*Fanfare plays* The time has finally come! I've gotten SOOOO many messages asking me when I would update this story, and I finally managed to get the next chapter out! It's a pretty straightforward chapter, but after all the time that's passed since you've had a new one, I hope it's enjoyable all the same!

Now then, let's take care of the anonymous reviews from the previous chapter!

UsefulCritic: What's up dude? I see you didn't actually log in this time lol. Hope everything's good with you!

Guest: Glad you've enjoyed my story! As for giving Ash a bunch of dragon-types, I don't think that's in the cards for this story unfortunately. :( But Ash will still be getting a certain dragon-type, don't you worry!

Miss geek: Wow you read through EVERYTHING in three days?! That's impressive! Especially considering you had to read through all the junk to get to here! xD Misty was supposed to be Ash's permanent partner? That's interesting. :o Oh well, that's why we have fanfiction I guess. Hope you continue to enjoy!

Commander M: Oh wow... ^_^U Dude, I'm not a big fan of Paul either, but I do have plans for him and they don't evolve death. Reggie isn't gonna die either, I actually like him. Hope that doesn't stop you from enjoying this series!

Guest0451: I'm glad you've enjoyed this, and yeah it takes me a while to make updates, especially since I'm trying to edit and improve the old chapters too. But here's an update for ya!

Guest(2): Yeah I decided to mature Ash, as any trainer should over years of traveling. Realizing his feelings for Misty kinda went hand in hand with that. Here's an update for ya!

Blade Warrior: Thanks for the motivation! I don't foresee Togekiss being the one originally hatched by Misty, I highly doubt that Togetic would even consider being someone else's Pokemon before going back to Misty. Those two didn't spend nearly three regions together for nothing! As for Spiritomb, that episode has already passed, sorry. Hope you still like the story!

Jetaway: I see you logged in and posted another review asking about updates. Here it is!

And that's the end of that. Thank you all so much for your reviews, I really enjoy reading them and they truly make me feel appreciated. That's SO important for writers since artists get so much love while writers don't seem to get nearly the amount of feedback. So I really appreciate you guys letting me know your thoughts!

Anyway, without further ado, let's get this show on the road! I own nothing except the story.
_

Chapter 72

Misty's POV

I think this might be a new record for us. After meeting Lyra and Khoury at a Johto Festival being held at a nearby town, we've increased our number to a total of seven. I thought the group was getting big when Kenny tagged along, but now getting some alone time was almost impossible.

Maybe it's selfish of me to think that way. Lyra is a nice girl, if a bit full of herself at times, and Khoury is a total sweetheart, but he could definitely use a significant confidence boost. He was always stammering and second-guessing his words like he was expecting us to judge him every time he opened his mouth.

Admittedly, Lyra didn't really help with her constant badgering, but it was obvious that she was just doing it to try and get Khoury to lighten up and be more assertive. The problem was, there was no way she'd be able to intimidate him into doing that. If Khoury were more like Ash, maybe it would work, but Khoury was much more withdrawn and would just apologize and promise to do better.

Thankfully, Khoury seemed much more at ease when Brock was around. In just a couple of short days, Khoury had already learned a lot about being a breeder from him, and it was clear that whenever Brock opened his mouth, Khoury soaked them in like a sponge.

Unless Brock was going on about Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny or some other pretty girl we ran into, then he would try to focus his attention elsewhere...like Lyra, I couldn't help but notice.

We finally stopped in the middle of a clearing for lunch on our way to Lilypad Town for Dawn and Kenny's next contest, and as soon as we set the food down, it was clear that our Pokémon were grateful for the break, Lucario in particular who was gulping down heaps of food in a matter of seconds.

In hindsight, I should've expected as much considering how connected he is with Ash. Combining that with his incredible size for his species, and the Pokémon that called me mother could potentially rival Ash's Snorlax when it came to appetite.

Normal POV

"Wow Ash, your Lucario can sure put it away!"

Ash looked up at Khoury from his squatted position and then glanced over at Lucario who was in the process of begging Brock for seconds. He chuckled and shook his head in amusement. "He inherited my appetite for sure," he then glanced down at Pikachu who was eagerly gobbling up bits of Pokémon food in front of him. "Tastes great, huh buddy?"

"Pika chu!" (Of course!) the electric-type said with his mouth full before going back to eating.

"If you don't mind my asking Ash, how did you manage to get your Lucario to grow so big? Was it something you put in his diet, an exercise regimen? What's your secret?"

Ash chuckled and got up to face Khoury. "There's no secret, and I honestly don't know if it's possible for this to happen with any other kind of Pokémon. Lucario is just...special. When he was just a Riolu he started out normal-sized, but then when we both started training to use our auras, he just kinda took it upon himself to be the biggest and strongest Lucario ever, and his aura interpreted it as him wanting to grow really big."

Well it looks like it worked," Khoury sweat-dropped as he looked behind him and saw Lucario practically swallowing his second batch of Pokémon food in just a few gulps. "Your Lucario looks awfully strong, and him being almost as tall as you makes him a lot more...intimidating than a normal Lucario."

"You should've seen him as a Riolu," Ash chuckled again. "By the time he evolved, he was already bigger than a normal Lucario," he laughed as a thought came into his head. "I kinda wish we'd managed to run into one before he evolved, I can only imagine the look on a Lucario's face when it met its devolved form while it happened to be the bigger of the two."

"Hey, break it up you two!"

Ash and Khoury both turned when they heard Lucario shouting, and they saw the Aura Pokémon placing a barrier between Piplup and Dawn's newly-hatched baby Cyndaquil with the two desperately trying to get at each other for some reason. "What the heck?"

Both trainers hurried over to where all the humans had gathered around, watching in stunned silence as Piplup and Cyndaquil glared daggers into each other's eyes. Finally Dawn spoke up to try and get her Pokémon to behave. "You two need to learn to get along!"

"What happened over here?"

Dawn looked over at Ash and shrugged helplessly. "I have no idea! Piplup was just trying to say hi to Cyndaquil, and the next thing I know these two are at each other's throats!"

