Here's the next chapter, hope you'll enjoy it.
pokemonking0924- Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Alice isn't great at anything about relating to preparing food. If she's that bad at baking, imagine what she like at cooking with way more ingredients and things that could go wrong. However, as you said, she does have writing and drawing skills and I will build on that throughout the story. I wonder if she would get along with Tracey Sketchit. Tomoe is what Apollo strives to be and it will be fun to see her relationship build with the rest of her team. Thanks for reading.
Hypnotist - No problem, sorry if it was a bit overshadowed. But since I like the idea, I'll make sure to bring it up more often. I'm glad you like the little reference about the Hypno. Hope you enjoy the next chapter.
SkullGreymonX - I'm so happy you like the idea. I thought I could do a chapter devoted to it at the end of the journey. I'm not quite sure if it'll be the same if this format, but I'll give it a try. I'm so glad you like the chapter, especially the bit about Edith's gift. That is definitely going to haunt her for years. Thanks for reading.
Lovely - Thank you so much, I've been hoping to wright an Alice chapter for a while. I like your idea for Flo and I'll be sure to involve it in the story in the future. Thanks again.
Djinn - Thank you so much. I really like Fafetch'd (although I think I prefer the Galar form better) and it is a perfect Pokemon for Alice. I hope you enjoy the next chapter.
Kunoichi69 - Thanks so much for reading. They do get on each others nerves sometimes, but, then again, they are sisters. At the end of the day, they both each other very much. Tomoe is a very unique Pokemon and a vital part of the Alice's team in terms of training and maintaining order. Maybe Apollo will learn something from her. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy the next chapter.
Guest - Thank you so much, I'll be sure to add it to the list.
Guest2 - No problem and thank you so much. I can't imagine how bad her attempt her cooking was, but I'll be hinting to it ever so often. Thanks again for reading.
TurboDriver07 - I quite agree. Tomoe is a very fun character to write; although her way of speaking is going to be a bit of a bother to write. I had to look up half the things she said. Yep, this is my own take on the diglett episode. It's going to be...well a little more developed then the original episode.
supriya700000 - No problem, thank you for suggesting it. Would you prefer Charles to catch it as beldum and have it evolve into a metagross or just for him to catch the fully evolved form? Don't worry, I won't abandoned this story. If I was ending a story, I'll be sure to inform the readers before so.
Guest - I'm terribly sorry, I have no idea how that happened. I've made sure to put your suggestion on the list. Thank you also for pointing out my mistakes. I type way faster then I can think sometimes.
wellingtonlucas282 - No problem, hope you enjoy the next chapter.
Guest - That's quite interesting. Thank you so much, I'll be sure to put it on the list.
TheBatMan - And I'm his sidekick, the boy wonder, Grubbin! (It's the best I could do)
rando - That's disappointing. Thanks for reading anyway.
Guest - Here's the next chapter, hope you'll enjoy it.
Guest - Thank you so much, I've added them to the list.
colbylast - Thank you so much. My apologies about the typos, I tend to write faster then I think and I make mistakes. Soemtimes I read back on the chapters and cringe when I see something. The problem is that once you upload a chapter onto this site, it only it keeps it there for a certain period of time before it deletes itself. The first chapter has long gone so I can't mend the errors easily. Once I find a way, I'll make sure to fix them all. Thanks for letting me know.
Thank you all for reviewing :)
Chapter 32: Up The Diglett!
It was another lovely sunny day and the team were walking up a steep dirt path that took the through the kanto highlands. Despite the great view laid out below them, it was starting to get quite cold up at this altitude and so they were eager to get over it. They were getting nearer to the Fuchsia City gym and Charles and Benny had almost completed the battle strategy. They were thinking of rearranging their team again and were hoping to find a Pokemon Centre fairly soon.
Alice trailed behind the other two, with Apollo at her feet, as she read her map to see how far they have to go. She gave a small hum before looking to her left at Tomoe perched on her shoulder, her leek at her side as kept an eye on the surroundings.
"Tomoe, you really don't have to be on lookout all the time. You can relax in your pokeball, if you like?" she told her in a gentle tone.
The farfetch'd shook her head, ("We must deny such a luxury, my lady. To rest mine weapon in such dangerous territory would be irresponsible.")
Benny looked back from Charles' shoulder before looking around the peaceful countryside, ("Yeah, really dangerous,") he sighed.
Apollo looked up at Tomoe and frowned slightly in envy, ("Private Tomoe, you needn't worry. I assure you that I'm keeping an eye on things,") he said before almost tripping over a rock. He managed to get his balance back before anyone noticed.
Tomoe's eyes widened as she looked down at him, ("My lord Apollo! We didn't mean to undermine your authority.")
("I-I beg your pardon?") Apollo uttered, not expecting such a response.
She bowed her head to him, ("Thou hast bested me in combat and we had tasted defeat for the first time by thine hand…thine paw. Thou art mine superior.")
Apollo blinked in surprise before his tail began to wag and he smiled proudly, ("Well, I wouldn't say superior.")
("Don't try to act humble. You clearly like the attention,") Benny muttered with a roll of his eyes, causing Charles to chuckle.
("Oh but thou art superior, Lord Apollo. Thou must have defeated many foes in past. Prithee thee, how would'st thou bid me the knowledge of how many thou hast defeated?") she asked with a sparkle in her eyes.
Apollo's tail instantly stopped wagging, ("D-defeated? Err...well,") he stammered, ("I don't have an exact number.")
("Thee doth not keepeth a tally?")
("No, no...err...one moment...") he stuttered, trying to come up with a number that sounded plausible, ("I say about...ninety-four foes. Yes, that sounds about right. But they were mostly during my time a boot camp, so...if you happen to ask one of the other troops they...they...they might give you a different answer.")
'Good grief, Apollo,' Charles and Benny thought, glaring back at the growlithe critically.
("Ninety-four?") the farfethch'd uttered in fascination before she frowned and gripped her leek tightly, ("We hast only bested ninety-two enemies since I took up the sword. We must get better.")
("Ninety-two!?")
Tomoe stretched out her wing to him, ("Come, Lord Apollo. Jump upon my lady's shoulder and teach me the ways of a true warrior liketh yourself.")
Apollo's ears lowered slightly, ("I don't think that's...")
("We beg of thee!") she demanded, causing him to yelp in surprise.
("Right! Of course. It's is my duty to guide my master's troops!") he proclaimed as he stared up at Alice's free shoulder, ready to jump.
He waited and waited, before he squatted slightly and leapt with all his power towards the shoulder.
Unfortunately, it was at that moment that Alice had taken the opportunity to look down at Apollo, "Huh, Apollo what's-"
And that was all she had time to say before Apollo overreached his goal and slammed his head right into her face.
Four Minutes Later
"What were you two thinking!" Alice scolded as she looked down at her guilt-ridden Pokemon, wincing ever so often as Flo tended her bruised nose, "I can only carry one Pokemon at a time! Now both of you will stay in your pokeballs until we get to the next Pokemon Centre!"
("We're failures,") Tomoe and Apollo moaned sadly as they stared at the ground.
"Those two really are the same, huh?" Charles hummed in amusement while Benny nodded in agreement.
Suddenly, Benny's long ears pricked up at the sound of something and he looked up the road, ("What's that?")
"What's what?" Charles asked.
("I hear cars and people not too far away. I think we might be coming close to a town or something,") he explained.
"Really?" Charles mused before he turned to Alice who had just put her pokemon away, "Alice, Benny says he can hear cars. Are we already at Fuchsia?"
She gave him a confused look and pulled out her map from her pocket, "No, I don't think so. We've got at least another day of travelling," she said rubbing her nose to relieve the pain.
"Stop touching it. It's only going to hurt," Flo scolded her before turning to Charles, "We must be getting close to some sort of event or gathering. Why don't we check it out and have a rest?"
"That could be fun," Alice agreed as they began to make their way up the path, "Damn! My nose hurts so much. Does it look okay?"
Benny snigged, ("You look like a nosepass with a cold.")
"Charles, what did he say!?" she demanded crossly as she glared at the giggling pikachu.
Charles flicked his brother's forehead, shutting him up, "He says you look fine...the redness will go away soon."
