I am so sorry everyone, I can't believe it's been almost a year since I last updated this fic. All I can say is, I got busy with school, and other real life obligations, as well as other projects that came up such as my little brother starting a Let's Play channel - Orionthestarhog - and I'm acting as his co-host as he tries to build his audience...go look him up if you haven't yet!

But in any case, besides the real life stuff, writing this chapter was - in all honesty - a real chore. I'll admit I was really dragging my heels on this one, mainly because so much of the focus was put on Lyra and Khoury in this episode, and to be frank, I really don't like them. It isn't necessarily because they're bad characters, it's just because I would rather focus on the others and the ideas I have for them.

Thankfully, this finally got done, and I promise you the next chapter will be done sooner. In fact I'm going to get started right away. But before I go, here are some review replies.

Miss geek: Lol hey, when you like a story, you like a story. That's not stalker-ish. xD Hope this one tides you over too!

Blade Warrior: You're welcome for the reply, and yeah, sorry about Spiritomb, the only kind of thought I put into where to start the timeline when I first started this story was I wanted to make sure the lure episode already happened. Hope you enjoy this chapter too though!

Guest: There's actually 3 reviews here, but the way they're written kinda feels like they're all by the same person so...I'll just address it. ^^U A lot of stuff that you suggested are ideas that have crossed my mind, but I don't just throw in every random thing that pops into my head, that's partly why it takes so long to write these chapters, a lot of thought goes into them. When I write a chapter, I have to think about what kind of consequences my previous chapters will have on future chapters, and that's how it's been all this time. Having Ash descend from Sir Aaron? Catching the Lake Trio? All of those things would have future consequences, this isn't the video game world where trainers can catch legendaries and no one bats an eyelash, in the anime they're needed for very specific reasons. I appreciate your zeal, but before any action can be taken, there needs to be thought put into what would happen.

WiIID: That's really high praise, thank you so much. But don't you worry, even if it takes me the rest of my life, this story WILL be completed. Just stay tuned. ^^

Now there's one more review I would like to address, and it was left on Chapter 51 and it was made by an anonymous named "Troubled," and it basically suggests that I've given Misty what the reviewer calls "signs of borderline personality disorder."

Well, I wouldn't go that far, though Misty is known for being hot-headed, and she's known for having a temper, but she is also very sweet and caring as well. Misty - as I interpret her - is a person of extremes. She can get really angry, or really happy in the blink of an eye, depending on what's going on. Have I gone a little overboard in this story? Maybe. Maybe some things don't seem realistic, maybe they're overreactions. But, the way I see it, teenagers are very prone to making rash and foolish decisions, not always thinking about the consequences of their actions before they make them.

Hormones rage, tempers flare, and any little thing can set them off. That's just a phase of life. Maybe I did go a bit too far, but, there's nothing that can't be altered a bit in the future. And besides, growing up is nothing if not unpredictable.

SO, with that addressed, enough babbling from me! On with the show! I own nothing except the story.
_

Chapter 73

Misty's POV

Lyra and Khoury tagging along with us is proving to be an interesting experience to say the least. Just a couple days ago we got trapped in the Valley Windworks when Lyra's Marill went wandering off without us, forcing us to go and chase it down. Several zaps from Magnemite later along with what can only be described as a sibling rivalry between Piplup and Dawn's new Cyndaquil, we managed to escape no worse for wear.

Of course, we did have a run-in with Team Rocket, what else is new? Ash and Lucario have really been getting a workout with their auras, putting up shields and protecting us from danger more often than I'd like. But, it is admirable, and the more they use it, the stronger they'll get, so there is a silver lining at least.

On another minor note, I found out that Lyra...admires Ash too. I shouldn't even be surprised anymore, I know better than anyone how special Ash is, even without his aura powers. Still, I couldn't help but feel irked that Lyra was so openly willing to discuss it despite my relationship with him. Of course, then I found out that Lyra had been completely oblivious to the fact that I was Ash's girlfriend, and she even went as far as to ask Dawn if she was Ash's girlfriend instead.

Lyra was disappointed to learn Ash was mine, but then she started trying to pair Dawn and herself up with the rest of the guys under the hypothetical scenario we'd get trapped in the Windworks forever. Seemed like Lyra was willing to pick anyone but Khoury, although Kenny wasn't much higher on her list, much to Dawn's indignation.

I get the sneaking suspicion there's more to Khoury and Lyra's relationship than meets the eye, especially after her admission that she and Khoury were best friends. I won't actively go out of my way to make something happen, but you better believe I'm going to keep a very close eye on this situation. Now that we're stopping at another Pokémon Center, we'll have some time to relax. No better time to watch and observe.

Normal POV

As soon as the large group of trainers walked through the doors of the Pokémon Center, they were greeted by that center's Nurse Joy. "Oh, hi everyone!"

And that's when things got weird, or normal depending on who you were. "Nurse Joy! Wowee!" Brock seemed to float over to the counter Nurse Joy was standing behind, turning on all the charm he could muster as he leaned his elbow against the counter and stared right into the woman's dark blue eyes. "Such pretty eyes, you're Celestic Town's Nurse Joy's cousin, and Chocovine Town's Joy's sister, am I right?"

Nurse Joy just laughed nervously and sweat-dropped. "Why yes, how did you know?"

"It's a gift." Brock chuckled huskily. "I happen to know everything about each Nurse Joy at any given moment all over the world!"

"Khoury...are you taking notes on this?!" Kenny asked incredulously.

"Of course!" Khoury said as he jotted down more notes on his small notepad. "Brock is amazing, what a memory!"

"Yeah," Dawn scoffed. "But I think that memory would be put to better use as a Pokémon Breeder."

Meanwhile Brock continued his attempt at wooing the startled Pokémon nurse. "Nurse Joy I suggest continuing this over dinner for two," the young man leaned in closer and delicately took Nurse Joy's hand into his own. "Nice table, soft music, candlelight-"

And then Croagunk's Poison Jab brought Brock's attempt at seducing Nurse Joy to an abrupt end.

"Maybe. I'll. Just. Stand."

And the baffled Pokémon nurse could only watch as Brock was dragged across the floor by his own Pokémon. "Is...is he alright?"

"He will be," Misty rolled her eyes. "But for all the talk about his incredible memory, Brock seems to have this issue with remembering that harassing every beautiful woman he comes across generally doesn't lead to good results."

Just then, three young trainers came running in through the sliding doors of the Pokémon Center, all cradling injured Pokémon in their arms. "Nurse Joy, please help us!" the young boy holding his Mankey shouted in despair, followed closely by two girls, holding an Eevee and a Farfetch'd.

"Oh no," Nurse Joy quickly shook off her bewilderment at the sight of the injured Pokémon, and she ran from behind the counter to approach the young trainers. "You three didn't go to Mount Shady, did you?"

"Yeah," the young girl with glasses responded with a concerned whine. "See...we were only trying to catch it."

"Catch it?" Ash and the others came close and stood behind the worried rookie trainers. "Do they mean catching a Pokémon?"

"That's right," Nurse Joy nodded with a fist over her chest. "There's a wild Gible there...it's dangerous, so please stay away!" Nurse Joy then looked down at the trio of rookie trainers and gestured for them to follow her into the back. "Let's take care of your Pokémon!"

"Nurse Joy!"

The woman stopped at the sudden outburst.

"I'd like to help too!"

For a brief moment, Nurse Joy hesitated, but seeing the serious and determined expression on Brock's face dissolved any concerns she may have had about Brock's intentions. "Thank you Brock," she smiled. "That's very sweet." And with that, they both ran into the back of the center to tend to the children and their Pokémon.

"That rogue Gible sounds really scary." Dawn commented.

"Yeah..."

"Oh no..." Misty narrowed her eyes at her boyfriend. "I know that look in your eye, Ash."

Ash's eyes just sparked with excitement. "You know me too well, Mist..." he pumped a fist. "If it's a rogue Pokémon, I'll bet it's a strong Pokémon!"

"Yeah!" Lyra's own eyes flared with determination. "Whaddya say we go check it out?!"

"Wait...isn't that dangerous?"

"Ugh..." Lyra rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips in disappointment. "Khoury, do you have to be afraid of everything?"

"We're going after it," Kenny sighed. "Aren't we?"

"You're not scared too, are you Kenny?"

"No!" Kenny glared at Lyra. "I just don't think it's a good idea to go after a Pokémon that took out three trainers and their Pokémon, don't you think that might be a bit of a bad idea?!"

"Oh please, did you see those kids?" Lyra gestured wildly. "They were barely ten years old! We're seasoned veterans, we've got powerful Pokémon of our own! I say we head up to Mt. Shady and go after that Gible! Think of it as doing a public service since it's causing so much trouble!"

