AAML: Diamond and Pearl version

by EchidnaPower

Follow me as I remake the DP episodes in order and in sequence, all so I can add the biggest star besides Ash himself. Misty! Watch her and Ash's love grow as they go on their journey. A Pokeshipping series. Also includes Penguinshipping, Handymanshipping, slight mentions of Contestshipping, and a Brock shipping to be named later. Oh yeah, there's PikachuXBuneary here too.

71. An Egg Scramble

Well everyone, it's finally here! The very highly requested next chapter of AAML: Diamond and Pearl version (boy I wish I could change the name) is about to get underway. I got a ton of messages from folks wondering when the next installment would be, and all I could ever say was that I was working on it (which I was).

You gotta understand folks, a lot more goes into these chapters than just copying the episodes into text format. While a vast majority of these chapters are ripped straight from the episodes, context gets changed, dialogue gets shifted to different characters, at times things are added and/or changed to accommodate new characters (Misty in particular obviously), and now with the added feature that is Ash's aura and Lucario, it gets even more tricky to make sure this story doesn't just become the story of Super Ash and his not-so amazing friends.

Anyway, I think I've said enough. I hope you guys like this episode, I personally feel like things will be better moving forward, since we get to introduce ANOTHER set of new characters here. Once they're better integrated things will get more interesting. Now then, without further ado, it's time for anonymous reviews!

Guest1: Glad you thought so! Really appreciate it!

Diamonds Shine: Penguinshipping is coming! And yeah, sorry, I actually really like Pikachu and Buneary together. As for Brock's girl, that also is coming. When? Don't know, you'll have to wait and see. Thanks for the review!

Joselito55: Nothing is out of the realm of possibility.

Sparkydragon98: Riolu was already special enough lol, learning Aura Sphere on top of that would've just been overkill. But now, you get to enjoy the adventures of Lucario! Paul facing him will be fascinating, you just wait and see.

Flying Potatoes: Well Ash has gotten jealous before in this story, but I do see your point. I do have plans in the future, but I won't reveal more than that.

Guest2 and Guest3: It's NOT over, here's more!

Commander M: Well I can clearly see that you hate Paul, I'm not a fan of him either. But Paul is still important to this story and so we will be seeing more of him.

knightowl: Perhaps, but I felt it would be better if Azurill got the glory for that one since I planned to have her evolve.

Well, that's that! Next chapter go! I own nothing except the story.
_

Chapter 71

Misty's POV

Mixed feelings...that's the best way to describe our most recent adventure. Turns out, Team Rocket was at the Twinleaf Festival and got paid a fortune by Sayer, the man in charge of setting up the booths and managing the workers...where he got that much money I'll never know, but Team Rocket was able to use it to make a gigantic tower in the middle of a ravine...and did I mention it was actually a real rocket instead of a tower?

We got led in before Riolu could warn us about it being a Team Rocket trap, and so we spent the next few hours trying (and failing) to escape because of - get this - an evil Togepi of all things. Just when I thought I'd seen it all, an evil Togepi shows up and nearly kills us all by manipulating our Pokémon into making the rocket blast off into space, and if it weren't for the herculean efforts of Ash and Lucario, we wouldn't have lived to see another day.

Oh yeah, Riolu evolved into Lucario, but I'll get into that in a minute.

I'm actually ashamed to admit that when that Togepi showed up, all rationality just went out the window. I was willing to believe that Togepi was innocent despite Ash, Riolu and even my own Azurill telling me something was fishy, all because I had this preconceived notion that all Togepi were pure angels. Having spent so much time raising a Togepi of my own put that idea in my head, not that that's any excuse for dismissing the warnings my friends kept giving me.

Just thinking about it, I really do have amazing friends. Even as I slowly came to the painful conclusion that this Togepi really was out to get us, they were supportive and tried to help me through it instead of staying angry at me after I basically called them crazy. It was a harsh reality to face, but my friends and Pokémon were there for me when the chips were down in spite of it all.

Speaking of my Pokémon, the inevitable finally happened. During a losing battle against that evil Togepi, my Azurill evolved into Marill and learned Rollout to stop Togepi from almost killing me...my baby's all grown up now. I knew it would happen eventually, and while I'm proud of Marill for stepping up and I'm happy she evolved, there's still a small part of me that wishes she was still my baby Pokémon. It'll fade with time I'm sure, right now it's still a little bittersweet.

Then there's Lucario...oh man, Lucario...if he hadn't evolved when he did, we'd be dead right now. The rocket had gotten knocked out of orbit by an angry Rayquaza, and our last hope to stabilize the rocket during reentry was Ash and Riolu's aura, and it wasn't going to be enough...and that's when Riolu evolved into Lucario, and suddenly miracles started happening. The rocket was stabilized, James got us back to the ground safely, and then when that evil Togepi took one more shot at hurting us and somehow managed to blow up the rocket with us in it, Lucario and Ash managed to get up a shield before we were blown up right along with it.

Now I just have to get used to having a five foot seven Lucario hanging around, even taller if you count his ears.

It was a rough day for me, no denying that...but I will never be able to put into words how touched I was when both Marill and Lucario reassured me that even though they evolved, I wouldn't stop being their mom to them. This also gives me a new challenge, like how I'll deal with teenage Pokémon, somehow I get the feeling Lucario is gonna be the harder one to reign in...just a hunch.

Normal POV

"Man, I'm starving, when can we stop to eat?"

"We're almost at the nearest town Lucario, just hang on a little longer."

"You don't understand, I think I'm gonna pass out if I don't get some food in me soon."

"You'll be fine, why don't you use your aura or something to keep you going?"

"Aura doesn't fill my stomach."

Misty and Lucario were bantering back and forth as they walked along the road leading to the next town, the Aura Pokémon's stomach had been growling pretty much the whole way, but each time Ash had offered to put him back in his Pokéball, he'd refused, citing how he wanted to stay out and hang with everyone else like Pikachu and Piplup.

Unfortunately, his griping was starting to get on everyone's nerves.

"Listen buddy, I'm hungry too, but ya can't complain about it all day, we'll stop for lunch soon."

The Aura Pokémon sighed even as his stomach growled again. "Fine Dad, if you say so." he crossed his arms over his chest, but then his ears twitched and his eyes suddenly widened. "I sense something, there's a Pokémon that needs help!"

"Um, we don't exactly need aura to see that."

Lucario looked over to where Kenny was pointing, and he spotted what appeared to be a Pokémon stuck between the walls of two adjacent buildings. "Oh, well, you're welcome anyway." Lucario shrugged and caught up to everyone else, and together they examined the rather...interesting situation. "Big sis?"

"Nope, it's a Marill alright, but it's not mine." Misty scratched her chin. "It looks stuck tight too."

"We gotta get it outta there!" Lucario warmed up his aura and activated a Force Palm. "Stand back! I'll make the hole bigger so it can get out!"

"Whoa whoa whoa! Easy buddy!" Ash jumped in front of his overeager Pokémon with his arms outstretched in front of him. "Let's see if we can pull Marill outta there before we start smashing stuff, 'kay?"

