The Avatar Returns

It was nearly sunset. Gran-Gran and the villagers looked on ahead and saw Aang, Katara, Makoto, and Golduck running over to them.

"Yay! Aang's back!" the children were happy to see Aang and ran over to him.

Sokka, however, didn't look happy to see him. "I knew it!" He pointed at Aang. "You signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?"

"Aang didn't do anything. It was an accident." Katara defended the Airbender.

"Yeah, we were on the ship and there was a booby trap and we..." Aang was a bit puzzled on how to finish his sentence. "We boobied right into it."

Makoto shrugged. "They're right, we didn't mean to set it off."

Sokka turned and pointed at Makoto next. "Don't think you're off the hook either! I had a feeling you're a Fire Navy spy! I saw you bring this fire demon out of some strange ball earlier today!"

Makoto was surprised by that. "You saw that?"

Katara defended him next. "He's not a spy, Sokka! This may be hard to believe, but there's a reason Makoto got here!"

Before she could go any further, Gran-Gran shook her head. "Katara, you shouldn't have gone on that ship. Now we could all be in danger!"

"Don't blame Katara! I brought them here." Aang looked downcast. "It's my fault."

"Aha! The traitor confesses!" Sokka yelled. "Warriors, away from the enemy!" His words got the children to walk away from Aang. "These foreigners are banned from our village!"

Katara was angry about what her brother said. "Sokka, you're making a mistake."

"No! I'm keeping my promise to Dad. I'm protecting you from threats like them!" Sokka pointed at both Aang and Makoto.

"They are not our enemies!" Katara motioned to Aang first. "Don't you see? Aang's brought us something we haven't had in a long time: Fun." She motioned to Makoto next. "Not only that, but Makoto's just trying to find his friends and return back home to his dimension."

"First of all, fun? We can't fight Firebenders with fun!" Sokka raised an eyebrow as he glanced at the Pokemon Trainer next. "Second of all, you really expect me to believe that this guy's actually from another dimension?"

Makoto placed a hand on Golduck's back. "That seems to be the only way to explain my clothes and Golduck here."

"Get out of our village. Now!" Sokka told Aang and Makoto. Golduck glared at Sokka for the way he's treating his human brother.

Katara turned to Gran-Gran. "Grandmother, please, don't let Sokka do this." She begged her.

"Katara, you knew going on that ship was forbidden. Sokka is right. I think it is best if the Airbender and the boy with odd creatures both leave." Gran-Gran told her.

Makoto looked down a little. "Fine, I can take a hint." He looked at the villagers with a small frown. "If you all want me to leave, I'll leave."

Makoto began to walk away, but stopped when Katara suddenly grabbed him by the arm. "Then I'm banished too!" She told the village. She turned around and took Aang's arm next. "Come on, guys, let's go!" She walks them over in Appa's direction.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sokka asked Katara.

"To find a Waterbender!" Katara answered. "Aang's taking me to the North Pole!"

"I am?" At first, Aang was confused, but he brightened up. "Great!"

Sokka spoke to her again. "Katara! Would you really choose them over your tribe? Your own family?" His words got Katara to pause and gain a look of doubt and indecision.

Aang walked next to her. "Katara, I don't want to come between you and your family."

"Neither do I." Makoto added.

Aang walked ahead closer to Appa. "So, you two are leaving the South Pole?" Katara asked them in sadness. "This is goodbye?"

Makoto nodded a little. "I'm afraid so." He returned a saddened Golduck to his Poke Ball.

"Thanks for penguin sledding with us." Aang thanked her.

"Where will you go?" Katara asked them.

Aang had a hand on Appa's head. "Guess I'll go back home and look for the Airbenders." He thought back to when he last saw his home. "Wow, I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years. Not looking forward to that." He took a glance at Makoto and realized something. "On the other hand, I can always help Makoto find his friends and these Dimension Diamonds he mentioned earlier."

Makoto blinked before he turned to Aang. "You'd really do that?"

Aang smiled and nodded. "Yeah. If what you said is true, then you could get yourself lost if you go alone. But if you come with me and Appa, we can help you look around the world quicker." He Airbends on Appa's head and took hold of the reins. "So climb on, we've got some searching to do."

Makoto smiled and took Aang up on his offer. "Thanks, Aang." He walked on Appa's tail and climbed on to the saddle.

