Not knowing about Spindel and his plan to keep them grounded before he makes his move, picking up where the previous episode left off, Dot immediately set to work on a redo of the Brave Olivine's system reboot. Despite her best efforts, however, the reception and connection needed to perform the reboot again were not functioning properly and it was grating on her.
"Augh! My god, why is this happening?!"
"This is just not our day!" she and Quaxly groaned in annoyance.
"Dot, what's going on in there?" Friede asked as he, Cap, Liko, Sprigatito, and Murdock waited outside her bedroom for answers.
"I've tried rebooting and a full manual system overdrive but nothing else! I don't know what's going on given how shotty our reception is!"
"Uh, Dot... Try to take a few deep breaths," Liko eased sheepishly.
"Still not getting a signal from Rotom Phones, huh? I can imagine Rotoscope already having the same problems on his end with Sarah and her family," Murdock stated, checking the reception from his Rotom Phone.
"Yeah! I've tried everything and there's absolutely no way to fix it!"
"But, from here, there's no connection between the engine and the wireless signals. So, maybe we can get some distance from here and-" Friede began.
"DON'T BOTHER! If you try to fly now, you won't be able to steer the damn thing 'cause the analog controls are all shot and the meters are out of whack! It's way too risky!" Dot screamed in panic as she cut him off and nearly unhinged her bedroom door with her voice alone, making the group flinch.
"Okay, I get it, relax," Friede replied sheepishly as he collected himself.
Just then, Sarah, Lazuli, and Race arrived after teleporting from the Dragon Craft's teleportation system and joined the group as the little princess reported, "Hey, guys, Dot! It's Spindel, he's found us and he's the one keeping us grounded! My family and discovered that he's using a horde of Magneton in addition to the one blocking us out at Artazon to jam your systems. He sent them to study us and our every move while we're all here acting like sitting ducks until he confronts us head-on."
"That's his game plan each time he was sent out; disrupt his foes from within and then hit and run. No one is safe from his ploys from the shadows and he's going to do the same thing to us unless he gets what he wants including our Terapagos," Lazuli added with a seething growl.
Dot gasped in shock and even Liko was taken aback as she cried out, "Really?!"
Sarah nodded as she replied, "Thankfully, my family's Dragon Craft is protected against the EMP waves the Magneton are sending out but Spindel doesn't know about it. However, he knew he could cripple the Brave Olivine more easily with their EMP waves so unless we somehow get rid of them, we won't take off as soon as we hoped."
"You're right, and Roy's not back yet when he and Fuecoco left earlier. There's no need to rush things on our end," Murdock agreed with concern before he reassured his niece, "That goes for you, too, Dot. Now, that we know what the problem was, let's just stay calm and keep a leveled head."
"Yeah, whatever..." Dot sighed with a slight grumble.
Murdock smiled happily at her response before he turned to Liko and said, "Liko, why don't you and I go back to Levincia and pick up the mood with a shopping trip?"
Liko just smiled awkwardly as the pair left for his next shopping spree and she thought to herself, "Um, t-that's... Quite the shift in tone."
Friede and the others with him smiled and chuckled in amusement but they soon heard Noctowl screeching as the former puzzled, "Was that Noctowl?"
Sarah and Lazuli heard the wild Noctowl again and they nodded, joining Friede aboard Winter and Galaxagus as he came aboard Charizard, joining the Owl Pokémon as it pointed them to the horde of Magneton that were sending out combined strings of EMP waves.
"A horde of Magneton? You're right, Sarah, Spindel knows we're here and he is trying to keep us grounded," Friede mused darkly as the trio, Charizard, Winter, and Galaxagus glared at the Magneton horde.
"I'll deal with them. I'll make that bastard wish he never came for me or any of you," Lazuli snarled as she pointed Galaxagus toward the Magneton, eager to give Spindel a taste of her revenge. "Galaxagus, shoot 'em down with your Flamethrower at full blast!"
Galaxagus was more than happy to give even a splinter or hint of the Explorers some pain as he fired a powerful Flamethrower that burned the Magneton to a crisp, making them panic from the surprise assault as they quickly scattered in fright and stopped emitting their EMP waves. It was also good news for Dot (while she was having another donut) because with the Magneton gone and without their EMP waves disrupting the Brave Olivine's systems, the internet reception was back online.
"That did the trick. Thanks, Lazuli, now we know how Spindel was able to do it," Friede thanked as he checked his Rotom Phone and saw that all communications were online and the remaining EMP waves emitted by one Magneton that remained (the one belonging to Spindel despite having been burned by Galxagus' Flamethrower attack) weakly disrupted it. "The Magneton before us were gathering and sending out EMP waves and we can bet whose Magneton was responsible for trying to keep us from leaving Paldea and right where he wanted us..."
Sarah and Lazuli agreed as the three of them watched Spindel's Magneton moving away, wondering if it was going back to its master to make a report on their current status and on the failure of the plan to keep them all grounded for a longer period.
With Roy and Fuecoco, they continued with their search for the wild Wattrel they encountered several minutes ago as they returned to the coastline where they confronted it. Surprisingly, however, while they checked the skies and the ground, so far, there had been no sight of the Storm Petrel Pokémon that once duped them for their sandwich.
"I don't see it, do you? I'm sure this was the place. We followed it all the way here, didn't we?" Roy mused to his partner.
"Maybe..." Fuecoco replied as he turned to his right and saw the Pokémon they were looking for, standing on a small rock ahead of them to their right and staring out into the horizon.
"I found you..."
(Theme Song - Anywhere My Pokémon Go)
I love watching how my Pokémon grow
I'm sharing everything my Pokémon know
(We open with Sarah and her family with the Viking Teens as they find themselves in Paldea as part of Sarah's vacation plan before the little princess and Race are shown finding Miraidon and Koraidon on the beach before meeting Nemona, Penny, and Arven from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet)
Nighttime, daytime, there are shining more so
I'll go anywhere my Pokémon go
(We see Sarah and Hootie joining forces with Liko and her partner, Sprigatito, as they all perform Leafage before we meet a boy named Roy and his Pokémon, Fuecoco, battling Sarah as she summoned her Primarina, Aqua, and they begin to have a battle. Then, we cut to one of the villains belonging to a new team of foes named Amethio using a Ceruledge to square off against Sarah as she fights with Kaji and Keldeo before a new Pokémon Professor, Friede, and his crew: the Rising Volt Tacklers are shown with their Pokémon)
Anything you wanna see, (Ooh!) anything you wanna do
Promise you can be with me, be with me, (Yeah!) I can be with you
(We soon find our heroes joined by Edgar, Henna, Stoick, Gobber, their Pokémon and dragons, Nemona, Penny, and Arven as they find themselves in Area Zero where Sarah's Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, Link and Zelda, are facing an army of Paradox Pokémon in front of them. Then, Sarah and Race's necklaces glow with the former accessing the power of Terastallization for her Pokemon as she Terastallizes and Mega Evolves them before the royal couple, the Viking Teens, Miraidon, Koraidon, Liko, Roy, Nemona, Arven, and Penny are shown together as they stare out into the heavens)
I wanna go around and around and around the world with you
I'll go anywhere my Pokémon go
Trials of Sarah: Pokémon Horizons
(End Theme Song)
Having found the Wattrel they were looking for, Fuecoco and Roy hid behind and under the grass while they watched it look at the flock from before, its eyes trained at the flock who were standing by the edge of a cliff which was actually not that big compared to the coast ahead of them. They had found the Storm Petrel Pokémon at a river leading to the sea but they still had no idea why it was not with the Wattrel flock.
"It's just like earlier, it's not with its flock. But, what's it doing?" puzzled Roy as he and Fuecoco watched the flock taking off towards a tall post made out of stone (presumably an old lookout post used in Ancient Paldea) and landing on it with ease.
The young boy was amazed by what he saw but he noticed the wild Wattrel eying the flock on the lookout with envy and giving off a reluctant and sad coo, making him worry for it. Fuecoco, however, paid no attention as he sniffed out something sweet from behind him and he went to see what it was. He saw a flower bush surrounded by a trio of Combee pollinating and with a couple of berries on it (even if they weren't ripe yet), and sniffing them out, he could make out the sweet scent of honey and without warning...
"HONEY!" he squealed happily, charging towards the bush.
"AHHHHH!" the Combee screamed.
The wild Combee trio soon scattered in fright and their cries attracted the attention of their creator/caretaker/mother, the Beehive Pokémon: Vespiquen. Of course, Vespiquen wasn't too pleased when she saw Fuecoco near their bush, especially after hearing the panicked screams of her Combee.