"Can't argue with that!" Ash exclaimed in excitement. "Alright, it's time to go catch a rogue Pokémon!"

"Pika pika!" (Let's go!)

And with that, Ash ran out the doors of the center and leaped into the air with excitement before sprinting down the path towards the mountain. "He's hopeless, I swear." Misty rubbed her temples to relieve the headache she could feel coming on. "Come on, let's go after him before that Gible catches him off guard and he gets hurt...again."

They ran off after him, and while it did take a while to catch up, the rest of the group did eventually manage to reach Ash and Pikachu, and once they were together again, they slowed their pace to a comfortable walk to ensure they didn't lose each other again.

Of course, that didn't stop Lyra from deciding to try and cause some mischief, as she discreetly slowed her walk just enough to trick the other two girls into letting Ash, Kenny and Khoury get a good twenty paces in front of them. "Dawn, let me ask you something...what do you think of Khoury?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Lyra stated matter-of-factly. "What do you think of him as a boyfriend?"

Dawn blanched. "As a boyfriend?!"

Unfortunately, her shout had gotten the attention of the boys in front of them. "Hey, something wrong?" Khoury asked.

"Gah!" Dawn waved her arms wildly in a vain attempt to reassure the boys everything was alright. "No no no no no! Not a thing!" Dawn then groaned in defeat as she tried to regain her lost composure. "Good grief."

"Now Khoury may not seem like much," Lyra's voice caused Dawn to blanch again. "But I know as a couple you two'd be great..." then Lyra pointed into the sky with determination. "That's right! Look out Dawn and Khoury, because for this matchmaker it's cupid playing time!"

"No! You don't have to do that! Really you don't!"

"And she won't!"

Luckily for Dawn, Misty had come to her rescue, grasping the large hat-wearing trainer by the ear to bring her back down to reality. Never had Dawn been so grateful to have a big sister figure like Misty around.

"Ow! Hey, leggo!"

"Not before you listen to me!" Misty leaned down to look Lyra in the eyes. "I don't know what your obsession is with trying to pair people up, but it needs to stop! Can't you tell Dawn's not even remotely interested in Khoury?!"

Lyra finally managed to jerk away from Misty's grip, and she glared at the taller girl as she rubbed her aching ear. "Look, if I don't find someone to take care of Khoury, he's probably gonna wind up all alone for the rest of his life. In case you couldn't tell, Khoury isn't exactly what you would call 'hot,' and I don't want to see him ending up miserable."

"There will be plenty of time for him to find someone." Misty replied. "Not everyone is lucky enough to meet their soulmate in their teenage years, and who's to say Khoury won't make someone fall for him anyway? I'm actually surprised that as his so-called best friend, you don't think higher of him as a person!"

"Yeah Lyra," Dawn finally decided to chime in, her face more somber than angry. "I mean, even though I'm not interested in him romantically, even I can tell that he's a total sweetheart, why can't you see it?"

Lyra's face softened, and she dropped her head and closed her eyes before she answered. "I do see it. But...he just...he has no confidence, guys...he always looks at things through a half-empty glass, and I've spent years trying to get him to toughen up a little. I don't need him to be borderline arrogant or anything, but don't you think it would be good for him to at least stop being scared of his own shadow?" Lyra sighed. "I'm hoping that hanging around Ash will awaken something in him, maybe like...a courage that he never showed before."

"Interesting idea," Misty hummed. "But if you ask me, Khoury's already more courageous than all of us combined."

Even Dawn was surprised by Misty's statement, as both she and Lyra looked at the redhead in shock. "What do you mean Misty?"

Misty smiled wisely. "Courage isn't the ability to run headfirst into danger without fear, that's more Ash's style, and it tends to get him into more trouble than necessary at times." the redhead winked and raised a finger. "Courage is knowing the risks, admitting that you're scared, and then doing it anyway. In that sense, Khoury is very courageous, because he was scared to come along with us, and he should be, to be perfectly honest. This Gible sounds like a real monster, but instead of staying at the Pokémon Center with Brock, he came with us."

Lyra blinked as her mind tried to process this information. "I...never thought of it like that before."

"Well, then I'm glad I could offer you a new perspective on things." Misty placed a friendly hand on Lyra's shoulder. "Just think about what I told you the next time Khoury acts like he's nervous about something. More than likely, he'll go anyway, because he wants to be strong...strong for you, I'd wager."

"Oh..."

"Hey!" the girls all looked up as Khoury's voice called out to them. "Are you sure you're alright? We can slow down if you like!"

"No need to worry!" Dawn called back. "Just having some girl talk over here, carry on!"

"Oh, gotcha. Alright then." Khoury shrugged and continued walking with the guys, though he couldn't keep a puzzled expression off his face as he pondered what kind of topics they could be discussing. "Hey Ash, Kenny? Do you ever wonder what it is that girls talk about whenever they're having their 'girl talk'?"

"Oh yeah, all the time." Ash shrugged dismissively. "But if there's one thing I've learned this year, being Misty's boyfriend and all, it's that there are some things that I'm just not meant to know. Girl talk is one of them."

"Someone talking about me?"

Ash suddenly felt the presence of another person, and he turned to his left to see his girlfriend smiling at him with that bright smile he'd gotten so accustomed to since they'd been together, which prompted him to smile himself. "Just wondering what it is you girls talk about when you're having girl talk, that's all."

"Nothing you need to know about." Misty replied as she cutely stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's what I was just telling Khoury."

"Good, then I've trained you well."

"Trained me? I'm not a Pokémon!"

"No, but people need training just as much as Pokémon do, you know that!"

"Well yeah, but...not like that!"

"And exactly why not?"

"Well because...because that's just wrong! People shouldn't be 'training' people to behave a certain way, that's...there's a word for this, I know there is!"

"Uh guys..." The quarreling couple glared at Kenny for interrupting, but then they looked up to where he was pointing, and their faces fell. "Look out!"

The teens scattered, as a massive boulder fell from the sky and made the surrounding area rumble when it impacted the ground, leaving a huge crater underneath it. "What was that?!" Ash then heard the sound of what seemed to be laughter, and he looked up to find the source of the sound, and there, on the top of a ledge several yards away, was a Pokémon that seemed all too pleased with itself. "What's that?!"

"Hang on," Khoury got up and pulled out his Pokédex. "I'll check it out!"

Gible, the Land Shark Pokémon. Gible once lived in the tropics, and to avoid cold it lives in caves warmed by geo-thermal heat.

"Great, so what are we supposed to do with that bit of info?!" Kenny gulped.

Then suddenly a white aura surrounded the rogue Gible, and it picked up another large boulder with ease. "Whoa, Gible's using Strength!" Ash exclaimed.

"And it looks like it's going to use Strength to use an upgraded version of Rock Throw!" Misty's shout was followed by Gible chucking the boulder at them. "Scatter!"

The teens again all jumped away to avoid getting crushed by the giant boulder, but before they could even catch their breath, Gible was suddenly charging at them from above with its tiny arm glowing white with power, as it slammed into the boulder it had just thrown, shattering it into tiny pieces. "Gible just used Rock Smash!" Ash smirked and grabbed a Pokéball. "Now that's power, I like it! I'm catching Gible for sure!"

"We can decide who gets it later Ash!" Dawn reached for her own Pokéball. "First we gotta make sure it doesn't get anyone else hurt!" she briefly glanced at the boy standing next to her. "Khoury, this is dangerous, you better stand back!"

"I wanna raise it!" The entire group gaped in shock at the lanky breeder whose eyes were shining with excitement. "Just look at that Gible! I just know I can raise it into an awesome Gabite!"

Lyra couldn't help but smile at Khoury's enthusiasm. "It looks like that Gible is bringing out the breeder in Khoury!"

"Well good for him, but I'm gonna catch it!" Ash grinned and threw out his held Pokéball. "Buizel, I choose you!"

"Two can play at that game!" Khoury exclaimed as he reached for his own Pokéball. "Totodile, give me a hand!"

Both Pokémon emerged from their Pokéballs determined to take down the rogue Gible, but Gible only seemed eager to show its strength as it seemed to snicker and unleashed a Sandstorm attack at Buizel and Totodile, as well as the humans behind them which forced Ash to put up an aura barrier to shield them. Unfortunately, that barrier didn't stop Buizel and Totodile from getting blown away by the Sandstorm attack, and Gible just laughed at the attempt to capture it before it dug underground and disappeared from view.

"Awesome!" Ash lowered the barrier and clenched his fists in excitement. "Gible escaped using Dig! I just gotta catch that Pokémon!"

"I'll help you too!"