The end of the path stopped over a hill crest and, as soon as they climbed over it, they eyes widened in surprise when they saw a two-lane motorway cut through the forest. The motorway led to a construction sight not too far away where workers in hi-vis jackets and yellow hardhats were busy building a concrete structure built into rocky hills. At the base of the building dozens upon dozens of trucks carrying building supplies and busses were parked just behind a giant crowd of people. Judging by the pokeballs on their belts and in their hands, they were all trainers.
"What's going on there?" Charles hummed as they began to walk up the concrete road towards the crowd.
As they got closer, they spotted a man in his late thirties wearing a worker's uniform consisting of a light blue boiler suit and a yellow hard hat. He was a burly man with a thick black beard and eyebrows, a slightly sunburnt face and a round nose. He addressed the crowds through a megaphone while he stood on a wooden crate and, as they joined the back of the crowd, they could see his bearded face filled with determination.
"We greatly appreciate all of you talented Pokemon trainers to interrupt your training to come here and help us get rid of this menace," he announced fiercely, shaking his free fist in the air.
("This doesn't look good,") Benny muttered as he jumped on Charles' head to get a better look.
"Let's listen in. Maybe it's not as bad as we think," Charles said.
"Hey you!" the Foreman suddenly announced, "Boy with the pikachu on his head; listen with your ears and not with your mouth!"
Charles eyes widened in surprise, "Sorry, didn't know you could he me from back here!" he called out.
The foremean looked over at him, "No, not you! The other boy with the pikachu on his head!"
Charles, Alice, Benny and Flo frowned in confusion before they looked around the crowd and spotted Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu on Ash's head, looking back at them.
"Oh hey guys!" Flo called out to them as they made their way through the crowd to them.
"Hi. Long time, no see," Brock greeted back with a friendly wave.
"How have you been?" Misty asked.
"What happened to your nose, Alice?" Ash questioned in confusion. She gave him an annoyed look, causing him to back sheepishly away.
"Well, well, well, looks like everybody from Pallet Town is here," a familiar voice said. The crowd parted to reveal the smug face of Gary Oak with his entourage following him, "Just in time to see me perform another of my great feats."
"Gary! Gary! We recommend! Far better then his childhood friends!" the cheerleaders chanted as they waved the pompoms around.
"Oh hi Gary...and the cheerleaders who follow you around for some reason," Charles greeted with a good-natured smile while Ash glared at him, "You're here as well."
Gary snorted proudly, "Not for long. After I deal with this problem, I'm going to pick up my next gym badge," he smirked at Ash, "So, have you got any badges, Ashy-boy? Or have you given up pretending you're going to overtake me?"
"Hey! I've got badges! A lot of them! And I won them fair and square!" he shouted back.
"Ha! Yeah right. For all I know, you could have made them out of carboard and painted them to look like badges."
"They're real! Let's have a battle right-OW OW OW!" Ash yelped as Charles grabbed him and Gary by the ear and pulled them painfully.
Charles sighed as the two boys struggled in his grasp, "Can we please have one reunion when you two don't result to petty bickering. Gary stop antagonising Ash, his badges are real. Ash don't go around starting battles; it's not worth it," he scolded the pair of them.
"Huh, never seen Charles scold both of them at the same time," Misty mused as Brock and Alice nodded in agreement.
"He did this thing almost everyday back when were in Pallet Town," Flo explained, "I feel kind of nostalgic."
"Can we please get back to our problem!" the Foreman shouted at them through his megaphone, "This is serious!"
Charles released the two boys, who grumbled in annoyance and rubbed their aching ears, and gave an apologetic smile to the speaker, "Sorry, please continue."
The foreman mutter crossly, "We are facing a dire situation. A group of vicious Pokemon have disrupted our work on building the great Gaiva Dam," he said gesturing to the project behind him, "They have thrown our trucks off the road, made cracks in our motorway, broke our equipment and digging tools and have driven me to the point of insanity! They are a menace and always cause chaos wherever they go! They must be stopped!" he demanded, causing the team to frown in concern, wondering what could have done all of these things, "Trainers! I request for all of you to vanquish the vile, scheming, evil..." he pulled out a remote and pushed a button, causing a sheet that was hanging on the wall of the building to unfurl itself and reveal a picture of a tiny brown Pokemon with beady black eyes and a pink round nose. Most of its body was buried in the earth leaving only its head above ground, "...vicious diglett!"
...
...
...
...
"Diglett?" Alice sighed breaking the silence, "You're making all of this fuss over diglett?"
"Of course, I'm making a fuss! They are vermin!" the foreman shouted back.
Gary chuckled, "Hardly," he said before he cleared his throat, "Diglett: a ground type Pokemon. Lives about one yard underground where it feeds on plant roots. It sometimes appears above ground. They measure about 0.2 meters or 0'08'' high and weigh on average 0.8 kg or 1.8 lbs. They are far from vicious," he recited, earning an eye roll from Ash.
Charles had to agree with him. Diglett are actually quite friendly to humans and are not usually so destructive. In fact, famers welcome them to plough their fields. Charles and Benny have met plenty of them around the corral or around Pallet Town and they were good, honest Pokemon who love to dig and talk about their favourite type of soil...a lot...in fact about 90% of their conversations is about soil which could get a little boring sometimes. They are always in colonies, making sure the ecosystem is all in order as one group. However, if they are going out of the way to disrupt the construction of the dam then perhaps the planners are accidently building on their home grounds. Charles needs to stop this before it get out of hand. However before he could do anything, the foreman's eyes widened and he pointed behind the crowd.
"There they are!" he bellowed, "get rid of them now!"
The trainers turned and saw twenty diglett pop out at random parts of the ground behind them. The Pokemon looked at the crowd before they huddled together as if they whispering to each other. They then popped back into the ground and out of sight.
"Aww, they're so cute," Flo cooed.
"Do we have to get rid of them? They look harmless...and really adorable," Alice questioned.
The foreman growled angrily, "The first person to get rid of them gets a six-night, seven-day long stay at the newly built Gaiva hot springs resort as a reward!" he proclaimed.
That got the whole crowd excited. Staying at a luxurious resort for free for an entire week sounded amazing to the travel-weary Pokemon trainers. And all they had to do was get rid of some diglett. Even Misty and Alice's eyes seemed to sparkle in delight.
"A hot spring resort!" Misty gasped.
"Completely free of charge!" Alice exclaimed in joy.
They felt a chill run down the spines, causing them to turn and see Charles giving the two a warning glare. They gulped and smiled sheepishly back at him.
"Hot springs are overrated," Misty nervously chuckled.
"Yeah, like anybody cares about that sort of thing," Alice added, making Charles sigh tiredly.
Gary made his way out of the crowd and got his pokeball, "I've got this!" he announced as his cheerleaders chanted behind him, "now everyone will see the top Pokemon trainer in action," he proudly said he kissed his pokeball and threw it towards the nearest diglett hole, "This should do the trick."
That was when Charles noticed something. He sensed no malice or ill intention coming from the colony of diglett as if they do not intend to do any harm to anybody or anything. He looked up and saw that Benny frowned in concern, clear that they were both thinking the same thing. If this sense was shared by all Pokemon, then Charles knew exactly what was going to happen.
The Pokeball landed on the ground and opened with a pop sound and a beam of red light. However, much to everyone's, but Charles, confusion, the pokeball suddenly snapped back closed again as if Gary's Pokemon didn't want to come out. The brown haired boy looked on in bafflement, before the ground beneath the pokeball bulged and lifted it. The upturned ground then began to carry the pokeball back towards Gary, stopping at his feet, before a diglett popped out from underneath it with ball perched on it's head. Gary raised an eyebrow before he reached down and picked up his pokeball.
"Er...thanks?" he uttered.
("No problem, comrade,") the diglett squeaked before he popped back into the ground again.
"Hey wait!" Gary shouted, having processed what happened, "Damn it! Fine, I guess I just use one of my other Pokemon," he said taking out his second pokeball and giving it a few kisses, "let's go!"
He tossed it at another diglett hole, landed and began to open, but it too snapped shut. He then began to throw another pokeball and another and another, but none of them opened as well. The other trainers followed his lead; throwing the pokeballs but with little success. No matter what Pokemon they wanted to bring out: their strongest, their weakest, their biggest, their smallest, some even tried throwing their pokeballs in different way. Not a single one came out of its pokeball, creating a giant pile where the diglett were. And just like the first time, the diglett picked up them up and carried them back to their trainers one at a time, much to their bewilderment, until the pile of pokeballs were gone.
