xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rarest Level Ranch, 8:58 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Her butt was the size of a damn globe!" Marie said towards Anik as she made a large circle with her hands as they both sat on the living room couch with Adam sitting on a nearby recliner and Rotom floating next to him. "She always used to say "come here, little niece! Come here" and stick me between her funky looking chest! She always smelled like Pecha Berries and asparagus! She would cook these weird things called "Fried Mankey Balls," I had zero idea what the heck were in them, but they tasted like they were four days old! She was a- what?" She continued as Adam shook his head at his wife, catching her attention as Anik turned towards her husband.
"Do you really have to tell her about your psycho dead aunt?" Adam questioned as Anik grabbed a glass with water and took a sip.
"I-I don't mind..." Anik said with a nervous tone. "Small talk is small talk, even if it's odd... I definitely see how she's Keats' sister." She thought with an awkward expression on her face.
"I'm just trying to find something to have a conversation about while we're still waiting for "Mr. Late."' Marie said in her defense as no one knew where Keats was.
"A whole day in Ecruteak City and the guy I'm trying to find who's known as a "village hassle" has been borderline non-existent." Anik thought with a shrug before an alarm went off on Rotom's screen.
"Hmm?" Marie muttered as Rotom floated in front of the trio of humans.
"I have an alert, zzzzt." Rotom said as a page opened up on its screen. "Momentzzzz ago, a heater explosion had just occurred in a suburban residence in Ecruteak City. The fire department and police are working to prevent a fire spread with currently positive results. It apparently was caused by a trio of wild Pokémon that the police is relocating to the woods." The phone Pokémon continued.
"That explains that minor shake we just had. I thought someone was having a Pokémon battle and used "Bulldoze" or something." Adam said.
"Hmmmm..." Marie muttered.
"Something wrong?" Anik asked as the former champion turned her head towards the backyard as she noticed a familiar face attempting to tiptoe through the yard towards his trailer with a male teenager and a small girl holding a cane.
"Finally!" Marie exclaimed to the surprise of everyone in the house as she quickly stomped over to the sliding door to the backyard. "Hey!" She shouted as Keats winced as Ambrose turned around and Tamara shifted in a random direction.
"So much for sneaking around without getting spotted..." Ambrose said with a critical tone that was directed at Keats while not looking at him.
"Your attitude certainly didn't help!" Keats shouted as he turned around towards Ambrose.
"Where the heck have you been?!" Marie exclaimed as Adam and Rotom approached the door where Marie was.
"Grocery shopping!" Keats angrily replied.
"Hey, was that explosion in the abandoned suburb you?" Adam questioned.
"Uh! N-no!" Keats said with an unsure tone that made it pretty clear he was involved in the nearby explosion. "Oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap oh crap." He thought, nervously.
"Stop repeating the same phrase over and over in your head, it actually affects me a little." Tamara said as she clutched at her red tipped cane with one hand and her other on her head.
"Huh, zzzzt?" Rotom said.
"Okay, too many things are happening at once here!" Keats complained. "This is Ambrose and Tamara, he's a ghost hunter, she's a psychic and blind." He said, introducing the duo as Anik walked into view. "This's Marie, my sister. That's Adam, her husband. That's Rotom, a living phone that's super annoying. That's Anik, she's the girl I like who's into astronomy and I have no idea why she is actually here right now and-..." Keats ranted while doing introductions for everyone until he noticed Anik was in his sister's house.
With Rotom glaring at him, Marie and Adam making confused expressions and Anik making an embarrassed face from their different introductions, Keats just proceeded to stare at Anik with wide eyes as she waved at him slightly. Unsure of how to proceed, Ambrose nudged Tamara with his arm.
"You got anything?" Ambrose asked of his mind reader friend.
"I hear static coming from the big guy's brain." Tamara said as Ambrose looked at Keats, still staring at Anik as Adam poked Marie on the shoulder to get her attention. "The sister seems to be frustrated about the big guy's lack of presence all day and I'm getting some uncomfortable vibes from the other woman. And the other guy in the house seems to be tired." She continued as Ambrose looked at the people in the house.