"Well from where I was sitting, Cyndaquil didn't seem all that interested in talking to Piplup." Kenny said. "Maybe it's because it didn't want to be interrupted while it was eating?"

"There are few things worse than that." The group all gave Lucario a look for that comment, and the Aura Pokémon just shrugged with a sheepish grin. "I'm just saying."

"Well here's an idea, why don't we have a battle?" Ash spoke up. "We'll find out a whole bunch about Cyndaquil's personality, and then we can work on figuring out why these two started fighting so quickly."

Misty crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at that. "Because last time you suggested that, it worked out so well."

"Who asked you?" Ash narrowed his eyes at her girlfriend for a moment before focusing back on Dawn. "Whaddya say Dawn?"

"Well...Misty has a point, Ash." Dawn looked down at her Pokémon in uncertainty. "I don't want a repeat of what happened with Piloswine..."

Ash sighed and looked over to Brock for advice. "Brock?"

The breeder looked at the two quarreling Pokémon with a thoughtful expression before facing their trainer. "Ash might be right this time, Dawn." Brock had to hold back a chuckle at Misty's look of disbelief and her throwing her hands up in the air. "With Piloswine, we were trying to figure out why he wasn't listening to you, but if the issue is with Piplup, there's no reason for Cyndaquil to rebel in a battle, so it could work."

With Brock's approval of the idea, a smile appeared on Dawn's face. "Alright then!" she glanced down at her baby fire-type. "Cyndaquil, wanna battle?" the little Pokémon stopped struggling and beamed up at its trainer with an excited shout. "Well alright then, let's get started!"

"Awesome!" Ash ran over to the other side of the field and waited for Dawn to get into position while Brock walked over to the side to act as the referee. "Okay, here's the Pokémon I'm gonna use! Grotle, I choose you!" With a flash of light, Ash's large grass-type emerged ready for battle. "You're going up against a fire-type Grotle, this is gonna help you out with your defense, so get ready!"

"Now I get it, Ash just wanted a chance to train his Pokémon." Kenny rolled his eyes.

Misty looked over her shoulder and glanced at Kenny who was standing up behind her. "No, he really does wanna help," she turned back to the field and gave a deadpan look at her boyfriend from her seated position. "He just has a one-track mind and figures battles are a cure-all for everything."

"Well I for one really admire Ash's determination!" Lyra exclaimed with her fists clenched in excitement. "I can't wait to watch this!"

"Wow, you're fired up Lyra." Khoury chuckled a bit.

"How can I not be?!" Lyra grinned widely. "The egg I gave to Dawn hatched into that Cyndaquil and it's going into battle for the first time ever! Go Cyndaquil!"

"Hey Dawn, you better find out what moves Cyndaquil can use before we get started!" Ash exclaimed.

"Right, thanks for the reminder!" Dawn pulled her Pokédex out of her pocket and scanned her new Pokémon. "Let's see what we've got here."

Cyndaquil, the Fire Mouse Pokémon. It has a timid nature. If it is startled, the flames on its back burn more vigorously.

"Okay, now how about its moves?"

Cyndaquil is able to use the following moves: Flame Wheel, Swift, and Smokescreen.

Dawn beamed after the analysis. "Wow, those are some great moves right off the bat!"

"Sure are, which means there's no reason for us to hold back!" Ash grinned.

Dawn grinned right back. "Wouldn't expect you to! Let's do this!"

"Alright Grotle, use Razor Leaf!" the Grove Pokémon reared back on his hind legs and thrust his body forward, launching a barrage of razor sharp leaves at the tiny Cyndaquil. But then it leaped into the air and dodged the attack, much to the surprise of all the trainers. "Whoa, what a leap!"

"I'm getting flashbacks to Ash's Cyndaquil," Misty said in awe. "Those are some impressive reflexes! Now let's see if it can get its flame going faster than Ash's did."

"Nice dodge Cyndaquil! Now from up there, use Flame Wheel!" Dawn's command prompted flames to burst out from the fire-type's back, and it rolled into a ball and slammed into Grotle's head after the Grove Pokémon braced himself for impact, enduring the super-effective hit and bouncing Cyndaquil back after being pushed back a couple feet.

"Hey, that was a great Flame Wheel Cyndaquil, you should be proud!" Ash exclaimed, much to the delight of the little fire-type. "Now let's up the ante, check out this move! Grotle, Energy Ball!"

Grotle formed and fired the much faster and stronger attack, but just like before, Cyndaquil was able to leap up and over the attack just before it detonated, leaving a cloud of smoke where it hit the ground. "Nice dodge!" Dawn exclaimed. "Now use Swift!"

"Brace yourself Grotle!" Grotle grunted as the barrage of energized stars struck his back, but apart from being knocked back another few feet, the grass-type stayed strong and stared determinedly at his opponent. "Nice job Grotle, just hang in there!"

"I see what you mean Misty," Brock looked back at the seated redhead with a smirk. "Dawn's Cyndaquil dodges almost as well as Ash's does, unbelievably agile."

"It really is light on its feet." Lyra added.

"And this is just his first battle too, impressive." Lucario said with a grin. Then the Aura Pokémon noticed Khoury looking at him in surprise. "What?"

"'His?'"

"Yeah, Aunt Dawn's Cyndaquil is a boy, so what?"

"How'd you know that?" Khoury asked in shock.

Lucario shot the breeder-in-training a deadpan look. "I'm a Pokémon."

"Oh yeah..."

Lucario rolled his eyes and focused back on the battle. "C'mon Grotle, show 'em what you got!"

"Let's keep it up Grotle, Razor Leaf, let's go!" Grotle fired, and again the little fire-type leaped into the air and dodged the attack, kicking up sand in front of Dawn where the attack struck. "Had a feeling it would try that again! Energy Ball into the air!"

"Smokescreen!"

Both attacks were used simultaneously, and the Energy Ball flew into the sky and into the huge cloud of smoke that had emerged from Cyndaquil's mouth. After no sound was heard, Ash figured they missed. "Cyndaquil's gonna be coming with an attack Grotle, get ready." Grotle grunted as the smoke started to spread out and surround him.

"Now Cyndaquil, use Swift!"