Aang nodded back at the Pokemon Trainer before turning to the village. "It was nice meeting everyone."

Sokka folded his arms. "Let's see your bison fly now, air boy."

"Come on, Appa, you can do it! Yip yip!" Aang encouraged the bison. Appa growls and just got on his feet.

"Yeah, I thought so." Sokka said.

A little girl cries and ran over to say one last thing to Aang and Makoto. "Don't go! I'll miss you!"

"We'll miss you too." Aang said while Makoto sadly nodded in agreement. Aang looks over at Katara one last time before looking away to shake the reins. "Come on, boy." Appa begins to walk off. Makoto looked back at the villagers and gave them a small wave. The little girl walks away in sadness.

Gran-Gran walked over to Katara. "Katara, you'll feel better after you-"

Katara angrily cuts Gran-Gran off. "You happy now? There goes my one chance of becoming a Waterbender!" She walks away in anger, leaving Gran-Gran to look on in sadness.

Sokka was directing the boys to the village gate. "All right! Ready our defenses! The Fire Nation could be on our shores any moment now!"

A little boy stopped and raised his hand. "But I gotta-"

Sokka just points to the gate. "And no potty breaks!"

In a frozen wasteland, just outside the village, Appa was walking through the snow with Aang and Makoto on his back, trying to find Makoto's friends and the Dimension Diamonds.

Appa growled. "Yeah, I liked her too." Aang replied to the bison's growl. The Airbender turned to look back at the Pokemon Trainer. "Hey, Makoto. What do your friends look like?"

Makoto thought of a way to answer that, but as he did, he remembered something else. "Here, I have some pictures of them. Let me show you what they look like." While scooting over to sit next to Aang, Makoto brought out his Rotom Phone and tapped on it a few times until he got to something he wanted. "Here." His Rotom Phone floated in front of Aang.

Aang was amazed by the floating phone. "Whoa! First of all, what is that?"

"It's my Rotom Phone, I got it from my Mom before I set off on my journey." Makoto answered.

"Why is it called a Rotom Phone?" Aang asked.

Makoto smiled as he answered the question. "Because a Pokemon named Rotom is inside the phone to help me out."

"Wow." Aang breathed in awe before he got back on track. He took a good look at one of the photos Makoto was trying to show him. "Anyway, these are your friends, right?"

Makoto nodded. "Well, three of them in this picture." He pointed at Nemona's image first. "The girl there is called Nemona. She's actually the first one I met before I went to my school called the Naranja Academy. She's really good at these things we do back home called Pokemon Battles."

"What are Pokemon Battles?" Aang raised a confused eyebrow.

"They're these things Pokemon Trainers like me tend to do." Makoto explained. "We send our Pokemon out as we get challenged by other trainers. We give out commands to the Pokemon until only one side is left to continue."

"Wait, you do this regularly?" Aang couldn't help but ask. He seemed pretty worried about the Pokemon.

Makoto smiled and brought out Meowscarada. "It's okay, Aang. They don't mind. Right, Meowscarada?" Meowscarada smiled and nodded. "Meow!"

"So, that's another Pokemon of yours?" Aang looked over at the Grass/Dark-Type.

"Meet my first partner Pokemon, Meowscarada. Also known as the Magician Pokemon." Makoto introduced his first partner who gave a small bow to the Airbender.

Aang smiled and waved back to Meowscarada. He turned his attention back to the phone and pointed at the image of Arven. "Who's he?"

"That's Arven. I met him some time after I met Nemona. Arven's a guy who enjoys the camping life. He really knows how to make good sandwiches." Makoto explained. "I actually helped him heal up a Pokemon he really cares a lot about."

Aang pointed at Penny's image. "Who's that?"

"Her name's Penny. At first, she's not real good with talking to new people. After I came and helped her out of a jam as well, she's really nice and fun once you get to know her. She's amazing with tech like my Rotom Phone and can even hack some interesting pieces of technology." Makoto explained.

"So, are Nemona, Arven, and Penny Pokemon Trainers like you?" Aang asked while looking at the picture of the four of them happy together.

Makoto nodded. "That's right, just wait until you see the Pokemon they take care of. They're strong and fun! In fact, I have another photo to show you." He tapped on his Rotom Phone until another picture appeared next to the picture he was showing Aang.

"Who are those two?" Aang asked, looking at the two trainers standing next to Makoto in the second picture.

