Pokemon: Remix Hearts

by Seanzilla1988

During an expedition for a Grimoir, the girls of Team Remix Heart are caught up in a strange wormhole and end up in a world filled with creatures known as Pokemon. Will they find a way home, or will they be stuck here? (Contains elements from the Pokemon games, manga, and anime. Set after the end of the Blazblue Remix Heart manga)

54. Chapter 54

SZ: *drops down with a mask on*We…have returned…and with knowledge of the Teal Mask…

GT: *looks around* …Where's Z0? He should be…*hears matsuri music and looks to see Z0 arrive upon a palanquin carried by several Machamp as Hisuian Lilligant and Gardevoirs dancers dancing about it* …I knew he'd go Donbrothers with this DLC…Oi~! Get down from there! We've got a chapter to write!

Z0: Hahahahaha! *jumps down* The Champion has arrived! *three pokeballs on my belt shake* Silence you three fools! You are mine fair and square now obey!

GT: …Riiight…*looks at the Reader* Yo! As you can see, we are hyped thanks to the Teal Mask coming out! So let's get straight to it. We do not own neither Pokemon nor BlazBlue. They are owned by GameFreak, Nintendo, and Ark System Works.

SZ: And we begin the festival that is this story once more!

Z0: Yes! And anyone with problems can take it up with this child, *Ogerpon holds up cudgel* Remember…if they say something…bonk them on the noggin.

GT: Oh dear…*tugs on a rope, sending down the curtain*

---

Entry 053: Hello~ Entry~! It's Makoto Nanaya here for a quick recap on what's been going on! First off…we arrived nViridian City…where it all began…man it feels like it's been longer than that…ahem! A-anyways, Ash was ready to hit up the Gym, but…ugh…Gary and his group of cheerleaders beat us there..and he apparently had 15 badges on him! 15?! Like dear god boy how has your body not exploded from that eg-OW! Okay okay…focusing on the recap…anyways, we stayed at the Viridian Pokemon Center for a bit until Gary arrived..only…hoo he looked like he got curb stomped to high heaven in back by the Gym Leader…who according to him, used two Pokemon from her personal team.. Seems he already earned the Badge through the secret test, but the Gym Leader wanted to see how he dealt with two of her personal Pokemon. And there's more Pokemon we don't know about?! Hoo boy…Kajun is so gonna get Dexter updated again…

Anywho…Ash swapped out some Pokemon at the Center before he went to take on the Gym himself. Turns out…the normal Gym Leader was away on business so his daughter Kira was the one in charge…and she had been studying about Ash through the Gym battles he's had before, so instead of the 7 Badge team…she used her personal team. It was insane! Apparently, she got one of them from this Region called Paldea and it was so awesome! Oh my Arceus, I want one~! *a whacking sound went off* OW! Okay, okay…It was honestly back and forth between them both, each one knocking out a Pokemon only for the next Pokemon to knock their out. Ash really surprised everyone when he fought Kira's Metagross with Primeape…but I knew it wasn't him because their fighting stance was not right at all! Turns out, Mama-san and her family gave him this adorable Zoroark because they like him so much! …Yes, I know it's because he died and came back to life thanks to Ho-Oh, Kajun. I'm just trying not to remember that time because of the insanity of it all… Anywho~! Eventually, Pikachu took down two of her Pokemon-one being the crazy Spiritomb we fought that ended up being released by that Team Rocket Admin after it lost to Ash and La's Greninja Kage!-before she did this summoning chant and her Starter appeared in a whoosh of flames! It was so awesome~! Ohhh~ Even remembering it is making my bits all *multiple thwacks went off* Sorry folks, but Tsubaki Yayoi taking over the report on account of Makoto getting a little…TMI…*clears throat* To resume, Kira's Starter was a Delphox and its power was, frankly, fearsome. She was able to take down Pikachu and then even Charizard and didn't look winded at all! It was down to their last Pokemon. Kira's Delphox Velvet…and Ash's Gengar…which he Mega Evolved to become Ghost/Dark Type to help handle Velvet's Psychic…when Kira revealed a new battle mechanic called Terastalization and turned Velvet from Fire/Psychic to pure Normal! She even appeared to have turned into pure crystal! To sum it up…the battle was insane and comical. Mainly for the fact that Mega Gengar seems to become something akin to a cartoon character when he Mega Evolves. Could that third eye he grows be a cause? Still, Ash was able to earn his final Gym Badge, the Earth Badge, from Kira…along with a Tera Orb that allows him to Terastalize his own Pokemon. …Kajun already has several plans to help Ash with strategies involving it. Though, I am now curious about why Ash's Zoroark looks at me in excitement and why Luca doesn't want to translate what she's saying…Ah! Luca, hey! Luca, get back here! Ah…entry done.

---

"Ahh….what a night…." James muttered as he stepped outside Team Rocket's Alolan base (which was just Bewear's tree in a part they hollowed out on a higher part to put their gadgets in), rubbing his eyes as he headed towards the mailbox they managed to purchase from their undercover job of selling malasadas. He was about to open it before a Dargonite wearing a mailman's cap and satchel flew in and nearly knocked the man over in the winds of its landing; reaching into the satchel, Dragonite gave James a few letters, "Thank you…" he muttered as the Dragonite flew off, "Okay what's today's mail…I swear it better not be from those Team Skull Hooligans again. I swear everyone wants to be like…" he began as he opened one of the letters….and his face began to pale as he read on, "...no…wh…what….JESSIE! MEOWTH!"

"What happened?!" Meowth panicked, "It's not those hoods with the stupid durags again!? Or dat horrible Alolan variant of my kind, right?"

"No! Worse!" James exclaimed as he rushed in, closing the door right behind him.

"Oh this better be important," Jessie muttered as she looked down from upstairs, "Your scream woke me from my beauty n-"

"The boss…he…..he quit."

"...Beg pardon?" Jessie blinked, her mind trying to process what James just uttered, "I…I think I had something in my ear James, but…what…did you just say?"

"The boss…Don Giovanni…he….he left Team Rocket!" James exclaimed.

"Lemme see dat!" Meowth snatched the letter, "'To all units of Team Rocket, as of 4:57pm in the Kanto Region, our leader, Giovanni Sakaki, has stepped down from his leadership of the organization. In his place, he has left Admin White Truth-now revealing herself to be Aoiro Sakaki-in charge of all future endeavors of Team Rocket. At this time, his reasons for stepping down are unknown. An explanation will be sent out in the next letter. Signed, Team Rocket HR.' He…He really did step down."

"...th…that can't be…" Jessie whispered in utter disbelief, having to hold onto the railing to not collapse, "How….why would the boss quit?"

"I…I don't know," James replied in equal disbelief, "This…this has never happened before…!"

"M…maybe dere's a way to drive him out of retirement and back into da job?" Meowth nervously suggested.

"How, Meowth?!" Jessie and James snapped.

"Mmm…" Meowth crossed his arms over his chest and thought for a moment, "...Oh! Da Twoip!"

"The Twerp?" Jessie repeated.

"Remember! When da three Admins talked 'bout seein' somethin' glowin' on 'im when we came back from dat Evolution Stone party!" Meowth reminded, "He was really interested in keepin' a tab on 'im! If we got da Twoip's Pokemon, especially dat Pikachu, maybe offering dem to him will make da Boss want ta come back!"

"W-well…I suppose that might work if the Boss was so deeply invested once before…" James muttered.

"We know he's still in Kanto since the Indigo League is happening," Jessie recalled as they headed upstairs to the massive computer in it, letting her get on it and log into the private servers for the Kanto Gym Leaders through Team Rocket's backdoor credentials, "Let's see if he's been busy."

"Looks like he was just at Viridian City Gym," James noted, seeing that there were new videos of the Gym Battles.

"Hey, dat video looks like da guy dat Black Ideal was pissed off at fer messin' wit' th' Celadon Game Corner scheme wit' da gal wit' a Venusaur," Mewoth noted, seeing one video showing Gary.

"She posted them yesterday, meaning he may still be in the area," Jessie noted, "If we hurry, we can catch him and his goody-good group of twerps and twerpettes!"

"Oh man…sudden flights always have the worst seats…" James groaned, "Especially with our budget…we'll be lucky to get spots in the cargo hold…"

"Hmm….good point…" Meowth muttered.

"...It's worth it," Jessie stated, "For the Boss!"

"For the boss!" James and Mewoth declared, the former dropping the rest of the mail on the floor as they rose their arms up…completely unaware of the black and gold letter with James' name on it.

---

"Interesting…very interesting indeed," Kajun whispered in glee, rapidly writing down in a new book, "Terastilizing…a power that is capable of temporarily changing a Pokemon's typing…oh so many strategies to think up with this…the potential…"

"Remember that Ash needs to take it to a Pokémon Center every time he uses it," Tsubaki reminded.

"Why does something so cool have that kinda drawback?" Ash pondered, looking at the Tera Orb.

"It's probably not easy to make a Pokemon change types, it must take a lot of energy." Makoto offered.

"...yes yes. That would make sense," Kajun whispered as she wrote that down, "Something as good as this would have a drawback to help balance it out."

"Maybe if we ask an expert who's familiar with this item we could gather more information?" Tsubaki offered, "I believe Professor Sakurai said something about having studied in Paldea, perhaps he knows what we want to know."

"That sounds like a good idea," Ash agreed, "hopefully it won't' take up too much time from training for the Pokemon League."

"Well it might help to know how this thing works before you do something like make one of your team into a water type while fighting a Grass expert." Makoto offered.

"Also…a means of detecting a Pokemon's Tera Type would be nice, maybe even our Pokemon have an oddly different Tera Type." Tsubaki offered.

"...You just wanna see Vale in a crown and be all sparkly, don't ya?" Makoto asked.

"...you can't prove that," Tsubaki replied as she looked away.

"Oh so you say~" Makoto smirked.

"Let us get ready to go!" Kajun cheered, as she closed her book, "Oh I can't wait to learn this…"

"Want me to go get Noellie, Misty and Brock?" Makoto offered.

"Yes please! I will not waste a second of this!" Kajun declared…before Tsubaki lightly tapped her paperfan on her head, "Ite…"

"Calm down…we're not in a complete rush," Tsubaki sighed.

"But…knowledge and information…" Kajun pouted.

"Yes yes I know, but we're taking this time to help Ash relax but also help him prepare for the league," Tsubaki pointed out.

"Well after an intense match like that, a simple adventure of learning is perfect for relaxing." Kajun argued, "And with expert help we won't mess up the use of this Tera Orb."

"I dislike when you use actual logic against us…" Tsubaki sighed.

"Honestly I'm curious about it too," Ash admitted, "Besides…I might be able to stupify Gary if he sees me use it in battle."

"Honestly…your getting these power ups for Pokemon left and right," Tsubaki sighed, "Only thing left is a vacation to Alola for that Z Move ability…"

"...How soon can we do that?" Kajun whispered to Ash.

"Maybe after the league…ooh! Then I can hit Johto afterwards!" Ash beamed.

"Good boy." Kajun smiled patting his head.

"This Sibling dynamic is both concerning and adorable…." Tsubaki shook her head as she was now being ignored.

"Tell me about it…" Makoto muttered as she left to go pick up the others.

'More than you think…' Mai thought, recalling Kajun's admittance.

"Come along, we have a ways to walk!" Kajun cheered, "Unless someone here suddenly has a drivers license?"

"Ooh! I wanna be the driver!" Makoto called from outside.

"DEAL!" Mai and Kajun exclaimed before Tsubaki could say anything.

"Wait really?!" Makoto cheered, "Yes!"

"Why…" Ash began.

"No reason," Mai and Kajun replied in unison.

"I don't think I'm ever gonna understand girls…" Ash muttered in total confusion.

"(And we're not using Teleport because…?)" Pikachu asked Hikari and Koko.

"(We want to see what happens of this…)" both replied in interest.

"(...Right…)" Pikachu facepalmed, "(I forgot you two are Kajun's Pokémon…)"

---

"BAH!" Team Rocket gasped as they stumbled out of a crate near the port, covered in head to toe in hay.

"Did we really have to get hay for the box?!" Jessie complained.

"It was da only way we wouldn't be found!" Meowth argued.

"At least we made it here in great time…" James sighed, plucking a bit of hay out of his hair, "Now we just need to find the Twerp and his group."

"How? We don't know where they went after last time…?" Jessie sighed, "Also we got taken off that job…and I doubt we can ask the temporary boss…you know…given she and the others don't like us…"

"Worry not!" Meowth declared as he shook the hay off his fur, "If da twoip and his group of goodie goodies aren't in Viridian, they'd most likely be in da nearest town…which happens to be Pallet."

"Oh how quaint…" Jessie muttered.

"I guess he went home to rest before the league?" James offered.

"Exactly!" Mewoth grinned, "And Professor Oak's lab happens ta be in Pallet as well, meaning…"

"...We can sneak in and steal every Pokemon in there!" Jessie realized.

"It would be the Poke Crime of the century!" James added.

"Question…is…how…" Meowth muttered.

"Oh right…all our funds are allocated towards base construction only…" James muttered, "And we were warned that if we tried to build another 'death trap machine to capture stuff'…we would be fed to the Admin's more bloodthirster Pokemon."

"...D'oh! We've worked with budget options before! We can surely do it again!" Jessie declared.

"Precisely!" Meowth agreed, "One way or another, we will steal dose Pokemon-especially da twoip's-and get da boss to come back!"

"Well at the very least let's put some hustle into this. We can only hope that Mother Bewear can be fooled for so long with the emergency plush doll copies we made," James sighed.

"Smart investment," Jessie and Meowth nodded.

"Dead of night sneak thievery is our safest bet," James continued, "At least that which would prevent us from being blasted all the way back to Alola."