"It looks like it has been a very long day for all of us so why don't we just call it a night...?" Adam asked towards his wife as she proceeded to sigh in response.
"You know what, fine." Marie said with a headshake. "We have a guest room if you want to use it." She said towards Anik as the astronomy enthusiast turned her attention towards the ranch owner.
"Oh, uh. I could just find a place in town for the night. I tend to have trouble sleeping anyway..." Anik said with her hands up. "I got some sleep on the plane ride into the region a day ago." She thought.
"It's totally alright. You're a friend of the family so you can stay the night." Adam said as he walked away towards the bedrooms.
"You two." Marie said towards Ambrose and Tamara.
"Huh?" Ambrose muttered as Tamara jerked her head.
"You got a place to stay?" Marie questioned.
"Not really. We had hoped to find a place after we finished work." Tamara said while not facing Marie. "Or rather, this one finished work and I just hung around outside." She commented as Ambrose turned his head towards his partner with a judgmental look.
"Does a recliner and couch work for you both?" Marie said as Ambrose raised an eyebrow.
"Uhh..." Ambrose said in response, unsure how to answer.
"I call dibs on the couch." Tamara said with a smirk.
"Huh?" Ambrose mumbled towards his blind partner. "These people are strangers, why are you okay with staying here?" He thought as Tamara listened with her ability.
"Because I think these people's couch is probably cleaner than a motel bed." Tamara said as Ambrose opened his mouth to speak but said nothing.
"...I... Can't fault that logic..." Ambrose said quietly as Tamara walked into the house with Ambrose reluctantly following behind her, passing by Rotom, Anik and Marie.
"It'zzzz nice to meet-" Rotom said until Ambrose stopped walking for a moment and shot a nasty look in Rotom's direction. "You?" The phone Pokémon said with a surprised tone before the ghost hunter walked away towards the recliner.
"What was that about?" Marie thought as she and Anik turned towards Keats, still standing outside and staring at Anik without moving.
"What do want to do about him?" Anik said towards Marie as she pointed at Keats.
"He'll move eventually..." Marie said with an exasperated tone as she turned towards her brother.
"...Uh-huh..." Anik said with a concerned tone as the pair of women walked away.
Staring at the door with no one around, Keats was still standing before putting his hand on his face and sighing in frustration. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out his Pokéballs and let loose Stunky, Gurdurr, Swalot and Sizzlipede, the group scattering before walking over to the pond.
"And now you." Keats said as he let loose Dragalge into the water, the sea dragon-like Pokémon going to the bottom of the pond. "...Urrrggghhh..." He said while shaking his head before walking over to his trailer, opening up the door and slamming it shut.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rarest Level Ranch, 7:46 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Laying in his bed in his trailer and looking at the ceiling, Keats stared with a blank face before sitting up with a heavy sigh.
"Not how I planned to meet her again... And certainly not how I expected my grocery shopping to go last night." Keats thought as he got out of bed, dressed in a white T-shirt and boxer shorts and walked past Stunky and Venonat, both sleeping on the floor of his bedroom.
Stepping out into the living space of his trailer, Keats walked over to his kitchen sink and then proceeded to reach into a cupboard and pull out a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste. Putting the paste on the bristles of the brush, Keats started to slowly brush his teeth.
"Can't use iced tea anymore but at least my breath will smell decently... Maybe I'll take a shower too." Keats thought as he turned around in front of his sink.
Descending in front of Keats was Pineco, the Bug type Pokémon hanging from the ceiling by string connecting to the topmost spike on her body. While still brushing his teeth with his left hand, Keats casually waved towards his first Pokémon with his right hand.
"Pineco." Pineco said with a welcoming tone.
"Morpning." Keats muttered, attempting to say "morning" before turning around and spitting out what was in his mouth into the sink. "Man, you should have seen the mess I caused last night." He said before going back to brushing his teeth.
"Coco?" Pineco said with a raised eyebrow.
"First time since we've known each other that an explosion happened that wasn't because of you." Keats said towards his Bug type.
"Pinecoco." Pineco said with bothered eyes.
"Something the matter?" Keats said as he put his toothbrush in the sink, on top of some plates he hadn't cleaned in some time.
