Liko - Our whole crew and our friends ran all over the Galar Region chasing reported Shiny Rayquaza sightings but while Sarah checked for his location through her magic, all of the leads we've been following came up empty. But, then, my grandmother made a suggestion and it took us in a new direction

A new day began when July 25th rolled in with Liko, Roy, Sarah, Race, Lazuli, Friede, Cap, Timburr, Woobat, Roggenrola, Galaxagus, Panthera, Lazuli's Alcremie (now named Delight), Blitz, Curly, Bella, Robbie, Sprigatito, and Fuecoco walking together in a marketplace, seeing various stands filled to the brim with food, technology, books, toys, clothing, and so much more for sale. But, they weren't the only ones at the marketplace because Hu, Mistral, and Sydney (all in their human forms so they don't cause a riot in their true forms) tagged along to keep Lazuli company.

The reason was to find a friend of Diana's who may know something else about the Ancient Pokeballs belonging to the Six Heroes coupled with Marena's immense experience and knowledge of them. Of course, the Dragonstone human advisor did throw in a bet last night; however, everyone on the heroes' side knew it was just for fun given that Reader told them about the Explorers shifting gears in their missions and having their sights set on Lucius' Rayquaza and they needed to take their minds off of them for a brief moment before they make their next move in their search for him and Lapras.

"Oh, wow...! Look at all this cool stuff here!" Roy gushed.

"Now, this is my kind of place! So much to steal, so little time, and-!" Sydney smirked slyly as he tried to sneak away only to be dragged back by Sarah and she gave him a warning glare, prompting him to huff at her, "Fine, fine... I remember, no stealing means nobody to hunt us down... Sheesh, buzzkill."

"I love open-air markets and this one is jumping!" Friede added, enjoying the market's atmosphere as shoppers poked around for what they are looking for.

Liko looked at a slip of paper containing the description and address of the shop they were looking for from her grandmother and pondered, "Hmm, I still don't see the stall... Grandma did say it would be around here after we got here this morning."

"Well, she did mention that there's one thing that denotes the stall we're looking for from the rest so we better keep our eyes peeled."

"And, we better pray that he didn't close on us by the time we get there," Sarah and Hu noted.

"Hey, why isn't Diana with us? Shouldn't she be here to ask her old friend, too?" Roy pondered to his fellow trainer and friend.

"Well, I did ask her if she wanted to come before we left the Brave Olivine and the Dragon Craft but..."


(Flashback)

While Terapagos, Larmina, Topaz, Garnet, Fuecoco, Sprigatito, Blitz, Timburr, Roggenrola, Woobat, Robbie, Bella, and Curly played together in the Brave Olivine's observation deck (which Diana occupied during her stay with the heroes), Roy, Liko, Sarah, Race, and Lazuli met up with the old explorer to ask her if she wanted to come with them to the market and find her old friend.

However, Diana politely declined as she told them (while pouring over a book she had on her), "*An old friend of mine runs a stall there, that's where I found this old notebook. There are some interesting notes about a paradise and...*"

(End Flashback)


"It's like all she thinks about now is deciphering that old book."

"Hey, kid, don't look now but I think we found a dead giveaway to the shop description your old lady gave us," Lazuli informed, pointing her group to a market stand ahead of them that had a Lampent, the Lamp Pokémon from Unova, hanging from it.

"Yeah, there! Didn't she mention a Lampent?"

"That's it! That's the stall we're looking for!" Roy beamed.

"Well, kids, time for Operation: Mythbusters. You know the drill - guy knows nothing about the Ancient Pokeballs and in comes the pizza you owe me," Marena chuckled with a cheeky smirk.


(Opening)

Now, head forth! Pierce through the clouds~

(Our opening for Part 2 of Pokémon Horizons (i.e. The Gleam of Terapagos) begins with Liko, Sarah, and Race in a triangle formation (Liko up top, Race from the bottom right-hand corner from her left, and Sarah from the bottom left-hand corner on her right) as their pendant and Terapagos Three shone in darkness before the former turned into Liko's Terapagos)

(We swiftly pan across the oceans akin to the beginning of the opening of Attack on Titan S4 Pt. 2 (The Rumbling by SIM) before stopping amongst the horizon as the titles for Pokémon Horizons: The Gleam of Terapagos appeared amidst a sunset/sunrise)

When I remember the words I couldn't say
I dove down to hide myself
Swimming my way through in uncertainty
I cut through the clouds and head for the blue sky

(We see a young Liko walking with her parents through a marketplace before we see her as she is, her uncertainty lifted as she holds and looks at her pendant underneath a moonlit sky from the rooftop of her family's house along with Sarah as she enjoyed her life in Alola growing up before she is shown holding her family's Sun Sword in its powered-down form as the young woman she is and held it above her head underneath the Alolan sun in a split-screen sequence. Then, in a flurry of Leafage and cosmic energy, we see the pair with their three Terapagos, Sprigatito, Hatenna, Blitz, Curly, and Silvally enjoying the breeze together on the observation decks of the Brave Olivine and the Dragon Craft)

One day, I'll look back
At that fiery red sunset
And burn it all into memory

(A young Roy is shown being fascinated by stories his grandfather was showing him until we see him as the boy he is (looking dirty all over and wearing the Brave Olivine's flag like a cape) eyeing the Ancient Pokeball that once held Lucius' Rayquaza in his right hand and raising it high above him in the rising or setting sun while Race is seen being found by Brandon, enjoying life with him and the other Frontier Brains, and being the man he is now as he eyed the camera and held a Pokeball in front of him while glaring at the camera in the same split-screen sequence before they're shown via Flamethrower, Shadow Claw, and Thunder watching the sunset on the Brave Olivine's Wing Deck and the Dragon craft's sun deck watching the sunset with Bella, Robbie, Tou-Tou, Wattrel, and Fuecoco)

Even if I can't reach the truth of the world~
Or the feelings of that girl~
It's okay to not understand~
Just shine like a rainbow~

(We are shown their friends and Sarah's family including a few of their Pokémon in five/six slot group sequences as follows: Friede, Orla, Mollie, Dot, Ludlow, and Murdock with Charizard, Metagross and Elekid, Chansey, Quaxly, Rockruff and Alcremie, and Quagsire; Burnet (with the cute addition of Lei) and Kukui with Munchlax, Incineroar, and Braviary joined by Diane, James, Nikki, and Johnathan with Romeo, Dragonite, Lucario, Clover, Catnip, Juliet, and Clover; Ash, Lana, Mallow, Kiawe, Lillie, and Sophocles with their respective partners; and Delilah, Doug, Donna (former queen), David, Asha, and Gladion with Mischief, Persian, the Tomoe Squad, Flicker, Flicka, June, Proud, Ziracon, Umbreon, Silvally, and Lycanroc; Goh, Nemona, Arven, Penny, and Team Star with Meowscarda, Pawmo, Killowattrel, Cinderace, Inteleon, Grookey, Mabostiff, the Eevees, Bisharp, Torkoal, Skuntank, Revavroom, Azumarill, Wigglytuff, Passimian, and Toxicroak; and the Blueberry Academy students with Hydrapple, Mightyena, Toucannon, Magmortor, Empoleon, Reuniclus, Whimsicott, Granbull, Flygon, and Haxorus)

(We see a smirking Cap from the Brave Olivine's bridge and Friede taking the wheel along with MK-1 on the Dragon Craft's Bridge at its controls with an eager bark, the three of them preparing to take everyone aboard their respective ships to new heights and continue discovering all the world has to offer among the horizons)

Now, head forth! Pierce through the clouds~
Stumbling, staggering~
Standing firm and reaching farther~
Now, run forth! Towards my future~

(In the horizons, with the heroes riding their respective ships, they dash forward with Lucius' Rayquaza roaring and flying alongside them before Liko, Roy, Dot, Murdock, and Ludlow are shown with their partners stumbling, running, or sliding along Rayquaza's body with Mollie, Chansey, and Orla following on Metagross and Sarah and Race tailing their new friends aboard Bolt and Winter with the rest of their family joining them before Marena and Stormcloud joined them. Meanwhile, Amethio is shown training with his Ceruledge and Corviknight with the former forced back by the latter and their master staggering to the floor and sitting on his ass from the intensity of the training battle. As his partners sparred, he gritted his teeth and tugged his shirt, feeling unsatisfied about the current progress he was making and wanting to do more to improve themselves and himself on something while Hamber and Dusknoir watched on)

