Mom put into making good food and how much time it took to truly develop that skill. Maybe when he went back home, maybe he could make something for Mom, assuming he improved.
Pikachu stood next to him. "I still don't get Iron Tail at all," the electric mouse muttered. "How are you supposed to make a tail into steel!? And even if I do that, how is that supposed to make it cut through solid stone?"
Ash grimaced. "It's not like I'm doing much better learning Metal Claw." After the cooking lessons, Zorua and Brock both worked to explain how to learn Steel-type moves. Zorua's explanation involved something called "metallic transmutation" and the jargon for that went over Ash's head completely. His attempts to use the move ended up with just making scratch marks on the wooden posts they made. He turned to Pikachu.
Pikachu sat down and laughed. "You know, the bright side is we get to learn this together."
"Yeah." Just three days ago, Ash wouldn't have even thought he could have learned Pokémon moves, let alone learn beside his starter, if Pikachu was still his starter.
Arguably, the Riolu was not really Pikachu's trainer anymore, just his friend.
The Riolu stretched his back as he rose. "Hey, Pikachu, want to explore Quartz Bay a bit? It might be fun."
The electric mouse shrugged. "Why not? Maybe we can invite some of the others?"
Nodding, Ash quickly leapt into the inn they were staying in and quickly asked around. Of his friends, only Zubat and Goldeen opted to come with; the rest were either busy with their own affairs or too tired from the previous day. Charizard wanted to sleep. Squirtle was being tended to by Bulbasaur due to being burned by scalding hot water. Misty and Brock were interviewed by Zorua on what Gym Leaders were like. And Misty did not trust Ash with Togepi at all.
"I must thank you for the invitation," Goldeen acknowledged in a formal tone. "I want to indulge myself now that I am free from the water's edge."
"Same, though not exactly!" Zubat cried out. "I'm mostly just eager to get some exercise in my wings now that I'm back to one hundred percent!"
Ash was mildly disappointed that not everyone was coming, but he figured it was a good time to learn more about the people he did not really know that well. He was used to Goldeen Splashing on the ground uselessly and Zubat was not someone he ever really spoke to. That was going to change, here and now.
"Do you have something in mind, Ash?" Goldeen asked.
"I do. Remember that Meowth tent we saw? It looked fun." Ash smirked. "Plus, it might be nice to meet a Meowth that doesn't work for Team Rocket."
"That does sound very tempting," Zubat agreed.
Finding the tent was not particularly hard - it was taller than most buildings and stood out even in a town full of Pokémon-themed structures.
As they entered the tent, the air was suddenly filled with an odd tune, a fast pitched song that promised excitement and action, that Ash was certain he had heard somewhere else, but couldn't quite place where he heard it. An old beat up jukebox spat out a single tune, a strange contrast even to the pre-modern appliances he had seen around Citrine so far. Several Pokémon gathered around it, some dancing to its music.
Around the jukebox, several tables were set up, each of them devoted themselves to a different game. The Riolu could make out at least two different types of card games, meanwhile there was another that involved dice.
Ash suddenly got the distinct feeling his mom would not have approved of him being here.
"Hello and welcome to the Game Corner!" A Pikachu greeted them. Unlike his best friend, this one wore a top hat and a blue bow tie. With a peppy attitude and a wave, he addressed them, "I'm your host, Pikachu! If there's any way I can help you, don't hesitate to ask."
Pikachu smirked and grabbed Ash by the arm. "What's here? It looks interesting."
Ash gave Pikachu a nervous expression. "I don't know, Pikachu, I get the feeling Mom wouldn't approve of me being here." There was a reason why they skipped Celadon City's famous Game Corner entirely.
"Oh, come on, Riolu. Live a little!" Pikachu returned back.
Ash blinked, confused as to why Pikachu did not use his real name. Maybe it was to help conceal his identity, but then Ash really should have left his cap back where they were staying.
"Oh, I get it!" Hatted-Pikachu looked at them for a moment, his paws on his lip. "Your Mom doesn't want you to gamble." Hatted-Pikachu shook his head. "Because we just opened, we don't have all the games we'd like to offer, like Darts or Triple Triad."
The Riolu nodded. Plus, while he did bring some money, Misty and Brock would skin him if he wasted it.
"Well, in that case, just enjoy yourselves! Have a good time, buy drinks," Hatted-Pikachu responded. "But if it strikes your fancy, you can always give Voltorb Flip a try. It's not a game of chance, but a skill based puzzle! Win three rounds and you'll make more money than you put in!"
Ash winced as the Pikachu mentioned winning a skill based game. Even if it was a puzzle game, the Riolu barely fought off the urge to compete.
Satisfied with that pronouncement, Hatted-Pikachu turned towards more guests and started to encourage them to stay, too.
"It's okay, we can just hang around here for a while," Pikachu reassured him, though he did look somewhat disappointed.
"I was not expecting this place to involve gambling," Ash said gloomily.
"At least the music's good," Zubat assured him, flapping her wings in a rhythmic fashion before spinning in the air. "Listening to the music is free, I guess."
"'Tis a pity that I did not request money from the Mistress. Else, I should have tried a fin in one of the card games," Goldeen offered. "I am curious as to what cooks in this land are like. Perhaps we can observe for ourselves while we are here."
Ash nodded and accepted that course of action.
At the side of the large tent was a small cart equipped with large barrels of what had to be beverages and a large pot with what looked like popcorn. The prices didn't seem particularly bad either.
An Eevee stood at one end of the table. "How may I help you today?" she said in an excited tone. "May I take your order!"
Yet even as she said that, Eevee felt… off. Like there was something fake about her.
"Ooooh! Can we have some popcorn? Do you have unsalted?" Zubat hurriedly ordered.
"I myself would prefer a bag of salted and buttered popcorn," Goldeen replied.