"Pineco." Pineco said in response to Keats' question.
"Let me guess; jealous you didn't cause the "boom?"' Keats said with a smug look on his face.
"Cococo!" Pineco said with an angry tone.
"Hehehe." Keats chuckled before walking away from his Bug type towards the bathroom. "Excuse me, I'm going to need a shower." He remarked as Pineco looked on at her trainer.
Entering the bathroom, Keats started to remove his clothes and then proceeded to open the shower door, seeing his Swalot inside and leaning against the wall. Poking the big purple blob-like Pokémon in the side, the Poison type Pokémon turned and noticed his trainer.
"Yo, move over, I need to clean myself." Keats said.
"Swaaa." Swalot said in response as Swalot moved over slightly and allowed Keats to enter the incredibly cramped shower space.
Reaching past Swalot, Keats pulled on the switch to cause the water to come out of the shower head and onto Keats and Swalot. As Keats scratched his head with the water falling onto it, Swalot opened his incredibly large mouth and begun to consume the water.
"Hey! Hey!" Keats exclaimed in annoyance as Swalot's cheeks puffed up from the water in his mouth. "Spit that out! Hot water isn't cheap!" He complained as Swalot quickly spit out the water onto the floor. "Thank- wah! Blurgh!" Keats said as he moved slightly before slipping on the excess water and falling over.
"Swalot?" Swalot said as he looked down as Keats was on the floor.
"Okay... I'm done cleaning myself..." Keats thought with annoyance as he opened the door to the shower and crawled out. "Turn off the water..." He ordered towards his Pokémon as Swalot used his mouth to turn the lever.
A moment after taking a shower and putting on a pair of clothes that consisted of a black T-shirt with a flaming design, an orange short sleeved button up with white leaf prints all over it, brown cargo shorts, brown sneakers and high white socks, Keats stepped outside while coating himself in a can of body spray. Throwing away the can, Keats reached into his back pocket and pulled out a paper list that read "Keats Chore List."
"Okay, "fix the lawnmower" then "lay out food bowls" then "check the fencing."' Keats said aloud to himself before hearing footsteps approaching him.
"Gurdurr!" Gurdurr said as Keats noticed his newly evolved Fighting type Pokémon coming towards him with Druddigon walking alongside him, Raichu and Porygon floating nearby and Sizzlipede crawling on the ground.
"Druddigon!" Druddigon said.
"Rai-rai!" Raichu said.
"Pooorr." Porygon muttered.
"Sizzli!" Sizzlipede said as she proceeded to crawl up Keats' leg to his shoulder, wrapping around his neck like a scarf with a content expression.
"Morning." Keats said as he scratched Sizzlipede with one of his fingers. "I got stuff to do." He said as he showed them his list. "You guys want to help?" Keats asked.
"Gur." Gurdurr said with a nod and as the others did the same.
"Well, at least this will help speed things up." Keats thought as he walked over to a nearby shed with his Pokémon following behind him.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Ambrose stirred while in the recliner in the living room as Tamara was sleeping calmly on the couch with Ambrose's purple coat covering over his black L.T.P.S. T-shirt over a purple long sleeve shirt, black pants and purple sneakers and Tamara's large red jacket over a brown L.T.P.S T-shirt, tight black leggings and red boots.
"No... No! No! Get away from me!" Ambrose thought until suddenly sitting upright with his face sweating profusely. "Uh... Oh..." He muttered to himself as he looked around at the interior of the ranch house. "Okay... It's okay, Ambrose..." Ambrose thought to himself as he laid back against the recliner, staring at the ceiling.
Starting to wake up as well, Tamara opened her eyes and proceeded to sit up as she shifted her head in different directions.
"Ambrose, you close by?" Tamara asked as Ambrose got up from the chair and walked over to his blind friend.
"Yeah, I'm here. I'll grab your stuff." Ambrose said as he reached onto the nearby coffee table and grabbed Tamara's white cane and sunglasses, handing them over to her.
"I got the tail end of what was going on in your head." Tamara said as Ambrose made a conflicted expression.
"We're not talking about it, alright." Ambrose said with a serious tone.