"Those are my two friends that go to another school called the Blueberry Academy. I met them on a field trip to their home land of Kitakami." Makoto explained. He pointed to Carmine's image first. "That girl's Carmine. She's strong-willed and can be a little selfish, but she always looks out for her younger brother...even though she isn't the best at showing it." He sheepishly added the last part, along with this part. "We didn't exactly get along when I first came to her hometown, but we were able to become friends."

Aang looked at the younger of the two. "Is that her younger brother?"

Makoto nodded. "That's him. His name's Kieran, even though Carmine calls him Kiki. He's actually more kind than his sister. We became fast friends during my time in his home." He rubbed the back of his neck as he continued. "Though, our friendship got a little...bumpy after a while. Still, we were able to be great friends."

Aang grinned a little. In the first photo, he saw an image of something behind Makoto and his three friends of Naranja Academy and blinked in confusion. "Uh, Makoto? Is that another one of those Pokemon that's behind you, Nemona, Arven, and Penny?"

Makoto looked at the image himself. "Yeah, that's another member of my Pokemon team, a Fighting/Dragon-Type named Koraidon. He's not like most Pokemon I've met on my journeys, he's a little...unusual." He added a little uneasily, not quite sure how to explain it.

"Unusual how?" Aang asked in confusion.

Makoto was about to answer, but Meowscarada gave off urgent meows, interrupting their conversation. They both looked up at the Magician Pokemon on Appa's saddle. "Meowscarada, what's wrong?" Makoto asked his partner.

"Meow Meow!" Meowscarada pointed to his right. They both looked to see another Fire Navy ship sailing in the direction of... "The village!" Aang slid down Appa who stopped walking. "Guys, wait here!"

"Wait, where are you going?" Makoto asked. His Rotom Phone returned to his pocket on its own.

"That ship looks exactly like the one we went into." Aang answered. "The village could be in danger!" He ran off to help the village.

Makoto looked at Aang's retreating form before looking back in the direction of the village. They may have banished him along with Aang, but Makoto couldn't just let them suffer at the hands of whoever was on the ship. So, both Makoto and Meowscarada looked at each other in determination and nodded before they both jumped off of Appa.

Makoto turned to the bison. "Appa, if we're not back in a couple of hours, come and get us!" After hearing Appa's reply, he turned to his Grass-Type brother. "Let's go, Meowscarada!" Both trainer and Pokemon ran off to give Aang and the village a helping hand.

Meanwhile, both Sokka and Zuko were gearing up for the upcoming encounter with one another. Right now, Sokka was standing on top of the ice wall of his village, ready to defend it. He was scanning the mist for any sign of the Fire Navy. As he was scanning, the ground began to shake, making parts of the wall crumble while the villagers looked around in alarm.

Sokka looked around, and saw the watchtower he remade break into a heap of ice and snow. "Oh man!"

The scared villagers began to run all over the place. Katara was in the crowd, but she looked to see something big coming their way. Sokka's eyes widened as he saw it as well. "Ohhh man!"

It was clear that it was Zuko's ship that was now cutting through the ice all the way to the village. After getting Gran-Gran to safety, Katara was able to save a child from any kind of danger from the cracks before she looked back at Sokka. Her older brother was still bracing himself for anything. "Sokka, get out of the way!" She tried to warn him.

Luckily, the ship moving forward made the wall collapse into a pile of snow, carrying Sokka back to the village. Sokka looked up at the ship, just as the front opened up. Zuko and his soldiers are seen walking down to confront the villagers. Sokka charges in with a war cry, but Zuko just kicks the weapon out of Sokka's hand before kicking him off the ship. Sokka struggled to free himself from the pile of snow he landed in.

Zuko and his soldiers were now standing in front of the frightened villagers. He walks over to Katara and Gran-Gran. "Where are you hiding him?" He didn't get a response right away, so he decided to be more specific...by grabbing Gran-Gran and showing her to the villagers. "He'd be about this age? Master of all elements?" Still, he got no response. So he shoots fire at the villagers as a warning. "I know you're hiding him!"

Sokka got up and charged at Zuko again, but Zuko saw it coming and managed to flip Sokka over his head. He shot flames at Sokka, but he rolled away and threw his boomerang at Zuko who was able to barely avoid it.