"Huh?!"

Lyra paid no mind to the stunned expressions of her friends as she eagerly volunteered to help Ash catch the rogue dragon/ground-type. "Dawn, why don't you keep an eye on Khoury, 'kay?" she said with a wink.

"Uh...okay..."

"W-Wait! I-I think there should be strength in numbers!" Kenny suddenly blurted out. "I-I'll go with Dawn too! Just in case they need backup!"

"And I'll go with Ash and Lyra," Misty narrowed her eyes at the large hat-wearing female for a moment. "Something tells me they'll need someone to keep them out of trouble."

"Hey, the more the merrier!" Ash grinned, totally unaware of the tension building between Misty and Lyra. "Sorry Khoury, but that Gible's all mine!"

"Well," Khoury's glasses flashed for a moment as he clenched his fists in determination. "I think you're wrong! Gible's gonna be mine and there's no way I'm gonna let you stand in my way!"

"You're on!"

And with that, the two groups went their separate ways in search of the rogue Gible, totally unaware of Team Rocket watching them from the bushes. "Looks like it's going to be a race to catch that Gible then!" Jessie snickered.

"A race that we're sure to win!" James shouted.

"Then let's not waste anymore time!"

And just like that Team Rocket was also on their way.

However, it was clear that Ash, Misty and Lyra had a bit of a head start, as Ash's aura had already managed to pinpoint the general area that Gible had decided to dig to. "That Gible's close, I can feel it!"

"You'll track it down Ash, I know it!" Lyra eyes suddenly widened to the size of dinner plates when a hand covered her mouth and her ear was pulled from behind. Moments later, she was face-to-face with a clearly irate Gym Leader.

"What, did everything I tell you earlier go in one ear and out the other?!" Misty hissed at the shorter girl, quietly as to avoid getting Ash's attention. "Why are you here helping Ash when you should be helping your best friend Khoury?!"

Lyra just sighed in exasperation. "No, I appreciate your take on the situation, but I still think that Dawn and Khoury could get along great if they just spent some time together! I was honestly hoping Kenny would come with us too, but I guess he wanted to keep the groups even for safety's sake...can't blame him for that I guess, but it's gonna be hard for Dawn and Khoury to spend some alone time as long as Kenny's acting as a third wheel."

"You..." It took everything in Misty's power not to rip her own hair out, as she decided instead to simply take several deep breaths to avoid exploding right there on the spot. "You know what? I can see there's no point in arguing with you on this, but mark my words, you're wasting your time if you think Dawn's going to fall for Khoury, and that isn't a knock on Khoury, it's just a fact."

"And what makes you so sure?" Lyra scoffed. "Do you know something I don't?"

"As a matter of fact, I-"

"There it is!" The girls were pulled out of their quiet bickering when Ash spotted Gible's fin poking out from the tall grass, living up to its classification as the Land Shark Pokémon. "Wow, Gible's movin' fast! Alright Buizel, use Aqua Jet!" As soon as Ash made the call, Buizel blasted forward in a jet of water, catching up to the on-the-move dragon/ground-type to make a hit. "We got it now!"

And then Gible ducked down under the grass just as Buizel flew overhead.

"Man, what a dodge!" Ash exclaimed.

"Over there!"

Ash looked behind him where Lyra was pointing, and signaled Buizel to attack again. "Quick Buizel, Water Gun!" After landing from the previous Aqua Jet attack, Buizel immediately turned around and launched a high-pressure stream of water towards Gible, but again it simply dodged the attack and then somehow leaped out from the grass behind the trainers again in a matter of seconds, shouting at them in annoyance. "How is Gible moving so fast?! Buizel, Sonic Boom!"

Buizel attacked again, this time swinging his tail to launch a powerful sound wave at the small Land Shark Pokémon, but once again the attack missed as Gible just shifted its body forward and went over the blast, falling back down to the ground...and then taking the fight to the trainers as it decided it wanted to do the chasing instead of being chased. "Uh oh, Gible's coming for us!" Lyra exclaimed in worry.

"Buizel, intercept it with Aqua Jet!"

Buizel made another valiant effort to attack, but Gible again dodged the attack and sent Buizel flying in the complete wrong direction as it went after the humans. "This Gible just won't quit!" Misty reached for her own Pokéball and summoned Surskit even as she, Ash and Lyra ran from the angry dragon/ground-type. "Latch on Surskit!" Misty's water/bug-type nodded determinedly and quickly crawled onto Misty's wrist, gripping on as tight as possible. Then Misty took aim. "Alright Surskit, use Ice Beam!"

Now latched onto Misty's wrist like a gauntlet, Surskit fired multiple Ice Beam attacks as Misty tried to aim towards the incoming Land Shark Pokémon, but each attack missed as Gible was too maneuverable in the tall grass, and before the teens and their Pokémon knew it, Gible had gotten so close that it decided to leap into the air and start hammering them with another Sandstorm attack.

"Get behind me!"

Ash's hastily thrown-up aura barrier was able to withstand the majority of Gible's attack, but then Gible suddenly switched to Rock Smash and the impact shattered Ash's sloppy shield and sent them crashing to the ground. By the time they recovered, Gible had disappeared.

"Oh rats!" Lyra pounded the ground in frustration. "Gible must've used Dig to escape again!"

"One thing's for sure," Ash said as he got up and dusted himself off. "Catching Gible is gonna be harder than I thought."

Meanwhile, on a rock in the middle of the tall grass, Dawn, Kenny, and Khoury were devising their own strategy to capture Gible. "Looks like Ash, Misty, and Lyra are having a rough time." Dawn said as she shaded her eyes with her hand, mildly concerned over seeing her friends take such a hard hit.

"It could have been a lot worse," Kenny pointed out. "Ash's aura powers kept them from getting seriously hurt, I guess now we know why they're calling Gible a rogue Pokémon."

"That's why instead of chasing Gible," Khoury spoke up confidently. "I'm gonna catch it by standing and waiting right here."

"And how's that gonna work?" Kenny raised an eyebrow. "It's not like Gible's gonna come and harass us if Ash and the others keep chasing it around."

"Simple." Khoury grinned and pulled a fishing rod out of seemingly nowhere. "I'll catch Gible with this! And Pokémon food!" Khoury then handed Dawn the rod he was holding, and then pulled two more out of nowhere, handing one of them to Kenny. "Here, for you two!"

"Hey, this might be fun!" Dawn took the fishing pole and took some of the food that Khoury handed her, and then she cast the reel in the grass, squatting down on the rock they were standing on as she waited for Gible to get hungry and take the bait. "I hope Gible hurries."

Khoury just laughed as he and Kenny did the same with their own reels. "Patience is the name of this game."

"Yeah, I know." Dawn laughed a little herself. "Misty's told me a lot about what it takes to be a good fisher during our journey, doesn't mean I can't hope for a speedy bite!"

Khoury smiled. "Fair enough."

A few minutes later, Kenny gasped as he felt a tug on his line. "Hey, I think I got something!"

"Way to go Kenny!" Dawn cheered. "Now reel it in!"

"Are you ready to battle Totodile?!" But before Khoury could send Totodile on the attack, Kenny yanked the rod as hard as he could and sent whatever was on the hook flying into the air. "Um...that's not Gible."

"Seriously?" Kenny deadpanned and reeled in his catch, which just so happened to be a thoroughly embarrassed Piplup. "Dawn, I think this is yours."

"What were you doing down there Piplup?" Dawn sighed in exasperation. Piplup just chirped in humiliation as the humans and Totodile all gave the small penguin deadpan stares.

"Looks like they're dealing with one of a fisher's most annoying drawbacks." Misty said sympathetically as she watched Dawn, Kenny, and Khoury take Piplup off the hook. "Catching everything except the thing you're trying to catch, I've been there."

"Well they can do what they want!" Ash exclaimed determinedly. "We're chasing Gible out!"

"Huh?" Lyra raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'chase?'" A few minutes later, Lyra figured out what Ash's plan was, as he handed her a pair of sticks and sent Misty over to a rock with Buizel. "Now I get it! We'll use the sticks to try and chase Gible out of its hiding place!"

"Exactly!" Ash then turned his attention to Misty. "Alright Mist, when we chase Gible out, you take it from there!"

"If you say so!" Misty discreetly leaned down to mumble to Buizel. "Your trainer seems to like trying to get himself hurt, huh Buizel?" The water weasel just sweat-dropped at that. Then the redhead watched as Ash and Lyra walked around the grass, waving their sticks and chanting to try and chase Gible out. Moments later, they succeeded as Gible jumped out of the grass, obviously annoyed by their efforts. "There it is!"

