I caught the flu last week, so I've been in bed sick and shivering by fever. Thankfully, my strength somewhat returned in the middle of the week so I could finish this chapter that was already close to be done. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up since my priority right now is to get better.

If I'm unable to post a new chapter next Sunday; Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 27: The Dunsparce Deception

June arrived with a bang. At least that's how it felt to me as my brother, friends and I walked on Route 38 heading toward Olivine City. I had to dump my jacket as it was already a little warm compared to last year. It was such a relief to just wear my black sleeveless shirt and just enjoy the breeze on my arms. We were heading to a small town to take a quick break and stock up on some things when Pikachu called out.

"Pika pika!" he chirped and pointed at something from Ash's shoulder.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

I turned to the right and spotted a long net walking around in the tall grass. "Is that…a walking net?"

"I think the one who's holding it is either short or is crouched", Brock said.

"With a net like that, I think they're looking for…", Misty stopped to swallow loudly in nervousness. "…b-bugs."

"Togi?" Togepi chirped, concerned about her Trainer.

"Or something else", I said.

"Let's go check it out", Ash suggested before he walked ahead. I was actually a little against it, but the curiosity within me won over the hesitation.

We stepped into the tall grass and followed the net until it stopped moving. A soft voice spoke to itself as we saw a young boy in his pre-teens looking around for something. He even tapped the earth with his net.

"Not here…", he sighed disappointingly.

"Hi there", Misty called out, catching the boy's attention. "What are you doing in the tall grass?"

"Are you looking for a Pokémon?" Brock asked.

The boy's face lit up by the question. "Yep! I'm looking for a Dunsparce!"

"A Dunsparce?" Ash repeated the name and grabbed his Pokédex to check the data. "What kind of Pokémon is that?"

Dunsparce, the land snake Pokémon. Normal-type. If spotted, it escapes by burrowing with its tail. It can float just slightly using its wings.

"I remember reading a fully grown Dunsparce is around five feet tall, so…", I glanced at the net the boy carried. "I don't think a Dunsparce can fit in that net of yours."

"I know, but it can still be useful", the boy explained. "Many of my friends used both their Pokémon and net to catch their Dunsparces."

"So you're a Pokémon Trainer?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, I got my first Pokémon earlier this year, so I'm a new Pokémon Trainer", the boy nodded.

"That makes us your senior", Ash smiled. "What was your first Pokémon?"

"This one", the boy said and grabbed a Poké Ball from his shorts. He opened the capture device and released a small Caterpie.

"Oouh?" Caterpie tilted its head to the side, looking adorable as confused.

Misty, however, screamed at the sight of the bug Pokémon, scaring it with her shriek. "A BUG!" she screamed and hid behind my brother.

The boy flinched by the sudden cry as his Caterpie hid behind his legs. The rest of us chuckled sheepishly at the scene. "Sorry 'bout that, but Misty doesn't like bug Pokémon", Ash explained to the confused rookie.

"Oh, okay. I'll call it back", the boy said and quickly returned his Caterpie to its Poké Ball. Misty relaxed as soon as the bug Pokémon was gone. "My name's Bucky. I live in the town over there", the boy introduced himself while pointing at his hometown with the net.

"I'm Ash from Pallet Town and this is my partner Pikachu."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu smiled widely.

"I'm Ashley, Ash's twin sister."

"I'm Misty and this little cutie is Togepi."

"Togitogiprii!" Togepi chirped with a big smile.

"And I'm Brock. Nice to meet you, Bucky."

"So, Bucky, is there any special reason as of why you're hunting for a Dunsparce?" Ash wondered.

"Well… The truth is Dunsparce are very popular in my hometown", Bucky explained. "One day, a flock of Dunsparce appeared out of nowhere and everyone got excited to catch one. After some of them evolved into Dudunsparce, we learned it has two forms."

"Dudunsparce?" Misty repeated confusedly. "I've never heard of that Pokémon before."

"It's common Pokémon found in the Paldea region", I explained, recalling the data I read about it. "Dunsparce can only evolve when it learns the Hyper Drill move and it has two forms called the Two-Segment Form and the Three-Segment Form."

"A Pokémon evolving when it learns a certain move? That's interesting", Brock commented.

"Dudunsparce, huh?" Ash opened his Pokédex again to check the data of Dunsparce's evolution.

