xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Route 207, 7:10 p.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

With the groups Pokémon out and eating Pokémon food, Keats kneeled in front of a pair of hot plates, one having a cooking pot filled with beans, chopped onions and Tamato Berry sauce and the other with a quartet of sausages in a sizzling pan on it. Sitting on the tarp between the two tents of their camp was Anik, holding her Cleffa in her arms, Tamara, who was petting Anik's Vigoroth's head as he sat in front of her and Ambrose, brushing the back of his Furret.

"Roth-roth!" Vigoroth said with a delighted voice as Tamara scratched the energetic sloth-like Pokémon's head.

"Haaaa..." Tamara muttered with a smile on her face.

"You really like getting to pet Pokémon, huh?" Anik said with a sincere tone as Tamara nodded.

"I can't see them, but I make up for it with touch." Tamara said as Anik let go of Cleffa, letting the small Fairy type walk over to the blind psychic girl.

"Cleffa!" Cleffa said as Tamara shifted her head in the small pink Pokémon's direction.

"Ah!" Tamara exclaimed as she sensed another Pokémon, reaching both of her hands down and picking up Cleffa. "Wow! You're so small and you feel so soft!" She said with an excited tone.

"Fuuuurrrr..." Furret said with a bothered tone as she looked at Tamara fawning over Anik's Pokémon.

"Don't tell me you're getting jealous just because she's playing with other Pokémon." Ambrose questioned towards his Normal type Pokémon.

"Furret!" Furret muttered while shifting her head away in an envious manner.

"Hey, Tamara. How old are you?" Anik questioned towards the blind psychic girl.

"I'm ten. I can meet the age needed to compete in a gym circuit and be a trainer." Tamara replied. "If it wasn't for my lack of sight." She thought as she hugged Cleffa close to her face as Vigoroth shifted his head forward and started to rub his head against Tamara's shoulder.

"I've let her try mock battles before with me using Furret." Ambrose said, speaking up.

"How's that possible without being able to see how her Pokémon moves or her opponents' reactions in a battle?" Anik said. "Twenty-five, twenty-three, fifteen and ten. Quite the assortment of ages." She thought as she acknowledged her age then Keats' age then the ghost hunting duos, respectively.

"She's got the other senses down like hearing and smelling; with some fine tuning she might be able to one day strike out on her own." Ambrose said with a shrug. "Depending on if you can develop your powers, that is..." He thought as Tamara frowned in response upon hearing his thoughts.

"Watch! I'm going to become the first blind champion of a league!" Tamara said with a loud and confident tone.

"Can you become the first blind person I feed franks and beans to before that?" Keats said with Stunky, Pineco and Venonat next to him.

Eating from a food bowl was Ambrose's Helioptile, sitting away from everyone with a nervous expression on his face. Approaching the Normal and Electric type Pokémon was Ambrose's Crawdaunt, looming over the small lizard-like creature as he looked upward at the red crustacean-like creature.

"Dauntcraw." Crawdaunt said towards Helioptile as he looked down at his food.

"Tiiiile..." Helioptile said with a scared tone before pushing his food bowl forward as Crawdaunt picked it up with his right pincer, Ambrose's Dodrio approaching.

'"Dodrio-drio!"' Dodrio's heads said in unison towards Crawdaunt.

"Crawda-aunt!" Crawdaunt said as he picked up some of Helioptile's food and ate it.

"Lioptile..." Helioptile said in a low sounding voice as one of Dodrio's heads pulled the bowl out of Crawdaunt's pincer.

"Driodo." The angry head of Dodrio muttered as he also took some of Helioptile's food.

"Tiiiile..." Helioptile said with a depressed sounding voice as Ambrose turned his head in the direction of his Pokémon.

"Hey! Hey!" Ambrose said as he got up from the tarp. "What have I said to you two?!" He said as he walked over to Dodrio and Crawdaunt, taking the food bowl out of Dodrio's beak. "Do not bully Helioptile!" Ambrose exclaimed as Dodrio's three heads nodded and Crawdaunt shrugged in response.

"Something wrong?" Anik said as she stood up as everyone looked over at what was happening.

"Helioptile is a bit shy, so Dodrio and Crawdaunt tend to pick on him." Tamara said. "Doesn't help he is his weakest Pokémon either, so it makes him an easy target." She thought.

"Go over there!" Ambrose ordered as he pointed for them to get away from Helioptile. "Here." He said as he gave his Normal and Electric type Pokémon back his food. "Hey, big guy." Ambrose said in Keats' direction.

"Huh?" Keats muttered as he turned around with his nearby Pokémon doing the same.

"Do you think you can give Helioptile some Berries or something?" Ambrose questioned as Keats put down his stirring spoon, walked over to one of his bags near Anik and Tamara and pulled out a large light brown Berry with a red bottom.

"Hope you like a Iapapa Berry." Keats said as he walked over to Helioptile, placing it in his food bowl alongside his Pokémon food. "Oh, wait." He said as he kneeled down in front of Helioptile.

"Hmmm?" Ambrose muttered with a raised eyebrow as he noticed Keats was tearing the Iapapa Berry into small pieces.

"There. Should be easier to eat now." Keats said with a small smile on his face as Helioptile took a bite of the Berry mixed with the regular Pokémon food.

"Heliiiooo..." Helioptile said with a grateful tone as he looked up at Keats.

"Now, back to beans and franks." Keats said with a smile as he walked back over to the hotplates. "Okay, let's see if this works out." He thought with confidence as he put a sausage on four paper plates and a decent amount of beans with sauce, carrying them back over to the group. "One for you, one for you, one for you and one for me." Keats said, handing off the food.