"Ash is right Lucario," Misty added. "See, there's this little thing called property damage that we'd be liable for if you did that, we'd have to pay a lot of money to have it repaired."

"Oh," Lucario powered down his aura and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish chuckle. "Sorry about that." With that settled, Pikachu and Piplup walked up to the stuck Marill and grabbed hold of its back and started tugging as hard as they could to try and get it out. After the third attempt or so, Lucario began to sense warning signs. "Hey guys, I think Marill's starting to freak out!"

Just as he said that, Marill unleashed a Water Gun attack that wound up soaking everyone to the bone, but it did manage to get Marill unstuck. "Well...at least it's out." Dawn sighed as she started to squeeze the water out of her hair.

"Here, lemme take a look." Brock knelt down in front of the smiling Marill and gave it the onceover. "It doesn't look hurt, guess it just got a little curious and tried to explore somewhere it shouldn't have."

"Well we're glad you're ok Marill." Ash said. "Only next time, try not to get us all wet ok?"

"Marill."

"She said sorry." Lucario then turned around as he sensed another aura incoming. "Heads up, we got company."

"Marill! There you are!" Running up the sidewalk was a young teen with a red blouse and blue overalls, her long brown pigtails trailing behind her and a hand on her head to keep her large white hat with a big red bow on the side from flying off. Once she reached the group, she put her hands on her hips and looked down at the Aqua Mouse Pokémon. "Now how did you manage to get here?"

"Does this Marill belong to you?" Dawn asked.

The girl nodded and grinned. "It sure does," she said with a bit of pride in her voice. "But it just disappeared!" she then pulled out a Pokéball and seconds later Marill was sucked back into its proper confines. "Thanks for finding Marill by the way, the name's Lyra and I'm a Pokémon Trainer!"

"Nice to meet you Lyra! I'm Dawn," she motioned towards her Pokémon. "And I'd like you to meet my partner, Piplup!"

"Pi pip plup!"

"I'm Kenny, and I'm a Pokémon Coordinator like Dawn is!"

"My name's Brock, and I'm a Pokémon Breeder!"

"Misty's the name, I'm one of the Gym Leaders for the Cerulean City gym in the Kanto Region, it's nice to meet you!"

"And I'm Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu, and this is my Lucario!"

"Pleasure's all mine."

"Well it's very nice to meet you all!" Lyra smiled at the group, but then it slowly vanished as she turned towards Lucario and pointed a finger at him. "Um...was I hearing things, or did that Lucario just say hi back?"

"I did." Lucario grinned cheekily. "But don't worry, I get that a lot."

"Like wow! That's incredible! A talking Lucario?! That-that's beyond incredible! I thought telepathy was only a legend!" the excited Pokémon Trainer pulled out a white Pokédex and scanned the creature.

Lucario, the Aura Pokémon and the evolved form of Riolu. Lucario reads the thoughts of others and anticipates their movements by sensing their auras.

"Yep," Lucario's grin was still firmly in place. "Sounds about right."

"Hey, isn't that a Johto Pokédex?" Brock asked.

"Yeah! Brand new too!" Lyra exclaimed as she held the handheld device out to them. "Have you guys been to the Johto Region before?"

"Yeah, a couple years ago, I traveled the Johto Region with Misty and Brock and challenged all the gyms!" Ash chuckled. "I even got into the Silver Conference and finished in the top eight."

"Seriously?! That's awesome!"

"So how about you Lyra?" Misty asked. "Are you from the Johto Region?"

"Sure am!" Lyra then snapped her fingers in realization. "Hey! I just remembered something! If you all wouldn't mind, I'd like to thank you for finding Marill, I've got something really cool to show you!"

"Cool?" Dawn tilted her head a bit. "Show us what?"

Lyra pointed her thumb behind her. "Back there! The Johto Festival is going on now even as we speak!"

"Johto Festival?" Ash asked. "Brock, your guidebook say anything about that?"

The breeder shook his head. "Never heard of it."

"But it sounds exciting!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Oh trust me, you won't regret it!" Lyra winked and pointed her thumb behind her again. "So, ready to go Dane?"

"Dane?" the blue-haired coordinator raised an eyebrow. "Well...ok I guess."

"Look at it this way Dawn," Kenny smirked. "At least she didn't call you-"

The male coordinator didn't get to finish his sentence as Dawn grabbed him by the lapel with both hands and shook him violently. "Say it I dare you! I double dare you!"

"Um...what's going on?" Lyra sweat-dropped.

"Oh nothing," Misty waved her hand dismissively. "Just a couple of friends and some harmless teasing."

"Um...ok, I guess..." Lyra chuckled nervously, then she flinched a bit when Lucario leaned in close to her. "Hi?"

"So this festival, there's food there right?"

Lyra smiled. "Of course there is!"

"See you there."

"Lucario wait!" By the time the words were out of Ash's mouth, the hungry Aura Pokémon was already halfway down the block. "We better go catch him."

"What we better do is have a talk with him," Misty gave her a boyfriend a pointed look. "Ever since he evolved he's been acting like a rambunctious teenager."

"And what are you two supposed to be?" Brock raised an amused eyebrow.

Misty shot the breeder a glare. "We're not that bad!"

Brock said nothing more, and after everything settled down within their own party, the group followed Lyra to the middle of the town square, where stalls and booths were all laid out in a circle. "Wow, pretty impressive to say the least." Brock nodded in approval.

"Yeah, neat, I'll take it all in as soon as we've tracked down our rebellious little rascal." Misty shaded her eyes with her hand as she scanned the crowd for any signs of Lucario. "You'd think he'd be easy to spot." Suddenly the group heard a ringing sound, and they stopped as Lyra pulled a small pink device out of her pocket, one that Misty recognized fairly easily. "Hey, is that a Pokégear?"

"Yeah it is!" Lyra held the Pokégear up for everyone to see. "It's got a phone and a map and everything built right in!" Lyra turned away to answer the call as she flipped the device open. "Hello?"

"It's Khoury! Where'd you go now?!"

"I'll be right there, what's the matter? Why're you all freaked out now?"

"Because there's this Pokémon staring at our booth and I'm honestly not sure if it wants to eat something from the display cases or if it wants to eat me!"

Ash and Misty shared knowing looks as Lyra cast an amused glance at her new friends before smiling reassuringly at her friend on the other end of the call. "Sit tight, and give that Pokémon whatever he wants, he's a friend, I'll be right over!" she hung up and turned to the others with her hands on her hips and a mischievous grin on her face. "Should I assume that's your Lucario?"

"No doubt about it." Misty sighed. "We'll pay for whatever Lucario eats, we're sorry for the trouble."

Lyra smiled and gave a dismissive wave. "Don't even worry about it, the whole point of the festival is to promote the Johto League and that includes the food! We've been traveling all over and we've gotten great results everywhere we've went!"

Just then the big screen that was placed in the center area of the festival lit up, and Lyra's image appeared on it and started talking about the wonders of the Johto Region. "Hey, it's you!" Ash exclaimed. "So does that mean you're on staff?"