"We never talk about it." Tamara said as she put her sunglasses on and stood up from the couch.
"Because we don't need to." Ambrose said with his arms folded. "Got it?" He thought.
"...Yeah, yeah." Tamara said with a headshake.
Entering the room was Anik, dressed in the same attire she wore the day prior, as she approached the ghost hunting duo.
"Morning." Anik said with a casual tone. "Hope these two didn't mind the fact I got a bed to sleep in and they didn't." She thought as Tamara turned her head.
"I'm fine with it." Tamara said as Ambrose looked at her and Anik raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" Anik muttered in confusion.
"She doesn't know what you can do." Ambrose said towards Tamara. "Don't mess around, we should get going." He thought, knowing Tamara was listening to everyone's thoughts.
"Come on, this is some real fun for me. Not my fault someone here is not letting me get more involved." Tamara replied as Ambrose winced in response.
"I'm sorry, what's going on?" Anik thought, unsure of what was happening.
"Short version; I'm a psychic with the ability to read minds. As for this one, ask him what his deal is." Tamara said while her face is pointing away from Ambrose and Anik.
"...A "psychic?"' Anik said with a skeptical tone. "I've heard stories and it's cute coming from a girl your age but I'm not sure I believe that." She continued, causing Tamara to turn her head.
"Want proof?" Tamara said as Ambrose put his hands on his face.
"Great, more obnoxious time wasting." Ambrose complained.
"I want you to think of any number possible and I'll tell you what that number is." Tamara said with a confident tone.
"Hmmmmm..." Anik mumbled. "Any number, huh? First thing that comes to my mind is eighty-eight and that's because of the star constellations." She thought.
"Eighty-eight." Tamara said as Anik made a surprised expression.
"Th-that's..." Anik said in response. "That was just a lucky-" She said until Tamara spoke up with a smug smile on her face.
'"Guess?" Is it a guess if it's because that's the number of star constellations?" Tamara asked as Anik was even more bewildered by her ability to read minds.
"Wh-whoa." Anik muttered.
"Why were you thinking about the constellations?" Ambrose questioned as Anik looked at him.
"Because I'm an astronomer by trade." Anik said while adjusting her glasses with a proud expression on her face.
"...Lame choice of science to study." Ambrose said as Anik made a face of shock.
"...Excuse me?" Anik said with an offended tone.
"Just saying." Ambrose said with a shrug as he looked away.
"No, explain to me how astronomy is a "lame choice of science to study?"' Anik asked with a glare.
"I fail to see the value in it." Ambrose said with his arms folded.
"It's a valuable thing to research!" Anik exclaimed as Tamara jerked her head in the direction of where Anik shouted as Marie and Adam entered the room.
"Hey, what's with all the screaming?" Marie asked as Adam raised an eyebrow.
"Not now!" Anik shouted towards the Dibiase couple. "Understanding the shapes formed by the stars in the sky is an incredible discovery that scientists have failed regularly to get correct!" She ranted.
"And if that's not a sign that it's not that valuable to any normal person, I don't know what is." Ambrose said as he turned to look at Anik.
"...Okay, we're not involved in this." Adam said as Marie nodded, the pair walking out of the room to let the teenage ghost hunter and astronomy enthusiast argue.
"Oh!? And what do you think is a science of "value?!"' Anik asked in anger.
"Paranormal research." Ambrose replied as Tamara put her hand on her face.
"That only really benefits you." Tamara commented as Ambrose looked at his partner with an annoyed look in his eyes.
"Ghost Pokémon are notorious for their problematic behavior. It benefits everyone on the planet to know everything possible about them so that they don't fall victim to them." Ambrose explained as Anik made an expression of disbelief.
"...You sound like a whiny child." Anik said with her arms folded.
"I am a ghost hunter who protects people from things they don't understand!" Ambrose exclaimed as he looked upwards towards Anik as the two of them glared at each other.
"Wish I could see this fight... Oh?" Tamara thought until she shifted her head in the direction of the backyard.