"Thanks." Anik said as Ambrose and Tamara began to eat the food.

'"It's pretty salty."' Ambrose and Tamara said in unison.

"What?!" Keats exclaimed in surprise as he took a spoonful of beans. "No, it's not! I didn't put that much salt." He said in his defense after swallowing a portion.

"Not the beans, the sausage." Anik said after eating a bit of the food.

"You don't have to salt a sausage, you know?" Ambrose said as Keats' eyes widened.

"What?!" Keats exclaimed. "All this time I've put a bit of salt on my sausages, and I didn't need to?! All that extra wasted cook time!" He thought with annoyed as he scratched his head with both hands.

"Any consolation, the beans are really good." Tamara said with a reassuring tone.

"Who cares?! Good sides do not make up for bad mains!" Keats shouted in annoyance.

As Keats despaired over his food quality, he and the others failed to notice the flying Pokémon overhead of them had descended into the nearby woods, landing on a tree branch as it observed the group. With a malicious smirk, three sets of eyes appeared behind it as three other Pokémon looked on with similar intent.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Route 207, 8:53 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The following morning, Anik and Tamara were still asleep in the girl's tent as Ambrose was slowly starting to wake up, alone in the boy's tent. Confused at the lack of presence of Keats, Ambrose stepped out of the tent and looked around at the camp before noticing Keats standing in front of the nearby pond with Pineco next to him.

"What's he up to now?" Ambrose thought with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay Dragalge, how're you doing?" Keats said as Dragalge looked up at him from the pond.

"Dragalge..." Dragalge said with a low tone.

"Pinecoco." Pineco said towards Dragalge.

"Draaag-algealge." Dragalge said.

"If only I could turn on Rotom, then I could know what the heck you're all saying." Keats thought as he didn't understand what either of his Pokémon were communicating to one another.

"Yo." Ambrose said, catching Keats, Pineco and Dragalge's attention, the Poison and Dragon type Pokémon submerging himself in the water upon locking eyes with the teenage ghost hunter. "Hmmm?" He muttered.

"Oh, don't be offended, Dragalge's a bit of a recluse. He's not used to people outside of Pineco and me." Keats explained as he scratched the back of his head.

"How's he in battle?" Ambrose questioned.

"Pineco?" Pineco said.

"Uhhh... I think he's alright?" Keats said, unsure of how to answer. "Only times I used him was in a few mock fights with Anik and that one time with that guy with the flute." He thought, recalling his past experience with using Dragalge.

"A fully evolved Dragon type Pokémon and you aren't completely sure of its skills?" Ambrose said as Keats made a nervous expression.

"...Have I mentioned I haven't been a trainer all that long?" Keats said with a dumb voice as Ambrose stepped forward and kneeled down.

"Hey, Dragalge. Can you come up here?" Ambrose said as he saw the silhouette of the Poison and Dragon type Pokémon beneath the water. "Please?" He said as Keats raised an eyebrow.

"The heck's he doing?" Keats thought as Dragalge stuck his head up.

"Draaaga..." Dragalge said upon looking up at Keats, Ambrose and Pineco.

"The name's Ambrose." Ambrose said, introducing himself to the Poison and Dragon type as Dragalge backed up slightly. "A little bit of forward sternness can sometimes help with reining in some Pokémon that aren't obedient or underconfident." He thought as Dragalge moved forward, sticking his head forward as Ambrose petted the sea dragon-like creature.

"Draga..." Dragalge said as Keats was confused by the teenage ghost hunter's action.

"You just wanted to introduce yourself?" Keats questioned.

"I didn't make many friends when I was younger because of my constant moving so Pokemon were the next best thing. First thing that always helps is "breaking the ice," so to speak." Ambrose said as he looked at Keats after standing back up.

"I didn't have any friends growing up either but you're saying all I had to was freeze them and thaw them out?" Keats said, taking what Ambrose said literally.

"...No, it's an expression. It means to introduce yourself. Say your name, that kind of thing." Ambrose thought with annoyance. "No wonder his Pokémon aren't that well trained." He thought.

"Huuuuh... " Keats mumbled as Anik and Tamara started to get out of their tents. "Probably would have been a better way to introduce myself to Anik, all things considered." He said to himself.

"How did you two meet?" Ambrose asked with curiosity. "Her "scientific passion" being lame aside, they don't seem like the types who would be friends." He thought, making an observation.

"Oh, I almost gave her CPR after she fell into a river in the Alola region, and I asked her out on a date, but she said no." Keats said in a casual manner as Ambrose's eyes widened.

"That's... Uhhhh..." Ambrose thought as Anik and Tamara walked over.

"Morning." Anik said as her and Tamara approached the duo.

"Hi." Tamara said, greeting everyone as Ambrose and Keats looked at the female members of their group.

"I'm sorry, did this guy actually ask you out?" Ambrose said while pointing a thumb at Keats and Anik's face started to blush.

"Ah!" Anik muttered in surprise.

"Ooooohhh." Tamara said with a smirk forming on her face.

"Wh-what are you two talking about all of a sudden!?" Anik said with an embarrassed tone and a red face.

"He asked how we met, and I answered." Keats said with a shrug, not seeing a problem with his response.

"Did you have to tell him about you asking me out?!" Anik thought as she looked at Keats with her mouth agape.

"Oooooh myyyyyy." Tamara said while putting a hand over her mouth.