"Huh, I wonder if we could make popcorn…" Pikachu mused.
"Coming right up!" Eevee said in a tone that was all too obviously fake.
Grabbing onto a large spoon with her teeth, Eevee went over to grab some popcorn and put it into a paper bag. But even as she did so, even more popcorn ended up onto the floor.
Panicking, Eevee tried to adjust her positioning to get more of the popcorn into the bag, only to instead cause a near avalanche as the pot nearly tipped over
Ash, seeing this happening, closed the distance and brought both of his hands against the large cooking pot. Though he was small, as a Riolu, he was surprisingly strong. Strong enough to keep the pot from tipping further. The other Pokémon in his group once they got over their initial shock added their strength to his. Together, they set the large pot back to its starting position.
"You okay?" Ash asked.
Eevee shook her head. "Not really. It's just… another reminder that things aren't going well."
Ash nodded. "You're sad about something?"
Eevee's head tilted down at her feet. "I… wish I wasn't an Eevee. I mean, I know I look cute, but I really wish I had hands or flexible paws. Why couldn't I have been some other Pokémon?"
"I know that feeling well." Zubat chimed in. "I don't have eyes, too!"
Eevee sighed. "The others, especially… Pikachu. We set up this Game Corner to get us money. Now, we're richer than we've ever been, I just… feel like a load. When I was younger, I had big dreams… and this just isn't it!"
Ash recalled how last night he had spent the time learning about what the Pokémon he had been traveling with wanted out of life. "What kind of dreams?"
"A few different things actually," Eevee kicked the dirt. "I always wanted to be on the big stage adored by a legion of fans."
"Well, what stops you from doing that?" Pikachu pointed out. "You said it yourself, you are cute."
Ash felt a wave of… disgust coming from the Eevee. Did not understand how, but he knew Eevee hated something about herself.
"You… wouldn't understand," Eevee declared. Her eyes then fixated onto the silver band on Ash's wrist. "What is that?"
"It's called a Looplet. You're supposed to challenge Dojos and you fill it up with gemstones called Emeras," Ash explained directly.
Eevee's eyes fixated on the silver band, an obvious look of interest in her eyes.
Suddenly, Ash got a distinct feeling of… desire, wanting from the Eevee. The Riolu did not know why he was aware of that, but he was very sure the Eevee wanted a Looplet for herself. "So, uh basically, my friends and I want to go gather Emeras because we want to ask the Legendary gods to help us."
Eevee seemed to give that a hard thought. "I… that does sound interesting." Eevee sighed. She then finished filling up the bags full of popcorn and handed it to… Pokémon without hands. Ash and Pikachu had to carry the sacks for their intended recipients.
Goldeen and Zubat then hovered over the bags of popcorn and lapped several pieces into the mouths.
An idea then crossed Ash's head; since the Eevee was a food vendor, maybe she understood the business enough to help. "Say, since you're selling food here, do you have any idea on where it might be a good idea to sell?"
"Oooh! Idea!" Zubat spoke up. "So the Dojo is going to be closed for a week. What if we worked here while we're waiting?"
Eevee's ears twitched. "Well, Meowth and Pikachu do keep saying that we need to bring in more Pokemon to work around here if we want the Game Corner to be successful. We've already had to expand so much to have dealers work at all of the games we currently have, but all we've got for food is the snack wagon."
Oh, so there was a Meowth. Ash wondered where he was. "My friends and I are learning to cook. Maybe we can work something out."
Eevee nodded her head. "A cut of the profits?" Her grin grew to malicious heights. "Yes, I think that's a perfect idea! I'll encourage my teammates to try hosting you. We can work out the details some other time."
This was not what Ash had been originally expecting when he went to the gigantic Meowth tent, but he was not complaining. Misty and Brock might be surprised, but they might be open to the idea. "Sure, how's tomorrow morning sound?"
"Perfect!" Eevee's tail twitched. She then pulled out a slip of paper and… mouthed it to Ash.
The Riolu unfolded the slip of paper. All it had was a block of letters that said, "FREE GAME!"
"Here, why don't you folks have a free run of Voltorb Flip?" Eevee encouraged me. "Pikachu wants to hand these out next week as a promotional thing, but I think you guys deserve a sneak preview."
Ash felt a little nervous at being handed the slip of paper. Did it count as gambling if he really did not have to pay anything?
Eevee handed Ash three more slips of paper. "Have one for each of you."
"Wow, thanks!" Zubat cried out.
"Sure!" Pikachu also accepted, he gave a knowing grin to his trainer. "Come on, let's have a free run, Riolu!"
Defeated, Ash decided that he was not going to win this fight against Pikachu. But it was not a bitter pill to swallow; it might have been fun. Besides, it was not like he was the only one who should decide where everyone went.
Eevee looked at Pikachu very closely for a moment before shaking her head. "You know, you remind me of a Pikachu I once knew."
Pikachu shrugged. "I can't say I know any Eevees like you."
Eevee shook her head. "Well… I was not… whatever. See you, tomorrow!" Eevee raised a paw.
With bags of popcorn in their paws, Ash smirked at his closest friend. "You're really enjoying calling me, 'Riolu', aren't you, Pikachu?
"Sorry, Ash." Pikachu giggled in between nibbling some of the popcorn as well. "It just comes more naturally to me, especially since you keep saying 'Riolu', all the time. Besides, names stick out; especially since yours feels a little too… human."
"I guess, that's true," Ash chuckled, recalling the names of Pokémon he had met. Sparky and all of Ritchie's other Pokémon had nicknames, but they were not the sort that could be mistaken for something human. 'Bruteroot' also came to mind, but Ash did not know who that was; only that it was too… planty. He supposed "Aspen" was a type of tree, just like 'Oak' was, but that was a last name, and those had different rules. He grew a grin, "Maybe I should start giving my Pokémon names now that I can ask them? Maybe I can call you 'Sparky', too."