"Perfect! I'll start borrowing…"

"You mean steal…"

"Borrowing some equipment for the Raid," Jessie stated as she rushed off.

"And I'll go plan out our escape route!" Meowth added.

"Wait! Don't y-and they left me again…" James muttered as Mewoth ran off, "I swear it's like only I can hear myself some days." he sighed as he began walking off, "I wonder what I can do to pass the time while they go and cause their own chaos…" he blinked when someone bumped into him, "Oh I'm sorry…" he began.

"Hmm?" the person was a man around James's age, with his head adorned with a wide brimmed hat, with a dark brown poncho hanging over his clothing to hide his torso. The man blinked a few times before he moved the poncho to reveal the brown vest and blue shirt underneath, as well as the two belts around his waist with several pokeballs. He pulled a picture from a pouch on one of the belts before holding it up, "Well…I'll be damned…you're him…"

"Who?" James asked, confused.

"Him," he turned the picture around to show it was…a picture of younger James.

"?!" James tensed up upon seeing the photo, "...H…H…How did you get that?"

"Not very reliable for a client to give me a childhood photo of an adult man…but thankfully, you…have not matured all that much." the man chuckled, "You still have a very pretty boy lookin' face." he chuckled, "And to answer that, well I'm the man who's gonna take you home to Ma and Pa."

"...oh no…." James whispered as he paled greatly, "No…no no. I…I refuse to go back there!"

"Sorry, Little Boy Blue, but I'm not in the business of going against my contract. Besides…" he raised his hand and poked the R on his uniform, "It's either go home…or go to the pretty sheriff here in town."

"..." James said nothing as he grabbed Weezing's Pokeball, "Well I choose neither! Weezing, use Smokescreen!" he called out as he sent his Pokemon out.

"Wheeee~!" Weezing bellowed as he unleashed a wave of smoke, covering the area as James quickly returned his Pokemon and ran.

"Oh…now see…now you're just choosing the hard way. I can do it the hard way," the man laughed, walking through the smoke rather unphased by it.

James panicked further as he heard the man laugh, running as fast as his legs could carry. The fact this man was hired to find him…by those people is just horrifying! He absolutely refuses to go back to them…especially her of all people!

"Heads up!" at that, a rope loop fell around James before going taught around his ankles, making him tense as he was tripped, "Not half bad distance, but…I've wrangled bigger and faster from farther." the man sighed as he pulled and dragged James over to him, "Good effort, Little Boy Blue."

"Wh-who are you?" James couldn't help but ask.

"Well…normally to folks with that…" he flicked the R on his uniform, "I'm just a nobody who makes it a habit of bringing you into the authorities for a hefty bounty. To folks like your Ma and Pa who pay out the nose to find lost people, I'm just Mr. Dollaro." he explained, "So normally I'd have you pick what you want to happen next…but see what your folks offered me…is way more then what the police want for a Rocket thug of your rank. So…let's get you home now." he began twirling the rope and managed to tie it all around James to the point he was cocooned by it. He then plucked one of his PokeBalls and tossed it to let a flash of light go off to reveal a tall equine Pokemon with short brown fur, a black and red mane, and hooves covered in a layer of red mud, "Alright Mudsdale, let's get this one home." he grunted tossing James over the Mudsdale's back.

'Jessie…Meowth…help me~~!' James mentally cried.

---

Professor Sakurai hummed as he was busy checking up on some berries growing around the lab, his Lillagant and Sneasler standing nearby with baskets at the ready.

"Hmm…yes…ahh these came out perfect," he smiled as he unplucked a Oran Berry, "Today's harvest came out perfect…and just in time f-"

He was soon interrupted by a loud engine vrooming...and multiple screams, prompting him to turn to see a Jeep flying down the road (most likely by a speed bump or something) as it headed towards him..only to skid to a complete halt, the sounds of groaning and two laughters coming from inside the Jeep.

"Hmm…first time drivers…" Professor Sakurai mused, rather unphased by all this.

The back of it opened and Brock fell over, "Ugh…Make the world stop…I want to pass on…"

"I think he got his dizzy lines mixed up…" Professor Sakurai noted, "I know I told you folks to come visit whenever, but so soon and…so…dangerously…"

"Lil…" the Hisuian Grass/Fighting Type spoke in a deadpan tone as she went to get the medical kit.

"I know it's something my cousin would do, but that is my cousin and not them," Professor Sakurai argued with Hime, "And you know she's not allowed to drive anything but a Cyclizard or something with a brain that can halt before craziness can begin."

"(I regret everything involving not using Teleport…)" Hikari groaned, her eyes replaced with swirls.

"(I still want to know how she got the jeep!)" Pikachu groaned before his face turned green and he covered his mouth before the Sneasler pointed nearby, letting the Pikachu dash off to the bushes she pointed at.

"S-Sorry for the arrival, professor," Tsubaki groaned, managing to shake off the ride there, "Ash just received something from the Viridian City Gym and…"

"I hope it was his last Badge and on the third try. I had a bet with Papa-san and Naki on how many attempts it'd take to earn that one because of the rumors on how hard it is to earn," Professor Sakurai noted.

"No, no. It was the first try, but that isn't what we were hoping to talk about," Tsubaki spoke as Ash walked over and pulled out the Tera Orb, "The Gym Leader gave Ash this."

"A Tera Orb…I haven't seen one of these since my internship in Paldea…amazing…though…I suppose that makes sense, haha…ah…these are crazy stupid expensive!" Professor Sakurai chuckled.

"E-Expensive?" Tsubaki asked before he whispered the price into her ear, making her faint.

"Ah! Lady Tsubaki!" Luca panicked, catching her.

"...Is it more expensive than a bike?" Ash asked.

"Oh right…Bikes cost so much here in this area of the world…I was so used to Cyclizards…" Professor Sakurai mused, "Anyway, yes these are highly expensive. Owning one is no small feat, unless you are a gym leader, League official, Elite Four, Champion…or part of a certain school's elite student council."

"A school?" Ash grimaced, earning a laugh from Naki at his expression.

"The same look one of my cousins gave when she learned about it," Professor Sakurai chuckled, "Of course, we don't talk about that when she's around. Real hot head and her Pokemon all know a Fire-Type move."

"Can we go back to the item that costs a small…?"

"Medium Fortune…" Professor Sakurai corrected Makoto before she could finish, "But, yes! It has been a long while since I last saw one in action in person. And you say the Gym Leader just gave this to you? I heard the Gym Leader was a rich person…but to just hand out something so flashy as this…"

"Well, she did say she'd give me an extra prize for beating all of her personal team," Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "That Delphox of hers was really powerful! And she even turned it into a Normal-Type to not get affected by Gengar's Ghost-Type attacks!"

"Fantastic! Perfect use of the Tera Orb and the Terastilization Phenomenon!" Professor Sakurai cheered, "Just like my days in Paldea watching the Gym battles on my days off. In fact…in Paldea, all the Gym Leaders have an Ace Pokemon who doesn't match their Gym specialization, only for them to Terastilize it into their Type!"

"Wait, what?" Makoto and Misty blinked.

"Imagine you challenge a Grass-Type gym, but the final Pokemon they send out is Sudowoodo, a Rock-Type, then when you go for something like a Fighting or Water move, it changes into a grass type!" he cheered, "So many people fell for that trick and got spanked something good."

"Huh…So it'd probably be really cheesy is someone used a Pokemon with Levitate as its ability and turn into an Electric-Type," Misty noted, "The biggest weakness of an Electric-Type negated just like that."

"Yep! Shedinja are actually banned from being used for Terastalization because of one year a Trainer used one…with an Air Balloon held item and an Electric Tera Type," Professor Sakurai grimaced, "Bad enough Eelektross like is native to Paldea as well…"

"So you know how to make this work?" Ash asked.

"Yes. I also have a healing machine for Pokemon in the lab for obvious reasons. So long as I can take a few notes on the phenomenon to send to my old mentor in Paldea, you're welcome to experiment with your Pokemon on this power. Oh! There's also something you should know: if a Pokemon's Tera Type matches their own Typing and they use a move of that same Type? The power behind it increases exponentially!"

"Really?" Ash asked, "That sounds so cool!"

"Oh, it is awesome to watch," Professor Sakurai grinned, "Oh! If you want to try out a battle with your Pokemon using Terastalization, Kintoki is over at the field doing some practice."

"Gh!" Misty froze, recalling the photo.

"Oh cool! We never got to meet him since he was busy that day," Ash recalled.

"Just give me a few minutes to get the usual equipment for studying the Terastalization Phenomenon out there. It's gonna be a treat to see!" Professor Sakurai grinned before a howl went off, "...Hachi, NO!" the Hisuian Arcanine pounced him, "GAH! I didn't mean an actual treat, girl~!"

"I like visiting this place. Feels like Professor Oak's lab, but with a younger professor," Ash smiled.

"Ooh, I…" Makoto began before her ears twitched, "Hmm?"

"Pachi/Emol?" Berry and Cherry poked their heads out of her tail, their own ears twitching.

"...Hmm…" Makoto began to frown a bit as she looked to the side.

"...Makoto, wh-" Mai began before Makoto's hand shot into a nearby bush…and dragged up Jessie and Meowth by their hair and tail respectively, "?!"

"...eh heh….hey…" Meowth nervously greeted.

"...Trying to steal Pokemon again?"

"No…!" Jessie huffed, "...we came to borrow…"

"Steal."

"Borrow some equipment…and some papers…"

"Oh no…not these people again…" Professor Sakurai groaned seeing the R symbol, "Chisa-chan! Mama-san!"

"Chisa-chan? Mama-san?" Jessie and Meowth blinked before they heard a huff behind them, making them look up to see the Ursaluna glaring down at them, "AHH! GIANT URSARING!" the shadows above it rose up, revealing demonic red eyes within, "GH?!"

"Intruders…" the Alpha Hisuian Zoroark snarled, forming from the shadows atop Chisa and glanced to Ash, "How is the History Hunter?"

"She did great and beat up a Metagross in the Viridian City Gym!" Ash gave a thumbs up.

Mama-san nodded before snarling at the two Team Rocket operatives, "What to do with these two?"

"Mmm…they give off a rather annoying energy…I say drive them to insanity and leave them for the authorities," Professor Sakurai replied simply, "Try not to give them frostbite, but ultimately they made their bed with crime so…"

"One illusion of a Mimikyu then," Mama-san nodded.

"Hold on. Where's James?" Brock asked, looking around.

"Huh? …Hey, dat's right. I thought he was right behind us," Meowth blinked a few times.

"Where…Where did he go?" Jessie blinked, "...he didn't ditch us, did he?"

"Jessie, dis is James…most likely he got distracted wit' another bottle cap or somethin'...but he'd bolt right back to us in an instant…"

"...was it possible he was kidnapped?"

"Why would anyone kidnap either of you?" Makoto deadpanned.

"Hey we have bounties thank you!" Jessie argued.

"Wait!" Makoto gasped, "You mean I could have gotten paid for kicking your fat butt and giving you to the police?!"

"Ye-!" Jessie began before she tensed, "...oh I despise you so much, you cosplaying twerpette…"

"Well giving these folks who keep trying to steal from me is a very reliable stream of extra funds for the lab." Professor Sakurai spoke up, "So…so many keep trying and I have been able to afford the upgrades to my fossil reconstitution machine." he chuckled, "Even have enough left over that I might be able to get plane tickets for the whole family to visit and not just a small group."

"Y-you've been using us as a stream of income?" Jessie blinked.

"I mean its not my fault most of you Rocket grunts are stupid." Professor Sakurai muttered pulling out his RotomPhone, which took a picture and ran it through the system he used to collect on past Rocket bounties, "Lets see…oh…you're a joint bounty with your…boyfriend?" he blinked seeing the picture, "What a nice couple. But I can't collect off one of you…might as well just let Mama-san drive you insane and leave you in the wilderness…"

"Why does that seem way more harsh!?" Mai shouted.

"They chose the life of crime and to try and harm my beloved family of Pokemon…they earned no mercy from me. Besides, my mother and aunt would probably do worse…" he muttered.

"Wait please please! Don't hurt us!" Meowth exclaimed, "We can't find James if we're caught!"

"He's probably worried or freaked out somewhere…nervous…crying…" Jessie listed in worry.

"...resist, Noel….resist…" Noel whispered, her arms flinching as she mentally resisted the urge to pull out a book, "Remember who this is…"

"What an interesting couple, the woman is the more masculine protective one, and the man is the more emotionally fragile one." Professor Sakurai mused out loud, "What a charming inversion."

"W-will you cut that out?!" Jessie snapped with a blush.

"If it wasn't true would you be so bothered?" Professor Sakurai replied with a smile.

"Mmmm…."

"...sh…should we help?" Ash whispered to his group.

"Hel-Ash its Team Rocket!" Misty hissed.

"I know…but they sound honestly worried for James…"

"Oh come on, it's not like they'd ever help us." Makoto argued, "But we are the better people…"

"Finding him…and then turning them into the police would be better then letting them be lost in the forest while driven mad from fear." Noel muttered, "Morally…personally I think that would have been fitting." she added to clarify her personal feelings.

"What? They trespassed on our home. It was self defense." Professor Sakurai replied, "Technically I should have let them be eaten…"

"DARK!" Meowth gawked at that.

"Silence you." Makoto sighed, "Ugh…I hate myself for saying this…but…we…mmmm…Need to be the better people and help the crazy lady find her platonic life partner…"

"So she wants to tell herself." Professor Sakurai giggled.

"...ugh…I can't believe we're really doing this…" Tsubaki sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she looked over at Jessie, "Where was the last place you saw him?"

"At the pier near here."

"Well that…narrows it down. He could be anywhere by now." Makoto pointed out.

"Lil! Lil-Liligant~" Hime spoke up.