Lyra blushed bashfully and rubbed the back of her neck. "I hope so," she laughed. "Well at least that's what they told me the last time I checked."

As the virtual Lyra continued pointing out some of the highlights of the region - including the Ecruteak City Kimono Girls which tempted Misty to yank on the love-stricken Brock's ear - memories of their past adventures began flooding into their minds and built up a warm glow in their hearts.

"Man, talk about memories." Ash chuckled.

"Yeah," Misty pulled a machine out of her own pocket. "And it also reminds me that I need to get a new Pokégear, this one's out of service already."

"Hey! You have a Pokégear too?!" Lyra zipped over to snag the machine out of the now stunned redhead's hand. "I remember this one, it went out of service about a year ago when they came out with the new versions." Lyra handed the device back to Misty. "You know if you want, we can replace that old thing for you and get you a brand new one," she winked. "I'll even spring for letting you use my employee discount, just don't tell anyone."

Misty laughed. "We'll see, thanks for the offer though."

"Lyra!"

The group looked up at the panicked voice and they saw a young man with curly dark-green hair and glasses running up to them, and he hunched over and started gasping for breath once he reached them. "Khoury? What is it now?" Lyra scoffed.

"T-That Pokémon! It...it wants to eat everything!"

"Oh for the love of-" Misty face-palmed and sighed in exasperation. "Take us there, we'll take care of it."

"Who...who are you?"

"Introductions later Khoury," Lyra stood the taller boy up and shoved him in the back to get him moving. "Let's just get this situation under control."

Moments later they reached the booth in question, and sure enough, they found Lucario with several different food products tucked in his arms, and he was practically drooling as he looked at them all in adoration. "Finally, this should do it!"

"Lucario!"

The Aura Pokémon was about to get started on his meal when he heard the angry sound of Ash's voice. "Dad? What's wrong?"

"Ya can't just take off like that Lucario, did you even ask if you could have any of that stuff?"

"Well, no..." Lucario looked at all of his precious food. "But I thought these were all free samples? That's what he told me." he motioned towards Khoury, who now had all eyes on him.

"Well, I did say that. B-But Lyra told me-"

"No, it's not your fault Khoury." Misty raised her hand and frowned before she turned her attention back to Lucario. "Free samples mean you take one, Lucario. Not all. Now put everything back and just take one, we're going to get something to eat now."

Lucario peered down at the food in his arms with a mournful expression, and with a sad sigh, he obeyed his mother's orders and started putting everything back where he got it from, but not without a sneer when he heard a comment he didn't like. "Zip it, big mouth."

"Excuse me?!"

Lucario's eyes widened in horror and he quickly finished the job and put his hands up in his own defense. "I-I wasn't talking to you Mom, I swear!" he turned his attention back towards the booth and scowled. "It's this Totodile here, he keeps staring at me with that stupid smirk on his face!"

"A Totodile?" Dawn walked over to the booth and saw that there was indeed a Totodile standing behind the counter with a smug grin on its face and its short arms crossed over its chest. "Let's see." she pulled out her Pokédex.

Totodile, the Big Jaw Pokémon. Totodile has a habit of using its highly developed jaws to chomp on anything in sight, so Trainers beware.

"There, you see? Big Jaw, big mouth, same diff right?"

"No it's not the same." Misty sent a disapproving stare towards Lucario who just sighed in defeat and slumped to the ground. "So dramatic."

When Pikachu and Piplup hopped onto the counter to greet the Big Jaw Pokémon and apologize for their friend, they were slightly stunned when Totodile merely frowned and snubbed its nose at them, its arms still crossed.

"Seems a bit..." Dawn struggled for a word. "Distant."

"That's my Totodile," Khoury chuckled in embarrassment. "Sorry, it's always acting like that. Your Lucario just kinda gave it something to focus on."

"Has it been giving you trouble for a while?" Ash asked.

"Well...I-I wouldn't say it's giving me trouble, I mean, we're friends and all but..." Khoury rubbed the back of his neck. "Every once in a while it acts out for some reason, and it also won't eat any of the Pokémon food I make for it."

"Oh?" Brock stepped forward and spotted a bowl of untouched Pokémon food sitting next to Totodile, and the breeder took a piece for himself and bit into it to sample it.

"If it doesn't want it, I'll eat it."

Ash smirked and sent a telepathic reply back. "I'm sure you would. Sit tight buddy, remember we're all hungry. Meditate on your aura for a bit and see if you can calm down." Once the trainer sensed Lucario doing as he was told, he nodded in satisfaction and turned his attention back to Brock. "So what's the verdict?"

"I think it may be a tad too sweet," Brock turned to Khoury. "Do you have any Chesto Berries?"

"Chesto Berries? Uh y-yeah, hang on." Khoury went behind the counter and hefted up a basket filled with blue berries. "How's that gonna help?"

Brock smirked. "I'll show you." the breeder took off his backpack and pulled out his mortar and pestle. Taking a few of the berries from the basket, he began smashing them into a fine powder, which he then sprinkled into the bowl of Pokémon food and mixed it in. "There ya go, try that."

As soon as Totodile took a few sniffs of the newly altered food, it began chomping down huge mouthfuls at a time, much to Khoury's pleasant surprise. "Amazing! Just like that, Totodile's eating like it's the best thing it's ever had!"

"That's Brock for ya," Kenny said. "I know my Pokémon have really been enjoying his cooking."

"Now don't forget that I'm the one who brought them here," Lyra puffed out her chest towards Khoury in pride. "So, pretty neat huh?"

"O-Of course!" Khoury turned to Brock. "How'd you know that would work?"

Brock pumped a fist. "I wanna be the greatest Pokémon Breeder in the world, so knowing how flavors work in Pokémon food and what certain Pokémon prefer is just part of the trade!" he lowered his fist and gave the boy a friendly smile. "I've been training to be a breeder for a while now, so I learned all this over time. I can give you some of my recipes if you'd like!"

"Really?!" Khoury nodded excitedly. "That would be awesome, thank you so much!" Just then, a man walked up to the booth holding several cones of what appeared to be ice cream. "Oh hey Dad!"

"Hello Khoury, Lyra." the man took a glance at the large group of teens standing in front of the booth. "Are all these young people your friends Lyra?"

"Mhmm," the girl nodded. "They helped me to find Marill! Their names are Ash, Misty, Brock, Kenny and Dane!"

"Uh actually it's Dawn," the coordinator sweat-dropped. "It's nice to meet you sir."

"The feeling is mutual," the man looked back and forth at the cones he was carrying and sweat-dropped. "If I had known that Lyra was bringing friends I would've brought more ice cream, it's freshly made from Moomoo Milk."

"Don't worry about it Mr. Jamison, I wasn't hungry anyway." Lyra motioned to the others. "But it just so happens that these fine folks were looking for something to eat so feel free to distribute as you see fit!"

"Yeah Dad," Khoury agreed with a nod. "After what Brock did for me and Totodile, I think you should just go ahead and give them that ice cream, it's the least we can do!"

