Thank you for your suggestions about what Pokémon the characters should catch. If you get any new ideas along the journey, feel free to share in the reviews.

You may have noticed this chapter's title is different compared to "In the Knicker of Time!". There is a reason why, so look forward to this improvised episode!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Pokémon characters! I only own my OCs!

Chapter 5: Zig-Zag Gone!

We stumbled upon a Trainer who challenged Ash and Pikachu to a battle. It was a tough battle, but Pikachu clutched it with a massive Thunderbolt that struck down the Trainer's Beedrill. May and Max watched the whole thing with gaping mouths, excited to witness a random Trainer battle in the wild.

After exchanging a handshake and Ash got some money, we continued our journey through the Petalburg Woods. "It's so nice seeing two Trainers share a handshake at the end of a battle", May commented. "That's true sportsmanship."

"That proves there's respect and friendship between Trainers", Brock pointed out.

"Yeah, it's nice making friends 'cause we might meet them again", Ash added.

"I personally prefer keeping the friend list on a small scale…", I mumbled. I couldn't exactly imagine having lots of friends in this time of my life. It was too overwhelming because friends could also easily betray one another.

"I guess that makes sense, but you wasted lots of energy in that battle, Ash", Max called out. "If Pikachu used Quick Attack, it could've avoided Beedrill's Twineedle."

"Yeah, I know that, but the thing with training is you can come up with many different strategies and improvise", Ash argued.

"I figured you'd answer like that", Max frowned. "I keep forgetting you're still in training."

Ash held back his annoyed grimace at the little boy's remarks. I could understand my brother's anger, but at the same time Max had zero experience in Pokémon battling since he was still too young to be a Trainer.

"You'll understand how battling works once you become a Trainer, Max", I spoke up. "Then you'll view battling in a whole different perspective instead as a spectator."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see about that", Max snorted.

A swift silhouette leaped out from bushes right in front of us. The wild Pokémon barked and ran ahead in a zig-zag movement. "What's that Pokémon?" Ash gaped while picking up his Pokédex.

"That's a Zigzagoon!" Max exclaimed eagerly.

Zigzagoon, the tiny raccoon Pokémon. Normal-type. Zigzagoon restlessly wanders everywhere at all times. It rubs the hard back hair against trees to leave its territorial markings. It is distinguished by the zigzag footprints it leaves.

"This one's larger than the average size!" Max pointed out.

"What do you mean, Max?" May wondered.

"The average Zigzagoon is only sixteen inches tall and weighs only eight pounds!"

"The Pokédex says so too, so that Zigzagoon is huge", Ash hummed.

"Pika pika?"

"Maybe it was born over the average size or its diet affects it height", Brock commented.

"Pokémon have different sizes just like humans", I pointed out. "No one is exact the same in height or weight."

We continued our path but took a quick stop when we stumbled upon a horde of Zigzagoons playing around in the dirt. We ducked down so we wouldn't bother them or accidently scare them away.

"Wow, there's dozens of them", May said in awe.

"This is so cool!" Max grabbed a notebook and a pencil from his bag. "I need to write this down!"

A Sentret jumped out from bushes and joined the Zigzagoons in their playtime. A couple of Pinsirs climbed up on trees drinking sap as their meal. I giggled quietly. "If Misty was here and saw those Pinsirs, she'd be screaming and running away from here."

Ash chuckled. "Yeah, she hates bug Pokémon."

"Your girlfriend's scared of bug Pokémon, Ash?" Max asked.

Ash flushed strongly at the question. "She's not my girlfriend yet!"

The Zigzagoons got frightened by my brother's outburst and ran off in a hurry. Without any forewarning, a young boy with white hair jumped out from bushes and ran after the Zigzagoons. "Wait! Come back!"

"Who's that?" Ash asked.

"Pika?"

"Why does he have white hair?" I wondered out loud. I thought only old people had white hair.

The boy couldn't catch up with the wild Pokémon so he gave up chasing them. He sighed in defeat but then turned to us with a scowl. "Why did you have to yell like that?! I was studying the Zigzagoons!"

"We're sorry!" Ash apologized quickly. "We didn't know you were there!"

"Ash, you're the one who yelled out, so don't put the blame on all of us", Max said.