Out of the smoke came a storm of golden stars, and Grotle barely had time to brace himself before his face was pelted with the barrage. "Alright, let's see how you handle this one!" Ash grinned and pointed into the smoke. "Use Rock Climb now!"

"Look out Cyndaquil!"

Unfortunately for the Fire Mouse Pokémon, there was no time to react as increasingly larger rocks suddenly burst forth from the ground, finally lifting the fire-type up into the air and above the smoke. The next thing he knew, he was getting rammed into by over 200 pounds of grass-type, and Cyndaquil landed on his back with a thud and a groan.

"Cyndaquil no! Are you okay?!" After a moment to regain his bearings, Cyndaquil leaped back up and ignited his back in a show of determination.

"That's enough!" the trainers and their Pokémon froze after Brock's shout and gave him their attention. "Since it's Cyndaquil's first battle, let's take it easy."

After recovering from the abrupt stop, Dawn nodded in agreement. "You're right, thanks Brock."

With the battle officially over, Piplup and Lucario went over to Grotle who was standing by himself. "You went easy on him, didn't you?" Piplup asked the Grove Pokémon knowingly.

"Not really, Cyndaquil's pretty strong."

"What?" Piplup then turned around and saw all the humans and some of the other Pokémon surrounding Cyndaquil and offering their congratulations. "Why that little stinker!" Then when Dawn squatted down to offer Cyndaquil a poffin, a mischievous smirk formed on Piplup's face. "I'll show him."

"What is your problem?" Lucario glared down at the small penguin.

Piplup glared back up at Lucario. "You stay outta this!"

"Hey, whaddya think you're doing?!"

Piplup had run as fast as his little flippers could carry him and dove in-between Cyndaquil and Dawn's outstretched hands, catching the poffin in his beak and stealing it for himself while knocking down Cyndaquil in the process.

As for Dawn, she honestly couldn't believe what she'd just seen. "Piplup! Now what was that for?!"

Piplup didn't bother facing his trainer and just chirped in disgust, but then the next thing he knew, he was face first in the dirt after getting tackled from behind by the angry baby Cyndaquil. Piplup got back up and glared at the fire-type. "Piplup piplup?!" (You wanna go?!) Piplup leaped up and kicked Cyndaquil in the face, and Cyndaquil retaliated with a headbutt.

Soon enough, the two Pokémon were in a full-out, knock-down drag-out, punching and kicking each other as they fought to keep the other down. "And you say I have an attitude problem." Lucario said with a raised eyebrow at his mother.

Misty rolled her eyes. "Not now Lucario."

"Those two have issues, that's for sure!" Kenny exclaimed in disbelief.

"You two stop that fighting right now!" Dawn clenched her fists when she was ignored. "O-Or else...no...no dinner for either of you!"

The two Pokémon still paid their desperate trainer no attention, and they ended up with both of their heads pressed against each other as they fought for dominance over the other. "Pika pika!" (Knock it off already!)

It finally took Pikachu getting in-between them for Piplup and Cyndaquil to stop fighting, although they were still clearly put off as they turned their backs to each other.

"Thanks Pikachu," Dawn sighed in exhaustion. "Why are they being like this?"

"Guess nothing's ever easy, huh?" Lyra stepped up and smiled sympathetically at the coordinator with her hands raised behind her head.

"You can say that again."

"Don't worry Dawn," Kenny walked up and placed a comforting hand on Dawn's shoulder. "You managed to train Mamoswine, and you've gotten past everything else you've faced, this won't be any different."

Dawn glanced at Kenny and gave a small smile. "Thanks Kenny." Taking a deep breath, Dawn refocused on the issue at hand. "We need to find out why these two seem to hate each other so much."

"Uh, hold on..." Khoury spoke up. "Hey, Lyra, where's Marill?"

Lyra visibly cringed hearing that, and she turned to look at her timid friend. "You mean Marill's not around?"

"I-I don't see her anywhere." Khoury responded with a shrug.

"Ugh." Lyra face-palmed. "I hope Marill hasn't wandered off again!"

"Hold on, lemme see if I can sense her, one of the perks of having me around." Lucario grinned with pride before closing his eyes and placing his paw on the ground. Moments later, his paw was glowing with aura as he scanned the area. "Marill was here, but I can sense her aura moving away from here..." a few moments later, Lucario opened his eyes and pointed up a nearby hill. "She went that way!"

"Wow, you're amazing Lucario! Thank you!" Lyra gushed in admiration.

"Please," Misty scoffed. "He already has too much of Ash's ego, don't encourage him."

"Aww c'mon Mom, can't you give me at least a little credit?!"

"Yes I can," Misty petted Lucario's ears affectionately. "You did a good job sweetie, but you have to learn to not let yourself boast too much. There's an old saying, pride comes before a fall."

Lucario deflated a little at that and relinquished a wistful smile. "My Lucario dad told me that while we were training. Thanks for reminding me Mom."

"Not to spoil the mood, but has anyone seen Piplup or Cyndaquil?" Kenny asked with his head swiveling in a search pattern.

"Uh oh..." Dawn groaned, covering her eyes with her hand as she shook her head in disdain. "Why me? Why do I always get the Pokémon issues?"

"Relax Aunt Dawn, I'll find them." Lucario again put his paw on the ground, and this time it only took seconds for the Aura Pokémon to find his intended quarry. "Their auras are raging, I barely even had to try. They ran up the hill already...and they're racing to see who can get there faster."

"Really?" Dawn sighed. "Fine, whatever. We'll deal with those two later, let's find Marill first." Dawn started up the hill, with the rest of the group following after her. Soon they reached the top, and they found Piplup and Cyndaquil panting and glaring at each other with raw animosity. "There you two are! I swear, are you going to make me place you two in your Pokéballs?"

"Hey, what's that building over there?" Kenny pointed forward, and the group looked and saw a large set of buildings with several windmills up on the surrounding mountains.

Khoury pulled out his Pokegéar and scanned the buildings, and the breeder-in-training got his answer moments later. "According to the Pokegéar, those buildings are part of a power plant known as the Valley Windworks."