Khoury's father chuckled. "Alright, if you insist." The man walked over to the teens and started handing out ice cream, a sheepish smile on his face as the number began to dwindle. "I only brought five cones, it was supposed to be for us and our Pokémon, so someone is going to have to wait until I can come back with more."

"That's ok Mr. Jamison," Dawn grinned mischievously at two of her friends. "I'm sure Ash and Misty wouldn't mind sharing a cone, that way we can all have some! Right guys?"

The couple narrowed their eyes at the blue-haired coordinator for a moment, which only prompted her to giggle impishly. Misty was the first one to break the gaze and she sent an exasperated smile towards Mr. Jamison. "That would be fine, thank you sir."

The man sweat-dropped and handed Misty the cone, then he leaned down and presented the last cone to Lucario, who upon smelling the frozen treat, opened his eyes which were now sparkling like stars at the sight of the swirly ice cream. "Yes!" he eagerly grabbed the cone from the stunned adult and beamed brightly at him. "Thanks a lot! I've been trying to get my hands on something to eat all day!"

"Well..." Khoury's father was clearly shell-shocked as he watched the Lucario that had just talked to him eagerly lap up the ice cream with his tongue. "I'd always heard legends of Pokémon that could use telepathy...but I'd always thought they were just that, legends."

"That's exactly what I said!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Don't worry, you kinda get used to it after a while." Kenny chuckled and took a lick of ice cream. "Hey! This is pretty good!"

Dawn hummed in contentment as she took her own lick. "It tastes so fresh! You can tell it's homemade, the stuff you buy at the supermarket isn't nearly this creamy."

"I'm glad you like it!" Mr. Jamison smiled.

Lyra suddenly hummed a little fanfare before gesturing towards Khoury's father. "See, Khoury's dad is the one responsible for the entire festival, including the recipes we're letting everyone sample." She then pointed across her body towards Khoury without actually looking at him, a cheeky grin on her face. "As for Khoury, I guess you could call him a Pokémon Breeder if you stretched it."

"If you stretched it?" Khoury responded with a slightly wounded look. "Hey, that's cruel."

"Oh you know I'm just teasing you, lighten up!"

"Yeah," Khoury rolled his eyes. "I know."

Lyra grinned at him and put her hands behind her back as she faced her new friends. "So, Ash, I know you told me that you challenged the Johto Region before, but what are you up to here in Sinnoh?"

"Well," he swallowed the ice cream in his mouth. "My team and I are working on getting into the Sinnoh League, we've already got seven badges to show for it too."

"Seven badges?! Wow!" Lyra reached into her back pocket and pulled out a badge case. "I've only won two so far," she opened it. "Look, the Zephyr Badge from the Violet Gym, and also the Hive Badge from the Azalea Gym!"

"So that means you beat Falkner and Bugsy," Ash glanced at the electric-type on his shoulder. "They sure were tough, huh buddy?"

"Pika pika." (Sure were.)

"You're telling me." Lyra chuckled and put her badge case back, "Bugsy was really tough to beat, especially with his Butterfree and Scizor, they were really strong!"

"Wait, what?" Misty raised an eyebrow. "Guess Bugsy evolved his Metapod and Scyther."

Lyra then shifted her attention to Dawn. "And what about you Dane? I think Kenny mentioned you both were coordinators, right?"

"That's right," Dawn nodded. "And our next contest is the one they're having in Lilypad Town."

"That's awesome! Since I specialize in battling, you two are the first coordinator friends I've made so far." Then Khoury's Totodile jumped up onto his trainer's shoulder and gave a raspy shout, grabbing the girl's attention. "What is it Totodile?"

"He said something about a show getting ready to start."

Lyra put her hands on her hips and laughed. "Wow, I still can't get over how awesome it is that you have a Lucario that can use telepathy!" But then the meaning of Lucario's statement fully hit her, and she gasped as her mind began racing. "Oh man, I forgot all about it! I gotta hurry over there!" With that she took off running, leaving the others behind in confusion.

"A show?" Kenny glanced at the boy in the booth. "What's this about a show?"

"Well, it's an exhibition on Johto Pokémon, and Lyra's the one who's supposed to run it." Khoury rubbed the back of his head and chuckled. "I guess she must've lost track of time in all the excitement."

"We gotta check that out!" Ash opened his mouth wide and nearly swallowed the rest of the ice cream cone whole.

But Misty was there to stop him as she pulled it away before he could get his mouth around it. "We'll go watch the show, but you're not about to eat our ice cream to speed things along." she said with narrowed eyes as she took a slow lick for emphasis. Then she turned towards Khoury and gave him a smile. "Would you mind leading the way?"

"Sure thing! Just follow me." The dark-green haired boy came out from behind the booth and led the group over to the center of the festival grounds, where Lyra was now on stage addressing the ever-growing crowd of people. "Looks like Lyra's ready to get started."

"Hello people of Sinnoh!" Lyra's voice echoed through the speakers and spread over the area so everyone could hear. "Are you feeling great?!" the crowd cheered at the top of their lungs. "That's what I like to hear! My name's Lyra and I'm from Newbark Town in Johto! Now please direct your attention to the big screen, and we'll get started with our Johto Pokémon exhibition!"

Lyra gestured towards the big screen, and it immediately lit up with an image of a Chikorita. "In Johto, new trainers have a choice between Chikorita, Cyndaquil and Totodile for their first Pokémon, all of which are pretty rare in Sinnoh as I'm sure you're all aware."

"Gotta say that's true," Kenny commented. "I've never run into any of those Pokémon while on my journey."

Lyra then pulled out a Pokéball. "Alright Chikorita, you're up! Go!" she tossed the ball onto the stage, and out popped a tiny grass-type with a large leaf adorning its head.

"Wow, so that's a Chikorita!" Dawn pulled out her pink Pokédex.

Chikorita, the Leaf Pokémon. Chikorita uses the leaf on its head to scan for warmth and humidity in its surroundings, and loves to sunbathe.

"Hey, you with the Piplup over there!"

Dawn blinked and looked around for someone else who might've had a Piplup with them, but seeing as no one else did, she came to the conclusion that Lyra had just called out her out on stage. "Who, me?"

"I was wondering how you two would feel about having a battle with this Chikorita! Come on up, don't be shy!"

The crowd surrounding the stage began to clap and cheer, and Dawn found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place as she looked at each of her friends in shock. "But, I-I wasn't ready to-"

"Come on Dawn!" Kenny pumped a fist. "You can beat Lyra, no problem!"

"But isn't it a bad matchup?"

"So?" Kenny shrugged with a scoff. "Just use some coordinator razzle-dazzle, remember she doesn't know much about coordinating so your techniques will probably throw her for a loop!"

"Come on Aunt Dawn," Lucario exclaimed in excitement. "I wanna see a battle, you can beat that Chikorita no problem!"

"Go on Dawn, it sounds like fun!"

Once Ash gave her a shove, she found herself walking onto the stage almost involuntarily, and she and Piplup both stared blankly at the trainer once she was in place. "Uh well...here I am..."

"So you are!" Lyra put her hands on her hips and grinned. "And if you win, I've got a fabulous prize to commemorate the occasion for you!"