At the end of this long, long journey
I'll remember you
One day, we'll shake hands
And laugh

(Lucca, Diana, and Liko were seen together with the final Terapagos in the young girl's arms who cried out and unleashed an energy wave, showing Moltres, Arboliva, and Rayquaza with the second half of the Six Heroes: Entei, Lapras, and Kleavor, in small bursts along with Lucius and Liko's Terapagos, before Sarah, Race, Liko, their Terapagos Four, Sprigatito, Rosie, Chili, Crest, Silvally, Tou-Tou, Robbie, and Bella along with a tearful Marena come across Lucius on a cliff point before they joined the Ancient Adventurer on his current spot)

A light appeared
At the end of the rainbow
And I found my dream

(We see the Explorers in short bursts along with a Tera Orb in Sarah's hand, Lucius' gear and records, one of the Terapagos Four in Stellar Form, and someone reaching out in between the heroes looking out to the horizon and the sun in the heavens before Sarah, Liko, Marena, and Race are seen face to face with the Six Heroes as the opening ends)

(End Theme Song)


Knowing they had found the stand Diana pointed them to and where her old friend may be, Liko and Roy led the others to it. There, they found a man who looked about the same age as or younger than Diana wearing tan-brown and sleeping as he manned it.

"Um, excuse me, Sir," Liko greeted, causing the man to wake up abruptly and notice he had customers on him.

"Duh! W-Uh-oh, a customer! Well, hello, hello! You've got excellent taste, young miss. Feast your eyes, I've got you and your friends the finest goods around," the man said to her.

"Actually, we were just-"

"Actually, your timing is perfect! No need to worry, I actually came across an item from my travels that is quite incredibly rare," the man continued, cutting her off as he went into a closet and pulled a blue bottle to show to the heroes. "If you feel like buying this, you can win any Pokemon battles guaranteed."

"Wow! Is that really true?" Roy gasped in awe as Friede, Sarah, Race, Lazuli, and Marena slowly grew suspicious of the man as he continued to ramble on.

"True blue, my friend; this here before you is full of a highly effective Sleep Powder. Just one dose of this stuff, and in no time, any Pokémon you meet in battle will be out like a light."

"Uh, but... If you fall asleep with everyone else when you use it, you don't actually win," Liko pointed out sheepishly, unsure of what to say about it.

"What she said," agreed Friede, also having doubts.

Already, Sarah, Race, Lazuli, and Marena either rolled their eyes, facepalmed, or snorted in response; they, too, could see plainly that the man wasn't a businessman as he claimed to be from his sales pitches. Even Hatenna had a bad feeling about the man before her, Liko, and their friends as she started to shiver with dread from Liko's jacked hood.

And, their suspicions only grew when the man pulled out a large slab of rock and said, "And, I promise this one will fascinate ya, the rarest of the rare: it's the fossil of a 20,000-year-old Rotom Phone."

Roy, since he was continuing to take in the sights and sounds he had never seen before given his isolation from the outside world and his life on his old island abode, couldn't help but gush in excitement, "Wow, your shop is the coolest!"

"There is no such thing as a 20,000-year-old Rotom Phone."

"I doubt any sort of Rotom were living at that time before now."

"And, technology wasn't even a thing before some things like electricity, phones, and science were developed."

"This has got to be a joke," Sarah, Race, Marena, and Lazuli scoffed.

"Agreed. 20,000 years ago, there were no phones," Friede nodded, knowing what the quartet was thinking.

Eventually, the swordswoman sighed before she finally asked the man, "Excuse me, but do you happen to go by the name of Teppin?"

"Yeah."

"A woman who's the grandmother of this kid here, Diana, told us about you before coming here. We came to ask you anything about an antique we have on us."

The man, Teppin, suddenly became flustered by the name of Liko's grandmother as he balked in bewilderment at the young girl, "Gah! U-Uh, Diana-?!"

"Yeah, I'm Liko. Hello," Liko greeted, bowing to him (with Lazuli, Marena, and the royal couple narrowing their eyes at Teppin upon his reaction to hearing Diana's name).

"Well, now, if it ain't Liko's grandkid! Sure, she and I go way back; we went on a few wild adventures ages ago."

"Wow, you and my grandma, really?"

"You betcha! You know, brings back fond memories of the time we went searching for this ancient forest ruin, and at some point, wound up on an Ariados thread, hanging upside down for a week! Thought we were goners; I know it sounds impossible but it's true."

"Whoa, for a whole week?" Roy breathed in amazement while Sarah felt that what Teppin was saying now was the truth.

"Wouldn't a whole lot of blood come rushing down to your head?" Liko asked Teppin.

"Hey, guys, is it just me or does this guy come off as kinda shady?" Friede quizzed the others who nodded in reply.

Liko nodded but told him nonetheless, "But, still... Apart from Marena, Grandma did recommend him."

"So, you've come here looking for something in particular?" Teppin quizzed, wondering why the heroes and Liko came to his shop.

"Oh, well, uh..."

"Oh, yeah! We were wondering if you know anything about Pokeballs that look like this. Is it something you know of and can help us with?" Roy replied as he brought out Rayquaza's Ancient Pokeball from his crosspack and showed it to the shady shop dealer.

"How do you have that?!" Teppin screamed, looking flabbergasted as he saw the Ancient Pokeball.

"Do you know about them?" Liko gasped.

Collecting himself, Teppin told the heroes (as he soon got a sly look on his face) and held out his right hand, "Not exactly but, uh... Would you mind if I took a closer look at it? Oh, and the backpack, too."

"Uh, sure, I guess so," Roy nodded before Sarah held a hand on his backpack.

"Hold it. If you specialize in antiquities as Diana said, why would you be so interested in Roy's Pokeball seconds after he showed it to you?" she puzzled, causing Teppin to see her heirlooms including her Twilight Amulet, Doug's Sun Sword, and Delilah's Moon Shield (obviously not knowing about Magearna since she was currently not with her charge at the moment).

"Hey, wait! That sword, that necklace, that shield, how did you come across those?!" he gawked in shocked amazement.

"Excuse me? If you're talking about my heirlooms, they belonged to me and my parents. Do you know something about them, or better yet, who told you about them in the first place?" Sarah asked Teppin, still suspicious of his motives.

"D'oh! Uh, well, it's nothing to be concerned about, miss. I've heard much about you from hearsay and the news reports about you and your family. But, if it wouldn't be too much of a bother, would you mind if I look at them for a bit?"

Still wary of him but already having a plan in mind, Sarah replied, "...Okay, but only for a brief moment."

With that, she unlatched her Moon Shield (after placing a hidden tracker on it), removed Cosmic Grace from its sheath (and not without putting a second tracker on the blade), and brought out her Twilight Amulet (but instead replacing it with a fake amulet of the same design) before handing them to Teppin who eagerly took them, Roy's backpack, and Rayquaza's Pokeball to "look" at them.

Everyone was surprised and Roy didn't know what she was thinking as he puzzled her, "Sarah, why would you-huh?"

He was suddenly stopped when Sarah raised a finger to her lips and hushed him before giving the young adventurer a wink and a smile before she subtly pointed him to her amulet which was still around her neck. At that moment, Roy realized what she did and nodded with a knowing smile, agreeing to play along as they and everyone else watched Teppin do what he wanted with the Ancient Pokeball, his backpack, and her heirlooms (which took too long for Sarah's liking even though she had to bear with it so she and Roy could know what's up).

After he was finished, Teppin handed them back to the heroes as he innocently replied, "Sorry, fellas, but it appears I don't know a single thing about them."

"Oh, great... Guess that means it's Pizza Time for Marena."

"Well, we tried," Roy and Liko sighed.

"Well, I'm sure it's worth a shot and we shouldn't let it get us down that much," Friede reassured.

"I didn't think of it that way."

"Anyway, thanks for your help, Sir!"

"You're welcome, Young Miss. Goodbye, everyone, take care while on your travels and say 'Hi!' to Diana for me!" Teppin nodded as the group left the stand before Hatenna perked up and suddenly started whining and crying.

