xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Ecruteak City, 11:54 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Hmmmm..." Tamara said as she walked along the streets of Ecruteak City with Ambrose following beside her.
"Any readings?" Ambrose asked.
"I can't concentrate with you buzzing in my ear." Tamara said calmly as Ambrose stopped walking.
"When did you start giving me so much lip?" Ambrose said with a face full of annoyance.
"Like any person, I get bothered when the things I want are kept from me..." Tamara replied as she continued to walk while tracing her cane along the ground, Ambrose sighing in response.
"Okay, here." Ambrose said as he took out a Pokéball from his pocket as Tamara stopped moving.
Opening up the ball and emerging from the light was a long, slim-bodied mustelid-like creature with cream-colored fur and dark brown rings along the length of its body. With cream-colored tips on its ears, two brown, whisker-like markings on each facial cheek, round black eyes, and four stubby paws, it had a cheerful expression on its face.
"Furr-ret!" The long creature said with an energetic tone as Tamara's face lit up.
"Ah!" Tamara exclaimed with joy as she took a knee, and the long creature approached the sunglasses-wearing girl. "Hello Furret!" She said loudly as Furret proceeded to nuzzle its cheek against Tamara's face. "Awww." Tamara muttered.
"Furr-reetret!" Furret said as it continued to rub against Tamara before the mustelid-like Pokémon proceeded to roll onto its back and Tamara moved her hands to rub Furret's belly.
"Satisfied?" Ambrose said as he watched Tamara play with Furret.
"Hahaha- wait..." Tamara laughed with joy until suddenly stopping. "I'm not so easily bought." She said with a stern tone, not looking at Ambrose as Furret turned back up onto its fours.
"Alright... If we finish up early, we'll get a battle in." Ambrose said, relenting to Tamara's desire as Tamara stood up from the ground.
"Hmmm..." Tamara mumbled as she tilted her head. "...You don't seem to be lying." She said as Ambrose lifted and dropped his arms in a bothered manner.
"Could you please stop that?" Ambrose said as he started walking again. "You promised not to-" He continued until Tamara quickly put up her cane to stop the purple coated young man from moving.
"Wait." Tamara said.
Coming around the corner was teenager with a blue pompadour, a blue leather jacket, white shirt, black pants and shoes with a scowl on his face. Passing by Tamara and Ambrose, the pair looked at the guy walking by as he glared at them and Furret for a brief moment before walking away.
"You were about to bump into that guy if I hadn't stopped you." Tamara said.
"What's up with him?" Ambrose asked.
"He lost a gym battle a few days ago and he's still fuming." Tamara explained as Furret made an aggravated expression at the random pompadoured trainer. "...You want to battle him?" She said towards Furret as the mustelid-like Pokémon nodded with a determined face before the sunglasses-wearing girl turned towards Ambrose.
"We have work to do first." Ambrose said as he took back out Furret's Pokéball and recalled it. "Now can we please go back to searching for the place?" He said towards Tamara as she proceeded to grab the handle of her cane with both hands.
"...This way." Tamara said as she shifted her head in one direction then started to walk as she traced her cane along the ground.
"Sooner we get this over with, the sooner I'll give you Furret to practice with. And I know you can hear me." Ambrose thought.
"You better or we're going to renegotiate this partnership..." Tamara thought.
Walking through the city and passing by landmarks, the pair entered a suburban part of Ecruteak City as Ambrose looked around at the various homes. Suddenly stopping, Tamara turned towards one specific two story house and pointed at it with her right hand.
"There." Tamara stated as Ambrose looked at the home before putting down one of his duffel bags, reaching within it and pulled out a small black box that had a meter that scaled from green to yellow to orange and ending on red.
"Alright..." Ambrose said as he opened up the front gate and proceeded to slowly move closer to the front door, holding the black box in his hand as little buzzing noises came from it. "Hmmm... So far, low signals on the EMF reader." He said.
"It's definitely this one." Tamara said.
"I'm not doubting you... I'm just making sure." Ambrose thought as he continued to move the black box around before walking away from the door and in the direction of the windows. "Hmmm-..." He muttered until he noticed something odd.
Stopping, Ambrose looked at the blinds inside the home as he thought he saw something looking at him from inside. Raising his black box, Ambrose put it closer to the window as the device started to make a considerably louder ringing noise than before.
"Found it." Ambrose said with a serious face.