Dawn's eyes widened at that, and a predatory smirk slowly spread across her face. "Prize?!" she let Piplup hop out of her arms and onto the stage. "Alright Piplup, let's go!"

Down on the ground, Kenny laughed with his arms crossed over his chest. "I had a feeling that would get her attention."

"Alright, this is really a duel between two trainer's starting Pokémon from Johto and Sinnoh in the match of the century!" Lyra then directed the crowd's attention to the big screen again. "And now, please welcome the head honcho of the Johto Festival and our referee for this battle, Mr. Jamison!"

Just as Lyra made the announcement, Mr. Jamison walked onto the stage and waved to everyone in the crowd. "Thank you for that wonderful introduction Lyra! Now then," he raised both arms into the air. "It's a battle between Piplup and Chikorita...begin!"

Just like that the battle was on, and Lyra wasted no time calling out her first move. "Now Chikorita, Razor Leaf!" the little grass-type jumped up and swung the leaf on her head, and several smaller leaves came out and bombarded the blue penguin it was facing, knocking him back to the other side of the stage. "Yeah, that's the way!"

"Dawn's at a disadvantage with Chikorita being a grass-type." Brock said with his arms crossed. "She's gonna have to find a way to overcome the matchup before the super-effective moves Chikorita has knocks Piplup out of the battle."

"I'm not worried," Kenny smirked. "You just watch."

Misty shot her own smirk at the male coordinator. "Confident much?"

"We're not gonna take that lying down!" Dawn shouted with clenched fists. "Alright Piplup, use Bubblebeam, let's go!"

"Quick, Light Screen!"

Piplup fired his water-type attack, but it did almost no damage when Chikorita activated the protective shielding of Light Screen, Chikorita did flinch however from the effort it was putting forth to keep the Light Screen up.

"There's that Light Screen again," Misty sighed. "Honestly I've seen enough of that move lately to last a lifetime. Now Dawn's special attacks are gonna be cut in half."

Kenny waved his hand dismissively. "Not a problem, just take a look at Dawn's face." the male coordinator pointed out the predatory smirk adorning Dawn's features. "She's got a plan, Light Screen means nothing."

"Now Piplup, use Peck!" Just as Chikorita's Light Screen was beginning to lower, the small penguin rushed forward with his beak glowing with energy, and Chikorita gave out a shriek of pain as the super-effective move made contact. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Now, let's follow that up with a Whirlpool!" Jumping back to gain some distance, Piplup summoned a huge whirlpool and held it over his head, and without wasting any time, he sent it flying towards Chikorita.

Lyra gasped and called out a desperation move. "Quick Chikorita, use Light Screen to protect yourself!" the shield went up just as the Whirlpool hit, and though Chikorita wasn't taking any damage, there was no denying the distressed look on both Chikorita and its trainer's face. "Oh no, Chikorita's trapped!"

"Told you Dawn had a plan! Chikorita's got nowhere to go!" Kenny cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted as loudly as he could. "Finish it off Dawn!"

"Alright Piplup, we've got 'em right where we want 'em! Use Peck one more time!" Piplup leaped over the swirling water and came down in a dive towards Chikorita, who could only brace itself for impact as Piplup shattered the Light Screen with the physical move. "That should do it!"

Sure enough, after the second Peck attack, Chikorita found itself unable to hang on as it fainted onto its side. "Chikorita is unable to battle, and the victory goes to Piplup," Mr. Jamison gestured towards the blue-haired coordinator with a smile. "Which makes Dawn our big winner!"

"Yeah they did it!" Lucario threw a paw in the air in celebration. "It was a mismatch alright but not in the way everyone thought!" When Lucario started to do a rather badly choreographed victory dance, the group of teens just sweat-dropped and gave thanks to whoever was listening that the crowd's cheering was too loud for anyone to hear Lucario talking.

Back on stage, Lyra returned her starter grass-type and relinquished a remorseful smile as she looked at the Pokéball in her hand. "I guess my judgment was a little off Chikorita, that strategy was so unusual...but you still did a good job." Lyra then placed the Pokéball back where it belonged and went over to pick up a large white box, presenting it to the blue-haired coordinator who was congratulating her Pokémon for a job well done. "Congratulations Dane!"

"Uh, thanks...but, it's Dawn ok? Not Dane."

"Right, right," Lyra whacked the side of her head with her palm. "Sorry about that, Dawn."

"No problem," Dawn giggled. "Your Chikorita battled hard!"

"And so did your Piplup, that strategy was unlike anything I've seen before!" Lyra stepped up and presented Dawn with the box. "And here's your prize, as promised! Go ahead Dane-" Lyra again slapped her head and laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, Dawn, go ahead and open it!"

Dawn gave the trainer a side-eye look before she turned her attention back towards the box she was holding, and once she took the lid off, her eyes lit up like stars and she gasped in delight at the sight of what she'd just been presented with. "Amazing!"

"As you all can see," Lyra addressed the crowd. "Dawn's prize is a fabulous Pokémon egg!"

"Wow, that's great! Looks like Dawn's gonna have a new friend soon!" Misty smiled and glanced at Lucario. "That's where you came from Lucario, Ash was given a Pokémon egg just like that one right before you were born."

Lucario raised an eyebrow and glanced at the egg before turning his attention back to his mother. "From that little thing? For real?"

"Yes, for real." Misty smirked. "Every Pokémon starts out from one of those eggs, including you."

"I find that hard to believe."

"What I wanna know is what kind of egg it is!" Ash exclaimed. "If it's from Johto, it could be anything from there! Like a Heracross!"

Misty shuddered at the thought. "I'm placing my bet on one of the starter Pokémon, since that's what this whole thing was about." Suddenly a loud rumble was heard throughout the area, and an all too familiar hot air balloon rose up from behind one of the buildings. Misty glared at Lucario. "I thought you said you'd be able to tell when they were around!"

The Aura Pokémon shrugged. "I was...distracted?"

Misty groaned. "You are your father's Pokémon." she turned her attention back to the evil trio that was currently pigging out on festival food even as they rose into the air. "Give back that food Team Rocket! That's for the festival!"

Up in the balloon, Jessie stopped gulping down a bottle of Moomoo Milk and nearly choked when she saw everyone below. "Whoa, twerp land!"

"Give back that food right now!" Lucario snarled as his aura began to flare up.

Jessie: "So sorry sap, but you're a dollar short and a day late!"

James: "Though I'll say the vittles taste great!"

Jessie: On the wind!

James: Past the stars!

Meowth: Put your grub there, mate!

Jessie: Filling our tummies at a breakneck pace!

James: Dashing hunger with a smile on my face!

Jessie: Go ahead and ask me if I've got milk!

James: We're members of the satiation ilk!

Jessie: Jessie!

James: And James!

Meowth: Meowth's the name!

Jessie: Putting the foodless in their place!

James: We're Team Rocket!

All: In your face!

"I thought that slapstick routine would never end." Lyra scoffed.

James clenched a fist, highly affronted by the girl's comments regarding their motto. "Brilliant prose is not measured in length twerpette, but in content!"