Standing up as Anik and Ambrose continued to argue, Tamara traced her cane along the ground until reaching the door to the backyard. Opening the door, Tamara walked outside as she overheard some chatter as she followed along and stopped a few feet from Keats and his Pokémon, fixing a lawnmower.
"Druddigon!" Druddigon said as he and Gurdurr were lifting the lawnmower upside down as Keats was kneeling underneath it.
"Okay, Raichu, use "Psychic" to disconnect the sawblade." Keats said as Raichu nodded as his body glowed with a blue tint. "Hooray! I didn't need to search for my missing screwdriver I lost in the woods!" He thought.
"Pfff!" Tamara chuckled as Keats and his Pokémon turned their heads, causing Raichu to lose concentration and the sawblade fell towards Keats.
"Ahh!" Keats shouted as the blade fell towards him as he ducked to the side to avoid getting slashed as Sizzlipede worriedly looked at Keats' terrified expression from his shoulder. "Oh thank god that didn't kill me!" He said as the sawblade was lodged in the ground.
"Rai-rai." Raichu said with an apologetic tone as all of Keats' other Pokémon looked at him with agitation for nearly causing an accident.
"I'm glad you're alive too, you're entertaining." Tamara said with a smile as she approached Keats as he got up from the ground.
"Careful, don't want you walking into the blade." Keats said as he put his hand up as Tamara tapped the blade with her cane.
"I'm not so blind that I'll bump into things when I have my cane." Tamara said calmly. "Might be a bit much to ask but can I pet one of your Pokémon?" She said with her head pointing in a different direction as everyone else.
"Why?" Keats asked.
"I can't see but I can hear, smell and touch. And I love Pokémon despite the fact I can't see them." Tamara said with a calm smile.
"Hmmmm... Probably shouldn't let you touch Druddigon. All the spikes on his body will cut your hand clean open." Keats said towards Druddigon as the Dragon type Pokémon slumped his head in depression.
"Drruuuuuud..." Druddigon muttered with a sad tone.
"The comment upset him." Tamara said.
"It really shouldn't. He knows I appreciate his company." Keats said casually as Druddigon stopped slumping his head and looked at Keats as he noticed what he said. "I appreciate all of you guys who stood by me after everything that happened in Alola." He said towards all of his Pokémon as Tamara stood by. "Even you." Keats said as he put his hand on Druddigon's spiky head with a smile.
"Drudd-drudd." Druddigon said calmly as Keats proceeded to pet his Dragon type Pokémon.
Suddenly, as he pat Druddigon's head, Keats felt a sharp sensation on his palm as he pulled his hand to away to see his hand was now cut open, blood falling out of it onto the ground to the shock of everyone but Tamara, as she couldn't see it. With a face that was still smiling as he tried to process what just happened, Keats quickly pulled out his chore list and used it as a makeshift bandage.
"Raichu... Can you get me a medical strip from my trailer, please?" Keats said as he looked at Druddigon as Druddigon's head slumped once again in shame. "Owwwwwwww!" He mentally screamed.
"Raichu!" Raichu said frantically as he hurried to float over to Keats' trailer.
"Something happened? You're screaming in your head." Tamara asked.
"Don't ask..." Keats replied.
"Right now, I can sense a large Pokémon with wings, a buff one with a round nose, a small one generating heat and one with no heartbeat... Can I touch that one? The one with no heartbeat?" Tamara said as she used her ability to sense Druddigon, Gurdurr, Sizzlipede and Porygon, respectively.
"Porygon." Keats said as he looked at the artificial and blocky Pokémon then motioned for it to go towards the blind psychic.
"Pooorr." Porygon said as it floated over to Tamara as she put her hand up, placing it on the polygonal head of Porygon.
"There's edges but it's not sharp." Tamara said with a calm expression as Porygon had a content look in its eyes. "Reminds me of one of Ambrose's Pokémon." She continued as Raichu came back with a medical bandage for Keats, him placing it on his hand to cover up the cut.
"Been meaning to ask." Keats said as he pointed at the L.T.P.S. logo on her shirt. "Why are you and him wearing shirts that say, "Lit Piss" on it?" He asked as Tamara made a confused face.
"I'm wearing what on my shirt?" Tamara asked.
