The Subspace Emissary's Worlds Conquest (Megaman Legends Arc)

[DededeCloneChris]

"Has it now?" Dr. Crygor asked as he looked up. "I thought it was months... I got all excited with my new invention, the Kelorometer over there."

The 6 looked to the left, at the destroyed pink machine with 2 conveyor belts in front of it as they blew out some smoke.

"It crashed down after being used so many times," the doctor explained. "What's more, my almighty look is gone, GONE, I say," he said annoyed. "I had everything, but the experiment didn't last for too long..." Dr. Crygor looked down. "And I'm stuck with this apple plate on my head again..."

"...Sorry to hear that," Orbulon said.

"Oh, whatever," the doctor said. "I can fix it, but thing is, I forgot where I put my tools."

"Do you want us to look for 'em?" Sonic asked before he shook his head. "Wait, no! We're looking for someone in here!"

"Oh, who might you 3 be?" Dr. Crygor asked before he looked at Young Cricket and Master Mantis. "You're the newest employees of Wario, right?"

"Yes," Master Mantis said. "We're embarking on a small journey of discovery with this people. They want to meet that singing robot you name Mike."

"Mike?" Dr. Crygor asked before pointing to the right wall. "Well, he's right over there."

Chip gasped and turned to see the robot. "There he is!"

Sonic and Amy looked at the right, but they merely blinked. "...Um..." Amy put a finger on her lips. "Is that him?"

The group looked at the right wall where a robot was sitting down and leaning to the wall. The robot had red eyes, a foghorn as his body, 2 mikes on the top of his blue head that acted as an antenna, and had a normal look with his blue hands and legs.

"I thought he was supposed to...I dunno, talk?" Sonic asked.

Dr. Crygor chuckled embarrassed as he looked at the inactive robot. "As you can see, he's not turned on. He's...got himself in quite a fix."

"What?" Chip asked. "Why is that?"

"Well..." The doctor looked away. "We often argue about many things, mainly my experiments and sometimes my singing performance, but this time, though, he wanted to test out the Kelorometer. At first, I thought robots didn't sweat, but Mike sweated oil, and it fell all the way to his circuits before he fainted and turned off during the workout." Dr. Crygor looked at Mike. "Now he's like this. The machine got some of his oil, and then it made boom."

"..." Chip flew to Mike and shook him a little.

"It's useless to make him turn on," Dr. Crygor said. "If I had my tools, I could fix him and the machine as well, but I seem to have lost them somwhere..."

"Wait, this isn't good," Amy said. "We were supposed to ask Mike to come with us."

"What?"

"You see..." Chip played with his fingers.

Some more time later...

Dr. Crygor nodded. "I wouldn't mind letting Mike go with you to sing all he wants," he said. "His biggest dream is to be a karaoke machine. Technically he is one, but he wants to sing for bigger things."

"You're going to...let them take him?" Orbulon asked.

"Why not? The poor guy suffered enough with the Kelorometer. This is the least I can do for him." Dr. Crygor looked around. "Oh boy, where did I leave those darned tools?"

"Let me look around," Sonic said with a grin before he began to run around the whole lab's area, from the stairs to the doors, from the doors to the floors, and from the floors to outside...

The hedgehog didn't want to look outside where the ocean was close. Sonic shrugged and ran back to the doctor.

"Bravo," Dr. Crygor said. "You have the fastest speed I've ever seen. Why don't you join me to try out new experiments?"

"No can do," Sonic said. "Anyway, I didn't find any tools."

Dr. Crygor bonked his head plate a little. "Where in the heck did I leave my tools? They were here this morning!"

"Focus," Master Mantis said as he and Young Cricket were meditating. "Find the "Remember What I Forgot" form and use it to recall any lost memory."

"Maybe I should do that."

"Oh, please!" Amy groaned. "What form is that, anyway?"

Dr. Crygor hit his head by slapping before he hopped up. "...Yes, there they are!" he said as he slammed his right fist on his left palm. "The tools..."

"Yeah?" Chip said.

"The tools..." Dr. Crygor looked around. "...Aren't here."

"What?" Sonic asked. "You mean you were looking for some tools that weren't here before? Talk about a waste of time."

"It's not that!" Dr. Crygor tried to recall. "...The tools aren't here because they were taken away by another person."

"There's someone else who comes here besides us?" Amy asked.

"Hey, I DO receive visits from other people. Just because my lab is located far away from Diamond City doesn't mean nobody knows me," the doctor said with a sigh. "Continuing from where I left of, the tools were taken away by my granddaughter."

"Your granddaughter?" Chip asked.

The doctor nodded at him. "She's a very special prodigy at making intriguing experiments like myself. She's so smart that she could rival my genius very well. When she enters competitions, nobody can beat her at making the most shocking machines!"

"Who's she?" Amy asked.

"Penny Crygor," Dr. Crygor said. "She's as sweet as a new nut for any machine."

Sonic and Amy imagined how Penny looked like. If her grandfather looked like...that, she would look like...

The hedgehogs shrugged.

"Can you do me a favor and go for her?" Dr. Crygor asked. "I need the tools to repair the Kelorometer and Mike as well. If you do, I'll convince Mike to go with you. Really, I need those tools so badly! I want to see my new form again...and possibly feel it as well!"

"B-but I don't wanna get in that submarine-ship thing!" Sonic whined. "I HATE water so much!"

Orbulon looked down embarrassed. "If you were asking...to yourself, I crashed the ship yet...again."

"You're always crashing that Oinker of yours anywhere, anyday," Dr. Crygor said.

The alien looked angrily at him.

"Sorry..."

"Who cares..." the alien said with a sigh. "I'll repair it here...if you lend me a hand again..."

"Absolutely," the doctor said with a nod. "Well, I can give you 3 a faster way to go to the city without crossing the ocean."

Sonic's eyes widened in excitement. "T-there's a way to avoid traveling in the water?!"

"I have a lot of trouble with people getting in here that I designed...that!" The doctor pointed at a teleporter pod some feet away from the exit. "Admire my Telepoter Of Negative Teletransportation Omega...or TONTO!"

"TONTO?" Sonic, Amy, and Chip repeated in confusion.

"Please, don't bother looking for the translation in English," Dr. Crygor said with a chuckle. "Thanks to Penny, there's an identical TONTO in a hidden spot of the beach. If you appear there, you should head southwest where the Diamond City Academy is. Try looking for Penny there if you would. She likes to do many experiments on her own most of the time over there."

The 3 characters looked at the teleporter before looking at Young Cricket. The disciple opened his left eye to look at them. "Please, go on without us," he said. "Master found some forms in here, and we must master them all."

"...A-ha," Master Mantis said. "I've discoverd the "Sushi Chop" form."

Young Cricket gasped. "N-no way, you found it here?!"

Amy looked annoyed at Sonic and Chip. "Let's go already!" she said with a grunt.

"Go on without me," Orbulon said. "I'm going to see if I...can fix the Oinker with the available...things in here."

"Lead the way!" Sonic said in excitement before he ran right into the teleporter where he was instantly transported to the beach.

"No orders?" Chip asked.

"Not for now," Amy said before winking at Chip. "But you can always tell him to marry me."

"No can do."

"...What?"

"He told me specifically not to let Amy make Sonic do things he thinks are disgusting," Chip said.

"W-when did he say that?"

"The moment I noticed I had control over him," Chip explained. "He said you would take advantage of me so I agreed."

"You...little..."

Chip sweated as he chuckled nervously. "S-see ya!" he said as he ran into the teleporter pod, instantly teleporting him to the beach.

"Come back here! I'm not gonna let you ignore me!" Amy demanded as she raised her right fist and ran straight into the teleporter pod before she teleported away.

Dr. Crygor, who watched the 3 leaving, looked at Orbulon. "What a bunch of weird people you met," he said.

"Yeah, they are weird," Orbulon said.

Young Cricket, Master Mantis, and Orbulon have left your team.

Club Sugar

As the dance kept going, the 4 were looking at each other while Diddy was able to regain his composure after the "accident" he went through.

"I'll give full support to you guys," Red said. "This is for Ashley, and I'll do everything to make her smile or be happy."

"This guy seems to be all flared up," Jigglypuff said. "As long as he helps, everything's fine."

"Oh, really?" Diddy asked as he twitched a little. "His face tells more than his words."

"S-seriously, I wanna help out," Red said worried.

"He already told us, it's fine," Jigglypuff said.

"He better... I mean, you forgot what I went through?"

Kirby shrugged. "Ouch..." he commented.

"Thanks, Kirby," Diddy said bored. "That was a really smart comment to my pain."

"Sorry..."

"EHEM," Jigglypuff coughed before pointing at the dancers. "We have work to do. We need 4 more samples before we kiss this club goodbye once and for all."

"I thought you liked this place because you could sing," Kirby suddenly said.

"Shh, not here," Jigglypuff whispered annoyed.

Red clapped his hands to get their attention. "You guys, focus! If you want me to help, you better stay focused or else!"

"Fine, fine, let's do this already," Diddy said as he looked at the 5 dancers. "You, demon, tell us a plan."

"Heheheheheh, I have one."

"..." Diddy took a deep breath. "...Okay, we'd like you to tell us your idea," Diddy said as he faked a happy expression. "Would you share it with us?"

"Yeah," Red said as he grabbed his trident. "This is going to help us."

"A...trident?" Jigglypuff asked. "What is that going to do to get the hairs?"

"Hello? It is long, it's black so it hides well in dark places, and it has sharp prongs," Red said with a grin. "And if someone can walk on the spotlights and use my trident to poke their hairs a little, it's bound to get some samples if you don't pinch them too low."

The 3 looked at him before it became a small staring contest.

"...Let me guess, you're seeing in front you the person who's going to do it, aren't you?"

The 3 Smashers nodded.

Red looked bored at them before he let out a sigh bubble. "For Ashley, Red, this is for Ashley..." the devil muttered before he flapped his bat wings and began to fly up where he landed on a spotlight as he looked down at the dancers. The devil, however, looked back at the Smashers. "I need the monkey up here!"

"What?" Diddy asked.

"I can't hang up to the disco ball like you. You need to use the trident instead of me!"

"Why can't you just fly over their heads?"

"Believe me, this trident is heavier than it looks like," Red called out as he faked some small gasps. "R-really, it's heavy..."

Diddy looked at the 2 Smashers before he leaped to the spotlight and joined Red. The devil handed over his trident to the Kong before looking back at the dancers.

"Okay, here's the thing," Red began. "You're going to hang on to the disco ball with your tail as you did before and pinch their hairs."

The 2 blinked surprised after they began to hear loud cheers from the public. For their dismay, they found the dancers were dancing even faster than before around the stage. Diddy's and Red's eyes tried to focus on a single dancer, but it was just too much for them as the family constantly jumped around while dancing.

"Oh, this became hell so fast..." Red muttered in annoyance. "...But we'll have to do it. It's going to be 4:00 PM shortly so we need to hurry up." Red looked at Diddy. "Are you ready?"

"Can't...focus...eyes...on...one...of them..." Diddy said as his eyes spun rapidly before he fell back all the way to the floor with the trident.

Red's mouth hanged wide open before he looked down with Jigglypuff andKirby at the Kong. "Curses, curses, curses! I hate that family!" Red cursed loudly as the crowd cheered louder than him.

"Diddy!" Kirby jumped off the seat with Jigglypuff to look down at Diddy. The Star Warrior poked Diddy's head a bit before he tilted his own head to the side.

"Great," Jigglypuff said annoyed as Kirby resumed to poke Diddy. "We lost him. Damaging his you-know-what was just too much for him to stand up."

Red flew down and looked down angrily at them. "You better fix this problem before night comes around!"

"Well, what else can we do?"

"I don't know! That monkey friend of yours was the perfect candidate for this operation but he HAD to have a weakness to fast moving targets like that family!" Red yelled angrily. "Ugh, thought anything yet?"

Kirby looked up to think of something.

Some time later...

A happy Kirby came out from the bathroom as Jigglypuff and Red looked angrily at him.

"Done?" Red asked bored.

Kirby nodded happily.

"I have an idea," Kirby said.

"Really?" Jigglypuff asked interested.

Some time later...

A happy Kirby came out from the bathroom as Jigglypuff and Red looked (more) angrily at him.

"DONE?" Red asked in a threatening voice.

"Uh-huh," Kirby said with a happy expression. "I have another idea."

"It doesn't involve the bathroom, does it?" Jigglypuff asked bored.

Kirby shook his head with a chuckle. "No. I think this idea is going to be a lot better."

"Well, say it already!" Red sighed in annoyance. "Just tell us your plan before Ashley gets your heads!"

The Star Warrior raised his right hand with a serious expression. "My plan is..."

Some more time later...

A happy Kirby came out from the bathroom as Jigglypuff and Red looked mad at him.

"You went into the freaking bathroom 3 times in a row!" Red complained angrily at Kirby. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I fell asleep..." Kirby said sadly.

"...We wasted an hour waiting for you!"

"S-sorry..."

Jigglypuff frowned with a grunt. "This didn't help us that much..."

"Oh, I have an idea!" Kirby said excited.

"NO BATHROOMS!" Red demanded.

"S-seriously, this one is a plan..."

EVEN more time later...

"Get the hell out of there and let me pinch your rear so bad!" Red demanded loudly as he held up his trident.

"Um, Red, we're back on the spotlights," Jigglypuff pointed out as she looked down.

"...Oh," Red said as he felt stupid before looking at Kirby. "Okay, we're on the spotlights again. What is your plan that DOESN'T include bathrooms in any way or form?"

Kirby smiled a bit. "I think Jigglypuff can carry the trident and float down slowly to grab the samples easier."

"...Wait, why me and not you?" Jigglypuff asked. "We share the same jumps, you know."

Kirby looked away. "...Do you want to feel important?"

Jigglypuff gasped. "O-oh my, I-I'm going to feel important? T-then I'll do it!"

Red looked weird at Jigglypuff. "Why the sudden change of thoughts?"

"Y-you shut up, attention grabber," Jigglypuff said annoyed as she grabbed the trident of from Red's right hand. "You want me to jump close enough to them to pinch their hairs with this, right?"

"That's the idea," Red said. "Don't screw up or else it'll screw up our plans."

"Okay," Jigglypuff said before she looked at Kirby. "If I die, tell the world I wanted to sing to it."

"There's a person named World?" Kirby asked.

"...Forget it," Jigglypuff said with a sigh before she jumped off the spotlights.

However...

"Wait!" Jigglypuff stopped as she held up the trident. "What if I end up stabbing their heads?"

"Just go already!" Red groaned.

"Okay..." Jigglypuff said before she inflated herself, jumped off the spotlights and slowly descended to the Thangs. The Balloon Pok?mon looked down to see her first target, James T.'s hairdo. "(I better finish with the shorter one... Wait, why not picking the tallest one instead? But if I grab a hair from the shorter one, I'll be more admired by everyone...)" Jigglypuff giggled in her mind as she looked down serious at James T.'s hairdo. "(Heheheheh, good plan.)"