"Trouble! Bad! Bad! Bad man, bad man! Bad, bad, bad, bad! Not nice, not nice! NOT NICE!" she squealed frantically.

"Hatenna? What's wrong?" Liko asked her before everyone heard Fuecoco's stomach growing.

"Fuecoco, you must be hungry, huh?" Roy asked before his stomach growled as well.

"Guess we all know what that means," Hu chuckled knowingly as Roy blushed sheepishly.

"Well, it is close to lunchtime, right? What do you say we grab a bite to eat? We could also think of ideas to help us start making that pizza we owe you, Marena," Friede replied as he looked between the heroes and Marena.

"Fine by me," the human Dragonstone advisor nodded.

"Is that what it means, Hatenna, you hungry?" Liko inquired only for Hatenna to continue babbling frantically as everyone went off to find a cafe while Sarah and Roy shared knowing nods as they eyed his bag and the Cosmic Grace's sheath (where her arrow quiver was), deciding to see what Teppin was on about after eating.


A little later, the heroes finally found a cafe where they had their lunch and decided what to do next regarding their mission to find any actual leads on Rayquaza's location(s) with Friede suggesting, "Maybe we should ask around at some of the other shops while we're here."

"It's worth a shot if it meant finding that Rayquaza but I'm not holding my breath if we end up with another dud," Lazuli quipped as the heroes and the Pokémon ate their lunch until Liko's Sprigatito stared at the sheath where Sarah's Sun Sword used to be.

Then, Sarah and Roy noticed the latter's bag starting to move and even Timburr saw it moving as he heard it rustling. Looking at each other and getting the same idea, the three of them nodded quietly before the young adventurer and the little princess carefully got off of their seats and Timburr smacked the bag, opening it and revealing a startled Foogus as it quickly hopped away from the group.

Marena gasped before she looked inside the opened bag and cried in horror, "Oh, no! My Ancient Pokeball for Rayquaza, it's gone!"

The others save for Roy and Sarah gasped in horror before Liko turned to Sarah's sheath and touched it, seeing it fall over and showing fake material in it, leaving the young girl to gasp, "Sarah! Your sword and shield, they're both gone, too!"

"We know, we realized earlier that Teppin stole them from us," Roy reassured, much to everyone's surprise.

"Wait, Roy! I thought you would be shocked and devastated about Marena's Pokeball being stolen!" Liko blinked at him.

"How did you know your Pokeball was gone and Teppin stole the kid's heirlooms?" Sydney added in disbelief.

"Well, you can thank Sarah; the wink she gave earlier told me she had a plan in mind to figure out what Teppin planned to do with her heirlooms and my Pokeball after he got his hands on 'em. While she removed the Sun Sword, the Moon Shield, and the Twilight Amulet, I could've sworn I noticed her placing something on her sword's blade and the shield and took out another necklace that looked exactly like her amulet. The real amulet was still around her neck when she pointed me to it. I don't think Teppin noticed it when he stole them from us," Roy replied, chuckling.

"Wow, that's using your heads there, you two," complimented an impressed Friede.

"Pretty crafty," smirked Cap in agreement.

"The only thing I'm worried about is what happened to Teppin and what he's going to do with them should he slip out of town. And, what's more, what would drive him to commit such a dirty trick?" Sarah wondered.

"Let's head back to the shop and confront him, see what he's trying to do!" Roy suggested, getting nods from everyone.

Quickly, they doubled back to where Teppin's shop was only to find the stand completely empty just as they arrived and he was nowhere to be found.

"Argh! Damn it, where'd that bastard go?!" Lazuli raged, slamming her hands down on the stand in frustration.

"Excuse me, Sir, the man who ran this shop here earlier...?" Liko asked one of the shopkeepers from the group's right.

"Oh, you just missed him. The shopkeeper had closed up early and said he was leaving, no idea where he took off, though," the shopkeeper replied.

"Is that so? If that's the case, it looks like Teppin just pulled a fast one on us," Sarah deducted.

"Yeah, that must be it! It's obviously why you didn't trust him with your heirlooms and placed hidden trackers on them! You think so, too, Friede?" Roy noted before he turned to the unconventional professor, knowing how skeptical he was about Teppin earlier.

Friede nodded in reply, telling everyone, "Along with Sarah, Marena, Lazuli, and Race, I had a funny feeling in me that Teppin wasn't speaking through his heart with us when we met him and he pulled off this little fiasco. While he did his thing, did any of you notice that weird glint he had in his eyes when he looked at Marena's Pokeball? You know, the kind of glint Sydney had when he had his eyes on a prize he felt worth snagging for himself? He must've swapped it out for that Foogus when we weren't looking."

"So, it's true then!"

"That conman stole it from under our noses despite Sarah and Roy catching on seconds or minutes after?" gasped a shocked Hu and Mistral.

"Seeing as he had disappeared without a trace just as quickly, I can't think of a better explanation than that."

Liko gasped as she finally understood what her Calm Pokemon was so frantic about, "Wait, Hatenna, was that what you were trying to tell us earlier?"

"Yes," Hatenna cooed in response.

"I'm guessing she picked up on that guy's sneaky intentions just as we did."

"I see... Sorry, Hatenna."

"Well, hopefully, he hasn't gone too far and since he closed up shop when we got here, he's probably making his way out now."

"In that case, anybody up for a little 'Hide and Seek' with that creep before he makes off with Island Girl's heirlooms and Marena's Pokeball?" Race suggested.

"Yeah/Yes!" everyone agreed before they rushed off to find and confront Teppin.

"That jerk better be ready 'cause I'm gonna give him a Galar Miner Knuckle Sandwich once we find him!" Timburr vowed.

"Me, too!"

"And, me!" agreed an angry Roggenrola and Woobat.

"Why would he take Marena's Pokeball and Sarah's family heirlooms?" Liko pondered.

"Well, he is an antique dealer and Doug's sword, Delilah's shield, her amulet, and Magearna (if she were here) are all five hundred years old. But, I would rule out her quiver even though he made off with it as well, Either way, they're powerful and any crook in the black market would be coughing up a ton of money for them... Wait! You don't think...?" Friede theorized before he gasped.

"You mean the Explorers are in on this?" Liko fretted, knowing that if Cosmic Grace and Sarah's Arrow Quiver fell into the hands of Amethio and Spinel along with their fellow agents and Hamber, it would be a disaster for everyone.


In another part of the marketplace, as he was heading up and out of town with a Bronzor, a Honedge, Lampent, and a Cryogonal assisting him with his stuff, Teppin was on his Rotom Phone, "Yeah, all of them, top primo condition. I promise you'll be thrilled when you see them, I'm delivering them right now. And, when I get there, I expect an ample reward."


"Damn! He's not around here, either! I swear... When we find that stickman of a swine, I'm gonna tear him a new hat..."

"Which way did he go?" Lazuli and Roy fretted, knowing they didn't have much time as Timburr, Roggenrola, and Woobat frowned worriedly at their dear friend.

"He could be anywhere at this rate!" Blitz sighed.

"We have to find him! If we lose Teppin now, we'll never get Mommy's items and Ms. Marena's Pokeball back!" Curly pleaded.

"Why don't we all split up? We can cover more ground that way, Charizard!" Friede suggested as he summoned his Flame Pokémon.

"Ready to fly, Bros!" Charizard roared as his partner and Cap got onto him while Lazuli, Timburr, Roggenrola, and Marena quickly boarded Panthera and Galaxagus with Woobat flying alongside them.

"You four go in that direction while Marena, Lazuli, and I search from above. One thing, though - If you find him, call us from your Rotom Phones. Until you know what kind of hand he's playing, don't start any battles, alright?"

"Okay," Liko and Roy nodded.

Sarah and Race also agreed with the little princess adding (while she secretly held a small remote to activate the hidden trackers she placed on her sword, shield, and the fake amulet she had given Teppin), "Sure thing, Friede, but unless he's already pawning off my family heirlooms, Marena's Pokeball, and my quiver, we're going to have to take drastic measures to ensure he doesn't make off with them."