Pikachu choked on popcorn. "No, no! Please no! That's just going to be weird!"
Ash sniggered.
The group walked to a table of Voltorb Flip. Ash handed the slips of paper to the Pokémon that ran the game.
Their host, a Machop, introduced them to the rules. "Alright, so the rules for this are fairly simple. I put all these cards on a grid and each is either a blank card or a Voltorb. Your objective is to flip over every card that isn't a Voltorb. At the start of each game, I have to write down how many Voltorb cards are in every row and column. Plus, I flip over a few Voltorb cards, so you can puzzle it out. Seems simple enough right?"
Ash nodded. So, it was essentially a puzzle. And the goal was to score as high as possible. He could get behind that.
"Each round, you get scored. You can either continue or cash out. However, if you continue, the number of rows increases, but so do the rewards! But be careful, because each round can last a maximum of three minutes! And if you get a Voltorb, you lose everything." To demonstrate, Machop pulled out a tiny hourglass. "Also, no cheating with mind reading or divination! You have a minute each board to beat it."
"Does anyone want to go first?" Ash turned to the others.
"It just occurred to me that all of the card games here require eyesight and I can't simply echolocate my way through them," Zubat commented. "I don't have eyes until I grow into a Golbat… It's a real shame, because I so wanted to play."
"We can always come back later!" Ash promised.
"Hm… Okay!" Zubat cried.
"I'll go first!" Pikachu declared as he bounced onto the table.
Machop, with a surprising amount of dexterity, dealt out the cards into a four by four grid. Without even looking under, he placed several stones in the rows away from the cards, denoting how many Voltorbs there were. Then, he flipped over one of the Voltorbs. "Your move."
Pikachu pointed to a card adjacent to the Voltorb card…
Machop flipped it and shook his head. "Voltorb!"
Pikachu stared. "WHAT?"
"You picked a row with three Voltorbs. You already knew there was a Voltorb there, so your odds were one-in-three of getting a safe card," Machop explained.
Ash grimaced. Math was not his strong suit. "You want a go Goldeen?"
"Not yet, but thank you for asking," the Goldfish Pokemon replied back.
Shrugging, Ash leapt onto the seat.
Machop shuffled the deck and dealt a new set of cards.
Thinking, Ash spotted a row where there were no Voltorbs. He had it cleared easily. Then, he determined from there, the column with three Voltorbs had to be all Voltorbs left because he already knew where the safe one was… But where did he go from here?
The Riolu had a gut feeling and flipped another card which turned out to be blank. But that did not help Ash as much as he would have hoped. There was a row that had two Voltorbs but he only knew one… Time was running oug. He flipped one more card and frowned.
"Voltorb! Not bad, pup," Machop replied.
Pikachu frowned but gave Ash a pat on the back. "It's better than what I did. I don't know how someone's supposed to win at this game."
"It sounds so interesting, I just wish I could see it!" Zubat said back.
Goldeen floated over the board and then turned to the host. "I don't have hands, you might have to flip cards for me."
"Not a problem," said Machop as he dealt out a fresh board. "Now, pick."
"A3, B4, C1," Goldeen listed out.
Machop flipped the cards in sequence. All blank.
Goldeen continued to list out more cards, all of which ended up blank. "The rest are all Voltorbs," she said to the dealer.
Machop blinked. He flipped over the cards and found she was right. "...Do you continue or do you pull out?"
"Let's continue. I'm eager to see how good I am at this," Goldeen answered. The next round went by even faster than the first, the fish Pokémon winning again.
Ash and Pikachu stared at each other. "Maybe we're just bad at this game," Ash chuckled.
"You got that right," Pikachu agreed. "Let's just stick to normal battling."
Goldeen only went for one more round before pulling out. For her efforts, she won a small sum of money.
"I did not see it, but that Machop was really surprised!" Zubat laughed as the group then left the Meowth tent. "And so am I! I didn't know you could do that!"
Ash held Goldeen's winnings in the remnants of the popcorn bag. "So, what're you going to do with this?"
"Give it to my Mistress," Goldeen said plainly ."It isn't enough to pay her back, but it is a start."
"You're going to pay her back?" Pikachu questioned.
"Of course," Goldeen answered serenely. "I am not merely Misty's dependant, but also her friend. I have to contribute in my own way as well."
"Huh, I never thought about it that way," Pikachu replied.
Ash laughed. "Yeah, you're used to having me buying everything for you."
"Hey, at least a good chunk of our groceries came from me having to beat something up!" Pikachu complained. "Arguably, you're the one who benefits from my work!"
"I'm still the one who had to carry you everywhere!" Ash stuck out his tongue. Pikachu may have had a point, but the Riolu did not want him to have it.
Pikachu laughed as he then leapt up onto the Riolu's back. "That reminds me!"
"Gah!" Ash stammered as he tried to adjust his positioning while walking. "You're heavy, Pikachu."
"That's an incentive for you to try harder!" Pikachu replied. "Right now, I weigh, what half as much as you do?"
Zubat and Goldeen gave each other a wry look before turning away.
"If anyone asks, we don't know you," Zubat said to them.
Ash laughed alongside his starter. "It's a good thing they don't sell ketchup here, that way you can lose some weight."
"Brock offered to teach me to make my own… as soon as we find tomatoes," Pikachu said matter of factly.
It was a bright, early morning, well before the lunch rush yet the roads were already straining from the bustle of activity. In particular, the sea air was saturated with the odors of things pulled out the water; from corals to seaweed.
Misty did not know how to handle last night's events.
During breakfast, Ash gave them a brief rundown of what exactly happened. Goldeen corroborated the story, which honestly somehow made it less believable.
Somehow, Ash goofing off ended up landing them a place to sell their food after a popcorn selling Eevee gave them a go ahead.