"You..." the female Bug Type snarled dangerously, startling Fuecoco as he paled and let out a frightened squeak.
"The Pokedex said that Wattrel always traveled in flocks so why is this one just...?" Roy quizzed as he looked at the entry involving the Electric/Flying Type on his Rotom Phone, oblivious to the danger his partner had gotten himself into until...
"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOY!"
"Hey, pipe down, you'll-AH!"
Roy turned back to his partner, and to his horror, he saw Fuecoco running for his life and screaming as he tried to escape the angry Vespiquen, making his way back to his partner and making the two of them run to get away from her. The wild Wattrel perched on its rock also heard Roy and Fuecoco as it turned back to them only to panic at the sight of the angry female Beehive Pokémon as well and join in the unintentional game of "Cat & Mouse" to escape from her wrath.
"This way, hurry!" the Wattrel called to them, sliding down and climbing up the slope leading to the river ahead as they quickly followed in their panic.
"Why are you chasing me?!" Roy pleaded to the Vespiquen who was too angry to listen to reason and continued chasing after the trio with Wattrel taking the lead.
Eventually, it stopped at the edge of the river, looking down at the river in front of it with a sweatdrop and immediately banking right, having the young treasure hunter and the Fire Croc Pokémon drop down with a plop. Thankfully, the river was deep enough to hide them from the angry Vespiquen as she lost sight of them and buzzed back to her bush and her Combee, allowing the pair team to emerge from the water. Seeing that they were unharmed, the wild Wattrel called out to them.
"Not fun..."
"Yeah, never again," they breathed in relief with Fuecoco getting on top of his partner's head, not liking being soaked in water one bit.
"Man... Hey, you dudes okay there?"
"Ha-ha, it's okay, I'm fine!" Roy grinned at the Storm Petrel Pokémon with a wave before Wattrel looked down at the river and shakily edged itself back while Roy and Fuecoco climbed back, getting a curious squawk from it as it looked at them. "Hey, Wattrel, I came to see you again."
But, Wattrel immediately backtracked and looped around them before it stopped at the river's edge and turned back towards them, wanting to see if they wanted another battle with it before Roy told them why they came back to find it.
"Uh, wait, hold on! Please, listen, I don't want to battle! I want to be friends!" Roy stuttered before he took out some Oran Berries he stuffed in his shoulder pack and presented one of them to Wattrel who gasped in surprise at it and smiled at him.
Moments later, the Electric/Flying Type was happily munching away at the berry it was given while Fuecoco happily helped himself to one Roy had given him. As he watched on, Roy thought back to the moment its flock was flying towards the lookout while it remained on the ground watching them from its rock.
"So, why didn't you fly off with the rest of your flock? Weren't they waiting for you by that cliff a little while back?" he asked the Storm Petrel Pokémon.
"What?" it asked, acting clueless.
"Fly, do you want to fly?"
"Fly?" Wattrel echoed before it spread its wings coolly at the boy in response with a smirk on its face.
Roy smiled at this as he took off his shoulder pack, hat, and vest and said, "Whoa, that's really cool! Okay, next up, check this out!"
He backed up and got a running start before he jumped into the river for a splash, shocking both Fuecoco and Wattrel as they cried out in panic for him until he resurfaced and laughed.
"This is the best! Your turn! Come on in, the water's awesome!"
Wattrel went pale as it twitched its left eye and sweated even harder, looking down at Roy in the water coaxing him to join him and imagining the river's edge getting higher before it was at a certain height in his mind before he warbled in panic and shook his head. Fuecoco (who had been cheering happily for his partner having fun) was surprised as he turned to its former rival, not understanding why the Storm Petrel Pokémon was so vehement over not wanting to join Roy in the river; what he didn't know was that the poor Electric/Flying Type had a severe case of height fright (A.K.A. Acrophobia).
Meanwhile, Liko and Murdock were continuing on their way to Levincia for their shopping spree, and along the way, Sprigatito and Rockruff (who were tagging along with them to keep them company) were continuing to gel with each other and have fun. Murdock couldn't help but smile as he watched them getting along with each other like a house on fire, having big smiles on their faces and mingling with each other while playing.
"Look at those two, they're practically best friends already," he chuckled sweetly.
Liko agreed before she inquired him about their shopping spree, "Hey, Murdock, I forgot to ask. What are we shopping for when we get to Levincia?"
Before he could answer that, however, the friendly cook felt like he needed to get something off of his chest as he turned to the young girl, bowed in thanks to her, and smiled, "Liko, I owe you and Sarah big time. When you decided to throw Dot her own indoor picnic and Sarah lent us some of her Pokémon to join her and Ludlow, I think you two brought that girl more joy than you'll ever know."
Liko was surprised, realizing that taking her out on a shopping spree was Murdock's way of saying "thank you" for getting Dot to open up to new experiences and with everyone else as she thought for a moment, "Wait, wow...! He really thinks that; was that the reason why he asked me to come with him on this shopping trip...?"
"...So, you think Sarah and I can keep being her friends with things like that from here on out?"
"O-Of course! Why, I'm sure Sarah would say the same thing if she was here with us. As far as I'm concerned, any friend of Nidothing is a friend of mine. To tell you the truth, I'm the grateful one here; Dot, in her own way, gave me the extra courage I needed to see this journey through," Liko replied warmly (despite still not knowing that Dot was behind Nidothing all along), thinking back to when Dot drew her that picture of her and Sprigatito to tell her they're friends/partners for life despite her previous insecurities about their relationship (which she was thankful for). "The reason I was able to tell my dad how I really felt about going on this journey was because Sarah and Dot were both there for me."
"Yeah, so in their own ways, they both gave you the push you needed to move forward," Murdock grinned as he could only agree, leaving Liko in silence for a moment before he asked, "Hmm, what's wrong?"
"Oh! U-Uh, n-nothing!"
"...I get it, you're worried that we can't launch because of Spindel?"
Liko thought back to what Sarah and her family knew about him and the rest of the Explorers thanks to Lazuli and everything they told her and the rest of her party and sadly lamented, "Yeah, I was feeling kind of anxious about that... I never knew that the Explorers were capable of being so cruel; after hearing what they and Spindel did to her, especially with erasing her memory and orphaning her when she was five, I, I still don't know what to think..."
"Don't sweat it, Sarah and her family will take care of them, especially Spindel when he shows his face here. I'm sure Lazuli will be edging for payback for what he did to her as well. We've gone through things like this a million times before. Well, granted, they never included two actual Power Rangers, but still... And, no matter what, we put our skills together and rock it like pros 'cause we're the Can-Do Crew!"
Liko couldn't help but playfully jab back, "I thought we were the Rising Volt Tacklers, aren't we?"
The two friends shared a laugh as they and their partners entered Levincia to begin their shopping trip as Murdock said to Liko as they came across an ice cream cart, "You know, we came this far in our travels. I think we deserve some ice cream."
"Ice cream, ice cream, ice cream! YAAAAAAAY!" cheered Rockruff as he and Sprigatito made their way to the city's ice cream cart.
Meanwhile, with Sarah, Lazuli, and Friede, they, Winter, Charizard, and Galaxagus were tailing Spindel's Magneton, hoping that it would lead them to his location and that he wouldn't get the drop on them since he had grounded everyone for a moment or two longer with his Magnet Pokemon and the horde it gathered.
"If he's using his Magneton and the wild Magneton in the area to keep us grounded, he's totally after your, Race, and Liko's Terapagos," Friede grimaced to Sarah.
"I expected this according to what Lazuli told us but he has no idea he's playing with fire when it comes to me and my family," Sarah frowned in reply, Lazuli remaining silent as she kept her angered eyes trained on Spindel's Electric/Steel Type.
Then, Friede heard his Rotom Phone ringing and he discovered that the call was from Orla, prompting him to answer as she called, "Talk to me, Friede, what's your status?"
"I might need a little more time here. Sarah, Lazuli, and I discovered a Magneton belonging to Spindel and we're backtracking to his current location using it as our makeshift guide."
"Okay, we got it covered. Dot's already restarted the system reboot."
"Alright, you take it from here, then."
"Roger that."
With Orla, Dot, and Mollie left in charge of the Brave Olivine along with Ludlow, and Sarah's family with the quartet to keep them safe from Spindel and the Explorers, the unconventional professor, the former Explorer, and the little princess continued to follow Spindel's Magnet Pokémon.
Back to Liko and Murdock; they, Sprigatito, and Rockruff were making their way back to the Brave Olivine and the Dragon Craft with an array of spices he found save for one he wanted to have for his cooking with their shopping spree done. As he looked through his spices, the friendly cook was proud of his selection as he found a variety of flavors he wanted to try out to make new dishes for everyone on the Brave Olivine (and even share with Sarah if she wanted to try some for herself).