"Oh yes…we did hear the clopping of Mudsdale hooves earlier…mayhaps that is a clue?" Professor Sakurai offered.

"Its better than nothing," Mai sighed.

"W-wait..we're actually going to…" Kajun began in disbelief, "...But…the Tera research…"

"Oh we got plenty of time, if we don't do this we'll feel guilty in the off chance something bad actually happened to the blue idiot, and the Red idiot will probably cry like the crazy old cat lady she is…and the cat will probably beg and plead and I don't need that voice getting worse…" Makoto sighed.

"She's not wrong." Noel and Mai muttered.

"Unfortunately true, for some reason this trio has formed a very unhealthy attachment to us…especially Ash and Pikachu…" Tsubaki sighed.

"Not our fault that Pikachu is special," Meowth muttered.

"Do you want us to help you or not?" Brock deadpanned.

"A thank you would be nice." Makoto smirked.

"That's right, we are going out of our way to help the creeps who stalked us for almost a year. Out of the good of our hearts…don't you think you should be more grateful?" Misty added in a teasing condescending tone.

"D'oh…you…!" Jessie and Mewoth growled.

"Come on…do you want us to help or not?" Ash added his own grin with Pikachu smirking with him.

"From what I understand of their stories…you're not very competent." Professor Sakurai added.

"Also this is payback for all the times you messed with us all to take away Pikachu or our other Pokemon." Misty added, "So…come on…say it~"

"...plese…help…" Jessie muttered.

"Jessie pelase say it…" Meowth hissed.

"No…my pride…"

"You know he's scared somewhere…and we're not complete without him..!"

"...d'oh fine!" Jessie groaned before taking a deep breath, "Pl…ple….pleagh….plea…pleeeeeaaase help usssssss…?"

"Well that was pathetic but…eh you tried." Makoto shrugged.

"I'm satisfied." Misty smiled, "Alright, we'll help. But just go home after this…" she sighed.

"We are trying to relax after Ash got his 8th badge, so don't mess it up." Makoto added.

"We would like at least a few weeks without shenanigans." Noel sighed in agreement.

"That we can at least promise," Meowth admitted, "Any other members on da other hand…"

"...Cassidy and her partner's name who we keep 'forgetting'?" Makoto guessed.

"Ugh don't even get me started with her," Jessie groaned before yelping as Makoto dropped her and Mewoth.

"Alright, so at least for now we can agree that B….mmm…control there is a child present…" Makoto stopped herself, "We can all hate those super losers, save your losers, and the three of you can go home, and leave us to learn mystery Pokemon powers."

"Mystery powers?" Jessie and Meowth blinked.

"Sorry…group only~" Misty giggled.

"Guys we're trying to help…not antagonize them further," Brock sighed.

"Oh come on, Brock. They've been doing it to us for a long time," Ash argued, "WE can at least give them a taste of their own medicine."

"Yeah come on after all the stuff they put us through, we're allowed to be a little petty, we're probably still gonna go on a crazy adventure for their friend. Which, let's face it, they will fail without us." Makoto added.

"She's not wrong." Meowth agreed, "You twoips are weirdly strong."

"Emphasis on weird…" Jessie muttered.

"Can't you at least act your age?" Tsubaki replied, having heard that, "Why do you fall to such provocation as if you were a child yourself…?"

"I…" Jessie began before Meowth scratched her face, "AHH WHY!?"

"Let's just hurry and find James and not get caught up in nonsense!" Meowth snapped.

"Look at that, the cat is the mature one." Tsubaki mused.

---

"So…you are a rich boy…who ran away from home…joined multiple gangs…then Team Rocket…and you willingly chose to join those losers rather than go home to your rich Mommy and Daddy?" Dollaro asked as Mudsdale clopped along a road towards a mansion.

"Yes! At least they treat me like an actual person!" James snapped.

"You mean a bunch of criminals and thugs, your twisted Little Boy Blue." he chuckled, "You should be happy, your parents pay way more to bring you here then to the police. At least think of it like this, you'll earn a big inheritance, which you can probably lose by giving it to your boss or something stupid."

"You don't understand! If you take me in there, they'll give me to her of all people!" James argued.

"Her?"

"My…!" James began before quickly looking around, making sure they wouldn't hear him before he whispered, "My fiance…Jessiebelle."

"Fiance…so that's why they want you back…they want grandkids…" Dollaro realized, "And you're their only hope to get some…"

"Yes…major problem is that shes absolutely insane and wants to control everything I do!" James hissed.

"Well as compelling as your life story has been, I've yet to be paid. And I always get paid." Dollaro explained, "Whatever you do after the money touches my hand is not my problem, Little Boy Blue."

"You'll just let me go?" James blinked.

"Provided they don't pay me to catch you again." he bluntly admitted, "Like I said, I don't care what really happens to you. Frankly part of me is telling me to turn you into the cops, honestly it seems like you'd prefer that."

"Yes! Very much so!" James confirmed, "I didn't even know there were people who hunted Team Rocket…"

"Not just Rocket, there are folks like you in every region. I guess you can call me a 'Team Hunter' . I hunt teams that commit crimes and turn their members in for rewards." Dollaro explained, "So long as idiots like you commit crimes against Pokemon for dumb reasons…I make steady income. Rocket, Plasma, Magma, Aqua, Galactic, you name 'em…I've probably captured a few…"

"There are that many Teams like us?" James blinked.

"No…not like you, some are jokes, some are so busy fighting each other they get nothing done, and others…oh others are way worse than you. I'm talking real nasty pieces of work, you…you guys are as generic thugs as it comes. I just hate you for how you treat Pokemon."

"I..well…you…" James trailed off, trying to find the right words to say.

"And trust me..y'all are nothin' like that witch Pokemon Hunter J over in Sinnoh."

"H…Hunter J?" James repeated before he was picked up.

"Lets just say, you're a goon…I put goons in jail, and I earn my money by doing so. Today I earned some green from your parents wanting what I can only assume is a grandbaby they can coddle and spoil to their heart's content. I wish I could feel for ya…but as long as you got that R…honestly I couldn't give a rattata's butt cheek…" Dollaro bluntly, grunted hefting James over his shoulder, "You should be happy I was able to convince them to pick me…some of the other guys who wanted the contract…well let's say they would have made sure you couldn't run…via led pipe to the kneecaps…" he grunted walking up to the door, "And believe it or not…they tried to make me play along to this: Your parents died fake out…I don't do that…"

"Oh shocker. They tried to pull that," James sighed.

"Oh they are a colorful bunch, I believe that." Dollaro grunted, "Welp…my hands are busy…" he began as he raised his leg and full on front kicked the door making it tremble and almost fall over, "What are these things made of…"

"You are a rather violent individual yourself you know…you ignore a pokemon attack to the face, hog-tie me with a rope, and almost kick open oak doors." James pointed out.

"That ain't oak…cedar maybe….a soft wood." he kicked the doors again, making them fall over, "See…soft, I never would've been able to do that if it was a strong wood." he muttered walking in, "Oi! I got him…he's a lot bigger than the photo…"

"Hmm? Is it truly him?" a male voice spoke in a southern accent.

"Well I do believe it is…" a female voice spoke in a british accent, "Jessiebelle!"

"Oh no…" James began to pale greatly.

"Is that him? Is that truly him?" another voice spoke in a southern accent before a spotlight turned on, revealing it to be a woman that looked almost exactly like Jessie, only her hair was shorter and done up in two twin drill pigtails while wearing a rose-pink dress with white-sleeves, "Well ah do declare…it is mah James!"

"OH NO….!" James screamed.

"Stop squirming…" Dollaro grunted, elbowing James to make him stop moving, "Well as you can see, I brought him back, as promised," he looked around before dropping him on the ground, "The ropes come off with full payment." He put his boot on James to keep him in place.

"Oh that's all fine and dandy, dear sir," Jessiebellie assured, pulling out a folding fan as she hid half her face, "It'll be more than enough to help re-educated my dear fiance here~"

"...take me. I beg of you," James pleaded Dollaro as he looked at him with pleading eyes, "Dont' leave me with that psycho~"

"Aww James..y'all are not crying properly either~"

"...mmmmmm~~~"

"My heart bleeds for you Little Boy Blue…" Dollaro muttered, "I'll wait for the transaction to go through to my bank account." he removed his hat to reveal his messy blond hair.

"Don't leave me man!" James pleaded.

"Consider this karma for not leaving that Pikachu alone." Dollaro replied bluntly.

"Ahh…" James gawked as Dollaro walked off through the front doors, "...Mmmm…"

"Oh hush now, my boy…you've been away from home for a long time now," the male voice spoke as another spotlight turned on, revealing an older gentleman with short blue hair and a mustache and a woman with her pale purple hair tied into a bun.

"We've been worried since you went missing, my child.." the woman added, "Hopefully with Jessiebelle's help, we'll reintegrate you into society yet."

"And Ah'll help every step of th' way," Jessiebelle added with a small smile…one that made James scream incoherently out of pure fear.

"I really root for that guy, Mudsdale, I truly do." Dollaro sighed as he sat outside looking at his phone, "I almost hope he gets away. This place is crazy…"

---

"So yer Rockruff evolved," Meowth gulped, hiding behind Jessie to not earn the attention of Soren as he sniffed a bottle cap in Jessie's hand.

"Yes, he has," Tsubaki replied, "And right now he's your best bet to find James."

"The nose knows." Makoto added, "And Soren's gotten good as a sniffer, we lose things all the time and he always sniffs it out."

"Though…never people…" Noel muttered.

"If he can find the remote after Makoto accidentally threw it three towns away, he can find James." Tsubaki replied confidently.

"Mai should have let go…" Makoto pouted.

"Zip it." Mai deadpanned.

"Awoo!" Soren howled as he began pointing in a direction to the north-east.

"He says: that way to find the strangely fruity man." Meowth translated.

"Hey! James is not fruity!" Jessie argued.

"Could've fooled me with how he dresses for your disguises," Makoto snarked.

"He does end up in girl clothing a lot…" Ash muttered.

"Hey, it's a joke, alright? Throws people off for a guy to be in female garb and a girl in men's," Jessie huffed.

"You two really understand each other, don't you?" Noel smiled.

"I think yer just feeding the jealous girlfriend joke they enjoy usin' to torment ya…" Meowth sighed.

"D'oh…!" Jessie fumed

"Come on, lets go get James and complete your little happy family." Makoto kept the bit going.

"Also while we do find you annoying…we never would wish truly great harm upon you. We already blow you up like every week." Kajun giggled.

"Same for Cassidy and whatshisname," Ash added, "And those two Ultimate guys or something…Billy and Kit."

"Seriously what is with these boy and girl pairings?" Kajun asked.

"Let's go before something else stupid happens." Tsubaki sighed as she began running with Soren.

"Wait for me!" Brock called out as they began following.

"Seriously who'd want to capture just James and not all three of you?" Makoto couldn't help but ponder, "I mean you have bounties, but it would have to be in a pair…so why just him?"

"I honestly don't know…and I swear if CAssidy is behind this I'll strangle her…!" Jessie growled.

"Wow you really don't like her and Boink, do you?"

"They have a very bitter rivalry since boot camp," Meowth explained.

"Not helping she thinks she so much better than me!" Jessie added before she began to try and imitate Cassidy's voice, "Oh Jessie, have you heard about how I helped corral a herd of Tauros and Miltank for the boss? I had my Pokemon scare them into the cage while my partner did nothing as u-' GRRR! Arceus she just makes me so mad!"

"...if it helps, we beat her when she and Biff hacked into the Pokemon transfer system and they got blasted off pretty far," Makoto offered.

"Hmm?"

"Don't ask," Mai whispered to her and Meowth, "The professor who made that system really ticked off Makoto…and she's still bitter about him."

"Yeesh…what did he do?" Meowth asked with a cringe.

"Again, you don't want to know…"

"Yeesh…"

---

It took a bit of walking but soon the group found their way to the grounds of the mansion James was taken to…which served to deeply confuse them. For many reasons they all didn't have time to go into because of how weird their ideas were from person to person. But they were scared out of it by the sound of a shrill scream.

"A girl is in trouble!" Makoto and Misty gawked.

"No…that was James," Jessie and Meowth corrected.

"...Huh…I honestly thought that was you screaming back when I tied your Arbok into a knot when it was an Ekans that first day," Makoto admitted.

"Why are we at a rather fancy mansion that looks like it belongs in a romance novel set in upper crust society?" Noel asked bluntly.

"I don't know…let's ask the cool looking cowboy." Makoto stated.

"Makoto, now you're just talking silly to get us…" Tsubaki sighed.

"..." Makoto pointed to Dollaro as he was leaning against a tree carving slices off an apple to feed to himself and his Mudsdale.

"Howdy," he greeted as Mudsdale nodded to greet them.

"...wait. You're the one who kidnapped James?" Ash blinked.

"Well…Kidnapping is a bit much…technically and despite his method in which he carries himself, he is technically a grown man." Dollaro corrected, "But did I hogtie him, carry him here against his blubbering and pleading to his Ma and Pa so he can get married and give them grandkids…yes…yes I did." he explained everything all at once.

"Ha! So you ad-wait what?" Ash blinked once more as Pikachu gawked.

"...James…getting married?!" Jessie gawked.

"His folks hired you to kidnap him?" Makoto blinked.

"That….seems rather extreme," Tsubaki muttered.

"A: I'm a bounty hunter, bringing in people who commit crimes against their will kicking and screaming to where I get paid, is literally my job." he replied slicing off another chunk of apple for Mudsdale, "2…or B: It was either I bring him home my way…or his parents fake their deaths to emotionally manipulate him back home, then potentially traumatize some poor saps who would have believed the story and dragged him here." he looked them over, "Like most of you folks…you look sappy enough to believe their nonsense if you'd met them."

"Hey!" Makoto complained.