"Yo, yo, yo," James T. was heard saying as he raised peace signs along with Jamie T. "It's James T. Show-time," he sang. "Yo, yo, yo, it's James T. Show-time."

"(Ugh, good thing the music is so loud for anyone to hear him...)" Jigglypuff sighed mentally before she hovered above James T. and pointed the trident to his head. "(...H-heavy!)" Jigglypuff began to struggle to keeo the trident from falling off. It was easier to carry it above her, but it wasn't easy to hold it down vertically.

Red and Kirby gasped. "Oh crap, she's gonna let the trident kill him off!" Red looked at Kirby. "You, do something and fast, pronto!"

Kirby nodded and turned around.

Red looked at the direction Kirby was looking, making the devil grunt in annoyance. "NO BATHROOM, I SAID!" Red yelled at the top of his lungs.

Kirby turned to him and looked worried. "W-what can I do?"

"I dunno," Red began annoyed. "Maybe help her to keep my weapon to become an assassin weapon?"

"How?"

"You both are puffballs so you should have the same ability to jump!" Red pointed at Jigglypuff. "Go down and help her before I get accused for giving a weapon to a stranger who killed a dancer!"

Kirby looked down before he decided to jump to Jigglypuff.

Jigglypuff gritted her teeth (if she had any) as she looked up to see Kirby joining him to grab the trident. With both grabbing it, it became easier to hold it.

However...

"I-I can't keep jumping forever..." Jigglypuff muttered as she began to pant.

Kirby gasped and looked up to Red.

"You know," Red began bored as he looked at no one in particular. "I forgot that seeking ingredients for weird potions is a hard an annoying task. I COULD say it to Ashley, but she could use me as a replacement..." Red shrugged. "Here goes nothing...literally."

The devil began to flap his wings before he jumped down, hovered close to the puffballs before going down and push the Balloon Pok?mon up, making her sigh in relief.

"Now that we're all holding my weapon," Red began as he held the weapon with the 2. "Let's descend slowly and pinch that guy's hairdo."

The 3 nodded to each other before they began to descend to James T. For their luck, the Thangs stopped dancing fast, allowing the 3 flying characters to descend down slowly on the moving James T. They raised the trident slightly before they moved it down where it barely touched James T.'s hairdo.

Red gasped with a bit of excitement. "I felt it touched it. Move it up!"

The 3 began to pull back the trident. Once they managed to look down at the prongs, they noticed several orange hair bits stuck into them. "Yes, we did it!" Red rejoiced. "Let's fly up and return to our base of operations before I get tired!"

Some time later...

A happy Kirby came out from the bathroom as he walked all the way around the stage to rejoin Red, Jigglypuff, and an awakened Diddy.

"Behold," Red said as he held up the orange hair. "We have 2 samples now. Only 3 more to go."

"How much time do we have left?" Diddy asked.

Red looked at his newly acquired watch on his small right wrist. "It's 5:30. Night time it's going to come soon if we don't hurry up."

"Night?" Kirby asked before he shrugged. "I-I hope he doesn't come again..."

"Who? What are you talking about all of a sudden?" Red asked in confusion.

Jigglypuff recalled what Kirby tried to say. "Oh no, we don't know if Sonic's going to transform tonight..."

"Aw, no, please," Diddy said with a groan. "That guy inside him gives me the creeps with that sadistic laugh of his..."

"...I dunno what you're talking about, but we must hurry!" Red said angrily. "Or do you want to make Ashley mad?"

The 3 Smashers gasped and decided to forget about the werehog before they all began to brainstorm ideas to get the 3 remaining samples from the dancers.

Toy Express

To the southeast of the club, there was located the only toy store of the whole city that had several people coming in and out from time to time. Popo, Nana, Kat, and Ana were seen crossing over to the store where Popo jumped in excitement.

"Sweet, we're going to the toy store!" Popo rejoiced.

"Now you're acting childish," Nana said with a frown. "Popo, I know you're doing this to do you-know-what, but sometimes I think you go out of control during serious things."

"I gotta do this," Popo said as he looked at the store. "Or else I won't be as happy as a flower."

"Anyway, we have been running away from Ganondorf for a while. I don't think spying on him is a good idea anymore," Nana said. "I mean, we got information about his plans."

"Right, he wants to find Wario," Kat said. "And we know where he is."

"In his headquarters where he plans to scam you 2 from getting your hands on your money?" Nana asked bored.

Ana gasped as she looked to the west. "T-that's not it. It's because he's coming right here!"

"What?" Nana turned around to see smoke coming from the west. The pink Ice Climber narroed her eyes to focus her vision even further to identify some figures. By the looks of it, Nana managed to see Wario riding on his bike along with 2 other people riding on motorcycles as they wore black glasses, grinning all the time as they drove to them. "King Dedede and Bowser? Oh no, we have to hide!"

"Are those 2 the same people you're looking for, besides the green skinned lord?" Ana asked.

"Yes, but they're dangerous...or maybe not. Just in case, we have to hide," Nana said. "Those 2 wackos could turn serious."

"And you SERIOUSLY don't want to stay near Wario when he farts," Kat warned her.

"Oh, I know, alright," Nana said in disgust.

"His farts could break through glass. I don't even want to think what he eats with his teeth," Ana said. "Where shall we hide?"

"If he sees us with you, he's going to get mad," Kat said.

"I know," Nana said. "Now that Bowser and Dedede are with him, they'd surely attack us without thinking."

"Hey, Nana, can you buy me that toy train?" Popo interrupted the girls as he pointed inside the store to a red train going through a long trail that pretty much navigated through the whole store. "It costs like $1,000,000 bucks."

Nana and the ninja girls looked at the store. They all smiled a bit as they looked inside. "Let's hide in there, quick," Kat suggested.

The 3 (or 4 once Nana dragged Popo inside by the hand) entered inside through the automatic doors before they closed. Once they got inside, the 3 girls and the dumb boy hid in a nearby pile of big balls that was just behind the window of the store. The 4 swam through the balls to hide and push some balls away to spy on the Wario employees.

They saw as Wario, Bowser, and Dedede parked their motorcycles outside the store. Wario jumped off from his motorbike before he looked at the store. "Wahahahaha!" he laughed. "Here we are at the Toy Express," he said before pointing at a poster with the game "Wario Ware: Touched!" to make the other 2 look at it. "See those big letters? BIG SELLER, ha! It has been out for months, and its sales are defeating any toy out there!"

Bowser grinned at the poster. "While this game is selling, we become ever richer, right?"

"Of course we do," Dedede said as he adjusted his black glasses (making them shine) before grinning. "How's the other game sellin'?"

"Wario Ware: Smooth Moves is still selling even after those stupid alien-thingies took away my Form Baton," Wario explained. "Ever since those creatures sealed the Temple of Form, I haven't been able to enter and take it again."

"That's a shame," Bowser said. "We could have become richer."

"Meh, who cares?" Wario asked with a chuckle. "We're still gaining money either way."

"Oh, I SO love the truth," Dedede said with a small laugh. "Heck, doin' fair business makes ya reach new heights."

Inside the store, Kat looked at Nana. "Greedy punks..." she muttered.

"Agreed," Ana said with a sigh.

"Wait, why are Bowser and Dedede with him?" Nana asked.

"The 2 are the stupidest villains of all times, and they decided to become even more stupid by joining up with Wario?" Popo asked.

"Screw Tabuu! Being an employee of Wario gives us many more benefits than that cyber guy ever did!" Bowser said as he took out a handful of money as he grinned while showing his fangs. "Daddy's gonna buy a new badge here."

"Pfft, a badge?" Dedede asked before removing his glasses, still grinning. "I'll buy... Hell no! I'll save money to buy the world!"

"Hey, idiot, the world is not on sale for anyone," Nana muttered in annoyance.

"A badge of awesomeness," Bowser said. "It'll have something written so cool on it like King of Kings, or Shell of Awesome, or Fists of Power, or Roar's Pimp Daddy, o-"

"STOP!" Wario interrupted in annoyance. "We gotta go check on my employees to see if they created new microgames right now!"

"Why don't you call them over the darn phone? Nowadays people do that," Bowser said as he rolled his eyes.

"I COULD, but they're never home," Wario said as he took out a cellphone from his back. The Mario alter-ego clicked some numbers before he put the cellphone near his right ear. "Hello?"

"Sorry," the receiver of the line said. "You can't talk to 9-Volt because he's either playing video games with 18-Volt while ignoring the phone or he and 18-Volt are out to buy more video games. Please leave a message after the Mario jump jingle."

A Mario jump jingle was heard before Wario closed his cellphone and looked at them. "That hyperactive kid isn't home, which means we'll have to look for someone else..." Wario scratched his chin. "Let's see..." He thought for a moment. "...Of course, yeah!" he said excited. "I told those 2 ninja girls to wait for me at their house. They said they finished making some microgames for our next installment."

At this statement, Kat and Ana gasped silently.

"They said they were gonna be there at 6:30 PM. It's 6:00 PM right now, and their house is not far away from here either. Alright, ride on your bikes and let's hit the road again!"

Bowser chuckled as he rubbed his hands together. "Money, here comes your boss."

"Hey, I'm the boss here," Dedede said with a glare.

"No," Wario said as he jumped to his motorcycle. "WE ARE the bosses of money!"

"YEAH!" Dedede and Bowser said with a laugh before they both jumped on their motorcyles. The 3 heated up the motors for a bit before they all drove south from the store, leaving a trail of black smoke as it started to clear out.

"...Okay," Nana said. "I know what's going on here. Bowser and Dedede surely came here for Wario, but Wario convinced them from joining his business to become managers or something. And since Ganondorf said he needed to find them, they surely stayed here for a pretty long while."

"Is that all?" Popo asked.

"I think that's how things are right now. Maybe I have an accurate guess."

Ana looked shocked at Kat. "K-Kat, we were supposed to head back home at 5!"

"This isn't good," Kat said as she shook her head. "We planned to go back home early, but when we met you 2, we got distracted all afternoon until now..."

Nana looked bored at the girls. "Remember I told you that you didn't need to help us, right?"

"Well, we didn't have nothing else to do. People get bored, you know..." Ana said worried. "I'm sorry, but we have to go to our house."

"Oh, it's okay," Nana said as the 4 swam their way out from the cage of balls. "We need to head there as well."

"Wait, you're going to come?"

"What else is there to do? Maybe they have something in hands. We were charged to spy on them after all."

The 4 jumped out from the cage as Popo held up in triumph a big red ball. Kat rubbed her chin. "It's a good idea, actually... Ana and I can act all normal while we spy secretly on those 2 greedy punks we just saw."

Ana giggled. "Yes, I think this will work out very well."

"But we have to go to our house before they do," Kat explained. "Follow us, please."

"How are we gonna get over your house to make a more interesting threesome?" Popo asked as he tossed the ball away.

"Do you still have that sick idea in mind?" Kat asked with a frown. "Nana, no offense, but your brother creeps me out..."

'Who doesn't get creepied out with that attitude of his..." Nana sighed. "Then again, he's doing this to stay fine."

"Let's not waste any more time and go back to our house," Ana said worried. "Who knows what Wario could do to Shadow or the others!"

"Oh no, this is Wario we're talking about..." Kat muttered. "He kicked Shadow when we weren't looking."

"Bastard..." Ana muttered with a grunt.

"Okay, let's go before they reach your house, then," Nana said. "And no, Popo, I'm not going to buy you that toy train."

"Aww!" Popo groaned with a frown before Nana grabbed his hand and ran away outside with the ninja girls before the doors closed.

Highway

Many streets away to the west was located the highway that showed the ocean from afar. However, for some reason or another, there was a big traffic for the first time in years as many cars continued to shout their horns a lot with people cursing or getting impatient.

Between some cars, there was a bored Mona as she rested her chin on the handle bar.

Some cars behind her, there were the Pizza Dinosaur employees riding on their white bikes as they looked at each other bored.

Even more cars away from the 2, there was Dribble and Spitz's taxi completely stood still as from inside, Dribble rested his chin on the steering wheel while Spitz had his arms crossed, staring at the traffic in boredom.

A seat behind them, there was a bored Chris looking outside to the right, Ness moving his yo-yo in front of him at the sides, and Lucas looking around to do something in order to distract himself from some harmful memories.

All 8 characters took a moment of silence before they all sighed in unison.

"Traffic sucks in times like this, you know..." Mona, the 2 Pizza Dinosaur employees, Dribble, Spitz, Chris, Ness, and Lucas said in unison as the horns kept blaring on.

The blond PK kid looked outside to the clouds. Lucas blinked a few moment before he looked worried. "(Why am I starting to think about them right now?)" Lucas asked to himself. "(I thought I got over that a long time ago...but...the memory...)" Lucas grabbed his head and looked down. "(I-I can't stop thinking...)"

"Lucas?" Ness suddenly asked.

Lucas slowly put his hands down and looked outside. "I'm fine, don't worry about me..."

"..." Ness blinked before he looked forward to stare at the traffic in boredom.

"(...Claus...mom...)" Lucas thought. "(...Ugh...)"

TO BE CONTINUED...

...

"Jewels Of Diamond City. What, is this still going?" Diddy asked.

"Apparently..." Ness said with a sigh.

"Oh, man..."

Do you want to save your data?

Yes

Overwrite File?

Yes

Diamond City
Chris, Ness, Lucas, Dribble, Spitz/Jigglypuff, Diddy Kong, Kirby, Red (Ashley's devil slave)/Ice Climbers, Kat & Ana/Sonic, Chip, Amy

[DededeCloneChris]

Chapter 148: Jewels Of Diamond City

Highway

It has been half an hour ever since the traffic hadn't moved. The 8 trapped in traffic were at the verge of falling asleep despite the horns blaring on.

This could mean they became numb to the horns.

However, someone of them did fall asleep as Lucas rested his head on the left door, falling asleep while the other 4 inside the taxi looked bored outside.

As for Lucas, he began to dream something...

Dream

Mother 3 - Theme of Love

"...Huh?" Lucas blinked as he saw many green vines coming from the fertile ground. "W-what is this place?"

He noticed the yellow sky above the vines.

"...Wait..." Lucas blinked a little bit in surprise as he noticed he was laying down on a big field of sunflowers that reached the corners of his eyes' sight. The PK kid's mouth hanged a little bit open as he looked around.

Blue skies, some clouds, and even some butterflies were seen above the big flower bed of sunflowers. The blond kid smiled a bit as he admired the beatiful scenery.

It was then that a finger tapped his right shoulder from behind. Lucas stared forward for a small moment before turning around.

And his mouth opened in surprise once he found another person identically-looking like him.

"C-Claus!" Lucas yelled in surprise.

The boy in front of him looked identical to him. The only differences that separated them both from being the same were that Claus had a slightly different style of orange hair and wore light blue-yellow stripped shirt with orange shorts and light-blue shoes.