"Ah-ha, we've got quite a haul for everyone! If only they had the Spicy Herba Mystica I've been looking for, it would've been perfect," he grinned before he sheepishly told Liko, "Sorry about that, Liko, it turned into an actual shopping trip."
"It's fine, I'm having fun and the ice cream back there was amazingly yummy so thank you. I think Sprigatito and Rockruff enjoyed it, too, by the looks of it," she replied happily, seeing how satisfied their partners were.
"Yeah!"
"You bet!" replied said Pokémon, having enjoyed their ice cream immensely.
However, as they made their way back to the Dragon Craft and the Brave Olivine, Spindel's Beeheyem was spying on them from nearby. It had heard everything that they said and gave Spindel the perfect plan he had in mind to capture Liko's pendant and hopefully get a lead on Sarah and Race's Terapagos before it teleported away to its master (even though, thanks to Lazuli, the heroes would be ready for him should he come out into the open and strike).
Along the way, the pair, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco noticed Roy and Fuecoco with Wattrel at the river leading to the sea, the two providing a series of training exercises to help the Storm Petrel Pokémon learn to fly and get over its acrophobia.
"Let's do this!"
"Up and away!" Roy and Fuecoco cheered as the young boy demonstrated to Wattrel how to jump off the edge (which was the first step to learning how to fly) by jumping off the small cliff they were on and into a pile of leaves.
"Nothing to it!"
"Yeah! It's really easy!"
"Roy, that you?" Liko asked, getting the trio's attention as they turned to her, Murdock, Rockruff, and Sprigatito.
"Oh, Liko, hey! Hi, Murdock!"
Murdock could only laugh at what Roy was trying to do as he got up from the pile of leaves and faced them, "What are you doing there, kid?"
"Oh, we're just sort of training," he replied, leaving Liko puzzled until she noticed the wild Wattrel he and Fuecoco encountered before.
"Training? Oh! You mean, this here is the Wattrel you and Fuecoco met earlier?"
"Yeah."
"So, by training, you mean practicing jumping...?" Murdock pondered.
"Well, it seems to have trouble flying; I think it's afraid of heights given that it can't get to its flock when the other Wattrel I saw into the sky. So, I figured this would be a good start for it."
Roy was right; after going through his demonstration, Wattrel backed up a bit to get a running start and it ran to the edge. But, unfortunately, like before, the Electric/Flying Type caught itself at the end of the small cliff, freezing in place as its acrophobia took over.
Murdock was intrigued as he could see that Wattrel was indeed suffering from acrophobia, "Hmm... You're right, it is struggling a bit from acrophobia, huh?"
"That's why we're training together. If I can help Wattrel overcome its fear of heights, it might be able to fly with no problem."
"That's so nice, Roy!" Liko grinned, liking what he was doing for the Storm Petrel Pokémon.
Roy nodded as he continued to beam, "It seems like Wattrel really does want to fly with its flock but I think it's holding itself back from its acrophobia. Plus, I want to fly, too!"
Murdock laughed at the thought as he quipped to the young boy, "You might want to ask Sarah's Pokémon for that if you want to help the little guy!"
"Her Pokémon?" Roy echoed before they heard a small coo and they were greeted by the sight of Sarah's Night Lights appearing before them. "YAH! What are those things?!"
"I-I don't know," Liko stammered as she and Roy never knew about Sarah's dragons before.
"These guys? Relax, you two," reassured Aloe as he appeared on top of Aegis' head. "They're Night Light dragons belonging to Sarah."
"Night Light? I don't know anything about that," Liko admitted in surprise as she thought to herself, "Is that what they're called? They're obviously not Pokémon but by the looks of it, they must be...Dragons! Real, live dragons?! I didn't think these creatures existed!"
"Wow, dragons? Real dragons, really!? AWESOME! Here goes, WHOO!" Roy gushed excitedly as he demonstrated the jump again to Wattrel, continuing to encourage it to fly and get the feeling of flying with Fuecoco happily joining him while cheering. "This gets me even more hyped to fly and thought that by doing this, we might be able to do it together!"
Wattrel looked down at the leaf pile as he considered everything he heard while Aegis and Gale's Tiny Tooth Night Light younglings fluttered around Wattrel, encouraging the Storm Petrel Pokémon to fly given they were bigger than it.
"I think they're encouraging Wattrel to fly," Liko noticed which got her and Murdock to join in cheering the Electric/Flying Type on.
"Well, are you gonna go for it?"
"You'll be fine, you can do it!"
"Go for it!"
"Do your best!"
With the barrage of cheers and encouragement coming from everyone around it, realizing that with the support it now has, it has nothing to lose, Wattrel steeled itself as it narrowed its eyes and prepared to make the big leap forward.
"Fine! Here goes! YAAAAAAH!" it shouted as it made the jump, landed on the leaf pile (despite flailing as it did so), and bounced back on its feet without a hitch.
The sight of Wattrel's successful jump amazed everyone and made Zap, Splattertail, and Goggles cheer for the Storm Petrel Pokémon as they knew it passed the first phase of its flight test with Wattrel opening its eyes in surprise over the jump it finally made.
"That jump was so cool!"
"You were amazing! Great work, Wattrel!" Roy and Liko praised excitedly.
"Huh?" Wattrel blinked, still surprised as he turned to the group before him.
"Yeah, you did it! You flew, just a little but you really, really flew!/You did it, you flew!" Fuecoco and Roy grinned happily in confirmation, causing Wattrel to blush in awe and realization as it did fly with that first successful jump.
"Wow... I DID IT!" it cheered, beaming brightly as it felt ready to tackle the next phase of its flight test.
Meanwhile, with Friede, Sarah, and Lazuli, they, Charizard, Galaxagus, and Winter were still following Spindel's Magneton, but to their surprise, the Magnet Pokémon led them to Levincia as they kept up with the Steel/Electric Type while it made the trip back to its master.
"Oh, come on. That thing led us all the way to Levincia?"
"Strange," Friede and Charizard mused before they and the rest of their party entered the city and followed it to an alleyway, leading them to a dead end.
The unconventional professor and his Flame Pokemon prepared to go into the alleyway and confront the Magnet Pokémon but Lazuli held out her sword in front of them to stop them, Sarah, and Winter from getting too close, "What's wrong, Lazuli?"
"That stupid transducing magnet went in there and it looks as though we have it right where we want it but I smell a familiar rat lurking around in there. I know Spindel's game here; remember, he's baiting us with a trap and he's looking to target you two, Charizard, and your dragon. He wants to know how you fight, especially given how much hell, you, the princess, and her hubby made Amethio and his posse go through," Lazuli informed him darkly, getting a suspicious feeling in her stomach as she eyed the Magneton.
"My thoughts exactly, this is just what Spindel wants; he wants to manipulate our current situation so he gets the drop on us without warning," Sarah added knowingly, glaring at the Magnaton.
"You two can tell that?" puzzled Friede in surprise.
"Twenty years with those slimeballs, remember? I know everything about them inside out since I was indoctrinated into their ranks and fought with them (which I never damned like given they killed my parents)," Lazuli replied, her anger towards the Explorers ready to explode at any given moment.
"And, when you have a manic of an uncle trying to kill you many times over just to take over the throne out of spite and jealousy, you learn a few things about a villain's psychology," added Sarah as Winter snarled at the Magneton belonging to Spindel in disgust.
"Still, though, the damn coward... He's trying to draw your fighting prowess out, and if you have your dragon confront him now, he'll know you have them and come up with a plan to counter them and their attacks. You two stay out here with your dragon and Charizard, we'll draw him out instead," Lazuli told the princess as she and Galaxagus prepared to enter the alleyway.
"No, Winter and I will deal with them. My dragons are not to be underestimated; they're much more powerful and complex than they appear to be and so am I. Spindel and the Explorers won't know what hit 'em," the little princess retorted as she prepared to enter with Winter.
But, Lazuli would have none of it as she wanted her revenge, stopping Sarah and forcing her back before telling her, "I have to do this for you; right now, it's not your fight. Even if you know you and your dragons are more than a match for the Explorers, they're still a force to be reckoned with; I should know, I aided them in their cause but not out of my own choice. I got you all into this mess with my eavesdropping, I'll get you out of it. Now, stay back and don't interfere. Galaxagus, inside, slowly..."