"No, I probably would have believed it." Noel sighed in admittance.

"Yeah no she's right…" Brock muttered in agreement before they heard James scream once more, "?!"

"That…would be the Missus-to-be….trying to whip her future husband into proper gentlemanly shape." Dollaro explained as he tossed a chunk of apple into his mouth, "I'll say this about Little Boy Blue…he is a survivor…not a fighter…but a survivor. That lady gave me all kinds of hibbie-jibbies." he lingered on Jessie, "You remind me a lot of her, Red. Blue-Boy must attract a type…"

"Told ya you scare men away," Meowth deadpanned to Jessie…only to be bonked in the head by her, "OW!"

"Can we go back to the part about the whipping?" Misty spoke with wide eyes.

"Oh no yeah I've heard whippin' in there," Dollaro replied before another yelp went off, "Should've heard him when she tried to teach him how to-and I kid you not-eat spaghetti properly."

"But if you heard that, why…?" Ash began to ask.

"He's a bounty hunter. I wanted to be one when I was younger before I learned more about them. Often, being one means having to harden yourself to things and it's hard to switch that off," Makoto explained, "A lot of it tends to lead to a sense of…disconnect from things others would be appalled by because bounty hunters tend to see even worse things." She looked at the man, "…Right?"

"Heard worse, seen worse, this is just downright weird. Also the guy blabbed his whole life story to me," he added, "I figured I'd let him rack up his deserved karma for chasing the boy with the Pikachu."

"(...I like your Trainer)," Pikachu bluntly stated to the Mudsdale.

"(Give it a few more minutes, then y'all be wantin' t' zap 'im but good)," the Mudsdale snorted.

=Mudsdale, the Draft Horse Pokemon, and the evolved form of Mudbray. Known in the past by Alolans as 'Banbadoro,' Mudsdale is known for both its powerful body and emotional fortitude, which prevents it from becoming agitated. Regardless of the trouble it is in, it will never cry out and defeats opponents with a single blow. The mud around its legs gives its kicks extra force; one kick can turn a car or large truck into a scrap pile. When galloping, its hooves can dig holes in asphalt. While it is not swift, it has excellent stamina and can continue on for three days and three nights while dragging over 10 tons. It will mix dirt and saliva to create a special mud with resistance to both wind and water. The mud is also harder than even stone. Because of its unique qualities, the walls of some old houses were coated with Mudsdale's mud. Mudsdale is highly treasured for both physical labor and pottery made from its high-quality mud= Dexter informed.

"So…you're a bounty hunter…" Misty muttered.

"I get paid for bringing in jerks like…" he pointed to Jessie and Meowth, "Well like them, but typically I just give them to the police. When I heard of a contract to find some lost rich boy, I was expecting he ran away from home for something dumb…no…seems I found some real weird nonsense." he gave the last of his apple to Mudsdale, "Now I'm just kinda waiting and betting on him escaping somehow. Call it a minor investment…sides, Rocket bounties are on the decline anyway."

"Hah?!" Meowth gawked before Jessie covered his mouth.

"That's a good thing," she hissed.

"It's all about the actual crazy teams…like Magma, Aqua, Plasma…" Dollaro explained, "They are the crazy 'burn down the world' types. Plus word has it Team Rocket recently took some huge blows and their command structure is all out of whack. So right now all anyone cares for is their Admins."

"Jessie, words getting out. We need to get James back so we can help da boss," Meowth whispered.

"True, this is-WAIT A SECOND!" Jessie snapped, shooting up and glaring at the mansion, "HE'S RICH?!"

"Real crazy of a story," Dollaro reminded, "Anyway, I figure the poor guy has suffered enough." he grunted, "Mudsdale, kick the side of the house." his pokemon snorted and nodded before trotting up…and kicking the side of the mansion, making the entire thing tremble, "Give it a minute, they might be rich…but this place is built cheap." after a moment, a window shattered as James jumped out and landed in the bushes, "Hmm…okay, you win, Mudsdale. I bet on him escaping from a dungeon…turns out he hid in the upper floor." the pleased whinny from Mudsdale just earned a chuckle from him.

"I'm saved! Please hurry! The nearest police station, sir! I need to be in the jail with a lawyer for a restraining order!" James pleaded, shooting out of the bushes…before he was grabbed by an enraged Jessie.

"You're rich?!" Jessie barked.

"AH! J-Jessie?!" James yelped before Jessie started to rapidly shake him, "Ah! Wait! No please! Mercy~!"

"To be fair, lady, he grew up rich. None of the money is his 'till he gets hitched," Dollaro sighed.

"Just let 'er get it outta her system. It's healthier and safer," Meowth sighed, facepalming.

"Wow, I did not expect that twist in your backstory," Makoto admitted.

"GH?!" James managed to get Jessie to stop shaking him, "Th-The Twerps?!"

"Do they call all kids that?" Dollaro muttered.

"It annoys folks and could lead t' a good enough distraction. Really works on dem Team Skull loonies in Alola," Meowth noted before snickering, "Ah, dat's when it's fun t' be 'round dose guys."

"We're here to help find you, blueberry head," Makoto sighed.

"I am being saved by my friends and the twerps?" James blinked.

"Technically, you're not safe yet," Dollaro argued, "You have yet to escape the crazy girl who…is again…looking a lot like your friend, my man…do you have some kind of type?"

"Bossy red-heads…sounds like it…" Makoto muttered.

"Gh?! Y-You're right! We have got to leave immediately!" James panicked, "I do not like the whip!"

"Right. Hikari, Koko, Teleport if you'd kindly," Kajun ordered as she let the two out.

"Esp/Kirl…" the two replied, glowing for a moment before the psychic energy sputtered out, "..."

"...Oh now that's not a good sign," Dollaro noted.

"What just happened?" Ash asked.

"They probably have some Pokemon out and about with the Shadow Tag Ability. Prevents moves like that from working."

"Huh?!" Ash gawked.

"Ashton, I thought we went over this about what Abilities a Gengar has," Kajun sighed.

"To be fair on the boys' side, men are prone to forgetting things when it matters the most," Dollaro shrugged, Mudsdale nodding in agreement.

"Yep," James and Brock nodded simply.

"See? I told you it's normal," Ash jumped over to their side.

"Now if you'd all like an actual plan…that big house over there…is a dog house…maybe we can hide in there?" he pointed to a building to the side…which had its doors tremble now and again as something barked from behind them.

"...Er…James, is it safe to be in there?" Makoto asked.

"Of course it's safe!" James assured, "Growlie lives there and I always hid there when things got too much before I finally ran away."

"...Growlie?" Noel repeated as James ran over to the doors.

"Now if I remember right, the key is…" he pushed one a brick and it fell out, revealing it to be hollow inside with a key, "Perfect!" he knocked on the door in several spots, making a star shape in the knocking before the barking settled down, "There's that." he quickly unlocked it, "Everyone inside before they come out to search or hire him again!"

"If the money's good, I will in fact hog-tie him again," Dollaro smirked as he returned his Mudsdale to its ball and walked in.

"A real honest type he is…" Meowth grumbled as they all followed, James quickly closing and locking the door.

"Growl~!" a howl went off before a Growlithe pounced James, licking his face happily.

"Ah! Growlie~!" James cheered, hugging the Puppy Pokemon, "Oh, it's been years~!"

"Aw…a little Growlithe~" Noel awed with stars in her eyes, "He's so fluffy!"

"So…what's with all this weirdness? I mean…I'm used to you being more…on the streets, not rich," Makoto spoke.

James sighed, "That's a bit of a long story. I suppose it started when I was five and started to be groomed to take over the family fortune and businesses. And, yes, I said 'businesses.' The Kojiro family happens to be very influential on a global scale with several business ventures in Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Kalos, and Paldea. I asked why not other Regions like Unova, Orre, or Alola and was told to be silent and my parents looked rather annoyed, especially when I mentioned Unova."

"This place got a…"

"Down the hallway to your right. Wine cellar entrance is labeled with a 'No Puppy Pokemon' sign. Alcoholic ones are on the higher shelves, non-alcoholic on lower shelves," James replied to the bounty hunter.

"This doggo lives better than me…" Dollaro muttered in awe to himself, "I don't hate it…" he admitted as he walked off.

"Keep goin' 'bout dis whole thing. What happened when you were five?"

"Like I said, I was to start learning about everything to take over the family business when I was old enough," James resumed, "Mornings spent studying, afternoons doing physical activities like lacrosse, badminton, tennis, cricket, olympic swimming, olympic gymnastics, track and field, and then I'd have the evenings to relax and enjoy myself. Often that was with some ice cream sandwiches or mochi and being with Growlie here."

'That is a lot of physical activities!' many of them thought in surprise.

"When I turned seven…is when she arrived," James shivered as Growlie let out a growl/snarl mix.

"Again with the 'she' lady," Ash frowned.

"Her name is Jessebelle, daughter of a well known pharmaceutical organization that also dabbles in several other events and businesses such as Circ de Solrock or the popular Galarian and Unovan dinner show Medieval Eras. Her father and my father entered a betrothal contract when our mothers were pregnant, stating that if one mother had a daughter and the other a son, then upon the son's seventh birthday, they would be engaged and would start living together," James explained.

"Uh…okay wow…" Makoto muttered, eyes wide and ears straight up, "Tsubaki, you came from a fancy family. Anything to add?"

"My family were never ones for betrothal contracts until after we would get to know and become closer to someone. It would just be a formality," Tsubaki replied, "This, however…feels like one of the more…irreputital members of the Hierarchical families back home would do. The worst thing is was they're one of the strongest families, so no one can really call them out on it without severe and disproportionate retributions unless you knew or were from one of the two that were stronger than them which, fortunately, the Kisaragi family was and that prevented me from being forced into one when I was eight…to a son of that family that was in his thirties."

"See?! This life is terrible!" James shouted, "This is why I ran away. Sure life has its hardships, but I'm happy! I'm free to be with the people I care about and I know care about me."

"Okay, so you left because you didn't want to get married?" Makoto asked.

"That woman in insane! When I didn't do things the way she wanted, she'd whip me either with a whip she had on hand or with her Oddish!" James replied before shivering, "Now it's a Vileplume and I barely avoided a Stun Spore she had it send at me when I managed to escape and hide upstairs before the signal that let me know I could escape happened. And don't try convincing my folks! They're nuttier than a fruitcake on Christmas! Turns out they sent me a letter the day we got the notification that the head of Team Rocket is stepping down under false pretenses of them being deceased! I even saw the coffins and everything they had set up to do it!"

"...I know you're having a whole emotional moment there…but are we gonna circle back to that other thing?" Tsubaki asked.

"Later," Dollaro spoke as he returned with a bottle of wine in hand as he popped the cork off with his thumb, "And I'll be sure to keep that tightlipped as part of the deal."

"That's why he helped you…you gave him something just as good as money, information!" Makoto realized.

"I may not like being an aristocrat, but I do remember my teachings," James huffed.

"...And what about this guy?" Misty asked, looking at Growlie who had yet to leave James's side.

"I hatched Growlie when I was three from an egg that my grandma and grandpa who live in a fantabulous manor to the northwest of here," James explained, gently scratching between Growlie's ears and causing his hind leg to start to go wild, "He's been my ever faithful friend and someone that I just couldn't take with me when I chose to run away. I didn't want him to get hurt by anything that I didn't know was out there."

"Really?" Brock pondered.

"Of course! Growlie only know Tackle and Growl at the time and I didn't want something to happen to him that would lead to him getting hurt," James replied.

"..." Dollaro crouched down as he looked Growlie in the eye, he took a long moment before moving his hands to the sides of his face, and ruffling his fur and scratching him, earning happy sounds from the act, "Hmm…this is a good Growlithe. He's strong and loyal. He's got a powerful fire in him."

"How can you tell?" James blinked.

"...I'm very fond of Dog Pokemon," he admitted bluntly, "This one…he's grown strong since last you saw him. So next time, he could protect his boy."

"Really?" James pondered before looking at Growlie, "You have?"

"I could check," Ash offered as he took out Dexter.

=This Growlithe knows the following: Tackle, Growl, Ember, Leer, Howl, Bite, Flame Wheel, Helping Hand, Agility, Fire Fang, Thunder Fang, Psychic Fangs, Burn Out, Flare Blitz, Flame Charge, Retaliate, Take-Down, Crunch, Flamethrower, Dig, and Play Rough. It also knows the Egg Moves Double Kick and Raging Fury. This Pokemon's Ability is Intimidate= Dexter informed.

"You know how to do all that!?" James gawked, Growlie panting happily at James's expression.

"Told you, Good Doggo," Dollaro bluntly replied as he chugged down the contents of the bottle.

"How did you know it was so strong?" Ash asked.

"Stick around Pokemon, you learn a thing or two," Dollaro spoke as he began scratching Pikachu behind the ear, earning happy noises of approval, "Oh…so that's the spot you can never get, huh?" he mused, "Like this little guy, he's a one in a thousand Pikachu, isn't he?"

"Yeah!" Ash smiled as he took over scratching the same spot, "Wow, you really like that spot~"

"Anyway, your Growlie isn't the little puppy from childhood. He's a strong boy who wants to protect you," Dollaro explained, "I might not like your group, but…this little one loves you, so you can't be that bad."

"It took Growlie to finally convince you of that," James chuckled.

"Eh…I'm not a fan of people." Dollaro bluntly replied, "But you can always trust a good Pokemon."

"Oh James~! Where are you~?" Jessebelle's voice called out from outside.

"?!" James tensed as he put his hands over his mouth while ducking under one of the windows.

"Now son, come on…think of this for th' family," his father called out.

"Yes…that way we can move far away from this boondock region," his mother added.

"...I'm gonna need more of this…" Dollaro spoke as he chugged the bottle down.