Also, Goldeen earned some money, which was nice. That she earned it by essentially gambling was not something she was in favor of; after all, what if Togepi developed a bad habit?
Now, nearly everyone was gathered together, walking in lockstep as they made their way to the Meowth Game Corner; the only one who was not there was Onix who instead went to hire himself out to a construction crew.
Misty, carrying a cooking pot, looked at the Rockruff that stood nearby. "Are we ready for this?"
Brock shook his head. "If this was back home? No. Here? Cooking standards are much lower because Pokémon don't mind eating raw or undercooked food. We might not be doing this professionally, but we're doing something."
Misty gave a nervous frown. She wasn't completely incompetent around the kitchen, but it was not something she really had much skill in, especially not compared to how Brock used to cook. "I wonder if they'd like PokéChow. We don't have any, but I wonder how it'd be."
"It's yummy!" Togepi said from behind her.
"Very much so!" Vulpix agreed.
Misty idly wondered what it might taste like to her now; she had eaten the stuff before, as a human, as part of a dare, and found it disgusting. As a Buizel, it might taste different. "I don't think we can make it."
Brock shook his head. "We can make kibble easily enough, but I don't know if it'd be particularly appetizing, especially without artificial flavoring."
As they neared the Game Corner, the hum of music from the tent caught everyone's attention.
Ash was right. That tune felt familiar. Maybe the jukebox was from a Game Corner back in Kanto?
"Oooh! It sounds so exciting!" Togepi leapt into the air and ran forward.
"Togepi, no!" Misty shouted.
Togepi stopped in her tracks and turned to Misty with a frightened expression.
"Togepi, it's unsafe. Stay with Mommy, okay?" Misty tried to make her tone even and firm.
Togepi whimpered slightly, but waddled close to the Buizel's side.
Misty grabbed hold of her adopted daughter's hand with a sigh. "Just stay close and don't wander off. It could be dangerous."
The Egg Pokémon ducked her head and held her mother close. "Okay, Mommy…"
"My, Mistress, you're getting much better at this," Staryu beamed. "You never had such control over her before."
"I can't carry her anymore," Misty answered. "As much as I don't like to do it, I have to be more firm."
One of the major changes the former Gym Leader had to deal with was that as she was much smaller than she used to be, Togepi was simply too large for her to carry in her arms while walking. Maybe if she was an adult instead of a twelve year old, she would have been a Floatzel and would have been large enough to carry her adopted daughter. Thankfully, Togepi had grown enough to walk on her own but as she was still so young and impressionable, she was easily distracted and ran after anything that excited her. Misty had accepted that she had to raise her voice to draw the Egg Pokémon's attention, for her own safety. She did not like having to do that, but it was necessary.
Ash however, was not someone who she could control. Before she could stop him, the Riolu dashed forward and made it to the entrance. There he met with a Shinx and began to talk to him.
Misty turned towards Zorua and gave her a simple question. "So, have you been to this place before?"
Zorua shook her head. "No, this place is new. It was not here when I came by last week. Most of the Pokémon are familiar faces and I know the… music box belonged to a curiosity shop, but it never worked as far as I knew."
How odd. Misty thought to herself. She wondered who could have set up the place.
Once they were in earshot of Ash and the Shinx, she overheard what they were talking about.
"Yeah, the Bosses are out of it right now. Eevee really did a number on the other two before collapsing!" Shinx laughed. "You should have seen it!"
"So, there's nothing wrong with us selling food inside?" Ash questioned.
Shinx chuckled. "I don't want to get beat up by Eevee, so go ahead. Maybe me and the boys will have a bite to eat come lunchtime. Keeping the music running is hard work!"
"Take care!" Ash smiled and turned a glance towards everyone else. "We're not going to see Eevee until she wakes up, but I think we're good to start cooking."
Misty had to admit; Ash was either surprisingly good at negotiating or had the luck of Chansey.
"In that case, we'll just have to start," Brock ordered. He was the expert chef in the room. "We'll make simple dishes: soup and fried rice. We had practice this morning, so you know the recipes. If we have an oven we can borrow, we'll add bread. Vulpix, Charizard; get unpacked and set up the fires. Remember to stay as far away as possible from the tent; we do not want to set this place on fire."
The group walked in and picked a spot of the tent that was clear of traffic.
Charizard scoffed. "I'm not going to cause a problem!"
Misty gave the big fire lizard a stink eye, but said nothing.
Vulpix shivered. "I… I won't let you down, Brock!"
Brock nodded his head. "Everyone else, we don't know how much traffic there will be, but let's assume our target is to score big during lunch. We'll need at least one or two batches of everything and we'll scale up or scale down production depending on how many visitors we get! Now, I'll go see about getting us some tables." It was surprising how much more professional Brock was when there were no girls for him to fall in love with.
Everyone nodded at the Rockruff's requests.
"We should probably make a sign, so that people know what we're offering," Misty suggested. "Signs catch attention."
"I'll handle that!" Zorua replied. "Your writing style is still a bit off and well, I know what the prices should be."
Once duties were assigned, everyone went and did their assigned work. Charizard and Vulpix went to build fires using leftover wood. Meanwhile the chefs began to cook.
Misty, with a knife, sliced several onions and a whole clove of garlic before moving onto the carrots.
Togepi watched eagerly. "Can I help?"
"When you're older, Togepi," Misty promised. "You're still too small to hold onto knives." Though that would depend on what Togepi was like when she got older and evolved. Maybe she had hands?
"Hm. Okay!" Togepi preened.
With the vegetables done, Staryu and Ash came by with a pot full of rice each. Vapor rose from the freshly cooked grains.
"We're done with part one!" Ash declared.
Returning with a table, Brock gave the next order, "Now, remember what I told you. We're going to sauté the vegetables and then mix the rice into them."
Charizard prepared a quick fire and set a cooking stand over it.