"Now now, big words will get you nowhere." Jessie waved a dismissive hand at her partner. "Besides, they're famished and we're not." she swallowed another stolen pastry whole.

The male Team Rocket member began crying into his arm, apparently from inspiration. "Such beautiful words to live by!" He then lowered his arm for a moment, and the tears stopped almost immediately as his eyes caught something else below. "Jessie, should we be concerned by the fact that the twerp's giant Lucario looks like he wants to skin us alive?"

"Never mind dat Lucario, take a look at what da young twoipette's got in her grasp!" Meowth pointed down towards Dawn, who was clutching tightly to her recently acquired prize. "It's a Pokémon egg unda glass!" the Scratch Cat Pokémon snickered and pulled out an extendo-grabber. "Dig, baggin' it for da boss as a gift!" Meowth fired, and the robotic hand snagged the egg right from Dawn's hands and placed it right into Meowth's waiting arms. "Dig it, de egg was callin' my name, what could I say?"

"I say hooray!" James exclaimed.

"That's the way!" Jessie added.

Then the trio waved casually waved goodbye as the balloon floated out of range. "Have a nice day!"

"My egg, no!" Dawn cried out, then gasped when she saw a blue form run past her at high speed. "Lucario?!"

"Give that egg back Team Rocket!"

Upon seeing the charging Aura Pokémon, James gulped and urgently tapped Jessie's shoulder. "Jessie!"

"Uh oh," Jessie turned to Meowth in a slight panic. "Meowth, you got anymore goofy gadgets we can use to keep that jacked-up jackal away from us?!"

"I thought dis was just a food grab! I don't have any weapons ready!"

"You're not getting away from me!" Lucario bared his teeth and wall-jumped back and forth between two buildings to get onto the roof of the taller one, then with an aura-fueled leap, he reared his paw back and activated a Force Palm. "That egg belongs to my aunt!" Lucario slammed his paw into the basket, and that sent the balloon careening towards a huge pine tree that burst a hole into the back of it, and that resulted in a low-key blast off that sent the trio crashing into the nearby forest. "Shoot!"

"Lucario," the group of teens, led by Dawn, ran up to the Aura Pokémon who had just landed on the ground after his attack. "Can you sense where they landed?!"

Lucario took a moment to focus on his aura, the black appendages on his head raising up as he did so. Then he opened his eyes and snarled as he glared into the distance. "I know where they are, follow me!" Lucario took off running, the others following close behind him.

All except for one.

"Um...good luck!"

Upon hearing the timid voice, Lyra frowned in anger and looked over her shoulder to glare at her friend. "What do you mean good luck?" she hissed at Khoury. "You're coming with me and that's that!"

Khoury gulped. "Yes ma'am." Ignoring the nervous glance Totodile sent his way, Khoury jumped down from the stage and followed Lyra and the rest of the teens into the forest to go after Team Rocket and get Dawn's egg back.

Speaking of Team Rocket, they had gotten comfortable near their crash site, taking advantage of the situation by eating some more of their stolen goodies. And by they, it really meant just Jessie, whose stomach was now bulging from eating so much. "I couldn't eat another bite, though I lie a lot." she said in contentment as she rubbed her belly.

James stared sadly at the box and sighed. "To tell the truth, there aren't many bites left."

"Yeah," Meowth spoke up. "And tomorrow's anotha eatin' day."

Jessie growled and threw her hands up in the air. "How am I supposed to live in the eternal now if you're going to grouse about a future without food?!"

"W-Well, w-we have to look ahead Jessie," James' voice wavered. "Our starvation is your starvation too, and it does get rather tiresome to constantly be wondering where your next meal is going to come from."

The magenta-haired woman just scowled for a moment before sighing. "I...appreciate...your concern." She made a concerted effort to ignore the stunned expressions on the faces of her comrades. "On an unrelated note," she quickly changed the subject. "What kind of Pokémon egg do you suppose this is?"

"Um...well..." James coughed into his fist as he tried to get his mind back on track. "Given that it's from Johto might give us a clue...perhaps a Celebi?"

"No no no, if it's from Johto it's gotta be an Entei, or maybe even a Lugia!" Meowth grinned devilishly at the thought of having snagged a baby legendary Pokémon, but his attention was quickly averted when he saw a small set of paws digging through their box of stolen goods. "Hey! It's a Teddiursa! And it's makin' a grab for our grub!"

"I don't think so!" Jessie leaped up and loomed over the small bear Pokémon with a menacing glare. "That's my foodstuff!" she swiped the multi-colored kebob from the Teddiursa, not even batting an eyelash when it started to cry at the top of its lungs.

"You brutess, you made it bawl."

Jessie turned and glared at James, waving the kebob at him as if she were wagging her finger at him. "That's what happens when thieves bust thieves!" But then the magenta-haired woman noticed her teammates cowering in fear as a shadow overtook her own, and she slowly turned around to see an angry Ursaring growling down at them. "Uh oh...don't tell me this thief had friends in high places..."

"Must be a family affair!" Meowth gulped.

Then the Ursaring prepared to launch a Hyper Beam, and once the trio saw the orange ball of energy beginning to form, they took that as their cue to pack up and go. Jessie grabbed the Pokémon egg before the attack could hit them, and they deeper into the forest with the angry Ursaring tailing them all the way. "Bye bye big guy!"

Moments later, Ash and co. arrived where Lucario's aura had led them, but all they saw was Team Rocket's apparently abandoned balloon and a large box with nothing but leftover crumbs inside. "Looks like they bolted, but why?" Misty wondered.

"They didn't get far." Lucario placed his paw on the ground and took a reading. "They were here, and I think something attacked them."

"Those scorch marks over there are a pretty good indication of that."

Lucario looked over to where Brock was pointing and gave a deadpan look when he saw the aforementioned marks. "Right." he got back up and glanced at his friends. "So what now?"

"Easy, we split up and look around!" Misty exclaimed. "One of our teams goes with Ash, and the other goes with Lucario so we have aura searching in both directions!"

"Great idea Mist," Ash nodded and pulled out a few Pokéballs. "But just to help speed things along," he threw the three Pokéballs into the air and out emerged Staraptor, Gliscor and Charizard.

"Holy cow! Look at those amazing Pokémon!" Lyra screamed with stars in her eyes. "You really are an amazing trainer!"

Ash chuckled sheepishly before he got his mind back on track and looked up at his awaiting team. "Staraptor, Gliscor, Charizard, fly around and see if you can spot Team Rocket! I'm counting on you guys!" Ash's aerial search party each flew off in a different direction, then the trainer pumped a fist and looked determinedly at Dawn. "Don't worry Dawn, we're gonna get that egg back for sure."

"Exactly!" Lyra exclaimed before elbowing Khoury in the ribs and glaring at the anxious breeder in training. "Buck up man! You better pull it together and fast!"

"'Kay, I-I hear ya..."

"Alright. Lucario, you go with Misty, Dawn and Lyra," Ash then pointed his thumb at himself. "I'll go with Brock, Kenny and Khoury and go this way."