"Now I know you like this region, but the family comes first and foremost," James's father explained, "You've wasted your life long enough being a free spirit and joining thugs and gangs."

"Not to mention your choice of Pokemon…worry not. Jessebelle has the perfect Pokemon for you~" James's mother added, "Nothing like those nasty Poison types or that mutt of a Growlithe."

"GRr…" Growlie growled at that.

"Oh they're those type of rich people," Makoto frowned with narrowed eyes.

"Was the arranged marriage and torment to the Blue Boy not key indicators?" Dollaro asked.

"Oh no they were…this type of attitude is icing on the cake," Makoto stated, "...and frankly? I want to punch all three in the face so hard, they can't use bendy straws to drink out of…"

"Freakin' morbid…" Meowth muttered.

"You know just 'cause we agree on that…don't mean we can. Laws are still a thing," Dollaro sighed, "Anyway, our best plan is to get out of here, then I dunno…ship this odd family of criminals to some place they'd never find them…like a Bewear den in Alola…"

"How do you know 'bout da Bewear we're livin' with?" Meowth gawked.

"...Yeah, gonna need another bottle…"

"Take all but three since Jessie, Meowth, and I will have one each," James muttered under his breath.

"Anyone got an idea on how to get out?" Makoto asked.

"I'd offer Onix to use Dig, but this building is a bit cramped even with how big it is," Brock noted.

"Dig…Oh! That's it!" Ash realized as he pulled out his Pokemon Box, "Mai, get Terra out. Tsubaki, let out Soren. I also need all the Eeveelutions out, too. I even need to grab Eevee."

"...oh! Good idea," Kajun nodded in realization as she let out Koko.

"Hmm?" Noel blinked, but decided to comply as she, Makoto, Tsubaki, and Mai let out Nymph, Booster, Astrea, and Celsius.

"What are you planning?" Misty asked as Ash sent one of his Pokemon away and brought Eevee, quickly letting the Pokemon out.

"Vui~!" Eevee cheered before looking around, "Ee?"

"What's the lowest part here that probably won't have security?" Ash asked, looking at James.

"Oh, the wine cellar. With how deep it is in here, there isn't any worry about security threats," James replied, "Why do you ask?"

"Because we're gonna dig our way out," Ash grinned.

"Oh why didn't ya ask?" Meowth asked with a grin, "We are experts at diggin' our way out."

"Let me guess…tons of practice getting out of holding at the local police station?" Dollaro smirked.

"No!" Jessie huffed, "...It's to make pitfalls."

"So you admit making those pitfall traps we kept falling in on occasion?" Misty questioned.

"Yes, w-" Jessie began before tensing, "...oh you tomboy twerpette…!"

"Vul?" Yuki tilted her head.

"...Oh dat was you…" Meowth muttered in realization, "Been wonderin' 'bout dat ice over da hole for months."

"Ice?" Makoto repeated.

"Focus on the digging and escaping," Ash sighed.

"Gotcha."!"

---

"...man…I still can't believe Pops quit…" Karai whispered in disbelief, sitting in a recliner in Giovanni's office…which was now occupied by her sister Aoiro.

"I knew this year had been rather stressful, but to this extent?" Aoiro pondered, looking over several documents and signing off on only a few of them, before shaking her head.

"Ahh...I swear ever since we started dealing with those brats from Pallet, things have been going topsy turvy with the Kanto operations…" Karai groaned.

"On the other hand, it has also exposed several key issues that has caused Team Rocket to…decline in terms of reputation," Aoiro pointed out.

"That being brain dead idiots," Karai deadpanned…before blinking when Aoiro shot her a deadpanned expression, "...what? ...Fucking what?!"

"Celadon City. Team Rocket Cell 1337 was operating an undercover salon. Given the amount of customers before their exposure, the income would've easily been used to fund a minor operation into obtaining an Dawn Stone mine that was put under auction in Hoenn…and yet their funds were empty of any profits," Aoiro informed…before holding up a dossier of a food delivery service worker, "A complaint was filed by one Mr. Jameson Tibers-Jimmy to his friends and coworkers-that a person who resided above the undercover salon purchased several of the secret menu items…and didn't pay." she replaced it with an empty hand before snapping its fingers to have Serenade appear with Karai's laptop, opened to her purchase history, "And there is the fact you made several purchases you should not have been capable of making at that moment in time due to your constant refusal to save your bi-weekly allowance."

"Oh gee…maybe because a certain someone took my card before I even went there!" Karai snapped, "Besides, you're not so innocent yourself Ms. 'go to every auction house for authentic relics of the past'."

"I have no idea what you mean…"

"The ancient Sinnoh pot that the three idiots broke that one time?"

"Unlike you, I save up my allowance so that I do not embezzle from the organization our family had run for the last decade and a half," Aoiro scowled before sighing, "Look, we know where father is going before he does anything else. We can just go over there with Kira and make sure to get everything dealt with before he goes off to wherever he's decided."

"Yeah. Probably best fer all of us ta be there so Silver don't get the wrong idea 'bout things…again."

"..."

"...What? I didn't know he'd take the dumb story about a Boogeymon so seriously."

"The Boogeymon isn't real," Serenade rolled her eyes.

"Sure it is! It's called 'Darkrai,'" Karai grinned, earning a flat look from the two.

"...ugh…moving on…" Aoiro groaned as she began to look through the mail…and a black and gold letter fell out, "? ...Serenade, did you mix someone's mail with outs?"

"Hmm? No…I could've sworn I grabbed your mail, milady," Serenade informed as Karai walked over and picked the letter up.

"...This is addressed to that fruitcup James," Karai muttered as she opened the letter up, "...the fuck is this shit? 'Son, we regretfully inform you that we have passed away…and need you to come home to inherit the family fortune and to continue the family line…' ...Wait…He's rich?!"

"Who's rich?" Aoiro asked in confusion.

"Blue boy!" Kairai showed the letter.

"...I recognize this signature," Aorio noted, "The current head of the Kojiro Family. …" she typed on a computer and she blinked several times, seeing a photo of a child James with Growlie and his parents, "...I thought he looked familiar."

"Oh Arceus…those two," Karai groaned in disgust, "Like we're rich...but we're not fucking assholes about it…wait. Wasn't there some chick that looks like Jessie?"

"Yes…a Jessiebelle."

"...The fuck names their kid 'Jessiebelle'?!" Karai exclaimed.

"Well technically it's spelled 'Jessebelle'…but…that's not what everyone says."

"Well what do you expect? I….ugh damn it. My day's ruined even more!" Karai complained as she plopped back down in her chair, "Why does blue boy have to be rich?!"

"It could be that there's a story behind it," Serenade noted, "I mean…why would he run away for one?"

"Aside from being related to a pair of rich assholes?" Karai asked with a deadpanned expression.

"I imagine there is a good reason to leave such a lavish life, and the burden of upper class life typically has to do with the parents putting unhealthy and cruel expectations upon a child," Aoiro spoke.

"Damn…sucks for him then," Karai stated

"We are a rather large family…we never had such issues." Aoiro sighed, "The short of it…being an only child in a rich family must suck…"

"Hah! For once, we are on the same page!" Karai laughed, "Wonder what will happen to him."

"Chances are he's been hunted down to forcibly marry this girl for the sake of producing further heirs to the family fortune and business," Aoiro sighed once more.

"Hunted…him?" Karai blinked.

"How much do you think they'd pay to track him down…?"

"Shit, that has to be that good money…" Karai realized.

"Enough to likely hire several bounty hunters," Serenade guessed as she used Psychic to float over a few portfolios, "It's pretty nuts how much folks will pay to hunt folks down."

"Especially people like us," Aoiro pointed out, "People don't like us."

"No…no, they do not," Karai shook her head in agreement.

"...ahem. Anyway…I believe we should see if Kira is ready," Aoiro sighed as she stood up.

"Oh, she's dealing with one last challenger," Serenade informed before the doors opened and Kira entered with Velvet, "...Correction: she dealt with one last challenger."

"It is rather fortunate that Gym Challenges can only be performed a certain number of times per day to allow the Pokemon used to rest and recover," Velvet noted before looking at all the documents, "Oh dear. Are we purchasing a bounty hunter's services?"

"Oh shit! Are we that boned?!" Karai asked.

"No. We were discussing them due to some new information about Agent James of Team Rocket Cell 1337," Aorio replied, shaking her head, "Are you ready to go to the Sevii Islands to speak with father and visit Silver, Kira?"

"...yes," Kira replied after a moment, "I'm…ready to see father one more time…"

"Oh cherry blossoms…"

"What?" Serenade asked.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what to bring him for a retirement gift," Velvet admitted, causing Karai and Serenade to fall over.

"Velvet…." Kira sighed.

---

The ground in a small field cracked before caving in as a pair of Eevee, a Sylveon, Glaceon, Espeon, Growlithe, Sandshrew, Arbok, and Midday Lycanroc dug a tunnel exit.

"Ahh….finally out," Misty sighed in relief as she and the others began to climb out the exit, "I am so glad I let your mother take care of Togepi, Ash…I don't think she could take this kind of stress."

"Same with Vale," Tsubaki agreed, "It was just a lucky coincidence that she was going to be trying out recipes for her work for people who have a baby Pokemon."

"Well with the tips Brock gave her, they'll be in good hands," Makoto assured.

"True. W-" Mai began before she and the girls-minus Jessie and Misty-and Dollaro stopped, "..."

"...Ah don't like this…" Dollaro frowned, "It's quiet….too quiet."

"Why'd you have to say that?" Meowth and James gulped as they hugged each other in fear.

"...pi!" Pikachu tensed as his ears perked up.

"Pikachu, wh-" Ash began before smoke began to fill the area, "?!"

"Prepare for trouble…!" James' father's voice spoke up from within the fog.

"Yes, dear, and make it double…!" James' mother added as the smoke cleared away, revealing the two.

"Oh lord, now they're doing the motto…" Kajun muttered in annoyance.

"I'll be honest, I thought you made that part up 'cause you have a deep love for musical performance media…" Dollaro admitted as he looked at James.

"Hey! We like to be as flashy as possible when we make our appearance!" James huffed.

"Yes, well, you have more important obligations, James dear," James's mother pointed out as she fanned herself a bit, "And that is to marry dear Jessiebelle and continue the family line. After all, we only want what's best for u-I mean best for you."

"A man who can't settle down is like a Beedrill without a nose," James' father added, "You'll never sniff the daffodils of life."

"You'll learn to be a real gentlemen once you marry the right girl," his mother added, "And not lead the life of a good-for nothin'…"

"My god, how do these people sleep at night?" Mai whispered with wide eyes.

"My guess…on lots of money and jewels," Makoto replied

"Ya know…I've been thinking about it," Dollaro muttered, "But…is this really about marriage for his sake…or…business's sake?" he asked, getting a few looks, "Two powerful families forming a very old and archaic marriage pact between their soon to be born kids. Both having businesses in places the other family doesn't, a union of their children would mean a grandchild that would inherit both…to form one of the strongest monopolies in the world."

"...AH!" Everyone let that sink in.

"That's why you want me to marry her!?" James gawked.

"Well of course," his parents nodded.

"Should you fail to lead the family company, your son or daughter will be there to pick up the slack," his father stated.

"With proper training from us and dear mommy of course," James's mother added.

"...grr…." Noel growled as her eyes twitched in anger and annoyance.

"Ah-Ah-Ah!" Makoto panicked, rushing to her side and gently massaging her temples, "Easy, Noellie, Easy! No need to get upset, this was never a romance story from the beginning, it was a rescue story. Shh-shh…it's okay…" she tried to calm her friend down.

"We really don't need you having an outburst, Noel…" Tsubaki stated in concern.

"I think it'd be more fun to let the little lady go wild," Dollaro chuckled.

"Can you not right now, Mr. Bountyhunter?!" Mai panicked.

"Please don't," Misty gulped, knowing very well Noel had Bolverk and looked downright ready to pull them out.

"I knew we should've taken care of that mutt," his father noted, looking at a growling Growlie in disdain, "It helped you leave the property without any permissions once more."

"Taken care of…" James began with wide eyes before narrowing them, "Like the Distortion World you're laying even a drop of saliva on him! If you want me so badly…then let's make a bet on it!"

"A wager?" his mother questioned.

"Simple enough: four on four," James explained, holding up four fingers, "I'm well aware of Jessebelle's standings in the battling scene."

"Huh? She's a Trainer?" Ash asked.

"Of course, it's been a while since the budget I set aside in my paychecks was emptied due to a scammer, but I remember the last time the informant I hired to keep a tab on her said she was able to get to the Unova League earlier this year," James went on, "But me? I'm just a grunt of a criminal organization. If I can trounce the four Pokemon she picks with my four, then you will leave me be. If I can't? I'll turn myself over and immediately wed her."

"DEAL!" Jessiebelle declared as she landed between James's parents before either could speak.

"Are you insane?!" Meowth gawked at James.

"I know it sounds insane, but…but I need to do this," James frowned, tightening his hands into fists.

"Well since this is how it goes down, that means they won't be hiring me anymore," Dollaro spoke up as he began stretching his arms before hiding them under his poncho, "Oi, Little Boy Blue," he got James's attention before tossing him a vibrant fire colored stone, "Consider us even for the hog-tying."

"Wait, what?" James blinked.

"Y…You're just going to let him go?" Jessie blinked.

"Well the money I got for dragging him here, which I already got…was at least twenty times the bounty on both of you alone," Dollaro explained bluntly, "Bringing you two in would be pocket change in comparison." he smirked, knowing that had to have hit a nerve, "Sides after all his blubbering, back stories and oddly funny limericks, I figure I owed him for the rough capture. Granted I'm still not helping beyond this…so good luck. If you lose…don't invite me to the wedding. I'd just get drunk and start a fist-fight with the Best man."