The boy, Claus, chuckled at Lucas. "Man, you're still the same, aren't you?"

"Claus..." Lucas looked down. "What are you doing here?"

"It's not obvious, genius?" Claus asked as he rolled his eyes. "I'm here because this is a dream."

Lucas looked back at him. "A-a dream? You mean this is not real?"

"...Wait, did you really think this was real?" Claus asked before he frowned. "Well, this is not real, unfortunately..."

Lucas looked down in shame.

"But check this out," Claus said. "You're talking to the real me in person. This is your brother, speaking you directly from the grave."

Lucas gasped and looked back at Claus. "W-what?"

"I'm telling you, this is hard to do," Claus said with a worried expression. "Do you think cheating Death is that easy? It's a good thing Death himself became friends with our mom."

"C-cheating Death?"

"Oh, don't tell the guy, please."

"...Our mom?"

"What about her?" Claus asked before he pointed behind him. "She's right over there, picking up some sunflowers."

Lucas couldn't believe what his eyes showed him behind Claus. There was a young lady with brown hair with a ponytail, sitting down on her legs and magenta dress in the flower bed as she held a basket of flowers on her left arm while she picked up some sunflowers with her other free hand.

Claus looked back at Lucas. "You're gonna go to her or what? I know you."

Lucas stared blankly at his mother before his feet began to run towards her, passing a chuckling Claus as the blond kid made his way to the lady.

"M-Mom!!!" Lucas yelled.

The lady got startled a little bit before she looked at Lucas's direction. She blinked a few times before smiling a bit in happiness. "Lucas, is that really you?"

"Mom!" Lucas yelled before leaping to her mother's lap with a big hug. "M-mom, you're okay!"

"Lucas!" Hinawa (her mother's name) hugged her son with some chuckles as Claus walked to them. "My goodness, you have grown well, young man."

Lucas looked up to her. "D-did I?"

Hinawa chuckled as she ran her hand on Lucas's hair. "Yes, you did. I'm so proud of you."

Lucas blushed and leaned his head to Hinawa. "T-thanks, mom..."

Claus folded his arms and looked at Lucas. "By the looks of it, I can tell you're still the same, though."

"C-Claus!" Lucas said annoyed. "D-don't say that to me!"

"Claus, respect your brother, please," Hinawa said.

'Yes, mom..." Claus said as he looked down.

"And now, young man, why are you chuckling?" Hinawa asked as she looked down at Lucas.

"I-I wasn't chuckling," Lucas said as he blushed. "R-really, I wasn't..."

"No, I heard you were chuckling at your brother," Hinawa said. "If he laughs at your back, do you want to do the same to him?"

Lucas looked away. "N-no..."

"What did I tell you about this before?"

"If you hate what other people do to you, don't try to do the same to them or else you're going to end up in jail someday..."

Claus blinked a few times. "H-hey, I didn't end up in jail!"

"That's good," Hinawa said.

"W-well, I guess..." Claus blushed.

"Anyhow," Hinawa began as she looked at Lucas, who opened an eye to look up at her. "How's your father doing?"

Lucas got off from her and smiled. "My dad built this little ranch after we fought the Pig Mask Army. It's pretty, you know? People have started to say the ranch fits my dad."

Claus began to laugh. "Hahahaha! I told you our dad was gonna end up building a ranch! That hat he always wears really proved it after all!"

Lucas chuckled. "I know. Even Boney is the ranch's dog. He doesn't do a goob job sometimes but he's happy to help."

"Aw, Boney," Claus said. "Bring him here the next time you have a random dream with us."

Lucas blinked a few times and looked worried at Hinawa. "M-mom..."

"Yes, what is it?" Hinawa asked.

"This is dream...but Claus said you 2 are real here...and you 2 are talking from the grave...right?"

"...Yes," she said. "I tried my best to appear here so you didn't feel so alone."

"And I found my way to her," Claus said proudly. "Heheh, I'm something if I can find her, am I not?"

"Lucas, I'm always watching over you."

"Me too, you know."

"And I've seen you have been looking down this whole time."

Lucas looked away in shame.

"Is there something bothering you? C'mon, you can tell me."

"...Mom...Claus..." Lucas looked at them. "I know you're both dead, but...I can't get over them..."

Claus looked down. "Well...yeah, it's true about that."

"...Lucas, you're brave child; my brave child," Hinawa began with a few nods. "As long as you think I'm here with you, I'm going to be there."

Lucas shook his head. "...What I'm trying to say is...I want you to be alive..." Lucas looked at Claus. "It's not the same for me to have 2 dead people while they say they're with me all the time...it's just not the same..."

Claus looked worried at him. "That's going to bother you forever, right?"

"Y-yes..." Lucas sniffed. "I have my dad with me...b-but I want to have both of you too..."

Hinawa closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Lucas, but we can't solve that problem very well..." She looked at him. "Even if we're not physically there with you, we're still giving our support so you can help the people you're with."

"...It's not the same!"

Claus and Hinawa got a bit startled at this reaction.

"I-it's not just the same, mom..." Lucas muttered as he began to cry a little. "I-I'm always trying to think you're both alive so I can be happy..."

"...Lucas, you're lying to yourself," Claus said.

"W-what?"

"You're lying to yourself by thinking we're alive while we're dead," Claus explained. "You should know better."

"I-I know, Claus, but..." Lucas frowned. "...It's not the same..."

Hinawa kept staring at Lucas before she picked a sunflower. "Lucas, please, don't hurt yourself with something that you want to use to make you happy."

"I'm not hurting myself..." Lucas muttered.

"You are, believe me," Hinawa said as she gave Lucas the sunflower. "While you're lying to yourself, you're hurting your beliefs about what is true and what's not."

"I-I'm getting confused, mom..." Lucas looked at her as he held the sunflower close to him.

"She says that using lies as an emotional shield brings you more pain," Claus explained. "Lucas, mom here taught us that. Did you forget or what?"

"I-I didn't..."

"Then do us a favor, Lucas," Hinawa began. "Stop using lies before you get hurt even more than you are."

"..." Lucas looked away.

"Young man, look at me and swear it."

"...I-it's embarrassing..." Lucas muttered.

Claus frowned. "Lucas, stop acting like that and be brave!"

"I-it's hard..." Lucas said. "I don't have the courage you have, Claus..."

Claus looked at Hinawa. "Mom, this is getting so hard to me now... How can we help Lucas?"

Hinawa closed her eyes to think of something. "..." She opened her eyes. "...I'm afraid this conversation is going to be over in a few seconds."

"What?" Lucas looked at her. "W-why is that?"

Claus looked around before he noticed. "Oh yeah. Lucas, next time, don't try to sleep while leaning to something in a taxi with 2 speed freaks."

Lucas gasped. "W-wait, how do you know that?"

"1, we know what you're doing with the guys you have. 2, we know you got the help from 2 speed freaks. And 3, we know where you're sleeping."

"And 4," Hinawa continued. "The race is going to start soon."

"And 5, next time, wear a helmet or lay down your head on a pillow."

Lucas looked worried. "W-what do you mean b-"

Music stops

Highway

THUD!

"O-oww!" Lucas moaned in pain.

"It was about time for you to wake up, sleeping beauty," Ness said bored.

Lucas noticed he bumped his head hard on the left door. He rubbed the left side of his head as he moaned a little bit, noticing that the highway was empty except for them, the 2 Pizza Dinosaur employees, and Mona going at full speed over the way.

"Dammit," Dribble cursed. "These guys have some potent motors!"

Chris peered from Spitz's seat to look at the employees. "Do you know if this happens a lot?"

Spitz looked up at him. "I suppose. Mona sometimes comments how hard is for her to do her things. I think these guys are one of the reasons."

Ness looked over. "...What the heck? Is that guy carrying a real dinosaur over his shoulders?"

The 5 looked forward to see the right employee carrying a gray dinosaur over his shoulders as he accelerated more towards Mona. The dinosaur began to bite the air furiously as it focused on Mona's yellow hat...or head.

"Okay," Ness began as he looked at Lucas. "These guys want to kill her off for good."

"And if they kill her..." Chris trailed off. "This mission is going to fail..."

The 3 Smashers looked at each other before Dribble and Spitz joined in.

"...AW, CRAP!" everyone but Lucas yelled.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time - Boss Battle

Dribble grumbled as he tried to accelerate. "Damn these guys! I can't catch up with them!"

"At this rate, we're going to witness a girl getting her head bitten by an animal that was SUPPOSED to be extinct!" Ness said. "...And here you're talking with a kid that fought dinosaurs himself..."

Spitz rubbed his eyes from between them. "Think, Spitz, think..."

They all saw as Mona noticed the employees were chasing her from behind. However, she wasn't worried about them, even if one had a dinosaur bent to bite her.

She was worried about the time she had to deliver the pizzas.

"I'm gonna be late for sure this time," Mona said worried as she looked at her watch. "Good thing they said they wanted the pizza before midnight. I can make it if I keep accelerating..."

"I'm afraid to say this taxi wasn't meant to fire missiles or somethin'," Dribble said. "Spitz, order a tombstone for Mona."

"Hey, you just can't say that..." Chris trailed off.

"Well, smart kid, do you have any ideas?" Dribble asked with a glare.

"..." Chris began to hit his forehead with the seat. "Why can't anybody say I'm a teen?"

"Teen, kid, whatever!" Dribble looked forward. "Mona's as good as dead if that dinosaur bents its head down on her!"

Ness thought about an idea. "...Of course," he muttered. "Lucas, open the window, now!"

"W-what?" Lucas asked. "A-are we going to jump out?"

"No!" Ness frowned. "I have an idea. The 3 of us need to use PK Thunder together."

"What?" Chris asked.

"We need to try and see if we can combine 3 same attacks together and direct it to that dinosaur," Ness explained. "If we can do that, then Mona will be fine, right?"

"I guess..."

"Well, change jobs already! That tamer job you have on isn't going to help!"

Chris looked at Dribble and Spitz. "W-what about them?"

"Forget about them! People need to witness what we can do sooner or later, anyway!"

Chris looked worried before he sighed. "Fine, I'll do it..." The World Traveler ducked to change jobs to the PK Kid before he sat up and looked at Ness.

Dribble and Spitz, noticing the glow behind them, looked back. "...A-HA!" Spitz pointed at them with a grin. "So you're supernatural after all!"

The 3 Smashers blinked at them.

"Dribble, do you know what this means?"

"Hell yeah I know," Dribble said with a happy expression. "We're ALWAYS going to end up taking sci-fi people with us forever!"

"Talk about lucky!" Spitz rejoiced.

"...What?" Lucas tilted his head.

"Ignore them and use PK Thunder already!" Ness ordered before he grabbed the hands of the other 2.

"O-okay, I'm feeling uncomfortable now..." Chris said with a shrug.

"This is NOT what you think it is," Ness said. "It's risky to shoot off our attacks inside this place to later combine them over us or the ceiling of this taxi. I think we can channel our minds together and shoot off 1 single attack from someone else's head." Ness looked at Lucas and the open window. "If my theory is correct, we should direct all the PK energy to Lucas's head where it's going to shoot off from his side to outside."

Lucas gulped. "T-this isn't going to fry me or something, right?"

"Pray for the best to happen."

"W-what?"

Ness looked at Chris. "Okay, start now!"

"I-I'm not so sure about this, but we have no choice..." Chris said worried before he closed his eyes with Ness and a terrified Lucas.

Spitz, who decided to look back at them while Dribble merely moved an eye, took out a video camera as he watched the 3 glowing a bit in blue while electric waves ran around their arms and hands. The PK energy from Chris and Ness began to flow all the way to Lucas's head.

The blond kid twitched a little, but with the effort of their minds combined to concentrate, Lucas managed to control the amount of energy.

"...Now!" Ness opened his eyes with the other 2.

"PK THUNDER!" the 3 yelled loudly as a fast sphere of lightning came out from Lucas's head, leaving the taxi from the open window as it rose up to the air.

Ness twitched as they all tried to control the living sphere while they continued to glow. "U-ugh, it's fast enough to reach them, but we have to focus more before it vanishes..."

"Cooooooooooooooooooool..." Dribble and Spitz said in awe as they looked up at the sphere of lightning, flying around crazily.

"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." Lucas focused even more to concentrate their minds into their attack.

Dribble and Spitz watched as the lightning ball began to get a hold of itself before it shot down towards the dinosaur. Once it crashed right on the dinosaur's back, it created some bolts shooting back as the dinosaur roared in pain and fell to the right side of the road unconscious. The 2 cabs looked at the fainted dinosaur as it was left behind their way.

"You did it!" Spitz said. "Man, that was awesome! I caught it on tape as well."

"Good stuff," Dribble said as he looked at the employees.

"What the hell, man?" the employee who was carrying the dinosaur before began. "Something shoot it down!"

"Well, let's not bother looking back now. We need to keep our sight on her," the other employee said as they looked back at Mona. "That girl isn't going to get away again."

"Shall I call our special transport to get rid of her?"

"Do it!"

The employee grinned as he took out a cell phone and called forth a flying purple ship with a dinosaur's head looking forward. The 2 employees looked at the ship turning into a big car to chase Mona right behind her before the 2 jumped their white motorbikes on the hatch on the top of the dinosaur car as the 2 fell on seats and grinned evilly at Mona.

"...Did those 2 just call that thing here from the sky?" Ness asked in disbelief as the 3 Smashers stopped focusing.

"Now I know this place doesn't even know the word normal..." Chris commented.

"Well, sci-fi people, you showed your moves to us," Dribble said pleased. "But now we have that thing chasing Mona from behind. Show it who's boss!"

Lucas looked worried at the purple dinosaur car. "C-can we really attack it from here? It was hard to control that fast PK Thunder..."

"Let me see if I can accelerate a little bit more to catch up with them. Can you guys attack it with close attacks or somethin'?"

Ness thought for a moment. "I think we can do it."

"Hold on to your seats," Dribble told them. "'Cuz we're going to mach speed level!"

Spitz nodded as he reached the lever. "Mach speed!" he yelled before pushing the lever forward.

The taxi began to accelerate even more as it began to catch up with the employee's car. Ness, Lucas, and Chris looked serious as they all looked to the right where they were able to look at the purple wall of the car.

"Alright, we did it," Dribble said. "You get rid of them now!"

"A-anybody thought about a plan yet?" Chris asked.

Ness looked at the 2 cabs. "Can you keep the speed like it is?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask that?" Spitz asked.

"We'll have to stand up and shoot the car down with some bolts of fire," Ness explained. "We need the car to keep its speed without slowing down so we don't get hurt. Can you do that?"

"You leave that to us," Spitz said as he raised his right hand. "Dude, this chase is starting to get even more epic. Why would we stop now?"

"I-I'm not liking this at all," Lucas commented.