"Aah! Get away from me!" Unfortunately for Lyra, Gible wasn't looking to be chased around, as it made a beeline for Lyra and forced her to start running again. "Someone help!"

"Lyra! Jump on that rock!"

The girl followed Ash's advice and climbed onto another large rock, but even that was no match for Gible as it shattered the rock simply by running into it, sending Lyra flying into the air until she hit the ground with a hard thud. "That hurt!"

"Lyra, you okay?!" Misty shouted.

"Don't...worry about me!" the girl gasped out. "I just...got the wind knocked out of me...I'll be fine...go catch Gible!"

"You got it!" Ash clenched a determined fist. "Let's go Buizel!"

As Buizel went after his trainer, Misty followed closely behind until she was able to match her boyfriend stride for stride. "Gible went through that rock like it was air!" then the redhead's eyes widened in horror as she saw where Gible was heading next. "Dawn, Kenny, Khoury, get out of there! Gible's coming your way!"

"It is?!" they shouted.

"Buizel, stop Gible with Aqua Jet, quick!"

"Totodile, use Aqua Tail!"

As both Ash and Khoury's Pokémon sprang into action, the mischievous Gible grinned widely and made a sudden sharp left turn, leaving the two Pokémon to gasp in shock as their attacks instead slammed into each other rather than their intended target.

Seconds later, the two volatile water-types were wrapped up in an all-out brawl over the mistake.

"Buizel, knock it off!"

"Totodile, stop that!'

"Uh oh, this isn't good!" Dawn exclaimed in concern. Then the female coordinator's attention was diverted when she felt a tug on her line. "A-A bite!" She reeled in the line and tugged as hard as she could, "I've got you!" And she caught what was on her hook...a very stunned and even more embarrassed Piplup. "Piplup, this is getting a little bit old."

"Alright, that's it." Misty walked over to Dawn and Kenny just as Dawn was taking Piplup off the hook for the second time. "I'm officially done doing it Ash's way, Khoury has the right idea, and we're all gonna try and get this thing caught together before someone gets seriously hurt, we've had too many close calls as it is."

"Whaaaa?!" Ash shouted as he finally managed to drag Buizel away from Totodile. He quickly returned his water-type to his Pokéball and zipped over to plead with his girlfriend. "But Misty, we-"

The glare Misty gave Ash could melt steel. "We are doing it Khoury's way! Do I make myself clear?"

Ash gulped and put his hands up in a placatory gesture, Pikachu doing the same while on his shoulder. "Yeah, sure, no problem." Minutes later, Ash, Misty and Lyra were now also holding fishing rods, as the entire group all stood on a rock together and pointed in a different direction. "I guess this wasn't such a bad idea after all."

"I'd say this has a much better chance of working," Lyra admitted as she glanced at her best friend. "Good thinking Khoury."

"Thanks Lyra!" Khoury beamed at the praise. "And, maybe if I add the flavors that ground-types and dragon-types like to the Pokémon food-"

Lyra suddenly leaned in close to Khoury and grinned mischievously at him. "But I thought you said Totodile didn't like the Pokémon food you made Khoury."

"Aww gimme a break Lyra," Khoury smiled bashfully. "After all, I've learned a lot about cooking from Brock these past few days!" Khoury then presented a bowl of Pokémon food to the group. "There we go, this food is prepared specifically to appeal to the tastes of both of Gible's types, so hopefully this will make catching Gible a lot easier, you're all free to use it!"

"Wow," Ash marveled. "Thanks Khoury!"

"One of the top rules of fishing," Misty said as she placed a bit of food on her hook. "Always make sure you're using the right bait or lure."

"Mini-Misty not getting the job done this time?"

Misty sweat-dropped at Dawn's question. "I think Mini-Misty works a lot better on water-types," the redhead placed her signature lure back into her pocket. "But for rowdy dragon/ground-types, I think food is just what we need!"

"Sounds good to me! We'll win for sure!" Ash shrank back somewhat when Misty glared at him again. "I-I mean, we'll figure out who gets to catch it later, just as long as we manage to corner it, right?"

"That's better."

"Hey, a bite!" Dawn grinned with determination and pulled back her rod. "I've got you this time!"

"Betcha it's Piplup again." But an innocent chirp ruined Lyra's theory, as the group looked down and saw Piplup munching on one of Dawn's poffins. "Huh? But...if Piplup's here...then that means..."

"It's Gible!" Ash shouted.

Gible had indeed caught onto Dawn's hook, as it circled the area of grass it was now fighting to escape from after getting caught. "Man, it is strong!" Dawn pulled back even harder, but she was suddenly lurched forward when Gible gave an especially hard tug on the line; only Khoury's quick reaction - grabbing onto the rod to help Dawn pull - saved the coordinator from getting dragged for a ride by the rogue Gible.

"Don't let go!" Ash shouted. "Reel it in!"

"I can't!" Dawn grunted out in exertion. "Gible's just...too strong!"

"The line's gonna break Dawn!" Misty exclaimed. "Ease off of it!"

"I can't! It's too heavy!"

"O-Okay!" Khoury gritted out. "Try to reel it in!"

As both Dawn and Khoury continued to try and pull Gible towards them, Lyra seemed more than content to just stand back and watch as the duo worked together, a small but very smug smirk plastered on her face. "Dawn and Khoury make a lovely couple, don't they?" she said to herself.

But Kenny had heard that under-the-breath remark and his eyes widened at what she said. "Excuse me?!" But before he could question Lyra further, the rogue Gible leaped out of the grass with its legs flailing in rage, diverting his attention back to the more urgent matter. "There it is! Reel it in!" Then Gible grabbed the line and pulled, and both Dawn and Khoury got yanked off the rock and to the ground below. "Dee Dee!"

Then Gible pressed its attack, unleashing a powerful Rock Smash that caused the rest of the trainers to scatter and avoid getting pounded on; then Gible took off running as it apparently decided that fighting wasn't the answer to its current problem. "Alright that's it!" Ash growled with a clenched fist as he grabbed another Pokéball. "Lucario, I choose you!"

In a flash of white light, Ash's giant Lucario was released from his confines, and he immediately smashed his paw into his open palm, as he'd been all too aware of everything that had been happening for the past hour or so. "It's about time you brought me into the action, let's go catch that thing!"

As Ash and Lucario took off running after Gible, the other trainers quickly dusted themselves off and ran after them, though after a few minutes, it was clear to even Ash that he wasn't going to catch Gible on foot, it was just too fast and it had already disappeared from view. "This isn't gonna work, we either need to corner it someplace it can't Dig away, or goad it into an honest-to-goodness Pokémon battle."

"I could try to track it down." Lucario offered with a shrug.

By now the others had finally caught up with Ash and Lucario. "Where's Gible?" Dawn asked as she fought to catch her breath.

"It got away." Ash sighed as he shook his head despondently. "Lucario and I could try to use our auras to find which way it went, but it'd be a long shot with all the different auras of all the other Pokémon we'd have to sort through to find Gible's."

"I might have a way to narrow things down." Khoury pulled out a stethoscope and placed the diaphragm onto the ground, closing his eyes as he listened for any type of sound. After a few moments, the lanky boy nodded to the group. "It's faint, but I can hear Gible digging underground."

"Can you tell us which direction?" Ash asked. "If you can point us in the right direction, it'll make it easier for me and Lucario to use our auras to pinpoint it."

Khoury shook his head apologetically. "Sorry Ash, it's too faint, all I can tell you is that Gible is underground, which way it's headed is anyone's guess."

"Why guess?" Lyra smirked and tossed a Pokéball. "Marill, come on out and give us a hand!"

"Lyra's got the right idea!" Misty then mumbled under her breath. "For once." She reached for a Pokéball of her own and tossed it out as well. "Marill, you come out too!"

Within seconds of each other, the two Marill were released and immediately caught on to what it was their trainers were wanting from them. Just a few ear wiggles later, and both Marill pointed in the direction that Gible was heard coming from. "Looks like they got it!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Then let's go!" Ash took off running, with the others following close behind, and with the guidance of the ears of both Marill, they were able to track Gible to a large rock formation that appeared to lead to a cave, and that was when both Misty and Lyra's Marill lost the trail. "What's the matter?"

"I'm guessing Marill can't get a bead on Gible's sound since it's inside that cave," Misty suggested. "Everything echoes in there."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Ash exclaimed determinedly. "This is what we've been trying to get all along! We just gotta trap it in there! Last one there's a rotten Exeggcute!"

"Dad, wait!"

"Huh?" Ash stopped to turn around and look at Lucario, but that moment of hesitance was all it took for the ground underneath him to suddenly give way, and the boy screamed as he looked down and saw a Trapinch with its sharp, large jaws chomping at the bit to have a snack, waiting for Ash to slide all the way down the slope. "It's a Trapinch Sand Tomb!"

