Our heroes are nearly at Violetrose Town, surely a step up from spending the nights in the woods, at least.
"How much longer?" Ash groaned after his feet started to hurt.
"If we continue at this pace, we should reach Violetrose Town by morning," RotomDex explained, pulling his map up on his screen.
"So, what are we gonna do once we get there?" Vernon asked.
"Actually, I've been looking over some news articles," said RotomDex, pulling up said articles, "and according to this one, a new Pokémon Pageant is taking place in Violetrose Town!"
"Wait, really?" said Serena, looking over at RotomDex. "That's great! Now I can finally make my own debut!"
"You should have time to prepare once we get there," said RotomDex.
Suddenly, everyone heard a stomach growl. Without even thinking, they all instinctively turned to face Ash, who was clutching his stomach. "Sorry, I guess I'm a little hungry?"
"When aren't you hungry?" Vernon rolled his eyes.
"Well, that's okay," said Serena. "We can take a break for lunch now if you want!"
"Have you boys turned up anything yet!?" Jessie demanded, as she and her team looked around the forest.
"Uhm, nope, nothing to see here," said Meowth, exhaustedly checking under a rock.
"Do you really need us to find you a new Pokémon for your next Pageant?" said James. "You already did so well with Wobbuffet and Napiat."
"I cannot allow an act to become stale!" Jessie retorted. "Besides, the more Ralia-based Pokémon we find, the better for the boss, right?"
"Well, I don't think we'll find anything interesting around here," said James.
"C'mon out, guys!" said Ash, as he, Serena, and Vernon threw their PokéBalls into the air. The PokéBalls erupted into white light, and that light formed their Pokémon.
"Okay, everyone, just give me a little while, and I'll have lunch ready!" Serena said, smiling as she walked towards her food stash. On her way, she noticed Braixen and Chrysaluxe sitting nearby. "Oh, yeah! Guess what, you two?" she said, leaning down to look them in the eyes. "There's going to be a Pokémon Pageant in Violetrose Town. We should think about our act!"
Braixen cheeres, "Braixen, brai," excitedly, but Chrysaluxe sat silent. Serena noticed this and petted its head.
"You don't have to be afraid, okay?" she said. "We'll be right there for you, and we believe in you!"
She then resumed walking towards the food, as she prepared to make meals out of it, and Chrysaluxe remained silent. Suddenly, it hopped away towards a nearby tree. Braixen quickly, noticed this, and walked after it, while in the background, Charmor also saw this, and followed in concern.
Jessie was practically dragging James and Meowth along as they struggled to find a new Pokémon to capture, but they could find nothing that could get the attention of the people at the Pageant, or of Giovanni.
"Ugh, why is this so difficult!?" said Jessie, her hands balling up into fists.
"Well, I guess we now understand that whole, 'catch 'em all' dilemma," said Meowth.
Suddenly, James spied something. "Hey, guys, look over there," he pointed. Jessie and Meowth followed his finger to see Chrysaluxe sitting underneath a tree, completely motionless.
"Oh, yeah, what's that thing called again?" said Jessie.
James looked through the cards they'd stolen from the Professor's lab, and found one with this Pokémon's picture on it. "It says it's called a Chrysaluxe. Hmm, and according to this, it has two evolved forms."
"Really? What kind of evolved forms?" Jessie demanded.
"Um, looks like it evolves into a Solarfly if male, or a Lunoth if female," James explained, holding out two more cards. The card of Solarfly showed a butterfly-like Pokémon that was white with long wings that resembled the sun, being orange until they ended in multiple bright red tips. Lunoth had a black body, with bright white wings, which were rounded and both resembled a crescent moon.
"OOH!" said Jessie excitedly. "Those Pokémon are almost as beautiful as myself! That's it! We must capture that Chysaluxe and evolve it into a beautiful beauty!"
"Okay! Lunch is ready!" Serena announced as she set some plates of food out on a picnic table. Everyone in the group ran forward to chow down, but then Serena noticed that a few faces were missing from the crowd. "Hey, where's Braixen? And Chrysaluxe?"
Ash paused as he tried eating a sandwich. "Yeah, and Charmor?"
"So it's settled then?" said Jessie. "That Chrysaluxe will soon be ours!"
"Hold it!" shouted Meowth. "Twerps at twelve o'clock!"