"Show no fear!" A little boy handed Sokka his spear. He came at Zuko, but the prince was able to break the spear a couple of times while poking Sokka with the blunt end. Sokka backed away while Zuko looked down at him. Still, Zuko didn't even see the boomerang come back, so it hit him in the back of the head, making him even more angry.

Zuko was about ready to burn something, but suddenly, Aang came sliding into the scene on a penguin, sweeping Zuko off his feet. He landed in front of his soldiers...with his helmet landing on his butt. The children cheered when they saw that Aang came back, but the penguin he was riding on came to a stop and got the kids with snow...but they still cheered for a second time.

The soldiers were ready to strike, but they yelped when they were surrounded by a bunch of leaves that made them back away. A small vortex of leaves came next to Aang. When it went away, Makoto and Meowscarada were revealed to be standing next to the Airbender. The penguin got up and waddled away.

Makoto smiled in relief. "Looks like we made it in time."

Aang smiled at both Katara and Sokka. "Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka."

"Hi, Aang. Hi, Makoto. Thanks for comin'." Sokka dryly said.

Aang, Makoto, and Meowscarada looked back at the Firebenders. Zuko got back on his feet and was ready to strike while Aang was ready with his staff. Makoto and Meowscarada were ready as well when the soldiers began to surround them, but Aang was quicker as he uses his Airbending to blow them away. Zuko got hit with it as well, but he was able to stand his ground.

"Looking for me?" Aang asked Zuko.

Zuko looked incredulous. "You're the Airbender? You're the Avatar?"

Makoto blinked in confusion. "The Avatar?" Meowscarada was just as confused as his trainer. "Meow?"

But both Katara and Sokka were shocked by what was said. "Aang?" Katara asked. "No way." Sokka breathed out.

Makoto and Meowscarada just kept watching as Aang and Zuko began to circle around each other. "I've spent years preparing for this encounter. Training. Meditating. You're just a child!" Zuko told Aang.

"Well, you're just a teenager." Aang pointed out. Zuko fired some blasts, but Aang tried his best to block them, but some fire got a little close to the villagers, causing them to cry out.

Makoto gasped once he saw that. Thinking fast, he pulled out another Poke Ball. "Armarouge!" He tossed it and Armarouge appeared in front of the villagers, taking the fire to protect them.

Zuko saw that and couldn't believe his eyes. "What!?" Aang was surprised by that as well. Zuko looked between Armarouge, Meowscarada, and Makoto and soon it became clear to him. "I saw that the Avatar was with some unknown creature before I came here, but I didn't know that there were more...and that they came from you."

Sokka's eyes widened when he saw Armarouge. "That's the thing I saw with Makoto earlier today!" The Fire Warrior Pokemon glanced at Sokka before he turned to glare at Zuko.

Zuko looked at Makoto. "This is my first time seeing these creatures this close. Tell me, what do you call them?"

Makoto looked serious. "They're called Pokemon. The cat standing next to me is Meowscarada and the one who just protected the villagers from your fire is Armarouge." Meowscarada hissed at the prince while Armarouge braced himself.

"I see..." Zuko was ready to shoot some more, but Aang raised his hand to get him to stop. "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" the Airbender offered.

After a pause, Zuko straightens himself before nodding at the offer. "I'll do that." He turns his eyes to Makoto and his Pokemon. "However, the boy and his 'Pokemon' creatures have to come along as well."

While a bit surprised, Makoto gave Zuko a glare before he closed his eyes...and silently returned Meowscarada and Armarouge to their Poke Balls. "Fine." Makoto could only say before the soldiers took the balls and Aang's staff before they pushed the two of them in the direction of the ship.

Katara rushed forward. "No! Don't do this!"

Aang turned his head to her. "Don't worry, Katara. We'll be okay." He was roughly pushed forward. "Take care of Appa for me until I get back."

"Head a course for the Fire Nation. I'm going home." Zuko ordered, being the first back on his ship.

Both Aang and Makoto looked back at the village, giving them hopeful smiles as the ship began to close. When they saw that Katara's eyes were watering, their smiles went away just before the ship closed. This time, Makoto didn't even pay attention when the Synchro Machine sparked again in his pocket.

Some time later, the villagers were fixing up the mess Zuko's ship left behind.

Katara looked over to where the ship sailed away with both Aang and Makoto. When Sokka walked over carrying something, she spoke up. "We have to go after that ship, Sokka. Aang and Makoto saved our tribe, now we have to save them."