"Ah!" Anik muttered in surprise again as she realized Tamara was reading her thoughts. "Don't listen to everything in my head!" She said defensively as she looked down at the blind psychic girl.

"Judging by the reaction, she did say "no."' Ambrose said, making an observation.

"Shame really." Keats muttered. "I had the whole thing planned out." He said in a casual manner.

"I didn't say "no" to the date!" Anik screamed loudly.

Suddenly, an awkward quietness overtook the group as not even a single bit of noise was being made as Keats and Ambrose looked at Anik and Tamara shifted her head in the astronomy enthusiast's general direction. Realizing what she just shouted, Anik proceeded to remove her glasses and place her hands over her face in frustration and embarrassment.

"Honestly, from my viewpoint, neither of you seem to have much in common." Ambrose said, breaking the silence.

"I wouldn't say that's completely true. Hey, Anik." Keats said before asking a question towards Anik.

"...What?" Anik said with an angry tone as she put her glasses on.

"You ever seen that film, "Breakfast at Magby's?"' Keats asked in a plain voice as Tamara and Ambrose each raised an eyebrow, not sure what the question had to do with anything.

"I... Think I remember that film?" Anik replied, unsure of the meaning behind it.

"I liked it, how about you?" Keats said.

"It was alright..." Anik said. "Why's he asking me this?" She thought.

"See, that's one thing we got." Keats said with a dumb smile as he looked at Ambrose.

"Oh my god..." Ambrose thought with annoyance as he started to rub his temples to calm himself down.

"Pfft." Tamara muttered, laughing at Keats' behavior.

"Pineco- co?" Pineco said before turning her body and noticing something flying overhead of everyone towards the pond. "Pineco?" She said as she noticed the large black flying creature turning in midair, descending in the group's direction.

"Keats, could you please not embarrass- huh?" Anik said to scold Keats until looking behind him and noticing what Pineco had seen. "What is that?" She said, catching everyone's attention as Ambrose and Keats turned around.

Keats' eyes widened in shock as he recognized the creature quickly approaching them to be a Honchkrow. Smiling maliciously, the familiar Dark and Flying type Pokémon was suddenly covered in a white aura and was barreling straight for the group.

"Waaah! Everybody down!" Keats screamed as he grabbed Ambrose by the shirt and then jumped at Anik and Tamara, knocking everyone down to the ground and shielding them.

'"Gahgh!"' Anik, Ambrose and Tamara exclaimed in unison as they all fell onto the grass.

"Pineco!" Pineco said with a concerned tone as Honchkrow flew high into the air.

"Honchhonch-krow!" Honchkrow said.

"Dragalagedrag!" Dragalge said with a nervous tone as he quickly resubmerged himself in the pond to avoid confrontation.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Keats said aloud as he helped pull the other's back to their feet.

"What the heck happened?!" Tamara said as she shifted herself left and right.

"A Honchkrow?" Anik said as she clutched at her backside.

"I think that was "Sky Attack." But why did it attack us?" Ambrose said, making an observation.

"Honchkrow-krow!" Honchkrow said loudly as it looked down towards the tents as a trio of Pokémon emerged from the woods and ran inside of them.

"Ah! Look!" Anik exclaimed as she pointed at the tents.

Inside the boy's tent was a familiar creature covered in blue vines with red feet, rummaging around the tent as a purple monkey-like Pokémon with a three fingered hand on its tail and a floating purple balloon-like Pokémon with string-like arms was doing the same. Looking on, Keats recognized the Pokémon to be a Tangela, an Aipom and a Drifloon as Aipom was searching Anik and Tamara's bags before Tangela pulled out one of Keats' messenger bags.

"Hey! I'm sensing wild Pokémon!" Tamara said.

"A Drifloon..." Ambrose thought with a twitch in his eye, the sight of a Ghost type Pokémon actively bothering him.

"Why're they ruffling around our stuff like that?!" Anik questioned as Keats bit his lip in a nervous manner.

Tangela, searching through Keats' stuff, proceeded to pull out the plastic bag that was overly filled with Evolution Stones that Keats had collected from his trip to Alola. Descending downward, Honchkrow landed in front of the trio as the large crow-like Pokémon made a greedy expression.

"Krowkrowkrow." Honchkrow laughed as he reached into the bag and pulled out a Fire Stone before dumping it back inside.

"Aiaiaia!" Aipom said towards Honchkrow.

"Loooon." Drifloon said as it floated above the wild Pokémon group.

"Ela!" Tangela said as it held the bag by both of the handles.

"Ummm..." Keats muttered as he caught everyone's attention. "I think I know what's happening..." He continued.

"If you have something to say, say it..." Ambrose said as he glared at Keats.

"Back in Johto, a douche Murkrow took one of my Dusk Stones and evolved into a Honchkrow and tried to kill me by knocking over a tree." Keats said, reminiscing about a specific day back in Ecruteak City. "As for those three... I think I recognize them as well..." He said as Tamara was facing the direction of the Pokémon.

"...Ooooohhhh..." Tamara said with a fascinated tone as she was using her sensory abilities to focus on the Pokémon holding the plastic bag. "That one there..." She thought with interest.

"Wait... I know those Pokémon too! They were in your arms when you ran out that house that blew up!" Ambrose said as he remembered Aipom, Drifloon and Tangela.

"Looks like they want those Evolution Stones." Anik said as she put her hand on the Moon Stone around her neck, her action causing Honchkrow to turn towards the humans.