"Got it," Galaxagus replied knowingly, eager for some payback as they carefully entered the alleyway with Sarah, Winter, Charizard, and Friede watching them worriedly and hoping the pair wouldn't do anything stupid.
"Lazuli, what are you doing?!" Sarah whispered only to be ignored as Galaxagus and the swordswoman confronted the Magneton but kept their eyes and ears open for any sign of trouble from Spindel's trap.
They were right to be cautious as they saw the Magneton slowly turning towards them and heard a familiar eerie beeping sound, looking back to see a familiar Cerebral Pokémon blocking their only exit which left Lazuli seething with rage after she recognized the Pokémon in front of her.
"Beeheyem! I knew this whole thing was a set-up when Magneton appeared and gave my new friends grief!" she growled as she pointed her sword at the evil Psychic Type while Galaxagus snarled at the Magnet Pokémon and stomped his front right hoof along the ground at it. "Spindel! I know you're out here somewhere, you can't fool me! I knew this was a trap you set up for the princess and our friend here! Why don't you stop this charade and show yourself?! Now!"
"I've been waiting, Sweet Cheeks, but I never thought you'd wise up that fast to our little playdate given the trouble you've given us all when you betrayed us. But, it appears we've reached an impasse given you've now joined forces with the enemy. I will give you one chance to repent and make amends with us; would you like to join us once again and help recover her strange Pokémon and Liko's pendant? We're all crying out for your swordsmanship even though we got what we wanted. We're missing an important component in our mission and that piece is you," Spindel chuckled darkly from a transceiver device attached to Beeheyem.
"I'd rather dice you and serve you and your stupid Pokémon as Paldean stir-fry! You asshats killed my parents and ruined my life the moment you indoctrinated me into your stupid syndicate, and now, I'm gonna settle the score!" Lazuli barked back.
"You underestimate us, Lazuli; with you back in our ranks, our mission will be one step closer to completion and we already know the princess is here with you!"
"I don't care about your stupid mission anymore! You threw me out the moment I completed my work and gave my report, especially when you got what you wanted. I'm nothing to you; just a throwaway in the sea of darkness you've created. As you've shown me before, you know nothing about me or our targets given you wanted only their Pokémon! It doesn't matter what you plan to do with them, this ends now!"
Spindel laughed mockingly from where he was as he continued to taunt her, "Oh, but what about that Mr. Hu fella who failed to protect you after we snagged you away after sending your parents away? Surely, you don't want him to suffer and die the same way they did when they refused to hand you over to us, hmm?"
"I'm not gonna stand here and let you smear Mom and Dad's good name and trample over their memories and Mr. Hu! Let's see what you're made of! Come and get us *AND* the princess, if you can!"
"This time, it's personal!" Galaxagus agreed, getting into a battle stance as he glared at Beeheyem and Friede, Sarah, Charizard, and Winter continued to watch from the corner they were looking out from.
"Very well, then. Beeheyem, use Dark Pulse," Spindel replied, having his Cerebral Pokémon make the first move against the Pegasus Pokémon as it fired Dark Pulse.
"Dodge it, Galaxagus, quick!" Lazuli bellowed, allowing her father's partner to dodge the Dark Pulse attack while still keeping his guard up.
"Magneton, use Zap Cannon."
"Galaxagus, use Protect and follow with Air Slash!"
Magneton fired Zap Cannon to take down Galaxagus in one shot but the Pegasus Pokémon was much quicker as he used Protect to shield himself before he immediately dispelled his defensive attack and fired Air Slash at the Magnet Pokémon.
However, Magneton followed through with another Zap Cannon but before Galaxagus could counter again, Beeheyem used Psychic to hold him in place (essentially making Spindel cheat his way to victory) which irked Lazuli as she gritted her teeth at it.
"Wait, is that even possible?"
"No, it shouldn't be! Galaxagus is a Dark Type as well as a Flying Type, Psychic shouldn't have any effect on him and Beeheyem can't learn Miracle Eye even if it wanted to," Friede and Sarah whispered, seeing how improbable things were becoming for Lazuli and Galaxagus.
"Hmph, is this really the full extent of her talents after these last four months?" Spindel quipped arrogantly from his hidden truck, thinking he had Lazuli and Galaxagus right where he wanted them in their fight.
"Damn, I guess Spindel learned a few tricks or two to counter Galaxagus and his being a Dark Type! No surprise since we and Pantherra crushed him and the others along with their Pokémon throughout every training exercise before I made my escape, especially given the fact that Galaxagus is also a Flying Type which he clearly remembered. They won't work for long, especially since we've been working on a few surprises of our own in the last four months since then..." Lazuli thought as she took out a ball that looked similar to the one Brassius had on him.
"Not bad, Spindel, but your parlor tricks won't work on me. I've worked with you for so long, I know exactly what you're going to pull! Galaxagus!"
Galaxagus nodded as he neighed loudly and raised himself on his hind legs, kicking his front legs proudly as he broke free from Beeheyem's Psychic grip on him and shook off Magneton's Zap Cannon assault.
Spindel was undeterred as he then added, "Oh, so she's still got some fight in her as well as her flying horse. I'm bored, it's time to end this. Beeheyem, let's wrap this up, blast them as hard as you can with Meteor Beam."
The Cerebral Pokémon buzzed in agreement as it prepared to use Meteor Beam, charging up its Psychic Type energy into a concentrated ray of power to strike at Galaxagus with the full force of a meteor.
But, Lazuli scoffed as she raised her ball and it charged with a familiar power as she boomed, "Galaxagus, time to avenge our family!"
Friede and Sarah were shocked by the sight of the ball in her hands as they recognized what it was, "It's a Tera Orb!"
"But, how'd she get one?"
None of them, not even Winter and Charizard knew exactly how she managed to acquire a Tera Orb of her own since she never attended Naranja or Uva Academies as far as they knew but there was no time for them to think it out as Lazuli threw the orb at Galaxagus, having him turned into a pure Dark Tera Type (denoted by the crystal face that a had cool-dude punk-like smile atop him) crystal which allowed him to tank Meteor Beam completely.
Galaxagus neighed defiantly at Beeheyem as Spindel gasped and surprisingly marveled at the sight of his Terastallization, "She terastallized Galaxagus with a Tera Orb she somehow acquired; by changing him into a pure Dark Tera Type with it, she's ensured that no Psychic Type attacks would be effective."
"Galaxagus, use Tera Blast at full power! Shut down Beeheyem with all the power you have and show no mercy!"
"Get ready to pay the price for bringing death, never-ending pain, and destruction to our family! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHH!"
With no mercy shown towards the Cerebral Pokemon whatsoever, and going all out with the signature attack of a terastallized Pokémon, Galaxagus fired Tera Blast in the form of a supercharged beam of crystal energy at Beeheyem who couldn't do anything to counter or dodge the rage and hatred being thrown at it.
"Uh-oh," it buzzed with a frightened whimper as Tera Blast struck it hard and it was caught in an explosion that knocked it out cold.
"BEEHEYEM!" wailed a shocked Magneton as it was blown back while Sarah, Friede, Charizard, and Winter held themselves so they wouldn't be knocked back.
Lazuli, on the other hand, stood her ground as she eyed Beeheyem landing on the ground, unable to get up from the blast it took while Galaxagus returned to normal and snorted at the defeated Psychic Type.
"It is finished..."
"There you have it, Spindel! Despite you having found a small loophole to counter Galaxagus being a Dark Type, I see nothing's changed! You're still the same dishonorable and backstabbing little bastard who'd rather cheat his way to victory rather than fight fair! Come out and face Galaxagus and I like a man! Where are you? Show yourself! I'll make you see living hell for what you did to me and for you and your cronies for killing Mom and Dad, I know you and your Umbreon are around here, Beeheyem and Magneton can't be the only ones toying with us!" Lazuli roared angrily, ready to go at Spindel again.
Spindel just gave an amused scoff as his Magneton regrouped with Beeheyem and the Cerebral Pokémon managed to come to before it glared at the pair before them, quietly giving them dark and threatening beeps that sounded like, "This, isn't, over...Traitors."
With that, the Psychic Type teleported itself and Magneton away, leaving Lazuli and Galaxagus glaring at their original spots and knowing that they'll fight with Spindel and his Pokémon again.
"We'll be ready, count on it," the swordswoman vowed, knowing that it was only the beginning as Sarah, Friede, Winter, and Charizard came over to them.
"Master, mission complete."
"But, still... Please, exercise caution. Judging by that battle, Lazuli and her partners are still as strong as ever but there's a change in them with Terastallization on their side," Magneton and Beeheyem reported, allowing Spindel to nod in response and return them to their Pokeballs.