The group had managed to find their missing Pokémon rather quickly. Chrysaluxe was sitting motionless under a tree, and both Braixen and Charmor were looking over it concerned.
"Hey, guys, what's going on over here?" said Vernon. Braixen looked over to the others and pointed at Chrysaluxe.
"Chysaluxe, what're you doing out here?" said Serena, kneeling down to her Pokémon's height. However, though Chrysaluxe looked up to her, it still wouldn't move. Then, it suddenly glowed white, nearly blinding everyone around it, before going back to normal.
"Oh, I think I know what's going on!" RotomDex said, flying forward. "I think Chrysaluxe is getting ready to evolve!"
"Evolve?" said Serena.
"Yes!" said RotomDex, pulling up data on Chysaluxe. "According to all my data, when a Chrysaluxe is preparing to evolve, it hunkers down in a dry, grassy place, and then it is unable to move as its shell becomes more and more brittle. So it won't move again until it evolves."
"Whoa!" said Serena looking back at Chrysaluxe. "You're going to evolve? That's so exciting! I can't wait to see it!
Suddenly, Charmor couldn't help but hear something in the bushes nearby, and decided to walk over to investigate. What it saw shocked it. Suddenly, an explosion occurred, and the people surrounding Chrysaluxe were blinded by the smoke.
Who's that Pokémon?
It can discern the physical and emotional states of people, Pokémon, and other things from the shape of their aura waves.
"What was that?!" Serena cried, as she struggled to get dust out of her eyes. Eventually, the dust settled, and when they opened their eyes, Chrysaluxe was mysteriously missing.
"What!? No! Chrysaluxe!" Serena wandered around and called out. "C'mon, where'd you go!?"
A few feet away, Charmor was looking at an enormous Pokémon. It was eight feet tall, and brown fur all over its body, a pig-like face, minus the snout, and long, hairy arms with human-like hands. It looked at Charmor with a completely stoic expression, and Charmor, not sensing anything wrong, decided to inch closer. However, the Pokémon then suddenly turned away, and Charmor attempted to follow it. But then, it heard mischievous laughter coming from the bushes nearby, and decided to wander off and investigate.
The others in the group then noticed the stirring in the bushes. "Chrysaluxe? Is that you?" Serena called out. "C'mon, guys, let's have a look."
"Hah!" said Jessie as she charged forward holding Team Rocket's newest prize, Chrysaluxe in her hands. "We sure got the jump on those twerps! Now Madame Jocelyn's newest ace can finally shine!"
"Weird," said Meowth, attempting to keep up. "This little doesn't like to fight as much as the others."
"Well then, it's perfect for reprogramming to Team Rocket standards!" Jessie gloated as she looked at Chrysaluxe. "Isn't that right, my little friend?"
Suddenly, Chrysaluxe began to glow white, nearly blinding everyone, before settling back down.
"What was that?" Jessie asked.
"I think it's getting ready to evolve soon," James explained.
"Perfect! Then I can get started with her right away!"
Charmor had finally caught up to the group, and gasped when it saw its friend, Chrysaluxe, in Jessie's arms. It knew it had to do something, but what?
Suddenly, its question was answered when Chrysaluxe began to glow brightly one more time. "Ugh," said Meowth as he put a paw in front of his face. "Can't they evolve without the glowing?"
Seeing its opportunity, Charmor spun forward with Flame Wheel, and managed to knock Jessie, James, and Meowth off their feet, sending Chrysaluxe flying into the air and onto Charmor's back. Quickly, Charmor ran off into the woods, but not before Team Rocket saw it first.
"That twerpish little Pokémon!" Jessie said with her fists clenched. "Who does it think it is?" The three then chased after Charmor, and caught up in record speed.
Charmor saw them sneaking up behind them, and and froze in shock.
"We'll teach you some manners!" Jessie insisted as she and James readied their PokéBalls. However, they all suddenly heard a loud growl, and Team Rocket heard a loud thump behind them. Tentatively, the three turned around to see the eight-foot Pokémon from earlier standing right behind them, looking very angry.
"Oh, h-hey, it's a local," Meowth said anxiously, sweating and rubbing the back of his neck. "We apologize, we were just on a leisurely stroll through the woods, and-"
Of course, the Pokémon wasn't buying it, and raised a Hammer Arm attack, quickly smacking Team Rocket away.
"We're blasting off too soon!" they cried out as they flew away.