"And another victory for my ability." Tamara said with a smug tone as Ambrose walked back over to his companion.
"Tell me what it's thinking." Ambrose asked as Tamara tilted her head.
"It was wondering if you were... "The fat man?"' Tamara said, confused.
"Who?" Ambrose replied.
"It appears to fear someone it dubbed "the fat man" and knowing we aren't him; it seems to be readying itself for us to go inside." Tamara explained.
"So, there's someone in town it had an encounter with and it's more scared of him than us... Well... I'm going to give it a reason to be scared." Ambrose thought as he pulled out a touchscreen phone, pointing it at the window as the blinds suddenly moved.
'"Froslass, the Snow Land Pokémon, an Ice and Ghost type. It freezes foes with an icy breath nearly minus sixty degrees. What seems to be its body is actually hollow and legends in snowy regions say that a woman who was lost on an icy mountain was reborn as Froslass."' The phone said with a robotic text-to-speech function.
"An Ice type as well." Tamara muttered as Ambrose put away his phone.
"Lucky for me we have some "firepower" on our side." Ambrose said.
"Lame pun." Tamara said with a blunt tone as Ambrose looked at his companion with annoyance.
"I wasn't trying to- oh, forget it..." Ambrose said with an agitated tone before shifting his attention back towards the house. "You said you wanted a battle, right?" He thought as Tamara turned in Ambrose's direction.
"You mean it?" Tamara said with interest.
"Come on, let's find a place to train and come back at nightfall." Ambrose said as he picked up his duffel bags with the pair walking away from the home.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Ecruteak City, 12:36 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Near the Burned Tower, Anik was standing outside the Ecruteak City landmark as she was looking at the tower with interest before taking out her phone, looking up information on the dilapidated structure.
'"Originally as tall as the Bell Tower that was made after its destruction, the aptly named "Burned Tower" was originally known as the "Brass Tower." Over one hundred and fifty years ago, a lightning bolt struck the Brass Tower." Anik thought as she read the information. "Wow..." She said aloud to herself.
"It's been said that Ho-oh used to perch atop it." A male voice said as Anik turned around.
Approaching her was a man with slicked back brown hair and sporting a dark purple suit with a large red bowtie, a white cloak over his shoulders, while gloves and white dress shoes. Giving off an intelligent yet bold and cocky air about him, the man approached Anik as she stood next to him.
"When the tower burned down, at the bottom was three Pokémon that were trapped within the fire. Those three Pokémon were saved and transformed by the mysterious powers of Ho-oh and became known as Suicune, Entei and Raikou." The man said with a smile as he looked at the tower.
"You seem to know a lot." Anik commented as the man turned to her. "Also, you're speaking like you're trying to show off..." She thought as she noticed the man was sounding a bit condescending.
"Eusine." The man said, introducing himself while extending his hand for a handshake.
"Anik." Anik said, introducing herself to the strange man. "I'm new in town. Are you a local?" She asked.
"I'm not but I keep finding myself coming back here in my never-ending search for Legendary Pokémon. I'm particularly invested in currently finding Suicune, as of right now. It seems to be fond of this area." Eusine said. "Perhaps its remembrance of its past before it was saved? Maybe it just enjoys the air and environment? The reason escapes me..." He said, monologuing as Anik just made a confused expression.
"Okay, this guy seems like a windbag, but he knows the area so maybe he can help." Anik thought as she just let Eusine talk. "Look, uhhh... The history of the region is fascinating but I'm kind of looking for someone." She said as Eusine stopped to look at her.
"Oh? Are you a gym challenger looking for Morty?" Eusine questioned as Anik shook her head.
"No, I'm looking for the Rarest Level Ranch." Anik replied as Eusine raised an eyebrow.
"Marie Dibiase?" Eusine said.
"No, I'm looking for her brother." Anik said as Eusine's cocky and intelligent expression slowly contorted into one of frustration and disgust.
"Oh... Him..." Eusine said as he turned his head away from Anik. "Ugh, that idiot..." He thought.
"Something the matter?" Anik questioned.
"Yeah, uhhh... Trust me on this, you really don't want to go searching for that guy." Eusine said.
"...Why?" Anik said.
"Tell her, Eusine. It will be embarrassing but you'll be doing her a favor..." Eusine thought as he bit his lip. "Let's just say he's not the most popular person in this town. You're better off doing... Anything else." He said as Anik grew curious.