With that, and after she secretly activated the hidden trackers with her remote, the group split up with Lazuli (joined by Timburr and Roggenrola) and Freide taking to the skies on Charizard and Galaxagus and with Woobat flying alongside them while Panthera jumped over the rooftops with Marena hanging onto her. In the meantime, Race, Liko, Race, Roy, and their partners stayed in the market as they went to their left, hoping to spot him from terra-firma despite how crowded it was for the day.

"He could be anywhere at this rate," Liko wondered as they looked around.

"And, any of these people could be Teppin which gives a whole new meaning to 'Looks can be deceiving' so it's best if we don't act rash-Roy!" Race shouted as Roy jumped a guy who looked younger yet had Teppin's outfit, the young adventurer mistaking him for the conman.

"Sorry, Sir, I thought you were someone else!" Roy apologized, ashamed for his mistake as the man became disgruntled and left.

"Roy, take it easy. I know you want to get back at Teppin for his trick, but remember, Friede told us to call him, Lazuli, and Marena before we do anything after we find him," Sarah gently chastised.

"You're right! But, since he got your family's heirlooms and your quiver, how exactly will we be able to catch him?"

"Well, good thing we have a loophole since he knows nothing about their magic. Observe," she replied, concentrating her magic and scanning the area through her mind to find her heirlooms' magical signatures, holding her hands out as they shimmered in a golden light.


Amongst the stash that made up Teppin's "shop", along with the activated trackers, the Sun Sword and the Moon Shield started to shimmer in response to their owner's magic, the glows blinking on and off without his knowledge and that of his Pokémon. As the thieves made their way through the back allies, little did they know that the lights from both heirlooms attracted the attention of two Ghost Pokémon who sensed their presence. The two Ghost Pokémon were a female Gengar and a female Mismagius who eyed Teppin and his Pokémon suspiciously after seeing the sword and shield.

"I'll tail the crooks, you get the princess' friends," the Shadow Pokémon informed the Magical Pokémon who nodded and floated off while Gengar melted into the shadows of the alleyways to keep an eye on Teppin and his team.


Soon, Teppin, Bronzong, Cryogonal, Honedge, and Lampent were turning down the alleyway they came out of towards a nearby street, knowing they were close to the path that'll take them to whoever the conman called earlier.

"Ha-ha! This is it, gang, we're almost home free," he smirked before he suddenly noticed Friede, Charizard, Cap, Mistral (in her dragon form while carrying Sydney and Hu), Lazuli, Galaxagus, Timburr, Roggenrola, Marena, Panthera, and Woobat appearing from overhead. "WAH! Impossible! How'd they catch on so fast?"

Realizing they were about to be caught now that the heroes found him, Teppin slipped behind the cart and brought out the Sun Sword, the arrow quiver, the Moon Shield, and the fake amulet (completely overlooking the hidden trackers on them). He quickly handed the royal items to Bronzong and handed Lampent the Ancient Pokeball he slipped into a small bag, tying it to him so the Lamp Pokémon wouldn't lose it.

"Take these to our usual place and be quick about it. Make sure nobody touches them, now go!"

"Sir!" the four Pokémon saluted as they rushed down another alleyway before the heroes finally confronted the conman that lied to them earlier.

"There you are!" Friede frowned at Teppin as Charizard, Galaxagus, Panthera, and Mistral regrouped and he, Cap, Lazuli, Hu, Sydney, Marena, Timburr, Roggenrola, and Woobat all glared at him. "I think you know why we're all here, Teppin."

"Ah, yes! My inquisitive customers! Wasn't expecting you to be back so soon after I closed up shop for the day, what can I do for you?" Teppin replied in a poor attempt to look innocent.

"You know perfectly well why we're meeting you again here and now. You got a few things that belonged to me and a charge of mine and we want them back," Marena huffed, unfazed by his act.

"Don't you play dumb with us, we know that you stole Sarah's Sun Sword, Moon Shield, her amulet, and her arrow quiver along with a Pokeball belonging to this woman here. So, give them back before there's any trouble," Friede added darkly.

"What? What are you playing at? You fellas think I stole a few items from your princess and her friend? Oh, no, no, no, no... It can't be, I'm afraid you've made a mistake."

"So, you don't mind us checking out your stupid stock before we rip you a new one given your lies?" Lazuli snorted as she ripped the white cloth off his cart's stock and looked around for the items they were looking for.

"Hold it, Lazuli, Freide, I wouldn't check it. Our items are not there," Mistral halted.

"Hmm?"

"...What?"

Seeing where Mistral was going, Hu nodded as he noticed something odd about the cart's stock, "Think about it, remember when the kid told us about their magical properties? Her family's heirlooms would've had magical signatures on them so she could track them down without a hitch should any other tracking system fail. If that's the case, they would've given us a signal when we arrived."

"Yeah... If they did, then that probably means he tagged them off to his Pokemon after seeing us come after him. So, buster, mind cluing us in on what happened to your partners in crime and her toys, hmm?" Sydney nodded, also getting the idea.

Teppin winced in fright as he realized that the creatures that talked caught in on his getaway scheme while the heroes gathered and pondered over their next move, Friede having caught on with their line of thinking as he mused, "So, that's it, he gave his Pokémon the heirlooms and the Pokeball, got it..."

"So, we should widen our search to find them if they made it out of the market."

"Or, maybe, we could drag him along and we can weed something about their current location out of him before they make off with-"

"Take this!" Teppin sneered, having managed to sneak behind his cart and lift it over to trap them but not without Mistral, Hu, Sydney, Lazuli, Timburr, Roggenrola, and Woobat scrambling out of the way in time.

Not so lucky were Cap and Friede as they ended up under the mess he left behind and the conman quickly ran for his life but not without the swordswoman, now in a rage for his latest underhanded trick, chasing after him and showing no mercy (forcing Timburr, Roggenrola, and Woobat to tag along).

"BASTARD!" she screamed as she drew her sword and charged after Teppin, barreling her way through bewildered shoppers and shopkeepers which prompted the conman to run faster to escape from her as best he could.

"Kiddo!"

"Hey!"

"Wait!" Hu, Mistral, and Sydney shouted after her but were too late as she disappeared.

"He's getting away!" Panthera roared.

"Charizard, Mistral, Sydney, you help Cap and Friede! I'll get the kid!" Hu ordered as he shifted back to his human form and went off to find Lazuli, her tagalongs, and Teppin before any trouble could commence.

"MOVE IT!" Lazuli, completely at her wit's end with Teppin, barked at the startled customers and shopkeepers she barreled through as she kept her eyes on the conman while he continued to run through the market. "OUT OF THE WAY!"

With Sarah and her group, they were still following the magical signature of her family heirlooms when...

Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring!

"Rotoscope?" Sarah called to her Rotom Phone.

"I hear ya, girl; incoming message 1-0-1 from Bookman Friede," Rotoscope replied as he answered Friede's call.

"Hey, Friede, what happened? You guys alright?"

"Yeah, Teppin gave us the slip when we found him and he had his Pokémon take your family heirlooms and arrow quiver along with Marena's Pokeball to somewhere else where we won't find them. But, Lazuli's gone after him with her tagalongs joining her and I'm afraid she snapped given what he did. Hu's already tailing her but I don't know where those two will end up nor what she planned to do to Teppin if she caught up with him so keep an eye out wherever you are," the unconventional professor called.

"Will do," nodded Sarah as Rotoscope ended the call and she and her party made haste in their search for the culprits. "Well, looks like it's up to us now since Friede and his crew are tied up."

"Lampent! Where's that Lampent?" Liko breathed as they ran.

"Don't worry, we'll find it! We have to! Right, Fuecoco?" Roy reassured before turning to his partner.

"Scout's honor!" agreed Fuecoco.

"FREEZE! GET DOWN! COME BACK HERE, YOU SKINNY LITTLE CRETIN!"

Race, Liko, Roy, Sarah, and their Pokémon flinched over Lazuli's rage-filled yelling and the frantic screams of the shopkeepers and customers she scared and continued to barrel through in her chasing Teppin, knowing that they had to act fast and find the conman's Pokémon before they lose Marena's Pokeball for Rayquaza and Sarah's family heirlooms.