Dudunsparce, the land snake Pokémon. Normal-type. The evolved form of Dunsparce. This Pokémon uses its hard tail to make its nest by boring holes into bedrock deep underground. The nest can reach lengths of over six miles. It drives enemies out of its nest by sucking in enough air to fill its long, narrow lungs, then releasing the air in an intense blast.

The Pokédex also showed us two images of Dudunsparce's two different forms. Dudunsparce didn't look that much different compared to Dunsparce. The only difference is it either gets one or two segments on its body with a pair of wings on each.

"The Three-Segment Form is extremely rare, so everybody wants their Dunsparce to evolve into that and brag about it", Bucky explained.

"I wouldn't mind either form", Ash smiled. "A Dudunsparce with a long body has it advantage in battles."

"Wanna come to my town so I can show you my friends' Dunsparce and Dudunsparce?" Bucky asked.

"Sure, I wouldn't mind seeing them", Misty giggled.

"I've never seen a Dudunsparce before, so I'm intrigued", Brock nodded.

"And we do need to stock up on some stuff", I added.

"C'mon, let's go!" Ash exclaimed happily.

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Bucky wasn't lying when he said Dunsparce was popular in town. Many Trainers, young and old, either had a Dunsparce or a Dudunsparce. The majority of Dunsparce were actually shorter than the normal size, so I assumed they must still be young and probably left the nest for a migration.

"Boy, you sure can feel the Dunsparce vibe in town", Ash commented when Bucky showed us a playground where his friends were playing with their Dunsparce.

"I'm jealous that everybody but me has a Dunsparce…", Bucky sighed sadly. "The truth is my grandpa got sick a couple of months ago, so my mom, dad and I went to visit him. After he got better and we returned to town, everybody had a Dunsparce. They said a flock of them showed up one day and they caught them…but there was none left for me."

"It's possible these young Dunsparce left a nest to migrate and they accidently ended up here", Brock said.

"I thought the same thing", I chimed in.

"However, there is a small chance that there are still some wild Dunsparce left in the area", Brock continued.

"But I've been searching nonstop and I haven't found any", Bucky retorted.

"But we can help you find one", Ash suggested. "The more eyes the better."

"A-Are you sure?" Bucky stuttered in surprise by the offer.

"Yeah, if we work together with our Pokémon, we might find a Dunsparce", Brock said.

"And then you and Caterpie can play together with the other kids and their Dunsparce", Misty smiled.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cheered happily.

"T-Thank you, guys…", Bucky got a little tear-eyed, but he swiftly wiped the tears off. "I really want to play with everyone."

"Let's start the hunt", I told everyone as I grabbed some of my Poké Balls. "Hikaru, Victor, Eevee, I choose you!"

"Chikorita, Noctowl, Croconaw, I choose you!" Ash called and summoned out his Pokémon to help out.

"Come and help us out, Poliwhirl!" Misty said as she threw her Poké Ball.

"You can help us too, Golbat!" Brock called out his Pokémon.

The Pokémon cried out softly when they were called outside of the capture devices. They gathered around Ash as he held up his Pokédex with the image of a Dunsparce. "Okay, everybody! Take a good look at this Pokémon. It's a Dunsparce. We want you to find one, but do not battle it."

"If you find one, don't let it escape because Bucky here wants to catch it", I nodded at the young boy who stared at the Pokémon in awe.

The group of Pokémon called out before they ran off to the forest in the hunt for a Dunsparce. "We should go look for Dunsparce too", Ash said.

"Yeah, we can't let our Pokémon do all the hard work", Misty agreed.

"Hey, Bucky!" one of the boy's friends called to him. "Are you and Caterpie gonna join the race?" The captured Dunsparce had lined up at the playground, ready to start the race.

"No! I'll join another time!" Bucky called back. "I'm gonna find a Dunsparce first!"

"Oh, okay. Good luck! I hope you'll find one!" the friend yelled before he ran back to the children who waited for him.

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We returned to the forest and looked everywhere for a Dunsparce. We actually came across one, but it got away before Bucky could even catch it with his net. This confirmed, though, that there was at least one wild Dunsparce left in the area, so we continued the search. Thanks to teamwork, we managed to corner one so Bucky could weaken it with his Caterpie's help. Dunsparce didn't make it easy for Caterpie. It fought back and even used Glare to paralyze the bug Pokémon.