"Katara, I-" Sokka began.

Think he was about to say something against it, Katara cuts him off. "Why can't you realize that they're on our side? If we don't help them, no one will. I know you don't like Aang or Makoto, and I know you don't believe that Makoto's from another dimension, but we owe them and I-"

Sokka cuts her off next to make things more clear. "Katara! Are you gonna talk all day or are you comin' with me?" he gestured to the canoe floating next to him.

Seeing this made Katara happily gasp. "Sokka!" She gives him a big hug.

"Get in. We're going to save the dimension boy and your boyfriend." Sokka said after the hug.

"Aang's not my-" Katara started. "Whatever." Sokka shrugged.

"What do you two think you're doing?" They both looked to see Gran-Gran standing next to them. They tried to look innocent when it looked like Gran-Gran would scold them. But instead, she smiles and offers them a blue bundle. "You'll need these. You have a long journey ahead of you." Katara and Sokka were surprised, but they smiled with their grandmother as she continued on. "It's been so long since I've had hope, but you brought it back to life, my little Waterbender." She gave Katara a hug before turning to Sokka. "And you, my brave warrior...be nice to your sister."

She hugs Sokka next. "Yeah...okay, Gran."

"Aang is the Avatar, he's the world's only chance. Makoto is a boy who seems to be far from his home, he and his Pokemon have to find a way back. You both found them for a reason. Now your destinies are intertwined with theirs." Gran-Gran told Sokka and Katara.

Katara looked down at the canoe. "There's no way we're gonna catch a warship with a canoe." A low growl was heard. They turned to see that Appa was coming to them. "Appa!" She ran over to the bison.

"You just love taking me out of my comfort zone, don't ya?" Sokka grumbled.

On the ship sailing through the icy water, Aang and Makoto had their hands tied behind their backs while Zuko took hold of Aang's staff.

"This staff will make an excellent gift for my father." He spoke to Aang as he continued. "I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks." As he turned his eyes to the soldier holding Makoto's Poke Balls, he spoke to Makoto next. "As for you, you have an interesting way to carry those Pokemon with you. Keeping them in those orbs. They'll make good soldiers for the Fire Nation when we get there."

Makoto rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't count on it. My Pokemon won't take orders from anyone except for me."

"Then I guess we'll just make you a soldier as well, whether you want to or not." Zuko gave Iroh Aang's staff. "Take the two of them to the prison hold. Take this and the orbs to my quarters." After that, he walks away.

Iroh holds out the staff to the soldier holding the Poke Balls. "Hey, you mind taking these to his quarters for me?" The guard took hold of the staff as well.

Both Aang and Makoto were being escorted to the prison hold. "So..." Aang started to speak to the guards. "I guess you never fought an Airbender before. I bet I can take you both with my hands tied behind my back."

"Silence!" one of the guards said. They stopped at one of the doors. As one of the guards was about to unlock it, Aang drew in a deep breath and blew the guard with the key into the door, which also knocks Aang, Makoto, and the other guard backwards. They crashed into the stairs they came down on, but the guard was knocked out while Aang and Makoto had their impact cushioned.

Makoto smiled at the Airbender. "Whoa! That was pretty cool!"

Aang grinned while using the sharp part of the guard's helmet to cut the ropes. "Another good thing about being an Airbender." Once he was free, he helped Makoto break free of the binds. "Come on, we've got to find my staff and your Pokemon!"

Makoto nodded. "Right!" The two of them ran off to find their stuff.

One of the guards looked on and noticed the boys making their escape. "The Avatar and his friend have escaped!"

Meanwhile, Appa was swimming in the water again. Katara was holding the reins while Sokka was on the saddle.

"Go. Fly. Soar." Sokka drearily said.

"Please, Appa, we need your help. Both Aang and Makoto need your help." Katara begged the bison.

"Up. Ascend. Elevate." Sokka kept going.

"Sokka doesn't believe you can fly, but I do, Appa." Katara began to coax him. "Come on. Don't you want to save Aang?" Appa growled in reply.

Sokka tried to think back to what Aang said to get Appa going. "What was it that kid said? Yee-ha? Hup hup? Wahoo? Uh...Yip yip?" The last one got a response. Appa first flopped his massive tail, next he hops along the surface to pick up speed, and finally, with a mighty heave, he takes off into the sky.

"You did it, Sokka!" Katara happily exclaimed.