Eventually, they saw Teppin's Lampent and Bronzong carrying said items (the Pokeball still in its bag) out of a hidden alleyway, thinking no one was looking, and they immediately knew they found the antique dealer's partners in crime.

"Quickly! This way, hurry!" Lampent whispered to Bronzong, Cryogonal, and Honedge as they snuck out down another alleyway.

"Look, there it is!"

"Wait, it isn't alone!" Roy and Liko gasped.

"After them!" Sarah shouted.

"WHA-DAH! BUSTED!" screamed the four Pokémon before them in a panic before they darted down the alleyway they were heading for.

"Wait!"

"Thieves!" Roy and Fuecoco cried as the heroes chased after them, the four Pokémon hurriedly heading into a museum to hide.

"They went in there!"

"Yeah!" Liko nodded as they hurriedly entered only to discover that they had vanished somewhere inside the museum amongst the artifacts displayed in the building. "Looks like a museum...? All these ancient artifacts; if they're here, it'll take forever to find them!"

"Oh my Arceus! Roy, gang! Get over here! Look at this, look!" Fuecoco chirped, looking at some lamps and thinking he found Teppin's Lampent amongst them.

"What's that, do you see it, Fuecoco? Uh..." Roy asked before he trailed off, seeing just some ordinary lamps but no Lampent.

"I think Fuecoco just found some ordinary lamps," Liko replied sheepishly.

"Wait, wait, wait, let's not give up, guys. Let's think for a moment as we look; the Lampet we saw has three accomplices and I'd imagine that Foogus we saw earlier was one of them even though we've yet to see it again," Race informed reassuringly as they decided to check the second floor.

"Yeah," Liko and Roy replied.

"So, it makes sense that they must've been close friends with each other and Teppin given how they reacted upon seeing us and ran off together as we were chasing them. What if Lampent is with them amongst the other displays like they're all part of one big exhibit?"

"That actually makes a fairly good point," Sarah nodded.

"You're right, maybe they made themselves into an exhibit to fool us like..." Liko agreed as they saw and went past an exhibit that looked like a hodge-podge of parts until she trailed off and...

"Ah/Huh/Wha-/Hey!?" they all shouted as they looked to the "exhibit" and caught the Pokémon they were looking for before they ran off, trying to escape their pursuers again.

"Fuecoco/Sprigatito!"

"Robbie, Bella/Blitz, Curly!"

"Get them!"

"Stop, come back!" the royal couple shouted as the culprits escaped through an open window.

"They're getting away!" Liko cried in alarm.

"Not if we can help it, come on!" Roy encouraged as everyone left the museum and continued to chase them through the city's marketplace again, hoping to retrieve the Pokeball and the princess' heirlooms.

No sooner did they chase the four Pokémon down another alleyway than the female Gengar reappeared from the shadows and saw what was happening before going after them. Surprisingly, soon after the female Gengar went after the heroes chasing Bronzong, Cryogonal, Lampent, and Honedge, Cap appeared and looked around for the culprits before he went off in another direction to find them.

It turned out that as Lazuli was tailing Teppin, in her rage-filled tirade, she had knocked over some market stalls in addition to scaring the shopkeepers and customers who were unfortunate enough not to move out of her way before she plowed through them. Seeing the mess made and the shopkeepers and customers frightened out of their wits by the angry swordswoman, Friede, Mistral, Sydney (who was thankfully kept on a leash by his fellow Zodiac so he wouldn't steal anything without warning), Marena, Charizard, Galaxagus, and Panthera felt sorry for them and decided to help them clean up the mess which they did (while Friede sent Cap off to search in their stead before they joined him).

"There we go, the stalls are back in order and all of your customers are returning," Freide smiled, thankful that the damage Lazuli unintentionally made was cleared before turning to two of the shopkeepers they comforted. "I'm sorry for what our friend did; she's been through too much lately and an acquaintance of ours just pushed her over the edge. But, now that everything's settled, are we all good to go then?"

"Sure, we're square now! Excellent work!"

"Yeah, buddy. You fellas did such a good job, you should work for me. I'll make it worth your while."

"He-he-heh, sorry but customer service isn't really our forte," Friede politely declined before turning to the others, knowing what they had to return to, "Now, let's go catch up with the others and Little Ms. Red Bull. Come on, gang!"

"Right/Yeah!" the others with him nodded as they scrambled out of the market on foot to find the rest of their party.

"Stop in the name of Alolan Royalty!" Blitz shouted to the four Pokémon thieves before Bronzong, Cryogonal, Lampent, and Honedge made a sharp right turn and entered a nearby park.

"Where are they?" Roy pondered, wondering which way Bronzong, Cryogonal, Lampent, and Honedge went before they stepped forward and fell into what is a Scooby-Doo-inspired Scrappy Trap which flung them into the air.

"YAAAAAAAHHHHHH! OOF!" they wailed before they landed in the bushes, picking themselves up before they saw Bronzong, Cryogonal, Lampent, and Honedge laughing at them before they ran off.

"Well, that was rude!"

"They're toying with us!"

"Of course, the old Scrappy Trap. Did they rip this off of Team Rocket or watch the Scooby Doo shows?"

"This is definitely something only Team Rocket would pull in their old ways," Liko, Roy, Sarah, and Race grumbled, knowing they had had it with Teppin's Pokémon thieves.

"This means war," Sarah snorted as they brushed themselves off.

"Sarah, you and I will go this way with Sprigatito, Blitz, and Curly. Roy, Race, you, Fuecoco, Robbie, and Bella go that way," Liko suggested, knowing that they have to split up.

"Okay."

"You got it," Roy and Race nodded as they and their partners went to the right while the girls and their partners ran off to the left to cover more ground.

It was a good thing that they did split up to find them because Roy, Fuecoco, Race, Robbie, and Bella were the first ones to find their thieves, seeing Marena's Pokeball, Sarah's family heirlooms, the arrow quiver, and the fake amulet with them.

"Over there! Hey, hold it!" Roy cried as they raced over.

Seeing Race, Roy, and their partners, Bronzong and Honedge stayed behind to give Lampent and Cryogonal a chance to escape, the Bell Pokémon holding onto Sarah's heirlooms as best it could as the Valiant Pokémon sheathed itself to battle them.

"Oh, so you wanna battle, huh? Fuecoco!" Roy frowned, unamused by what they were trying to do.

"Right!" Fuecoco nodded.

"Get 'em, guys," Race permitted, allowing Robbie and Bella to join their young Paldea friend as they faced Bronzong and Honedge together.

Honedge made the first move as it rushed at them with their swords, allowing Roy to counter for all three, "Dodge it, you three!"

Avoiding Honedge's sword blade three times, they managed to strike back when Race saw their chance and called out, "Attack, now!"

"Yeah, EMBER!"

"Shadow Claw!"

"Iron Tail!" Fuecoco, Robbie, and Bella yelled, weakening the Valiant Pokémon with Ember (which was super effective against it) and bashing it with Iron Tail and Shadow Claw.

However, they were caught off guard when Bronzong swiftly came down and trapped Fuecoco underneath it, knocking Robbie and Bella away as it did so. Then, Honedge rang the Bell Pokémon like a gong with its sword blade to disorientate them with the soundwaves the ringing generated. Thus they left Fuecoco completely dazed and everyone else's ears ringing before they escaped once again.

"Fuecoco!" Roy called to his partner as Race went over to Robbie and Bella to comfort them.

"...Now, that was a low, blow," Race growled, infuriated by how Bronzong and Honedge cheated and fled before the battle could end.

As for Teppin, he had finally managed to lose Lazuli after reaching the park, catching his breath once he was sure he was alone.

"Phew... That woman's got spunk, what the hell was she made out of, anyway?" he breathed before he noticed Bronzong and Honedge coming over as they found him.

"Master," they called.

"Ah! Oh, good, it's you two! Talk to me, does Lampent still have the Pokeball?"

Knowing that they also need to find Lampent and Cryogonal, Roy contacted Liko and Sarah via his Rotom Phone which Liko answered as she said, "So, Lampent and Cryogonal are heading this way with Marena's Ancient Pokeball? Okay, we'll keep an eye out."

"*We'll be right there, stay where you are,*" Roy stated before ending the call.

"Liko, Sarah!"