Charmor and Chrysaluxe looked up to the giant Pokémon with apprehension, but fortunately, it calmly walked over to them, and after staring at them for a minute, picked them up in its arms and carried them away.
It felt like forever, but the giant Pokémon finally brought Charmor and Chrysaluxe to a small cottage, surrounded by trees. It put the two Pokémon down and suddenly, a short, hunched-over, old man with a long white beard and bald head walked up to them.
"Oh! So what have we got here?" he asked, smiling, his rotten teeth showing. "Aw, did yeese get into some trouble out in the woods there? Aw, no worries, we've all had them days. Come on, why don't we go inside? I'll fix you three something to eat."
"Chrysaluxe?" Serena called out into the woods. "Chrysaluxe? Where are you?"
Suddenly, Pikachu cried out, "Pika pika!" Everyone turned to face the small mouse Pokémon, and saw that it was pointing over to a certain cottage in the clearing. Just over the bushes, Serena could spy the old man, but she could also see something in his arms: Chrysaluxe.
"Alright, you found him!" she said with glee. "Hey! Chrysaluxe!" She began to run towards the cottage, the others struggling to keep up.
"Ugh..." moaned Jessie, pulling twigs from the bushes out of her hair. "I cannot believe that pig-nosed creep of a Pokémon got the drop on us."
"I know!" Meowth said, but unlike his teammates, his eyes were gleaming. "Can you believe how strong that Hammer Arm of his was? We gotta get him to sign with Team Rocket!"
"Oh, really, how should we do that?" James challenged.
Suddenly, Jessie spied something on the ground. It was a Chrysaluxe actually, sitting on the ground completely motionless. "What's this? Did my precious all-star return?"
"No, that other Chrysaluxe was with that twerp Pokémon," James reminded.
Suddenly, the Chrysaluxe began to glow, blinding everyone. The light grew brighter, and brighter, until finally it subsided, and Jessie, James, and Meowth were stunned to see the completely different Pokémon that was before them.
"That's it! That's my superstar!" Jessie gushed, as she threw a PokéBall at the Pokémon, and it pulled it inside, shaking three times before it clicked.
It's Riolu!
The group walked over to the house, but found that it was strangely quiet. It seemed that the old man had already gone into the house. Serena decided to be the first to walk up to the house and tentatively knock on the door.
"Um, excuse me? Anyone home?" she said.
Suddenly, the door swung open and the old man was standing in the doorway. "Hmm? What've we got here? What brings you kids to my neck of the woods?"
"Sorry to disturb, sir," said Ash, "It's just that we lost some Pokémon around here. You won't happen to know where they are, would you?"
The old man just stood there, staring creepily, until he suddenly lit up and said, "Oh you mean my newest company? Yes, yes, of course, come on in!" He turned and walked inside, and Ash, Serena, and Vernon just shrugged and followed him in.
Once inside, the group felt a sense of unease by the wild Pokémon that were inside the house. There were Skitties, Pigdeys, Burmies, Zubats, and Suffuls lining the floor. They were all play-fighting with each other, until a Stufful knocked a lamp off the nearby coffee table.
"Oh, well, I see you've got a lot of Pokémon of your own, Mister..." Vernon started.
"Arnold, name's Arnold," said the old man."And they ain't mine. They just like to come into my house and help themselves. I just don't have the heart to kick 'em out."
He lead them into the kitchen and picked up up a bowl of cookies. "Here, cookie?" he offered.
"Um, sure," Ash accepted, taking one and biting into it. "Ooh, this is really good! What is it made of?"
"Just the usual," said Arnold. "Sugar, chocolate, butter, and about three pounds of lichen."
"What?" said Ash, spitting the cookie back out of his mouth. "Why would you ever put lichen in cookies?"
"Please, modern recipes are a fad," Arnold said. "I live out here to reconnect with humanity's roots, to reconnect with nature. We survived on lichen before, so why not now?"
Ash was about to protest, but then he saw two familiar faces sitting in the corner eating berries out of bowls.
"Charmor!" he said, running toward his Pokémon.
"Chrysaluxe!" Serena said, picking up here own Pokémon.
"Now what're youse doing with those Pokémon there?" said Arnold.
"Well, these were the Pokémon we were talking about before," Serena explained. "They wandered away earlier."
"Heh, wandered away," said Arnold, "maybe they just got tired of you, ya think?"
"What? No way, we were attacked!" Ash insisted.