"...Anything you can tell me?" Anik asked. "He told me his reputation was poor, but it seems a lot worse than he let on." She thought as she listened to Eusine.
"Well... I can't speak for others, but I bet if you asked them, they'd have a tale to tell." Eusine said with an annoyed tone. "But I do have one..." He said as Anik looked at him as he turned in the direction of the Bell Tower. "For starters, he's not allowed in there." Eusine said as he pointed his finger at the landmark.
"...So much for heading up that tower to see the stars together... Actually, if I went by myself up there, the view of the skyline would still be immaculate." Anik thought as she looked at the Bell Tower before her mindset shifting towards her fandom for the stars.
"He was up there on the roof one day some time ago when I was visiting the tower at the very bottom... When suddenly... A grilled cheese sandwich fell on my head." Eusine said as he reminisced about a very poor encounter with Keats.
"Pfft." Anik sputtered as she quickly put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh as Eusine noticed. "So-sorry." She said with a smirk.
"As I was saying... When I got the sandwich off my head, I looked up and saw a panini press falling out of the sky towards me. I barely ducked out of the way before I could've been seriously harmed." Eusine said as he put his hand on his head. "I rushed up the tower and met with that strange brother of a former league champion to confront him. His immediate words to me were for me to give him back the sandwich." He said with a bothered tone. "No apology, no remorse, and then he had the gall to act like I was stealing his panini press!" Eusine shouted in anger as Anik was taken aback by the sudden rage he was displaying.
"Whoa, calm down." Anik said with her hands up.
"My apologies..." Eusine said as he readjusted himself while fixing his bowtie. "Then I tried to confront him on it when I last saw him a few weeks later at a convenience store." He said, continuing his story.
"And how'd that go?" Anik said.
"He smacked me in the face with a cereal box..." Eusine said with his face twitching.
"Pffff!" Anik sputtered once again as her hand was over her mouth.
"Are you seriously laughing at my plight?!" Eusine said in an offended tone.
"I'm-I'm sorry. It's just- just so random." Anik said as she struggled to maintain her composure. "Okay, okay. Continue." She said, calming herself down.
"He smacked me in the face with a box of cereal, tripped me and then threw a two liter of soda at my head." Eusine said, finishing his story as Anik bit her lip.
"I'm trying me best not to be rude, but this guy seems a bit pompous and hearing Keats did that to him, I can't help but laugh. Hehehe." Anik thought, laughing internally.
"Ever since that day, I've done a civic duty to the great town of Ecruteak City by requesting he be banned from entering the tower." Eusine said with a serious expression on his face.
"...Uh-huh..." Anik replied with an apathetic and slightly judgmental tone. "That's kind of harsh over an accident..." She thought.
"Little recommendation, miss." Eusine said towards Anik as she raised an eyebrow. "If that guy is your friend, get better friends." He said as he walked away in the direction of the Bell Tower as Anik watched him.
"Man Keats... Is there anyone in this town that doesn't think you're awful?... Damn it, I didn't ask him for where the ranch was." Anik thought before realizing she forgot something important.
"Excuse me." A new male voice said as Anik turned her head.
Approaching her was another young adult male, sporting a short blonde hairstyle with a purple and black bandanna around his forehead. Wearing a black sweater with white pants, a pair of purple and black sneakers and a matching scarf, he gave off a respectful air about him as he stopped next to the astronomy enthusiast.
"Hi. I happened to notice you were talking with Eusine." The calm man said.
"Oh, hello?" Anik said. "This another "Legendary Pokémon expert?"' She thought with skepticism.
"I'm sorry about him. He can be a tad bit abrasive." The calm man said with an apologetic tone. "I'm Morty." He said, extending his hand.
"The gym leader?" Anik questioned as she shook hands with the man.
"Correct." Morty replied. "He didn't bother you, did he?" He asked as Anik shook her head.
"No, no! It's okay. Thanks for asking." Anik said with a reassuring voice. "I mean, he kind of insulted a guy I know but let's just keep that between you, me and the walls, hahaha." She said.
"But we're outside though." Morty replied as Anik made an embarrassed expression.
"...Oh yeah, that analogy doesn't work here..." Anik thought while scratching her cheek with her right index finger. "Hey, you're from around here. Maybe you can help." She said as Morty raised an eyebrow.
"Something the matter?" Morty questioned.