'I probably would just to see that happening,' James thought before looking at Growlie and offered the stone, "No turning back if you take this, Growlie. Your choice."

"Growl!" Growlie barked before pawing the Fire Stone…before James jumped back as an inferno engulfed the Puppy Pokemon before dispersing…allowing the Arcanine in the Growlithe's place to let out a roar before standing at James's side, growling and baring his fangs at Jessiebelle.

"Hmph. Matters not how big it gets, a mutt's still a mutt," Jessiebelle scoffed before pulling out a ruby red and onyx black PokeBall.

"What kinda PokeBall is that?" Ash asked.

"A Cherish Ball. They're only really affordable by the rich or for events that give away Pokemon to Trainers," Dollaro explained, "Ah only that because Mudsdale and me went to one of those events to catch a bounty."

"Alright, mah dear James...allow me to properly educate you how to Pokemon battle," Jessiebelle began as she tossed the Cherish ball into the air, "Come on out, Vileplume!"

The ball flashed in the air as a large flower-like Pokemon landed, the top of its head resembling a huge rafflesia flower while the rest of its body was a really dark blue. It raised its head up enough to show its beady black eyes that had a malevolent glint to them.

"Vileplume~" the Pokemon spoke as Ash pulled his PokeDex out.

=Vileplume, the Flower Pokemon, and one of two final evolutions for Oddish. Known in ancient Kanto as 'Ruffresia,' Vileplume can shake, flap, or burst its petals into bloom with a bang in order to release clouds of pollen. This pollen is yellow and highly allergenic to humans, and toxic to other Pokémon; Vileplume uses it to paralyze its prey before devouring it. The larger the Vileplume's petals are, the more potent the toxin on its pollen is. Vileplume's behavior of flapping its petals also makes very loud noises= Dexter informed.

"?! Hikari Masks, now!" Kajun called out before a set of masks appeared over her and the other's faces, "Vileplumes's Stun Spore are known to leave anyone who inhales it paralyzed to the point they can't even move or breathe!"

"Gh?!" Makoto tensed on that.

"...Where did you get these?" Tsubaki asked.

"I refuse to divulge who obtained these so that they may continue to do so for our safety," Kajun replied.

"The bane to all kids with allergies to pollen…" Dollaro sighed as he reached to his collar and pulled a cloth mask over his face, kind of adding to his cowboy aesthetic Makoto pointed out before.

"Alright…let us begin with the lesson!" Jessiebelle declared as she pulled her dress away, revealing she was wearing a rose-red lion tamer-like shirt, white puffed up paints, and leather boots…all completed with a whip as she cracked it, "Vileplume, Stun Spore!"

"Vileplume~" Vileplume compiled before flapping its petals, unleashing a large cloud of yellow spores that practically began to cover the entire battlefield.

"A quick question…" James spoke amidst the spores, "Did I say Growlie was sent out?"

"Hm?" Jessiebelle pondered before a whip-like sound went off in the Stun Spore and Vileplume yelped, "Ah! What the…?"

"Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee roared, dispersing the spores with a strong sweep of its legs engulfed in a Blaze Kick.

"?! When did y'all get that?" Jessiebelle asked in shock.

"Oh, caught one for the P1," James replied with a casual shrug, "Really, working for Team Rocket has been a bit of a benefit rather than a hindrance. Especially when you've got one with such a fine Ability such as Limber AKA…immunity to Paralysis."

"Hey, that's pretty good," Ash noted.

"Then let's see how he handles this! Vileplume, sweetie, Toxic!" Jessiebelle ordered.

"Hitmonlee, evade as fast as you can then use Blaze Kick once again!" James ordered.

"Hitmon!" he nodded as he jumped back with his leg extending to give him more distance before pushing himself up into the air. He swung one leg up and stretched it out before swinging it down, the leg igniting with flames before slamming down on Vileplume's head with a small explosion, "LEE!"

"...Huh…" Ash muttered, blinking a few times, "It's…kinda weird."

"What?" Misty asked.

"It's weird seeing James fighting and not being the one fighting him," Ash admitted, "It's…odd. I mean, he's easy to fight, but it's…I can't really describe it."

"Seems y'all are forgetting that even if they're easy for y'all…it's not th' same fer other folks," the bounty hunter amongst them reminded.

"True. Before youse all showed up, we had a pretty strong reputation of gettin' da job done," Meowth frowned.

"Wait so you mean….we're all crazy super strong…" Makoto blinked.

"Why do you think we keep trying to trap you twerps?" Jessie questioned, "You're too strong for us to confront face to face….especially the cosplaying twerpette. She…honestly scares me."

"Good, you should fear me." Makoto smirked.

"Vi!" they all turned to see Vileplum skidding before Jessiebelle, a footprint embedded on its face as it struggled to stay standing.

"Hmm…Ah'll admit, you're doing well James…" Jessiebelle admitted, "...Though like a snowball in th' hot sun, your chances at winning are about to melt away. Vileplume, Summers grassy field~!"

"Vile~plume~!" her Pokemon complied as a bright grass-green energy ball floated up high into the air, exploding as the entire area got bright as the grass surrounding them began to grow taller.

"...and what's that supposed to accomplish?" James asked in confusion, "I've been to Alola so I'm used to this kind of summer heat."

"Mmm, yes…but you failed to notice what I set up," Jessiebelle smirked before cracking her whip, "Solar Beam!"

"GH!?" James tensed as a beam of pure light slammed into Hitmonlee, sending him flying past his trainer as he crashed into a nearby tree.

"...wait…summer…long grass…" Ash muttered as he began to put two and two together, "...OH! Sunny Day and Grassy Terrain!"

"That's right, dear commoner boy! Nothing else for a good lesson than a nice day out in the summer sun," Jessiebielle laughed, "Also Ah appreciate it if y'all stay quiet…honestly you commoner types are truly uneducated and have no manners."

"Excuse you…?" Tsubaki scowled at that.

"Jessiebelle, be nice now," James's father spoke.

"Yes…it's not their fault they were born and raised in such a backwater town," James' mother added.

"Can I hit them?" Makoto asked bluntly.

"I'm considering it…" Tsubaki replied.

"...Oh…she's mad-mad…" Makoto gulped as James quickly returned Hitmonlee.

"Choose your next Pokemon now…" Jessiebelle taunted James as Vileplume sat in the long grass.

"Oh I'll show you…" James scowled as he pulled out a PokeBall and tossed it out, "Go Victreebel!"

As soon as a flash went off…James yelped as a large plant-like Pokemon tackled into him...while trying to get his head into its mouth. It resembled a yellow venus fly trap with tiny fangs in its red-colored mouth.

=Victreebel, the Flycatcher Pokemon and the final evolved form of Bellsprout= Dexter informed =It lures prey into its mouth with a nectar-like aroma. The helpless prey is melted with a dissolving fluid. After dissolving many prey, this Pokémon's acid becomes sweeter. This makes it even easier to attract more prey=

"Well that's not super morbid…" Mai whispered with wide eyes.

"Bwah! Not the time!" James called out, pulling his head out.

"Can't even control your Pokemon right…honestly, James, the fact you've survived as a thug for this long is a miracle," Jessiebelle admitted with a sigh, "Good Thing Ah'll be putting you back on the right path to be a gentleman."

"You really shouldn't judge a book by its cover," James scoffed, "Victrebel, we're under a combination Grassy Terrain and Sunny Day." a pleased noise came from his Grass/Poison Type, "Knew you'd enjoy it."

"You seem mighty pleased fer such a weed," Jessebelle noted.

"Oh, I do…" James smirked…before Victreebel vanished, bits of grass and dirt being tossed up into the air, and Vileplume screaming as it slammed into a tree, an indent of a Vine Whip embedded in its face, "Because she has Chlorophyll as an Ability."

"Huh?! Where did Victrebel go?" Ash gawked as Brock and Misty grimaced.

"Oh, I hate this Ability," Brock groaned.

"So many times I saw Four and Five Badge challengers when my parents were running the Gym fall to this cheap thing. Weakening Water-Type Moves and this Ability are nightmares to counter," Misty shook her head.

"Oh ho…well, guess you're not much of an idiot afterall," Jessiebelle noted before cracking her whip, "Vileplume, it's time to bring that nasty weed of his out with Petal Storm!"

"Vile~!" Vileplume cheered as it spun like a top before a storm of energized petals erupted from the Grass/Poison-Type and engulfed the area for several tense moments before the storm settled…and left Vileplume confused on seeing no signs, "Plume?"

"Ah! It's…!" Jessiebelle began.

"Leech Life," James snapped his fingers.

"Vi…" Vileplume began before its eyes widened on feeling sharp fangs piercing into it from atop its head, "PLUME!?"

"Let out a Stun Spore into its mouth!" Jessiebelle called.

"Weather Ball to counter," James ordered…before an muffled explosion of flames went off from where Victrebel's mouth was covering Vileplume's flower, causing the pitcher-like Pokemon to jump off and let Vileplume scream as it ran around with its flower ablaze.

"W-Weather ball?!" Jessiebelle gawked.

"Our current base of operations happens to have a family of Castform living nearby. Was a surprise to me when during an exercise she used it during a rain and nearly drowned Meowth on land," James chuckled, "Depending on the weather conditions, the move changed Typing and doubles in power. Victreebel, Accu-Weather Forecast."

Vileplume tried to roll around to put the fire out, only to gag when Victreebel's vine wrapped around it, making it gag out as it was dragged close to the Poison/Grass Type. Victreebel screeched out as it tightened its vine and twisted Vileplume so its flower topped head faced it…and blocked its own vine out of view. With a series of grunts, Victreebel began shooting Weather Balls one after another, but not fully charged so as to fire off several that hit the top of Vileplume's flower, right in the center where all its attacks were fired from. After several moments, Victreebel released Vileplume…who fell over with its eyes replaced with swirls.

"So one down for each," James noted as Jessiebelle gawked in disbelief.

"Okay, I know we're good…but we can't be that good. That was impressive." Makoto gawked.

"Talent and Stupidity are not related," Dollaro replied while the red head returned her Grass/Poison Type.

"Ah hope y'all aren't gettin' overconfident there," Jessiebelle noted as she held up another of the expensive PokeBalls and tossed it, "Tsareena, show James his place!"

The PokeBall bounced once before opening up, unleashing the Pokemon inside. Tsareena was a bipedal, plantlike Pokémon with a humanoid appearance. Its torso, arms, and legs were dark purple, while its hips and head were white. It had heavy-lidded, dark purple eyes with purple eyelids and long purple eyelashes, but had no visible mouth or nose. The lower part of its face was hidden behind a short ruff extending up from its body. While its arms were slender with rounded, digit-less hands, its legs were long and looked powerful. The upper portions of its legs had three pointed projections just before the hips, creating the impression of long boots. The lower portions of its legs tapered into small, pointed feet. It had wide hips made up of six segments that resemble the flesh of a mangosteen. On top of Tsareena's head was a light green calyx. The shortest leaf of the calyx extended slightly forward and then curved to the right, similar to side-swept bangs. The other three leaves resembled long hair and extended nearly to the ground. The three long leaves each had three yellow spots near the top and three near the bottom; the markings were present on both the under and upper sides of the leaves. On top of the calyx was a growth resembling a small, purple crown with four thin yellow stripes. It scoffed upon looking at Victrebell.

=Tsareena, the Fruit Pokemon, and the final evolved form of Bounsweet. Known as Amajo in older times, Tsareena is known to be both powerful and aggressive. This Pokémon has a high-class nature and punishes anyone who approaches it with evil in mind. This attitude will even be directed at its Trainer if given commands Tsareena dislikes, such as being told to use an ineffective move. Touching the crown-like growth on its head is said to render it defenseless, however, and instantly calms it down. Tsareena fights using finely honed kicks and graceful movements. Every time it lands a hit, it cackles at its opponent. It will even continue kicking or stepping on a downed opponent, laughing boisterously. Additionally, its sweet fragrance acts as a distraction. Because only the most powerful Steenee evolve into Tsareena, this Pokémon uses its power to protect its pre-evolved forms= Dexter informed.

'I call bull on that bit involving punishing anyone who approaches it with evil in mind…' Makoto thought.

"She has a real attachment to the grass typing." Dollaro muttered, "A very versatile type…but lots of weaknesses…hope Blue Boy can recall that."

"Hmm…she seems like a pure Grass Type.." James whispered as he examined Jessiebelle's newest Pokemon, "...which means we can do this! Victrebell, Leech Life!"

"Tropic Kick," Jessiebelle simply commanded.

Victrebell screeched as he pounced at Tsareena, only for a quick blur to kick it hard across the face, the opposing Pokemon's leg held straight up in a swinging position. Tsareena narrowed her eyes before kicking Victrebell once more with another quick kick, followed by another as she began to deliver a series of hyper-fast kicks on the poor Grass/Poison Type. It looked almost as if she were using her legs to swiftly juggle Victrebell about the battlefield.

"What da?! Hey! Yer letting yerself get kicked around by a pretty weed?!" Meowth snapped…before Victrebell was kicked over and slammed into the cat, knocking him over as Victrebell was totally knocked out.

"...the heck was that?!" Jessie complained.

"That was Tropic Kick, a move normally exclusive to Tsareena," Kajun replied, "It's a powerful Grass Type move that has a high chance of delivering a critical hit."

"Ahem!" Jessiebelle cleared her throat, "Did Ah say you were allowed to speak, commoner?"

"Again, no need to talk to the lesser folk like that," James's father stated.

"Yes…they probably have so much mud in their ears from wallowing around in the filth," James' mother added.

"Punch them…I really wanna punch them…!" Makoto growled out as Mai and Brock were trying to hold her and Misty back by this point.

Tsubaki mutedly sighed, the words of these 'rich' folk all too familiar to her from her upbringing, "Time is money and your drivel only wastes both."