"And Marill might've wandered in there!" Lyra exclaimed in worry. "Hurry, let's go check it out!" The teens followed the rushing Lyra to the power plant, only slowing down when they reached the large metal gate that was slightly open. "Marill! Marill, where are you?!"

"Lyra, there!" Khoury pointed towards an open door, and there they saw Marill skipping along her merry way into the power plant. "She just went inside!"

"Marill!" Lyra ran in the same automatic door Marill disappeared behind, followed closely by her friends. "Where'd she go now?"

The group was then momentarily distracted when Cyndaquil suddenly face-planted the wall with Piplup laughing at him. "Really Piplup? You and I are gonna have to have a long talk." But Dawn's scolding was cut short when her starter Pokémon suddenly got zapped by a Thunderbolt out of seemingly nowhere. "Piplup!"

Then a robotic voice was heard, and the teens looked up and saw two Magnemite glaring down at them. "Hey, there're Magnemite here, I wonder if they're here to guard the Windworks?" Brock said.

When the Magnemite both fired off simultaneous Thunderbolt attacks, both Ash and Lucario jumped in front of the others and put up a barrier to block it. "Does that answer your question?!" Ash exclaimed.

"It's just two Magnemite, no big deal!" Lucario's ears drooped when several more Magnemite suddenly appeared. "Aww come on!"

"Let's get outta here!" Khoury took off running down the hallway, and the rest of the group ran after him while the Magnemite army launched Thunderbolts at them.

"Quick, in here!" Kenny made a sudden right turn towards another automatic door, and it opened to let the frightened trainers and their Pokémon through, closing behind them once everyone had made it inside the room.

Unfortunately, that resulted in everyone falling on top of each other in a heap.

"Looks like we lost the Magnemite, for now anyway." Kenny panted.

"But now where are we?" Misty got up and brushed herself off along with the others, and their attention was directed to an elderly man who was hunched over in his chair and softly snoring. "Hey, maybe he can help us!"

Almost as if on cue, the old man snorted and came to, rubbing his eye as he focused on his unexpected guests. "Now what are you kids doing in here?"

"Um...sorry we came in without permission," Lyra spoke up as the man got up from his chair to face them. "See, my Pokémon wandered away, and I saw it come inside the Windworks."

"A Pokémon eh?"

"Yes sir, a Marill!"

The man smiled softly and gestured towards the security screens to his left. "Alright, these monitors will give you a perfect view of every inch of this building." Suddenly the door opened again, and the army of Magnemite rushed through, warming up their Thunderbolts and throwing the teens and their Pokémon into hysterics. "No! Hold on! These young people don't mean any harm!"

The Magnemite immediately calmed down. "Phew, thanks so much sir!" Lyra said with a relieved sigh. She then turned her attention to the several monitors which were each showing a different area of the power plant. "Let's see here..." it only took seconds for Lyra to spot her Pokémon. "There's Marill!"

Following the young girl's finger to the correct monitor, the security guard nodded and smiled in recognition. "Ahh, that's the basement storage room."

"Alright, let's go get 'er!" Ash was the first to move, and the rest of the teens soon followed.

When the Magnemite began to follow them, the security guard raised a hand and got their attention. "Hold on. Magnemite, make sure you don't attack them while they're down there in the basement. Please inform the other Magnemite as well."

"He has other Magnemite?" Kenny whispered incredulously.

Lyra then turned around for a moment to smile at the guard. "Thanks so much for your help, we'll leave when we find Marill, you can count on us!"

The guard waved and sat back down in his chair. "Make it quick! So for now I'll just get back to that nap." And with that, the guard was once again snoring as if he'd never woken up in the first place.

"Right..." Lyra chuckled and ran to catch up with her friends. "Any luck guys?"

"Not yet," Misty shook her head. "But Marill's gotta be here somewhere, there's nowhere to go in this room but out the way she came in."

"I'll pin 'er down." Lucario placed his paw on the ground and focused his aura, and seconds later his eyes snapped open in shock. "What the?"

"There you are!" Lyra had turned a corner of several boxes, and there on the ground she found her Marill smiling brightly at her. "Aww," Lyra cuddled her water-type close and beamed. "I told you not to wander off by yourself!"

"Marill." (Sorry.)

"That's a relief, now let's get outta here." Ash turned to leave, but then he heard Lucario growling lowly. "Lucario? Hey, what's the matter?"

"We're not alone..." suddenly the door closed and trapped the teens inside, and the lights flickered out leaving them all in the dark. "Those Team Rocket jerks are here at the Windworks! I can sense their auras from here!" the Aura Pokémon snarled as he powered up his aura to act as a light source.

Thankfully, Lucario didn't have to do that for long as the Windworks' emergency lights soon kicked in. "If Team Rocket is here, they must be planning something, we've gotta go warn the security guard!" Ash ran for the door, but stopped short when the door didn't open upon his approach. "Hey, what gives?!"

"The power surge must've fried the door!" Misty exclaimed.

"Or it's a security lockdown." Brock offered with his arms crossed in thought.

Ash then tried to get his fingers in-between the crack of the door, and he pulled with all the strength he could muster, even putting some aura into it to boot. Unfortunately, all the grunts of exertion went to waste as the door refused to give way. "Nothin'! This door is sealed tight!"

"Oh no..." Khoury gulped. "Does this mean we can't get outta here?"

Then the teens heard two tiny voices from the other side of the door, voices which immediately registered in Dawn's ears as her Pokémon. "Piplup, Cyndaquil, is that you?!" The two Pokémon continued to cry out for help, but moments later the only one being heard was Piplup after a pained grunt from Cyndaquil. "Wait...Piplup, did you seriously just attack Cyndaquil again?! This is no time to mess around!"

"We can't stay here, if Team Rocket is here at the Windworks, we have to get out and warn the guard." Ash glanced down at Pikachu who was returning his trainer's determined expression. "Okay Pikachu, aim your Thunderbolt at the door!" The electric-type unleashed a furious blast of electricity, but all that was accomplished once it hit the metal door was the pained cry of Piplup from the other side.

"Uh Dad?" Lucario spoke up. "You just fried Piplup."