"It says "L-T-P-S." "Lit Piss."' Keats said. "Cool band name though." He thought as Tamara heard his thoughts.
"I'm not in a band, it's one of those acronym things where the letters equal a word. It means "Lavender Town Paranormal Society."' Tamara explained. "We came all the way from Lavender Town to hunt that Froslass that was in that house next door from the one you blew up." She said.
"Shhhhh! Don't say that out loud!" Keats exclaimed with a quiet shout. "The entire neighborhood doesn't need to know I blew something up again." He said with a bothered expression on his face.
'"Again?"' Tamara replied.
"Lots of things tend to go "boom" because of me. My Pineco is in my trailer if you want to see her explode." Keats said as he pointed towards his trailer as Tamara removed her glasses and pointed at her eyes, making Keats realize that he forgot she was blind. "...Oh yeah." He said with embarrassment as Porygon floated next to her.
"With what's going on inside, I wish I could see though." Tamara said as Keats raised an eyebrow. "Ambrose is having a "war of words" with that woman in there." She continued.
"With my sister?" Keats asked.
"No, the woman who enjoys the stars." Tamara replied.
"...Oh, her." Keats said as his Pokémon were looking at him with their eyes half-closed. "I genuinely don't know why she is at my home, but I don't know if I should be happy or not." He thought as Tamara overheard his thoughts.
"Seems like someone has a crush." Tamara thought as a smug smile appeared on her face as the door to the ranch house opened up and out walked Ambrose.
"Come on, Tamara. We're leaving." Ambrose said with an angry tone as he walked up to Tamara, his Crawdaunt following behind him.
"Craw!" Crawdaunt said with a similarly angry tone.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going!" Anik exclaimed as she stomped outside with her Kingler following behind her.
"Kikiki!" Kingler said with an agitated expression.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Marie said as she followed after the two arguing trainers, Adam and Rotom following behind the ranch owner.
"Are we having an outdoor party or something?" Keats thought as Ambrose and Anik glared at each other with their individual crustacean-like Pokémon ready to fight.
"No! No fighting on the premises!" Marie said as she got between them. "Last time a Pokémon battle happened here, an Altaria used "Earthquake" and it was a huge mess!" She said while turning her head back and forth to look at Anik then Ambrose.
"I still don't know what "zones B through K" mean." Keats thought as Tamara made a confused expression from reading his mind.
"So-sorry, but I just can't let this punk kid talk smack about astronomy!" Anik said in a defensive tone.
"All I did was give an opinion! Then she starts saying my work as a ghost hunter isn't valuable! I protect people from dangerous Ghost Pokémon, all she does is look at the sky when it's dark out!" Ambrose said as Anik made an offended expression and Rotom floated over.
"Hey! I'm a Ghozzzzt type Pokémon and I'm not dangerous!" Rotom said with a bothered tone.
"Yeah, and your specific species love to go into electronics and ruin things with mischief. Try explaining that?" Ambrose said with a judgmental face and his arms folded.
"But I don't do that kind of thing, zzzzt!" Rotom replied with a defiant expression on its screen. "And not all Ghost Pokémon are terrible!" It continued.
"Okay then, "PokéDex." If you're so sure, what's some of the PokéDex entries for Dusknoir, Cofagrigus, Drifloon and Haunter?" Ambrose said as Rotom proceeded to open up search windows. "Dusknoir likes to steal souls, Cofagrigus turns people into mummies, Haunter attacks people when they go out at night by themselves and Drifloon enjoy taking children like her to the afterlife." He said before pointing at Tamara when he mentioned information on Drifloon.
"...He's... Not wrong..." Rotom thought, unable to muster a response.
"Actually, I knew about that last one when I was a kid." Keats said as he raised his hand, prompting everyone to look at him. "I once saw one of those and it grabbed my wrist and tried to carry me into the sky, but I was too heavy and gave up before floating away." He commented. "Must have realized it wasn't "my time" yet." Keats thought.
"And Drifloon hate fat children because it can't carry them." Ambrose said further.
"...Wait, that's why it gave up?" Keats said before Ambrose and Anik continued to have their back and forth.