"I'm looking for Marie Dibiase's brother, he lives at his sister's daycare business. "Rarest Level Ranch?"' Anik asked as Morty made a confused expression.
"...What did he do now- no... No, I shouldn't be so quick to judge." Morty thought before opening his mouth to speak. "No offense to the guy, but why are you looking for him specifically?" He asked.
"...He didn't do something to you too, did he?" Anik said with a nervous tone.
"Well, actually no." Morty said as Anik's face softened. "I know full well about the man's odd behavior and misdemeanors, but he's done nothing that has affected me personally." He continued. "I say that despite a good amount of Ghost Pokémon in the town seem to stay away from the Rarest Level Ranch because of him, I've heard." Morty thought.
"That Eusine guy told me he's banned from entering the Bell Tower." Anik said.
"Huh?" Morty muttered. "Oh, that's not entirely true." He said as Anik made a confused expression. "Only trainers are allowed to enter the Bell Tower and climb it. I also know of the incident between him and Eusine. Let me guess; he said that he personally banned him from entering the Bell Tower?" Morty said as Anik nodded.
"Keats' is a trainer now so it looks like there shouldn't be any trouble going up it... Well, minus people judging him of course." Anik thought as she looked at Morty.
"Yeah, no one is really truly banned from entering the tower. But they can only be allowed to enter it if they're a trainer. Out of respect for Ho-oh." Morty said as Anik raised an eyebrow. "There's a belief that one day, Ho-oh will return to our humble historic town and when it does, it will perch itself on top of the Bell Tower to meet the trainers of the modern world. That's why only trainers are allowed inside the tower." He said, bringing up more historical beliefs.
"You would make a better tour guide than that other guy." Anik said with a smile on her face.
"Hahaha." Morty laughed. "So, you need directions, yeah?" He said as Anik nodded.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rarest Level Ranch, 12:50 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"You're not going to believe this." Marie said in a loud voice as Keats and Adam looked at one another.
"I'll believe it when I see it." Adam said in response.
"Be-lie-eve." Keats muttered as he said something that made little to no sense.
Opening up the Pokéball towards an open field and emerging from the beam of light, everyone was in shock as a massive creature had appeared. A large, serpentine Pokémon with a silvery-gray body made of rock-like sections with three sections having big, protruding spikes sticking out and its large, wide head sporting two blank eyes and square teeth in its mouth.
"Holy mother of-!" Keats exclaimed as he looked up at the rocky serpent Pokémon.
Shifting its head in the direction of Marie, who was in shock at the sudden appearance of the creature, the creature's eyes changed from their blank state to white and red eyes as it blinked multiple times. Looking at Marie with a sense of familiarity, the Pokémon lowered its giant head close to Marie.
"Steeeli!" The creature exclaimed.
"Steelix?" Marie said as she put her hand on the massive Pokémon as the two balls in her pockets opened up and out came Marie's Lopunny and Sableye.
"Lopu! Lopu!" Lopunny said with her arms raised.
"Sableye-eye!" Sableye said while jumping up and down.
"Steelix-steel!" Steelix exclaimed loudly.
"Marie, is this your Steelix?" Adam questioned in surprise as Rotom quickly scanned Steelix for its Dex entry.
'"Steelix, the Iron Snake Pokémon, a Steel and Ground type. Tempered underground under high pressure and heat, its body is harder than any metal. It is said that if an Onix lives for one hundred years, its composition becomes diamondlike as it evolves into a Steelix."' Rotom said as it read information on Steelix.
"Steel-ixix." Steelix said as Lopunny and Sableye started to lightly push Marie as she stepped onto the massive iron snake-like Pokémon's head with her other Pokémon. "Steeeel!" It said as it raised its head high into the air.
"Whoa!" Marie exclaimed as she tried to maintain her balance with Lopunny and Sableye holding onto her to assist.
"Lopunny!" Lopunny said as she pointed off into town.
"Wow, what a view." Marie said as she looked down at Steelix.
"Steelsteel!" Steelix said with a smile on its face.
"Can you see my house from up there?!" Keats screamed as everyone looked at him.
"...Your houzzzze is ten steps from us." Rotom said to Keats with an annoyed expression on its screen as Keats turned his head towards his trailer.
"...Whoa... No matter where you go, there you are." Keats said with a mesmerized tone as Adam made a wry smile at Keats' usual strange behavior.
"Well, just one look at it, that's definitely her Steelix." Adam said towards Keats.