"Oops." Ash rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Worst part is that it was for nothing."

"I've got it!" Brock snapped his fingers in realization. "We should wave at the security camera!"

The rest of the group agreed wholeheartedly, and they began shouting and waving at the camera in the corner of the room's ceiling. After several minutes however, they still got no response, dousing that hope. "Do you think maybe nobody's in the security room anymore?" Dawn asked.

"Or do you think maybe he's still napping?" Brock said in mild annoyance.

"Man," Ash groaned. "That's all we need."

"Guess we have no choice but to wait." Lyra said with a sigh.

"What are we gonna do if he never sees us?"

The teens all glanced at Khoury who seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown. "Come on Khoury, what are you talking about?" Lyra looked at him incredulously.

Khoury didn't even register Lyra's look of disdain as he squeezed his head between his palms in fear. "What if the security guard leaves without noticing us and goes off on a long vacation or something?! That means one thing...we're gonna be stuck in this tiny room...FOR THE REST OF OUR LONELY, FRUSTRATED AND PATHETIC LITTLE LIVES!"

"Is he serious?" Kenny whispered to Dawn, who just gave a bewildered shrug in response.

"For some reason I think a positive thinking course would do a world of good for Khoury, y'know?" Lyra sweat-dropped in embarrassment for her friend.

"All thoughts of impending doom aside," Misty spoke up. "Waiting around isn't an option if Team Rocket is in the house. There's got to be a way out of here."

A few moments later, Brock gasped as he stared at the opposite wall. "Guys, up there!" the group looked up to where Brock was pointing. "Is that a ventilation shaft?"

"Sure is!" Ash clenched a determined fist. "Alright, lemme check it out!" the boys quickly sprang into action (Khoury needed some coaxing from Lyra) and started piling up crates so Ash could climb up to the shaft. "Little wobbly." Ash chuckled as he climbed up.

"Be careful Ash." Brock warned as he held the boxes steady along with Kenny and Khoury.

"Right!"

While Ash tried to pry the cover off the ventilation shaft, the girls stood back and watched him work. "Well, if we're gonna spend the rest of our lives here," Lyra spoke up as she leaned back against one of the shelving units. "We'll all get married here too!"

Both Misty and Dawn glanced over at the young trainer curiously.

"I've got four choices."

"I'm sorry, did you say four?" Misty narrowed her eyes at the shorter girl.

"Mhmm," Lyra nodded without even noticing Misty's glare. There's Ash, Kenny, Brock and Khoury." the girl scoffed at herself and shook her head. "Khoury, he's out of the question." Lyra then directed her attention to Dawn. "Hey Dawn, gotta ask, is Ash your boyfriend?"

Dawn was about to vehemently deny that idea, but she didn't have to as Misty shot Lyra an intense glare that finally got noticed. "No, he's mine, have you not been paying attention these past few days?"

"Oh," Lyra hummed in mild disappointment. "I'd say you're pretty lucky then Misty, Ash is quite a catch. Tall, handsome, just the right amount of muscle tone, and that wild and unruly hair really makes him nice to look at...not to mention those incredible aura powers."

Misty smirked a bit and leaned back against the shelving unit, seemingly satisfied that Lyra was respecting her territory. "You should've seen him when he was just ten years old, he's done a lot of growing since then, both literally and figuratively." she smiled tenderly as she looked up at her boyfriend who was still making progress on the shaft. "Luckily I fell in love with him before he hit puberty, I got to fall in love with his heart, not just the rest of him."

"Guess that explains why his Lucario calls you 'Mom.'" Lyra smiled a bit and looked back over towards the men. "So I guess that whittles my list down to three...I could try for Brock, it would be interesting to marry an older man."

"I...I guess so." Dawn stammered. "But uh, why are you so quick to dismiss Khoury?"

"Pfft," Lyra had to stifle a laugh. "Need I remind you of his nervous breakdown a few minutes ago? Besides, we're just best friends, we can't be together!" When Misty and Dawn exchanged knowing looks, the Marill-toting trainer raised a confused eyebrow. "Did I miss something?"

"Ash and I were best friends before we got together, in fact that's probably why we get along so well as a couple, because in a way we're still best friends, just with hugging and kissing."

Lyra placed a finger on her chin in thought. "Hmm...never thought of it that way before." she then refocused on Dawn. "So how about you Dawn? Here's a question just for fun. For the sake of argument, let's say Ash wasn't already attached, if you had to choose between the four, who would it be?"

"Uh..." Dawn blushed and fought to not let her eyes wander over to the boys. "W-Well, I-I never...really thought of it before."

"You're lying, I can see it all over your face!" Lyra bit back a squeal. "Who is it? Is it Ash?"

"No!"

Lyra then made a face. "It's not Khoury, is it? Nah, can't be...but if it isn't Ash or Khoury...then that can only mean one thing!"

"Really?" Dawn squeaked.

"You must have a crush on Brock!" Both Dawn and Misty face-faulted at that, but Lyra just continued on as if she'd figured the world's hardest riddle. "Yeah, I can see why you'd like him. Rugged, a fantastic cook, he's obviously very nurturing. You'll just have to work on that roving eye a little bit." Lyra hummed. "Guess that leaves Kenny for me...slim pickings."

"Hey wait!" Dawn got back up and glared at the other girl with her cheeks puffed out in indignation. "And what exactly is wrong with Kenny?!"

"Got it!" the girls were distracted when Ash suddenly cried out in victory as he lowered the grate to a crate below him. "Aww man...there's no way I'll fit in there, it's way too narrow." he looked over his shoulder. "Dawn, you're the smallest, think you can squeeze through here?"

"Don't think so Ash," Kenny answered for her. "She's not that small, not even Prinplup could get through there."

"Pika pika! Pikachu pika!" (Hey guys! I can get through there!)

"You sure buddy?"

"Pika pika Pikapi!" (I'm sure Ash!) the little electric mouse hopped up and entered the ventilation shaft before looking back at his trainer.

"Go tell the security guard we're locked in!"

"Hey wait!" the group directed their attention to Dawn, who grabbed a Pokéball off her belt and tossed it into the air, releasing a Pokémon. "Take Buneary with you Pikachu, you might need backup if Team Rocket is out there!"