"Hmm, so Lazuli has obtained the power of Terastallization since she escaped... Not exactly what I wanted to see but she's proving herself to be quite the challenge as always, hm-hm-hm-hm-hm," Spindel chuckled darkly, knowing that things became interesting with Lazuli having taken him on. "However, I can imagine the two with her including the princess being the same even if I wanted to see what they're made of. Oh, well. In any case, next up..."
Dusk fell by the time Friede, Sarah, Lazuli, Charizard, Galaxagus, and Winter made their way back to the Brave Olivine and the Dragon Craft. But, as they were making their way back, they couldn't help but think back to what the swordswoman had been through during that fight with Spindel and his Beeheyem and Magneton.
"You were right, Lazuli. It was a set-up by Spindel," Friede mused to the former Explorer. "It's a good thing you took him and his Pokémon on before he could find out how we fight compared to you two."
"It's because I know his way and those of that stupid syndicate since they killed my parents and I was forced into their ranks. That's part of his endgames; using Beeheyem and Magneton to lure his adversaries into a trap and bring them down hard when they least expect it. Galaxagus and I may have clobbered them but it's not over yet since he'll still want to know how you guys fight somehow," Lazuli informed.
"You're right... Now, I see why you wanted us to stay out of that fight earlier; you guys do have a beef with Spindel and his Pokémon if you two wailed on them, especially Beeheyem, like that," Sarah admitted, impressed. "That also means we need to make our way to Galar as soon as possible. Once we get back to the Brave Olivine and the Dragon Craft-"
"Wattrel!"
A familiar boy's voice immediately cut the little princess off as she, Lazuli, and Friede looked down and saw Roy and Fuecoco with Liko, the Night Light family, Murdock, Sprigatito, and Rockruff continuing to help Wattrel learn how to fly. Since the Storm Petrel Pokémon managed to make the first jump earlier in the day, they decided to put it to the test by having it across the river now.
"It'll be okay, buddy, all you need is a little courage. You can do it!" Roy encouraged.
But, Wattrel shook its head as it squawked, "No-no-no! I won't do it!"
"It seemed like the easy way turned out to be not so easy," Murdock remarked just as the trio, Charizard, Galaxagus, and Winter arrived.
"What's going on?"
"What are you guys doing and why are Aegis, Gale, and their family with you?" Friede and Sarah asked.
"Oh, hey Friede, Sarah, Lazuli," Murdock smiled.
Later that night, as Lazuli and Sarah along with the Night Lights, Winter, and Galaxagus rejoined the latter's family, Mistral, and Mr. Hu to inform them about Spindel's trap and what he planned to do with his Magneton and the battle that followed, Friede, Liko, Roy, Fuecoco, Rockruff, Sprigatito, and Murdock returned to the Brave Olivine for a status report regarding the Brave Olivine's condition.
"Ah, I get it now. So, that's what that training exercise was all about," the unconventional professor grinned.
"Speaking of, where'd you, Sarah, and Lazuli run off to, Friede?" puzzled Orla.
"Hmm? Uh, nowhere special, just around. How'd everything go here, is the reboot done?"
Friede's Rotom Phone activated and Dot got on the call as she informed him, "I'm out to pull an all-nighter, I think. One reboot isn't enough to tell us where the magnetic interference from Spindel's Magneton and the other wild Magneton it gathered earlier today caused damage. I need to do a full system scan as long as he doesn't pull the rug from under us again."
"Got it, thanks," Friede thanked as Dot ended the call and he then announced to everyone gathered, "Assuming Dot doesn't get any more snacks, I'd say we're good to go for tomorrow."
"Yay, we'll be airborne again soon!" Liko smiled at her partner.
"Great!" Sprigatito meowed happily.
With Roy and Fuecoco on their end, the pair were worried for Wattrel as they knew they still had a lot to help it fly like the rest of its flock (promising to help it once more when they meet up again the following day before they leave). They tried to think of ways to help it get over its acrophobia but nothing came to mind as they were essentially stuck.
"Hmm, I want to build up its courage but how?"
"Yeah, but what?" they mused, trying and failing to brainstorm ideas.
Ludlow, who was doing some late-night fishing before he turned in for the night, was practicing his method of casting his line which got their attention. But, when Roy noticed his fishing pole and how he was practicing doing his "Perfect Cast", an idea suddenly struck him and he knew how to help Wattrel overcome its acrophobia the following day.
"Mr. Ludlow, I need a big favor!" he grinned at the old fisherman.
All the while, Wattrel looked at the lookout its flock flew up to and everything it had been through while it was training with its new acquaintances including the Night Lights, wondering if it'll ever be able to fly with their continued help.
As for Lazuli and Sarah, they, Winter, and Galaxagus told her family (who were still at the Dragon Craft and the cavern next to it with the modern airship now covered with Tsukumaro's Cave Inimicum) along with the princess and Race's friends from Uva and Blueberry Academies (who were briefly sent back to their respective academies to get their stuff ready for the long trip ahead of them) everything that went down while having dinner in the ship's dining room.
"I see, the Beeheyem and Magneton you've encountered were Spindel's Pokémon?" Virizion pondered.
"Yes. They're powerful but only when he has them planted in a trap that allows them to get an edge on their opponents and the Beeheyem Galaxagus and I clobbered was the same one that wiped my damn memory. Magneton is his main eye for surveillance and will only strike if given a code word. However, his true ace is his Umbreon and he's the trickiest and most formidable out of all of them but he shouldn't be too much of a problem since you got yourselves a Shiny Umbreon, one with a size advantage I might add," Lazuli confirmed.
"¡Ay, caramba! And, you and Galaxagus went to town on that Beeheyem of his knowing what they did to you?" blinked Nemona with a slight grimace.
"I have every right for us to send it to the infirmary as a warning to leave us alone, okay?"
"Liko also noted that while she and Murdock were out shopping, he was looking for some Spicy Herba Mystica for his cooking. I can only imagine that Spindel eavesdropped on them when he said that to her," Sarah put in grimly.
"Which means he must have a plan in mind to take Liko's Terapagos away from her, right under her nose," Penny deducted, getting a nod from the princess.
"He must've already got a jumpstart with that and no doubt he'll lure her into a trap with that spice the friendly cook wanted. I wouldn't be surprised if he's already setting things in motion that could determine whether or not we leave Paldea as swiftly as we hope," Lazuli informed.
"And, that's unless Roy can help Wattrel fly before Spindel finds out about him and takes advantage of them and Fuecoco to get some leverage against us AND before we depart," Kieran said.
"Then, I guess it's time we come up with our own plan to counter his little ploy," suggested Mr. Hu.
"But, apart from what Lazuli knows, if Spindel has another ace up his sleeve since he's now fully in the know about her, Pantherra, and Galaxagus, where should we start?" Eri reminded.
"Well, we won't know until we put our heads together and try to discover what else is his Achilles' Heel," added Carmine.
"You're right, kids. We'll need a trap of our own so we can fight fire with fire on that creep's end," Mistral concurred in agreement.
Everyone else agreed before David turned to his granddaughter and asked, "Well, Pumpkin, since you, Lazuli, and Friede know how Spindel fights and what he's up to with his espionage games. What's the plan of action you have in mind?"
"Well, I know one way we can pull the rug from under him and that involves one of my and Race's Kwamis along with one of our Miraculous," Sarah replied.
"Really, what is it?" asked Giacomo.
"I'll tell you all tomorrow. But, if Spindel enacts his plan and targets the Rising Volt Tacklers again at that time, I'll need a small group to stay with each of them."
The following morning, everybody was having breakfast before going about their day; while Sarah, her family, her and Race's Paldean friends, and Lazuli were having their breakfast peacefully in the Dragon Craft, the Rising Volt Tacklers were treated to a fantastic morning feast which included croissants, buns, bread loaves, patties, salad, and a large pie-like omelet that had everyone's mouths watering. Sprigatito and Rockruff, on the other hand, helped themselves to Pokemon food mixed with Oran and Pecha Berries which they happily scarfed down.
"This food always looks so good!"
"And, I'm diggin' in!" Liko and Orla cheered as the latter immediately scarfed down her first piece of the omelet along with Friede and Ludlow who also helped himself to a bread bun.
"Dot's scan of the ship is right on track," Murdock grinned as he arrived with an empty plate at hand, suggesting that Dot not only had her breakfast already but was also in brighter spirits with the progress made with the Brave Olivine's system scan following its reboot.
"Ah, so you gave her a plate, too?" Friede said, seeing Dot's plate.
"And, she seemed pretty happy to get it!"