"Grab on!"

Ash looked back up and saw both Khoury and Misty reaching out to help, and without a second thought, he grabbed hold of their hands and let them drag him back up to solid ground. "Man..." he panted as he shook the sand out of his clothes. "That was a close one, thanks guys."

But Misty wasn't so ready to let what had just happened fall by the wayside. "Ash, sometimes you seriously make me want to scream!" she glared at him with her hands on her hips. "I dunno what's gotten into you today, but ever since we started going after Gible, you've ignored what little common sense you have and decided to try every possible way to get yourself hurt!"

"Mist, give it a rest already." Ash gave a halfhearted glare back, exhausted from the events of the day and Misty's constant berating. "If I need advice from you, I'll ask for it."

That only caused a vein to bulge from Misty's forehead. "I'll give whatever advice I feel is necessary! Since you seem to have fallen back into your old, bad ten-year-old habits, maybe I need to treat you like you're ten again!"

"Well you might as well! Since you've gone back to criticizing me like we were ten!"

"I'm criticizing because you're reckless!"

"I'm not reckless! I just take risks sometimes!"

"You take unnecessary risks! Which is the very definition of being reckless!"

"Now now," Khoury sweat-dropped as he put his hands up to try and calm the situation down. "This is no time to fight!"

But all Khoury did was draw Misty's wrath to himself for a moment as the redhead rounded on him. "IT'S THE PERFECT TIME TO FIGHT!" she then turned back to Ash. "When are you gonna learn that your actions have consequences?!"

"I know all about that!"

"Then why don't you act like it?!"

Ash and Misty continued their back and forth argument, while Lyra just turned away for a moment and giggled to herself, much to the confusion of Dawn and Kenny, given the current circumstances. "There's nothing like two people who really care."

"That's caring?" Kenny raised an eyebrow. "So if this is caring, then what are they like when they're really mad at each other? Because this just seems like your run of the mill fight between those two."

"Guess you weren't really paying attention back in Sandalstraw Town..." Dawn chuckled uncomfortably at the memory of what happened while they were there. "Ash and Misty nearly broke up they were so mad at each other...thankfully they patched things up."

Kenny just blinked before sighing in defeat. "Does everyone notice these things but me?"

Dawn giggled at that. "Looks like it."

"Hey wait a second..." Lyra's sudden statement pulled the two coordinators out of their conversation, and they saw that the girl's eyes were slightly glazed over as she stared in the direction of the argument taking place, but it wasn't Ash and Misty she was looking at. "Do Khoury and I act like that?"

Both coordinators just stared at Lyra in stunned silence for a moment before looking at each other, trying to read the other's thoughts. "Well...I didn't expect her to say something like that." Kenny whispered.

"Me either," Dawn then glanced at Ash and Misty, who were still going at it with poor Khoury still trying to separate the two in futility. "But I think we should get going, whaddya say we snap those two out of it?"

"Got a plan?" Kenny asked with a smirk as he pointed his thumb in the direction of the quarreling couple. "Because I'm not getting in the middle of that, I like my head where it is, thank you very much."

"So do I." Dawn grinned. "Well, guess there's always the direct approach."

"Direct approach?"

"Observe." Dawn glanced towards Piplup and nodded at him, and moments later, the couple was getting pelted by a stream of bubbles that immediately took their attention off of each other and on the source of the attack. "Alright you two, that's enough! We can stand here all day and watch you two argue, or we can go in there and go get Gible!"

Ash and Misty blinked at the coordinator girl for a few moments before glancing back at each other, mumbling apologies under their breath.

"That's better." Dawn nodded in satisfaction. "Now, let's go in there and get Gible!"

With the situation resolved for the moment, the trainers entered the cave and started walking down the path, which seemed to be never-ending from what they could tell. "Wow, this cave goes on forever!" Ash exclaimed, his voice echoing throughout the cave.

"Khoury," Lyra spoke up. "What are the chances that Gible is actually in this cave? Is it possible we're looking in the wrong place?"

"Anything's possible," Khoury replied. "But my Pokédex said that Gible loves caves, so I'd say we have a 99.9 percent chance of running into it here somewhere." Then the trainers walked into a large cavern, and Khoury gulped at the sight. "Then again...I'll guarantee Gible's in here...but I won't guarantee we'll find it."

"Look at this place!" Dawn exclaimed as her eyes took in the cavern, and all of its nooks and crannies. "There are paths going in almost every direction! Gible could be anywhere!"

"Ash, can you and Lucario try to get a bead on Gible?" Misty asked.

Ash shrugged. "We can try." Ash then turned to Lucario, who nodded back at him before combining his aura with Ash's and reaching out throughout the cave. "I think...yeah, I can see Gible's aura! It's digging again...but..."

"But what?" Lyra asked.

The trainer and his Pokémon opened their eyes, and Ash sighed as he took a moment to catch his breath. "We saw Gible, but the problem is we couldn't begin to tell you which path to take to get to it...all living things have aura, so we could sense a bunch of Pokémon, including Gible...but the rocks and the walls and the pathways, those aren't things we can see. For all we know, we could take that path over there," he pointed at the one to his left. "And end up going in a complete circle and come out over there." he pointed to the opposite one.

"Then I guess we have no choice but to just pick one." Khoury said determinedly. "I'll try this one, who's coming with?"

"Kenny and I will go with you Khoury," Dawn glanced at the other three. "Ash, Misty, Lyra, take the other one!"

"Well...okay..." Lyra slowly turned. "Good luck Khoury."

"Thanks Lyra," Khoury smiled at his best friend. "You too."

The hat-wearing girl relinquished a small smile before walking down the opposite path, glancing at her Marill who seemed concerned about her. "Don't worry Marill, I'm okay." Lyra said reassuringly. "I could use your help again though, think you can listen for Gible again? Ash said it's digging!"

"Marill!" (Sure!)

After a few moments, Marill pointed to the ground in front of them. "So Gible's there huh?!" Ash grinned and tossed out a Pokéball. "Monferno, come on out and use Dig!" The moment Monferno appeared from his Pokéball, he screeched out his name determinedly and began digging holes all around the trainer, trying to flush out the elusive Gible.

"Uh...dad?"

"What is it Lucario?"

"It isn't Gible that Monferno's riling up down there..."

Ash blanched. "It's not?" Then Monferno came up out of the final hole, looking down at it nervously as he knew what he'd just done, and Ash got the feeling that he too had just made another big mistake. "Uh oh..."

"Now you've gone and done it Ash," Misty huddled close to her boyfriend along with Lyra, as hordes of angry Diglett and Dugtrio emerged from the holes that Monferno had dug. "It's the Spearow incident all over again!"

The next thing they knew, the trio was being carried deeper into the cave by the raging ground-types, screaming at the top of their lungs as they could do nothing but wait until the Diglett and Dugtrio decided to let them down.

But their plight did not go unnoticed, as Dawn and the others quickly turned around and started chasing after their friends to try and help them. "Ash, Misty, Lyra!" Unfortunately, the Diglett and Dugtrio were much too fast to catch on foot, and it didn't take long for the second trio of trainers to realize that they'd just made a rather costly mistake of their own. "Oh man, this cave is like a giant maze, we're good and lost now."

"What's worse..." Kenny gulped as he pointed deeper into the cave. "Is that we're being watched."

Dawn and Khoury followed the male coordinator's finger, and their eyes widened as they spotted another pair of eyes glaring at them from the darkness of the cave ahead, these eyes glowing a mysterious and intimidating yellow. "What could it be?" the blue-haired girl whimpered. She got her answer when an angry Onix emerged from the cave and roared at them, chasing them back down the path they came from. "What'll we do now?!"

"I-I think we better split up!"

No one had any time to object as Onix was quickly gaining ground on them, so as soon as they saw a fork in the path, they took either side and let Onix crash into the cave wall separating the paths, which riled up a huge swarm of Zubat that started flying into the cave's maze.

Meanwhile, Ash, Misty, and Lyra had finally been put down by the angry Diglett and Dugtrio, and Ash returned Monferno just as Misty was putting her Marill back into her Pokéball. "Man I'm beat," Ash sighed. "I never thought I'd say this, but maybe we should give up trying to catch Gible."

"Seconded." Misty lazily raised a hand in the air, laying on her back as she tried to catch her breath. Then she heard a scream echo through the cave, and she shot back up into a sitting position with eyes wide with concern. "That was Dawn's voice!"

Then two more screams were heard.

"And that sounds like Khoury!" Lyra exclaimed.