"How can you tell, zzzzt?" Rotom asked.
"Marie's Steelix was her most cheerful and playful Pokémon." Adam replied. "Most people would be scared at the sight of a Steelix but this one, going as far back as when it was an Onix, always liked to play from what she told me." He thought as he remembered what his wife told him.
"Sable?" Sableye said as he looked down at the top of Steelix's head. "Sableyeye." He said as he tried to get Marie's attention.
"Huh?" Marie muttered as she looked down at Sableye. "Something wrong?" She said as she and Lopunny looked at Sableye.
"Sabsab-eye." Sableye said as he pointed at the top of Steelix.
"Hmmm?" Marie mumbled as she looked at where her Ghost and Dark type pointed.
"Loplop!" Lopunny exclaimed as she realized what Sableye was pointing towards.
"Oh... Hey!" Marie said, finally realizing what Sableye was meaning as well. "Guys! I just noticed something." She said as she walked towards the edge of her Steelix's skull and looked down at Keats, Keats' Pineco, Rotom and Adam.
"Is it your house? Because it's right there." Keats said with a loud tone while pointing at the ranch house as everyone at ground level looked at him with bothered expressions.
"Keats, be quiet for a moment." Adam said.
"Okie-dokie." Keats said as he pressed his lips together tightly to stop talking altogether.
"What's wrong?" Adam asked towards his wife as she motioned for Steelix to bring her back down to the ground.
"Steeelix." Steelix muttered as it lowered its head. "Steelix?" It said towards Marie, hoping to play some more as she, Sableye and Lopunny hopped off of the Steel and Ground type Pokémon's head.
"We'll play some more later Steelix but right now I need to talk to my husband and brother, okay?" Marie said with a calm tone towards her recently returned Pokémon.
"What did you see?" Adam asked as Marie turned towards him and Keats.
"I used to have a band on Steelix's head that held his Mega Stone for him to evolve into Mega Steelix. That band is missing." Marie said with a serious look in her eyes as Adam and Keats looked at each other. "Keats, can you give me that note Adam gave you?" She asked as Keats handed over the letter. "Hmmmm..." Marie mentally mumbled as she read the letter.
"Maybe you can read it because we couldn't." Adam said as he looked at his wife with folded arms.
"...Can I speak now?" Keats questioned as Rotom and Pineco looked at him.
"Not unless you have zzzzomething important to say." Rotom said as Keats opened his mouth as if to say something than immediately shook his head, changing his mind. "I thought so." The phone Pokémon thought.
"Okay, I might have an idea of what's going on." Marie said. "Whomever this guy is, he almost tops Keats in sheer weirdness, but I think I got the gist." She thought.
"Lay it on us." Adam said.
"This "Birdclaw" guy might be a Snagem. And the one who got my Steelix during the raid on the house." Marie said as Steelix looked at everyone.
"Okay?" Keats replied in confusion. "Wait... The Snagem Family member sent back the Pokémon he stole?" He questioned.
"That makes no sense, why would he send back Steelix?" Adam said as Marie looked back at the letter again.
"It mentions that he "rose from the remains of the Snagem Family," if I'm reading this right. So, he has to be a Snagem." Marie replied. "All the stuff about "silver" this and "silver" that is lost to me but... "The path of champions."' She thought as she looked at the letter.
"So, if the Mega Stone is missing but Steelix is back... What does that mean?" Keats said as he scratched his head.
"You don't zzzzuppozzzze he might be using it on his own Steelix, would you?" Rotom said towards Marie as she shrugged.
"That would make sense. He has an activation ring and a stone. If he has a Steelix, that would be the most logical conclusion, but why not just keep mine?" Marie said as she put her hand under her chin.
"Give me the letter." Adam asked as Marie handed to him and started to read it again. "Shot in the dark but you were a champion at one point, what's the "path of champions?"' He questioned as Marie raised an eyebrow.
"Well... That could mean two things really." Marie said as Keats raised an eyebrow. "To be able to compete in a Trainer's League, you have to acquire badges. To do that, you have to go along the trail to the gyms in a region, if there's a league there of course, and battle the leaders to acquire them." She explained. "Then if you want to challenge the "Champion's League," you need to go to "Victory Road."' Marie continued.
"The league of who now?" Keats said, completely unsure of where the conversation was going.