"Aren't Piplup and Cyndaquil right outside the door?" Kenny's question was met with a deadpan stare. "Yeah maybe you're right."

Buneary hopped up the crates and joined Pikachu inside the vent, and moments later they disappeared into the darkness. "Any idea which way we're supposed to be going?" Buneary asked.

The two tiny Pokémon suddenly heard the sounds of bickering echoing inside the ventilation shaft. "Well," Pikachu huffed in frustration. "I'd say follow the sounds of two immature brats and we'll find our way outta here."

"Those two need to get over themselves." Buneary shook her head in disdain, and moments later she and Pikachu reached another grate which Pikachu took off from the inside. "What's down there?"

Pikachu looked down and saw both Piplup and Cyndaquil growling at each other in anger. "The most pathetic thing you've ever seen." Pikachu replied with a deadpan stare and drooped ears. Both he and Buneary then jumped down from the vent, and the electric-type stepped in-between the fighting Pokémon and glared back and forth at them. "I dunno what your problem is, but we've got bigger issues right now. Team Rocket's here and our trainers are trapped, we've gotta wake the guard and get him to let them out!"

Once Pikachu took off running with Buneary following closely behind, Piplup and Cyndaquil glared at each other for a moment before following the other two Pokémon down the hallway.

Unfortunately, they were suddenly met by Team Rocket, who appeared from the guard's door with nets at the ready to snag them. "I hope you like nets dear Pikachu." Jessie sneered.

"Along with Piplup, Buneary and Cyndaquil too." James added.

"So in you go!" the two humans took a swing, but the Pokémon were too fast as they ran in the opposite direction with the Team Rocket trio right on their tails with their nets raised above their heads.

"Get back here cowards!" James cried out. "Accept your twerpish fate fools!" But suddenly, the trio was cut off by two Magnemite who were clearly unhappy to see the extra intruders. "Uh oh, another zap incoming!"

The Magnemite fired, and Team Rocket took the full brunt of their Thunderbolt attacks, leaving their hair a puffy and frizzy mess. "I'm all zapped out!" Jessie snarled. "Wobbuffet, use Mirror Coat!"

Just as the Magnemite launched another attack, the Patient Pokémon appeared to gain a shimmering sheen, and the electricity was bounced back towards their attackers, knocking them out and getting the trio out of danger.

"Too late," Meowth grumbled. "Dose twoip Pokémon have flown da coop!"

Jessie smirked. "Not a problem, we know exactly where to find them."

While the Pokémon attempted to evade Team Rocket, the trainers were still looking for a possible alternative to getting out in the meantime. "Okay, Grotle, I choose you!" Ash released his large grass-type, who gave a determined battle-cry once he emerged. "Now let's see if Grotle can open that door!"

"But wait," Lyra said. "Pikachu just went to go and tell the security guard we're trapped, why are you still trying to open the door?"

Ash smirked and looked over his shoulder at Lyra. "I'm still thinking we should try everything, I'm not such a big fan of waiting around." he refocused his attention on the door, which is how he missed Lyra's shameless compliment on his dependability.

"Lyra, I'm glad you admire my boyfriend, but could you try to admire him a little less?" Misty said.

"Alright Grotle, Energy Ball, let's go!" Grotle charged up his attack and fired, and the ball made impact with the door...only for it to bounce off and fly back at the others. "WHAAAAA! Everybody down!"

The Energy Ball began flying around the room, bouncing off the metal walls and causing the teens to play a dangerous game of dodgeball to avoid taking a hard hit.

"I got this!" Lucario summoned his aura and leaped in front of the ball, putting up a shield and taking the hit himself. Unfortunately, the Energy Ball broke through the shield and slammed Lucario into a full shelving unit, causing the Aura Pokémon to grunt in pain and groan as he laid on the ground with a large box covering his head, surrounded by several other small items. "Ugh..."

"Lucario, you alright?!" Ash ran over to his Pokémon and took the box off his head. "Guess you didn't get enough time to charge the shield."

"Uh uh..."

"You wanna go in your Pokéball?"

"Uh huh..."

Ash smiled sheepishly and returned Lucario to his Pokéball, and then he turned around and did the same to Grotle after the failed attempt to break out. "So much for Grotle's Energy Ball."

"Hey!" Lyra raised her hand up in the air. "Give me a shot!" she grabbed one of her own Pokéballs. "Alright Girafarig, come on out and use Double Hit on that locked door now!" With a flash of light, Lyra's Long Neck Pokémon appeared and immediately slammed its glowing hooves into the door. The door held fast, and Girafarig was knocked onto its side after losing its balance. "No use..." Lyra glanced over to Khoury. "Khoury, give it a try!"

Khoury backed down immediately and put his hands up in defense. "Believe me, if your Pokémon couldn't open it, my Pokémon won't be any help at all!"

The brown-haired girl scowled and turned back towards the door, glaring at her friend through the side of her eyes. "You're always so negative, it drives me crazy!"

"But I-"

"Hey, here's an idea!" Ash was now holding a crowbar he found on the ground where Lucario had crashed, and the trainer jammed the end of the bar into the crack of the door and pushed with all his strength. "Pikachu's doing the best he can to help us, but I can't just sit around and wait!"

"So determined!" Lyra gushed.

"Determination is one of Ash's best attributes." Brock chuckled.

"Khoury you could learn a thing or two from that guy you know," Lyra fixed her curly-haired friend with a deadpan stare. "He has won seven badges."

"Come on, why bother trying to do the impossible?"

Lyra was about to berate Khoury again when the sound of the crowbar clanking to the ground and Ash's pained cry caught everyone off guard. "Is he okay?"

"Don't worry," Dawn waved it off with a smile. "A little pain isn't gonna stop Ash."

"No, but maybe it should in this case." Misty walked over to her boyfriend who was holding his aching hand by the wrist, and she took both of his hands and slowly lowered them so she could hold them in her own. "Ash," she looked into his eyes earnestly. "Relax for a minute, you're hurting yourself."