"Krowkrow-honch!" Honchkrow said while pointing its wing at the group.

"Uhhhh... Anybody got a translator?" Keats questioned in a nervous manner as Pineco hopped forward.

"Pineco!" Pineco said with a confrontational tone towards Honchkrow.

"Honchkrow seems to be demanding the Moon Stone around Anik's neck. And Pineco wants to fight it." Tamara said.

"How do you know that?" Anik questioned.

"I can read the minds of Pokémon and I can tell what's going through their heads somewhat." Tamara explained.

"Aiaiaipom!" Aipom muttered angrily as it pointed one of the fingers on its tail at Keats.

"Driiiiffffloooon!" Drifloon said in similar agitation as it glared at Keats, prompting the husky framed trainer to shift his head away from the Pokémon looking at him.

"...Doesn't seem like they really like you, Keats." Anik said.

"You think?" Keats mentally replied with sarcasm.

"Tange- la?" Tangela said with fury in its voice in Keats' direction until noticing Tamara, waving towards it with an open smile on her face, confusing the wild Grass type.

"Hey. You got anything to fight with beside Pineco and Dragalge?" Ambrose asked as he bumped his elbow against Keats' side to catch his attention.

"Yeah, I got everyone with me in my pockets." Keats replied.

"You?" Ambrose said towards Anik.

"Same." Anik said as she took out her Premier Ball containing Vigoroth.

"Hey, dirtbag!" Keats shouted, catching everyone's attention. "Put down those annoying rocks!" He said loudly as Honchkrow looked at him.

"Hooonch." Honchkrow said and then sticking its tongue out at Keats to bother him.

"Grrrrr!" Keats grumbled as Pineco looked like she was ready to fight. "Pineco, come on back!" He said loudly as Pineco turned towards him. "As annoying as to how I got those dumb rocks, they're actually pretty valuable. I can't just let that Honchkrow steal them from me." Keats thought.

"Pineco?" Pineco said in confusion.

"I'm going to use Porygon." Keats said as Pineco looked at him before nodding with her body. "I guess after Officer Jenny relocated those three to the woods outside of Ecruteak City, they must have met up with Honchkrow and formed a group to chase after me... I didn't think they'd come all the way to Sinnoh though, jeez." He thought, forming a theory in his head.

Taking out the Pokéballs for Pineco and Dragalge, Keats proceeded to recall Pineco and then pointed behind him at the water to successfully recall Dragalge. Alongside Ambrose and Anik holding Pokéballs, Keats pulled out Porygon's ball to use for battle.

"Porygon, you're on call!" Keats exclaimed as he threw his ball, releasing his polygonal Normal type Pokémon.

"Vigoroth, come on out!" Anik shouted as her hyperactive sloth-like Normal type appeared.

"Helioptile, let's go!" Ambrose screamed as his Normal and Electric type yellow lizard-like Pokémon had emerged.

"Porygon!" Porygon exclaimed.

"Vigoroth!" Vigoroth shouted.

"He-helioptile..." Helioptile muttered in a nervous voice.

"Honchkrow." Honchkrow said in a commanding tone towards Aipom and Drifloon.

"Aiaiai." Aipom said as it walked forward with Drifloon floating next to it.

"Leave the Ghost Pokémon to me. You get rid of the Aipom." Ambrose instructed as Anik and Keats looked at him with confusion.

'"Is he trying to show off his ghost hunting skills?"' Keats and Anik thought simultaneously.

"Aiaiai!" Aipom exclaimed as it jumped into the air and began to swing its hand-tail back and forth, star-shaped projectiles emerging from it and aiming for the groups Pokémon.

"Everybody, block it!" Ambrose ordered as Helioptile put his head down with his tiny hands on his head, Vigoroth put up his arms defensively and Porygon shifted its head to the side, all of them being hit by the starry projectiles.

"That looked like "Swift."' Anik explained. "Vigoroth! Use "Shadow Claw" on Drifloon!"' She instructed towards Vigoroth after the Normal type Pokémon shrugged off the attack.

"Rothroth!" Vigoroth muttered as he lunged at Drifloon, the balloon-like Pokémon glaring at its opponent as it raised its string-like arms.

"Hey! I thought I said leave the Ghost type to me!" Ambrose said in protest as Vigoroth got closer to Drifloon.

Waving its thin arms, Drifloon begun to glow with a light blue energy as a series of buzzsaw blades formed around it, firing them at Vigoroth as the energetic sloth-like Pokémon swatted them away with its dark glowing claw. Jumping to protect its comrade, Aipom got between Vigoroth and Drifloon as a green barrier appeared around its body, blocking Vigoroth's attack.

"That move by Drifloon was "Air Cutter" and then Aipom blocked with "Protect."' Ambrose said, making an observation as Vigoroth jumped backwards. "Forget it, I can't focus on the Ghost type right now." He thought.

"Yup, definitely the same Pokémon from the house I blew up..." Keats thought with embarrassment as he looked on, not noticing Tamara was quietly beginning to walk sideways in the direction of the enemy Pokémon.

"Ai!" Aipom muttered as its hand on the end of its tail formed a fist and begun to charge up with energy.

"It's charging up a "Focus Punch!"' Ambrose said as Keats looked at the ghost hunter.

"You know a lot about moves." Keats said, mildly impressed.

"It comes with the territory of my job to know a lot about moves when fighting Ghost types, now can we please get back on track?!" Ambrose thought with frustration. "Helioptile! Stop Aipom with "Mud-Slap!"' He ordered as Helioptile stuck his hands in the ground and begun to scoop up dirt.