"They're coming!" Sprigatito and Curly called as they and Blitz pointed Sarah and Liko to Cryogonal and Lampent, seeing them enter the garden clearing they were in.

"Ah! Hold it!" Liko barked as she, Sarah, and their partners halted the two thieves.

"Crap!"

"The princess!" Lampent and Cryogonal gulped.

"Okay, Sarah, we've got to get that Pokeball back to Marena and find out where Bronzong went with your quiver and family heirlooms! Let's go, Sprigatito, use Leafage! Cut the string!"

"Give us back our treasure!" Sprigatito roared as she fired her Leafage attack first to separate the pair and then make a direct hit on the Lamp Pokémon so she could cut the string on the bag only for Cryogonal to use Protect to shield Lampent from her second attack.

"Damn, Cryogonal used Protect! We'll need to provide moving targets to pull a fast one back at them! Liko, have Sprigatito use Leafage while running! We'll cover you!" Sarah called to Liko.

"Right! Sprigatito, use Leafage while running!"

"Blitz, Curly, Double Team plus Quick Attack!"

So, while Sprigatito used Leafage as she ran to keep Cryogonal occupied, Blitz and Curly covered for her by using Quick Attack and Double Team so that one of them could pull a fast one on Lampent and retrieve Marena's Ancient Pokeball. Despite their best efforts, Cryogonal and Lampent matched Blitz and Curly with speed as they dodged and blocked each attempt they made to retrieve the Ancient Pokeball.

"They're not backing down!"

"They're not going to give it up no matter how hard we back them into a corner. This isn't random at all, we're being toyed with again!"

Suddenly, sensing that her human mother and the princess needed help and seeing a garden shovel someone had left behind in the garden behind Lampent and Cryogonal, Hatenna had an idea of how they could easily get the Ancient Pokeball back from them without the pair noticing.

"Wait," she breathed before she concentrated her power, using Psychic as discreetly as she could to lift the shovel and point it behind Lampent before she pulled it in and cut the string to the bag it was carrying.

"Huh?! Ah-uh, whoopise," Lampent squeaked worriedly as the bag fell forward and landed between them, its string completely cut.

"Hey, look!"

"The bag, it's off!"

"Who on earth did that?" gasped Sprigatito, Curly, and Blitz blinked in surprise.

Sarah and Liko were also surprised when they saw Hatenna with her feeler sticking out, realizing she had become a sort of hail-mary for them by using Psychic to use the garden shovel to cut the string to Lampent's bag in two and make it lose the Pokeball.

"Was that just you seconds ago, Hatenna?" the young girl quizzed her Calm Pokémon.

"Sure did," Hatenna grinned as she felt proud to have helped her family and friends, making the two girls smile at her.

"Well, now... Thanks for the assist, Hatenna," Sarah thanked as she gently rubbed the little Psychic/Fairy Type while Curly, Blitz, and Sprigatito prepared to retrieve the Ancient Pokeball.

"Lampent, Cryogonal!" Bronzong shouted as the girls and their Pokémon saw Teppin appearing with Bronzong (who still carried the Sun Sword, Moon Shield, and Arrow Quiver along with the fake amulet in its arms) and Honedge.

"Ah, no! Lampent! Get that Pokeball back from them using Thief!" the conman barked, having his Lamp Pokémon zip over to the three Pokémon and swipe the Ancient Pokeball before slamming them back, forcing Curly and Blitz to use Thunderpunch and Focus Punch to counter despite being too late when they pushed each other back.

"But, you can't!" Liko cried.

"Liko, Island Girl!"

"We're here!" Roy and Race shouted as they and their recovered partners regrouped with the rest of their party.

"Perfect timing, they're all here!" Sarah nodded.

"Urgh, what's with those guys?" Roy growled, seething at the band of thieves before the heroes.

"Teppin, please! Answer me! Why on earth are you doing such a horrible thing? How could you betray us like this? Did you actually go adventuring with my grandma or was it all just a lie?!"

Teppin shrugged off her words as he callously remarked, "Ha! Ah, go adventuring? Well, who can really say?"

"Please! You don't know what you're dealing with! You have no idea how much those items mean to us, to Sarah! Please, give those family heirlooms and that arrow quiver back to Sarah! And, return that Pokeball, right now! You don't know how much it truly means to us, especially to a dear friend of Sarah's who made it and a few others like it in the first place!"

"Look, kid, a customer showed up at my stand willing to pay quite a high price for a special Pokeball like this. And, what's more, I even sweetened the deal when I showed him your friend's precious heirlooms and the quiver that came with them and added them to go with the Pokeball and he agreed to cough up the dough for them. If you want them back, you'll have to bid me a better fixing for 'em here and now."

"You double-crossing, backstabbing, cash cow of a ragdoll! You'll hear from our family about this!"

"You're such a two-timing ass who doesn't care for anybody and anything else other than making a quick buck!"

"Are you for real?!"

"You sleezy little slimeball...!" Blitz, Curly, Bella, and Robbie snarled, infuriated by what Teppin was saying and how he slandered the Alolan Royal Family as he did.

Liko, Sarah, Race, and Roy gasped as the young adventurer noted, "So, it *was* the Explorers!"

"Now, don't feel bad, you might as well just give up and let me have 'em."

"No, we can't do that!" Liko spat at Teppin.

"Yeah! If you won't give them back to us, we'll take them back from you in battle!" Roy agreed as their Pokémon with them prepared to fight.

"HOLD IT!"

Suddenly, with a powerful battle cry, a familiar swordswoman jumped out and flipped over the group with her sword drawn, getting into a battle stance and eyeing the conman and his Pokémon dangerously as they all flinched in fright at her.

"I finally found you. You really are a fool, aren't you? Did you really think you could try to escape from me after you tried to hurt my friends while trying to get away, let alone *kill me*? If you dare to cross the line any further, I swear to god... Make me lose my patience and I'll do it, I'll kill you all and take back the items you stole with no mercy! I'll show you what happens when you pull something like this with the likes of me!" she spat, shocking and horrifying her friends behind her as they gawked at how menacing she had become now that she had been pushed to the edge.

"Lazuli!"

"What are you saying?!" Roy and Liko breathed as she slowly began to make her way towards the conman.

"H-H-Hold it, M'am! Listen, I got myself a buyer for your friends' items and I can't bargain with you right now! Y-Yah, that's it! I-I-If it's about my quick exit, j-j-just to let you know, it-i-it was all a big joke. I didn't really, t-try to hurt you, I, I didn't have a choice. You were pushing your luck, I was only-EEP! HAVE MERCY!" Teppin spluttered before Lazuli pointed her sword at him once she was face to face with him, its point dangerously close to his neck, showing she was done messing around.

"I'll give you the same mercy the Explorers gave me and my parents over twenty years ago and let you be an example to them, showing what happens if they ever trifle with me again!"

"Kiddo, no!"

"Mama Lazuli!" Hu, Timburr, Woobat, and Roggenrola cried in alarm as they reached the swordswoman, hoping to stop her before she did something she'd regret for the rest of her life.

"Mama, please, you've got to think this through!" pleaded Woobat.

"I would if this moron didn't try to kill me by throwing a cart full of junk over us on our end. So, I'm gonna give him exactly what he deserved," she retorted just as familiar two balls of light appeared from a short distance behind the heroes.

"But, you'll be the same as the meanies that hurt you and destroyed your mommy and daddy!" begged Roggenrola frantically.

"Mama, you can't do this! You're with us, your friends! You have a family again, we need you! They need you, you wouldn't do something so awful despite what happened to you years ago!" Timburr cried, feeling scared for Lazuli.

"This time, it's personal," she growled back as she glared daggers at the antique dealer while a helpless Hu watched with the others.

He started to feel scared for her until the balls of light crept over to him. They pulsated as they made themselves known to him and only him, causing him to gasp in surprise and remember them helping to save everyone's lives from Glalie's Self-Destruct at Diana's old castle base. The Tiger Zodiac thought he could hear them speak to him as he listened to their pulses and when he understood what they were trying to say, he nodded in determination just as everybody heard Lazuli make her threat to Teppin and his Pokémon for the trouble they'd given her friends, and especially her, known.