"You were the one teasing me about Misty!" Ash retorted, his cheeks red.

The boy relaxed his body. "Never mind. I've been researching this horde for some time now so I know where I can find them within their territory. My name's Brendan Birch, and I recently started my journey."

"Brendan Birch?" I repeated the name. "Are you related to Professor Birch?"

"Yeah, he's my dad", Brendan nodded. "I guess you guys met him?"

"Yeah, and he was so nice!" Ash said eagerly. "He helped my Pikachu when he got sick!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cheered happily.

"And he gave me my Starter Pokémon", May pointed out.

"If you're Professor Birch's son, then are you also studying Pokémon?" Max asked.

"I do", Brendan nodded. "I've decided to do careful research about the Pokémon I want to catch. As you can see, I want to catch that abnormally large Zigzagoon before I challenge the Gym Leader in Petalburg City."

"You want to challenge our dad?" May asked.

That caught Brendan's attention. "Your dad? Are you two the kids of the new Gym Leader?"

"Yes", May nodded. "I'm May and this is my little brother Max."

"Hi!" Max smiled sweetly.

"I'm Ashton, but just call me Ash", my brother introduced himself. "This is my twin sister Ashley."

"Nice to meet you", I nodded lightly.

"And I'm Brock, the twin's close friends", Brock said.

"Nice to meet all of you", Brendan smiled before he took a closer look at me and my brother. "I think I recognize you two. Did you participate in the Silver Conference last November?"

"Yes, we did!" Ash nodded with a big smile. "It was a lot of fun!"

"I agree! Your battle with Harrison was thrilling!" Brendan said. "I can tell you both are great Trainers who made it to Top 8!"

"See that, Max? Brendan realize we're great Trainers", Ash teased.

Max ignored that comment. "I rest my case."

"My dad told me about his friend moving to Petalburg City and that friend has a couple of kids, but I never expected to meet you here of all places", Brendan said mainly to May. "So, since you're a Gym Leader's kid, you must be very strong."

May flinched nervously with cold sweat accumulating on her cheek. "W-Well…"

"How about a battle?" Brendan proposed. "I need practice before the real Gym battle."

"That's a great idea!" Max exclaimed. "This is perfect timing for you to test your skills as a Pokémon Trainer, sis!"

"What?!" May panicked. I could understand her hesitation. During this short time we've traveled together, she hadn't done much training with Torchic. Sure, she took care of him, but she never took the initiative to even practice with Torchic and develop her battling skills.

Maybe she simply wasn't interested in Pokémon battling? But how could she get out of dangerous situations involving wild Pokémon if she had no experience?

"There's a field up ahead where we can battle", Brendan threw a thumb over his shoulder. "Let's go there."

"W-Wait, Brendan!" May yelped. "I-"

"What's wrong? Are you scared to battle?" Brendan asked, although I wasn't sure how to read the emotion in his voice. Was he genuinely confused or did he tease May just to agitate her?

I guessed it was the latter because she got fired up by the insult. "I'm not scared! I accept your challenge!"

"Um, May, that might not be a good idea", Ash called out.

"Pika…"

"Why not? It's a great experience for her", Brock commented.

I gave him a deadpan expression. He had recently joined us on our journey, so he hadn't seen the lack of training from May's side. "You might regret your words afterward, Brock."

It hurt watching May's first Pokémon battle. She fumbled a lot with Torchic against Brendan's Pokémon which was a Mudkip. Mudkip overpowered the innocent Torchic and extinguished his fiery spirit so Brendan won within two minutes.

"Torchic!" May shrieked and quickly picked up her weakened Pokémon. "I'm so sorry, Torchic…"

I crouched down next to her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder which suddenly caused my heart throb and palm to sweat. I ignored the symptoms and leaned in to check on Torchic. "Torchic is going to be okay, May. You simply weren't ready for a battle."

"Sis… I'm sorry", Max apologized. "I shouldn't have pushed you into a battle you weren't ready for."

Brendan chuckled with a tiny smirk. "Well, I didn't expect a Gym Leader's daughter to be so lacking as a Trainer. Your dad must've failed teaching you the basics, so he might not be as strong as a Gym Leader as people say."

"Mud mudkip!" his Mudkip laughed.