"My work isn't just "looking at the sky!" It has a huge value to the scientific community!" Anik exclaimed.
"Eh, it kinda is just looking at the sky but to each their own. It does take energy to go many nights without sleep." Keats thought as he scratched his head.
"And at least I don't have a prejudice!" Anik shouted while pointing at Ambrose.
"It's not a prejudice! It's a completely reasonable concern!" Ambrose exclaimed.
"Oh, that is rich!" Anik replied as Anik and Ambrose continued to shout over each other.
"Well, this is super annoying." Adam thought.
"Oh my god." Marie thought as Tamara begun to clutch at her head with her free hand.
"I am not a nuisance..." Rotom thought with agitation.
"Chansey eggs are edible, yeah? I read something online once that said they make people happy by giving them their eggs... " Keats thought, going off-topic as Tamara fell to her knees.
"Ah! Ugh!" Tamara groaned in pain as everyone stopped talking to look at the young psychic, recoiling in pain. "Stop! Everyone, just stop!" She screamed as she let go of her cane and grabbed her head with both hands.
"Hey, you alright?" Keats said with concern as Ambrose walked over.
"Stand back, I got this. Tamara, just breath and calm down." Ambrose said as he put a hand on the blind girl's shoulder.
"Haaa... Haaa..." Tamara muttered, breathing heavily and sweating.
"What just happened?" Adam asked.
"She's overloaded with thoughts from everyone here." Ambrose said as he picked up Tamara by putting her arm over his shoulder and recalling his Crawdaunt. "Can we borrow your couch again?" He asked towards Marie.
"Ye-yeah, go right ahead." Marie said as she walked towards the backdoor and opened it, letting them in as Anik recalled her Kingler and Keats motioned for all of his Pokémon to scatter.
Concerned, everyone followed Ambrose as he put Tamara down on the couch and Adam picked up her cane.
"Does she need anything?" Marie asked towards Ambrose.
"No, just some rest." Ambrose said as he scratched his head. "This happens from time to time when she's around too many people thinking at once." He said.
"How long has she been able to read minds?" Keats asked.
"As long as I've known her, which is about two years." Ambrose said as he stood up and looked at Keats. "Awhile back, her parents and her moved into a home in Lavender Town where I operate out of and there was a Ghastly in the home, haunting them. I approached them to investigate their place, found the Ghastly, fought it and removed it. Despite her handicap and the unknown nature of her ability, she reached out to me to want to help me with my ghost hunting." He explained.
"What does she get out of helping you?" Marie questioned.
"I get a helper in finding hauntings and in exchange, I let her spend time with my Pokémon. She wants to be a trainer and participate in a league one day in spite of her lack of sight so every now and again, I do some mock battles with her." Ambrose said.
"...Admirable." Anik thought as she looked at Tamara as she stirred for a moment before sitting back up.
"Thanks Ambrose, want me to explain your past while we're at it?" Tamara said while holding her head once again.
"Oh, are we doing a story time thing?" Keats said with a smile.
"Keatzzzz, be quiet." Rotom said as Anik looked at the husky framed trainer.
"You don't have to say anything. Just rest and then we'll get going." Ambrose said towards Tamara.
"Speaking of "getting going," Keats." Marie said as she caught Keats' attention. "I had a little conversation with your friend here." She said as she pointed towards Anik.
"Uhhhhh..." Keats mumbled as he looked at Anik as she blushed slightly while shifting her eyes back and forth between him and his sister.
"She came all this way to join you in Sinnoh in hunting that weird guy who sent you that letter." Marie said with a smile.
"Uhhhhh..." Keats continued to mumble.
'"Sinnoh?"' Ambrose thought as the location Marie mentioned piqued his interest.
"To put it plainly..." Anik said as she and Keats locked eyes.
"Uhhhhh..." Keats muttered, still mumbling.
"Please... Stop making that "uhhhh" sound." Tamara said as Keats closed his mouth.
"Uhhhhh..." Keats thought.
"And thinking it too!" Tamara exclaimed as Keats winced in a defensive manner.
"Well, at least we'll get zzzzome help in Sinnoh." Rotom said as the phone Pokémon floated over to Keats and Anik.