At first, Sokka looked excited. "He's flying! He's flying! Katara, he's-" He stopped himself once he saw the smug look on his sister's face. "I mean, big deal, he's flying." With that, Appa keeps on flying to save both Aang and Makoto.

Speaking of which, the two of them were running around the ship to find the room where they'll find the staff and the Poke Balls. While they were running, they saw some guards in their way with weapons aimed at them.

Makoto slowly waved at them. "Uh, hi? Have you guys seen my Poke Balls or Aang's staff around here?"

The guards were about to attack, but Aang grabbed Makoto and ran forward, up and around the guards by running on the walls and the ceiling. The guards looked back at them in surprise as the two of them kept running away. "Thanks anyway!" Aang yelled back to them.

They were trying not to get hit by anything the guards were throwing at them. Makoto even kicked a guard in the head when Aang tried running on the ceiling again. After giving the guards the slip, they tried many different rooms to try and find their stuff. The last one they opened had a sleeping Iroh. They didn't want to wake him up, so they slowly closed the door. "Sorry..." Aang and Makoto even whispered as they did.

They ran to continue their search...only to stop when they saw the staff and Poke Balls in another room. "My staff!" Aang smiled happily.

"My Poke Balls!" Makoto was relieved to see them again. They ran inside to get their things, only for the door to slam behind them. They quickly looked behind them to see that Zuko was the one who closed the door, waiting for them.

"Looks like I underestimated you two." Zuko started to fire at them, they barely dodged the attack. After dodging some more attacks, Aang rolls under Zuko to get behind him, making it hard for Zuko to fire at him. Makoto saw this and was able to bring his Golduck out to quickly counter a blast of fire with a Water Pulse attack.

Aang quickly grabs both Makoto and Golduck and creates an air scooter. Now they were riding around the walls and the ceiling of the room while avoiding the flames Zuko was throwing their way. Aang got rid of the scooter before he and Makoto grabbed a tapestry off the wall and wrapped it around Zuko. "Quick! Golduck, keep it in place with Ice Beam!" Golduck fired an icy beam from the gem on his forehead at the tapestry, freezing it up good.

Aang was amazed by what he saw Golduck do. "Whoa! That's amazing! What else can Golduck do?"

"I'll tell you after we get off the ship!" Makoto grabbed Aang's staff before he tossed it to the Avatar. Aang caught it just before Zuko broke free and began to fire at them again.

After a couple of seconds, Aang used his Airbending to send a mattress off the floor, making it smack Zuko against a wall. Just as he hit the mattress on the floor, Aang Airbends him and the mattress to the ceiling before they both fell down.

Aang, Makoto, and Golduck too the opportunity to escape. Zuko looked up in anger.

Aang and Makoto made it to the bridge, the hatch opens up and they and Golduck ran outside. Aang was first, so he opens his glider, throws it into the air and jumps after it. Makoto and Golduck were behind him. Aang caught the glider, Makoto grabbed on to Aang, and Golduck held on to Makoto. Still, Zuko was right behind them as well, he jumped and was able to grab Makoto's leg. Now the four of them were surprised as they fell down to the deck of the ship.

Aang, Makoto, and Golduck stood up to face Zuko again, but a sound was heard from above. "Duck!?" Golduck looked to see what it was...and his jaw literally dropped to his feet in shock. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Zuko couldn't believe it either. "What is that?"

What they were looking at was Appa who was flying with Katara and Sokka on his back.

"Appa." Aang happily said.

Makoto blinked in shock. "Whoa! He really can fly!"

Zuko didn't waste any time to fire some more fire at Aang and Makoto. The Airbender was deflecting them with his staff while Golduck was using Water Pulse to counter in order to keep the fire away from Makoto. During the clash, Zuko was able to knock the staff out of Aang's hand while backing Makoto and Golduck to the edge of the deck.

Zuko turned his attention to the Pokemon Trainer. "Golduck, use Aqua Jet!" Makoto yelled. Golduck shot off in Zuko's direction with one of his best Water-Type attacks, but Zuko fired some more...at Makoto. He tried to block it as best as he could, but it still knocked him off the boat and into the water.

Katara gasped. "Makoto, no!"

Aang gasped as well. "Makoto!"

Golduck cried out to his trainer before he ran off, jumped into the water and swam down to get to his trainer.

Golduck swam down and caught up to his trainer who was still sinking down to the bottom.