"There's two kinds of Pokémon Leaguezzzz." Rotom said as Keats looked at the floating phone. "The "Trainer's League" is the tournament between trainers who have collected enough badges to attempt to become regional champion contenders. The "Champion's League" is the specialized event where a powerful trainer attempts to battle the Elite Four of the region and then battle the reigning champion for their title." The phone Pokémon explained as Keats made a bewildered expression.
"...That... Sounds like a lot of work..." Keats thought as he looked away from Rotom.
"The champion of a region is typically considered the best trainer of that entire region. Winning the "Trainer's League" is the first step to moving up the ladder. Then you have to beat the four best trainers behind the champion, the Elite Four." Marie said. "I've done that enough times to say I'm an expert." She said with a tone of smugness.
"...Was the "patting yourself on the back" necessary?" Adam said with an exasperated expression.
"Couldn't help it." Marie said with a calm tone. "But anyway, this Snagem sounds like an oddball, but he also sounds like he's on the circuit." She continued.
"You mean he's challenging the gyms?" Keats questioned.
"Specifically, the Sinnoh ones." Marie said. "And it looks like he has my Mega Stone and his own Steelix to help him get through on his journey." She said as she turned around and looked at her Steelix.
"Steeel?" Steelix muttered.
"Okaaaay?" Keats said, still not fully getting it as Marie looked at the hard-to-read letter one more time.
"I think he gave up his location so you can find him." Marie said towards her younger brother.
"...Huh?" Keats mumbled.
"He's challenging Keats to find him?" Adam said.
"Seems that way." Marie replied. "Not sure as to why though if he sent back Steelix..." She continued.
"Maybe it's the fact you beat the other two." Adam said towards Keats as Keats raised an eyebrow.
"Except I didn't beat the other two. I beat one of them and the other was a complete fluke..." Keats said as he remembered the disaster that was the battle against Imani Snagem atop Wailord.
"Regardless, he sent a challenge to you Keats." Marie said towards her brother as Keats looked over at Pineco.
"Pineco?" Pineco said towards her trainer.
"Might be one of the only ways to find the last three too." Adam commented as everyone turned their attentions to Keats as he took out Pineco's Pokéball and recalled her back into it.
"...I'm... Uhhhh..." Keats muttered, unsure of how to answer. "I'm going to go grab my shoes..." He said as he walked away from everyone as they all looked at him.
"...He's still feeling down..." Marie thought as she noticed her brother's behavior as he walked into his trailer.
Walking over to the microwave, Keats looked inside as he noticed his shoes weren't there anymore. Putting a hand on his forehead in frustration, he walked over to a closet and grabbed another pair of shoes.
"I don't got time for this right now." Keats said to himself as he walked over to his bedroom and started changing his clothes, taking off his stained white T-shirt and track pants and swapping out to dark blue button-up with the sleeves rolled up with a design on the back of a Koffing that said "Roxie and the Toxics" on it and dark green cargo pants.
Stepping out of his trailer, Keats put on his shoes as Marie, Rotom and Adam watched as he walked towards the fence. Climbing over it, Keats walked into the woods as everyone looked on.
"Lookzzzz like he is walking back towards the area where we were filming." Rotom said. "I'll go check on-" The phone Pokemon said until Marie grabbed the phone out of the air.
"Not this time." Marie said as she looked at Rotom. "He has all of his Pokéballs on hand, right?" She asked as Rotom floated out of her hand.
"Correct, zzzzt?" Rotom replied.
"Let him have some alone time." Marie said as Adam shrugged and went back to work. "I don't think being challenged is something he wanted to do at this very moment... But he's going to have to come to a decision soon. And that's on him, not us." She thought as she stood in the backyard with Rotom floating next to her.
Meanwhile, in the woods, Keats reached the clearing where he was filming videos for PokéCast from earlier that same morning. Looking around to see if any Pokémon were nearby, Keats reached into his pocket and pulled out Pineco's Pokéball again.
"Pineco, you're on call..." Keats said with a disgruntled tone as Pineco emerged from the beam of light, turning around and facing her trainer.
"Pineco." Pineco said, calmly.
"So, you were next to me for that whole conversation... Got any insight?" Keats asked towards his Bug type Pokémon.
"Cococo-pinepine." Pineco said as Keats looked around.
"...Crap... Rotom ain't here to translate..." Keats thought as he realized he had no way to fully understand Pineco. "Ugh..." He grunted as he sat on the ground.
"Coco?" Pineco said in a concerned tone.