"Too bad, we're going to do it as I say," Ness said as he took off his seat belt and stood up. Chris gasped a little before he took off his seat and pulled back his feet to let Ness stand below. As for Lucas, the blond kid squizzed his way from Chris's right arm to look out.

"Prepare your PK Fire attacks," Ness told them. "We'll have to spam our attacks over and over to heat up their engine to make it blow up."

"What does this big car do besides chasing Mona?" Spitz asked.

"Beats me," Dribble said. "It should have a beam or something."

"Are you ready or not?" Ness asked to Lucas and Chris.

"Is this the only way?" Chris asked.

Ness frowned annoyed. "I'll take that as a yes. Start bombarding this random car with fire, now!"

The trio of PK users began to shoot bolts of fires that exploded upon impact to the car. It was a small matter of time before the left side of the dinosaur car began to turn bright red.

Noticing that the air was getting hotter, the 2 employees looked around before looking at each other. "Hey, something's cooking up in the engine," the left one said.

"Well, don't look at me. I didn't install an oven down there!" the other one complained.

Since the car was specifically made to chase Mona and nothing else, the 2 looked at each other.

"Why did we have to go make this car without weapons or something?"

The other employee smacked his helmet in disappointment before the car became bright red, eventually exploding as the taxi slowed down. The 2 employees were blasted off to the sky before long, leaving a long trail of smoke behind.

"..." The 3 Smashers sighed in relief as they all sat down on their seats.

Dribble grinned and showed them a thumbs up. "Ha, how do you like that now?" he asked as he looked forward to Mona.

Music stops

"That was it?" Ness asked. "Wow, those guys were just pushovers."

"I'm glad..." Lucas said with a sigh.

"Wasn't it weird that they didn't bother to look at us?" Chris asked.

"Chris, there's something I'd like to do right now," Ness began. "You know what it is?"

"No..."

"Relax, get to that girl who made us go through all of this, complain to her, then ask to come with us," Ness explained as he folded his arms. "If she says no, my baseball bat'd like to talk with her very closely..."

"Oh god..."

Back with the teenager, Mona smiled to herself as she kept driving. "It's 6:30 PM, and the pizzas are still hot," she said as she placed a hand on the pizz boxes at the side of her scooter. A happy note jumped from her head before vanishing. "I'm gonna make it in tiiiiime, I'm gonna make it in tiiiime," she sang to herself.

Spitz frowned. "Why can't she even look behind for a change?"

"Oh, I'll tell you why," Ness said bored. "Her head can't turn around. She's forever stuck to look forward for the eternity."

"C-can we please just finish?" Lucas asked. "I-I'm getting a little bit annoyed by your complaints, Ness..."

"Oh, don't worry anymore," Dribble said as the taxi and Mona entered the Interstate 310, located to the north, where the beach was nearby.

Interstate 310

Spitz grinned. "The chase is over. Once she stops and delivers those pizzas, we'll reach her." Spitz stood up and looked at them. "You guys made this experience very worthwhile. Plus, we DID get pay after all! Those freaky powers of yours are not to be taken easy!"

"Bwaha-hahahahaha!" Dribble laughed. "Yeah, this was so extreme to a point. Thanks for everythin', you guys!"

Chris sighed in relief and smiled a bit. "Finally, this is going to be over in a bi-"

"Hey, taxi! Over here, please!"

The taxi suddenly came to a halt, making the 3 Smashers get pulled forward before slamming their backs to their seats.

Ness looked forward where Mona was getting away to the west. "H-hey, why did you stop?! We just had her where we wanted her to be!" he asked and yelled respectively to Dribble.

"There are people wanting to take the taxi," Dribble said as he kept looking forward. "We DON'T ignore passengers' request here. If we ignore them, our reputation will fall down to the slums."

"We don't want that to happen, either," Spitz said as he did the same as Dribble. "I'd say let's do it!"

"..." Ness looked at Chris. "Please, tell me these guys DIDN'T lose Mona's track to help others get to their destinations. PLEASE, DON'T TELL ME, DAMMIT!"

"N-Ness, you're starting to go crazy, no offense..." Lucas said with a gulp.

Chris backed away from Ness. "O-okay, I'm not going to tell you anything!" Chris said worried before the taxi pulled back to the right sidewalk before parking.

Spitz looked outside the window. "Aw, you guys! Where you want to go?" he asked, looking down at a kid with a yellow helmet with flashlights at the sides on the top, green visor, big earphones, red shirt with a yellow V-shaped emblem hanging on his neck with green shorts and red shoes. The kid also had brown hair with star-shaped hair hanging on the sides of the helmet.

Spitz looked to his right where a tall guy was carrying a jukebox over his right hand (that had a golden label on hi index finger that read "COOL"). The tall guy was a teenager that wore green clothes and pants, wore 3-D glasses, had brown hair with some sort of small saucer on the top of his hair, wore white shoes, and also wore a gold necklace with the blue numbers 18 on it.

"Long time no see, 9-Volt, 18-Volt!" Spitz said to the kid and the teen.

9-Volt smiled proudly. "Ha, nice to see you guys," he said.

-9-Volt-

-Occupation: Grade School Student
-Hobby: Skate Boarding
-Biggest Boast: His Nintendo Collection
-Bio: This high-tech skater boy studies at Diamond Elementary. He is such a Nintendo fanboy that he owns every piece of Nintendo hardware and software ever made.

"Whatcha doing in this place?" Spitz asked as he looked at the tall teenager. "I thought you guys always played video games all day long. What, did hell freeze over?"

"Nope," 18-Volt said as he shook his head. "We're waitin' for a new game to come out tomorrow."

-18-Volt-

-Occupation: Grade School Student
-Hobby: Listening to his jukebox
-Biggest Boast: His love for video games
-Bio: 18-Volt is a Grade School Student that is usually seen hanging out with 9-Volt at his house. These 2 share a big love for video games that they always play together when they can.

"It's 72-Volt-Man is gonna come out to stores!" 9-Volt said enthusiastically. "After getting through 36-Volt-man, we're sure the sequel is going to rock on my house!"

"Are you planning to pass the game the very first day it comes out?" Spitz asked.

The 2 gamers looked at each other and chuckled before looking back at the cat. "Of course we are!" both said with enthusiasm.

Inside the taxi, Ness covered his face with his hands. "Tell me they're not having a conversation in the middle of our mission..."

"Fine, I won't tell you..." Chris said.

"And you're waiting for the game to come out without playing another video game?" Spitz asked.

"We're taking a short break," 9-Volt said.

"Nope," 18-Volt interrupted. "I thought we were walking outside because you became frustrated to pass a high difficulty that you didn't today, then you tossed the controller at the TV out of frustration, and your mom got angry at us and the-"

"WE'RE TAKING A SHORT BREAK," 9-Volt said as a red toon vein popped out from his helmet while he chuckled.

"Yeah," 18-Volt said.

"..." Spitz hid a chuckle. "Where do you want to go?"

"Far away from his mom because she's looking for us after we escap-"

"A-anywhere you're going," 9-Volt said, interrupting 18-Volt. "It'll be safer that wa-I mean, it'll make us get unbored."

"Okay, hop on," Dribble said. "Hey, you guys on the back, make space for them!"

"W-what?" Lucas asked.

"Tell the kid on the middle to sit somewhere else, like the other big kid's legs!"

"W-what?!" Chris asked embarrassed.

"I'm NOT going to sit on Chris's legs like a child, ever!" Ness complained.

"You're going to sit on his legs or we're not chasing Mona anymore," Dribble threatened. "You wouldn't hurt us, right?"

"You...little..."

Lucas knew they didn't have any choice left after Dribble told them that. "N-Ness, do it..."

"Oh, right, I'm the only one here being asked to sit on Chris's legs, right?" Ness asked annoyed. "Lucas, you do it!"

"M-m-m-m-m-me?" Lucas blushed.

"Yeah, you! Save my butt, man!"

"Y-y-you're starting to sound even more furious than befor-"

"That does it!" Dribble yelled annoyed as he turned around, grabbed Ness, placed him on Chris's legs, and pulled the World Traveler to the middle seat. "There!" Dribble said annoyed as he opened the lock and looked forward. "You guys can come in now!"

"Oh no, this ISN't happening!" Ness complained as Chris, totally embarrassed, looked away from him as the 2 gamers got inside and sat down next to Chris and Ness.

"I hope you don't mind, but we're in the middle of a chase to get to Mona," Spitz said to 9-Volt. "Is that fine with you?"

"Meh, I don't mind," 9-Volt said. "I'll take anything extreme right now."

"Good!" Spitz looked at Dribble. "Continue the chase, Dribble!"

"Alright, let's hit the road again! I know where Mona headed to." Dribble laughed for a bit as he started the taxi. "Here we go!" he said before the taxi continued its way to Mona.

An annoyed Ness looked mad while he stared forward. "...Chris..."

"...Y-yes?" Chris asked worried.

"...Promise me and Lucas that you're not going to tell this to anyone or even my mom or Tracey..."

"Promise..." Lucas and Chris said in unison.

"Good..." Ness said with a sigh.

9-Volt and 18-Volt looked at the 3 and stared at them for a while.

"..." 9-Volt smiled a bit at Chris, who decided to look down at him. "Soooooooo, you play video games?"

"Oh, yes," Chris said. "I have a big collection of them in my house."

"Really? That's cool," 18-Volt said with a nod.

9-Volt gasped. "Hey, what games do you play?"

"I play Nintendo games mostly," Chris said.

The 2 other gamers gasped in excitement. "No way, I play Nintendo games mostly, too!" 9-Volt said, starting to shake in excitement with 18-Volt. "Tell me, what genres do you like the most?"

"I like RPG, adventure, action, puzzle, and simulation genres."

9-Volt looked at 18-Volt. "This guy over here is hardcore, alright!"

Chris smiled a bit and blushed. "O-oh, please. W-what genres do you like to play?"

"Most of the ones you mentioned, but I like to play many other genres," 9-Volt admitted. "18-Volt here shares the same likes as me."

"Word!" 18-Volt said, showing his teeth happily.

As the 3 gamers talked to each other, Ness looked annoyed at Lucas. "I bet the others are going through hell, unlike us."

"I-I'd say you're the only one going through hell, Ness..." Lucas said before gasping. "P-please, don't hit me!"

"Oh, don't worry," Ness said. "Once we go back, I'm going to find this game, place it down, borrow Kirby's hammer, and SMASH IT to smitherins," he said annoyed.

The taxi drove off to the west, where Mona headed as the gamers were discussing video games...

From a corner of a 4-way, where the taxi passed, Sonic, Amy, and Chip were seen, crossing over the street where they looked to the east, spotting a big building that had a big orange antenna with green floors on the other side of the street. Many students were seen entering, exitting, talking, laughing, or eating together around the trees located around the grass.

Diamond Academy - Entrance

The 3 stopped walking and looked up at the height of the academy.

Amy folded her arms. "She must be here, right?" she asked.

"Apparently," Chip said.

"Attention, people," Sonic began. "We're entering Tails's fantasy: an academy for the smartest."

Amy chuckled. "Oh, don't make fun of him now."

Chip looked at the different people around the campus. "Hmm, which one would be Penny?"

"Find the one who's wearing a pink suit," Amy said bored. "That reminds me, the old man didn't tell us how she looked."

"We're not going back to that island again," Sonic said annoyed. "Maybe if we ask around, we could find her?"

"That seems to be more appropiate but tiresome," Amy said. "Let's do it."

"Split and gather info, then," Chip said.

"But let's do this quick," Sonic said as he looked at the sunset. "Who knows if I'm going to transform in that thing again during tonight..."

"...Hey, does this school work even during afternoons?" Amy asked as she looked around.

"Maybe?" Chip asked.

"I think all the kids in here like to study even more than others," Sonic said.

"You might be right..." Amy said with a giggle. "Ooh, so you're really changing? My, you want to turn smart like Tails?"

"There ARE limits, you know," Sonic said with a frown.

Amy rubbed her left cheek with a finger. "Hey, what was that about you turning into a beast, anyway? I barely heard from Chip that your turn into some kind of wolf during the night."

Sonic glared at a whistling Chip. "I know. That's very stupid, right, Chip?"

"Not to mention so overused," Amy commented. "It's cliche for people to turn into werewolves during the night and bite others to turn them into more werewolves. Good thing that isn't going to happen here."

Sonic rolled his eyes. "You better say thanks because that isn't going to happen to us at all."

Amy chuckled. "I know." She looked serious. "Okay, let's seek out that girl and meet up with everyone, then!"

The 3 nodded to each other and split ways to gather information about the scientist girl.

"Oh, Penny Crygor?" a girl with lenses and blue uniform asked to Chip. "Well, she's well-known around the campus. Everyone knows her very well because she's always competing in any science challenges like science events or science fairs."

"Do you know where she is?" Chip asked.

"Who doesn't? She's inside the school's lab," the girl said as she pointed at the entrance. "Go inside, walk to the third floor, go to the east hall, enter the 4th door, and you'll get to the lab. She should be there all the time."

"Oh, thanks," Chip said before he flew away.

"Anytime, cartoon-looking imp."

Diamond Academy - 4th Floor Lab

The imp didn't have trouble in finding the hedgehogs before they made their way to the lab of the academy. Once they got there, they found around 8 tables with chemicals, tubes, elements, and the usual stuff a normal school lab had.

Sonic, by sniffing the air, found a trail of smoke that came from one of the tables of the lab. "Hey, there's smoke over there," Sonic said.

"Eww, it stinks," Amy said, pitching her nose. "You don't think she's inside, right?"

"Depends," Sonic said. "If she's in here, Tails is getting a new friend."

"Would you knock that off already?"

"Sorry..."

They began to hear some coughs from within the smoke as it started to clear out by itself. From what they could tell, there was a person holding tubes on each hand before the smoke began to vanish.

On the other side of the table, there was a young girl coughing smoke out. The girl had orange hair with 2 spikes of hair on her head with 2 ponytails at the sides. She had a small pink heart emblem between her hair and forehead to the right of her big glasses in front of her magenta eyes and spiked eyelashes. The girl also wore a pink collar jacket with, black shirt underneath, black pants, and pink boots.

"Oh man..." the girl said as she stopped coughing, looking to the mess she did at the table with lots of tubes with spilled liquids. "I did it again..."

The 3 looked at her as she looked around for a rag to clean the table. "Do you think she is the girl we're looking for?" Chip whispered.

"She doesn't even look like the old man," Amy whispered. "Heck, she looks prettier than he is. How can she be his granddaughter?"

Sonic looked behind the girl where the sunset was about to turn into the night. "We better ask her if we want to find out before night comes..." he muttered with a gulp.

"That would be better," Amy whispered before the 3 went over to her.

"Okay, where did I leave that rag? I shouldn't have wiped the table with it for the 7th today..." the girl complained with a sigh as she put the tubes back on their place in some containers. Once she turned around, she looked down at the hedgehogs. "Oh, who might you be? I haven't seen anyone like you 3 in the campus."