"Or maybe they were just fed up with those new-fangled Poké-Whatchamacallits, eh?" said Arnold. "See, that's why we all come down here, to live off the land and live free form the modern world, right boys?"
Ash and Serena looked at their Pokémon in the eyes, and they could both see that their Pokémon agreed that this man was just nuts.
"Sorry, maybe we should get going," said Vernon, opening the door to the back, but saw a hairy, pig-faced Pokémon getting in his way.
"Whoa! What is that thing?" he said.
RotomDex flew up and scanned the Pokémon, before saying, "Giansquatch, the Hairy Pokémon. A Normal Type. Giansquatchs are rarely ever seen by human eyes. It is said that they wander the forest foraging and helping other Pokémon, but avoiding humans."
"Ah, yes, my closest friend here in the great outdoors," explained Arnold. "Giansquatch here always helps me out with the outdoor chores, bringing in a lost Pokémon or two, or just helping me reach something on a higher shelf."
Suddenly, Giansquatch picked Chrysaluxe and Charmor up in its arms, and carried them out the door.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Ash, walking forward protesting. "What do you think you're doing!?"
"You children have overlooked something, actually," Arnold stated. "That Chysaluxe of yours, young lass, it's gettin' ready to evolve, right? That's why it ain't moving."
"Um, yeah, but..." Serena said.
"So I suggest you folks let it stay here long enough for it to evolve. I do believe my backyard garden is the best place for it to settle down. It's got moss, wet plants, sunlight, everything it needs."
"Oh, no, that won't be necessary, sir, " Serena said. "We were just gonna take it to Violetrose Town and take care of it there."
"You don't seem to be getting it, missy," said Arnold. "It needs to be in sync with nature, with its natural home, before it can evolve correctly."
"No, my data says that Chyrsaluxe should be able to evolve no matter where it is," said RotomDex.
"Ugh, you city folks know nothing of Pokémon," said Arnold.
"But what about my Charmor?" said Ash.
"I can tell that your Charmor is a close friend to that Chrysaluxe," said Arnold. "I believe it should be present for emotional support."
"Are you sure?" Vernon said, an eyebrow raised.
"Come on," said Arnold, walking out the door. "Why don't you help me out in my garden? We'll pick some berries and your Pokémon will evolve in no time."
Giansquatch stood over Chrysaluxe sitting under a tree, still not glowing. Charmor sat right next to its friend, hoping to urge it to evolve so that they could all go and get on with their lives. Alas, it was having no luck.
"Ah, now isn't this relaxing?" said Arnold, pulling some Oran Berries off of a bush into a bucket he was holding. "Just taking a step back and listening to the sweet sounds of Mama Nature."
Ash was nearby, picking some Pecha Berries off another bush, while Serena and Vernon were picking Chesto and Rawst Berries off of others. "C'mon," Ash muttered to himself. "If people still wanted to pick their own food, they wouldn't have invented grocery stores."
"C'mon, Chrysaluxe," Serena said to herself, "evolve soon."
Suddenly, a huge net came out of nowhere, and everyone looked up to see that it was headed straight for Giansquatch. It wrapped around the giant, hairy Pokémon and tied it to the ground.
"Huh? Hey, what's the big idea!?" said Arnold.
"Prepare for trouble, looks like Mother Nature has provided!" Jessie said, making her entrance.
"Make it double, just look at what she and I did!" James said, making his entrance.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of living off the land!"
"To extend our reach now that victory's at hand!"
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare for a natural fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!" said Meowth, jumping in between his human partners.
"Wobbuffet!" said Wobbuffet, popping out from behind Jessie.
"Mime mime!" said Mime Jr, leaping onto James's head.
"Who are you city folks!?" said Arnold. "What do youse think you're doing'."
"Take a guess, old man!" said Jessie. "We want that Giansquatch of yours!"
"Its strength, its submissive attitude, it'll be a perfect addition to Team Rocket!" James gloated.
"Grr," said Arnold. "You city folks are all the same, takin' what doesn't belong to you, messing up a hard-workin' man's crops, and raising a needless ruckus! Get out! The lot of you!"
"Man, he sounds crotchety," said Meowth.
"I guess I would be too if I lived in a forest with only Wurmples for company," said James. "But anyway, we'll be taking that Giansquatch and be going now."
"I don't think so!" said Ash running up between Team Rocket and Arnold. "You'll have to get past me first!"