Misty brought the vegetables over to a skillet and put it over the fire. Then she started to fry them with a slick of homemade cooking oil squeezed by Geodude. Once they turned a light brown, she added the rice and began to stir, mixing in various spices and a sauce Brock had prepared. Sweet odors rose up from the pan and the Buizel's mouth began to water.
It took a good minute and eventually the dish was complete. She put it into a large tray and then prepared to make the next batch.
On habit she wiped her brow and caught sight of a bunch of other Pokémon looking right at her, even some of her own teammates.
Misty internally congratulated herself. She could cook and her sisters couldn't! Of course, she was not a master chef like Brock or even a professional, but she could cook. And learning the very basics was surprisingly easy, provided someone gave you lessons… and reminded you that Buizel had an abnormally high salt tolerance.
A line started to form, where half a dozen Pokémon looked eager to purchase the food already set out.
Brock took the orders, offering Pokémon options based on how much they wanted. "Do you want a small, medium, or large?" he said to one of the customers. Then on an answer, Geodude would give the customer wooden plates or bowls with the desired order.
Ash smirked at the Buizel as he also set down a pot full of soup next to her. "I'm surprised it's so effective." He pointed to the sign next to Brock, one listing the prices of all of the options the impromptu stand offered.
"It's the smell," Zorua answered. "The odor catches the attention and makes the mouth water. You have repeatedly told me that hu… you rely more on sight than smell, for other Maiju, scent is sometimes equal to or on par with sight as far as importance goes. Couple this with the general nutrition efficiency of cooked food and you can justify a high price, especially since so few can cook."
"It does draw attention," Misty conceded, her own mouth watering in agreement.
"Out of the way!" a voice called out. "Owner privileges!"
"Yeah, what he said!" cried another voice. "Now, move before I make you!"
The crowd parted ways, revealing two Pokémon.
A Pikachu wearing a top hat, a bowtie, and several bandages over his side stepped forward.
Behind Pikachu came an Eevee who raised her head with a proud look. She grinned as she caught sight of them.
Misty, realizing that this was important, immediately stopped what she was doing and grabbed hold of Togepi, while she paid close attention to the newcomers.
"Oh, that smells nice!" Hatted-Pikachu said aloud as the two cut in line and approached the table where Brock took the orders. "It's been such a long time since we had a proper hot meal."
"Mind if we have a bite?" Eevee added. "We skipped breakfast."
"Now, now, Eevee, remember that we've got to get food for all of the others!" said Hatted-Pikachu.
Eevee stared daggers at her counterpart. She pointed a paw at Misty. "Oh, fine. Give us a special order. A whole tray of soup and rice and make it snappy!"
Brock turned to Misty before returning his attention to the Game Corner's owners. "We can handle that."
"Oh my! We better make more, it's looking like more are interested!" Staryu intoned.
Misty agreed and heated up the cooking pan.
Ash tossed her chopped vegetables, whilst Squirtle went and handed her the rice.
With an ever increasing ease, the Buizel began to fry and stir the ingredients with more and more practice. The rice browned just right.
Hatted-Pikachu and Eevee stared at her as she continued to cook.
"You don't see many Pokémon learn how to cook so well," Hatted-Pikachu commented. "You're very good at this."
"I'm really just a beginner," Misty admitted. "Br- But really, Rockruff is the real chef. He knows a lot of cooking despite not having hands."
"That's really surprising," Hatted-Pikachu commented. "But then again, maybe he wants to cook for himself when he evolves? I heard Rockruff can become bipedal."
Eevee pouted. "We all know some, but I'm not really able to cook at all unless I want to use my mouth. And nothing nearly as good as what you've got here."
"I'll take the compliment," Misty laughed.
"Mommy's food is tasty!" Togepi chirped from nearby. "Not as good as Uncle's, but still very good!"
Misty smiled, patting her on the head. "I'm so glad you approve."
Togepi made an intelligible, satisfied noise.
"Oh, what a precious Togepi," Hatted-Pikachu said. "So, you adopted her?"
"That's right. I got her as an egg and I've raised her ever since," Misty said back, flipping rice and then placing it into a box tray in the process.
"Mistress is quite adept at it, despite her youth," Staryu said, floating over them.
"Soup's done!" Ash brought a pot of soup and set it down. "Hey, Eevee! Thanks for letting us set up shop here."
Eevee puffed up the fluff around her neck and brought her chest out whilst she sat, as if to make herself more imposing. "Why, I couldn't just leave some considerate and intelligent Pokémon to go without some kind of reward!"
Hatted-Pikachu rolled his eyes at Eevee.
Misty snickered. Considerate? Maybe. But intelligent? That was the furthest thing away from Ash.
Even Ash's Pikachu sounded like he agreed.
"Wait, you use 'Pokémon' and not Maiju." Zorua said in a low tone. "Are you from around here?"
Misty stared at Ash, who instead merely shrugged. Suddenly, this place being so familiar to the Celadon Game Corner might have had a reason beyond mere coincidence. Pikachu and Eevee, and possibly more, had come from elsewhere, perhaps even from Kanto.
"I think the better question is… were you always a Pikachu and an Eevee?" Pikachu suggested.
Both Eevee and Hatted-Pikachu turned to each other. Eevee gave the other Pikachu an embarrassed look, whilst Ash's Pikachu tried and failed to look angry.
"How about we have a private luncheon?" Hatted-Pikachu offered. "Look, we're not here to cause trouble. We know we aren't supposed to be here, but it's not like we had a choice."
"That's fine," Ash replied. "Some of us are human, too."
Misty was about to scold Ash, but decided that he had the right idea. They were going to be working with these people for at least until they got that Emera. Maybe they could help each other out. "Yeah. We were human. We're stuck here, too."
Hatted-Pikachu and Eevee nodded to them.