"Heliop!" Helioptile muttered as he begun to throw the mud in random direction.

"Ai! Ai!" Aipom said as it dodged the "Mud-Slap" attack by moving left and right. "Aipom!" It exclaimed as it rushed at Helioptile, the Normal and Electric type Pokémon making a face of shock and fear as he closed his eyes and ducked, waiting to be hit.

'"Focus Punch" is a Fighting type move, it's super effective against all the Normal type Pokémon we have out... Wait... I know what to do!" Anik thought until an idea formed in her head. "Vigoroth! Use "Counter!" Block the "Focus Punch!"' She instructed.

"Roth!" Vigoroth said with a nod as his body begun to glow with an orange aura.

Lunging in front of Helioptile to protect him, Vigoroth readied himself to be struck by Aipom's attack, taking a glowing fist to the chest. Looking up in surprise, Aipom was shocked to see Vigoroth had took the hit before the larger sloth-like Pokémon had lifted up his claw and slammed it sideways into the top of Aipom's head, using "Counter" to send double the damage it took back at Aipom.

"Aiiii-pom..." Aipom muttered as it fell face first onto the grass, its eyes now swirling to signify an unconscious state.

"One down!" Keats said with a happy tone before looking at Drifloon. "Porygon! Aim for Drifloon with a "Thunder Shock!"' He instructed as Porygon started to charge up with electricity.

"Porygon!" Porygon exclaimed as it fired off bolts of lightning from its body as Drifloon saw the attack incoming.

"Loooon!" Drifloon muttered as it frantically dodged the lightning bolts.

"Aim is off..." Ambrose said as he observed Keats' Porygon missing. "Helioptile! Help out with your own "Thunder Shock!"' He ordered as Helioptile raised his head.

Opening up the long flat extensions on the sides of his head into frills, Helioptile started to spark up with electricity just like Porygon and begun to fire off the same Electric type attack at Drifloon. Zapping the Ghost and Flying type Pokémon to stun it in place, Porygon redirected its aim and both of the Electric type attacks managing to connect.

"Drififiififif!" Drifloon exclaimed while being shocked as Honchkrow made an agitated expression in response.

"Hooonch..." Honchkrow said in a slowly building rage as it reached back and grabbed the Evolution Stones from out of Tangela's vine-tentacles, holding it in its wing.

"Tan- gela!" Tangela said with a bothered tone towards Honchkrow until looking up to see the harsh glare it was giving the Grass type. "Tangel..." It said in a nervous tone.

"Honchkrow..." Honchkrow said as an evil grin appeared on its face, reaching down with its beak and biting onto one of Tangela's vines.

"Tangela!" Tangela muttered in slight pain for a brief moment until Honchkrow shifted it weight and threw Tangela in the direction of the battlefield, landing on its front.

"Looks like Honchkrow is treating the other Pokémon like minions." Anik said, making an observation.

"Hey look!" Keats said as he pointed at something rather peculiar.

In an effort to readjust itself, Tangela pushed against the ground to get back to its feet, now sporting an angry set of eyes ready for battle. However, to everyone's confusion, Tamara was standing in front of the blue vine covered Pokémon as it looked up at her.

"Tamara?!" Ambrose shouted in surprise.

"Get away from there! It's dangerous!" Anik screamed in a concerned voice.

With a smile on her face as she shifted her head down towards the wild Tangela, Tamara dropped her cane and moved both of her hands into the vines, touching the Grass type Pokémon's hidden body beneath the grassy tentacles. Its angry look softening; Tangela's eyes widened in confusion as Tamara kneeled down in front of it.

"You are adorable." Tamara stated with a smile on her face.

'"...Huh?"' Ambrose, Keats and Anik mumbled in unified disbelief.

"I could sense your shape under all these vines, you have such a beautiful form!" Tamara exclaimed as the other Pokémon stared at her while Tangela couldn't believe what it was hearing.

"Tang-tange?" Tangela said, bewildered.

"No, I mean it!" Tamara said as she could hear Tangela's thoughts of opposition. "If I could catch you, I would!" She continued.

Upon hearing the seriousness in her tone, Tangela started to stare at Tamara with a blush forming underneath its blue vines. With a bashful look in its eyes, Tangela squirmed in an embarrassed manner, not sure how to take the compliment it had received.

"Honch!" Honchkrow screamed in frustration at Tangela as the Grass type ignored the large crow-like Pokémon's protests.

"She... Wants to catch Tangela?" Anik muttered in confusion.

"Heck of a first Pokémon..." Keats commented.

"At least catch a Normal or Dark type to fight Ghosts!" Ambrose said in a bothered manner.

"Driiiifff!" Drifloon said as Ambrose turned his attention towards the Ghost type Pokémon, approaching Tamara and Tangela.

"Hey!" Ambrose said upon noticing Drifloon. "Helioptile! Use "Thunder Shock," one more time!" He instructed as Helioptile opened its head appendages again and fired another blast of electricity.

"Heliop!" Helioptile exclaimed as the Electric type move hit Drifloon again.

"Drifififif!" Drifloon shouted its eyes turned into swirls, signifying it had faded into unconsciousness before gently floating onto the ground.

"Honch!" Honchkrow screamed in anger as another of its minions fell before hanging the plastic bag filled with Evolution Stones off its beak. "Hoooonch!" It said as it begun to charge up with a dark energy.

It's readying an attack!" Keats said as he pointed at Honchkrow.