"Huh, what's going on?" Brock questioned in confusion.
"None of them want to come out and battle," Flo hummed in fascination.
Ash grinned and took out his pokeball, "Looks like it's all up to me. Watch this Gary! I'm going to be-"
But before he could toss the pokeball, Charles grabbed his wrist gently and shook his head at him, "That's not going to work. None of the Pokemon want to fight the diglett," he announced to the crowd, "I think it's time for a different strategy. One a little bit more...peaceful."
He released Ash's wrist and began walking to the ground where the diglett were buried. He crouched down, made a fist with his right hand and knocked on the ground three times gently. A second later, a diglett popped his head out of the earth right in front of him and looked up at him curiously.
("You alright there, comrade,") the diglett greeted in a friendly manner.
"Hello, I was wondering if I can speak to the head of your colony," Charles replied back with bright smile.
("No problem, let me jus-") he gave a squeak in surprise, ("Hold on, do you understand what I'm saying?")
Benny leapt down from Charles' head onto the ground, ("Honestly, that's not even the weirdest thing about him,") he remarked, earning a small glare form his brother, ("Is that a problem?")
("Stone the murkrows!") the diglett cried, ("This is great news. One moment,") he said before he popped back into the ground.
A few seconds later, a second diglett appeared from the earth, ("How you doin'. The name's comrade Pumsaint at your service, comrade. I hear from Comrade Klina that you can speak to Pokemon.")
Charles nodded, "Yes, that's correct. Are you the leader of the colony?"
Pumsaint laughed, surprising them both, ("Oh no. We don't have a leader here. I'm the General Secretary of our assembly.")
("You...don't have a leader? But you're diglett,") Benny questioned.
("Yes, I know. But we now have a better, more equal system in place. You see, we all have a diplomatic vote on who will become General Secretary who tasks is to preside over meetings and become the speaker in our parliament...")
"Okay," Charles said with a sweat drop.
("...Each diglett has two votes and are allowed to vote for themselves and for another candidate, but they may use their two ballots to vote for two other diglett if they so wished, but they cannot vote for a candidate twice...")
("Right,") Benny uttered.
("...the diglett who gets the most votes, which was I, becomes the General Secretary who may seem like they are in a position of power, but they are actually not. This is because the diglett in second place becomes the opposition to the General Secretary, or the General Opposition who is currently Comrade Guntur. Her task is to challenge any proclamation the General Secretary wants to put forward or raise awareness of...")
'I've totally lost the point of this conversation,' Charles and Benny collectively thought.
("...any challenges will be dealt with in parliament where we will debate until everybody comes to a unanimous agreement. So while technically I am in charge; I am actually not in a position of power. Do you understand?")
(Oh right yes,") he realised, ("We would like for you to tell the humans building over there that we, the diglett assembly, have come to the unanimous decision and request they'll stop immediately. They are disturbing the land and the Pokemon who live in it. Furthermore, our colony has been living in there parts for generations in order to protect the delicate ecosystem. Please make them stop.")
Charles raised an eyebrow, "That's it?" he turned to Benny, "Doesn't seem too hard."
("Wait a minute,") Benny interjected, ("If you voted on this; why are you destroying their equipment and their transport? Seems a little counterproductive to me.")
Pumsaint frowned, ("We haven't been destroying anything. We voted on a peaceful protest not a violent one.")
"You haven't?" Charles asked, "Then who has?"
If Pumsaint had shoulders they reckoned he would have shrugged, ("No clue. Tell you what, why don't we find out for you. I'll get the boys to do some digging and-")
"Ha!" Charles suddenly laughed, making the diglett frown in confusion.
("What's so funny?")
"Digging," he explained, "You know, because you guys are…and…and…you know…" he trailed off when he saw him blink cluelessly, causing him to clear his throat, "Sorry, please continue."
Pumsaint gave him an odd look, ("Right, we'll hold a meeting and find out who's doing this. You know, as a favour for helping us out.")
"Thanks so much," Charles said as Pumsaint submerged under the ground again. He stood up, Benny jumping on his shoulder once more, and turned towards the waiting crowd, "Does this seem a little bit-"
("-weird,") Benny finished, ("Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Something is definitely wrong here. Also, how are you planning to stop them from constructing.")
"I assume if we explain the situation to them they'll understand. If that fails…well, we'll just have to find another way," he told him as he made his way through the crowd to the foreman, "So I had a word with them…"
"You talked to the Pokemon?" the foreman questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Yep and apparently you are building on diglett territory. So, is it possible to…you know…stop. I feel like you should have done an environment assessment before construction anyway-"
"Stop!?" the Foreman yelled at him, making him jump in surprise, "We are in the middle of construction and you want us to stop because you 'talked' to some diglett!" he crossly shouted, making a quotation mark gesture when he said 'talked'.
"Yes," Charles replied, slightly annoyed by his tone, "this is an important ecosystem that the diglett are protecting and the homes of many wild Pokemon. This is why none of our Pokemon wanted to battle them. They know that this isn't right. These diglett are protesting peacefully," he explained to the crowd, making them mutter amongst themselves.
"Peacefully! What rubbish! They've been causing hundreds of pokedollars worth of damage! I've lost twenty trucks this week!"
"I understand, but the diglett are not to blame. I will help you find out who or what is happening to your supplies, but I can assure you that the diglett are completely innoce-"
CRASH!
Everybody shouted in shock and turned around in time to see one of the busses collapse into the ground below, crushing the sides and shattering the windows. The ground began to shake as if there were an earthquake which caused the bus beside the first bus to collapse as well and then the next one after that. Finally, the ground stopped shaking and everybody stared at the wreckage that was left behind. Charles gulped as he the entire crowd turned on him in scepticism, causing him to smile sheepishly.
"One moment, please," he told them before jogging over to where the diglett were and knocked on the ground, a bit more urgently this time.
Pumsaint popped his head up again, ("Hello again. So, did you tell them?")
("We have a more important thing to worry about,") Benny crossly said as he pointed towards the busses, ("What happened there? You said you didn't destroy anything.")
The diglett looked over at the busses. They saw him frown slightly but it soon disappeared when he looked back up at them, ("Sorry, that wasn't us?")
"Then who was it?"
("I would love to explain, but we're going to be holding a meeting in a while so I have to go.") he hastily told them.
"W-wait, hold on," Charles stammered in surprise.
("Bye. Make sure to tell them to stop the construction,") he said before he retreated back into the ground before either of them could do anything.
Charles and Benny stared at the hole in the ground he disappeared into before they shared a look.
"He's hiding something."
("Definitely.")
The crowd of trainers dispersed not too long after that. With their Pokemon unwilling to battle and the inability to catch them by hand, there was nothing for them to do…except walk back to the nearest town because the busses were beyond repair. While the foreman stomped away to fry find another way to get rid of the pests, the only ones left behind were the Charles, Misty, Brock, Ash, Flo, Gary and Alice and the Pokemon. Charles gave them a brief explanation of his conversation with Pumsaint, the others were just as concerned as them.
"That is strange. I never head of a diglett colony act like this," Brock hummed as he rubbed his chin.
Flo nodded, "Not only that, but we need to find out whose actually destroy those supply lines."
Ash raised his hand, "What's an assembly and why does it need a General…whatever is was?"
"Ash we really don't have the time to explain it," Misty sighed.
"It looks like we need to investigate and get to the bottom of this," Alice said eagerly, "It'll be better if we split up. One group goes after the diglett, the other figures out whose destroying the supplies and we probably need one group to try and talk to the foreman."
Charles nodded, "Alright, Ash, Flo you go after the diglett. Misty and Alice try and talk to the foreman which leaves Brock and I to investigate our mystery destroyer. Gary which group which you…"
He trailed off when he turned and saw that the he was no longer there, causing him to frown in confusion. They heard a car honk and looked around to see Gary and his cheerleaders already in their car.
"You kidding me right!" Gary called out, "While you're messing around with diglett, I'm going to get my next gym badge. Later losers!" he laughed before he drove away back down the highway.
"Gary, Gary, you can trust! Always leave his rivals in the dust!" his entourage chanted as they drove off into the distance.
Charles sighed, "Can't say I'm surprised."
"Isn't the gym in the middle of a forest? How is going drive there?"
("It's going to cost him a fortune in car repairs.")
"Damn! I didn't get a chance to get the girls' contact info."