[DededeCloneChris]

"We're sorry to come in here and approach you," Amy said. "But...are you by any chance...Penny Crygor?"

The girl with glasses blinked a few times. "...Yes, that's me, Penny Crygor."

Sonic blinked in disbelief. "You mean to tell us you're that old man's granddaughter?"

"What old man?" Penny asked. "Oh, you mean my grandpa? Of course I'm his grandaughter!" she said with a chuckle. "I'm her special, lovely lab assistant as well!" she said enthusiastically.

-Penny Crygor-

-Occupation: Academy Student
-Special Ability: Intelligence superior to an average student
-Number of Lab Accidents in her beginning at being a scientist without getting a disease: 57
-Bio: Penny Crygor is Dr. Crygor's granddaughter. She's a very cheerful girl and also very smart for her age. Her genius could rival the brightest scientists of all time (AKA Dr. Crygor) with her unusual but innovative experiments.

"Do you him? He's the brightest grandpa of the whole world," Penny said with a few chuckles. "No wonder I'm growing up just fine as him as my role model!"

"(No wonder why I can predict your future very well...)" Amy thought bored.

"Anyway, why are 2 hedgehogs and a cartoon-looking imp here?" Penny asked. "I don't get visits from others that often. And why is the blue hedgehog wearing a dog's collar?"

Sonic decided to grunt annoyed for later. "Your grandpa sent us to look for you," Sonic said. "He said you took some tools from his lab, and he needs 'em to repair that karaoke machine named Mike and another machine called Whatsitcalledmeter."

"Kelorometer," Chip corrected.

"Whatsitcalledmeter," Sonic repeated.

Penny gasped. "Really now? Ooooooh, I knew I didn't need the tools in the first place!" Penny frowned in shame. "You see, I didn't need the tools after all. I thought there was going to be a machine test today, and the lab was short on tools so I had to take the tools from my grandpa. However, the staff decided to change it to a normal classwork of elements. Now that you're telling me this, I have to go back to the lab and give back the tools." She turned around to bent over to grab some tools at the side of her feet before turning to them.

"Is this it?" Chip asked.

"Definitely," Penny said worried. "My grandpa would be at a loss if he needed his tools. I admire him so much for whatever experiment he does every day. Taking away his ideas would be very bad for my self-esteem," she said.

"Aww, you love your grandpa so much?"

"Of course I do!" Penny chuckled. "Even if most of his inventions turn out weird, I can always count on him to help me out."

Amy joined her hands together. "Aww, that's so sweet!"

Sonic looked away in annoyance. "(Whatever is sweet it's fine with you, right?)" he asked mentally to Amy.

"Indeed it is," Penny said. "If you want me to go, don't worry about it. School's over for tonight."

"...Tonight?!" Sonic asked in shock.

"Well, yeah," Penny said as she pointed outside. "Don't you see the street's lights turning on and the sky? It's night already."

Sonic quickly ran to the window where he looked outside. For his horror, the street's lights were turning on along the sidewalks as the stars became present over the sky. The hedgehog's pupils shrunk in fear as he looked shocked at the 3 behind him.

"Wow, what's up with you?" Penny asked. "You look pretty scared."

"H-heheheheheh," Sonic chuckled nervously. "W-what makes you say that?"

"By the looks of it," Penny began as she adjusted her glasses. "Your legs, your arms, your legs, your body, your head, and even your eyes are shaking uncontrollably."

Sonic shook in fear as he chuckled more. "C-Chip?"

"Yeah?" Chip asked.

"A-am I turning into that beast again?"

Chip tilted his head and flew to Sonic. The imp examined the hedgehog for any trails of fur on his body. "Nope, you look just fine besides you shaking like crazy."

"What's happening?" Amy asked as she folded her arms. "Seriously, is that story of that werewolf thing real?"

Penny, hearing this, looked somewhat interested in Sonic. "A werewolf?" She gasped, putting her right hand close to her mouth. "Y-you can turn into a werewolf, or more accurately a werehog?"

Chip looked at her. "Wow, you know the name for the transformation?"

"That was the most logical answer," Penny commented. "I mean, he isn't a human. If he was a human, then he would be a werewolf. Since he's a hedgehog, I think the name werehog sound just about right."

"Y-you're so sharp and so smart!" Chip said in amazement.

Sonic looked annoyed at the imp. "Is that supposed to be good or bad?" he asked with a grunt.

Amy watched helplessly as Sonic kept trembling. "A-are you feeling something?"

"..." Sonic thought for a moment looking outside. "As a matter of fact, I don't even feel a thing..."

Penny blinked. "That's...a shame, really. Here I was hoping to see something like that happen...and I hardly even know you 3."

"I'm Chip," Chip said.

"My name is Amy Rose," Amy said.

"Sonic the Hedgehog," Sonic said.

"...That...doesn't help that much but whatever rolls your way..." Penny said with a chuckle.

Sonic looked at himself before grinning at the 3. "Alright, there's no more stupid transformation!"

"T-that's great, Sonic," Chip said relieved. "That means you don't have to wear that collar anymore!"

"Yeah," Sonic said with a nod. "Now, would you take this freakin' thing off me?"

"Does that mean that collar wasn't an accessory?" Penny asked.

"NO."

"Oh well," Penny said as she lifted her shoulders. "I kind of wanted to see a transformation with my own eyes. Guess you can't have everything in life that easily."

"Yeah," Sonic said with a confident, grinning look. "You have to keep fighting your problems and work hard to over come them eventuall-UGH!!!"

The 3 watched as Sonic embraced his stomach before falling on his knees in pain.

"...I take what I said back," Penny said. "You CAN have everything in life that easily!" she said cheerfully.

"W-would you drop that already?" Sonic asked as he grunted deeply. "C-Chip, this didn't end yet..."

Chip lifted his hands in fear as Sonic's body began to shake uncontrollably.

Amy took a step back. "W-wait, Sonic, what are you feeling? W-why are you acting like that?"

"U-ugh..." Sonic grunted in pain as he looked at the 2 girls. "I-I'm feeling...something inside...trying to turn me into that monster..."

"W-what monster?"

"UGH, IT'S HAPPENING ALREADY!!!" Sonic yelled loudly in pain as he slammed his hands down to the floor.

For some reason, the lights of the lab turned off suddenly.

Amy, noticing this, looked around before looking over the switchs were Penny was standing close. "Why did you turn the lights off?" Amy asked.

"I want to make a scene here," Penny said. "If he DOES change into a werehog, I wanna be the first girl scientist to study such a transformation in the field of science!"

"H-hey, he isn't gonna be your guinea pig or something!" Amy complained as Chip looked down at the hedgehog. "He's needs to be free, run around the fields, save me from creeps like Eggman, kiss me when the moment comes, marry me, create a family, have kids, an-"

"Amy, even I think you're fantasying way too much," Chip interrupted.

"Chip, don't ruin my fantasy, then," Amy replied annoyed.

"Okay, go on as Sonic grows bigger."

"Yeah, I'll continue as Sonic grows bigg-" Amy did a double-take as Penny gasped in excitement. "Wait, who grows what now?"

The pink hedgehog turned around to see the blue hedgehog starting to grow a little bit bigger as fur began to sprout from every single part of his body. Sonic's gloves were ripped apart by 2 huge claws as his teeth turned into fangs while his feet gained spikes underneath and even around the white cloth around them.

Then, the typical loud roar was made at her, even shattering the windows a bit behind him.

"..." Amy's pupils shrunk in pure disbelief as the werehog before her stood up while standing on both his feet and big claws. "...S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-S-Sonic?" Amy stuttered.

Sonic looked at himself for a moment before looking shocked. "Crap!" The hedgehog banged a single but strong fist on the floor, even shattering it a bit. "This stupid transformation is still around!"

"Aww, no..." Chip shook his head in shame. "Then this is not over yet..."

"...KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" Amy screeched in horror as she put her hands on her cheeks. "M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-my boyfriend is a monster!"

"Who is your stupid boyfriend again?" Sonic asked angrily.

"If that is you, does that make you stupid?" Chip asked.

"Chip, this isn't the time to be wondering that," Sonic muttered in annoyance.

Sonic looked back at the frightened Amy who tried her best to calm down at the sight of Sonic's glaring look. The werehog looked over to the left...

Sonic found an excited Penny, though.

Penny adjusted her glasses. "Oh. My. GOODNESS!" Penny squealed with glee as she ran to the werehog to see him closer. "Okay, stay here. I want to run some examinations on you."

"What?" Sonic asked before the young scientist walked around him. After circling around, Penny began to grab certain parts of Sonic. "H-hey, that's going too far already!"

"Let's see," Penny began as she grabbed an arm. "Big muscualr arms," she said before touching a claw. "Big claws," she said before rubbing Sonic's forehead. "Lots of hair," she said before rubbing Sonic's stomach (making Sonic feel uncomfortable). "Abs underneath fur," she said before opening Sonic's lips to see his sharp fangs. "Very sharp fangs," she said.

"Seriously, stop this weird examination!" Sonic demanded as Penny kept grabbing his lips.

Penny pulled back her hands, releasing his lips before putting her right hand in front of his mouth. "Okay, bite me."

"What?"

"Bite me, c'mon!"

"Why do you want me to bite you?"

"I want to see if there's some werehog DNA in you to run a test and see if you can infect people to make them werewolves," Penny said. "If I'm fast enough to remove the DNA, I won't be turned into a werewolf."

"I'm not going to risk yourself into some kind of silly experiment that won't prove anything!" Sonic yelled at her with a growl.

"Well then," Penny began. "If you believe that silly experiment won't prove anything, I'd be just fine, right?"

"Exactly!"

"Then let's get over it and bite me!"

"No!"

"C'mon, just a small bite?" Penny asked with puppy eyes. "I wanna be famous, you know..."

"Yes, you wanna be famous by getting yourself killed," Sonic joked.

"Just do it already!" Penny said, snapping back her eyes to normal.

"Oh, for the..." Sonic frowned as Amy slowly tried to calm down.

"Sonic?" Chip asked.

"Let her do whatever she wants," Sonic said. "Girls are just like this..."

The imp watched as the werehog slowly opened his mouth, showing his sharp fan-

And Penny merely moved her index finger inside, moved it up to get herself pinched deeply enough to make a small drop of blood come out from her hand before removing her hand quickly.

"Done!" she said with a happy chuckle.

"Wha..." Sonic closed his mouth as Penny turned around, opened a drawer to find a syringe to take the small drop of blood quickly by sucking it into it before pulling a microscope from the nearby table where he dropped the sample on a small glass underneath the machine. "That was all you had to do?"

"Please," Penny said as she examined the blood closely. "With a single pinch of those fangs is fine. They're like syringes, you know."

"...You're not feeling weird after that pinch?" Chip asked.

"Nope," Penny said. "Not even the smallest trace of swelling, which makes me believe you can't infect people," Penny theorized as she raised a finger and examined the drop. "As I've expected, you're not really a werewolf naturally!" she said in excitement.

"That's...good..." Sonic said confused.

"Don't you get this? You DNA was altered, not infected!" Penny said with some chuckles. "Altering DNA is pretty different from being infected because it doesn't have the same properties as a true werewolf. That means you're not naturally a werewolf that can't do what normal werewolves can do!"

"..."

Penny rolled her eyes as she tossed the sample to the trash can. "What I mean to say is that you're not dangerous to go around and infect people."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Oh, I guess you're in control of yourself, silly me..." Penny stuck her tongue out before she hit her head a bit. "Here I thought you had gone insane. Then again, you were genetically altered and not infected."

"..."

"...Fine, this was pointless," Penny said with a sigh. "I guess this is going to help me a little bit, though. Thanks for being my guinea pig for 2 minutes."

"..."

"Can you stop the silence?"

"...Oh, what? Oh, I'm sorry," Sonic apologized.

Penny sweatdropped. "That had to be the weirdest stare I've ever seen before."

"What was all that for?" Chip asked.

"I just wanted to see this," Penny said. "I could have been the first scientist to study this phenomenon, but it was a false alarm, oh well..." She looked at the frightened Amy. "And are you alright?"

Amy shook her head. "Did you just say Sonic is muscular and had abs?"

"Amy!" Sonic groaned.

"O-oh, sorry!" Amy blushed embarrassed. "A-a-a-a-are you Sonic?"

"No, Amy," Sonic said annoyed. "I'm a beast-wolf-thingy that's staring at you bored."

"Oh, then I guess you're not Sonic."

"Keep going like that and you're going to make the dumb pink girl..."

"...Hey, you're Sonic!" Amy said with a glare. "Only Sonic has enough guts to say that to me!"

"WHAT THE HELL WAS I TRYING TO SAY BEFORE THEN?!" Sonic roared angrily.

"H-hey, stop it!" Penny began to speak. "You're going to break the windows with your voices, and even the tubes in here, if you keep going like that!"

The 2 looked at each other and looked down in shame.

"Phew..." Chip said with a sigh. "Guess that's over with."

"The event, not this stupid transformation," Sonic said with a sigh. "I'll be forever darned in this stupid fur suit..."

"I-its not a-"

"I KNOW," Sonic interrupted in annoyance.

The young scientist shifted her eyes around. "...Okay, I think I'm going to get in trouble if the principal sees the windows like this..." Penny smiled. "Which should have been right away because he's not here and left the school to forget his duties, heeheehee..."

Amy looked at her. "Soooooooooooo..." Amy looked at Sonic. "Are you Sonic?"

"YES!" Sonic yelled annoyed. "My god, why can't you understand? It's me, just a little bit more brawny!"

"...Oh," Amy said as she lifted her shoulders. "I guess it's fine. No harm done."

Sonic and Chip blinked confused. "...What? You're not scared of me?" Sonic asked, raising one of his new eyebrows.

"Why would I be scared of you?" Amy asked. "You wouldn't hurt me in that form, right?"

"No (then again, I would)."

"Then it's fine," Amy said with a nod. "You're you, so that means there's nothing to worry about."

"Phew..." Sonic sighed. "I thought you were going to run away from this sick form I'm using..."

"Why would I do such a thing? Besides, I think I'm more attracted to you in that form..."

Sonic looked boed at her. "I knew there was another reason to get rid of this curse..." Sonic muttered.

Chip flew to Amy. "Are you sure you're not attracted to him because he has muscles?" Chip asked.

Amy blushed and glared at him. "C-Chip, quiet you!" she whispered annoyed.

"Oh man..." Sonic frowned as he accidentally let a deep growl. "Whatever..."

Penny looked back and forth between all of them. "...Okay, I guess I should be going for now," she said as she picked up her tools. "It's getting pretty late tonight."

"You're going to come with us?" Amy asked.

"Sure," Penny said. "I can try to repair Mike. My grandpa just can't seem to repair his singing voice."

"He's malfunctioning?" Sonic asked.