"Take that back!" Max snarled back.

"I will if I get defeated by your dad", Brendan promised. "But I've got a Zigzagoon to catch first. See you next time!"

Max drilled holes on Brendan's retiring body. He clearly wasn't happy hearing somebody insult his father who he very much looked up to. I'd be mad too if somebody insulted my dad.

Brock sprayed a Super Potion on Torchic which made the chick Pokémon shriek by its lingering effects. "There we go! All Torchic needs now is a good long rest."

"Mm…", May hummed sadly before she recalled Torchic into his Poké Ball. "I feel so terrible and humiliated… I lost my very first battle."

"Don't get discouraged, May", Brock said. "You didn't have enough experience and you were at a disadvantage."

"But the more you battle the more experience you'll get, May", Ash added. "Next time you meet Brendan, you'll beat him for sure."

"Right…", May furrowed her brows. "But he makes me so mad that he thought my dad hadn't taught me about Pokémon! He did! But I completely ignored everything he said…"

"Why is that?" I wondered.

May sighed deeply, finding her lap more interesting instead of making eye contact. "I never really liked Pokémon. I just wanted to explore the world and see new things, but the only way I could do that was to become a Trainer."

I remembered the mumbling words she said back at Professor Birch's lab. She didn't look so pleased when Norman was mentioned and how she could be a strong Trainer like him. I couldn't recall if I ever met somebody who disliked Pokémon during my journey, so this was a foreign topic.

"I don't think you actually dislike Pokémon, May", I said. "Otherwise you wouldn't have formed a bond with Torchic when you two saw each other for the first time."

May held back a grimace. "W-Well, I respect Pokémon, and Max and I helped dad taking care of his Pokémon-"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu yelped out so sudden it scared me.

"What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Hey, where did Max go?" Brock called out.

We were too distracted by May's confession that none of us ever noticed when Max walked off on his own. May leaped up on her feet in panic. "Max! Max, where did you go?!"

"Don't tell me he wandered off alone?!" Ash panicked.

I gasped when I came to a realization. "What if he went after Brendan to hurt him after he insulted your father?"

"That's not like Max at all!" May shrieked, but then she scratched the top of her head with a frown. "But he has had tantrums before when somebody spoke trash about dad…"

"We need to find Max before he could end up in trouble with violent Pokémon!" Brock exclaimed. "He's defenseless without a Pokémon!"

"Taillow, come out!" Ash immediately called out his recently caught Pokémon.

"Taillow loow!"

"Taillow, I need you to find Max!" Ash gave Taillow proper instructions. Taillow chirped before he took off to look for the young boy from the sky.

"Ruby, join us!" I too called out my Pokémon.

"Raaalts!"

I crouched down to be on the same eye level as Ruby. "Ruby, do you think you can track down Max using your powers?"

"Raalt!" Ruby nodded. She turned to a certain direction and hummed while she activated her psychic powers. Her hair flowed along while we waited to hear any result from her or Taillow.

"Taillow looo!" Taillow screeched as he returned, circling above us.

"Did you find Max, Taillow?!" Ash shouted.

"Tail taaail!" Taillow turned around and flew ahead to show us the way.

I picked up Ruby in the midst of rush and followed my brother and our friends. She shrieked as she started panicking in my arms. "Raalts ralts!"

"Ruby? Are you sensing danger?" I gasped.

"Heeeelp!" Max screamed right up ahead. We found him surrounded by a massive group of Zigzagoons that ate something right by his feet. "May!" He cried as he rushed through the distracted horde right into his sister's arms, crying against her abdomen.

"Are you okay, Max?" May asked worriedly.

Max sobbed while biting his lower lip. "Y-Yeah…"

Right after that, May switched her attitude. "Why did you run off on your own like that, Max?! You could've gotten really hurt if we didn't show up in time!"

"I'm sorry, but I wanted to get revenge at Brendan for insulting dad", Max wiped his eyes clean with one last sob. "I saw him throw fruit that Zigzagoons love, so I thought I could lure all nearby Pokémon if I foraged that same fruit. It backfired…"

That explained the fruit peel that the Zigzagoons left after they ate up the pulp. Speaking of, those wild Pokémon were done feasting so some ran off. A few remained as they were curious about us but then decided to follow their comrades.