"Just let it go, Brock."
"Well, we still have enough people," Charles said with a shrug, "Let's meet up here in an hour and we can share what we learned."
"Wait, how are we supposed to find the diglett?" Ash asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion.
Charles turned and pointed to the trail of upturned earth that led off towards the forest, "Follow the trail they left behind. We'll follow the one left behind at the busses. Everybody know what they are doing?"
They all agreed enthusiastically before they split up to perform their tasks.
With Charles, Brock and Benny
The two boys and one pikachu headed off the beaten track and through the forest, keeping their eyes on the upturned earth they were following.
"Are we getting any closer?" Brock asked.
"Judging by how it's close to the surface, not too far. For longer travels, they dig deeper into the ground," he replied before looking up at Brock, "So, how are you getting on being a Pokemon breeder?"
The older boy smiled, "It's great! Don't get me wrong, I like being a gym leader, but I prefer the freedom of travelling and look," he said before bring out a pokeball and releasing a vulpix into his arms, "I got a new Pokemon."
Charles gasped in delight, "You caught a vulpix."
"Well, technically I'm looking after her while her trainer's travelling," he explained while the fox-like Pokemon looked at Charles curiously. He saw him outstretch his hand to stroke her head and frowned slightly, "Oh, sorry Vulpix doesn't like strangers touching her."
"Oh, of course," he mused, "we wouldn't want to mess up your pretty fur or your fluffy tails. They are just so radiant and bright, I couldn't help myself."
Much to Brock's surprise, Vulpix jumped into Charles' arms and wagged her tails happily, ("Really? You think my fur's pretty? I really take good care of it and Brock had introduce an amazing grooming routine,") she squeaked in joy.
Charles looked over at the puzzled Brock and mouthed the words, 'All vulpix love flattery.'
The older boy made a mental note of that.
("Is it me or does this trail look too big for a single diglett?") Benny suddenly asked from Charles' shoulder as he pointed at the trail, ("I first thought it was multiple diglett but now I'm not sure.")
Charles studied the ground and nodded, "You're right. It's is way too big."
Vulpix sniffed the air, ("I can smell something sweet up ahead. I think it might be flowers.")
He looked up and saw they were coming up to the edge of the forest, daylight pouring in through the leaves of the tree. As they stepped through it, the humans and Pokemon gasped when they saw one of the most beautiful bit of countryside they have ever seen. It was on a slope of a hill with luscious green grass and beautiful wild flowers of all kinds scattered throughout the area. Among the flowers, butterfree, oddish, ratatta and other Pokemon played and slept among the plants, content with the sweet smells and the vibrant couloirs around them. In the middle of the fares was a large oak tree that looked decades old. It stretched up into the blue sky, its green leaves fluttering in the wind. It was such a tranquil sight that it took their breath away; too amazed to utter any sort of sound. Eventually, Charles was snapped out of his daze.
"Wow! This is amazing."
("It's so beautiful,") Benny said in wonder.
Brock nodded, "I can't believe anyone would want to build anything here," before he returned Vulpix to her pokeball.
"They probably don't know this place exists," Charles mused as he stepped forward, "It looks like we lost the trail. Maybe we should one of the other-Ah!"
He shouted suddenly as he and Benny was thrown into the air and hurled back towards the tree line. Charles landed on his back painfully, but was able to catch the pikachu before he hit the ground. Brock knelt down and helped him up.
"Charles are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Charles grunted as he hugged Benny lightly, "What just happened?"
His question was answered as Pokemon popped out of the ground where he previously stood on. The Pokemon looked as if three diglett were sharing one hole with each head being a different height. However, the were just over twice the size of a regular diglett and seemed to be very annoyed to see them.
("Oi!") the tallest head shouted.
("Get off our land!") the middle head added.
("We don't let humans in here!") the shortest head joined in.
"Huh? A dugtrio," Brock said, "That might explain why the trail was much larger."
Charles got his pokedex and scanned the new Pokemon:
Dugtrio: A team of diglett triplets. It triggers huge earthquakes by burrowing 60 miles underground.
He got to his feet while Benny climbed onto his shoulder and looked down at the dugtrio, "I'm sorry for disturbing you and your land. We just want to talk."
("We're not in the mood?") the shortest head spat, ("Now clear off before we dig a well under your feet.")
"You wouldn't want do that and ruin your landscape, would you?" Charles questioned with a raised eyebrow.
The dugtrio blinked in surprise at that before they turned to each other, ("Did he understand us?") the middle head asked.
("I think he might have done,") the tallest one uttered in amazement.
("No way, it must be a trick of some sort,") the shortest head muttered crossly.
The tallest head coughed nervously, ("Yeah, I agree.")
("But you just-") the middle head began to complain but Benny had already called out to them.
("He can understand Pokemon and we want to know why you have been destroying the worker's trucks.")
The shortest head rolled his eyes, ("We're destroying them because they are destroying our home. You see that oak tree over there?") he asked pointing his head at the tree, ("That was planted by our ancestors years ago and it has been the symbol of our home ever since. It is by far the most important thing that we have; it's been in our family for generations and these humans come up and try and kill it and our land.")
"Err...Charles. Translation," Brock requested. He gave him a brief summary of what they were saying, causing Brock to nod in understanding, "But surely retaliation is only making things worse. Their only going to get angrier."
("You sound like our workers,") the tallest one muttered, ("They thought that we were being too harsh on them. Once we heard they were forming a union against us, we banished them from our home. How can they betray us like that?")
The middle head sighed, ("We heard they are still protesting, but that's all we know. Their assembly had gone underground and we don't know anything else."
"Haha!" Charles suddenly laughed, earning confused looks from everybody. Once Charles noticed nobody else was laughing, he gave a sheepish smile, "Because he said they had...gone underground and...you know...they're...you know what never mind," he sighed, "Look, I know you are upset, but-"
("Upset!?") the shortest head shouted, ("We're furious! Do they not care for our home!? Do they not care about the other Pokemon who live here!? Are they too busy sucking up to the humans to even notice!? This is our land and we're going to protect it from anyone who threatens it.")
("Y-yeah what he said,") the tallest head agreed nervously.
The middle head remained silent, trying not to meet their gaze.
Charles sighed and rubbed the back of his head, "Clearly, there's no way we can change your mind. Let's go."
And with that, Charles, Brock and Benny turned away and headed back to their meeting point. The Ground Pokemon watched them leave to make sure they were gone before sinking back into the ground again.
With Flo, Ash and Pikachu
Using the same tracking system Brock, Charles and Benny used, Flo, Ash and Pikachu had found the diglett assembly somewhere in the forest. There were just over sixty of them gathered in a small clearing in a large circle around the leader...ahem, I mean the General Secretary, Comrade Pumsaint. They kept to the tree line as to not disturb what they were doing and watched with interest as the parliament debated with each other.
"They've been debating for over an hour now," Flo hummed quietly, "I wonder what's so important?"
"Zzzzzzz!"
Flo turned and frowned crossly as she saw Ash and Pikachu leaning against the tree, having fallen asleep without her noticing. She sighed and poked the side of his head, waking him up with a start.
"What! What! Where am I!?" he called out, waking up Pikachu in the process. Eventually, he found his bearings and glanced over at the diglett parliament, "Oh. Are they still at it. Can we go? It's so boring," he complained as Pikachu nodded in agreement.
"Not yet, we need to find out what is going on first," she replied seriously.
They heard a squeak from behind them, causing them to turn around in shock and look down to see a diglett near their feet. The Pokemon looked up at them curiously and then looked around in confusion as if not quite what to do with they're discovery. However, Flo crouched down before it could leave.
"Hey, wait please don't tell the others we are here," she whispered, "We're trying to help."
"Yeah," Ash agreed, "We just want to know what's going on."
Pikachu spoke to him in pokespeech which seemed to calm the diglett down slightly. Flo smiled gratefully and sat down on the ground so she didn't have to lean down anymore.
"My name is Flo and this is Ash and Pikachu. Are you part of the assembly?" she asked.
The diglett sighed sadly before nodding his head.
"You don't seem to be happy about it. Is there something wrong?" she asked, knowing that, without Charles, they would have to communicate via charades.
The diglett nodded again before he dropped up and down three times, his head being in different positions. Flo instantly recognised what he was imitating.
"Oh, a dugtrio," she said, earning a thrilled nod from the diglett.