"And me!" said Vernon.
"And me!" said Serena. "Arnold, think you can let us help you?"
Arnold just paused for a second before saying, "Eh, do as you like."
Suddenly, a bright light got everyone's attention. They all looked back at Chrysaluxe, who was glowing more intensely than ever, until finally, it changed shape. It grew long, rounded, silver wings shaped like crescent moons, and a black, fuzzy body.
"Yes!" said Serena with shining eyes. "Chrysaluxe has finally evolved!"
RotomDex quickly got to work on scanning. "Lunoth, the Crescent Moon Pokémon. A Bug and Dark Type. When flying across the night sky, Lunoth's wings are sometimes mistaken for a full moon. It lives a secretive lifestyle, avoiding contact with people and other Pokémon when possible. Evolves from a female Chrysaluxe at level 13."
"Interesting. So our old friend finally caught up with us, huh?" said Jessie, rubbing her chin smugly. "Then now's a good time to let it know what else we've got now!" She threw a PokéBall, and out came a bug Pokémon similar to Lunoth, but with a white body and long, butterfly-like wings that were orange and ended in red tips.
Scanning this Pokémon, RotomDex said, "Solarfly, the Sunny Pokémon. A Bug and Psychic type. These Pokémon's wings can grow so big they can blot out the actual sun. They are known to be excitable creatures and never want to stop moving. Evolves from a male Chrysaluxe at level 13."
"C'mon, Lunoth! Let's show 'em what you're made of!" said Serena proudly, as her newly-evolved Lunoth flew up to her.
"Solarfly, use Solar Beam!" Jessie commanded. Solarfly's body glowed green before firing a green laser at Lunoth.
"Dodge it, Lunoth!" Serena said, and Lunoth flew out of the way. Suddenly, it emitted a stream of black rings of dark energy, with hit Solarfly head on.
"Neat! Lunoth has learned Dark Pulse!" said RotomDex.
"Alright then, said Serena. "Use Dark Pulse again! Blast it back!"
Lunoth launched a repeat of its attack, but this time, Solarfly saw it coming and managed to dodge.
"Use Psychic!" Jessie shouted. Solarfly's eyes glowed blue, and it lifted a nearby rock to toss at Lunoth.
Meanwhile, seeing that Serena had the battle handled, Ash made his way to a netted Giansquatch, trying to see how to set it free.
"Charmor!" he heard a voice say, and he looked down to see Charmor with its back scales sticking up, letting fire emit from underneath.
"Good call, Charmor," Ash agreed. "Okay, use Ember!"
Charmor mustered up its fire, until eventually, it managed to spit out a hot enough flame, it burned through a small section of the net. From this, Giansquatch reached out its hand and began tearing the net apart itself.
Lunoth continued to dodge attacks from Solarfly, but eventually, it flapped its wings and releasing silver, crescent-shaped bits of energy, which pummeled Solarfly until it fell back, dazed.
"Awesome! Lunoth learned Silver Wind, too!" said RotomDex.
Team Rocket was prepared to get back on the offensive, but suddenly, Giansquatch came crashing down behind them, and when they turned to face it, they saw just how angry it was.
"Uh, so what was that we said about you being submissive?" said Meowth, nervously rubbing the back of his head.
Giansquatch just stood silent until it raised another Hammer Arm and knocked all of Team Rocket sky high.
"WE"RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"
"Alright, Lunoth! You did it!" said Serena running up to embrace her Pokémon. Lunoth muttered a joyful noise before it saw its friend Charmor on the ground and flew up to it, and Charmor jumped up to it to nuzzle Lunoth with its nose.
"Guess, those two really are good friends, huh?" said Ash.
Arnold walked up and petted the arm of his large friend. "Ah, so glad to see you you're okay, Giansquatch. Yeah, you really know how to sock it to those city folks, huh?" Giansquatch nodded.
"So, now that Chysaluxe has evolved, we can go now, right?" said Serena.
"Oh what, you're just gonna leave an old man to pick his berries alone? Shame on you," Arnold said in a huff. Everyone looked confused, but one moment later, they found themselves forced to pick the rest of the berries for the old man.
"We're never gonna get out of here," muttered Vernon.
And with that, Chysaluxe has evolved into an elegant Lunoth! Certainly a fine addition for the next Pokémon Pageant! More to come, as the journey continues!
TO BE CONTINUED...