"I'll tell the others, they deserve to be part of this, too." Hatted-Pikachu offered before waddling off on his two legs instead of the full body motion normal Pikachu could do.
"I'll just finish up this rice," Misty said. "We can eat it then."
Zorua was glad her question did not cause things to become immensely awkward. She posed it out of curiosity, but in retrospect, it might have been taken the wrong way or caused problems. Thankfully, it did not cause any problems as both parties were interested in knowing about the other.
Eevee had led the group towards a room in the back of the tent, a small chamber whose only notable feature was a small table and floor mats. The sounds of the crowd and of the music were dulled here, present but not so overwhelming that it made the ghost fox's head spin.
Ash and Pikachu carried a tray of their fried rice and a small pot of soup respectively. Meanwhile, Misty and Staryu came in as well; for once, the Buizel had opted to leave her adopted child behind.
Brock and the rest opted to stay behind and manage the influx of customers, whilst those present chose to speak with the owners of the Game Corner for the sake of understanding the situation. The goal, implicitly, was to conclude business here and then to return as soon as possible.
"So, where did the Game Corner come from?" Ash asked after putting the tray full of rice on the table.
"Yeah, it's very much like the famous one down in Celadon. Some might call it copyright infringement," Misty commented.
Eevee gave a nervous chuckle. "Oh, that shouldn't be a problem. We used to work for the… company that owns that Game Corner! Not directly, but we've been there enough times!"
"Huh, I guess that makes sense. Do what you know," Ash spoke next.
Eevee nodded. "When we came here and… some of us became Pokémon, one of the first things we did was to figure out how to make money so we wouldn't starve to death. It seemed like a good idea at the time, especially once we found that old Jukebox and got it working again. The music reminded us of the Celadon Game Corner."
Zorua idly wondered if there were more… humans in her homeland than originally assumed. While her run in with the formerly human trainers back in Opalton was a surprise, she did not expect to have a run in with another group of former humans so soon. "How long did it take to create this place? It was not here last week."
"Oh, that took like a day. We got it working…. The day before yesterday," Eevee counted her paw. "Maybe the night after that, too. Either way, it did not take long, especially since sailors love gambling."
Zorua just stared. These foreigners had somehow managed to create a large tent in the likeness of a Meowth and managed to stuff it with gambling and attractions. Not only that, but they had a relatively large customer base. These people were unreal.
"You work fast!" Pikachu spat.
"We had plenty of practice!" The Pikachu with the top hat returned. "The others are still busy with counting money, but they'll be here shortly. What did I miss?"
"Oh, nothing, I just told them how we got the idea for the Game Corner," Eevee admitted.
The hatted Pikachu smirked. "Oh yeah. I'm actually really proud of it. It's not a one-to-one recreation, but it's as close as we could get without slot machines and short notice."
Slot machines? Yet another strange human thing she had no idea about. "I believe I am the only one here who is native to these lands. If I may ask, how did you come to get here?"
"Well, you see, our Boss gave us a promotion… and well, we ended up going into a storm!" Hatted-Pikachu laughed. "In retrospect, we should have had someone piloting our ship."
"You, too?" Ash asked. "We got lost in a storm, too."
"And I couldn't deflect it!" Pikachu said. "There was just too much and well, our craft was made of metal."
"Yes, thankfully, the other Water-types and I were able to save our trainers, but the storm was the cause of our entry," Staryu added.
"We should look into it, if this is a universal trait in outsiders finding themselves in Citrine. There is a place on the next island we could consult, the Hall of Memories," Zorua offered.
The other assembled Maiju all gave her a look of acknowledgement.
"We did not have Water-types," Eevee said. "But somehow, we managed to survive!"
"Then we met a Typhlosion on the beach, who offered to help us," the hatted Pikachu said. "He helped us recover and let us stay in his… monastery for the night."
Zorua raised an eyebrow, recognizing the individual. "You met Brother Sirocco?"
"Who's that?" Pikachu asked.
"He's one of Master Aspen's associates," Zorua answered before considering. "Though I am not quite sure of the details."
"Either way, we sort of explained our situation to him." the hat wearing Pikachu explained. "He sort of figured out we weren't really Pokémon, but he only told us that letting others know about it could have been dangerous."
"So you made a Game Corner, a very loud place that caters to all sorts of Pokémon?" the Pikachu near Ash laughed.
"Hey, it's a good idea!" the other Pikachu snapped back.
"Either way, I hated Brother Sicorro's advice. He told us there was no way out of Citrine and that we were better off learning to live here! The nerve of the guy!" Eevee hissed before calming down. "I… want to get back home."
"For us, we met Zorua and her Master," Misty said. "They've been a real help."
Zorua nodded. "Yes, I found them on the beach and brought them to Master Aspen, though he never learned about them being human, as far as I am aware."
"We're going to travel all over Citrine to get into their… uh I guess Pokémon League," Ash laughed. He raised his left arm and displayed his Looplet. "We came here to collect Emeras and then to go to the next island."
"Why would you do that?" both other humans mouthed.
"The winners of the yearly tournament are allowed to speak to the gods and make requests," Zorua answered. "We believe that we can petition them to allow us to leave. I intend to go with them."
"You can do that?" the other Pikachu said
Eevee gave her counterpart a hard look. "And that's just more reason for me to get one. It could be our ticket out of here!"
"But the Game Corner?" her companion protested.
"Can run itself! We're business owners now. We can just let it run itself if we leave someone to manage the salaries… like Lickitung. We learned he's surprisingly good at employee management!"
"You just want jewelry!"
"So sue me!" Eevee spat back.
Zorua looked at the others, unsure of what to do now. She did not want to cause a scene.
Ash and Misty each approached one of the angry Pokémon with paws raised in defensive gestures.
"Hey, maybe we can work together?" Ash said with a sheepish grin. "We're planning on leaving. Maybe we could take you along, too."