Ash frowned, "What's a dugtrio?"
"It's the evolved form of diglett," she explained before turning back to to the Ground Pokemon, "So, what's this about a dugtrio?"
It responded by going underground again and resurfaced with a small piece of grassy turf on his head. He then pulled a proud face as if he was trying to make himself look regal.
Flo frowned, "So, you had a dugtrio leader, is that right?" the diglett nodded before he then pointed his head towards the Gaiva Dam that they could see above the trees, "...but then they started building the Gaiva Dam and began destroying the environment..." he nodded again before he imitated the dugtrio once more and narrowed his eyes as if angry, "...your leader was angry about this and then what?"
The diglett looked stuck on what to do and so turned to the other Pokemon and explained it to him. Pikachu nodded and jumped down from his shoulder and balled his paws into fists and began punching the air before pointing at the Gaiva Dam.
"Oh, so the dugtrio ordered the colony to fight the builders..." Ash said as he studied Pikachu's actions. Pikachu then pointed at the diglett who bowed his head sadly, "...but the diglett didn't want to fight."
"They are peaceful, after all," Flo mused. The diglett then imitated the dugtrio once more and began pretending to act aggressive, "The dugtrio got angry at you and began treating you cruelly..." finally the diglett nodded his head at the parliament, "...and so you left to form your own colony. That's why you guys set up this system. So you don't have to suffer under one leader," she realised, "But why do you not seem happy about it."
The diglett sighed and nodded at towards the parliament. They turned and saw all the diglett squeak at the same time as if they had finally come to a decision. That was when one diglett, from outside the gathering, approached a nearby flower, picked it by his head and transported it ten feet to the left and planted it into the ground. The humans' and Pikachu's mouth dropped at the sight.
"They were debating where to put a flower for an hour!" they exclaimed in shock.
The diglett at their feet sighed and nodded in despair. Flo reached over to his fuzzy head and petted it comfortingly.
"I understand now. You just want to do your job but without the bureaucracy. Your home is being destroyed and all they can do is debate with each other. Please don't worry, we'll help as much as we can."
"Err...Flo. What are they doing?" Ash asked, pointing to the rest of the diglett.
She turned around and saw Pumsaint seemed to angry about something. He seemed to be talking rapidly towards the other diglett, causing them to back away in fear. Flo frowned in concern, wishing that Charles was here to translate what they were saying.
Pumsaint cleared his throat as he addressed his fellow diglett, ("Comrades, I have noticed something happening in the last couple of days. While we protest peacefully, our autocratic enemy manages to destroy more of the human's supplies. We get blamed for the damage while he gets off scot-free. He is clearly trying to undermine our peaceful practices. But how does he know of our plans, huh? Last time I check he was not a Psychic type.")
One of the diglett cleared her throat nervously, ("Err...perhaps it is just a coincidence.")
("Impossible, Comrade Coulee,") Pumsaint snapped, ("It can only mean one thing...there's a mole among us diglett!")
...
...
...
...
("...by which I mean an informant,") he continued, noticing the confused looks.
The diglett gasped in shock, they glance around as if they were trying to find out who it was.
("This is awful,") Comrade Meandu uttered.
("Who would betray the assembly!?") Comrade Isua cried.
("This is a disaster! We need to find them quickly!") Comrade Moranbah shouted.
("Calm yourselves!") Pumsaint called out to the rest of the diglett, ("It is clear that our tyrannical enemy is influencing us even when we have our own government. Since he doesn't seem to understand our peaceful ways, we will have to communicate through a language that he will understand. The time for negotiations has passed...we must confront our enemy immediately! All who agree say aye!")
The other diglett looked rather unsure about this and squeaked and chattered in concern. Comrade Guntur of the General opposition dug towards Pumsaint.
("But comrade Pumsaint, the reason why we left was because-")
Pumsaint glared at her, ("We wanted to make peace with the humans, not with that dugtrio. Now are you with me or against me?") he threatened.
Guntur was taken back by this, but eventually she bowed her head, ("I-I'm with you.")
One by one, the diglett reluctantly agreed with the plan, none of them willing to stand up to Pumsaint. From the tree line, Flo, Ash, Pikachu and the diglett watched on, they had a feeling that something very bad had just happened.
With Alice and Misty
"Wow! So they've got a onsen and a sauna," Misty awed as she and Alice read the brochure for the Gaiva resort.
"Oh and they do massages as well."
"I always wanted one of those."
The two girls had managed to find the foreman's office inside a small cabin not too far away from the construction site. It was a rather plain room with white walls, blue carpeting and a large plastic prop-up table near the back wall. Hanging on the walls were a number of maps and notice boards detailing the building site. It looked all rather dull to them with the only interesting thing being a dartboard hanging on the door with a picture of a diglett placed in the centre. Judging by how the pictures was littered with puncture marks, the foreman had obvioulsy bee practising his dark throwing skills. They were eager when they got there, ready to persuade them to move the construction somewhere else, however, they got...well a little side tracked.
The Foreman nodded with a grin, "Indeed. And all of this could be yours if you get rid of the diglett. Right now, please."
Alice gave him a annoyed look, "Hey, don't try bribing us," she said, folding up the brochure and slipping it in her pocket, "We've come here for a reason."
Misty nodded firmly, "Yeah, besides I bet it's not even a good bribe. How much does this cost anyway? 10,000 pokedollars a week?"
"160,000 a night," he answered simply.
...
...
...
"...Okay, so it's a good bribe," she uttered in a daze.
(A.N:I think I forgot to mention this. I'm comparing Pokedollars to Japanse Yen in this story. So 10,000 pokedollars is about £60 ($72) and 160,000 pokedollars is about £1000 ($1165). Sorry for the confusion.)
"Be strong, Misty, be strong," Alice encouraged, "Look, you're tearing up this entire mountain and the environment that hundreds of Pokemon live in. I know you didn't plan for it to be built here, but surely you can see the damage it is causing."
The foreman shook his head, "You're right, I didn't plan for it to be built here, but it's my job to oversee the construction. Not only that, but why would I want to help Pokemon who have been destroying my supply trucks?"
"But-"
"You're an Officer Jenny, are you not?" he asked pointing at Alice, "Can't you...I don't know, arrest the diglett or something."
"Sir, I'm not an official officer and, even if I do have the power to detained people, these are the only capture equipment I have on me..." she said, pulling out her tiny Pokemon handcuffs from her pocket, "...and I'm fairly sure diglett don't have any hands to cuff."
"Are those handcuffs for Pokemon," Misty asked in amusement, "That's both hilarious and adorable."
"Why does everybody keep saying that?"
"That's it!" the foreman yelled as he stomped over to his desk and picked up the phone, "Since there are no trainers who can help me, I have to settle on my last resort."
"What's that?" Misty asked in worry.
"The company run by the entrepreneur Rey Zobes has offered to provided us with a piece of machinery that will get rid of the diglett once and for all. He said that it not only excavates the land for clearance, but also removes any pesky Pokemon who live in it. I didn't want to come to this because it sounded cruel...and it was also expensive to rent, but now I have no choice."
"What no!" Misty cried.
"You can't do that!" Alice persuaded.
"Enough!" the foreman yelled, "Get out of my office now before I call security!"
The two girls looked as if they were going to complain more, but seeing the furious expression on his face made them back down. They sighed and reluctantly retreated. They needed to tell the others this.
Meeting Spot
"So," Charles sighed, "We're in a bit of a crisis."
They had all met up not too long they returned from their mission on the side of the highway near the dam and shared about everything what they discovered. Fair to say that it was not looking good.
"So, we have an over-protective dugtrio who abused the other diglett…", Brock said.
"…a colony of diglett who are preparing for war," Ash continued.
"…and a foreman eager to get rid of the diglett no matter what," Alice finished, "What do we do?"
"Remember, the foreman was just ordering the machine when we left so we don't have to worry about it for at least a couple of days," Misty said, "I mean how long does it take to transport heavy machinery?"
"Misty's right. Right now, let's focus on the Pokemon. Maybe we can set up some sort of meeting between them," Charles hummed.
("Would that work though?") Pikachu asked from Ash's shoulder.
"It's a start."
Suddenly, from out of the ground in front of them, a diglett burst out and looked frantically around before looking up at Flo, ("Cor blimey, am I glad to see ya.")