I sighed in huge relief. "Thank Arceus nothing happened. Thank you for your help, Ruby."

"Raalts!" Ruby smiled before I returned her to her Poké Ball.

Ash had the same idea about Taillow. "You too, Taillow! Thanks for finding Max!"

"Loow!"

"Hey!" Brendan jumped out from the woods, his hair almost falling off his head. It was then I realized his white hair was actually a beanie with a headband! His hair was brown and hidden under that weird beanie. "I heard a cry of help! Is everybody okay?"

"Yes, we are now", May nodded.

"Oh? It's you guys again!" Brendan blinked, surprised to see us. "What happened?"

Max sniffed lightly and hid his flushed face. "N-Nothing…"

"Max…", May drew out the vowel in her little brother's name.

Max stiffened in her arms before he confessed. "I was angry at you after insulting our dad, so I wanted to attract all Zigzagoons away from you, but…things didn't go my way."

Brendan's eyes softened as he crouched down to the young boy's level. "Hey, bud. I did some reflection over my choice of words and realized I took it too far. I'm sorry I said bad things about your dad."

Max blinked away his last tear. "R-Really?"

"Yes, really", Brendan replied.

Max made a grimace of guilt. "I'm sorry too…for trying to sabotage for you."

Brendan patted the young boy on his head. "Hey, let bygones be bygones now. As an apology, how about I show you how I'll catch my Zigzagoon?"

"You're going to catch it now?" Brock spoke up. "Wouldn't it be better to wait since they got agitated by Max's antics?"

"No, it shouldn't be a problem now", Brendan said with a confident gleam. "Follow me and you'll see."

Brendan led us to a clearing where the Zigzagoons were busy eating more of that same fruit Max had. This time, Mudkip was part of the crowd and used Water Gun to throw the fruit down from the high trees that the wild Pokémon couldn't reach.

"Look, they're all feasting!" Ash said.

"I had Mudkip stay here and get the fruit down since it's about mealtime for this horde", Brendan explained while he picked up his partner. "You did a great job, Mudkip."

"Muud muud!" Mudkip smiled, happy to get praised.

I was impressed with Brendan's observation of these Zigzagoons and their daily schedule. "You must've taken lots of notes while studying the Pokémon, Brendan."

"I have, and it's so much fun with field research", Brendan confessed. "One day I want to follow my dad's footsteps and become a Pokémon Researcher."

"That's what our friend Gary is striving for!" Ash exclaimed. "He used to be our rival, but after the Silver Conference he decided to start afresh with a new goal in mind."

"That's really cool! I hope I get to meet him someday", Brendan said eagerly before his brows crooked. "But now, I have a Pokémon to catch! Hey, you, Zigzagoon!"

"Zag?" the largest Zigzagoon of the horde snapped its head up, mouth tinted in orange juice.

"I want to challenge you to a battle! Do you accept?"

Mudkip jumped out of Brendan's arms and quacked at the chosen Zigzagoon. "Mudkip mud mud!"

"Zagoon!" Zigzagoon barked and scratched the ground with its clawed paw, ready to battle.

Everyone including the other Zigzagoons watched the battle between Mudkip and the large Zigzagoon. It was an even match until Mudkip spat a Mud-Slap straight on Zigzagoon's face. It gave the water Pokémon an advantage which resulted with a successful catch after Brendan threw a Poké Ball.

However, just as we were filled with joy by Brendan's catch of Zigzagoon, a mechanical arm came out of nowhere and snagged his Mudkip. Three familiar cackles echoed from the sky, or more precisely a Meowth air balloon.

"Team Rocket!" my group yelled at the culprits.

"Prepare for trouble, thanks for the bite!"

"Double trouble, our bait was worth the wait!"

"Meeowth, that's right!"

"Hey, who are you people?! What do you want with Mudkip?!" Brendan growled.

"They're Team Rocket, a bunch of bad guys who steal other people's Pokémon!" Ash explained.

"Well, we usually go for Pikachu, but today we decided to have that new twerp's Mudkip", Jessie said while she forced Mudkip into a small cage.