"Almost all the time, even between his songs," Penny explained. "My grandpa has been trying to fix him for a long time now, but Mike just doesn't work right like he used to."

"Great, this is going to be bad if he ever tries to sing..." Chip said worried.

"Why? I can always try to repair him," Penny offered. "If he gets another short-circuit, I'll try to fix him." Penny looked at the door. "Well, let's get going, then."

Penny temporarily joined your team!

"Alright," Amy said before looking at Sonic walking to them. "You sure you feel okay?"

"No," Sonic said. "I'm going to keep saying this forever: I HATE this transformation."

"Is that so?" Penny asked. "I unfrtounately don't know about a way to fix that for you, sorry."

"Meh, there should be a way," Sonic said before he put a claw on his head. "O-oww, now my head is starting to..." His eyes widened before looking at them. "Oh no, not that guy again!"

Chip gasped. "W-wait, you mean that..."

"GEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGHHHHHH!!!" the werehog yelled loudly once more as a dark aura began to emanate from his back before it began to create the image of an enraged DSS, looking around in a blind rage for someone.

"WHERE IS THAT MOTHERF(BEEP)R?! TELL ME NOW!!!" DSS demanded.

Amy took a step back once she saw the image turning his head quickly everywhere. "W-what the heck is going on now?" Amy asked as she shook scared. "S-Sonic, what is happening to you?"

"Please, believe me," Sonic pleaded. "This guy on my back won't harm a fly even if he wanted to. Don't run away! I have everything in control!"

"Oh no, this isn't good..." Chip said worried before DSS locked white eyes at him. "U-uah!"

"MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" DSS laughed before he sent a flurry of intangible fists at the imp. "CHIP, DO YOU LIKE MY GIFT TO YOU OR NOT, B(BEEP)T?!"

"U-uaaaah!!!" Chip screamed as he covered his face while the fists merely passed through him.

"Hey, bastard," Sonic began as he glared up at the shadow. "You can stop now."

"DIE!" DSS ignored Sonic as he continued to try to kill Chip.

Sonic frowned as DSS kept trying to beat Chip to a bloody pulp. The werehog noticed the scientist walking up to him as she adjusted her glasses to the shadow. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Penny ran a hand through the shadow before nodding a few times. "Hmm... What an interesting spirit you have in you..."

"Interesting? Nah. Annoying? Oh yeah," Sonic said annoyed. "Don't bother running a test on him. He's just too darn deaf to hear anyone."

Penny looked down at him. "He isn't that scary to me."

"H-he was when he possessed Sonic, though..." Chip muttered once he realized the fists didn't hurt him.

"H-h-h-h-hold on, please!" Amy pleaded. "I don't have a clue about this at all! Can somebody please explain me what happened to the smallest single detail, please?"

Sonic and Chip looked at each other.

Half an hour later...

"Let me get this straight," Penny began as she crossed her arms and walked around. "You have been genetically altered by an evil doctor who brought a dormant evil spirit within you that gained more and more power every night before it noticed it had the control necessary to take over your mind and body with that transformation. That soul or spirit decided to go kill anything out of pleasure before it was eventually controlled by a long battle..."

"YOU LITTLE B(BEEP)T!" the dark aura yelled at Penny. "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME AN IT?!"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Wow, you're not deaf anymore?"

"SHUT UP!!!" DSS yelled down at Sonic.

"Ignore the dude with the a(beep)hole attitude, please."

Penny stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "Okay, I understand."

Amy scratched her head. "So that guy killed Chris? Then how did get revived?"

"I-it wasn't pretty... Y-you shouldn't know how..." Chip shrugged.

"..." Amy looked at the shadow. "Ooooooooh, this is just a problem after another..."

"YEAH," DSS said with some nods. "YOU'RE A BUNCH OF B(BEEP)S WHO DON'T WANT TO LET F(BEEP)NG ME GO ALREADY!"

Penny chuckled, making the shadow grunt in fury. "The only thing we know is that he has lost common sense completely."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" DSS yelled angrily at her.

"See what I mean?" Penny asked with another chuckle.

"Anyhow, I don't know how to help you in this...or with him," Penny said. "But we really have to get going."

"W-wait," Chip began. "W-what about this guy? We can't let him annoy us while we go back..."

Sonic looked at him. "If that's the case...we need to find Chris and tell him to order this jackass to yell out curses and bad words all night long."

"YOU MOTHERF-"

"SHUT UP, WILL YOU?" Sonic asked, interrupting the shadow from yelling.

"Wait, Chris can make him go away?" Amy asked.

"He needs to whip him hard," Chip said. "Chris has the ability to make this guy disappear."

"Is that so?" Amy asked, tilting her head. "Ooh, this is so hard..." She looked at Penny. "I'm sorry to say this, but we need to get rid of this idiot over here first before we do anything else. Would you go back to the lab without us?"

"Why would I do that?" Penny asked.

"What?"

"I wanna go with you," Penny said as she looked excited at the shadow. "I want to find out more about this so I can make a scientific discovery."

"H-hey, you're going to risk yourself for science or something?" Sonic asked.

"I will if it's going to help me to become a great scientist!"

"..." Sonic frowned. "I just can't understand girls..."

Chip looked at the other 2. "Should we let her come?"

"Yes..." Sonic said. "You have to agree with a girl..."

"...Where's Chris, anyway?"

Sonic blinked before smacking his forehead. "Oh, great, he must be running somewhere in this city..."

"If you want to find this Chris person, why don't you sniff him out?" Penny asked.

"Sniff him out?"

"Of course," Penny said. "Even if you're not fully a werewolf, you have the traits of one now. Wolves have strong noses to sniff anything from far away. If you can find an essence familiar with Chris, you could seek him easily."

"So I have to be a dog and smell people's butts to find him?"

"That's...not what I meant, really..." Penny said somewhat disgusted. "Here, raise your nose, sniff the air, and...wait..." She looked around. "This lab has so many scents that you could get confused. Let's go out."

Diamond Academy - Entrance

By the time the 4 (or 5 with DSS) came out, every single student had already left the campus. The 4 walked to the sidewalk before stopping just under a post. The light that shone down on them made DSS embrace himself.

"Huh?" Amy looked at the shadow. "Why are you doing that?"

The shadow didn't reply as he kept embracing himself.

"The fact that he comes out during the night could mean he can't tolerate any form of light," Penny theorized. "Thus this is why he acts like that."

"..." DSS didn't want to say anything.

"I see..." Chip said. "We discovered a small way to make him shut up, then."

"I'm glad," Amy said with a sigh. "He's just plain annoying."

"You, start sniffing," Penny said to Sonic. "Try to focus on him to track down his smell."

Sonic looked a little bit surprised. "How do you know that much?"

"Pretty much anyone who have read fairy tales knows that. It's basic knowledge," Penny explained. "What, you haven't read books before?"

"Once, and I got pulled to it to a freaky Arabian adventure where I couldn't control my speed for some reason."

Amy, Penny, and Chip had interrogation points over their heads.

"...That's why I don't read books," Sonic said.

"...Okay..." Penny said. "Start sniffing."

Sonic rolled his eyes before he began to sniff the air over him. The werehog moved his head to the sides before he began to move around the group.

Once he got behind Amy...

"OWW!" Sonic got a hard slap from her. "I wasn't smelling you-know-what!"

"O-oh, my bad..." Amy said embarrassed.

Sonic grunted annoyed before he continued to sniff the air. After a while of sniffing it, he stopped and looked at them with a shrug.

"Eww, I know where he is," Sonic said.

"Why did you say eww?" Chip asked.

"Because I've never done this before!" Sonic yelled annoyed.

"Wow, easy there, furry guy," Chip said. "Your nose is our new seeker."

Amy chuckled. "Knock that off, Chip. Where's Chris?"

Sonic pointed to the southwest. "I found a familiar scent that could be Chris."

Penny looked south and adjusted her glasses. "Could? C'mon, it is him, no doubt." She looked back at them. "Shall we get going?"

"Unfortunately," Sonic continued. "The scent was trying to get away."

"He's running away, then..."

Sonic just couldn't believe that Penny knew a lot more than he did. How could a scientist that he hardly knew know a lot about his state?

The werehog noticed that the scientist jumped on to his back, where she didn't mind to have the dark spirit covering her. "Okay, get a move on to the southwest!" Penny said.

"H-hey, why are you on my back?"

"It's gonna be faster if you run while you carry me," Penny explained before looking at Amy. "There's enough space for you as well. Hop on!"

Amy looked worried at the shadow before looking back at Penny. "R-right," she said before she jumped on Sonic's back, managing to fit with Penny as Chip flew besides them.

"Do you know how to run?" Penny asked.

"Let me try," Sonic said with a grin before cracking his claws. "I'm not the fastest thing on 2 legs for nothing."

And the werehog, instead of running, seemed that he was tumbling to the sides as he tried to run while Chip followed.

The 2 girls tried not to fall off before Penny knocked Sonic's head a bit. "Y-you call this running? It looks like you're learning to walk!" she complained.

Sonic stopped and showed his fangs at her. "What do you want me to do? I'm new to this f(beep)d up transformation!"

"There, there," Penny said as she scratched one of Sonic's pointy ears. "No need to get angry..."

Sonic suddenly had a happy (but stupid) expression as Penny kept scratching his ear, making him stuck his tongue out a bit. "Ooh..." Sonic said grogily. "A little more to the right... Aah, yeah, it hits the spot..."

"SONIC!" Chip yelled loudly, startling Sonic.

"Chip, shut up, I was enjoying this!" Sonic glared at Chip. "I-I mean..."

"C'mon, we're loosing time!" Amy said as she tried to push the dark aura off. "We have to find Chris!"

"How do I run, then?" Sonic asked to Penny, who stopped scratching his right ear.

"Simple," Penny said. "Think you're leaping forward. Start with a leap before slamming you claws on the floor, let them reach your feet as they move forward, then move your claws forward. Once you do it, you'll notice you're running."

Sonic looked to the south. "Okay, here we go..."

The werehog pulled back before he leaped forward, slamming down his claws on the floor before letting them fall behind long enough to reach his jumping feet before extending them forward.

Amy looked behind her where the academy began to get away. "Sonic, you did it! You're running!"

"Damn," Sonic cursed as he kept running while Chip followed. "This doesn't feel like I'm running at all."

"It's working, though," Penny said with a chuckle. "You're a fast learner."

"Heheh, thanks."

"Let's keep it going," Chip said. "We'll reach Chris and the others in no time!"

"Actually, I think they were going faster than we are..."

"...Oh well," Chip said as he lifted his hands a bit. "We'll figure a way to get to them fast."

And so, the 4 (while DSS kept getting interrupted by the lights of each post they ran underneath) went towards the southwest, where they hoped to find the World Traveler and get rid of the shadow.

Club Sugar

7:30 PM...

The family kept dancing...

And the Smashers along with Red haven't gotten a good idea to get the 3 remaining samples as they sat close to the counter.

Red began to bang his head on the counter. "I can't believe we haven't found a way to get those hairs!" Red looked angrily at them. "We're 4 people, for crying out loud! 4 minds think better than 3,2, or 1!"

"We could use the same method we used before, you know," Jigglypuff reminded him.

"Oh, hell no," Red said annoyed. "My trident barely was going to fall off. I don't want it to kill someone by accident."

Kirby sighed. "And I was getting tired of holding it and trying to keep flying for so long..."

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen," the announcer began, making the 4 look around. "The club shall close at 8:00 PM due to a recent epidemy of beetle-like bugs in here. Please, enjoy your stance here at Club Sugar, affiliated with Club Spice on the other side of the city!"

The 4 looked at each other after hearing the announcement.

"Epidemy of bugs?" Diddy asked. "Does this place have bugs?"

"Who cares about bugs?" Red asked. "The club's gonna close on us in half an hour, and those 5 are going to leave by that time! We have to accelerate this!"

Kirby looked worried before he noticed a small, evil-looking bug appearing from behind the counter. The Star Warrior, ignoring the other 3 talking, took a close look at the orange, beetle-like insect that chuckled evilly at him.

"How can we think of a plan to grab those hairs if we haven't thought about a good one yet?" Diddy asked as, from behind, the bug (that was named Scratchy the 'Fro Bug (yes, it had a name)) began to flap its little wings while Kirby blinked a little bit interested. "I mean, my mind isn't exactly good for odd plans like this..."

"Why can't we just wait for the club to close and grab the hairs?" Jigglypuff asked before Scratchy began to fly up, Kirby being the only noticing it.

"Because Ashley's going to come for you at 9!" Red said.

Diddy blinked a few times. "...You said she was going to come for us at midnight, MIDNIGHT, remember?"

"I...lied..." Red said before looking down. "I was playing with you, guys. I wanted to keep it a secret to see if you wanted to listen to her so badly..."

Jigglypuff looked bored at him while Scratchy began to fly towards the stage. "You know, that was so jerky of you..."

"I KNOW!" Red yelled before crying. "I-I'm sorry for lying to you. I-I was just trying to get some fun and see your shocked expressions once Ashley came earlier than you thought she would come!"

"Well, how's that fun when our lives are in danger?"

"She's freaking scary with that silence around her," Diddy admitted before shrugging. "A-and did you see where she lives? S-she's hinting she'd hiding something from everyone..."

"Hey, don't sound like jerks to her now!" Red complained as Scratchy flew above the crowd while Kirby took a sip of his milkshake. "Ashley's a very talented witch!"

[DededeCloneChris]

"Yes, a talented witch in instigating the fear on us," Diddy said.

"Okay, stop it," Red said. "We're not here for you to complain about Ashley. We're here to get those annoying hairs from those dancers."

Kirby watched as Scratchy made his way to the stage, where it looked down at Jimmy's afro and chuckle evilly at it.

"An idea, please?" Jigglypuff asked.

"Dammit, don't leave all the work to me!" Red complained.

"Everyone?" Kirby began.

"Think about something or else I'll end up in a pot tonight!" Diddy yelled angrily.

"Me too, especially me!" Jigglypuff yelled angrily.

"Hello?" Kirby tried to get their attention.

"Look, just get thinking and we'll come up with something," Red said as the glaring Smashers. "Seriously, I told you guys I was going to help you in this," he said calmly.

"It doesn't look like it anymore," Diddy said.

"Believe me, I AM trying as hard as I can!"

"Please, hear me..." Kirby said worried.

"Don't pressure me, and help out too!" Red complained.

"But thinking too much makes my head hurt..." Jigglypuff complained.

"Oh, now you're complaining? Use your head some more!"

"EVERYONE!" Kirby suddenly snapped out.

"WHAT?!" the other 3 asked, looking angrily at him.

The Star Warrior glared back at them before pointing at Scratchy on the stage.

Diddy looked back at him. "What's your point with that bug?" he asked annoyed.

The 4 looked back at Scratchy before the bug chuckle a little bit louder and dove into Jimmy's afro. Some time passed before they barely noticed that the afro was starting to move.