"A part of me wants to say that Steelix being sent back to the ranch is a victory and now I don't have to go to Sinnoh just to find this guy." Keats said towards Pineco.
"Pineco-co?" Pineco said with a questioning tone.
"...But..." Keats said. "Another part of me is agitated over the fact I was sent a challenge of all things to fight a Mega Steelix." He said, disgruntled. "It's making me remember things..." Keats continued.
"Pineco?" Pineco muttered in confusion.
"Steelix is a Ground type." Keats mentioned towards Pineco. "And I have had a very poor history with Ground types... Stunfisk chasing us all over Unova, Druddigon fought that one weirdo at the PokéPotluck with that one thing that was Water and Ground and it was a rough battle... Then there's everything that happened with Diglett..." He said as he recollected.
"Pineco-co..." Pineco said with a reassuring tone.
"I'm just not feeling it, alright..." Keats said in response to Pineco's concern.
"Cococo." Pineco said as she hopped close to Keats.
"What?" Keats questioned towards his Bug type.
"Cococo." Pineco said while making a motion like she was trying to bend forward with her eyes closed. "Pinepine." She continued.
"Huh?" Keats said, still not fully grasping what she was doing.
"Pine! Pine!" Pineco said with an angry tone as she hopped over to Keats' side and started to nudge against him.
"Hey! Pineco, what're you-" Keats complained until one of his balls fell out of his pocket and rolled onto the ground.
With Pineco tapping on it with her body, a beam of light emerged as Timburr had appeared from his ball.
"Timburr?" Timburr muttered as he locked eyes with Keats and Pineco.
"Pinecococopine." Pineco said as Timburr looked at the Bug type Pokemon. "Pinepine." She continued as Timburr nodded before putting down his log.
"What's going on?" Keats questioned.
"Timburr-timtim." Timburr said as he waved his hands to get Keats' attention.
"Okay, I'm looking at you. What?" Keats said.
Looking at Timburr, Keats raised an eyebrow at what the Fighting type Pokémon did next. Putting his small hands on his face, Timburr bent forward in a style similar to Keats' thinking pose.
"Pineco-pineco!" Pineco said while jumping up and down whilst looking at her trainer as Keats stared at Timburr.
"...You look silly, you know that?" Keats said with a smirk as Timburr stopped mimicking Keats' thinking pose and angrily glared at his trainer.
"Timbtimburr!" Timburr exclaimed while stomping his feet in annoyance.
"Pineco-pinepine." Pineco said towards Timburr to calm him down. "Pinecocococo-pinepine." She said towards Keats.
"Hmmmmm... I'm not getting it... Maybe I need to clear my head a bit and think for a moment." Keats thought as he stood up from the ground and proceeded to cover his face while hunching forward.
"Timbtimb!" Timburr said as he and Pineco looked Keats, the husky framed trainer finally doing what the Pokémon were motioning for him to do.
"Okay, clear your mind Keats... Think of your next steps... Just gotta hope this won't take too long." Keats thought as he continued to ponder what to do.
You ever wonder if Ho-oh doesn't return to see human beings, it's because it fears what we might do when we see it... Like put it in a Pokéball as a trophy for our skills? Just a little thought for the never-believers. Anyhoo! Ambrose and Tamara are at a house that appears to have something inside that they need to train for and whatever is inside it fears someone known as "the fat man." I wonder who that could be? Anik is checking out Ecruteak City on her search for Keats and encounters the local gym leader, Morty and a regular nuisance- I mean, enthusiast named Eusine. And Keats... Well, one deciphered letter later and Marie's Steelix has been brought back to her with "Birdclaw" sending a challenge to Keats to hunt him along the Sinnoh gym circuit. But Keats is feeling apprehensive to the idea amidst his string of losses until being told to think by his Pokémon. Will clearing his head bring bountiful thoughts? Probably not! This is Keats we're talking about! The dude probably goes to supermarkets and peels the bananas for shits and giggles!
Keats' Pokémon:
1. Pineco.
2. Stunky.
3. Raichu - Alolan Form.
4. Druddigon.
5. Sizzlipede.
6. Porygon.
7. Venonat.
8. Dragalge.
9. Cloyster.
10. Timburr.
11. Swalot.
Released/Traded Away:
1. Diglett - Alolan Form.
2. Surskit.
Author's Note: (We'll be getting to Sinnoh soon enough.)