"Huh? Aren't you the diglett from earlier?" Flo asked.
("That's righ', luv, and I've come ter warn. You look like a decent lot so I thought I can trust you ter 'elp us.")
Charles crouched down, "Hi I can help. My name is Charles."
("You're the lad who can speak ter Pokemon, ain't ya. Pumsaint told us all about ya. He's gone bloomin' gert and daisy. Treatin' the others like his own daft and barmy ter do the read and write against the guv.")
Charles and Benny blinked owlishly at him, not quite understanding him and his thick dialect.
("Sorry, what was that?") Benny asked.
The diglett sighed in annoyance, ("He's gonna make us figh' dugtrio. They're on their way now. None of us wanna figh'. 'Hat's one of the reasons why we left in the firs' place,") he pleaded.
"They're going now," Charles urgently said, catching the others attention, "Things have just got worse."
Pikachu's ears perked up at a sound and turned his head down the road. His eyes widened before he pointed, ("And things have got even more worse.")
They all turned at his cries and saw a truck speeding down the highway carrying a yellow excavator machine. It was huge, about the size of a bus, with a sharp drill on the front and all the driver's seat on the back of it. Underneath the seat, on the back of the machine ", was a plastic compartment which they could only assume held any troublesome Pokemon that got in the monstrosity's path. It passed by them and up the highway until it was out of sight, much to their horror.
"It's here already? You said that it will take a few days?" Ash uttered.
"It should have done," Misty said.
"Oh no," Alice cried, "the foreman must have used the Next Hour Delivery Service that Zobes Inc. offers. Damn it, it's so convenient!"
"This is exactly why small businesses are suffering," Flo tutted.
"We need to go now," Brock decided, "the diglett's territory will be destroyed if that machine gets there."
All of them firmly nodded and took off through the forest. The diglett was especially concerned, not only was his home at stake, but his colony as well.
Top Of The Hill
The foreman smiled as he and a couple of his builders admired the new excavator that was just delivered to them. They were just located further up the hill from the diglett home ground, where the slope was flat enough to hold the massive machine. His plan was to come at the diglett area from above through the forest and take them by surprise. With them out of the way, they can finally finish the project.
"Isn't it just amazing?" the Foreman grinned.
The builders shared a look, "Err…boss does this seem a little too…drastic," one said.
"Yeah, I don't feel comfortable about this," the other agreed.
The Forman gave them a glare, "Shut it! We need to find out how to work this thing before-"
RUMBLE!
He was interrupted when the entire ground shook beneath their feet, making them almost trip up and the machine rattle.
"Oh no! The diglett! They're here!" the Foreman cried, "start the-"
But before he could give out his order, cracks underneath began to show. Underground, the dugtrio continued to dig more and more of the earth beneath the excavator like they had previously done with the other busses and trucks.
("Lousy humans,") the shortest head muttered, ("thinking they can destroy us with their machines.")
("Y-yeah, how stupid,") the tallest head agreed.
The middle head sighed, ("Let's just get this out of the way.")
Suddenly, before they could completely collapse the ground beneath the excavator, the dugtrio was hit by an attack that blindsided them. They were thrown back down a tunnel and they were forced up to the surface, making them look around furiously.
("Who did that?") the shortest head shouted before Pumsaint and the rest of the diglett revel ward themselves just a few meters away from the machine, ("Oh it's you. What are you doing here! You are all banished!")
("You didn't banish us!") Pumsaint barked, ("We left to escape your cruelty!")
("Cruelty!? What's cruel about protecting our land!? Maybe if you stopped riling them up and made them revolt against me then I wouldn't be so harsh!")
("Can we stop this please,") the middle head pleaded, ("let's just here them out.")
("Ha!") Pumsaint laughed, ("Even your own heads are disagreeing with you.")
("No there're not!") the shortest head cried before he turned to them, ("Aren't you?")
("Maybe we should-") the tallest head started to say before he yelped in fright as the shortest head gave him a glare, ("...never mind.")
CREAK!
While Pumsaint and the dugtrio argued, the rest of the diglett turned in slight concern at the excavator machine which seemed to be tilting slightly. The ground beneath it began to crumble away so now the machine was pointed down the hill. The diglett exchanged worried looks before one of them decided to go up to Pumsaint.
("Err...Comrade Pumsaint-")
("Not now, Comrade Dawson,") Pumsaint snapped, not even looking back at him.
("It's just that the machine-")
("We'll stage a protest later, but now let me concentrate on-")
CREAK! BANG!
The Pokemon jumped in surprise as a loud noise erupted all around them. They turned and gasped when they saw the ground beneath the excavator finally collapse and made the machine begin to slowly roll down the hill towards the forest. The Foreman and builders, having recovered from the earlier attack, start to run after it in a panic. However, as the machine continued to roll down the hill; it picked up speed until it was too fast for them to catch up to. The excavator sped down the hillside and collided with the forest with a mighty crash. Trees were uprooted, wild Pokemon scattered away in fear of being crushed; the entire area was annihilated as the machine continued to smash it's way down the hill. Nothing can stop it now.
"We're so getting fired for this," one of the workers muttered as the humans watched on helplessly.
The diglett began to panic while Pumsaint and the dugtrio watched the carnage in utter disbelief.
("What do we do?") Comrade Bodenmais shouted, ("It's heading towards our home!")
("We have to stop it! Come on everybody!") Comrade Kalgoorlie shouted.
Pumsaint looked around in disbelief, ("Hold on! Let's all take a vote first-") But before he could even finish his sentence, the diglett had already retreated underground, ("Well, maybe we can do it lat-")
("COME ON, YOU IDIOT!") all of the dugtrio's head shouted at him urgently before they too submerged themselves.
Diglett Home Ground
The team burst through the treeline and stepped onto the flowery hillside and admired it for a dew seconds.
"It's so beautiful," Misty remarked.
"I know, but we can take it all in later," Charles told her as their diglett friend popped out of the ground by Flo's feet, "We need to find those diglett now."
Suddenly, the Pokemon's perked up as they heard something, turning to the border uphill to to the area, ("What's that?")
("It's sound like something very big and very destructive,") Pikachu remarked, ("And it's getting closer.")
BOOM!
They all jumped as something massive smashed through the treeline, sending pieces of trees and other plants to fly into the air. The team and the diglett gasped when they saw the giant excavator machine lumber its way down the hill uncontrollably, flattering everything from the wild flowers to grassy soil in its way. It was then followed by the colony of diglett that were hurriedly chasing after it. Their diglett friend watched on in absolute horror as his home was torn to pieces. His eyes widened when he saw that it was headed towards the oak tree. Flowers and grass can go back but that tree would be beyond damaged if it gets hit.
("Oh no! The tree!") he squeaked as he sped off towards the rampaging machine.
The others swiftly followed after him over the grassy hillside.
"Charles what do we do?" Flo cried out as they ran towards, "It's too fast!"
Charles looked up and down the machine and spotted the cockpit at the back, "Someone needs to get up there and pull the break."
"I'll do it!" Ash volunteered, "But how do I get up there!?"
Suddenly, Alice got an idea. She took out her pokeball, released Atlas and pointed up to the cockpit, "Atlas, throw Ash up there!" she ordered.
("You got it!") Atlas called back happily.
"W-wait what?" Ash and Pikachu stammered before they yelped as Atlas grabbed Ash by the shoulders and threw them up onto the machine like they weighed nothing. They landed roughly on top of the seat, taking a few seconds to recover before sitting in the chair, "You could have least give us a warning first," Ash cried as he and Pikachu glared angrily at Alice before looking around for the break.
He soon found it besides his seat and he instantly pulled it with both hands, gritting his teeth as he tried to stop it. Eventually, the wheels grinded to a halt, slowing it down slightly, but the machine kept on sliding down the hill.
"It's no use," Misty cried, "The ground's too soft to create any friction."
"The dugtrio must have over tilled the soil," Brock suggested as they began to run alongside the excavator.
Flo looked down at the diglett digging beside her before looking back at the rest of the colony, "Diglett, do you think you and the rest of the diglett can make some earth banks to slow it down?"
("Nah problem!") he called out before he stopped for a few seconds to talk to the test of his colony, ("Alwigh' lads, we need ter make a few earf banks in front of that machine.")
("What!?") one of the diglett cried, ("but we'll tear up all of hard work!")