Aang and Katara could be heard calling out to the Pokemon Trainer. "Makoto! Makoto! MAKOTO!" Just after the final call, the Synchro Machine in Makoto's pocket suddenly gave off an even brighter glow than it did before.

"Golduck!?" Golduck didn't expect that. He didn't have time to completely react because, after he managed to grab Makoto's arm, the glow engulfed both Makoto and Golduck.

Back on the ship, everyone looked just as something shot up out of the water. They waited until the water went away...and they were shocked to see Makoto standing on top of a tower of water.

Something was different about Makoto, though. First off, his clothes changed to the same shade of blue as his Golduck. He now had claws at the tip of his gloves, the same webbing that was Golduck's was now between Makoto's fingers. His shoes changed into flippers that look like Golduck's feet. Also the boy also had the same red gem in the middle of his forehead similar to where Golduck had his. Not only that, but there were also four spikes on the back of his hat.

When Makoto jumped off the water tower, they saw that his eyes looked pretty blank, like whatever was happening to him was in control of his actions. Raising his hands, Makoto brought the water tower to him and changed them into two big balls of water. Clapping his hands together, he turned the water balls into a cyclone of water that knocked Zuko and some of his guards away. Aang was able to keep himself safe from the water.

Katara and Sokka saw the whole thing while on Appa's back. "Did you see what he just did?" Katara asked her brother.

"Now that was some powerful Waterbending." Sokka said in awe.

Aang couldn't believe his eyes. "Whoa..."

After the attack, Makoto groaned, his energy spent. As he fell backwards, he glowed again. After the glow, Aang saw that Makoto was now back to normal with Golduck by his side. The Duck Pokemon looked beyond confused as he looked around the ship.

Aang held Makoto up just as Appa landed next to them. Sokka and Katara got off to check on him. "Makoto! Are you okay?" Aang gently shook him.

Makoto groaned and opened his eyes. "Aang? Golduck?"

"Golduck!" Golduck happily hugged Makoto in relief, causing the trainer to gently rub the back of his Water-Type's head.

Aang turned to smile at Katara and Sokka. "Hey, guys! Thanks for coming!"

Sokka shrugged. "Well, I couldn't let you guys have all the glory."

Makoto turned to the Airbender. "Aang, what happened to your staff?"

"I dropped it before you fell off the ship." Aang answered.

"Got it!" Sokka ran over to pick up the staff. But, as he was about to run back over, a hand grabbed the other end. Sokka looked down and saw that Zuko was trying to use it to climb back up...so Sokka poked Zuko with the staff, making him let go, fall down and grab the anchor chain before he could hit the water. Seeing what he did to Zuko made Sokka laugh in triumph. "Ha! That's from the Water Tribe!"

Katara noticed that some guards were coming their way. She tried to get them with some Waterbending using the water that was left over from Makoto's attack...but it managed to freeze Sokka's feet just as he was running to them. "Katara!" Sokka began to chip the ice off with his boomerang.

Golduck saw the guards coming again, so he acted fast by firing his Ice Beam from his red gem. It was enough to freeze the guards in place.

Katara smiled at the Duck Pokemon. "Good job, Golduck!" The Pokemon grinned and gave her a thumbs-up just before Makoto, who was now wide awake again, returned him to his Poke Ball. Katara began to climb back up on Appa before she turned her head to her brother. "Hurry up, Sokka!"

"I'm just a guy with a boomerang. I didn't ask for all this flying, and magic, and creatures with strange abilities." Sokka finally freed himself before he ran over to get to Appa. "Yip yip! Yip yip!"

Appa takes off into the air just as Iroh stepped outside after his nap. "Huh?" He rubbed his eyes.

As Appa was flying away from the ship, Iroh helped Zuko back on the ship. "Shoot them down!" Zuko said. Both he and Iroh shot a combined blast of fire at the bison. Everyone looked at it in horror, but Aang jumped off and swung his staff to Airbend the fireball at a nearby icy cliff. The impact made the snow fall down on the ship. Aang, Makoto, Katara, and Sokka laughed as Appa kept on flying away.

Zuko and Iroh looked on as the bison flew away. "Good news for the Fire Lord. The nation's greatest threat is a young boy." Iroh told his nephew.