Even with the odds against him, Bucky successfully caught the Dunsparce after Caterpie gave its all despite its weak condition.

We walked back to the town with Bucky taking the lead, holding the Poké Ball with Dunsparce like it was a gift sent from Heaven. "I caught one… I actually caught my own Dunsparce!" Bucky told himself over and over again to make sure it wasn't just a dream.

"You and Caterpie did a great job, Bucky", Ash praised the young boy.

"But I couldn't have done it without you guys", Bucky turned to us with a big smile. "Thank you so much for all your help!"

"We're happy we could help you", Misty smiled softly.

"Pika pika!"

"Togi togi!"

"Now you don't have to feel left out of the group", Brock nodded.

"And play together with everyone", I added.

The sound of crying reached our ears when we got to the outskirts of the town. Bucky's friends were crying their hearts out with Poké Balls scattered around. One girl wasn't crying, but she looked deeply concerned for her friends.

Bucky ran over to one of his friends. "Timothy! What happened?"

Timothy wiped the tears off his face, but more kept coming. "W-We lost our Dunsparce!"

"What?! How did that happen?" Ash asked.

"A-A group of circus people showed up and said we could each get a Moltres if we traded away our Dunsparce…", Timothy sobbed before he continued crying. "But the Poké Balls were fake and empty!"

I picked up one of those fake Poké Balls and inspected it. It was made of flexible cardboard paper with the outside painted as an actual Poké Ball, but the inside was brown and had the same texture as paper. I was also a little disappointed at how naïve those children were, thinking they could get a Legendary Pokémon almost for free. Nobody could randomly offer a Legendary Pokémon out of the blue since they were extremely rare and hard to find and multiple of them? Something smelled fishy here.

Bucky ran over to a girl with auburn hair. "Did you trade your Dunsparce too?"

"No. I didn't want to trade away my precious partner, so it's safe", the girl replied, holding a real Poké Ball.

"We've gotta find that circus that stole your Dunsparce!" Ash exclaimed determinedly.

"Do you remember what those circus people looked like?" Brock asked.

"One of them was a bossy lady with red hair, the other one a man with blue hair and they also had a Meowth and a Wobbuffet…", another girl sobbed while she wiped her eyes clean.

"It's Team Rocket, no doubt", I said straight away.

"They cannot be that far away from here; we've gotta search for them", Ash nodded and threw a Poké Ball. "Noctowl, I choose you!"

"Hoohoooh!" Noctowl hooted as he got out with his body sparkling.

"Mystic, I choose you!" I called and threw his Poké Ball.

"Togi togi!"

"Noctowl, I need you to find Team Rocket!" Ash instructed him.

"Hohoo!" Noctowl nodded and flew away in the search for the thieves.

"You too, Mystic!" I called.

"Tic togitic!" Mystic nodded and took off in another direction.

Bucky was sad by seeing his friends looking devastated, but he then got a gleam in his eyes. "Guys! We're gonna get your Dunsparce back! Ash and his sister and their friends helped me catch a Dunsparce!"

"You finally caught a Dunsparce, Bucky?" the auburn haired girl asked him excitedly.

"Yep, I did! Come on out, Dunsparce!" Bucky shouted and threw the Poké Ball, releasing Dunsparce.

"Duun duun!" Dunsparce chirped and flapped its little wings.

The children's mood got better when they saw Bucky's Dunsparce. "You really caught one! I knew you could do it, Bucky!" Timothy told him.

"Yeah, I'm so happy I caught Dunsparce!" Bucky smiled and hugged his newly caught Pokémon. "We're gonna have lots of fun when we get your Dunsparce back."

"Hohoooh!"

"Togi togiii!"

Mystic and Noctowl flew back to us and chirped frantically, which was a good sign. "Did you find them?" Ash asked.

"Hoooh!" Noctowl nodded and flew ahead with Mystic right behind his tail feathers.

"C'mon, everybody! We're getting your Dunsparce back!" Ash told the children before we ran after the flying Pokémon.

"Yeah!" the children exclaimed and followed us, eager to retrieve their Pokémon.

We didn't have to run that far before we found Team Rocket being busy recapturing the Dunsparce flock. The Dunsparce must have gotten out of their Poké Balls and were busy distracting the evil trio with a game of Meowth-and-Rattata.