("Do ya want the oak tree ter die?") he questioned, ("We'll plant it again. Now get a move on all of ya!") he called, making the colony nod in agreement.
They submerged themselves under the ground and reappeared a few meters in front of the machine, furiously digging up an earth bank big enough to stop it in its tracks. The machine collided against it, but broke through and kept on sliding down the hill. They built another a few meters away, but it didn't stop it either. They built another one and another one larger then the other ones, but it broke through those ones as well. While it did slow it down greatly, the machine was still sliding fast enough down the hill to crush the tree. It was only twenty meters away and they needed it to stop entirely.
"Atlas, grab onto to the excavator and stop it," Alice ordered sharply.
The machoke ran up to the rear of the machine, grabbed onto the back of it, dug his heels into the ground and pulled it with all his strength. The machine began to slow down more, but it was still not enough.
"Geodude, help out as well!" Brock yelled as he brought out his Pokemon which helped Atlas out.
"You too, Ichigo," Charles called out as he released his tyrogue.
Ash, still in the cockpit, took out one of his pokeballs, "Please help us, Primape," he pleaded as he released a bipedal Pokemon with a round body, covered in shaggy white fur, triangular ears, narrowed eyes and a pink-snout like nose.
It stood on the back of machine for a few seconds before reaching over and grabbing Ash's hat from off his head and placed it on his.
("Mine,") it said before it leapt down and helped pull the machine as well.
"Hey!" Ash cried out.
"Starmie, get in front of it and use Hydro Pump to push it back," Misty ordered.
Flo looked down at Alette's, Manitari's and Epione's pokeballs with a small sweat drop, "I...really don't have the team for this sort of scenario."
The Pokemon pulled (or in the Starmie's case pushed using Hydro Pump) the machine with all their strength they could manage, slowing the machine even more. It was only a five meters away and it was slowing down to a crawl. The diglett raised one last earth bank in front of it and this time it didn't break through. The machine came to a slow stop; the tip of the drill almost touching the bark of the tree.
Everyone sighed in relief...they had managed to save the old oak tree.
"Phew! That was close," Misty said as the diglett celebrated in joy.
"Way too close," Alice agreed.
Popping up from the ground, Pumsaint and dugtrio investigated the tree and were happy to see that it was not damage. Pumsaint turned to the rest of the diglett in glee.
("Comrades! With our collaboration and effort we managed to stop our most precious symbol of prosperity in our homeland. Let's use this strength now to overthrow the Pokemon responsible for this disaster,") he declared turning on the surprised dugtrio and silencing the mini celebration.
("You're blaming us!") the shortest head cried, ("If you hadn't interrupted us we would have destroyed the machine like we did with the others.")
("Yeah!") the tallest head agreed while the middle head sighed in annoyance.
("Ha! You wouldn't have to-")
Suddenly, the diglett unearthed himself in between them, stopping their argument, ("Will ya both of ya shut your traps for five seconds! We're cream crackered of all of this 'rguin'. Can't ya clock wot we would 'ave lost jus' now,") he shouted, nodding towards the tree before turning to the dugtrio, ("Ever since ya evolved and old guv'nor put ya in charge, you've been treatin' us loike dirt. Even before the 'umans turned up.")
("What?") two of the dugtrio's heads cried, ("We've been encouraging you; pushing you to your limits that's all,") the shortest head said, ("We just needed to put in more work after that flood. You remember what it was like.")
("Oh we remember,) Comrade Yurshor called out, ("We lost a lot in that flood and your, so-called, leadership didn't help brighten our moods. You made us work eight hours a day without a break,") he said, making the dugtrio move back in slightly.
("Well, that was-")
("You also made us work in terrible conditions,") another diglett from the crowd called out.
("I admit that was-")
("You almost starved us because of your rationing system!)
("I can barely remember most of it because I was so exhausted!")
("You made me miss my kid's birthday!")
With every complaint and shout hurled at them, dugtrio slid further down in their hole, frightened and ashamed of what they were telling them. Meanwhile, the rest of the team had put away their Pokemon and watched as the arguing unfurled in front of them with Charles giving a live commentary of what was going on.
"Maybe this is the wake-up call that dugtrio needs," Brock mused as the other nodded in agreement.
("You see,") Pumsaint arrogantly said as he closed his eyes, ("they all hate your autocratic rule over my system.")
("Ya ain't any better, Pumsaint,") the diglett said, causing his eyes to snap open, ("Your system is too complicated and makin' simple decisions takes ages.")
("Yeah, with your process it'll take us years to even get close to rebuilding our home!") one of the diglett cried from out of the crowd, earning a round of cheers of agreement.
Pumsaint spurted in disbelief, ("But our assembly is more democratic.")
("Is it?") Comrade Silius, ("It was you who came up with the system and put yourself in charge. We had to vote on stupidest things but all the larger decisions you made all on your own. You even got us to start calling each other comrade. I don't even know what that means!")
("Right, but-") he said frowning in confusion, ("I was doing all of this for you.")
("Pumsaint, ya were so blinded by your own government that ya didn't realise the bloomin' damage ya were causin'. That's why…") he sighed, ("…I became a mole…an informant ter dugtrio.")
("What!?") Pumsaint cried. ("It was you all along!?")
"What a twist," Flo muttered in surprise, once Charles translated what they said.
"I know right," Brock agreed as they watched the argument play out in interest.
"Stop treating this like a soap opera," Misty grumbled.
Two of the heads of dugtrio frowned in confusion, ("Informant? We didn't have an informant,") the tallest head said.
("No, but I did,") the middle head said, much to the other two's shock, ("I hired him in the off chance that we and Pumsaint will meet and we can talk.")
("You went behind our backs…literally!") the shortest head shouted.
("How did he manage that?") Benny muttered in confusion.
("I'm sorry but they're right,") the middle head protested, ("We have been treating them terribly. The only reason I didn't say anything was because you always get angry and he's too afraid of you to stand up to you,") he said nodding to the tallest head.
("Don't drag me into this,") the tallest head muttered in fear.
The middle head rolled his eyes, ("We're attached to the same body so it was easier to keep quiet then to argue with myself. I'm sorry.")
The shortest head frowned sadly before they and Pumsaint turned to colony of diglett. They glared at them in absolute hatred, angry at what they put them through.
("So what should we do with them?") one diglett crossly questioned.
("I say we should banish them!") another called out, earning cheers of agreement.
The dugtrio and Pumsaint looked terrified at that idea, but before it could get out of hand, Charles kneeled behind the two and petted their heads comfortingly.
"Now, now. There's no need for that," he calmly said, "dugtrio, you were only trying to rebuild your home after a disaster and made sure your family's legacy stayed safe. However, in doing so, you forgot the family you were protecting and their feelings. You pushed them too far and grew resentful when they turned on you. Do you have anything you would like to say to them."
The dugtrio bowed their heads to their colony, ("We're really sorry,") the shortest head softly said.
("Leading can get stressful and we didn't handle it well") the tallest head told them.
("We promise we won't do it again,") the middle head finally said.
Charles then looked down at Pumsaint, "While you had good intentions and stood up to dugtrio, you became out of touch on what your own colony loves to do and caused them stress. Now is there anything you would like to say to them?"
Pumsaint bowed his head as well, ("I'm sorry. I got carried away and lost track of what was important.")
Charles looked up at the colony, "Will you forgive them please."
The diglett murmured to themselves, debating whether to accept their apology. Pumsaint and dugtrio looked on in concern, scared that they turn on them again. Eventually, their diglett friend moved away from the group and gave them a serious look.
("Alwigh', we forgive them,") he said, causing them to gasp happily, ("'owever, we're still worried abaht who's leadin'. If dugtrio becomes the leader again, what's ter say that this won't 'appen again?")
"Well, how about this," Charles said, "dugtrio remains as the leader and will their best to treat you all fairly and maintain your rights. However, if, Arceus forbid, they start treating you horribly, Pumsaint will step in. Kind of like a HR Rep or a labour union leader. Any further disputes can come down to a vote. How does that sound?"
The diglett muttered to themselves again before the squeaked in agreement.
("Sounds Robin ter us. 'Onestly, as long as we can go back bein' a colony again, we'll be more then 'appy,") the diglett said gleefully.
("We agree,") dugtrio collectively said.
("And so do I,") Pumsaint added.