"It's not like Roy to miss a meal," Liko put in, seeing that Roy and Fuecoco hadn't joined them for breakfast.
"Oh, when I told him that we were about to have breakfast, he said something about being too busy to eat," Orla replied.
With the young boy, he was getting his idea for helping Watterl get the hang of flying together in what he feels is the best way possible in the Brave Olivine's storage hull; taking inspiration from Ludlow, he was given a fishing pole, and at the end of the line, he had attached a harness he developed specially for the Storm Petrel Pokémon. Once he had completed it, he tested it out on a cardboard cut-out of Wattrel. He smiled at his handiwork, seeing that it fit the cut-out perfectly and knowing that it would fit the wild Wattrel as well.
"Yeah, it's done!" he grinned as Fuecoco watched eagerly.
"So, this is where you've been! Your breakfast is getting cold."
"Oh. Hey, Liko," Roy greeted, turning to the young girl as she found him and Fuecoco in the storage hull before she noticed his fishing pole and harness.
"What'cha got there?"
"I finally figured out a solution!"
After finishing his breakfast, Ludlow was back out on the stern while he held his hands out like he had an invisible fishing pole on him. It turned out that Roy asked him if he could borrow his fishing pole when he told him about his idea to help Wattrel practice getting the feel of flying after making the first jump possible. The old man was interested in the idea and he allowed him to borrow his fishing pole for the exercises he had in mind for the Electric/Flying Type.
He chuckled as he remarked, "There's more to luring than just a fish and a line."
While Roy, Liko, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco went to reunite with Watterl and finally help it fly, Sarah and her family along with Lazuli, Galaxagus, and Pantherra returned to their nearby training cavern. There, she proceeded to do a show-and-tell of what her plan of attack against Spindel would be involving her Dog Miraculous and its Kwami named Barkk (a light-brown female dog-like spirit with a 2-cm tail, gray-cyan eyes, drooping ears, a whisker on her forehead, a pink tongue, and a white mark present around her mouth, chest, and the bridge of her nose between her eyes).
"Hi! I'm Barkk, the princess' Dog Kwami, nice to meet you!" Barkk greeted happily with a paw wave.
"Oh, she's so cute!" Rosebud grinned cutely.
"Yes, such a uniquely adorable and peaceful specimen with the fighting prowess of a powerful and fully-grown canine despite her size," Buddha concurred.
"Ah, there is indeed more to your Kwami train. You've been holding out on us regarding the rest, haven't you, kiddo?" Mistral smirked, playfully eying the Dog Kwami.
"Okay, run me through this again. How is that supposed to take out Spindel?" Lazuli asked, feeling skeptical.
"That's the idea, Lazuli; while the Explorers know nothing about our dragons thanks to you and Galaxagus covering for us, you also didn't know about the Kwamis and the Miraculous because you've never seen them. After they were awakened, and following our last misadventure in Adventure City, when Snickers and the rest of the awakened Kwamis introduced Race and I to their siblings, we learned that Barrk's superpower is useful for one thing," Sarah replied.
"And, what would that be if nothing else?"
"One word: Fetch."
Lazuli stared at Sarah before she glared at her incredulously, placing her hands on her waist and snarking, "...Queenie, 'Fetch', really? That's a game you play with a dog using a toy or treat, is this some kind of joke?"
"No joke, Missy; Fetch can allow Barkk to find and retrieve a marked object even if it's out of the user's sight, far, far away, or if the user doesn't know where the object they want is located. Once the user calls upon that very power, a ball will fly towards that marked object and they will suddenly disappear and reappear in their possession upon the ball touching it," Race clarified.
"Yeah... I get it but I'm still having a hard time believing how a game of Fetch can get us one step ahead of Spindel and his trap games," Lazuli nodded despite having her doubts.
"It sounds like a good idea."
"But, how are we going to make it work?" Astrid and Zenna commented as everybody began to brainstorm ideas until...
"...Wait, I got it! Sarah, Race, what if we use your Animus Magic to somehow make Liko and Sprigatito immune to Beeheyem's Psychic power and switch out her Terapagos with a fake pendant? You know, a pendant that's a homing device in disguise which would lead us to where Spindel is hiding and get him off our backs for a while!" Fishlegs suggested, suddenly getting what he felt was a foolproof idea.
"Make Liko and Sprigatito immune to Beeheyem and its powers?"
"A fake pendant with a homing device?" the Viking Twins puzzled.
Fishlegs nodded eagerly as he explained, "Right! If we put Sarah in Liko's shoes for a moment, she can take her pendant or Terapagos and switch it out for a fake that's a cheap trick that'll pull the wool over the Explorers' eyes. Animus Magic is an easy type of magic to hide and it's made much easier to hide objects with it, hence the phrase 'hidden in plain sight'. If Liko has her Terapagos in its dormant form in her yellow bag, which she carries all the time, we can have Sarah and Race enchant it so it'll protect her and Sprigatito at all times and keep Beeheyem from wiping out her memories should Spindel make his move."
Hiccup was slowly starting to get what Fishlegs was saying as he pieced together and his eyes widened in realization and amazement, "...Then, once we pinpoint Spindel's hideout and thus catch him and his Umbreon out, the fake pendant he got will somehow cripple him. He won't know what hit 'im as he'll be running around like a headless chicken, wondering how we fooled him since he doesn't know a thing about Sarah and Race's Animus Magic or ours."
"And, Lazuli, if she's partnered up with Barkk and has her Miraculous with her, can use them in case that creep has goons that would try to cut us off!"
"Once her new Miraculous is activated and she's linked with Barkk, she can use Fetch to steal their Pokeballs..."
"...And, Mama can use her revitalization spell to make them blank slates and thin out the Explorers' numbers!" Astrid, Braixen, and Altaria gasped at the idea Fishlegs came up with.
"Maybe... It just might work!"
"It's genius!"
"We'll cripple the Explorers early on and give Spindel a thrashing!"
"He's so screwed now!" Arven, Penny, Drayton, and Lacey grinned, supporting the idea.
"Hmm, yeah... That's not a bad idea, releasing Pokémon with that dog and her power, a fakeout with a phony pendant, pulling the rug from under Spindel like that... Yeah, I like that," Lazuli smiled.
"Capital idea, Sir Fishlegs!" Tsukumaro commended, astonished.
"You think it'll work, Sarah?" Kieran asked the little princess as everyone else agreed.
Sarah nodded at her former rival as she told him, "It's got to, Kieran. Reader warned me that he'll strike later today according to her visions so if we stick with the plan, and it goes off without a hitch, we'll keep Spindel off our backs from that point forward. Sure, it might draw the attention of the other Explorers including Amethio should he and his posse rear their ugly heads again but it's the only chance we got."
With everyone in agreement on the plan, Barkk floated over to Lazuli and she giggled, "Looks like you're mine from now on, nice lady."
Lazuli blinked in bewilderment as she noticed Petunia happily cooed at her while clapping in agreement, "H-h-hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Wait, wait a minute! Don't I get a say in that aspect? Why me?! I didn't know the first thing about these Miraculous things! What gives?"
"Duh, isn't it obvious? This Spindel creep knows you're alive following your fight with him and his Pokémon so in addition to your partners, your kung fu, and your Tera Orb, using me can take him by surprise. You'll also see what it's like to be a holder of a Miraculous. Makes sense since I'm part of the Chinese Zodiac Kwamis, right?"
"That is true, the dog is one of the Circle of Twelve in our ranks. And, while they can be insistent, active, and cool-headed, they are also fiercely loyal, have a strong sense of responsibility, and a willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty. That's what fits you in your current state, kid. There's no one more worthy of a tremendous power than you, I have faith in you on that and more," Mr. Hu concurred proudly, having the most faith in Lazuli.
"If it does keep you safe from the Explorers even for a period, I'd say it's a reasonable route of attack and defense," Mistral finished as Sarah presented Barkk's Miraculous to the former Explorer who could only stare in surprise at what she was presented.
The Dog Miraculous was a black collar necklace that had an open end coupled with gray dog head shapes on the top of its edges, two rounded light-brown bead-like objects next to each head, and five larger brown bead-like objects at the front. Carefully, she took the Miraculous in her hands and placed it around her neck, locking itself and fitting snuggly around her neck before it changed colors to become a golden-yellow collar in its Camouflage Mode. Everyone gasped in awe at the Dog Miraculous before Tsukumaro produced a mirror and had her look at it; amazingly, she looked the part with the collar on her as it matched her current outfit.
Liberty gave an impressed whistle as she commented, "Lookin' good with that dig, girlfriend!"