"Ambrose... I know what you're thinking." Tamara said.
"Hmmm?" Marie muttered as she heard what Tamara said.
"I know I've brought it up before but-" Ambrose thought as he knew Tamara was reading his mind.
"No, I say go for it." Tamara said as Ambrose raised an eyebrow.
"...Wait, really?" Ambrose thought.
"We're thinking entirely different things, but I want to have some fun with other people's Pokémon, so the risk is worth it for me." Tamara thought with a thumbs up.
"Hey." Ambrose said towards Keats, Anik and Rotom with Adam and Marie looking on. "You guys were planning an excursion to Sinnoh?" He asked with interest.
"We're supposed to but there's one problem; I have no way of paying for a plane ticket." Keats said.
"And we can't go by boat becauzzzze Keats gets seasick really badly." Rotom said.
"Just so you know, that's not the only way I can lose weight." Keats commented with half-closed eyes. "I switched from regular to diet soda and I can guarantee I lost three pounds." He said with a confident expression on his face.
"You've gained nine pounds since you switched." Marie thought.
"Pffft! Hehehe." Tamara sputtered as she started to laugh from hearing Marie's thoughts.
"Guess there's no secrets when you're around." Marie thought as she turned towards the psychic girl.
"I can afford myself, but I can't afford two people's plane tickets." Anik said as she looked at Keats as he bit his lip in frustration.
"...Give me a moment to make a phone call." Ambrose said as he walked away from the group for a moment and begun to click on his phone. "Hey. It's me, I need a favor." He said towards his phone.
"Any idea what he'zzzz doing?" Rotom asked towards everyone.
"Calling his parents." Tamara said as everyone looked at her as Ambrose walked back towards the group.
"How many tickets do we need?" Ambrose asked.
"Uhhh... Four." Anik said, surprised by how quickly he was working.
"Okay, and... Done." Ambrose said. "Four tickets to Oreburgh City in the Sinnoh region." He said.
"Wait, really?!" Keats exclaimed. "Holy cra- wait, are you expecting us to pay you back for that?" He asked.
"No, I'm not going to ask for payment... In exchange, me and Tamara are going to come with you until we reach a certain spot." Ambrose said. "One caveat... Can't bring that thing." He said with a glare towards Rotom.
"What, zzzzt?!" Rotom exclaimed.
"Deal." Keats said quickly as Rotom looked at Keats with a face of bewilderment.
"Keatzzzz?!" Rotom questioned loudly.
Money makes the world go round folks, it's a cold hard fact. After a disastrous explosion caused by Keats and bringing home the ghost hunting duo of Tamara and Ambrose, he was reunited with a friend in the form of Anik. Next morning, Keats tried to get to work on his job, that we hardly ever see him do, and Ambrose started a war of words with Anik over the value of individual scientific beliefs. Worried over Tamara being overloaded with thoughts, the group has come to a positive step forward as Ambrose has managed to afford tickets for the group to head to Sinnoh to begin the hunt for Huell Snagem aka Birdclaw. But what is Ambrose's goal in mind for this trip to Sinnoh? Maybe we'll find out next time on "Wannabe!"
Keats' Pokémon:
1. Pineco.
2. Stunky.
3. Raichu - Alolan Form.
4. Druddigon.
5. Sizzlipede.
6. Porygon.
7. Venonat.
8. Dragalge.
9. Cloyster.
10. Gurdurr.
11. Swalot.
Released/Traded away:
1. Diglett - Alolan Form.
2. Surskit.
Anik's Pokémon:
1. Kingler.
2. Cleffa.
3. Oricorio - Baile Style.
4. Minior - Green Core.
5. Vigoroth.
Ambrose's/Tamara's Pokémon:
1. Furret.
2. Crawdaunt.
3. Dodrio.
4. Helioptile.
Author's Note: (I swear to God, I wasn't on a break. I've been dealing with some serious exhaustion issues and my day job was really taking up my time. I'm not a summer person if I'm perfectly honest but woo! We made it to 50 chapters! And we're finally in Sinnoh next chapter! Yeah! Yeeeeaahhhh...)