"Looks like a "Dark Pulse." And a strong one at that." Ambrose said, noticing the attack it was charging up.

"Tamara is in the way with Tangela and the other two as well. It doesn't care anymore about the other Pokémon." Anik thought as she looked at the unconscious Drifloon and Aipom and then at Tamara distracting Tangela. "I've got zero choice here..." She said as she reached into her back pocket, pulling out a Pokéball. "Ambrose, pull out a loose Pokéball and catch Aipom! I'll catch Drifloon and Keats, get Tamara and Tangela out of the way!" Anik instructed towards the teenage ghost hunter and the husky framed trainer.

"Huh?!" Ambrose muttered in confusion to her statement.

"Uh, okay!" Keats said in a frantic tone as he rushed at Tamara and Tangela, tackling the both of them to the ground.

"Oof!" Tamara exclaimed.

"Tange!" Tangela muttered.

"Guh, fine!" Ambrose thought after pulling out a spare Pokéball.

'"Pokéball! Go!"' Anik and Ambrose muttered in unison as they both threw a ball, Ambrose aiming his at Aipom and Anik throwing hers at Drifloon.

As the balls collided with Aipom and Drifloon, the two knocked out Pokémon digitized into red energy and went inside of the balls, they both of which shook for a brief moment until the noise signifying a capture went off. After a moment of charging up, Honchkrow unleashed its "Dark Pulse" attack, firing an ever-coiling laser beam of black and purple energy at the group as the trainers and their Pokémon dispersed to dodge it.

"Honch!" Honchkrow said as it smirked maliciously, seeing an opportunity to escape as everyone was down and it had the bag of stones hanging from its beak before taking flight.

"Ah! My stones!" Keats said as he and everyone else looked up from the ground as Honchkrow was attempting to escape the battle.

"Honchhonchhonch- krow!? Honchkrow laughed until stopping in midair, feeling something wrapped around its foot and preventing it from going further. "Honchkrow?!" It exclaimed as it shifted its head back to look.

Standing up was Tangela with a determined look in its eyes, using one of its vine-tentacle to latch onto Honchkrow and using what strength it had to prevent it from leaving. Squirming to try and loosen Tangela's grip, Honchkrow jerked in many directions as Tangela was pulled slightly off the ground.

"Ah! Tangela!" Tamara muttered in a worried tone as she sensed Tangela leaving the ground.

"Ha!" Keats exclaimed as he put both of his arms around the Grass type Pokémon, catching her and joining in on stopping Honchkrow from leaving with his Evolution Stones. "Give me back those rocks!" He shouted as Tangela held onto the large crow-like Pokémon.

With an angry look in its eyes, Honchkrow spat out the bag of Evolution Stones as they all hit the ground, allowing Honchkrow to jab Tangela's vine with its beak. Taking damage, Tangela loosened its grip on Honchkrow as the large crow-like Pokémon was freed and the momentum sent Tangela and Keats tumbling backwards.

"Wah- ugh!" Keats muttered as he landed on his butt with Tangela in his arms.

"Hoooonch!" Honchkrow exclaimed in frustration as it glanced down at everyone. "Honch-krow!" It shouted as it started to violent flap its wings.

"What's it doing?!" Anik questioned as everyone looked on.

"No time to waste! Keats, order Porygon to use "Thunder Shock!"' Ambrose instructed towards Keats, who nodded from the ground with Tangela on top of him. "Helioptile, use "Thunder Shock!"' He ordered as Helioptile did what he was told.

"Porygon, use "Thunder Shock!"' Keats said as Porygon complied.

The two Pokémon charged up their Electric type attacks and unleashed bolts of lightning from their bodies towards Honchkrow, whose wings started to let loose a clear mist that coated its entire body. Aimlessly entering the mist, the two "Thunder Shock" attacks failed to connect as Honchkrow used the concealing smokescreen to make its escape.

"Oh, no you don't!" Keats said as he pushed Tangela off him and reached into his pocket, pulling out his empty Fast Ball. "The Fast Ball works best on Pokémon fleeing! Now I can catch it and- and..." He thought as he got to his feet and cocked back the ball to throw it, but to the surprise of the others, Keats stood completely still, missing his opportunity as Honchkrow was now too far away.

"Hoooonchkroooow!" Honchkrow shouted as it flew away, crossing the pond and away from the group.

"Keats, what happened? Weren't you going to try and catch it?" Anik asked towards Keats as watched Honchkrow disappear from sight. "Did he hesitate?" She wondered as she recalled Vigoroth and Ambrose recalled his Helioptile.

"Dude, what was that?" Ambrose said with a critical tone as Keats was still not moving. "That was a strong Pokémon. And a good Dark type at that." He continued as Keats pressed the Fast Ball to shrink it back down and proceeded to put the ball back in his pocket. "Think that was "Mist" it used at the end there..." Ambrose thought.

"...Hey Tamara, you alright?" Anik said as she shifted her focus towards Tamara, who was hugging the wild Tangela.

"I'm good!" Tamara said with a smile as she separated herself from the Grass type Pokémon. "Thanks for helping us!" She said with a grateful tone towards Tangela.

"Tangtang!" Tangela said with a bashful voice.

"You really like that Tangela, huh?" Anik said as she walked over. "...As a matter of fact, why don't you catch it? It seems to like you." She suggested as Tamara opened her mouth in surprise. "Might be also good for her to have a guardian Pokémon that's not just one of ours. Give her that "start" she wanted." Anik thought.