"Got it!"

"I'll ring Khoury's Pokégear if we find anything!" Lyra held up her device. "Khoury, you do the same if anything happens on your end."

"O-Ok!"

"Alright gang, we're gonna get that egg back for sure! Let's go!" Ash took off running, and the rest of the group followed suit as they ran off into opposite ends of the forest. "Those guys have to be around here somewhere!" Ash closed his eyes and reached out with his aura even as he ran, and after a few moments, his eyes snapped open and he stopped in his tracks.

"What is it Ash?" Brock asked.

"Down there!" Ash pointed to the road below the one they were on, and there was James and Meowth obviously holding Dawn's Pokémon egg. "Now we know where they are, but how do we get down there safely without Charizard?"

"Come on," Kenny exclaimed. "Let's see if we can find another path!"

While they searched for another way down, Staraptor had just spotted James and Meowth on her own, and she was even able to eavesdrop on the conversation the two were having for a few moments.

"Jessie, where are you?!" James called.

"Yeah, reveal yourself!" Meowth sighed. "Dat lousy Ursaring wound up getting us separated and now we're stuck traipsing around da forest instead of getting dis here egg to da boss."

It was then that both male rockets had their attention drawn to said egg. "I'll be, our egg just flashed!" James grinned.

"It's hatch and pop time!"

Hearing that caused Staraptor's eyes to widen in horror. If the egg was about to hatch, then they needed to hurry and get it back before Team Rocket managed to convince whatever Pokémon was inside that egg that they really were its trainers. She flew off once more, taking a mental note of where the Team Rocket members had stopped, and went to find her trainer.

Meanwhile, Dawn and her team were already getting frustrated. "Come on, does this forest just lead us in circles?" Dawn whined.

"I know I sense Team Rocket around here somewhere," Lucario grunted. "But no matter where we go it leads us to the edge of a cliff!"

It was then that Lyra looked up and saw a Pokémon flying overhead. "Hey, isn't that Ash's Staraptor?"

"Yeah it is!" Misty ran ahead and waved her arms as she shouted into the sky. "Hey Staraptor, down here!"

Hearing the call, the Predator Pokémon stopped and flew down to the others, landing with an urgent expression on her face. "Hey, what's wrong Staraptor? You look worried." Dawn said as she knelt down in front of the large bird.

"Staraptor star!"

"WHAT?!" Lucario's outburst shocked the humans of the group, but the Aura Pokémon didn't wait for any prompting for an explanation. "We gotta hurry and find those jerks, Aunt Dawn's egg is about to hatch!"

"Oh no!" Dawn whimpered.

"Staraptor," Misty got the bird's attention. "Did you actually spot Team Rocket?" Staraptor's nod brought a smile to Misty's face. "And I don't suppose you happened to find a place where this path and their path intertwine?" Another nod. "Good. Now we just need a little more help."

"What's your plan Misty?" Lyra asked.

Just then, Misty spotted Charizard flying overhead. "Perfect." she grinned. "Charizard, down here!" Once Misty knew she'd gotten the dragon's attention, she looked back at her teammates and smirked mischievously. "We're gonna lead Team Rocket right to us."

Moments later, Khoury's Pokégear began to ring. "Lyra?" the boy pulled it out of his pocket and answered it, and sure enough his friend's face appeared on the small screen. "What's up?"

"We got a lead on Team Rocket, and Misty has a plan to chase Team Rocket right to us!"

"Really? That's great!" Then Khoury gasped as he realized something. "But we're having trouble finding a way down from the ledge we're on, there doesn't seem to be any paths we can take!"

"Leave that to me!" Lyra winked and hung up.

"Wha-Lyra!"

"What's going on?" Kenny asked.

Khoury sighed and put his Pokégear away. "Misty has a plan, but Lyra's leaving me in the dark." But then the younger breeder's eyes widened as he pointed into the sky. "H-Hey, look up there!"

The other three turned around, and they a geyser of water shooting up into the sky. "I get it!" Brock exclaimed. "Lyra must be having Marill use Water Gun to confirm their position!"

"So?" Ash asked.

Brock grinned and raised a pointed finger. "So if we can keep up the geyser, we'll eventually find them and we won't have to keep wandering around the forest."

"Hey yeah!" Kenny cut in. "All we have to do is follow the paths that lead towards that geyser, and we'll find the right one!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Ash turned to Khoury. "Hey Khoury, do you think you can get Totodile to confirm our position to them?"

"Sure!" Khoury clenched his fists and smiled down at his little water-type. "Ok Totodile, use Water Gun!" Totodile fired into the sky, and seconds later another geyser appeared on the other side of the forest in response. "That's gotta be the signal, let's go!"

"Gliscor!"

The group turned once more and saw Gliscor gliding above them. "Alright Gliscor, you found us! Fly on ahead and make sure we don't accidently lose them!" the ground/flying-type nodded and took off at Ash's command. "Alright, let's rock and roll!"

Now with both teams converging onto one location thanks to the repeated geysers, Misty put her plan into action. "Ok Charizard, you know what to do!" the dragon grinned and took off flying once more. "This is going to be more fun than it should be to be perfectly honest."

"You really get a kick out of tormenting Team Rocket don't you?" Dawn replied with a mischievous smirk.

Misty looked over her shoulder as she ran and gave her own smirk. "Tell me you don't love it."

"Jessie, speak up!" James called again.

"Yeah," Meowth added. "All dis yellin' ain't good for my Poké-throat!" But then the duo heard an angry roar coming from above, and a chill ran down both their spines. "On de otha hand, I probably got a lotta yells left ta use!"

The two turned around, and they screamed in horror as a Flamethrower shot towards them from the sky. "It's the twerp's Charizard!"

"We're gonna get grilled and served on da barby!"

Charizard fired again, and the two Team Rocket grunts started running as fast as their legs could carry them...only to end up in a small clearing where they ran into even more trouble. "Gotcha Team Rocket!"

"Oh no, it's a twerp bust!"

"As if we didn't already have enough problems ta deal with!"

James gulped as he clutched the egg case to his body. "Opinion?"

The Scratch Cat Pokémon summoned what little courage he had left and unsheathed his claws. "We've gotta find Jess, twoip or no twoip! Bonzai!" They turned to run the other way.

"Stop right there thieves!" And they were immediately cut off by the other team of teens. "There's no escape for you now!" Lyra exclaimed.

"You've got something that doesn't belong to you!" Dawn glared viciously with her fists clenched in anger. "Give me back my egg right now!"

"We're surrounded by twerps, the stench of it!" James gulped again as he looked back and forth between the two groups of twerps. "We'd better battle them before they suck up all the air! Carnivine, assistance!" James' grass-type latched onto his head as usual after release. "Ow! I can comb my own hair thank you very much!"

"Cool!" everyone in the area suddenly stopped to stare at Khoury, who was busy pulling out his Pokédex. "A Carnivine, never seen one of those in person before!"

Carnivine, the Bug Catcher Pokémon. Carnivine latches onto tress in marshes and lures its prey with its sweet-smelling saliva.