"You tried to kill us, especially me, so you could meet up with your Pokémon after you swindled us out of a few certain items and make a pretty penny out of pawning them to the highest bidder! I don't know if you hooked up with the Explorers but if you did, you're as evil and heartless as they are, and it's time for you to pay with your life!"

"Wait, Kiddo, I get it now! You're right!" Hu replied as he decided to make a final plea but one from his heart while the two balls of lights joined him, being as discreet as they could be.

"She is?" Race balked as everyone gazed in surprise.

"You got every reason to want to take revenge and let your anger out; you've been bottling up your hatred for them all this time since you abandoned them over four months ago and you've become a tea kettle that blew its top wide open when that man tried to kill you and the others when he made his escape earlier. But, I know you're better than this, Mistral and Sydney know that. The others know that and so do all of our friends, even the Pokémon you helped and befriended could see it. You're not the monster you've shown us to be because you've let your anger out at the worst possible time when he pushed you over the edge and you took your anger out on the wrong person. What's more, I wonder... What would Seiya and Mary do? Would they want you to do this? Would they want to see you do this to an innocent person for a mistake he or she made even if the man in front of you lied and cheated us as he did...?"

The mention of her parents suddenly snapped Lazuli out of her hate-filled trance as she suddenly realized that Hu had a point; if her parents were still alive and if they saw her doing what she did out of the pure hatred she had for the Explorers she bottled up, taking her anger and aggression out on any innocents before her, she could only imagine them being terrified, shocked, and disappointed in her if they saw her now.

She looked between her friends, her guardian (unknowingly seeing the balls of light with him that pulsated at her), her Pokémon, and Teppin and his own Pokémon, and after thinking things through with a clear mind now...

"...What am I doing...? W-What have I done...? Mom, Dad... I-I'm so sorry," she thought as tears started to flow through her eyes and she finally lowered her sword, dropping to her knees and letting everybody gathered breathe a sigh of relief.

"You made the right choice," Hu smiled, giving a silent and thankful nod to the balls of light with him.

"Please don't scare us like that again," Liko begged, smiling at Lazuli.

"Yeah, it's too much."

"You can say that again," sighed a relieved Roy and Race as Hu, Timburr, Roggenrola, and Woobat approached her and gave her a comforting group hug as the balls of light quietly followed them and she began to sob quietly.

"Let's get you back to the ship and rest up," the Tiger Zodiac soothed before he nodded to the balls of light and turned to his apprentice with Liko, Roy, and Race (with the balls swirling around them to bring them back to the Dragon Craft so the swordswoman could recover from the ordeal). "We're counting on you to get back your belongings, Sarah!"

And, after that, the balls of light whisked the group of five away back to the Dragon Craft, leaving Sarah, Liko, Roy, Race, and their partners to deal with Teppin again without killing him as they intended.

"So, Teppin, what was that you said before; you want us to give up and let you have our belongings? Don't be too sure about it, Con-Job, some items are not meant to have a price tag on them and my family heirlooms are amongst those very items," Sarah retorted to Teppin, snapping her fingers as her right hand shimmered in its gold light and Bronzong suddenly felt its arms loosening up when the Sun Sword, the Moon Shield, and the arrow quiver it carried shimmered in the same golden light and vanished without a trace.

"Huh?! Hey, what happened? It can't be! Where are my precious heirlooms for sale!?" Teppin balked frantically before he heard a whistle, making him and his Pokémon turn to find Sarah once again in possession of her parents' heirlooms and the arrow quiver including the Twilight Amulet as she pulled it out for him to see and broke the fake amulet, revealing it to be a phony item she had given him.

"Oh yeah, did I ever tell you that turnabout is fair play? Guess not; you swindled us out of our belongings earlier, two can play that game. Now, that you know who you're dealing with, give us the Ancient Pokeball and we'll help you call off that dumb deal you made!"

"Alright, kids, have it your way," Teppin replied smugly in response, trying to sound confident again and not wanting to give up what he had left as his Pokémon prepared to battle only for the wild female Gengar to reappear before it bashed Lampent and made it drop the ball containing the Ancient Pokeball (surprising everybody watching). "AH, LAMPENT! THE POKEBALL!"

Lampent quickly straightened itself out and tried to go for the Pokeball but the female Gengar went up to it faster and snatched it back before she stuck out her tongue in a taunting matter while pulling off a loser salute at it, "LLLLLLLLLLLLoser~!"

"Huh?!"

"Whoa! What is that?" gasped a surprised Liko and Roy.

"It's a Gengar!"

"Where'd it come from?!" Race and Sarah cried as the four of them, Blitz, Curly, Spirgatito, Bella, Robbie, and Fuecoco looked on in bewilderment.

"All yours, Cap Man!" Gengar smirked, signaling a familiar cap-wearing Pikachu to charge at Teppin's Pokémon and clobber them with Thunderpunch, making Bronzong, Cryogonal, Honedge, and Lampent land in a heap.

"Cap/Cap!" Sarah and her party grinned, delighted to see a familiar face enter the picture.

Then, the Foogus from before arrived to try and put the heroes' Pokémon to sleep so Teppin could retrieve the Ancient Pokeball only for Gengar to come up to its face and grin at it, spooking it as she only said, "**Um, boo.**"

Foogus screamed in panic and darted over to its fellow Pokémon before it fainted in fright, suggesting to everyone it belonged to the antique dealer who was now completely rattled by what he had seen along with Gengar and Cap's arrival. He tried to make a quick getaway again by running to his left but he was stopped by Charizard, Mistral, Galaxagus, Panthera, and Marena. Then, he tried to run to the right but was blocked again by Mismagius, Sydney, and Friede when they apperaed and stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Freeze!"

"Wrong!"

"Nope, that's as far as you go," they all shouted at him.

"Hey! Kids, anybody know who this widget belongs to?" Gengar asked, holding up the Ancient Pokeball in her hands before Marena raised her hand and the female Shadow Pokémon threw it over to her with a smirk, "Well, here you go!"

"Thank you!" Marena smiled in gratitude, opening the bag and seeing Rayquaza's Pokeball completely unscathed as she took it out. "Thank goodness you're still here..."


Moments later, the heroes rounded up Teppin and his Pokémon with the unconventional professor pondering what everyone was thinking, "The only question now is what do we do with this old fool? Especially since he committed an extreme offense against the Alolan Royal Family with the idea of trying to pawn off their heirlooms when they're strictly forbidden from being sold off; we're lucky he didn't go after Magearna since we didn't bring her along. If Doug and Delilah were here right now, they would've had his head given what he had nearly done."

"Hah! Do what you fools want, I don't care! Zap me, roast me!" Teppin sneered at them.

"Alright, perhaps we will!"

"Teppard, Teppard!"

Everyone turned to their left or right and were surprised (or shocked in Teppin's case) to find Diana with Squawkabilly on her left shoulder and Arcanine beside her, both human and Pokémon adventurers marching angrily toward the antique dealer and looking none too pleased with the old man.

"Diana, it's you!" gasped Sarah in surprise.

"D-Diana!?" shuddered Teppin as he flinched at her in fear.

"Hey, Grandma!" Liko grinned happily. "Weren't you deciphering that old text?"

"I was deciphering that text until I came to a realization," the elderly adventurer answered bluntly as she held the book she had been studying and threw it at Teppin, looking extremely pissed off at him for what he had published. "This so-called 'priceless relic' you sold me turned out to be a complete and total FRAUD!"

"Teppard, Teppard!" Squawkabilly added firmly, agreeing with and sharing Diana's sentiments.

"I-I'd say, calling it a 'fraud' is going a tad bit too far! This is a completely true and verified-!" Teppin tried to say before Diana fiercely cut him off, looking utterly livid at her old friend for the stunt he pulled.

"If it were real, then it would never have said, 'If you want the rest of the story, be sure to watch this video!'! I am shocked and offended that someone I've known for so long would try to dupe me! Arcanine, show how we deal with liars and traitors!"

"Right!" Arcanine nodded as he prepared to use a fully-charged Flamethrower to roast Teppin from head to toe who further flinched in fear of them.

"Wait, Grandma! Isn't that going a little too-?!" Liko pleaded worriedly before being stopped by Marena.