"...H-hey," Jimmy began as he looked up. "M-my afro is itching..." he said before his afro began to shake. "A-aah, my afro itches so bad!" Jimmy complained in panic before he began to scratch his afro with both hands while moving around the stage.

The Balloon Pok?mon looked back at Kirby. "So?" Jigglypuff asked. "Kirby, that doesn't seem to be of any help."

Kirby looked down. "Ooh, I thought it would..."

Red looked at the crowd. "Wow, nobody thinks he's freaking out..."

"Why do you say that?" Diddy asked.

The devil pointed at the cheering crowd. Apparently, they considered Jimmy's panic as some sort of new and innovative dance as the dancer began to jump around the stage, even to the point where he jumped way too high to reach the spotlights.

"Hey, check him out!" Jamie looked up at her brother. "Jimmy's on fire tonight!"

"Oh, my, that's my son," Mama T. said with some chuckles.

"Yeah, Jimmy, shake it!" James cheered on his brother.

"Hahahaha! You're the dancer prodigy, Jimmy," Papa T. said as the whole family kept dancing, thinking Jimmy was dancing rather than panicking.

The 4 looked at each other while the crowd keep cheering even louder at the panicking Jimmy on the stage. "...It's a good thing they're oblivious to what's wrong to him," Red said, raising an eyebrow.

"Isn't he jumping way too high?" Kirby asked.

Diddy looked at Jimmy jumping so high up where he reached the spotlights easily. The Kong gasped at this. "Y-yes, he's jumping way too high," he said. "High enough to let us grab a sample without having to screw up...of course!"

Red gasped. "Q-quick, let's go up!"

The 4 characters looked around before they all flew or jumped towards the spotlights, crossing over the gaps before reaching the spotlights on the stage. As they expected, Jimmy was jumping high enough to let them reach his afro.

Red grinned as raised his trident. "Okay, you guys tell me the right time to pinch his hair. You gotta be precise or else I could end up killing him."

"For the last time, you're not going to kill anyone tonight," Jigglypuff said annoyed.

Kirby looked at the jumping Jimmy. For their luck, the dancer faced forward and not behind to look at them, which meant he wouldn't see them to pinch his afro.

Diddy raised a hand as the dancer kept jumping high. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaand...go!"

"EAT THIS!" Red yelled angrily as he thrust his trident forward, scratching Jimmy's afro for a bit before the devil pulled back his trident, letting Jimmy fall down on the stage where he stopped jumping.

"...Hey..." Jimmy stopped dancing to try and feel something in his afro. "The itching...is gone..." he muttered before smiling a bit. "It's gone!" he rejoiced. The dancer gasped once he noticed his family was still dancing without him. Jimmy sighed in relief before he rejoined them, making the crowd go wilder than before.

"Eureka!" Red proclaimed happily as they all looked at the midle prong, where a little bush of hair was found.

Diddy smiled a bit and took the bush off the trident. The 4 stared at the piece of blue hair before smiling a bit. "3 on the bag, 2 outside the bag," Diddy said before the bush began to shake. "Huh?"

"It's shaking?" Jigglypuff asked.

The 4 noticed that, from within the bush, Scratchy the 'Fro Bug came out from the hair, looking mad at them with an angered expression.

"Whoops," Kirby said as Scratchy glared at them.

"Did it do this to him?" Red asked.

The bug rolled its eyes in annoyance before it flew down to them. "Hey, suckas," the bug began. "Why did you let your noses peer where they don't need to sniff, huh?!"

The 4 blinked surprised at the bug. "...You can talk?" Diddy asked.

"Of course not," Scratchy said sarcastically. "I'm not the one talking, rather someone else who dropped a voice speaker in my back and talks by using it. YES, I can talk!" he yelled annoyed. "Now, I ask you again, why did you want to stop me from doing my business?"

"S-sorry," Kirby said worried. "We really need to get some hairs, Mr. Bug..."

"My name is Scratchy, pink puffball," Scratchy said annoyed.

"Mr. Scratchy..." Kirby looked at the bug. "W-we're sorry for interrupting you..."

"I hope you are because I was looking for a place to call home, and that guy down there had the best place to call home for me," Scratchy said annoyed. "But nooooooo, you guys came from nowhere and decided to stop me." Scratchy sniffed. "W-why do you have to be so mean on the homeless? WHY?!"

Red looked bored at him. "Hey, I know you're crying crocodile tears now."

Scratchy looked angrily. "Ugh, you saw through my veil of lies. You're sharp, I give you that."

"Drop that off," Diddy said with a glare. "If you act like this, then what we did to you was good enough."

"Good enough?" Scratchy asked angrily. "You guys stopped me from getting a home!"

"I thought you were just being a bully to the afro guy," Jigglypuff said.

"Well, that too," the bug admitted.

Red thought about something. "...Hey, you did make that guy jump so high by making his afro itch..."

"What about it?" the bug asked harshly.

"...Do you think you call help us by entering that girl's afro and that woman's afro?" Red asked. "If you can, maybe they could do the same and make them jump high enough to let us grab a sample of their hairs."

"...HA!" the bug laughed before grinning at them. "Do you really think I'm going to say yes and help you? You don't have a snowball chance in hell I'd do that for you, not after what you did to me!" the bug said. "Nice try, but it's a big NO for you."

Diddy grunted. "You're the only one of the whole club that can help us!"

"Well, too bad," the bug said, still grinning. "I work alone, and when I say alone, I mean I DON'T help anyone, let alone you 4 who stopped me."

Scratchy turned his back on them. Jigglypuff gasped and tried to stop him from getting away. "W-wait!"

Scratchy turned around with a grunt. "I thought I already made myself clear. I AM not helping you, losers!"

"Dude, we need your help," Red said. "This is crucial. We REALLY need your help right now."

"No matter how many times you keep asking me, I'm not going to help you."

"Pretty please?" Jigglypuff asked as she pointed down at Jamie. "Make her hair itch for us?"

"Do think I'm stupid or what?" Scratchy asked.

Diddy thought for a moment. "You said you were looking for a home, right?"

"Duh!"

"Well..." Diddy looked away, narrowing his eyes at the bug from the side. "I heard she has a pretty nice TV in her afro..."

The 3 looked at him as Scratchy looked somewhat skeptical about what Diddy told him.

"...Really?" Scratchy asked with interest.

"Oh yeah," Diddy said. "I heard she stuffs things in her hair; lots of things."

"Hmm..." Scratchy rubbed his chin. "I dunno..."

"Look, dude, it's tempting," Diddy said. "You have a chance to get yourself a pretty home. You just need to look inside her hair and you'll find what you want."

"How do I know you're not trying to trick me?" Scratchy asked as he narrowed his eyes at them.

Kirby shifted his eyes. "...There's a plasma TV in there..."

"..." Scratchy remained silent for a moment. "...Get a hold of yourself..." The bug began to shake in pure excitement. "T-t-there shouldn't be a plasma TV in there..."

"Is that the TV's control sticking out from her hair?" Red suddenly asked as he was looking down at Jamie's afro. "Ooh, look at that, it is."

"MINE!!!" Scratchy yelled loudly before he dove for Jamie's afro in a hurry.

The 4 looked at each other and chuckled. "That was a nice idea, Diddy," Jigglypuff remarked.

"I didn't think he would fall for it that easily," Diddy chuckled. "Good thing I was wrong."

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Jamie was heard screaming as she began to scratch her hair. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! M-my afro is itching so badly!!!"

"Hey, check it out," James began as he looked at her sister jumping around. "Jamie's on fire as Jimmy was."

The crowd began to cheer loudly, ignoring the fact that Jamie was actually in trouble before she began to jump high enough to reach the 4 characters on the spotlights.

"Are they that oblivious of her?" Jigglypuff asked.

"Looks like it," Red commented. "Who cares?" Red held up his trident. "Tell me when!"

"Now!" Diddy yelled.

"TASTE THE PRONGS!" Red yelled loudly as he thrust his trident forward to Jamie's hair. The trident's prongs scratched Jamie's hair for a second before she fell down on her feet, and little bit in vertigo before she shook her head.

"P-phew..." Jamie sighed. "I-it's gone..."

It was a matter of time before the disco-fabulous girl continued to dance even more with her family.

"B-I-N-G-O!" Red exclaimed happily as the Smashers looked happy at the sample of Jamie's hair.

Jigglypuff took the hair off and held it up in triumph. "~4 in hands, 1 out of hands,~" she sang happily.

From the little bush of darkish pink hair, Scratchy flew out and looked at them annoyed. "Hey, not fair, you tricked me!" he said with a glare.

"Whoops," Diddy said with a chuckle. "I guess that was the wrong afro."

"Wrong, afro, yeah, right..."

"No, seriously," Diddy said as he pointed down at Mama T.'s afro. "I'm pretty sure that's the one."

"Do you think I'm going to fall twice for that?" Scratchy asked angrily. "Sorry, but a guy like doesn't fall that many times!"

"There's a stadium in there," Kirby said.

The other 3 looked shocked at him.

"A stadium?" Scratchy repeated before he chuckled. "Okay, now I know you guys are tricking me. There's no way a stadium is waiting for me in that afro of hers."

"Great going, Kirby," Diddy whispered angrily at him.

"U-um..." Jigglypuff sweated. "H-how do you know that?"

"I'm not a dork like you bunch are," Scratchy complained. "Stadiums are supposed to be bigger than this place. What, do you think I'm a big idiot?"

"...Okay," Red said as he lifted his shoulders. "I guess I can reclaim that stadium for me."

"What?"

Red grinned at him. "If you don't want to believe us, fine. That stadium is as good as mine."

"...I'm not believing it!" Scratchy yelled angrily before shaking his head. "I'm. Not. Believing. It!"

Red turned around and looked at him over his right shoulder. "Are you sure?"

Scratchy began to sweat in horror. "W-well, I-I'm sure there isn't one..."

"How can you tell?"

"W-well, stadiums are bigger than this club..."

"Your logic just fails," Red said. "I'm getting amused by you."

"W-why's that?"

"You haven't realized something, right?" Red asked. "You haven't realized something very important. Do you want me to tell you?"

"W-what?"

"The fact that you..." Red chuckled. "...The fact that you're a talking bug who's talking to a talking monkey and 2 talking puffballs," he said. "If you ask me, that doesn't make sense, right?"

"W-well..."

"Now, if this doesn't make any sense," Red continued before pointing down at Mama T. "...It wouldn't make sense for a stadium to be in there, right? But if you've seen 4 living proofs that don't make sense but yet they're real..."

Scratchy gulped as Red grinned evilly at him.

"If what doesn't make sense is real..." Red continued with an amused look. "...Do you know where I'm getting at?"

2 minutes later...

"EAT THIS, FAT WOMAN!" Red yelled loudly as he thrust his trident at Mama T.'s afro. Eventually, it scratched her hair a little bit but enough to get a sample in the form of a bush of pink hair.

Mama T. fell down on her feet after jumping high from the beetle-like bug before noticing that her hair wasn't itching anymore. "...Phew..." she sighed before she continued to dance. "Let's party all the night, though. Heeheeheehee..." she said as she began to snap her fingers with her family before all of them spun, stopped, and pointed their fingers up.

The crowd went wild as cheers and applauses were heard for the Thangs, who didn't seem tired of dancing all day long.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this was Jimmy's Family's SHOWTIME!!!" the announcer yelled in excitement as the crowd kept cheering loudly.

Back on the spotlights, the 4 looked happy at the last sample of hair before Scratchy came out from the hair and looked at them.

"You guys SUCK!" Scratchy complained loudly. "Never before in my life I had to deal with people like YOU!" The bug turned around. "That does it, I'm going for a new target!"

The bug looked down upon a guy that resembled Jimmy, only that this guy had a yellow afro, wore a blue hawaiian shirt, had a pink nose, and also had a notable tanned skin. The guy had his legs crossed as he watched his relatives dancing before he grinned.

-Jimmy P.-

-Occupation: Dancer
-Relatives: Jimmy's family
-Became Known: Barely yesterday
-Bio: It is unknown where Jimmy P. came from. It's known, however, that he must be a relative to Jimmy since they both look alike.

Scratchy grinned before he took out some sunglasses. "Beach dude, here I go," he said before he dove down for Jimmy P.'s yellow afro.

The 4 characters looked down at the calm tanned guy starting to scratch his afro before they all looked at each other. "Should we bother?" Kirby asked.

"Meh, let him be," Red said. "We hardly know that other tanned guy, anyway." Red took the sample of hair from his trident and chuckled heartily at it. "What do you know, we did it!" he said cheerfully. "Thanks a lot, everyone. Now Ashley will get the chance to get more friends to be happy."

The others took out the other samples before giving them to Red. "Here you go, as we promised," Diddy said.

"Thanks," Red said as he took all the samples with him. "We should get going now. The club's closing. A nice night for a job well done."

The 4 nodded to each other before they jumped off to the exit, where they left the club with all the other people including the Thangs and Jimmy P.

"Did someone else feel their afro was itching?" Jamie asked.

"Nope," James said.

"Weird, I thought it was itching for me, too," Mama T. said.

Jimmy chuckled. "I'm sure that was our afros wanting to dance."

"Jimmy, that's it, we're going to come tomorrow here and dance even more," Papa T. said.

"Alright!" James and Jamie rejoiced.

Jigglypuff, walking close to them, looked away with a frown. "Sheesh, they're unbelievable..." she muttered.

Club Sugar - Entrance

After the crowd left the club, which suddenly closed and turned its lights off, the 3 Smashers looked at a happy Red.

"Well, let's get going," Red said. "I'll convince Ashley to come with you. However, take in mind I'm tagging along."

"Oh, don't worry," Jigglypuff said. "It's fine with us."

Diddy looked confused as he looked to the south to find 2 familiar figures running away with 2 other people. "Hey..." He moved his face forward. "Aren't they...Popo and Nana?"

The other 3 looked south. Jigglypuff focused her sight. "...Wait, they're them," she said.

"Who's with them?" Kirby asked as he stood with the tip on his right foot.

"They look like girls in ninja costume...that's what I think," Diddy said.

"Hmm?" Red tilted his head. "...Oh, I know those girls. They're Kat and Ana; some of Wario's employees like Ashley is."

Diddy looked away bored. "Somehow, I knew Ashley was related to Wario in some way..."

"Hey, she isn't like that fat guy," Red said annoyed. "You know the other 2?"

"We live with them," Kirby said.

"Let me see if I can their attention," Diddy said. "Hey, Popo, Nana, over here! Can you hear me? Heeeeeeeeeeeeeey!!!"

The Ice Climbers and the ninjas came to a stop before they turned around and looked at the 4 in front of the club. "Hey, they're them," Nana said.

"Who are they?" Kat asked.

"Some weirdoes we have never met before," Popo said. "Forget about them."

Nana smacked his head with a frown. "Popo, they LIVE with us."