The diglett colony cheered triumphantly beneath the old oak tree, overjoyed that peace has been restored. The humans smiled happily as well, glad that they were able to sort everything out. Charles chuckled and petted a diglett's head.
"See, everything can fix itself if we work together," he smirked, "it's not hard at all. In fact it's only... a miner inconvenience!"
...
...
...
...
The diglett and dugtrio gave him blank stares, confusion evident on their little faces. They began to mutter to themselves.
("What does he mean by that?")
("That came out nowhere.")
("Seems a little insensitive after what we just been through.")
Charles sweat dropped, his smirk faltering slightly at the cold reception. He decided to try again, "A miner inconvenience...because miner sounds like minor and..." the diglett just continued to stare in puzzlement. He turned to his friends, "...Guys...a miner inconvenience..." they responded with tired sighs and eye rolling, causing him to sweat drop even more. He turned to Benny on his shoulder, "...err...miner inconvenience?"
("We heard you the first time,") he sighed, causing him to slump over in defeat.
"Hey kids!"
They turned around to see the Foreman walking down the hill towards them, his hard hat in his hands sheepishly.
"It has come to my attention that things got a little...out of hand," he nervously said.
"You think?" Flo deadpanned, gesturing to the excavator machine and the destroyed grassy hill.
The Foreman nodded, "Right. Well, the thing is, we probably won't recover from this fiasco. We'll be in a bit of legal trouble so it's possible that we won't continue the construction of the dam."
Their eyes widened in surprise, "No way! That's great!" Ash cheered.
"Ash," Brock snapped.
"What?"
"No, it's fine," the Foreman said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Now that I'm looking at. I'm kind of glad," he told them, looking out over the landscape. Despite the ugly scar the machine had caused, the landscape was still very beautiful especially as the sun began to descend over the horizon, "It's wonderful. Really wonderful," he sighed before turning back to them, "anyway, sorry for all the trouble. If there's anything I can do to repay you guys then-"
He helped when Misty and Alice suddenly appeared in front of him, grinning up at him deviously.
"Really anything?" Alice questioned.
"We have something in mind," Misty added, causing the Foreman to gulp
Gaiva Dam Resort
Evening had arrived and the children, in their swimming costumes, and Pokemon were now relaxing in one of the hot springs at the resort, taking it easy after a long day. The foreman was going to write to his superiors about the diglett' habitat and, with help from the dugtrio and the diglett, proposed a better and more environmentally safer place to build the dam. The diglett colony was back to normal as well. Dugtrio promised to be a more understanding leader along with his brother and now the diglett can go back to what they love: digging.
"This is so good," Misty sighed in delight as she sunk into the warm water.
"Can we live here from now on?" Alice jokingly questioned with a serene smile on her face.
Brock laughed, "Unless you've got money to spare then sure you can."
"Hmm...I find the money somewhere."
"No way!" Ash cried, "I want to get to the next gym!" he complained before pointing accusingly at Charles, "This time we're going together. I don't want you leaving me to clean up the mess like you always do."
Charles chuckled, "Fine, I promise," he said with a reassuring wave of his hand.
Pikachu, who was sitting next to Benny on the side of the hot spring, turned to him, ("You guys are totally going to abandoned us after our gym battle, aren't you.")
("Yeah, probably.")
Flo hummed in surprise when she heard something shuffling from behind her head. She looked over the edge of the hot spring and saw a trail of upturned ground going around the spring towards the back of her head. She blinked curiously before she knocked on the ground gently. The pile of dirt squeaked in shock before the diglett she befriended popped up out of the ground with a sheepish look.
("Sorry, I wasn't tryin' to stalk ya or nothin'. I just wan'ed to talk,") he told her.
Flo smiled and scratched his head, "How can I help you? Is there something wrong with the colony?"
("No, nothin' like that. I just wan'ed to...err join ya on your travels, you see?")
Flo looked over at Charles for a translation, "He want to join your team."
"My team? Really? What about your colony?"
("Me old china plates are alrigh' with it. I says my farewells and everythin'. I may not be much of figh'er, but I'm handy with a bit of gardenin'.")
"He says his good at gardening. This might be actually good. Mantari can use a Pokemon to help with the field work," Charles translated again, causing Flo to nod in interest.
"That sounds great. More cultivated land means more medicines to grow," she pondered out loud before she turned to the diglett, "Yes, you can come with me. I'll have to catch you later since I don't have any spare pokeballs on me."
The diglett wiggled about happily, ("Cheers guv'nor! I won't let you down, I promise ya.")
"However, we need to decide a name for you," Flo hummed, "Maybe something ground related."
The diglett shook his head, ("I ain't into fancy, smart names. Just give me somethin' simple, common and easy to remember.")
Charles translated again, causing Flo to nod in understanding, "A simple, common name," she thought before she got an idea, "How about Tommy the diglett?"
("Tommy eh?") the diglett thought before nodding happily, ("Now tha' sounds like a name for me. Sal' of the earth, honest and hard workin'. You got yourself a deal, luv,") the now named Tommy squeaked.
While Flo and the diglett began to talk to each other, via Charles, Pikachu hummed thoughtfully, ("Strange. Usually Team Rocket would attack us today. I wonder where they are.")
("I'm sure they're somewhere,") Benny mused, ("No doubt cooking up another awful plan.")
Somewhere In The Forest
"Yes! We finally did it!" Jessie cheered in celebration as she hugged her newly evolved arbok.
"All that training and hard work has finally paid off!" James cried as he rubbed his cheek against a purple Pokemon with two spherical heads connected by a thin tube.
The left head was larger and had a more prominent jaw, sharp tusks and tired eyes that made it look utterly miserable. It also had a white skull and crossbones mark just underneath its mouth. The right head was much smaller and had a thin mouth with two tusks poking out and a white mark oval mark underneath its mouth. Both heads are covered in geyser-like protusions that, ever-so-often, spewed a purple gas out of it's body. This was a wheezing, the evolved form of koffing.
Arbok: It is rumoured that the ferocious warning markings on its belly differ from area to area.
Weezing: It lives and grows by absorbing dust, germs and poison gases that are contained in toxic waste and garbage.
Meowth smiled wickedly at the sight, "Great, with our new Pokemon; we are strong enough to defeat the twerps and steal all their Pokemon right now!" he declared.
"Yeah!" Team Rocket proclaimed as they pumped their fists in the air.
...
...
...
...
"You know, it's a little late. Maybe we should have dinner instead," James suggested.
"I was actually thinking the same thing," Jessie agreed.
"Let's steal those twerps Pokemon...next time!" Meowth declared again.
"Yeah!" they cheered once more before they began settling in for the night.
And that's it, hope you enjoyed it.
I had a bit of fun with the names today. Since it would have been confusing just calling them diglett, I decided to take a leaf out of Elisabeth Beresford's book and named them after places. If you haven't notice, the diglett are named after mining towns across the world. Also I pictured all of them speaking in cockney accent with Tommy, by far, having the strongest dialect.
Despite what I written, there's is a reference I had in mind when I came up with the name Tommy. In Cornish folklore, there were these gnome-like creatures known as Knockers (so called because miners would hear mysterious knocking sounds in the pitch dark mines) who live underground in mines shafts. This folklore crossed over to the U.S and they became known, for some reason that I can't find, as Tommyknockers (no relation to the Stephen King novel). So I knocked 'knockers' off and there you have it.
Make sure to keep an eye out for the next chapter, because I'm going to start writing it as soon as this publishes. I've have some ideas about the next gym battle against Koga that I would like to write as soon as possible.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time :)
Potential Pokemon List:
Charles
Nidoran (Female)
Gastley
Ponyta
Drowzee
Goldeen
Tauros
Aerodactyl
Onix
Grimer
Hoothoot (Johto)
Octillery (Orange Islands)
Pinsir
Salamance (Hoenn)
Metagross (Hoenn)
Dewgong
Elekid (Johto)
Flo
Psyduck
Nidoran (Male)
Kangaskhan
Cubone
Jolteon
Shellder
Weedle
Igglybuff (Johto)
Exeggcute (Orange Islands)
Qwilfish (Orange Islands)
Alice
Venonat
Rattata
Poliwag
Tangela
Spearow
Lickitung
Mr Mime
Spinarak (Johto)
Umbreon (Johto)
Rhyhorn (Johto)
Leaf
Gloom (Female)
Gloom (Male)
Leafeon
Exeggute
Parasect
Hopip