"Hold!" Sarah's human advisor barked (much to the young girl's shock as she turned to her, appalled), wanting Diana and only Diana to deal with Teppin (since she was technically the first to be duped by him) even though the elderly adventurer and her Legendary Pokémon did stop and cool down for Liko's sake.

"Yeah, kid, he should've known than to steal my job 'cause shady deals are my dig," Sydney quipped, earning him deadpanned and annoyed glares from everybody gathered save for Teppin. "What? I'm just saying, jeez... Everyone's a critic."

Ignoring Sydney's remark, Diana sighed and continued to rant to her old friend, "For pity's sake, Teppin, how exactly did you end up in a sorry state after all this time? You used to be such a keen adventurer, ready and fired up for every excursion we take."

Roy was astonished by the revelation as he gasped at Liko's grandmother, "For real?!"

Diana looked at him and smiled as she thus confirmed what Sarah, Lazuli, Marena, and Race once suspected in their group's first meeting with Teppin at his shop, "Yep, on many an occasion and through many a site of old ruins, he was right there with me. And, when that Ariados tied us up with its thread and hung us upside down for a week, I thought we were done."

Liko was amazed by this as she breathed the same thing, "So, that story was real?

But, Teppin didn't want to face the consequences of his actions and thinking he was right for doing what he did, tried to deny what he originally enjoyed doing with Diana as he snorted, "Heh, I've always been like this, you just never saw it. "Cheating and stealing to get what I want until I do. This life of mine is much easier than adventuring, it suits me better-"

"Oh, yeah, think so? Pardon me, Cryogonal, let me see you for a moment," Diana retorted, cutting him off as she took Cryogonal in her hands and fiddled with it for a bit until she turned it by its back and showed everyone and Teppin what the latter looked like in his days as an adventurer, "Look at yourself and tell me different."

The antique dealer was shocked as he balked at himself, "H-Huh?"

The others were also amazed as Sarah then noted, "Oh, now I get it! Lillie told me about that regarding such a Pokemon species being a pack of truth-tellers; they said that Cryogonal are known to reflect only the truth when someone is lying!"

"That's right and from what I can see, the truth, Teppin, is that you still feel the call of adventure reaching out to you. You want to be digging, crawling, and hanging upside down like we used to!"

In response to the truth, Teppin gave up the ghost and confessed his true feelings about his previous passion, "I'll admit it; I'm just not cut out for that kind of life anymore. I always end up in some terrifying situations throughout our journeys together, how can a coward like me be known as a true adventurer?"

Now feeling sorry for Teppin after seeing the truth, Sarah smiled softly as she gently told him, "I know the main reason why you still crave for adventure even now: your Pokemon."

Teppin looked between his Pokemon as they all nodded in agreement and she continued, "Teppin, Diana once told me, my family, her granddaughter, and our friends something important that you forgot..."

The antique dealer raised an eyebrow until the princess answered for him, "She mentioned that the only scary part about going on adventures is the *first step*. And, she's absolutely right about that; once you get past that and you start walking, the world is your oyster and the sky's the limit."

Liko was in awe by what Sarah said as she recalled her words being the same kind of advice her grandmother gave her that helped her to take that first step into adventure with Sprigatito giving her the push she needed to start walking.

Diana nodded in agreement with a smile as she then told Teppin, "It's obvious you had more fun on those days than you do now. And, all these Pokemon with you that you met on your many adventures became your very good friends, did they not? Then, you go and use those very same friends you made co-conspirators in your crimes, honestly, the shame..."

Now, Teppin was surprised by what he was hearing while Diana continued to help him see sense and where he was going wrong with himself, "Just look at Sarah before you; while she may be a princess, she's an adventurer of an astounding caliber that very few can match. You'd be surprised by the amount of adventures she went on with her family and the many friends she made along the way she could tell you despite her and her family being over five hundred years old and the Pokemon and creatures she met and protected from evil hands all became part of that same family. How could you look down on that?"

Sparring a glance for each of his Pokemon friends who had been by his side since the moments he first met them throughout his and Diana's adventures and how loyal and true they are to him despite the crimes they took part in, Teppin finally understood where he went wrong and finally gave in, crying his heart out.

"...O-Oh, my friends...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry... You're right, you're both right, Diana, Princess... And, to all of you, and you, Foogus, I'm sorry for using all of you like I did..."

As everybody smiled and watched Teppin finally repent for his sins and his Pokemon comforted him with a group hug, Liko started at Sarah and her grandmother with wonder as she mused, "Wow, Grandma, Sarah, you're both amazing...!"

"There's one thing I don't get, though; where did the Gengar and Mismagius come from and why did they help us in the first place?" Friede then noted, making everybody turn to the two Ghost Types that grinned at them while laughing.


Dusk fell by the time everybody returned to the market with Hu, Lazuli, Timburr, Roggenrola, and Woobat (with the balls of light joining them) reuniting with the heroes. With the swordswoman relieved of all of her pent-up anger and hatred and feeling at ease again, she made amends with everybody she tore into in her unexpected rage after she snapped, reassuring her friends that she's alright.

Even Teppin made amends with her as he decided to return to a life of adventuring, telling everyone, "I sincerely apologize for the trouble I've caused you, everyone. Especially you, Princess, Ms. Lazuli, Ms. Marena, I managed to contact the buyer and tell her the deal is off now that I realize how much your items meant to you. Thankfully, she's understanding about it and she won't pry about them anymore given how I've roped the Alolan Royal Family into my scheme and got your ire from this whole debacle. From now on, I'm gonna start my adventures all over again from scratch, and hopefully, someday, I will find and excavate ancient ruins again. And, while I'm doing that, all of my friends will join me."

"Thank you, Master!" his Pokemon cheered, feeling happier than ever.

"That sounds like a good first step to me, Teppin," Sarah said with an approving smile.

"Yeah... Don't sweat it, it was my fault for flipping my lid and terrorizing you and the entire market in my wake while trying to catch you and make you see justice in the wrong way," Lazuli added with a sheepish and ashamed smile.

"You better hold up to it while we're with our leading lady!"

"And, if you screw up with any Innocents should you fall back to stealing and cheating, we'll show you what's what!" grinned Gengar and Mismagius as they appear from the swordswoman's left and right.

It turned out that after Lazuli, Hu, Timburr, Woobat, and Roggenrola reunited with the others, the female Magical and Shadow Pokemon noticed her and took a liking to her, going so far as to insisting her to have them join her (supposedly hearing about the theft and deciding to help them while enjoying how much of a loose cannon Lazuli could be when she gets angry).

This left her with a total of seven Pokemon which left her grumbling, "Okay, I'm now an angry party animal host for Ghost Pokemon..."

Everyone laughed at her until Marena then spoke to Teppin, "We'll tell her about the ordeal when we meet her but if I may ask, who exactly was the buyer that you planned to sell my Pokeball to?"

"Yeah, could you tell us a little more about her?" Friede added, now curious as to who wanted Marena's Pokeball.

"Tell you more? Well, she works as a Pokeball Smith and she did tell me I can give her any price I name so long as a Pokeball was unusual."

Liko and Roy were astonished by this revelation as they remembered that they now had their sights set on finding Rayquaza as Reader told them and the actual buyer was someone who specializes in creating Pokeballs.

"Wait, a Pokeball Smith, really?

"So, you're saying it wasn't really the Explorers..." the two breathed.

Teppin nodded as he handed Sarah a slip of paper that had an address, showing where the buyer was located and said, "Here, this is the address where I was told to take it."

The little princess looked at the address and when Friede took a look at it, he suggested, "How about we go pay this Pokeball Smith a visit tomorrow?"

"Yeah, let's do it!"

"Yeah... If it'll give me an excuse to find some Pokeballs for my growing menagerie," Lazuli nodded.

"I've no objections to that. However, there's one thing you all still have to do for me..." Marena nodded with a sly smirk.

"What?" the heroes and Diana asked curiously.

The little princess' human advisor paused for a moment before she finally quipped, "...You all still owe me a pizza. Or better yet, make it double for my boys with me."

Everybody faltered or comically fell in response but Marena just laughed as the day ended, the ordeal and the Case of the Stolen Treasure having finally come to an end...

To Be Continued...