"And Kenny too!" Ash then felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, as his aura picked up on a lot of Pokémon coming their way. "Uh oh!" Suddenly the teens were surrounded by Zubat, and Ash and Lucario quickly put up a shield to protect them from the poison/flying-types.

Unfortunately, Lyra wasn't accustomed to hiding behind an aura barrier, as she panicked and ran away from the Zubat, eyes closed and screaming at the top of her lungs. "Get away from me! GET AWAY!"

"Lyra, wait!" But Ash's call went unheeded, and by the time the Zubat swarm had passed, Lyra was long gone. "This isn't good, we keep getting split up!"

"We had a shield up!" Lucario grunted. "Why'd she run off?"

"She's probably not used to the idea of being safe behind a glowing blue shield." Misty sighed and put her hands on her hips, giving great effort to not let the stress and exhaustion of the day's events prompt her to lose her temper again. "There's nothing we can do but go look for everyone. After that, I vote we call it a day."

"At this rate Mist, I agree."

"Finally, we're back to seeing eye-to-eye." Misty gave her boyfriend a small smile, who gave one of his own right back. "Alright, do your aura thing and let's see who's close-by."

"Right."

Ash and Lucario closed their eyes and reached out with their hands, focusing their auras throughout the cave, until they finally managed to find some human matches amidst the hordes of different cave Pokémon. "I see Auntie Dawn, and Uncle Kenny's with her." Lucario opened his eyes to see his human parents giving him an odd look. "What?"

"Uncle Kenny?" Misty raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, so what?" Lucario cocked his head to the side questioningly. "Whenever they're together, their auras are almost an exact copy of you and Dad, doesn't that mean they're just like you?"

The young couple glanced at each other and blushed slightly, then Misty turned her attention back to Lucario. "It's...a little more complicated than that. I'll explain later," Misty walked up the Aura Pokémon. "Just keep your aura focused on them, and let's save them."

"If you say so."

Speaking of Dawn and Kenny, the two had finally stopped running, and they were almost desperately trying to catch their breath after their mad dash to escape the angry Onix. "That does it," Kenny gasped for air. "After this adventure, I'm making my Alakazam practice Teleport some more so it can always find the nearest Pokémon Center."

"I uh...don't suppose your Alakazam can get us out of here?" Dawn whimpered, still shaken from everything that had happened.

"Sorry Dawn, no can do." Kenny shook his head despondently. "Without some kind of landmark to focus on, we're more likely to get even more lost than we are to find an exit." Then the male coordinator noticed the state that his female counterpart was in. "Dawn...are...are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah...it's just..." the girl shrunk in on herself. "Being all alone like this can get pretty scary."

"Hey, you're not alone," Kenny took a step closer to her. "I'm here too, and I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

"Thanks Kenny." she relinquished a small smile, seeing the conviction in her best friend's eyes regarding his statement. "You know, I never told you this before, but having you along with us on our journey these past few days? It's been a lot of fun."

Kenny took another step closer, braving putting a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "I think so too."

"Do you think...maybe..."

"What is it?"

"Well...I was just thinking...maybe..."

"Hey Dawn!"

The coordinators were ripped from their tender moment by the appearance of Ash, Misty and Lucario waving at them, hurrying over to reunite with them. "It's Ash and Misty!" Dawn beamed at her male counterpart. "This is great Kenny! Now all we have to do is find Lyra and Khoury!"

Kenny watched as Dawn ran over to her other friends gleefully, a somber smile on his face as he sighed, his heart suddenly aching to spend more time alone with his crush. "Yeah, great." After taking a moment to feel sorry for himself, Kenny shook his head to regain his bearings, and reunited with the others so they could begin their search for their other two missing friends.

Speaking of whom, Lyra was desperately calling out for help after realizing just how far she'd been separated from the others thanks to her Zubat-induced panic attack. "Ash, Misty, come on, where are you?!" Once again, her echoing call was unanswered, and the girl's bottom lip quivered as she sat on a rock with her knees hugged close to her chest. "Oh...no matter how I add it all up, I'm totally alone."

"Marill mar..." (It's okay...)

But her Pokémon's assurance went unheeded, as Lyra's eyes began to water as her fear and anxiety grew. "I hate this!" she shouted with a shaky voice. "Someone come and save me, please!" Just then, she heard a beep coming from the side pocket of her backpack, and the girl's eyes shot open as she realized what it was. "Khoury...Khoury!" she reached for her Pokégear and quickly answered the call. "Khoury, thank goodness!"

"Lyra, are you alright?"

"No, I'm not! I'm alone and I'm scared!" Lyra wiped a rogue tear from her eye before focusing back on her best friend's face on the screen. "Will you hurry up and rescue me?"

"Calm down Lyra, everything's gonna be okay," Khoury said reassuringly. "Take a deep breath," he waited until she followed his instructions. "Very good. Now, just stay put, I'm gonna come and get you."

"Do...do you know where I am?"

"No...not really...but I promise I'll find you!"

"How will you do that?" Lyra asked as she sniffled a bit, trying to fight back her leftover discomfort. "You don't have aura powers like Ash does."

"No I don't, but I can track you down a different way. Grab a rock and tap on the cave wall."

The determination in Khoury's voice slowed Lyra's racing heart, and the girl searched for a small rock she could use to follow his instructions. "O-Okay...hold on."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the cavern, Khoury was once more using his stethoscope to track down the sound he was looking for, and he smiled as he heard the sound of a steady tap ring through the earpieces. "Good, coming in loud and clear. Just keep doing that Lyra, I'm on my way!"

Several minutes later, Lyra's anxiety was starting to come back, as she still hadn't been given any sign that Khoury was nearby except for his verbal reassurance, which was starting to lose its effectiveness. "Do you know where I am yet?" she whimpered.

"I'm almost there Lyra, just keep tapping!"

That was all it took, as Lyra's bottom lip quivered again and she shouted at the top of her lungs with tears streaming down her face. "Don't you get that I'm cold, hungry and scared?! Hurry up and find me!"

"Lyra!"

"Huh?!"

"I'm here Lyra, I'm here!"

"K-Khoury..." For the briefest of moments, Lyra felt her heart swell at the sight of her friend running towards her, and she smiled as relief washed over her like a warm shower. "Khoury you found me!" Without even thinking twice, she ran to meet him halfway, grasping to him like a lifeline as his warmth brought further comfort to her soul. "Thank you Khoury, thank you!"

"H-Hey, it's okay..." Khoury hesitated for a moment before wrapping his arms around Lyra's trembling form. "Sorry I couldn't get here sooner, I know how scared you get when you're all alone."

"Guys!"

"That's gotta be Ash and the others!" Khoury glanced in the direction the voice came from before he looked down at his shorter friend. "You hear that Lyra? We're all together again, now we can go home."

"Thank goodness." Lyra pushed away from Khoury and wiped the last of the fear-induced tears from her eyes, sending the most earnestly grateful expression she could to her best friend before she ran to meet all of her other friends. "What a relief, we're all back together!"

"So you guys are alright?" Misty asked.

"It was rough for a little while, but I'm alright now..." Lyra folded her hands in front of herself. "Thanks to Khoury."

"Well we're glad to hear it." Ash nodded. "Now we can get out of here!"

"And find that Gible, right?" The group all looked at Lucario in shock. "What? That's why we all came here to begin with right? I want a chance to take that Gible on!"

"First we should find an exit." Khoury licked his finger and raised it for a moment. "And here's how we'll do it. If I can detect even the slightest breeze, it will indicate exactly where an exit is." After a few moments, Khoury smiled and pointed in the right direction. "That way."

"Awesome Khoury!" Ash exclaimed. "You've been a real lifesaver today!"

"Well I dunno about that," Khoury rubbed the back of his neck bashfully before taking charge once more. "Now remember, we don't know what's out there, so we'll have to be careful!"

As the trainers began walking towards the located exit, Lyra held back for a moment as unfamiliar thoughts began entering her mind...although by the way her heart felt warm, she realized that these thoughts were not exactly unwelcome. "Wow...Khoury's sure different from when we were at the Windworks." she giggled to herself and hurried to catch up to her best friend, discreetly walking ever-so-slightly closer to him than usual as she walked with him stride for stride.

Within minutes, the group of teens spotted a literal light at the end of the tunnel they were walking through, and as soon as they saw it, they broke out into a mad dash to reach it, and Dawn cheered with her hands up in the air once she got a breath of fresh air. "We're out! It's great to be free!"

"And," Lyra beamed and turned her head to the hero of the day. "We all have Khoury to thank for it."

"Aww," Khoury blushed and rubbed his neck. "It was nothing."