"Gee, thanks..." Lazuli admitted, blushing as Pantherra gave her a gentle and happy nuzzle for his and Galaxagus' charge.
"Great! Now, to use my Miraculous, shout these words, 'On The Hunt', and presto, your new suit is a go! And, if you don't want it on, shout, 'Lay Down'. You got it?" Bark grinned, getting slow and silent but knowing nods from the swordswoman while the Terapagos Three happily cooed at their family and friends, giving them and Lazuli blessed smiles.
"So, now that we got that out of the way, don't you amigos have plans to train your babies right now?" Nemona questioned Race and Sarah as she looked at the three baby Tera Pokémon.
"Problem: we don't know if our first two Terapagos can learn the moves the third one did when Carmine, Kieran, and I confronted it in Area Zero. The only moves he knows are Earth Power, Tera Starstorm, and Gyro Ball and we're not sure how the Terapagos that came before it can even fight," Sarah said doubtfully.
"Perhaps... But, what if they're compatible with one of your TMs? Maybe they can learn a move from one of them until they can learn those attacks," Amarys suggested.
"Why not have them start with the Dazzling Gleam TM I gave you?" Ortega proposed to the little princess.
Curious as to whether or not Ortega's idea could work, Sarah took out her Festival Cinch Bag she kept during her, Race, Kieran, and their friends' exploits in Mossui Town and brought out the Dazzling Gleam TM he had given her. The Terapagos Three came over to her, looking curiously at the TM she had in her hands before she turned to and gently touched them with it. They cooed as they glowed in a pink light and gently hovered in the air, the Fairy Type move being transferred to them from the TM until the glow died down and she pulled the disk away from them.
Carefully catching their Tera Pokémon, the royal couple gently set them down before they looked at each other and nodded, deciding to see if they knew the Fairy Type move together now.
"Alright..."
"Ready, you three?" they began, getting eager nods from the Terapagos Three before they turned to a nearby rock a short distance from them and pointed to it, "Dazzling Gleam!"
Sarah and Race watched with bated breath as the Terapagos Three faced the rock and charged toward the rock with battle cries, glowing in balls of Fairy Type energy and destroying the rock with no problems at all. Everybody stared in shock and awe at what had happened; thanks to Ortega's TM, they both instantly learned and performed Dazzling Gleam.
"Okay..."
"Wasn't expecting that..." the royal couple blinked in bewilderment.
"Wow, the TM worked! Your Terapagos now know Dazzling Gleam!" Keldeo gasped in awe.
"WHEEEEEEEE! Fun, fun, fun! Now, training will be a blast!"
"Those baddies won't know what hit 'em, poi!"
"Yeah!" Mew, Ogerpon, and the younger Jungle Pokémon cheered.
"Are you kiddin' me, those little rocks pwned that stone with one move they just learned?! AND, FROM A FLOPPY DISK OF ALL THINGS!?"
"Unreal..." spluttered Etearnatus and Silvally in shocked disbelief, getting innocent giggles from the baby Tera Pokémon.
"Hey, Wattrel!" Roy called as he, Fuecoco, Liko, and Sprigatito reunited with the Storm Petrel Pokémon.
From the makeshift nest that it made the previous night to sleep in, Wattrel woke up to find them approaching him with Ludlow's fishing pole and the young boy's training harness for it.
"Good morning!"
"Huh?" Wattrel puzzled, seeing the harness and the cut-out of itself in it, being left unsure of what to make of the device.
"Okay, you watching? If I put it out, and lower it really slowly towards the river," Roy began as he demonstrated how the harness works, surprising the Electric/Flying Type as it watched closely.
"Whoa..."
"You got its attention now, Roy!" Liko grinned, liking how closely Wattrel was seeing how the harness worked.
Moments later, Wattrel was carefully fitted into the harness as Roy began his latest training exercise for it, the young boy being proud of how snuggly it fit in it as he grinned, "Yeah, it's perfect!"
"Oh, I see, it's like a perfect safety harness!"
"Exactly! This will help Wattrel get used to flying a little bit at a time following the jump it made yesterday. Once it gets some more practice and confidence, it'll be brave enough to fly up to that lookout post and join its flock."
"That's a great plan!"
"Okay, here we go..."
"Ready!" Wattrel signaled, allowing Roy to carefully put it out underneath the river and gently lower it down to a height low enough for it to begin training.
However, very quickly, the Storm Petrel came to regret going along with the plan as his acrophobia kicked in again and it squawked in panic before it closed its eyes and froze up despite having taken the first step forward to actually flying.
Despite this, Roy was impressed by how it was able to do under the safety harness as he cheered, "Yeah, first step forward!"
"You can do it, Wattrel! You're doing just fine!" cheered Liko before her Rotom Phone buzzed and she noticed an advertisement on it for the Spicy Herba Mystica spice Murdock had been looking for. "Hey, it's an ad from the grocery store. They have it in stock today?!"
Liko (unknowing that the advertisement was actually a lure Spindel put out) checked the advertisement again and remembered, "Hey, wait! This is the same Spicy Herba Mystica that Murdock had been looking for yesterday and they only had a limited quantity, too."
"Let's go get it" Sprigatito commented eagerly.
"Yeah, Murdock will be over the moon!"
"Hey, Liko!"
Liko, Roy, and their partners turned and they saw the little princess coming over with Aegis, Gale, and their family alongside her with something in her hands which was a necklace that had a pendant shaped like her Terapagos in its dormant phone (which was, in reality, the tracking device she and the rest of her party managed to make).
"You heading off to town today?" Sarah puzzled her young friend.
"Mm-hmm, there's a supply of Spicy Herba Mystica that's back in stock at the grocery store, surprisingly. I'm going to get some for Murdock."
"Okay, don't be too long since we need to get ready to leave for Galar to find your grandmother. I heard from Dot that once the full system scan is done and the Brave Olivine is cleared for takeoff, we'll be leaving tonight or early tomorrow morning. But, before you go, would you mind handing me your bag and your pendant for a minute?"
Liko was surprised, "My bag and my pendant, what would you want them for? You know Spindel's still out there, don't you?"
"It'll only be for a moment, I just want to check to see if they'll be alright."
"...Well, okay."
Trusting her best friend and taking off her pendant and bag, Liko handed her items to the little princess as she put the real pendant in the bag and brought out the fake pendant (the young girl not knowing that Sarah had secretly enchanted her bag to make it immune to Beeheyem's psychic power). Once she was finished, she handed back the bag and presented her with the fake pendant.
"Thanks, Sarah. And, don't worry, I'll only be gone for a few hours," Liko thanked as she fastened the fake pendant around her neck.
"Alright, but don't stay in town for too long. Remember, we're leaving tonight or tomorrow morning depending on Dot's finished with the full system scan on the Brave Olivine's systems," Sarah replied as she and Sprigatito went back to Levincia.
"Be back before you know it!"
"See ya tonight!" Sprigatito added as she and her partner disappeared.
"Well, that's that. I'm gonna head back," Sarah decided before she noticed Roy with Ludlow's fishing pole and Wattrel in the safety harness, getting a smile out of the little princess as she asked him, "A new plan to help Wattrel fly, I'm guessing?"
Roy grinned back, "Yep, I made that harness myself this morning and Ludlow was kind enough to lend me his fishing pole last night so I can help Wattrel get the confidence it needs to fly and join its flock up on that lookout."
Sarah nodded in approval as she added, "Then, I suppose you don't mind the Night Lights staying with you and Fuecoco to offer the little guy some support should he finally spread his wings and fly today?"
"Yeah, awesome! Thanks, Sarah, they've been a big help with Wattrel making that jump yesterday! I'd be glad to have them with me!"
"Yay! Draconic assistance for our new friend!" Fuecoco cheered with an excited grin with Zap, Splattertail, and Goggles sharing his sentiments as they cheered with him.
Sarah laughed as she replied before heading back to her family, friends, and Lazuli, "Alright, I'll leave you to it since you already know what you're doing. When it's time to leave, and once you're done, Aegis and his family will let you know. Don't forget if you plan on staying out longer, alright? If the Brave Olivine is clear for takeoff, we'll be leaving tonight or early tomorrow morning!"
"Okay!" Roy called as Sarah left and he turned back to Wattrel, ready to begin the next phase of its flight training. "Now, we go to the next step, you ready? But, this time, we're gonna go for a little more 'oomph', okay?"
"Right!" Wattrel replied.
The Storm Petrel Pokémon was carefully pulled back and pushed forward as it began to flap its wings at a fast rate, desperately wanting to fly and trying not to look down as it closed its eyes and squawked towards itself to not do something he'd regret. All the while, Zap, Goggles, and Splattertail fluttered near the Electric/Flying Type, chirping encouragingly at it while Aegis, Haze, and Gale, watched on in amusement while they lay closely on the slope.