After a moment's hesitation, Ash's tense muscles relaxed and he relinquished a sheepish smile. "Guess you're right, thanks Mist." He was rewarded for cooperating by a quick peck on his nose, but the tender moment was ruined when his stomach began grumbling. "Heh...guess it's been a while since we last ate."

"Well, there isn't much I can do in here, but I do have a few things we can snack on." Brock revealed a large napkin which he unfolded, showing that it was holding several small chocolate chip cookies. "So, there's seven of us, and nine cookies. So how do you wanna split them up?"

"It's nine divided by seven, right?" Kenny asked as the teens surrounded the cookies.

"That amounts to 1.28, which when put into a fraction form, is exactly one and 7/25th's of a cookie for each of us." The group looked at Khoury in awe. "What? I'm just really good at math."

"That was some impressive calculation," Brock said with a chuckle. "Could you split the cookies up for us too so we can all have an equal amount?"

"Here's a better idea!" Lyra started snapping cookies in half, much to the shock of the others who just watched in stunned silence as the brown-haired girl distributed the snacks as she saw fit. "Since it's ladies first, Misty, Dawn and I get one and a half cookies each, which leaves at least one cookie for each of you guys and even a half leftover!"

"Uh..." Ash just gaped as words tried to come out of his mouth at the flawed logic, but all that escaped was a moan of utter disbelief.

"Misty, Dawn, here you go. Ladies first!"

As Lyra handed the two other girls their apparent share of the cookies, they couldn't help but look at each other with a certain amount of guilt. "I feel kinda bad..." Dawn mumbled.

"Naw, it's fine!"

"No, it's not." Misty screwed on a determined scowl and took the cookies from everyone - including the now complaining Lyra - and placed them back on the napkin. "Khoury, divide them equally. No one will be taking advantage at the expense of someone else here," she twisted around to glare at Lyra, who immediately backed down at the intense look. "And no, ladies first is not a good reason to take food out of someone else's mouth. This isn't even a life or death situation."

"O-Okay...sorry everyone."

After Misty's declaration, Khoury did as he was told and carefully measured each bit of the cookies and distributed them equally between the nine of them. "That's the closest I can get to having them be equal."

"That's pretty darn close!" Kenny said with an impressed laugh.

"Well, now that that's settled, let's eat." Brock was the first to start eating, and soon the others followed suit.

All except for Khoury, who couldn't help but notice how quiet and reserved Lyra had become after Misty's overruling of her decision. "She's really not used to not coming out on top." After a moment of thinking, Khoury smiled a little and headed over to where Lyra had sat herself down with no one but her Marill to keep her company. "Hey."

"Hey." Lyra didn't even bother to look up from nibbling on her cookie share when she answered.

Khoury smiled sympathetically and knelt down in front of his friend, who couldn't help but look at him when he entered her field of vision. "Um...y-you can have my share if you want," he held out his cookie portion to her. "I-I'm not really all that hungry right now anyway."

Lyra's eyes went back and forth between the cookies and the boy who suddenly seemed unable to make eye contact with her, her mouth formed into a small 'o' shape. Then she smiled affectionately and took the smallest piece possible from Khoury's hand, tossing it into her mouth. "Thanks Khoury."

"Hey," the tall boy finally mustered up the courage to look at Lyra, and his gaze was met by big brown eyes which were shining with appreciation. "W-What are friends for?"

"There's no way you planned that." Dawn had observed Khoury making the kind gesture to Lyra, and now she had her eyes narrowed at Misty since it seemed all too convenient that Khoury would choose that very moment to become brave. "Did you tell him to do that?"

Misty just smiled innocently and shook her head. "I had nothing to do with that, but that doesn't mean I don't approve!"

"I just hope Pikachu didn't run into Team Rocket," Ash spoke up. "It's taking him and the other Pokémon longer than I thought it would to find the security guard."

To their credit, Pikachu and the other Pokémon had successfully evaded Team Rocket and just made their way to the security room where the guard was still sleeping. "Finally, we made it!" Pikachu exclaimed.

"Was it really necessary to double back on them three times?"

The electric-type glared back at Piplup who had been complaining for the past several minutes over Pikachu's strategy. "It worked didn't it? Now come on, let's wake the guard."

The Pokémon rushed into the security room, but they then heard a panicked cry, and they turned around to see something they never could've expected. "Pika?!" (What?!)

Jessie was seemingly part of the wall, with her net holding a squirming and terrified Cyndaquil. "Pikachu and Piplup, so glad you're here!"

Then more wallpaper peeled away, revealing James and Meowth. "With Buneary as a bonus and a sacked Cyndaquil, we're reeking of cheer!"

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

"In your ear!"

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"

"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"

"A rose by any other name's just as sweet!"

"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"

"It's Jessie!"

"And James!"

"Meowth! Dat's a name!"

"Putting all you do-gooders in your place!"

"We're Team Rocket!"

"AND WE'RE IN YOUR FACE!"

But much to Team Rocket's displeasure, the guard had slept through the entire motto. "The nerve!" Jessie screeched. "Sleeping through our motto is just plain rude!"

Even worse for the trio, the still non-captured Pokémon were not happy to see their friend trapped in a net, even Piplup who had been antagonizing Cyndaquil all day long.

Piplup formed a Whirlpool attack and heaved it at the trio, getting them thoroughly soaked and freeing Cyndaquil from the net in the process. Then as soon as Cyndaquil was clear, Pikachu followed up with a Thunderbolt that not only zapped Team Rocket, but thanks to the water everywhere, it reached all of the Windworks electronics and spread throughout the facility.

The attack also caused another power surge, which of course alerted the trapped trainers to the fact that something was going on. "Whoa, now what?" Ash asked.

"I hope our Pokémon are okay..." Just as Dawn said that, the automatic door opened, setting the trainers free at last. "The door's open! They must've done it!"

"But that power surge screams trouble," Misty said. "Let's go find them, I've got a sneaking suspicion that they ran into Team Rocket along the way!"

Luckily for them, just as they exited the storage room, they heard the excited cries of their Pokémon all rushing towards them. "Pikachu!"