"How? Who do you think…" James's father began before flinching as Tsubaki tapped Izayoi on the floor, the tassel of her sword Pokemon going nowhere near the red-haired Trainer's form.

"In my home Region, there exists a unique 'monarchy' of sorts with thirteen families of royal status beneath the ruler of our Region: the Imperator," Tsubaki informed, her posture impeccable and her gaze sharp, "I am Tsubaki Amaryllis Yayoi, heiress of the 'royal' Yayoi Family." she brought up Izayoi, point aimed at them, "You speak to one above your feeble wealth. A home for a mere Growlithe that size is but a laughing stock amongst my home's royalty. Now be silent and resume this duel." she tapped Izayoi once more on the ground and the way the scenery shadowed her eyes, it looked as if they had turned crimson as she narrowed them ominously, "Or will we pause this to allow your funeral to no longer be falsified?"

"...N…No ma'am…" James's father whispered as he sweated nervously from the intimidating aura Tsubaki gave him.

"N...not at all…" James's mother added.

"...The red-haired twerpette is royalty?" Jessie whispered to the others with wide eyes.

"Yes." the others from another world replied simply.

"You never asked," Mai quickly added when she saw Brock open his mouth.

"And she's right," James spoke as he sent out Weezing.

"You knew?!" Jessie and Mewoth exclaimed as the latter shot up.

"Well of course…I always felt she had some air of royalty to her," James admitted, "...I just never realized how big her family was…and that honestly scares me. Now let's get on with it." his eyes narrowed as he looked at Tsareena and Jessiebelle, "Brouillard de la mort."

'French for 'Fog of Death?' Noel pondered.

"Weezing…" the Poison Gas Pokemon wheezed before a Smokescreen erupted from all of its ports.

Tsareena shot into the attack, swinging a Tropic Kick at where Weezing had been only to hit air. Her eyes widened as she felt four aimed upon her from behind. She turned to strike with a Tropic Kick in time to be hit with a single dark purple needle while colliding with a Protect.

"Rapid Spin!" Jessiebelle shouted.

Tsareena cried out as she spun around like a top, dispersing the smokescreen…only to stumble after she stopped, purple bags under her eyes as black veins pulsated from the spot she had been hit. Dollaro let out a quiet, long whistle.

"A Toxic Staller," he noted.

"A what?" Makoto asked.

"A mighty dangerous Pokemon," Dollaro commented, "That there dominatin' lady on th' field's under the effect of Toxic. When a Pokemon's hit by that, they get poisoned worse than any normal Poison-Type move. Knew a feller from a place near Kanto called Kitakami that told stories 'bout a Loyal Trio who protected a village from a dangerous ogre-like Pokemon that had an Ability that was like Toxic, but could be triggered anytime they got a hit in. Th' longer the Pokemon's under Toxic…the worse it grows."

"That sounds like some nasty stuff! Is that allowed?" Makoto gawked.

"Well it's not normally lethal…I don't think…" Dollaro muttered.

"You think!?" most of them exclaimed.

"What…I don't know every little detail," he argued, "I only got hit by a Toxic once…"

"He lies," Luca 'spoke' solely to Tsubaki, who discreetly shook her head at the Lucario.

"Champ du flétrissement," James snapped his fingers.

''Field of Wither?'' Noel pondered as Weezing shot up into the air, avoiding a Vine Whip.

Weezing spun like a top before a ball of liquid shot out from the topmost hole in Weezing and popped in the air, causing the harsh sunlight to give way to storm clouds that proceeded to rain down upon the field. As the rain fell, several of the Trainers noticed faint purple caltrops mixed in with the raindrops as Weezing unleashed a small purple sphere of poison at the ground near Tsareena before it exploded near her, forcing the Pokemon to quickly evade only to cough and hack as Toxic worked it way into her further, the black veins growing.

"Ugh…Ah may need to get you new Pokemon as well," Jessiebelle whispered using her paperfan to mask herself from the smoke in the air, "Poison types are really messy and should not belong to a gentleman…"

"Then you're really going to hate this," James sneered, "Venoshock."

"Wheee~~!" Weezing began as purple energy began to form in his open mouth.

'Koga used this on my Pokemon,' Ash recalled, 'It doubles in power if a Pokemon is already Poisoned.'

Tsareena grunted as she attempted to dodge, only to end up wincing as she fell to a knee, letting the poison beam slam right into her as she was sent flying and crashing into a set of bushes, the pure Grass Type groaning as her eyes were replaced with swirls.

"That's two," James sighed in relief before shaking his head and refocused on it, "Two to go. Who's next, Jessiebelle?"

"Hmph…well so far you've been a lovely dance partner, James..but…" Jessiebelle began as she pulled out a Luxury Ball, "You haven't seen dancing yet…Roserade, let's dance~!"

From the Luxury Ball, a bipedal Pokemon appeared. It had an appearance that incorporated features of roses and masquerade attire. It had hair made of white rose petals, and a leafy, green cape with a yellow, collar-like bangle on its neck. The cape pattern reached toward the back of its head, in spiky, sepal-like extensions on the hair. It had a dark-green mask over its red, yellow-lidded eyes. The lower portion of its face was light green, and it's arms ended in a bouquet, with a red in its right and blue in its left. Its limbs and underside were light green and its feet ended with yellow tips.

=Roserade, the Boquet Pokemon, and the final evolved form of Budew. Roserade lures prey with a sweet aroma. The more toxic its poison, the sweeter its aroma becomes. Each hand has different toxins, but both hands can jab with near-deadly power. The right arm of Roserade contains poisons that act faster, while the left arms contains poisons that act more slowly. Regardless, Roserade's poison can be life-threatening. It attacks with a dancer-like elegance and uses hidden whips covered with poisonous thorns= Dexter informed.

James grimaced as the purple caltrops appeared. They shot at Roserade only to be absorbed into its body. The rose-like Pokemon then flicked its wrist and sent more over on James's side.

"Huh? What just happened?" Ash asked.

"I think that was a Toxic Spike. When it's used, it sends out its namesake onto the field and the next Pokemon that comes out will get poisoned. Using it twice in a row will make its effect on-par with Toxic," Kajun noted, "But if that Pokemon is a Poison-Type, like Roserade is, it absorbs all of it, meaning no other Pokemon will be harmed."

"Yikes," Makoto grimaced, "And with all her Pokemon so far, that would've been a major boone for him since they've all been Grass-Type so far."

"Yeah…but Weezing ain't got no feet," Moeowth pointed out, "So nothin' for him to step on! Ha!"

"One problem Mewoth," Jessie spoke up, "If he loses it...he'll be left with just Growlie."

"...Oh…hey speakin' of, where…"

"Who's a good boy~? Who's a good boy~?" the group turned to see Noel rubbing and scratching Growlie's fur, the large fire dog on its back as he panted happily with his tail wagging excitedly, "Yes you're a good boy, waiting for James to come…" Noel paused when she noticed the others looking at her, "...s-sorry…I...couldn't resist…"

"Vul?" Yuki peeked out of Growlie's fur with Kenny and Nymph.

'...I swear, Noel is rubbing off on her little Pokemon…' Makoto thought.

"He's just so big and fluffy looking, and he's such a good boy," Noel continued, "I also really needed a distraction from my growing urge to throttle that mean lady and James's parents…and again…" she nuzzled into Growlie once more, "So fluffy~"

"Of course he is. Often during the worst of times, Growlie was the perfect friend and someone who just knows how to burn away one's stress," James chuckled, 'Aaaand what I wouldn't give for some of that now.' he shook his head, 'No, no, no! I can do this! For freedom!' "Come at me, Jessiebelle! I won't falter no matter what!"

"Wheeze~" Weezing agreed, glaring in determination.

"Then let us begin," Jessiebelle informed before holding her paperfan up, "Roserade, dear…use Extrasensory~"

"Rose~"

"Lien du destin," James quickly ordered.

Weezing's eyes flashed with a ghostly energy for a brief moment before grunting as its body stretched and twisted for a few moments. Weezing quickly shook itself before inhaling deeply before exhaling intense blasts of heat from its openings, shooting at Roserade.

"Heat Wave," Makoto recognized the move.

"Magical Leaf defense!" Jessiebelle ordered.

"Rade~" Roserade twirled.

As Roserade shook its arms, glowing leaves began to fall out of them. Before any could touch the ground, they took on a multicolored sheen and quickly shot off and struck the oncoming Heat Wave, incinerating themselves into a wall of ash that blocked the remaining Heat Wave.

"I've never seen a Grass-Type move used like that," Noel noted..

"All moves are versatile if you know what to do," Dollaro replied, "Beginning Trainers are often left baffled by it." he chuckled, "Reminds me of when this one guy in Kalos was starting out and ended up picking a fight with a veteran Trainer that enjoyed relaxing in some of the smaller towns. Did not end well for that rookie."

"Keep at it, my beauty, and add a little razzle dazzle to it, too," Jessiebelle ordered.

"Rose~" Roserade replied as it spun around with several twirls, unleashing more Magical Leaves that shot at Weezing.

"Sludge Bomb in a barrage!" James called out as Weezing inhaled deeply only to choke as its body twisted around and was pelted with the Magical Leaves, "Ah! Hid an Extrasensory in that to get a hit in!"

"Weez~" Weezing groaned as it crashed down to the ground.

Roserade huffed, flicking its right arm at Weezing…before a red aura came off it and it collapsed, knocked out.

"I knew it," Noel whispered.

"Knew what?" Misty quietly asked, having been close enough to hear her.

"'Lien du destin,' translated, means 'Destiny Bond,'" Noel explained.

"Now ain't that there ball o' stench a sore loser," Jessiebelle huffed as the two returned their Pokemon as she took out another Cherish Ball, "Shouldn't have had mah other Pokemon all out at a resort. Just down t' mah last one." she smirked, "But Ah ain't worried. Glimmora!"

"Glimmora?" everyone repeated.

From the Cherish Ball, a new Pokemon appeared. Its body resembled a coned flower of sorts with three light green petals as a tail of sorts. That connected to four purple crystalline petals, each sporting a moss green line in each one, that then connected further to six crystalline petals that were colored dark blue with light green lines and four light green rectangle shapes at the end of each petal. It snapped shut and spun around, revealing its head was pitch black with just a pair of glowing yellow eyes in a crystalline cone.

"Uh-oh…" Dollaro muttered, recognizing the Pokemon.

"Huh? What's…?" Ash began as he checked Dexter.

=No Data Available= Dexter informed.

"Y'all're gonna need a Paldean or Kitakami update," Dollaro explained, "That there's a Glimmora, the Ore Pokemon."

"Ore?" they blinked, looking at it.

"But…it's a big flower," Noel pointed.

"Yeah, that's how they trick ya," he sighed, "It's an unbelievably rare Pokemon above ground. They live deep underground, and are a very powerful rock and poison type. Often having one of two very dangerous abilities for Poison Types."

"Whoa," Makoto awed.

"Haven't really had time to find another in Alola, so I'm down to my last as well," James shrugged, "But…" flames ripped by him as Growlie dispersed them in his landing before James, "You know him quite well."

The Toxic Spikes appeared around Growlie before several jabbed into him. For a moment, purple bags formed under his eyes…before he simply and calmly spat a purple sludge to the side. He looked over his shoulder and James and gave a smirk in his eyes that James returned.

"Growlie just spat that out in no time!" Makoto gawked.

"I guess that shows that no matter how long apart they are, they have a deep connection," Noel noted, her Vulpix and Fennekin in her arms with her Sylveon wrapping a tassel around her lower leg, "Quite impressive, especially with him just evolving."

"People often can't account for the bond between Trainers and their Pokemon, it just goes to show how diverse and weird our world can get sometimes." Dollaro added, "But now Little Boy Blue has a disadvantage, truth be told had he gone with the Arcanine first, he probably would have steamrolled the first three. Leaving him with three others to deal with a rock and poison type."

"I wouldn't underestimate an Arcanine," Noel calmly replied, earning glances from Makoto, Mai, Kajun, and Tsubaki, "Especially one with a loyalty this strong."

"Earth Power!" Jessiebelle commanded.

"Burn Out," James spoke.

Growlie howled as the ground began to crack under him with an ominous brown light that shined in Glimmora's eyes…before flames billowed out of him. With a roar, the flames shifted into a massive Arcanine head that raced out and slammed into Glimmora at the same time the ground shot up and slammed into Growlie, knocking him up a few feet into the air before he spun around and landed on all fours a few meters to the right.

"Huh? That's weird," Brock frowned.

"What's wrong?" Misty asked.

"Some of the Gym Pokemon in Pewter know that move and the rare higher Badge Trainer that would come in with a Fire-Type that knew moves to fight Rock-Types always had more damage to them than that," Brock noted.

"Well, that's because Little Boy Blue had his partner use Burn Out."

"Burn Out?" Ash repeated, looking at Dollaro.

"It's a Fire-Type Move so powerful that it can actually burn the Typing right off th' user. Now that Arcanine of his is a pure Typeless Pokemon. Sure wasn't expectin' that. How'd he know that move?"

"If you must know, grandfather on papa's side was old friends with a man who runs a dojo in Galar," James explained, "Growlie's mother was a Pokemon that old friend raised and knew the move. It was also the move he used to melt that hole in the fence to help me escape from here all those years ago."

"Ah, father…" James's Father groaned.

"Oh, and guess what his father knew?" James smirked, "Double Kick!"

Growlie howled before he was swiftly upon Glimmora, who quickly panicked as the dog spun around with his hind legs glowing with a rustic brown energy.

"Mortal Spin!" Jessiebelle countered.