"Hey!" Ash yelled, snapping Team Rocket out of the little game. "Give back everybody's Dunsparce!"

"Sorry, twin-twerp, but these Dunsparce belong to Team Rocket's army!" Jessie yelled back.

"Dunsparce, come back to us!" Timothy shouted.

"Dunsparce!" the rest of the children shouted worriedly.

One by one, the Dunsparce crawled toward their Trainers, dodging Team Rocket and even knocked them down after hitting their legs. "Ow! That was so rude!" Jessie growled as she sat up, throwing a fist in the air to express her anger.

The children ignored her. They were busy reuniting with their Pokémon and showered them with affection. Jessie growled angrily and threw a Poké Ball once she was up on her feet again. "Arbok, get those Dunsparce back!"

"Shaaar!" Arbok hissed as it came out, glaring at the children and their Pokémon.

"You too, Victreebel!" James shouted and called out his Pokémon.

"Yiaaah!" Victreebel screeched and attempted to engulf James, but he was ready and kicked his Pokémon toward us. I actually flinched when he kicked Victreebel. It was also hard to watch a Trainer abuse their Pokémon.

"Dunsparce, I choose you!" Bucky shouted and called out his new Pokémon.

"Duduuun!" Dunsparce chirped.

"Everybody, let's battle together!" Bucky encouraged his friends.

"Yeah, this is our battle now!" Timothy nodded.

The Dunsparce turned their attention at Team Rocket's Pokémon who were waiting the next orders to capture the normal-type Pokémon.

"Dunsparce, use Screech!" the children yelled.

"DUUUUUUUUUN!" the Dunsparce screeched simultaneously, which created a massive noise that sounded awful. Thankfully, my brother, friends and I stood behind them, so we didn't get affected by the move unlike Arbok and Victreebel. They grunted as they tried enduring the noise, having no way to cover their ears.

"Dunsparce, use Glare!" the group of children shouted the next command.

"Duuuuuun!" every Dunsparce opened their eyes just slightly to glare at Arbok and Victreebel, forcing them to stay still by fear, but in reality they got paralyzed.

"What's the matter, you two?! Attack the Dunsparce!" Jessie demanded.

"J-Jessie, I don't think we have the luck on our side today!" Meowth stuttered worriedly.

"Wooobbuffet!" Wobbuffet nodded next to the talking Pokémon.

"Let's finish this, everybody!" Timothy shouted.

"Dunsparce, use Take Down!"

The Dunsparce ran together like a flock of Tauros, striking Arbok and Victreebel so hard they were knocked back onto Team Rocket. James held a large bag, but he dropped it when he got hit by Victreebel. A couple of Poké Balls rolled out from the bag, which turned out to be the children's Poké Balls.

"I'll take care of the last part!" Ash shouted. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped up from my brother's shoulder with his cheeks sparkling. "Pika…CHUUU!" He fired his signature move and struck Team Rocket with a lightning bolt. Team Rocket screamed as they got electrocuted. It didn't take long before an explosion erupted and blasted Team Rocket up and far away into the sky.

"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAAAIN!"

"WOOOBbufeeet…!"

The children cheered happily and high-fived each other while the Dunsparce chirped and flapped their wings to express their joy. Brock picked up the bag with the stolen Poké Balls and passed them out to the children.

"Everybody worked great together", Misty commented as we watched the happy children.

I nodded with a soft hum while I held Mystic in my arms. "They know how to work together."

"Togitic tic!" Mystic nodded.

"And that's what everyone should do when it comes to protecting their Pokémon", Ash smiled after he recalled Noctowl back to his Poké Ball.

I jumped when Brock made a sudden loud noise behind me. I turned around and saw he laid on the ground facedown. "What happened, Brock? Did you trip on a rock?"

"N-No, I don't think so", Brock popped his head out of the dirt and wiped his face clean.

"Dundun!" a Dunsparce peeked up from the earth right behind Brock's feet.

"Look, it's another Dunsparce!" Ash exclaimed excitedly.

"Could it be a wild Pokémon?" Misty wondered and turned to the children. "Does anybody miss a Dunsparce?"

"No!"

"Nope!"

"I've got mine right here!"

"Then that Dunsparce must be a wild one!" the girl with auburn hair called out.

"Ash, you go and catch it!" Bucky encouraged my brother.