"Aah!" The trainers' all looked at Dawn in shock after her outburst, and they followed her outstretched finger to see the one thing they had been all but ready to completely forget about. "Over there!"

There, not ten yards away, was the rogue Gible that had been eluding them all day long, and it was swinging its short arm around in a show of aggression, practically taunting them to try and get them to fight. "Well, it looks like Gible's finally ready to stand and battle!" Ash glanced towards Lucario. "Alright buddy, you wanted your shot, now it's time!"

"Finally!" Lucario began charging up his aura.

"I'm sorry guys, but I'd like you to leave this one to me!"

And then Lucario's aura suddenly petered out as the Aura Pokémon slumped in utter disappointment. "I'm never gonna get a chance to have a real battle, am I?"

"Come on Lucario," Misty walked up to the tall Pokémon and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Let Khoury have this one, he's been working hard to keep us going all day."

"Yeah, but Mom-"

"Aww please Lucario?" Lyra stepped in front of the steel/fighting-type. "You can see he's really into it!"

Lucario looked up to see Khoury summoning Totodile, and the adolescent Pokémon huffed in defeat before looking around at everyone. "If he gets into trouble, can I jump in?"

Lyra smiled. "Deal."

Meanwhile, Khoury was wasting no time getting Totodile ready to battle. "Alright Totodile, you know how tough this Gible is so let's give it all we got! Use Aqua Tail!"

Totodile leaped forward with its tail facing its opponent, and water began to swirl around its short tail until it made a tall cyclone of water. But Gible was more than ready to counter that attack, as it grinned with its sharp teeth and unleashed another Sandstorm, cancelling out the water Totodile had summoned before using Strength to grab a large rock and chuck it at the small water-type.

"Now Gible's using Strength! Totodile, use Crunch!" The Big Jaw Pokémon opened its mouth with its teeth glowing with power, and it managed to catch the rock in its mouth and break it to pieces with its powerful jaws. "If this is a battle of brawn, then Totodile, use Superpower!" Totodile smirked and grabbed an even bigger rock than the one Gible had grabbed, using the strength of the attack to allow it to throw the rock at Gible, who simply countered by using Rock Smash before getting into a stare down with its opponent.

Then Khoury hesitated.

"Khoury what's wrong?!"

"I don't know if Totodile can outmuscle Gible like that..."

"It can, and it will!" Lyra's declaration caused Khoury to look over his shoulder at her. "As long as you believe in Totodile, there's nothing you two can't do! So channel all that confidence you've been using all day and capture that Gible, you hear me?!"

"Lyra..." Khoury's own confidence surged after Lyra finished her speech, and he gave a determined nod before turning back to the battle, where Gible had just used Strength again to grab an even larger rock than before and crush it with one hand, laughing with unabashed arrogance. "Oh yeah?" Khoury's mouth shifted into a fine line across his face. "Totodile, show it what for!"

Using Superpower again, Totodile again upped the ante, grabbing an even larger rock and crushing it with one hand as it laughed, causing Gible to glare at Totodile in indignation, and grab a rock that now could safely be classified as a boulder, and again crushing it.

And back and forth it went, with the two Pokémon one-upping each other over and over again, as Gible and Totodile kept grabbing bigger and bigger rocks, until they were twice the size of the Pokémon themselves. "Don't give up Totodile!" Khoury shouted.

After Gible grabbed two enormous boulders that were three times its own size, one in each hand, and smashed them together - albeit under a great amount of personal strain - Totodile found the strength to lift two even larger boulders and do the same thing, but it was done quickly, as even Totodile knew that if it tried to go any bigger than that, it wouldn't be able to pull it off.

But Gible - in agony from all the exertion and tears welling up in its eyes - vehemently refused to be bested by a mere Totodile, and after taking a brief moment to catch its breath, it glanced over at a boulder so large that it was over twenty times the size of the Land Shark Pokémon...and grabbed it with one hand and lifted it up over its head.

"No, that rock's too big! It'll crush Gible!" Khoury exclaimed in horror.

And just as the breeder-in-training predicted, mere moments after lifting the boulder, Gible's arm finally gave out, and the humongous boulder landed on Gible's head, causing a large crack to form right in the middle of the rock, eventually splitting in half and causing the ground to rumble when the two halves hit the ground. And poor Gible was left moaning in pain, its pupils shrunken as it tried - and failed - to maintain its tough persona, before falling over onto its side.

"Is it okay?" Ash got his answer when Gible suddenly started digging frantically to try and make its escape. "Gible's trying to make a break for it!"

"That's not gonna happen!" Khoury clenched a fist in determination. "Totodile, I know you're tired, but we're almost there! I need you to use Water Gun in that hole and get Gible out of there!" The Big Jaw Pokémon put on a determined expression of its own and ran over to the hole Gible dug to fire a high-powered stream of water from its mouth, causing Gible to be forcibly ejected from underground as the water formed a geyser lifting the pained dragon/ground-type into the air. "Now, Aqua Tail!"

Totodile gave a toothy grin and turned to lets its tail face the stunned Gible, and once the attack made contact, the rogue Gible was sent tumbling until it finally came to a stop a few feet away, laying motionless on its back. "You did it Khoury!" Lyra exclaimed. "Now make it official!"

"Alright!" Khoury beamed with pride and reached for an empty Pokéball. "Now, go Pokéball!" Khoury's throw was right on the money, and the capture device opened and shot a red beam at the rogue Pokémon, making it disappear into its confines. "Come on, it can't have much fight left!" The Pokéball hummed and rocked back and forth for a few moments as it attempted to make the capture official...and finally, the ball pinged and sat motionless, with Gible safely within its confines. "I...I can't believe it!" the young breeder-in-training bent down and picked up the Pokéball with a shaky hand, still in disbelief over his accomplishment, but after a moment to let it sink in, Khoury beamed once more and raised the ball into the air in victory. "Yes! I did it! I caught Gible!"

"Wow Khoury!" Lyra rushed over and jumped to grab the Pokéball from Khoury's outstretched hand, taking a moment to admire it as if it were a sacred treasure. "Color me impressed, you're lots tougher than I thought!"

"Uh well...thanks Lyra."

"Yeah Khoury," Ash walked up and placed a hand on the lanky boy's shoulder. "That was awesome! Couldn't have done it better myself!"

"Aww well, I have all of you to thank!" Khoury took the Pokéball back from Lyra and looked at it with pride shining in his eyes. "Man...how awesome is this?" the boy smiled and tossed the Pokéball into the air. "Alright Gible, come on out!" With a flash of white light, the exhausted Gible appeared from the ball, still groaning from the previous battle. "Hey there Gible," Khoury was unfazed when Gible looked away from him in an angry huff. "I know, your pride's feeling a little bruised right now," Gible suddenly grabbed his head and groaned. "Not to mention the rest of you."

"Well Khoury, looks like you've got some Pokémon Breeder work to do."

"You're right Lyra," Khoury nodded at his best friend and pulled off his backpack, reaching for a Super Potion and aiming it at the wary Gible. "Relax Gible," the boy said with a reassuring smile. "From now on, you and I are friends. This Super Potion will help you start feeling better right away. Trust me."

After a few moments, Gible's face relaxed, and the newly captured dragon/ground-type allowed Khoury to tend to its wounds. "Gible's aura is calming down." Ash said. "Guess it's starting to warm up to Khoury."

"Yeah, well I hope he's ready for another fight!" Lucario suddenly snarled as he charged up his aura. "Guess who's coming to try and snag him!"

Ash face-palmed. "Oh no."

As if on cue, out of seemingly nowhere, a giant robot shaped like a Sharpedo fell from the sky and landed right in front of the now terrified Khoury. "Thank you so much twerps, for doing all the hard work!" Jessie's voice echoed from the robot.

"Taking advantage of the labor of others is quite the perk!" James added.

"And dat's what we Team Rockets have as a main quirk!" Meowth pushed a button and cackled. "Go berserk!" Suddenly the Sharpedo robot shot its teeth towards Khoury and Gible, and in one bite, it swallowed both the Pokémon and its new trainer whole. "We'll remove the dead weight later, but now let's celebrate because we got us a Gible in tow!"

"Yo ho!"

"Give us back our friends you creeps!" Lyra shouted.

Jessie: "Listen, is that the sound of a temporary twerpette I hear?"

James: "It's speaking to me loud and clear!"

Jessie: "On the wind!"

James: "Past the stars!"

Meowth: "On dry land!"

Jessie: "Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"

James: "Dashing hope and putting fear in its place!"

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

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

Jessie: "Jessie!"

James: "And James!"

Meowth: "Meowth's da name!"

Jessie: "Putting the do-gooders in their place!"

James: "We're Team Rocket!"