"I don't have a Poké-" Tamara said until she suddenly felt the presence of Anik's hand holding a round object near her. "...Is that what I think it is?" She said with an excited tone.

"Hey! Hey!" Ambrose said as he walked over to the girls. "Why are you giving her a ball?" He questioned.

"If she wants to become a trainer, then she needs a Pokémon she can be compatible with. This Tangela seems to like her." Anik explained as Ambrose looked at Tamara.

"...Are you sure?" Ambrose asked towards the blind psychic girl.

"Tangela?" Tamara said towards the Grass type Pokémon. "Do you want to be my first Pokémon?" She asked as Tangela stared at her.

"Tangela!" Tangela said while jumping up and down in a happy manner.

"Her mind says yes!" Tamara said as she started to hop up and down too.

"Then here you go." Anik said with a smile as she handed one of her spare Pokéballs to Tamara, allowing her to use it.

While this was happening, Keats stood completely still and was still staring out at the pond as Porygon floated in front of him, looking at him with confused eyes. Upon noticing the polygonal Pokémon, Keats reached into his pocket and pulled out Porygon's ball, recalling it back inside before walking over to pick up his bag of Evolution Stones, briefly looking at them before looking over at his traveling group.

"Tangela! Tap the ball!" Tamara instructed as Tangela tapped the front of the Pokéball with one of its vine-tentacles, digitizing and entering inside it as the ball shook three times in Tamara's hand before the capture sound emitted from the ball. "My first Pokémon!" She said with a happy tone as she tightly held the Pokéball with both hands.

"Since we caught Aipom and Drifloon, the fact they're altogether should mean they'll be obedient, more or less." Anik commented as she pulled out the Pokéball containing her newly caught Drifloon.

"Release that thing and send it away, right now..." Ambrose said as he reached for Drifloon's Pokéball in Anik's hand. "If it helps Tamara, I'll guess I'll keep the Aipom..." He thought as Anik pulled her hand away to prevent him from grabbing it.

"Not happening." Anik said with squinted eyes at the teenage ghost hunter. "Chapter thirty-one of my star compendium focuses on constellations that were removed from scientific acceptance and one of them was a constellation for the evolved form of Drifloon, Drifblim! So, this is connected to my work which means I am keeping it!" She explained in a stern tone. "Also, I know it bothers you to know you're travelling with a Ghost Pokémon in my possession, hehehe." Anik thought to spite Ambrose.

"Guh! Hey, don't make me have to walk around with that thing near me!" Ambrose complained as he pointed at the astronomy enthusiast.

"We're splitting up once we reach Eterna City so after that, you can complain all you want about walking with someone with a Ghost type, "kid."' Anik replied with a smug look on her face. "Hmm? Keats?" She said as she looked over at Keats, walking back over to the tents with everyone's stuff as he put the Evolution Stones back in one of his messenger bags. "Is he okay?" Anik thought.

"...We should get moving, yeah?" Keats said as he didn't look at the others but catching Anik and Ambrose's attention.

"He's right for once, we still need to cross the mountain." Ambrose commented as he walked over to Keats, helping him take down the tent and grabbing his stuff. "Sooner I'm nowhere near that Drifloon, the better my life will be..." He mentally whined.

"...Hey, Tamara, can you maybe check what's inside Keats' head since he's being awfully quie- oh." Anik asked towards Tamara until noticing the blind psychic trainer was rubbing her Pokéball against her face, enjoying the thought of owning her first Pokémon.

"My very first Pokémon and it's so cute!" Tamara said aloud to herself. "Huh, did you say something Anik?" She said, finally noticing Anik's presence.

"...It's nothing, don't worry about it." Anik said, brushing off what she was going to ask as Tamara walked away while tracing her cane along the ground as Anik looked at Keats, silently taking down the campsite.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Mt. Coronet, 9:49 a.m. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After leaving their campsite and walking a good distance, the traveling party of Keats, Anik, Ambrose and Tamara finally reached the foot of the largest mountain in the Sinnoh region: Mt. Coronet. Smelling the mountain air, Tamara made a smile of confidence as Ambrose and Anik noticed the face she was making.

"Why are you so giddy?" Ambrose asked towards his partner in ghost hunting.

"I have my first Pokémon and we're crossing a big mountain after attending a festival yesterday! This has been such a good week!" Tamara said with an excited tone, enjoying the new experiences she's had the past few days.

"You know, I did want us to go to Sinnoh by ourselves originally." Ambrose stated.

"Yeah, but it probably wouldn't have been as much fun as it has been if it was just the two of us like usual." Tamara said as she pointed in the direction of where she sensed Keats and Anik, the astronomy enthusiast smiling in response.

"See that, your psychic friend thinks the astronomer is fun to be around." Anik said while folding her arms and making a smug expression.

"...Doesn't mean she thinks astronomy is cool." Ambrose said, bursting Anik's bubble as she made a displeased face. "Anyway, I checked the map. Our options are either to go over the mountain, where it will get progressively cold, or we try the inside of Mt. Coronet, which would basically force us to have to traverse its maze-like internal structure." He explained as he pointed upward and then at one of the nearby caves to enter the inside of Mt. Coronet.

"I'm up for the cold." Tamara said while shifting her head in the direction of Ambrose.

"Your Tangela is not going to do well if we run into Ice types up there." Anik said, making an observation.

"Uh, oh yeah." Tamara said, coming to a realization that her Tangela is a Grass type and weak to Ice type Pokémon.