"Khoury!" Lyra groaned with a face-palm. "Don't you think there are better times for that?"

James smelled an opportunity to strike once the twerps were distracted by their new friend. "Carnivine, do the deed with Bullet Seed!" The grass-type leaped up and unleashed a barrage of small energized seeds that began raining down on them until Ash and Lucario could put up a shield to protect them. "Shield or no shield, it got them off our backs, so we'll take it!"

Of course, a different Pokémon had the idea to take something else.

"Hey! Give dat back!"

"Way to go Totodile!" Khoury cheered on his Pokémon as it stole back Dawn's Pokémon egg right from under Team Rocket's nose and handed it off to its trainer. "We'll keep the egg safe!"

"Alright!" Ash nodded and looked down at his partner Pokémon. "It's your turn Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Piplup, Bubblebeam!"

The two Pokémon fired simultaneously, and the Team Rocket members cried out in pain as the amplified electricity coursed through their bodies. "Hey, I want a turn! Marill!"

"Totodile!"

"USE WATER GUN!"

Both Lyra and Khoury gave commands at the same time, and so the two water-types teamed up to unleash a high-powered burst of water that combined was powerful enough to send James, Meowth and the fainted Carnivine blasting off.

"I suppose tomorrow we strap off the ol' feedbag."

"Speakin' of which, maybe Jess went to a dina."

"While we blast off again!"

*PING*

"Aww man, I wanted to take a crack at 'em!" Lucario grunted as he kicked the dirt in front of him with a scowl.

Ash sweat-dropped at that. "Don't worry buddy, I'm sure you'll get your chance one day."

"Well I'm just relieved my egg's alright." Dawn went over and took the egg from Khoury's arms, but just as she nestled it into her own arms, the egg flashed three times, indicating that the time for its hatching would be soon. "Staraptor was right!" the blue-haired coordinator beamed. "The egg's starting to glow!"

Meanwhile, James and Meowth had crashed back into the middle of the forest, reeling from both the pain of their defeat in battle and the loss of the egg. "Wow, I'm so embarrassed." James groaned as he sat up and held his head.

Meowth shook his head to get the cobwebs out. "Save da sad sack and let's go find Jess."

"Oh, Jessie!" James' eyes widened and he cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone. "Jessie, where are you?!"

"James?" Out of the nearby bushes rose a head of magenta-colored hair. "It's you!"

"Jessie!" James lunged forward and wrapped his arms around his female partner. "I...I mean we - we were so worried about you!"

Jessie apparently didn't catch the slip of the tongue as she returned the embrace almost desperately. "Thank goodness you found me, the last time I was this terrified I couldn't get my hair and nails done! What a nightmare!"

"I'm just glad you're alright."

"Uh...guys?" The two humans glanced at Meowth, who looked terrified of something in the brush...of course it didn't take long for them to realize exactly what it was, as several Ursaring suddenly emerged from the surrounding bushes and growled at them. "Dere's never a blast off when ya need one!"

While Team Rocket tried to think of a way out of their current predicament, the large group of teenagers had returned their Pokémon and walked back to the festival grounds where they met up with Khoury's dad at their booth. "Sorry we couldn't get the food back Mr. Jamison." Lyra said with some regret.

"Don't even worry about that," Mr. Jamison said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm just relieved everyone's ok."

"It was a real team effort," Khoury said. "Misty flushed out Team Rocket and Lyra helped us find our way through the forest."

"Aww, it was nothing." Lyra giggled bashfully before looking up at Khoury's father. "Hey, Mr. Jamison? I heard there's going to be a Pokémon Contest in Lilypad Town...I'd really like to go!"

"Well..." Mr. Jamison rubbed the back of his neck in thought. "I dunno..."

But suddenly Khoury rushed up with a determined expression on his face. "Dad, I want something too!"

"Huh? What's that?"

"I'd really like to spend some time travelling around with Brock!" At the elder breeder's sound of surprise, Khoury turned around and stared intensely at him. "I want to learn more about being a Pokémon Breeder and you can teach me!"

"I see..." Finally Mr. Jamison relinquished a smile, and he placed a hand on each of the young teens' shoulders, looking back and forth between them as they gazed up at him. "Well then..." he turned to the trainers. "Would you all be willing to let these two tag along for a little while?"

Ash looked back at his friends, and they all nodded at him in agreement, then he turned back to the waiting trainers. "Sure, that'd be fine!"

"Alright!" Lyra ran up and shook Dawn's hands in excitement. "I can't wait Dawn, I'm finally going to get the chance to see a real Sinnoh Pokémon Contest!"

"Yeah, that's great!" But Dawn's attention was quickly diverted when her egg began to glow a steady shade of white. "Could it be time already?!" she put the case down and pulled the lid off of it, and a second later the egg wobbled and began to glow much brighter. A few seconds later, a little baby Pokémon appeared where the egg once was.

"Wow Dawn, it's a Cyndaquil!" Misty exclaimed before looking back at Lucario. "That's what it was like when you hatched Lucario, you were just the cutest thing."

"Come on Mom, you're embarrassing me."

The newly hatched Cyndaquil then hopped up onto its hind legs and looked up at Dawn curiously. "Aww, now come here." the blue-haired coordinator scooped Cyndaquil up into her arms, gently stroking its back. "Cyndaquil, it's nice to meet you. My name is DaAAAAAAAAWN!" the little fire-type's back had suddenly erupted in flames, promptly enveloping her face for a few moments before the flame burned out. She coughed out a puff of smoke with her hair now a puffy mess. "That's hot." she choked out.

After a few moments of stunned silence, the group all burst into laughter, with Dawn following suit a few seconds later. "Well Dawn, looks like you'll get a taste of what it's like to be a mommy." Misty said.

"With a little dash of Charizard-style burn ups thrown in for good measure." Ash snickered.

"You guys aren't making a good case for parenthood right now," Dawn deadpanned at the both of them. "Well whatever, I'm sure that Cyndaquil and I will be the best of friends, you just watch."

"I don't doubt it," Kenny placed a hand on her shoulder. "With a trainer like you taking care of it, Cyndaquil's gonna know what it's like to be loved, guaranteed."

Dawn smiled at her fellow coordinator for a moment before looking back down at the Fire Mouse Pokémon nestled in her arms. While she knew she didn't have any experience taking care of baby Pokémon, she took comfort in the fact that she'd have two knowledgeable people to look up to in Brock and Misty to help her out along the way.

With that in mind, and two new members temporarily added to their already large travelling party, the teens soon found themselves back on the road again, on their way to Lilypad Town for Dawn and Kenny's next Pokémon Contest.
_

A/N: And there you have it! Lyra and Khoury now also join the group. And here I thought it was hard juggling Kenny and the rest of the Twinleaf Festival participants, now I don't even have an excuse to get them apart from each other once in a while. Looks like I got my work cut out for me. I hope to have the next chapter out soon, and rest assured no matter how long it takes it WILL come out eventually.

Anyway, with all that said, I hope you enjoyed it. If you did, leave a review and tell me what you thought. See you all next time!