"Muuud!" Mudkip screamed.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu launched his electric move, but Team Rocket had an ace up their sleeve. They brought forward a satellite dish that not just absorbed the move but also bounced it back. Luckily it only struck the ground close to us, but it was enough distraction for Team Rocket to try escaping.

"Not so fast! Taillow, use Peck on their balloon!" Ash called out his Pokémon.

"Tailloow!"

We ran after Team Rocket on foot while Taillow flew after them in hopes of bringing them down. To my surprise, the Zigzagoon horde followed us barking and yelping. "Why are the Zigzagoons coming with us?" May wondered.

"I think they see Mudkip as one of their own after it helped them get food, so they want to help out", I said.

"Wow, so they're seeing Mudkip as their comrade!" Max's eyes glittered in awe.

Team Rocket's balloon soon came crashing down after Taillow managed to peck a hole on it. We caught up to them in time before they had a chance to recover from the crash. The cage with Mudkip lied several meters from them so Brendan snatched it before they could. "Mudkip, are you okay?!"

"Muud…"

"Thank Arceus. Hold on, I'll get you free", Brendan opened the cage allowing his Pokémon to be free.

When Team Rocket came to, they shrieked out when they realized the Zigzagoons had them surrounded. The wild Pokémon growled with their teeth exposed, angry for disturbing the peace of their territory.

"Hey, cool it down, won't ya?!" Meowth yelped at the raccoon Pokémon. "We want nothing with ya!"

"You'd better get out of our way or else!" Jessie threatened while throwing a Poké Ball. "Arbok, go!"

"You too, Weezing!" James shouted as he called out his most trusted partner.

"Shaarbok!"

"Wheezing!"

Ash stepped forward with Taillow and Pikachu right next to him. "Zigzagoons, get out of here and let us take care of them!"

The horde of wild Zigzagoons quickly realized Arbok and Weezing were a threat to them, so they scattered away leaving the clearing empty for my brother to battle the evil trio.

"Arbok, use Poison Sting!" Jessie shouted.

"Weezing, bring them down with Sludge!" James added.

"Pikachu, Taillow, both of you use Quick Attack!" Ash yelled.

My brother's Pokémon dodged the poison Pokémon's attacks with ease while charging toward them. They tackled Arbok and Weezing back into Jessie and James, making them fall to the ground once again.

"Pikachu, finish this with Thunder!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu charged up his inner electricity and launched a massive thunderbolt engulfing Team Rocket and their Pokémon. An explosion soon ensued and threw the criminals far into the sky, defeated once again.

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAaaiiin…!"

The Zigzagoons gathered around Mudkip and Brendan cuddling with the blue Pokémon. They were all happy Mudkip was safe and that the threat to their territory was now gone. "Wow, I'm impressed, Ash!" Brendan exclaimed. "Your Pokémon took down those bad guys' Pokémon so easily!"

"Thanks! Pikachu's had lots of training, but Taillow is relatively new to the team", Ash smiled, scratching Taillow's jaw when he landed on my brother's arm.

"Loow!"

"Hey, I have an idea! Let's have a battle with your Taillow and my Zigzagoon!" Brendan suggested.

"That's a great idea! I accept!" Ash nodded. He was never the type to say no to a battle unless there was an emergency.

"This will also be good training for Taillow", I commented. "Especially for the Gym in Rustboro City."

"You guys are heading to Rustboro?" Brendan asked. "In that case, I can tell you the Gym Leader there specializes in rock-type Pokémon."

"Just like you, Brock", Ash grinned.

"Yep, and I'm excited to meet that Gym Leader and exchange my experience with rock Pokémon", Brock nodded.

"Forget about that! I wanna see Ash and Brendan battle!" Max exclaimed eagerly.

The boys prepared their Pokémon before they began their battle. The Zigzagoons barked like a cheerleading squad while Ash and Brendan told their Pokémon what moves to use and when to dodge the opponent's attack. This was more of an equal battle compared to when May and Torchic battled Brendan and Mudkip and a learning experience for everyone.

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Ashley's party:
Emerald the Treecko (male)
Ruby the Ralts (female)

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Ash's party:
Pikachu (male)
Tallow (male)

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May's party:
Torchic (male)

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Brock's party:
Forretress (male)
Magcargo (male)