Team Rocket: "AND WE'RE IN YOUR FACE!"

"You think that pathetic robot can keep me from getting to you?!" Lucario roared out through his telepathy.

Jessie just waved her hand dismissively inside the confines of their Sharpedo-bot. "Ho hum, the meaningless objections of an angry adolescent."

"Dig it, dis here bot's been made as a tribute to the Pokémon who inspired us to make it!"

James sweat-dropped a bit. "Though I wish I hadn't had to row away from that Sharpedo for nearly an hour before we made our escape."

"Well when fishing for Gible, you need to go where the Gible are," Jessie smirked. "And where better to look than twerpville?"

"You morons spent all day fishing on the lake looking for Gible, didn't you?"

Team Rocket gave a collective growl at Misty's sass. "Regardless of the there and the then, this is the here and the now!" Jessie shot back.

"And right here and now, Gible is in our possession, so who cares how long we spent on the port bow?!" James added.

"CIAO!"

The robot suddenly sprouted wheels, and it quickly went into reverse and sped away from the stunned teenagers. "Get back here Team Rocket!"

But unfortunately, the robot was too fast to catch on foot, and it wasn't long before it left the trainers in its dust. "Look like we're finally gonna make a clean getaway gang!" Meowth leaned back in his chair and grinned...then he felt the robot lurch as a loud bang was heard near the mouth of the Sharpedo-bot. "Eh?! Hey! What was dat?!"

Then the robot lurched again, and again, and after another loud bang and lurch, the robot was pushed off course. "It can only be one thing!" James gulped as he tried to remain in his seat.

"Dat Gible's about to punch out da teeth of our bot!"

"Alright Gible," Khoury exclaimed. "Give it one more try, we're almost out! Use Rock Smash, full power!" With a toothy grin, Gible charged ahead and finally managed to break through the exterior of the Sharpedo robot's mouth, making a hole large enough for both it and its trainer to leap through and escape. "We did it!"

But of course, Team Rocket wasn't about to take that lying down. "Get back here!"

"Uh oh!" Khoury gulped and picked up Gible and ran. "I think it's time for a tactical retreat!" But naturally it didn't take long for Team Rocket to turn around and catch up to them, and they quickly skidded in front of the breeder-in-training and blocked off his path. "Guess this is it!"

"A valiant effort twerp, but until you can run at least 65 miles an hour on foot, you won't be escaping from us!" Jessie cackled.

"Now back in da bot ya go!" But before Meowth could attempt to recapture Gible, the robot suddenly gave another lurch, this time from behind. "Now what?!"

"It's the rest of the twerp brigade!" James cried.

"Alright Lucario, let's hit it with everything we've got! Use Force Palm one more time!"

"Aww yeah! You're going down Team Rocket!" Aura flaring from his palms, Lucario grinned excitedly and reared back his fist to strike. "Take this!" Then Lucario slammed his palm into the butt of the robot, and aura-infused energy shot out of his palm and blew a hole into the robot, which brought a certain amount of satisfaction to the hyped steel/fighting-type. "Oh that feels good! I've been wanting to battle all day!"

"Well now we gotta finish it! Lucario, Aura Sphere right into that hole!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Lucario quickly charged up an Aura Sphere and launched it into the newly-formed hole of the robot, but then a few moments later, a bright light flashed from inside the hole, and the Pokémon's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. Then the robot exploded, and Lucario braced himself...but he felt nothing touch him, and he opened his eyes to see that Ash had run up and put a shield around him. "Heh, guess I forgot to actually get away from the robot before it exploded."

Ash rolled his eyes good-naturedly before dropping the shield. "We'll work on your battle awareness another time."

"Thanks you guys!" Khoury came running up with Gible in his arms, relief evident on the breeder-in training's face.

But Team Rocket had yet to give up, and after taking a moment to dust themselves off, both Jessie and James grabbed their Pokéballs as they prepared for battle. "First we spend the day getting mauled by a Sharpedo, and then our own Sharpedo gets mauled!" Jessie snarled. "Well now it's time for us to do some mauling! Seviper, come out and use Poison Tail!"

"You come out too Carnivine!" And of course it wasn't a clean release as Carnivine affectionately bit on James' head. "I've had more than enough biting from earlier!" he threw the grass-type off of him and towards the battle. "Use Vine Whip!"

"I don't think so!" Ash glanced at Khoury. "Let's do this Khoury!"

"You got it Ash!" Khoury pointed towards the incoming Team Rocket Pokémon. "Gible, blow them away with Sandstorm!" Gible smiled and started throwing sand towards Seviper and Carnivine, stopping them in their tracks as the sand began to swirl around them. "Awesome job! Alright Ash, take it away!"

"It'll be our pleasure!" Ash exclaimed. "Lucario, use Force Palm!" Lucario charged towards the two stunned Pokémon and reeled back both his fists, and as soon as he was in range, he thrust one palm into each Pokémon, and the energy blast completely enveloped them and sent them crashing into Jessie and James. "Now Pikachu, finish it with Thunderbolt!"

And with a quick blast from Pikachu, Team Rocket was sent blasting off.

"Why can't we ever catch a break?!" Jessie whined.

"Whatever happened to the concept of karma in this world?!" James added.

"You'd tink after all dese years we'd be due for a win." Meowth moaned.

"BUT INSTEAD WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!"

*Ping*

"Oh yeah! We sent them packing!" Lucario started doing an awkward victory dance, which the trainers of the group couldn't help but laugh at a little.

"You and Gible were awesome Khoury!"

"Hey, thanks Lyra." Khoury smiled bashfully, then looked up into the sky and chuckled. "I can't believe the sun's already going down, I'm starving!"

"Well if I know Brock, he's already got something prepared for us back at the Pokémon Center!" Dawn exclaimed. "Come on you guys!"

"Hey Dawn, wait for us!" Ash started chasing after the giggling blue-haired coordinator, and the rest of the teens soon followed suit, returning their Pokémon to make the journey easier. When they finally reached the Pokémon Center, they were greeted by the sight of Brock and even Nurse Joy preparing a barbecue feast for them, one that caused Ash's mouth to water on sight. "Wow! Look at all the food!"

"Nice to see you too Ash." Brock laughed as his younger friend allowed his eyes to wander over all the different options at the table. "Dinner's just about ready everyone, Nurse Joy and I wanted to make sure you guys would be well fed after chasing Gible all day."

"By any chance," the nurse spoke up as she handed Brock a tray for the finished meat on the grill. "Did you manage to capture Gible?"

"As a matter of fact," Khoury grinned with confidence shining in his bespectacled eyes. "Alright Gible, come on out and say hi!"

With a flash of light, Gible emerged and gave his new trainer a toothy grin, and the Pokémon nurse couldn't help but give a cheer at the sight of Gible finally having a trainer. "This is wonderful news!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much young man, now the trainers around here won't have to be afraid of going out to practice anymore! You've really done everyone a huge favor!"

"Here you go Khoury!" Lyra smiled as she handed the breeder-in-training a plate of food. "For the hero of the day!"

"Wow Lyra," Khoury laughed bashfully and took the plate from her. "You're gonna spoil me with all this praise."

"Well," Lyra beamed at him. "Let's just say I've come to realize that I shouldn't underestimate you, you've got a lot going for you, ya know?"

"Gee...you mean it?" Khoury's smile only grew when Lyra nodded at him. "I don't know what to say!"

"Just keep saying thank you." Misty giggled, then turned her attention to Dawn. "Well, now that this adventure is over, it's just a short journey from here to Lilypad Town, your contest is coming up soon right?"

"Sure is!" Dawn glanced at Kenny. "And you better believe I'm gonna come out on top!"

"Sorry Dee Dee," Kenny smirked. "But there's no way I'm letting you take me down! That fifth ribbon is all mine!"

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me Dee Dee?!"

And so, with Gible caught and giving a major confidence boost to Khoury, as well as giving Lyra a new perspective on things, the trainers went to bed that night on a high note, and for Dawn and Kenny, their excitement was only continuing to build, as the Lilypad Contest awaited their arrival, where one of them could potentially win their fifth and final ribbon.
_

A/N: Okay, so I added an extra Team Rocket fight since the original episode had them just fishing on the lake all day and not doing anything of consequence. Truth be told, I wish they wouldn't try to shoehorn Team Rocket into episodes if they aren't going to do anything, but I guess they're just as much a staple as Ash himself at this point.

In any case, Lyra and Khoury are getting set up...and what was that in the cave between Kenny and Dawn? :3

What am I up to? You'll have to wait and see. I actually like the next episode, so I PROMISE it will be out faster this time! Until then, please leave a review! I'll see you later dear readers! ^^