"You did it everyone!" Dawn knelt down to embrace her Pokémon, but the feelings of the reunion were cut short when Piplup shoved Cyndaquil away from Dawn's arms, leading to yet another knock-down drag-out. "Still fighting huh? Alright, we'll deal with this later." Dawn pulled out a Pokéball. "Cyndaquil, return!" Once the fire-type was back in his ball, Piplup found himself blindly swinging at air until he opened his eyes wide and realized his target was missing. "Phew."

"Come on, let's go warn the guard." Ash led the other teens through the corridors until they finally found the still napping security guard. "Sir, you gotta wake up, there's trouble!"

"Huh...?" the guard finally came to after Ash shook him awake. "What's that about trouble?"

"Team Rocket sir!" Kenny exclaimed. "A team of criminals who steal Pokémon, they're here at the Windworks, look!" But when Kenny looked at the screens, he had to do a double-take as it appeared the trio was nowhere to be found. "But...where'd they go?"

"Pikachu, did you chase them off already?" Ash asked.

Pikachu thumped his chest with his tiny fist, "Pika chu!" (Sure did!)

"Oh...well, guess it's a false alarm then." Ash chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry for waking you, we'll be on our way now."

"It's quite alright," the elderly guard said with a smile. "Thank you for your help, being a security guard often leaves one feeling rather drained. Since you've taken care of things for me, I'll just go back to sleep. Good luck to you all on your journey!" With that, the man fell back to sleep.

"He sleeps well." Dawn said with a soft laugh.

"C'mon," Kenny pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "Let's get outta here."

As the trainers exited the Valley Windworks, they came to the shocking realization that the sun had already set, leaving them in the dark and needing to get back to where they set up their camp for lunch so they could get ready for dinner and sleep. "Wow, it's already dark!" Lyra exclaimed.

"Yeah, but we found Marill, and that's what-" Ash cut himself off. "Oh no."

"Ash, what's the matter?" Misty's question was answered when they were suddenly bathed in the glow of huge floodlights. "Aww come on, haven't they had enough already? What's that thing supposed to be?!"

"Now hear this!" James' voice echoed through their newest huge contraption's speaker system. "Take a substantial gander at the beauty and durability of our new toy!" the robot suddenly began to glow as if it were made of red-hot lava, revealing itself as a Magcargo-themed machine. "Isn't it stunningly fabulous? We've spared no expense in order to give our machine the realistic but durable look of lovely lava!"

"It's a juice-user, but big deal." Meowth added.

"Besides, that shell on its back is the battery pack!" James exclaimed.

"And what's a few zillion charging hours with a dream machine like ours?!" Jessie cackled. "Fire the Magcargo cannon, bang bang!"

"Lucario, I choose you!"

Sensing the danger from inside his Pokéball, Lucario immediately fired up his aura to full strength and took his place next to his trainer who also had his hands outstretched. "This is gonna hurt, isn't it?"

"It might, just give it all you got!"

The Magcargo tank fired an enormous ball of electricity that resembled a Zap Cannon attack, and when the attack collided with the aura shield, it fought to break through for a few moments before finally detonating and knocking both Ash and Lucario on their backs.

"Ash, Lucario!"

"We're okay Mist."

"Speak for yourself!" Lucario shook his paws vigorously. "My paws are tingling like crazy!"

Then the panicked voice of Meowth caught their attention. "Yipes! Dat blast left our electricity resoives at a little more dan empty!"

"All that charging for one zap?!" Jessie shrieked as the tank seemed to power down and lost its impressive magma display.

"Okay, that's it!" Ash got up and pointed at the machine. "Pikachu, it's time to call it a night! Use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu leaped up and unleashed a furious Thunderbolt that struck the Magcargo tank and caused the humans and Pokémon inside to scream as the electricity coursed through them. "Yow! You'd tink wit all da dough we spent on a battery I woulda insulated it!"

"And while you were at it knucklehead you could've made it rechargeable from things like Pikachu's Thunderbolt!"

The tank exploded, and the trio went flying into the air with all of their hair a puffed up and frizzy mess from all the electricity they'd endured through the day. "We've certainly had our fair share of volts haven't we?!" James cried.

"And all dat juice hasn't filled up our tummies!"

"If only our tummies weren't as empty as that horribly hollow head of yours!"

"WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" *PING*

"Finally." Dawn sighed. "I dunno about the rest of you, but I've had enough adventure for one day."

Lyra fixed Dawn with a pointed stare. "Even if most of the time our adventure was spent locked in a storage room?"

"Trust me," Kenny smirked. "When you're with these guys, anything can be an adventure."

"Well hopefully our next adventure won't happen until after we get to Lilypad Town." Dawn pumped a fist. "After all, you and I still have a contest to compete in!"

"I haven't forgotten, and I'll be ready for whatever you dish out!"

So after their successful mission to find Lyra's Marill and once again shut down another electric plot by Team Rocket, our heroes headed back to their camp site for a good night's rest, and in the morning, they would once more be on their way towards Lilypad Town for Dawn and Kenny's next contest.
_

A/N: Aaaaand, done! Phew, what'd you think? Admittedly the more I work with Lyra, the more she kinda grates on me. She seems to have this attitude where she feels like she's the leader of the group even though she's actually just tagging along. I needed someone to put her in her place, and obviously the top candidate in my mind was Misty. Brock is too passive, even in the actual episode.

More fun with Lucario! Yeah, he's still snarky as ever, but there's still some of that cutesy Riolu in him deep down. Misty - again - needed to show a little tough love.

With that said, I would like to take a moment and give a shoutout to two people. One is Skylight Sparkle, whose series The Road You Choose will soon be coming to an end. I've been her beta since last year and if you're looking for a darker, deeper (and actually ORIGINAL) series to get into, I recommend her work. She's one of the elites folks, you won't regret it.

And the second person I want to give a shout out to is my very best friend HollyLu. I never imagined that one day we'd become so close, but every day I thank God our paths crossed and now the days we weren't friends are just a blur in my memory. She's an amazing artist, and an even more amazing friend. Go check out her art on her deviantART or her Tumblr. Holly, thank you so much for just being you. God bless!