Misty nodded. "We do have money problems right now and because we're going to be traveling, we can't really set up a permanent business like you guys did."
Both Pikachu and Eevee seemed to consider this.
"I mean… we'd rather go on our way," the other Pikachu said. "We're kind of… tired of following someone else around."
Eevee nodded. "Yeah, it's nice to be your own boss."
"An investment maybe?" The hat wearing Pikachu suggested.
"I have already requested to come along with them when they leave Citrine. Perhaps something similar could be done for you. We could pool our resources together." Zorua offered. After all, she hadn't heard of anyone leaving Citrine. Maybe there was a way out through all of this.
"And I wouldn't mind another Pikachu around!" Ash said.
"'Ey Jessie, James, we might have a problem…" A voice from behind Zorua spoke, one with a very corrupted accent. "I tink does new hires Jessie brought look familiar."
Everyone turned to the newcomer, a Meowth in a black suit and red letter R over his heart.
For some reason, Ash, Misty, Pikachu, and Staryu immediately went into defensive positions, each of them raising their limbs or adjusting their posture for quick moments.
Zorua, sensing an incoming fight, did the one thing her kind was known to do in times of danger. She ran to the corner of the room and turned into a barrel.
"Meowth! What are you doing here!?" Pikachu spat, his cheeks bristling with electricity.
The Meowth stared back. "Pikachu!? Wat you's doin' in da' business room!?"
The other Pikachu and Eevee looked at Meowth.
"What's going on, Meowth!?"
"You bozos!" Meowth snapped. "It's da Twerp's Pikachu! … And dat Riolu's gotta be 'im caz of da' hat!"
"It's not like we can tell Pokémon apart, Meowth!" James complained.
"Da' hat!" Meowth repeated.
"Wait, you're Team Rocket!?" Ash snarled, his eyes flickering back and forth from Meowth, the other Pikachu, and Eevee.
"Uh…. just as we planned!" Eevee's tone promptly changed. "Now, we'll definitely have you and your Pikachu! Plus, you're a surprisingly rare Pokémon, yourself, Twerp! You'll be worth a pretty penny!"
Zorua's mind raced with the threat of being captured. She thought that it was merely a superstition amongst her people with how Ash and the others treated their sworn Maiju. However, the way the hosts suddenly changed attitudes and what they were saying brought back those fears.
"...Wait, how are you going to sell us?" Misty said, dropping her guarded position.
"We'll… do something!" Eevee said back.
"Uh, Jessie, she's got a point. We don't know how to get out of Citrine. Even if we could just sail out, we don't know where we are," the other Pikachu said.
"James!" Jessie spat back. "This is our chance to get them!"
"How? It's not like we have a robot or we can just mail him to the Boss like normal!" James pointed out.
The tone of the conversation changed abruptly as everyone dropped their guards.
"Ya know, dat's a good point…" Meowth muttered.
Zorua broke out of her illusion and just stared at the group. They were supposedly going to fight and now they just… stopped? What was going on?
"Hey, James, since you're a Pikachu now, can you just turn yourself in?" the natural Pikachu questioned. "Like, you're a Pikachu now, so, you don't need me if all you need is a Pikachu!"
"Huh, that's a good point! I wonder if this means I can increase my salary since I can double up as a Pokémon… and. "James replied back, before changing his tone. "Hey!"
"You're unbelievable!" Jessie snarled at her companions, just as a Lickitung, a Victreebel, a Weezing, and an Arbok wandered into the room right behind Meowth. "Aha! The cavalry's arrived and now we can capture you!"
Zorua fears returned, but then suddenly the Arbok let out a yawn.
Come to think about it, the new Maiju all looked very tired.
"Sorry, Jessie, but can it wait until after lunch?" Arbok said, his tongue pulling in and out from his mouth. "I'm starved and I can smell something tasty here!"
The other Maiju all gave nods of agreement.
The Eevee turned her back and promptly kicked the air. "Fine! Have your stupid lunch..." There was a loud rumbling coming from her. "But only because I am hungry, too!"
Zorua, sensing the tension had somehow managed to diffuse itself, gathered the courage to speak. "What's going on? You sounded like you were all enemies."
"Yeah, they keep trying to steal Pikachu from me!" Ash agreed.
"Every other day in fact. They never succeed, but it's annoying!" Pikachu snarled.
"Hey, it's our job to steal Pokémon!" James the Pikachu replied before looking down. "But we can't exactly steal Pokémon and then turn them to the Boss while we're here, so…"
"That means there's no point!" Misty said. "You don't have your fences here and every Pokémon can tell the police or whatever equivalent that they're kidnapped and by who!"
"Indeed, your entire profession is arguably defunct in Citrine without a serious reorganization!" Staryu agreed, lights glowing. "I was about to give you a taste of a Rapid Spinning Drop Kick, but what is the point of that when you have no reason to even steal at all."
"Ya. But dat just means as soon as we leave, we's gonna go back ta doin' it!" Meowth said as he sat down.
"You steal other Maiju? But you're one of us!" Zorua questioned. And as a job? Did this mean that they were bandits?
Meowth laughed. "Ha. 'm Team Rocket first. Pokémon secen'!" He shook his head and then patted the 'R' on his clothing. "'Course, I guess dat ain't count for nothin if we's the only Rockets here."
Misty stared at Ash. "I can't believe that the moment you score us a job, we literally walk into Team Rocket!"
"Hey! How was I supposed to know what Jessie and James looked like when we haven't even seen them as Pokémon!"
Pikachu laughed at the other Pikachu. "And James is a Pikachu. After a year of being nearly abducted by you, you're a Pikachu!"
James the Pikachu's cheeks bristled with electricity before turning away.
"So, uh, we're not fighting?" Zorua continued to stare.