"I will!" Ash nodded and adjusted his cap. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"

"Pika!" Pikachu snarled and dashed toward Dunsparce in a fast pace. The wild Dunsparce curled itself into a ball before Pikachu tackled it, making it roll across the ground. Dunsparce recovered but remained in its sound shape and rolled toward Pikachu.

"That's Rollout!" I warned Ash.

"Pikachu, dodge it!" Ash yelled.

"Pika!" Pikachu yelped and barely dodged Dunsparce, his tail getting scratched on the side.

Dunsparce stopped rolling and uncurled itself since its Rollout move failed to strike Pikachu. Instead, it opened its eyes and attempted to use Glare. "Duuun!"

"Pikachu, dodge with Agility!" Ash shouted quickly.

Pikachu picked up his speed and jumped to the side, trying not to look at Dunsparce's eyes.

"Double-Edge now!" Ash yelled.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu shrieked and threw his whole body onto Dunsparce. Dunsparce shrieked when Pikachu dropped himself onto it, trapping it to the ground.

"Quick, use Thunderbolt before it can escape!" Ash shouted.

"PikaCHUUU!" Pikachu screamed as he unleashed a critical hit Thunderbolt, electrocuting Dunsparce. Dunsparce screeched by the attack and shivered as the secondary effect of Thunderbolt paralyzed it.

"Now, Ash!" Brock shouted.

Ash nodded and turned his cap around before he grabbed not just Poké Ball. He had picked out the Fast Ball he got from Kurt. "Fast Ball, go!"

Pikachu jumped off Dunsparce before the special capture device touched Dunsparce. The wild Pokémon let out a surprised shriek before it got absorbed into the Fast Ball. Everybody, even the children and their Dunsparce, were quiet as we stared at the wobbling Fast Ball. My heart beat so hard in my chest I could hear it in my ears.

After several anxious seconds, the Fast Ball stopped moving and the button on the capture device quit blinking red. A sigh of relief escaped my lips just as Ash and the kids erupted in loud cheers which made me cover my ears instantly.

"Alright! I caught a Dunsparce!" Ash exclaimed in joy as he picked up the Fast Ball.

"Pipikachu!" Pikachu cheered alongside my brother.

"Congratulations, Ash!" Bucky clapped his hands. "You caught your own Dunsparce!"

"Dundun!" Bucky's Dunsparce chirped happily.

"Now you're gonna be an honorary member of our town!" Timothy smiled widely.

"Thanks, guys!" Ash grinned just as the Fast Ball vanished from his hands. "Now I just need to go to a Pokémon Center to add Dunsparce to my team."

"I suggest we all go and visit the Pokémon Center", Misty spoke up. "It's best that Nurse Joy checks your Dunsparce to make sure Team Rocket didn't hurt them."

"Togitogi!"

Brock's face lit up and his eyes turned into hearts like they usually did whenever Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny were mentioned. "I'll gladly help her take care of the Dunsparce! Let's go! Onward to the Pokémon Center!"

The children and their Dunsparce walked ahead to show us the way to the town's Pokémon Center. Ash and I walked in the very back with Pikachu on my brother's shoulders. I leaned in to Ash and smiled at him. "Congratulations on catching a new Pokémon, Ash", I said.

"Thanks, Ashley", Ash smiled widely. "I can't wait to see what kind of form Dunsparce will evolve into later."

A quick trip to the Pokémon Center later, Ash had switched Ivysaur with Dunsparce and we were moving on to Olivine City with a new member in the Ketchum family.

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Ashley's party:

Cedric the Larvitar (male)

Hikaru the Flaaffy (male)

Mystic the Togetic (male)

Victor the Houndoom (male)

Axel the Scyther (male)

Eevee (female)

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Ashley's Pokémon at the Lab:

Trica the Furret (female)

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Ash's party:

Pikachu (male)

Chikorita (female)

Cyndaquil (male)

Croconaw (male)

Shiny Noctowl (male)

Dunsparce (male)

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Ash's Pokémon at the Lab:

Heracross (male)

Wartortle (male)

Tauros (male)

Ivysaur (male)

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Misty's party:

Goldeen (female)

Staryu (genderless)

Psyduck (male)

Togepi (female)

Poliwhirl (male)

Chinchou (female)

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Brock's party:

Geodude (male)

Onix (male)

Golbat (male)

Pineco (male)