Glimmora opened up and quickly spun like a top, letting loose a spiraling vortex of poison thinned into a bladed state. Growlie's paws slammed into the spiraling vortex and both were sent back from one another. Growlie grunted as he skidded to by James, spitting out another blob of poison, as Glimmora spun to a halt by Jessiebelle and closed up, looking at the Arcanine in worry.

"How in th' world is he movin' so well?" James's mother pondered, "Don't Pokemon need a moment or two t' get used t' movin' after evolvin' from a small size t' one far bigger than before, let alone fightin'?"

"Have you truly forgotten that big dog suit I requested from the mechanics?" James reminded, "The one that Growlie wanted after we watched that old cartoon of the giant red Rockruff? I'm sure many of them have enjoyed Growlie's praise and affection, no?"

"Thought we had that scrapped," his mother noted…as his father looked away without her notice.

'I think I get where James gets his habit of keeping random things from,' Jessie thought.

'They might stink…but dang if this don't all makes sense now…' Meowth slumped his shoulders.

'So weird is in the genes…got it…' Everyone else nodded to themselves.

"Boy his kids are gonna get all the weirdness depending on which Red head he ends up with…" Dollaro blurted out loud.

"WH-WHAT?!" Jessie exclaimed with a heavy red face as James nearly fell over with an equally heavy blush.

"Oh thank you!" JEssiebelle laughed, "James Jr and Jessie-Lue would be perfect children!"

"Who's side are you on!?" Jessie snapped.

"The law…Money…my side." Dollaro shrugged, "Sides I never said I rooted for anyone, just noting he has a pension for RedHeads." he paused, "Ten bucks the kids have purple hair."

"Twenty!" Makoto cheered.

"Makoto!" Kajun scolded…before the girls from another world looked at Noel as she and Yuki scribbled in notebooks, "..."

"...What?" Noel asked after a moment before looking at Dollaro, "Put me for one boy with red, another girl with purple."

"I like this kid, she's fun." Dollaro chuckled, "And we got a pool going!"

"Can we not gamble on my future children?!" James complained.

"We are by all accounts strangers, we need to feel invested somehow!" Dollaro laughed.

"Grow some thicker skin! I mean you'd think after all the times we blew you up, you two must be immortal or something~" Makoto smirked.

"...that would explain so much…" Kajun muttered, "As ridiculous as it is…it would…"

"We've blasted them off so many times..its a wonder they're alive honestly," Brock muttered.

"Of course! We're determined to catch that Pikachu and any other rare Pokemon still!" Meowth snapped

"Maybe…but counterpoint, you lose to us every time," Mai stated.

"Because you're bad guys," Misty bluntly added.

"But in this case…you're the good guys wanting to support your friend," Ash stated, "...against a weird version of Jessie."

"Wh-?! SHE IS NOT LIKE ME!" Jessie snapped as she pointed at Jessiebelle.

"Pika…" Pikachu deadpanned.

"No…it's not worth it, trust me…" Meowth sighed.

"Shall we get on with th' battle?" Jessiebelle questioned, keeping her eyes focused on Growlie, who had not once kept his eyes off Glimmora.

"Oh sure, sure~" Dollaro replied before whispering to Noel, "P200,000 on th' lass winnin'. Even with his Fire-Typing removed, feller still don't really have much chance t' win in a battle o' attrition."

"I'll raise you all our savings on the Arcanine," Noel replied, holding up Kajun's tablet to show their current cash, "You're underestimating what a loyal Arcanine that was a Starter Growlithe and overestimating her competence around James."

"Hah! Deal!"

"AH!" Tsubaki panicked upon hearing that, "Noel! What did you just do!?"

"Winning," Noel casually shrugged, accepting the handshake from the man for hire, "Focus on the Trainers in it, not just their Pokemon."

"Huh?" Ash tilted his head.

'Noel?' the Faller girls all pondered, wondering where Noel was getting this from.

Noel just looked at the scene before her, Growlie glowing with an Extremespeed to evade the barrage of Earth Power sent at him from the ground below, utilizing the pillars as points to jump off of to deliver a Fire Fang to Glimmora, letting out an explosion of flames on impact, 'Despite all that James has shown, Jessiebelle's posture and expression tell it all: 'I'm still the stronger of the two of us.' a barrier of green spikes formed around Glimmora as Growlie nearly struck again, only to stop and flip over the barrier and shoot into the ground in a Dig, 'She still sees the rich child who ran away likely in tears of fright from her and not the dangerous criminal he's become that utilizes competent strategies and combinations.' Growlie shot out just as Glimmora slammed the ground to let loose an Earthquake, letting the canine deliver a point-blank Flamethrower to Glimmora's face to knock it away once more, spitting out another bit of gunk from his mouth, 'She doesn't see that her attrition tactics are faltering since Growlie continues to spit them out.' a small, dangerous smile formed on her lips as her eyes narrowed in anticipation, 'What a fool. Bare your fangs and let loose your true inferno rage, Bolverk.'

"Ah see y'all can't jest accept yer destiny with me, Sugah," Jessiebelle noted, "In that case…" she reached into her pocket pulled out a Tera Orb, "Time to bury yer naughty mutt with a radiant garden!"

"She has a…!" Misty gasped as the Tera Orb glistened to life before the red-haired woman threw it out at Glimmora, causing it to be encased in the crystalline pillars that quickly shattered, exposing the Pokemon now coated in a glistening jade green-tinted crystal, a decorative bouquet of crystalline flowers blossoming atop its head that shined as Glimmora let out a cry.

"...Wh…What did she just do?" Jessie whispered with wide eyes, "James…!"

"Don't look at me! I don't even know what that is!" James exclaimed.

"Oh yeah this is a super expensive thing from another region," Makoto explained, "More or less you can change your Pokemon to a different type for a limited time."

"THAT'S A THING?!" Team Rocket gawked.

'It changes Type?' James pondered before looking at Glimmora, 'Wait…did she just make it…' "Growlie…" the Arcanine glanced at him, "Light Glimmora up. Vendetta Infernale."

Growlie's eyes dilated as he let loose a loud howl as flames began to erupt off his body and engulf it, scattering of sparkles blending into the roaring inferno. Growlie snarled and roared amongst the crackling of the inferno engulfing him while the sun began to glisten with Glimmora's eyes flashing that seemed to only make the flames grow larger. Growlie began to slowly walk before going into a jog…before, with a feral roar, he let loose a blitzing charge as Glimmora's 'blossomed,' spun around, and unleashed a Solar Beam right at Growlie. The currently Typless Pokemon slammed into it…before the flames shaped into two extra heads that grasped the beam and bit down hard with Growlie's own fangs, dispersing the attack as he kept his charge.

"Ah! Wh-what?!" Jessiebelle gasped.

Growlie came upon a frightened Glimmora and the flames engulfed Growlie in the form of a massive Arcanine head that 'devoured' Glimmora, unleashing a massive explosion.

"Wow…who knew he could come up with something so intense?" Jessie awed as the smoke slowly dissipated, revealing a calm Growlie looking down upon Glimmora, its Terastalization shattered and burning partially into the ground beneath Growlie's right front paw.

"I do believe…that is victory for Blue Boy," Dollaro spoke, "I do believe that means…he's free to go."

"Holy cow…you actually won!" Makoto gawked.

"I didn't think it was possible for them to win…" Ash muttered.

"This must be a miracle…" Misty added.

"Easy money," Noel smirked, holding her hand out as Dollaro reached behind his back and pulled out a large rolled up bundle of bills before he began flicking and pulling out enough bills, "You just have that on you?" she blinked in surprise.

"Just some pocket change," Dollaro replied as he put the rest away.

"Bounty hunting is good money…" Makoto blinked upon seeing he paid not only what he bet, but matched their savings as well! "...Wait a second. Noellie?!"

"Hm?" Noel titled her head.

"You bet all our savings!" Makoto gawked.

"Well…I guess so?" Noel scratched her cheek.

"Remind me not t' bet with this little lady 'round," Dollaro chuckled.

"Tsubaki is going to yell at you 'till you lose hearing in one ear," Makoto warned.

"I am, but later," Tsubaki sternly confirmed.

"I win? I win!" James realized himself as Growlie blinked before he barked and ran over to him, licking James's face, "Ah! Hey, Growlie! S-Stop! It tickles~!"

"Ah…Ah lost?" Jessiebelle asked in disbelief, collapsing to her knees in shock.

"Oh this is a fine pickle…" James' father whispered in worry.

"Jessiebelle actually lost," James' mother added

"So does that mean James is free to go?" Mai asked.

"I…suppose so." Brock shrugged, "Honestly, this was all really confusing."

"It feels like we are missing something," Ash added.

"Like the climax is yet to come…" Misty nodded.

"So my contracts are done, I'm getting out of here before I end up on their holiday card list," Dollaro grunted as he stretched his arms, "Former boss, Former Boss's wife, Blue Boy, Redhead 1, Redhead 2, talking Meowth thing," he tipped his hat as he began to walk off.

"...noo~!" Jessiebelle screamed, startling everyone from the sudden exclamation.

"Yes! You l-!" James began before Jessiebelle's whipped wrapped around him, "Ahh!"

"Ah'm sorry, James dear, but Ah let you have too much fun…and that certainly won't do," Jessiebelle stated, "Once we're properly married, you won't have to worry about raising a single Pokemon again."

"Wh-?! But we had a deal!"

"He's right," Dollaro stopped in his walking as he flicked a Pokeball over his shoulder.

Suddenly, deep violet flames cut the whip, making everyone tense as a Pokemon landed in front of James. It was faintly humanoid and clad in deep purple and black armor. Its arms end in two violet and blue flamed swords extending from blade-like vambraces. Its head was clad in a knight like helmet with a plume of cool colored flames, violet eyes glaring up as wisps of flames seemed to emanate off its pupils.

"A deal is a deal afterall, and people who don't abide by their word? Well…they just ain't good business or company," Dollaro went on, "And I don't deal with bad business. Just isn't right," he snapped his finger, "Ceruledge, one wrong move, and burn them down to the soul."

"Ceru…" the humanoid Pokemon responded.

"What the…?" Mai pondered.

=No data available= Dexter informed.

"Paldea?" Ash guessed.

"Born Unova, raised Paldea," Dollaro explained, "My Mother was from there. This is my good partner Ceruledge. Now, I'm the nice one. Ceruledge is the strict one," he smirked, "So, let's just leave it at this. You lost this day, the blue boy gets to leave with Redhead…which would she be 2 since he met her after?" Ceruledge shrugged, "Well you weren't here for that part, but it makes sense." he replied, "Anyway, I'm leaving, and…I don't want anything drastic happening. We do want to do business again someday, right Bossman?" he turned to James's father.

"I-Indeed," he assured.

"Best scram now," Jessie whispered, grabbing James and pulling him up.

"R-Right," James agreed as he returned Growlie to his ball.

"Dink we can get da twoips ta blast us off?" Meowth suggested.

"Do…you miss us blowing you guys several area codes away?" Makoto asked.

"Y'all are into some…freaky stuff, ain't ya?" Dollaro asked, "No judgin'…but…wow…"

"No! Not like that!" James argued, "It's the best way to get away aside from…" a large object crashed down behind the trio, "..."

"...Y'all done got fed honey from a Bewear, didn't ya?" Dollaro asked.

"Eeyup," Meowth calmly replied, not looking back at the rising Bewear behind the trio.

"Welp, it's Mama's job from here, bye~" Dollaro waved as Ceruledge just bowed to them.

The stuffed bear-looking Pokemon let out a happy noise as, in a blink of the eye, she had the trio scooped up. Bewear looked at the others, gave a happy wave, before dashing off, shattering several trees in her path.

"What is this feeling…?" Team Rocket's pondering question was the last thing they heard.

"Poor souls, though not a half bad place to call home. No place safer, but strict mama," Dollaro chuckled, "Well we got paid big time, 12 zeros," he smirked to his pokemon.

"Ledge?!" Ceruledge gawked at that.

"Right? Might need to keep this business relationship going strong~" Dollaro smirked before looking at the Trainers, "Y'all done have a Pokemon knowin' Teleport?" they all pointed at Kajun, "May wanna be usin' it now."

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Well…besides me, the only folks who are for sure able to bring out Blue Boy…are you kids," Dollaro pointed out, "I'm happy to wait 'till they cave and pay me again. You kids…well you ain't exactly professionals who can charge what ya want for services, now can you?" he lingered as if trying to lead them to what nonsense was likely to follow.

"...Kajun…" Makoto began, her eyes going wide.

"Like parents, like child," Kajun muttered, Hikari already out, "Hikari?"

"Kirl…" Hikari curtsied before putting a hand to her Trainer's dress as the others quickly touched a part of Kajun before Teleport went off, leaving just the two parents, Jessiebelle, Dollaro, and his Cerluedge.

"So wanna go beat up Team Rocket goons?" Dollaro asked his Pokemon.

"..." Cerluedge crossed its arms over its torso, tilting its head…before shrugging and gesturing for Dollaro to lead the way.

"Alrighty. Let's ride!" Dollaro whooped.

---

GT: *flat on floor, smoke coming out of head* Finally done…We started this when the Teal Mask came out…and it took us until after the Indigo Disc was released to finish! Damn you, Jessiebelle and James's battle~!

Z0: I have nothing to say, life be like that and we have tons of projects we just…wanted to do more. But we finished so that means I can treat myself to a man's meal. *opens giant silver tray of Bacon wrapped shrimp, bacon wrapped turkey legs and steak* If this doesn't revive them in some way, then I have the shallow graves and hacksaw prepared.

GT: Yum.

Z0: Well I can still find some use for those shallow graves…maybe I can plant tomatoes. Anyway…we're done, wrap it up!

GT: Indeed! Until next time, folks! Hopefully, we can be faster next time! Please Read and Review!

SZ: *snoozes while sleeping on teh couch*enjoy..the new chapter…everyone…