"That's it, Wattrel!"
"You're doing it!"
"You're starting to get it!" the Tiny Tooth Night Lights grinned.
"That's it, you're getting it! Don't be scared!" Roy smiled encouragingly as he did his best to hold onto Wattrel as it slowly gained altitude. "Just try to relax!"
As Wattrel flapped, its wings started to spark electricity from how fast it was flapping. But, unfortunately, even one spark from the electricity it was building up was enough to destroy the harness, causing it to start diving toward the river.
"Oh, no!"
"Mr. Wattrel!"
"He's falling!" Zap, Splattertail, and Goggles panicked as they, Roy, and Fuecoco rushed over to the river's edge while he fell and Gale, Haze, and Aegis stood up in alarm.
"Oh crap! GYAAAH!"
"Wattrel, no! WATTREL!" Roy screamed, fearing the worst.
They soon heard squawking from their left and, to their surprise, they saw Wattrel gliding along as it continued to flap its wings (which continued to spark electricity) before it straightened them. It then squawked again before a small gust of wind picked up, carrying the Storm Petrel Pokémon and shooting it straight into the sky, right in front of its flock as it came back from wherever they were resting the previous night and they flew towards the lookout.
"Hey! Sis, Little Bro, Mom, Dad, Elder, look!"
"Mr. Wattrel, he's flying!"
"He's alright!" the Tiny Tooth Night Lights gasped in awe.
"Well, I'll be..."
"Amazing!"
"Wonderful..." Aegis, Gale, and Haze breathed.
"Alright, yeah!"
"You're flying, buddy!" Roy and Fuecoco cheered ecstatically, seeing Wattrel with its flock and making its way towards the top of the lookout.
Wattrel was astonished once it landed on the lookout and opened its eyes, seeing how high up it was, its flock standing with it from its left and right, and looking down at its new friends who helped it to fly. A broad smile appeared on its face and its widened eyes twinkled as it realized what it had done; with the help of its new friends, the little Storm Petrel Pokémon was finally able to fly, having taken on its acrophobia and won.
"...I FLEW!" it cheered as its flock happily and proudly congratulated it on such an incredible first flight to which it proceeded to tell its flock on how well it did.
"He did it," breathed Fuecoco, feeling happy for its friend while the older Night Lights smiled proudly and Zap and his siblings cheered the loudest for Wattrel.
"Hey! Roy!"
Roy turned to Murdock as the friendly cook came to check on him, having seen Wattrel finally fly as he arrived, "Hey, Murdock! Did you see that?"
Murdock chuckled heartily as he replied, "I saw the whole thing when I was just arriving, that little Pokémon out there was nothing short of amazing!"
"It sure was; first, its wings were giving off all of those crazy sparks, then, when it was carried into the sky by a gust of wind, it was able to fly its way to the top of the lookout tower!"
"Impressive, it really shows how hard you guys trained and how it was able to make it up there thanks to the support it got from you and the Night Lights. Now, what do you say we head back to the ship? It's about time to launch."
Roy was surprised that the Brave Olivine was cleared for take-off but agreed, and after saying goodbye to Wattrel, he, the Night Lights, and Fuecoco made their way back. But, Wattrel was surprised by this, keeping its eyes on Roy and wanting to repay him and the Night Lights for helping it fly.
Having made its mind up, it tried to get off the lookout post to call out to the young boy, his partner, and the dragons to join them and the rest of their crews and families but it nearly fell victim to its acrophobia despite the progress it made to overcome it. Its flock, however, knew that it was through its hard work with Roy and the support of Gale, Haze, and their family that it was able to fly in the first place and offered it cheers of their own while encouraging it to join them. Knowing its fellow Electric/Flying Types were right and knowing he owed them a lot for helping him fly (while also knowing that its flock can handle itself), Wattrel steeled itself and spread its wings, jumping off the tower and gliding over to Roy before it started to lose altitude.
As they headed back to the ship, Roy felt a little sad that he had to part ways with Wattrel after all the time he and Fuecoco spent with it since it stole their sandwich from the picnic the previous day since they and the others would be leaving for Galar.
However, the group soon heard the sound of wings flapping and they turned back to find a surprising sight behind them as Murdock said to Roy, "Roy, look."
Roy turned, and to his surprise, Wattrel was calling out to him as it flew towards him (while its wings sparked again), Fuecoco, the friendly cook, and the Night Lights, prompting him to ponder, "Wattrel? Wattrel, why are you...?"
Murdock grinned as he took out an empty Pokeball, understanding what Wattrel wanted and telling Roy while presenting it to him, "Roy, I think you better take this."
"Uh, yeah... But, it worked so hard to fly up to that lookout and join its friends. So, how can I...?" Roy replied as he took the Pokeball.
"With support from the Night Lights, you helped it do that. So, maybe now, it wants you all to be its friends."
"Yeah, we did him a big favor, didn't we?" Fuecoco concurred, having no problems having Wattrel on the team which made Roy smile happily for it.
Wattrel nearly fell into the river as it continued to cry out for him but thanks to a quick save capture, Roy was able to catch it, officially making the Storm Petrel Pokémon his second Pokémon in addition to Fuecoco. And, as the young boy and his new male Electric/Flying Type shared a happy hug, they and Fuecoco vowed to become the best of friends during their travels with the Night Lights giving their approval to him and Wattrel wouldn't have it any other way with his new friends and family.
Friede and Cap were also in brighter spirits as they stood inside the bridge because now that Dot and Orla had given the all-clear for the Brave Olivine to take to the skies again after the full system scan was complete, everyone was ready to go to the Galar Region to begin their search for Diana.
"Okay. Once Liko and Roy are back, we're out of here."
"Definitely," they noted, knowing they would be on their way the moment Liko and Roy return.
"Murdock's gonna be so happy that I found that Spicy Herba Mystica for him, I can't wait!"
"Me, too!" Liko and Sprigatito grinned as they made their way to the grocery store with her Rotom Phone showing the way, unknowingly making her way towards the same alleyway where Lazuli once confronted Spindel's Beeheyem and Magneton.
Speaking of which, the swordswoman in question had followed them according to Sarah's plan, knowing Spindel would be going after her incognito and unknowingly take the fake pendant around her neck (wanting to make sure that he doesn't wise up to the fake-out the princess had in mind). She soon followed them back towards the alleyway as Liko suddenly realized something was wrong, wondering if she had taken a wrong turn before she suddenly bumped into the Explorer in question (who was in disguise upon meeting her) and caused her to drop her Rotom Phone, scrambling it for a moment.
"Oh, excuse me, young lady. I'm sorry for bumping into you just now. Are you alright?" he asked kindly as Lazuli listened in.
"O-Oh, yeah. I'm fine, it's okay," Liko replied as she went to pick up her Rotom Phone while he and his Umbreon (who was with him after he decided to come out to the open and take action).
When she looked up, however, Spindel's Beeheyem appeared and it used its psychic power to try and wipe her and Sprigatito's memories, all of them unaware of the enchantment on her bag holding her real pendant which protected her and caused her to fake her forced amnesia (while also shielding her partner from Beeheyem's power).
"Huh, what was I...?" she puzzled.
"Are you sure you didn't lose something important?" Spindel asked again as he made his move.
"Something important...?"
"Excuse me."
With nothing else to say, Spindel, his Umbreon, and Beeheyem quickly took their leave, showing them the fake pendant he managed to snag off of the young girl and leaving each other none the wiser for their folly by Sarah's hands while chuckling darkly at his supposed "success" in his mission, "I can't believe how easy that was. Hm-hm-hm-hm-hm, and now for the princess and her husband's three Terapagos..."
Once she was sure they were gone, Lazuli appeared from her hiding place and went towards Liko and Sprigatito, the enchantment on her bag now wearing off as they stared blankly in front of them before the swordswoman knelt before them and knocked them on the head to wake them up.
"Ow... Hey," grumbled Sprigatito before she meowed and blinked in surprise. "Huh, wha...?"
"W-What just happened?" Liko mumbled, a little confused by what had happened.
"You and your kitty cat awake, kid?" Lazuli asked, getting Liko and Sprigatito's attention as they were even more surprised and confused as to why she was with them.
"Lazuli? W-wha... What was, how am I... Wait, w-what are you even doing here?"
"I'll explain later; for now, we've got to get back to the ship and the Dragon Craft... I don't know how much time we have until Spindel realizes he's been duped..."
To Be Continued...