"Looks like we're heading inside. Ready, big guy?" Ambrose said before turning towards Keats who stared at the mountain with a blank look on his face. "Hello? Did fighting Honchkrow scramble your brains even more?" He said as he noticed Keats was suspiciously quiet.

"Keats?" Anik said with mild concern.

"Keats?" Tamara reiterated.

"Quit zoning out." Ambrose said as he snapped his fingers in front of Keats, startling the husky framed trainer.

"Whoafhf!" Keats muttered in surprise as he stepped back slightly and put his fists up. "Uh..." He said.

"You alright?" Anik asked towards him.

"Ye-yeah... I'm good, I was just... Trying to think without putting my hands over my face and hunching over." Keats said as everyone raised an eyebrow at him.

"We can't dillydally, alright. We need to get moving and see if we can cross the mountain to Eterna City before nightfall." Ambrose said as he looked at the group with Anik and Tamara nodding.

Walking up the trail in the direction of one of the caves, Ambrose led the group with Tamara and Anik trailing behind him. Standing still though was Keats, lost in thought as he pulled out the Fast Ball he almost used on Honchkrow, looking at it briefly before putting it back in his pocket.

'"...Good sides don't make up for bad mains..."' Keats thought to himself as he looked at Anik, Tamara and Ambrose.


Mmmmmmmm beeeeaaaaannnns. Loving me gooooood beeeeeaaaaaannnnns. After a night of food and humor, the gang woke up to the unwelcome arrival of an unwelcome Dark and Flying type. Honchkrow had followed Keats and company from Johto to Sinnoh in an effort to steal Keats' Evolution Stones again and it brought back up in the form of Aipom, Drifloon and Tangela, the trio of squatters that lived in the abandoned house Keats "technically" blew up. With the group of trainers defeating and catching the wild Pokémon trio, with Tamara even getting her very first Pokémon, Honchkrow managed to escape to attempt another run at Keats' bag of shiny stones another day. But now it's time to add cave jumping to our journey as next time, the inside of Mt. Coronet! Stay tuned!

Keats' Pokémon:
1. Pineco. Gender: Female. Ability: Sturdy. Moves: "Spikes," "Explosion," "Rapid Spin," "Bug Buzz."
2. Stunky. Gender: Male. Ability: Aftermath. Moves: "Dark Pulse," "Toxic," "Smokescreen," "Flamethrower."
3. Porygon. Genderless. Ability: Download. Moves: "Tackle," "Thunder Shock," "Psybeam," "Recycle."
4. Venonat. Gender: Female. Ability: Tinted Lens. Moves: "Tackle," "Poison Powder," "Bug Buzz," "Sleep Powder."
5.
Dragalge. Gender: Male. Ability: Poison Point. Moves: "Poison Tail," "Toxic Spikes," "Double Team," "Water Pulse."
6.
Cloyster. Gender: Female. Ability: Shell Armor. Moves: "Take Down," "Aurora Beam," "Supersonic," "Iron Defense."

In rotation:
1. Raichu - Alolan Form. Gender: Male. Ability: Surge Surfer. Moves: "Psychic," "Spark," "Light Screen," "Quick Attack."
2. Druddigon. Gender: Male. Ability: Rough Skin. Moves: "Bite," "Hone Claws," "Flash Cannon," "Dragon Tail."
3. Sizzlipede. Gender: Female. Ability: Flash Fire. Moves: "Ember," "Smokescreen," "Bite," "Wrap."
4. Gurdurr. Gender: Male. Ability: Guts. Moves: "Brick Break," "Smack Down," "Focus Energy," "Scary Face."
5. Swalot. Gender: Male. Ability: Liquid Ooze. Moves: "Sludge Bomb," "Stockpile," "Shock Wave," "Body Slam."

Released/Traded away:
1.
Diglett - Alolan Form.
2. Surskit.

Anik's Pokémon:
1. Kingler. Gender: Male. Ability: Hyper Cutter. Moves: "Guillotine," "Harden," "Swords Dance," "Crabhammer."
2. Cleffa. Gender: Female. Ability: Magic Guard. Moves: "Splash," "Pound."
3. Oricorio - Baile Style. Gender: Female. Ability: Dancer. Moves: "Air Cutter," "Revelation Dance," "Calm Mind," "Helping Hand."
4. Minior - Green Core. Genderless. Ability: Shields Down. Moves: "Swift," "Confuse Ray," "Defense Curl," "Tackle."
5. Vigoroth. Gender: Male. Ability: Vital Spirit. Moves: "Shadow Claw," "Endure," "Slash," "Counter."
6. Drifloon. Gender: Female. Ability: Unburden. Moves: "Shadow Ball," "Air Cutter."

Ambrose's Pokémon:
1. Furret. Gender: Female. Ability: Keen Eye. Moves: "Shadow Ball," "Quick Attack," "Dig," "Coil."
2. Crawdaunt. Gender: Male. Ability: Hyper Cutter. Moves: "Liquidation," "Night Slash," "Harden," "Guillotine."
3. Dodrio. Gender: Male. Ability: Early Bird. Moves: "Fly," "Tri-Attack, "Assurance," "Roost."
4. Helioptile. Gender: Male. Ability: Sand Veil. Moves: "Thunder Shock," "Tail Whip," "Charge," "Mud-Slap."
5. Aipom. Gender: Male. Ability: Pick Up. Moves: "Protect," "Swift," "Focus Punch."

Tamara's Pokémon:
1. Tangela. Gender: Female. Ability: Regenerator. Moves: "Vine Whip," "Constrict," "Ingrain."