"That boy, Uncle, just did this." Zuko gestured to the snow covered ship. "Not only that, but the other boy just did something by using the power of his Pokemon. I won't underestimate them both again." He turned to give a command. "Dig the ship out and follow them!" But he saw that some of the guards were still frozen while other guards were trying to thaw them out with their Firebending. "...As soon as you're done doing that." He looked back to where he saw the Avatar leave...only now, he has another target.

As the sun was setting, Appa kept on flying off. Aang, Makoto, Katara, and Sokka were having a chat about what just happened on Zuko's ship.

"How did you do that?" Katara asked the Pokemon Trainer. "With the water, the clothes that were the same color as Golduck's skin? It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen."

Aang was excited to know as well. "Yeah! That was incredible! How did you do all that?"

Makoto tilted his head and folded his arms. "I don't really know. It just sorta...happened, like Golduck and I became one for some reason."

Sokka noticed something else. "Uh, Makoto? What's that on your left wrist?"

They looked to see that something was indeed now on Makoto's left wrist. The trainer was surprised to see what it was. "My Synchro Machine! But what happened to it?" It was true, they were now looking at what seems to be a smaller version of his Synchro Machine, but it now had a metal strap around it to fit Makoto like a wristband.

"What's a Synchro Machine?" Aang asked.

"It's a device that synchronizes my mind and feelings to my Pokemon so that we can work as one." Makoto explained. "I got it when I was at the Blueberry Academy. It was designed so that I could feel at one with my Pokemon, but never like what you guys just saw back on that ship."

Katara threw in her guess as to why the machine was acting differently. "I think it might have something to do with your interaction with those Dimension Diamonds you told us about."

Makoto turned to the Waterbender. "You really think so?"

Aang shrugged as he agreed with her. "That seems right. From what you told us what you've been through before you came here, it sounds like the diamonds gave some of your stuff and upgrade of some kind."

Sokka got a good look at Makoto. "So, I guess you really are from another dimension, aren't you?"

Makoto nodded. "I didn't really mean to leave my home, but the diamonds that brought me here had other plans." He turned to give Aang a smile. "But hey, let's not forget about Aang. If he hadn't have used his Airbending when he did, we'd probably still be on that ship as prisoners. Still, I'm a little surprised that he's actually this Avatar guy." Hearing that made Aang turn away from the group with a sad look.

Katara turned to the Airbender. "Aang, why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?"

"Because...I never wanted to be." Aang gave an honest answer.

"But Aang, the world's been waiting for the Avatar to return and finally put an end to this war." Katara told him.

Aang looks down. "And how am I going to do that?"

"Yeah, how can a single person end a war that's a century old?" Makoto asked with a shrug. He's still pretty new to how things in this dimension work.

"According to legend, Aang need to first master Water, then Earth, then Fire, Right Aang?" Katara answered.

"That's what the monks told me." Aang replied.

Katara gave him a smile. "Well, if we go to the North Pole, you can master Waterbending."

Aang smiled back. "We can learn it together!" He turned to Makoto. "Hey, we might be able to find Makoto's friends along the way, right?"

Makoto smiled and nodded. "It's worth a shot. We might even find the Dimension Diamonds as well. After all, they're what brought me here in the first place."

Katara turned to her brother. "And Sokka, I'm sure you'll get to knock some Firebender heads on the way."

Sokka liked that idea. "I'd like that. I'd really like that."

"Then we're in this together." Katara told the boys.

Aang pulls out a scroll and Airbends on the saddle to open it up and point some stuff to his friends. "All right! But before I learn Waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to. Here, here, and here." He pointed at some different spots on the map.

Makoto pointed at one of the spots Aang pointed at. "What's there?"

"Here, we'll ride the hopping llamas." Aang pointed at a different spot. "Then waaaay over here we'll surf on the backs of giant koi fish." Aang pointed at one more spot. "Then back over here we'll ride the hog monkeys. They don't like people riding them, but that's what makes it fun!"

As Aang went on, Appa kept on flying off, carrying the four passengers off towards their destiny!

Thus, once again, Makoto's adventure through the Elemental Nations with the Avatar truly begins at last! Now what you read about was the new version of one of Makoto's Synchro Forms, which was once again inspired by Sora's Drive Forms from Kingdom Hearts 2! The name of his Water Synchro Form will be the same as it was when a Floatzel was on the team, but stay tuned to see some more Synchro Form action as the series goes on after the editing is complete! Until then, see ya soon!