"Maybe afta lunch?" Meowth suggested. "'Course, there's no point ta stealin' Pikachu if we's can't get outta here!"
"I really want you to stay here now, but that'd be wrong," Ash replied, frowning. "Like you could be stuck here and I never have to see you again, but I don't want you to never see your family again… even if they're crazy."
James nodded, turning his gaze back to the Riolu, "I don't know, I'm kind of glad I don't see them, though I really wish I had Growlie with me. It'd be good to talk to him like this."
"It's really great!" Ash said back. "Pikachu and I have so much to talk about now."
"Oh, if only I had Chimenco, Carnivine, Mime Jr., too!" the hat wearing Pikachu lamented.
Zorua could only wonder at what kind of person this James had to have been to prefer the company of Maiju over his own parents. Then again, Zorua need only look at herself.
"You're enemies, but you're not, at least, right now?" Zorua continued to look in. She knew she was an outsider in this complicated web of relationships. Despite being apparent enemies, there was something too casual about how they treated each other, now that they knew there was not going to be a fight. They clearly knew each other well, too.
"I guess…not," James suggested. "How about a truce? We really want to get out of here!"
"Sure thing, Pikachu," Ash smirked.
The natural Pikachu burst out laughing, rolling on the ground as he did.
James glowered.
"How about you pay us back for all the times you bothered us?" Misty suggested. "And then we'll take you out of here when we leave?"
Zorua raised an eyebrow but understood the logic of it. Team Rocket had no reason to try to steal Pikachu while in Citrine; therefore, Misty simply wanted them to pay for past transgressions and offered escape in return, since that would help make things easier on their group.
"Fine…" James bowed his head, ears dropping. "But can you guys stay for a bit? We'd all like hot meals after what we've been through."
"Only for as it takes for us to get the Emera and get to the next island," Misty replied. "You're lucky your Game Corner has so much traffic going through it."
Meowth grunted. "Ya drive a 'ard bargain! But we gotta take it!"
"Hey, uh is Jessie going to be okay?" Ash asked. "She seemed really sad last night."
Jessie, the Eevee, scarfed down an entire plate of rice and drank more soup than she looked like her body could have handled.
James shrugged. "I have no idea; she did not take to becoming an Eevee well."
"'Cause the lack of hands!" Meowth supplied. "Also bein' on all fours. Took me foreva' ta get to standin'!"
Zorua stared at Meowth, realizing that unlike every other Meowth she had seen, this one had opted to stand on his hind legs and could use his paws like hands. "Wait, how are you doing that? You're supposed to be a quadruped, too."
Meowth shrugged. "Lotta practice!"
Victribeelel then passed out several wooden plates full of fried rice.
Though Ash and his group left Team Rocket once it became apparent there would be no problems for them.
"That was… interesting," Zorua commented as they stepped out of the back room. Neither of the humans wanted to linger with Team Rocket, despite the apparent truce; even with the promise of a truce, they still had to get back to Brock and the others to cook for the still upcoming lunch rush.
"At least we know where they are and what they look like," Ash sighed. "In case they try to steal Pikachu or anyone else again."
Zorua squinted her eyes. "I understand Pikachu matters to you, but… they've been following you and trying to steal him for how long?"
"Like a year?" Pikachu offered.
"Why?" Zorua stared. She could understand kidnapping, especially if the whole point was to make someone pay a ransom, but Ash was not that rich from what she understood. Yes, she invented a fiction of him being sheltered nobility, but that was not true.
Misty shrugged. "It all happened because we foiled one of their plots. I guess they're doing it because they want payback or something."
"I suppose that makes sense," Zorua muttered as she felt the very air itself saturated with music. It was strange to think that this entire building was created in a single day. "Come to think of it, aren't these the same people you said pitted those uh… robots against you?"
"Yeah." Ash shook his head. "They're really good at building or buying them. I guess whatever they do to make them also means they're really good at uh… carpentry?"
Zorua's mind wandered a little as she considered what she knew about Team Rocket. They were bandits who were obsessed with Pikachu for some sort of vendetta. They possessed incredible skill with construction and possibly metal working. What kinds of secrets must have they known? What could they teach her that neither Ash, Misty, nor Brock could?
"I would advise, young miss, to avoid associating with them where possible," Staryu intoned. "They are still brigands, even if they are forced into a new career path for the time being. We are only working with them because we are both desperate to return home."
"Right…" I really need to control my curiosity. "Wait, what's wrong with that Meowth? He's… standing."
Pikachu shook his head. "He's a bit of a freak. He learned how to speak and walk like humans and well, ended up like that."
"But he's talking like a Meowth… mostly?" Zorua blinked.
"He's using his native tongue now, but he normally talks like a human. But I think because of that, he's got himself an accent in both of his languages, a really bad one."
Zorua considered that. So, it was possible not only for humans to become Maiju, but for Maiju to learn how to be more human? Although the latter apparently had side effects if Meowth was any indication. Would the same thing apply to her if she tried imitating human speech? She could fake being another Maiju, with some difficulty.
Then just as the group managed to make their way back to the stall they had occupied, Zorua caught the sight of a lilac colored Sneasel, one who closely eyed the music box at the heart of the Game Corner.
"Zorua!" Ash called.
Zorua turned her attention. "Coming!" she spat out.
She turned her attention to the music box once again, but the Sneasel had disappeared from there.
Was she imagining things? Was that the Sneasel they met the other day or someone else?
Either way, Zorua knew that this week would be promising.
When I planned out this story, I did not realize how much effort I'd be putting into just describing or justifying the cooking that Ash and Co would be selling. I'm happy I did that, because it shows my homework, but it was a surprise to me.
Also, yeah, I've been planning for Jessie and James to show up, but I haven't nailed down the forms I wanted them to take, nor how I specifically wanted them to work.
It's very obvious WHY they're an Eevee and a Pikachu respectively though.