"No wonder why the puffball looked familiar," Popo said. "Is his name Bowser?"

"Weird, I thought Bowser was the guy we were chasin-" Ana stopped talking once she looked at Nana's angered expression. "...S-sorry..."

"Anyway..." Nana began as she looked at the 4. "Are they calling us? I think we should go with them."

"What? What if we lose time in getting to..." Kat trailed off before Nana and Popo began to run to the club. "...Please, Ana, tell me she hasn't forgotten about our mission..."

"I'm sure she didn't," Ana said. "Why don't we go with them?"

The 2 ninjas joined the 2 before they all made it with the other 4.

"'sup?" Diddy asked. "How are you guys doing?"

"Pretty bad," Nana said. "We spotted Wario, Bowser, and Dedede. They're here and not just Ganondorf."

"What?"

"Ganondorf has been looking for Bowser and Dedede because those 2 didn't return to the Subspace due to Wario making them his employees," Nana explained. "Right now, we're trying to get to Kat and Ana's house because the 3 are going to check on them."

"And we're right here, talking to some strangers," Ana said.

"Ana!" Kat yelled.

"O-oh, sorry! I didn't mean to sound rude, forgive me!" Ana pleaded. "I'm sorry if I'm acting desperate, but we need to get to our home before Wario does something to my poor Shadow or Shuriken!"

"...Shadow the Hedgehog?" Kirby asked.

"Who are you talking about?" Ana asked confused. "Shadow is a dog."

"N-never mind..." Kirby shrugged.

"You guys are in a hurry?" Red asked.

Kat looked at him. "What are you doing without Ashley? Are you on an errand again?"

"Yep, I just finished with them," Red said. "What about you? Oh, right, you're chasing Wario... Why?"

Nana explained everything to him.

"Ooh, you're on a mission to..." Red frowned. "I don't understand, sorry."

"We have been losing time," Kat said. "We have to get going before they reach our house."

"It's what, 8:10 PM?" Ana asked.

Red looked at his watch. "It is," he said.

Kirby looked worried. "U-um, what do we do?"

"Shouldn't we head back to Ashley's mansion and report?" Jigglypuff asked.

"I think we need all the help we can get," Nana said. "If you would, we need you to come with us and spy on them. Who knows if they're going to attack us but we have to be sure."

Diddy looked at Red. "Do you think you can head back to the mansion alone and tell Ashely to come?"

"..." Red thought for a moment. "...I guess it's fine," he said. "It's a promise I told you I'd keep as long as you do your part."

Popo gasped. "So he has a foursome with you?"

Red looked at him. "What the hell did you say?" he asked.

Nana stepped in front of Popo. "Just ignore him. He's stupid."

"I knew it..."

"Hey, seriously," Ana began. "We have to get going. I don't want to see Shadow whining in pain once I reach my house!"

"Shadow the Hedgehog?" Kirby asked again.

"For the last time, Shadow is a dog!"

"EVERYONE, CALM DOWN!" Diddy yelled to take the whole attention. "Nana, we're going to join you. Red, go back to Ashley and tell her to come with us. Ninja girls I haven't met before in my life, tell us where your house is already!"

"Did you have to call us like that?" Kat asked.

"Do you want to run?"

"...Let's go," Kat yelled as she motioned to the south. "We're getting closer, just a little bit more."
"Alright," Red said before he turned his back at them. "I'll see you later. You better keep your promise or else..." The devil took off to the north as the Smashers looked at the Iga ninjas.

"Lead the way," Nana said.

"Okay," Ana said as she smiled at them. "Thanks for helping us."

"Just let's go to your house," Diddy said. "In the meantime, let's introduce each other on our way there."

The 7 nodded to each other before they all ran to the south in a hurry, leaving the deserted club behind...

Red (Ashley's Devil Slave) has left your team.

Kat and Ana's House

In a square that was set apart from other buildings, there was a dense forest that was separated by 4 streets going at different directions. From the north, the 7 characters were seen crossing over the street in a hurry before they all ran inside the forest.

"Your house is hidden in here?" Nana asked.

"We like to have ninja-style lives," Kat explained as the 7 ran around the trees. "That's what the Iga Clans does."

"Oooh," Ana said worried as she joined her hands. "Please, tell me they haven't arrived there yet..."

"Keep running if you want to find out!" Popo yelled as he raised his hammer. "It's whackin' time!"

"Oh, goody..." Jigglypuff said before she sighed. "The crazy Popo is back..."

"Keep him away from their sight once we reach the house..." Diddy said bored.

"Just leave it to me..." Nana said bored

The 7 continued to run into the forest section before they finally reached the house, which had a small brick path that leaded to the street. Once they stopped to catch their breaths, Jigglypuff looked annoyed at Kat as she stared at the path.

?Oh, right, your house is very well hidden,? Jigglypuff joked.

?Oh, please...? Kat frowned before her sister stepped forward.

?Shadow! Shadow!? Ana yelled. ?Where are you, boy? Shadow!?

Some barks were heard from the other side of the house before a yellow dog with a red bandana around his neck ran from the same side towards Ana. Upon seeing her dog, the twin smiled happily and ducked to rub his head.

?Shadow, you're okay!? Ana said happily as her dog licked her cheek and wagged his tail.

Kat smiled a bit and looked back at the house. ?If he's alright, that means they haven't arrived yet.?

?Which is good,? Nana said.

It was not long before they began to hear the sounds of motorbikes coming from the streets. The 7 (and Shadow) looked around for the source of the sounds before Kat pointed at her house.

?Everyone, go in, now!? Kat ordered loudly.

?Threesome?? Popo asked excited.

?No!?

With a groan from the blue Ice Climber, the 8 quickly ran inside the house where they went through a sliding door before closing it quickly.

Kat and Ana's House ? Entrance

Once inside, the Smashers looked around the Japanese-styled house with sliding doors, soft mattress, and several hanging posters that had Japanese symbols written on it in big black letters.

?Nice house,? Kirby remarked.

?You can tell us how nice the house looks like later,? Kat said before she looked behind to the door where lights began to appear and shine. ?They're here.?

Ana ran forward to a sliding door on the left. ?Quick, get in here,? she whispered at the Smashers. ?Enter here and hide underneath the kotatzu.?

?Hey, girls!? Wario was heard yelling from outside. ?Are you there? Hello??

?C-can you knock on the door instead of shouting the next time?? Kat asked loudly as the Smashers hurried to the living room.

?Are you there??

?...Yes.?

?Oh, good,? Wario said. ?Do you have the microgames ready or what??

?I-in a moment, please wait!? Kat yelled before she sighed. ?Talk about demanding...? she muttered before she made sure nobody but her and Ana were present at the door.

The 2 ninjas nodded to each other before opening the door to outside. As for the Smashers (and Shadow), they were spying on the group of 3 from the window of the living room where they stood at the sides or were kneeling down underneath the window.

?Good, you're here,? Wario said to the 2 girls. ?Do you have them ready or not??

The ninjas took a quick glance to the grinning Bowser and Dedede. Kat and Ana sent them a quick glare.

?Hey, hello, I'm here,? Wario interrupted the sisters.

?Oh, I beg your pardon,? Kat said. ?But we were just interested on those 2 guys you're with tonight.?

Wario looked back at Bowser and Dedede before looking back at them. ?What about them? They?re my Vice President and Vice-Vice President.?

Bowser chuckled. ?Yeah, Dedede?s Vice-Vice President here.?

Dedede glared at him. ?I recall it was the other way around, big nose.?

Bowser glared at him. ?You?re the Vice-Vice President here and you?re it.?

Ana looked confused. ?I don?t think there?s a rank of Vice-Vice President there??

?Too bad, there is one now,? Wario said with a chuckle. ?Got the microgames or what??

Kat tried her best not to glare at him while she kept a happy expression. ?Of course we have them with us. Ana, will you go get them??

Instead of staring at her sister, Kat stared at Wario.

?What?? Wario asked harshly. ?Something on my face??

?That?s weird,? Kat said. ?I thought I saw a bug in your helmet??

?A bug?? Wario asked. ?Meeeh, what is a bug doing in there??

The treasure hunter turned his back to them, allowing Kat to turn to her sister. ?Listen,? Kat whispered. ?I?ll try to get as much info about those 2 while you go get the microgames.?

Ana looked worried as she glanced at the 2 kings. ?What if I find them fast??

?Nobody said we knew where we left them,? Kat said with a wink. ?You know what I?m saying??

??OOOOOOOOOOOOOH, now I get it?? Ana whispered to Kat with a silent chuckle.

Wario turned around to them. ?Hey, there wasn?t a bug in there.?

?I guess my vision was just playing tricks with me?ninja tricks,? Kat joked.

Ana folded her arms. ?Well, I?ll go for the microgames. You 2 wait here, okay?? she asked before she ran away into the house, faking she was actually looking for the microgames.

Kat looked back at Wario. ?That?s weird. It?s not like you to have Vice Presidents in the company.?

?Why do you care?? Wario asked.

?Nothing, it just seems plain weird of you.?

The ninja noticed that Dedede and Bowser decided to dismount their motorbikes to walk up to her. Both of them looked down at her.

?(They look ugly from this angle?)? Kat commented in her mind. ?Nice to meet you at last. My name is Kat," she introduced herself politely.

Bowser pointed at himself. "The name's Bowser, King of the Koopas." He pointed at Dedede. "His name is Dedefatso."

"Hey!" Dedede glared at him. "My name is dah great King Dedede, ruler of Dreamland. Get that recorded in that thick skull of yours..."

"Was that your name?" Bowser asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah, and stop chucklin' like that."

"So," Kat began. "You 2 are Wario's employees as well, right?"

"Yeah," Bowser said as he adjusted his dark glasses. "Nice to know some kids like you can do a decent job."

Kat glared at him mentally. "Well, we do work a lot."

Back inside where the living room was, the Smashers began to whisper things to each other.

"Shouldn't we like, give advice to ask important things?" Popo asked.

"You should have told that before..." Diddy whispered bored.

"Well like, I didn't think of that."

Some of them groaned silently at this.

Dedede, who wasn't minding Bowser and Kat talking, blinked confused after hearing some groans coming from the window. "Hey, what was that?" he asked.

"What was what?" Kat asked confused.

"I thought I heard some groans or...somethings...comin' over there," Dedede said as he pointed at the window.

The Smashers (except Popo) looked shocked after hearing the statement.

Kat didn't think they would find the Smashers so quickly. The Iga ninja looked a little bit shocked as she looked at the 3 villains. She knew there was a reason behind those groans. If the Smashers did groan, then something stupid must have...

"(...Popo...)" Kat thought in annoyance. "...You're surely hearing things," she said to the fat penguin.

"Yeah," Wario said as he moved his right hand around. "These girls ain't got a good taste to be living in a good spot. They live in a forest, after all."

"Oh, right," Bowser said as he nodded and crossed his arms. "It makes perfect sense to me."

"(It makes perfect sense that I AM still in front of you...)" Kat thought annoyed before noticing the king(?) of Dreamland was walking to the window. "May I ask you what are you doing?"

Dedede looked at her with a grin. "How do I know you're not hidin' somethin'?"

Kat gasped. "(Is this idiot clever or what?)"

"You can tell me..." Dedede said with a devious chuckle. "...Ya're hidin' a lost dog!"

The Iga ninja blinked a few times before tilting her head. "I'm hiding...a lost dog? Why would I hide a lost dog?"

Dedede chuckled even more. "It's obvious," he said. "Ya are so darn sneaky like a ninja. If you're a girl, and I heard some groans or somethings over the window, that means you're hidin' a lost dog to reclaim the price for its owner."

"(...Did he ACTUALLY believe that about me or did he just make it all up to take a peek inside?)" Kat asked confused, stopping to believe that Dedede had common sense with him. "I...don't think so, unfortunately..."

"Well, let's see," Dedede said as he took a peek inside the dark room, blind to see the Smashers hiding just around the window.

Kat sweated a bit. "S-sir, it's rude to do that when you weren't told to enter my house. I'm sorry to say this but you must stop now..."

"Meh, what do ya know?" Dedede asked as he barely saw Diddy's tail. "You're hidin' somethin', I know that."

Wario looked at Bowser. "Does he do this stupidity all the time?"

"Oh yeah," Bowser said. "Plenty of times."

"Oh, shut up, will ya?" Dedede asked as he moved his left hand inside while he looked at the 3. "Now, where's the doggy?"

Shadow made a silent whimper in his mind as the Smashers slowly backed away from the hand.

"Would you knock it off?" Kat asked annoyed. "You can't just look around in a house where you haven't been allowed to search for anything!"

"This is a free country. I can do anything I want!" Dedede complained at the girl as he kept touching the mattress inside the house.

"Unfortunately, there ARE limitations," Kat argued. "Now stop before I call the police." She narrowed her eyes at Wario. "After all, if he gets arrested, guess who's going to confront the crime for being an accomplice?"

Wario gasped and grunted at her. "Why you..." he muttered as he made fists on his sides.

Kat crossed her arms and seemed bored. "I work for you, you know. If I want, I can renounce your company anytime."

"..." Wario glared at her before looking at Dedede. "Hey, fatso, stop it already!"

Dedede glared at Wario. "I'm not fatso, fatso!"

"Who are you calling a fatso, fatso?"

"You, fatso, I'm talking to ya!"

Kat and Bowser kept shifting their eyes at the 2 arguing fatsos (heheheh...) who continued to insult each other back and forth. The Iga ninja frowned in shame at this as she looked down while Bowser rolled his eyes.

However, this argument was going to come to an end as a smarter mind rose up close to Dedede and looked annoyed at them.

"If you asked me," Popo began as he pointed at the 2. "You're both so fat that the motorbikes you ride on would break at the first second you start to turn it on!"

A creepy, eerie silence took place as Wario, Dedede, Bowser, and a shocked Kat (who frowned) stared at the blue Ice Climber. At that very same moment, Ana took a peek from the entrance and gasped after seeing the blue Ice Climber annoyed with crossed arms.

"I'm impressed they haven't break apart yet. How do you do that?" Popo asked.

"POPO, YOU DIMWIT!" the Smashers (and even Shadow) yelled as they all stood up and glared at Nana's twin brother.

Nana began to strangle her brother's throat. "I knew it, I KNEW YOU WERE GOING TO MAKE US FAIL IN THIS WITH THAT ATTITUDE, DAMMIT!"

"N-Nana!" Diddy yelled.

"SHUT UP AND LET ME KILL HIM OFF!" Nana yelled loudly as Popo began to stick his tongue out.

It took some seconds for Bowser's brain to realize what was happening. "Hey, those are...them!" he said, pointing an accusing nail at the young Smashers.

"Them?" Dedede asked. "They're...dah kids!"

Jigglypuff jumped off from the window and pointed up at Dedede. "Don't you have something better to address us?" she asked annoyed.

"Dah puffball!" Dedede said, glaring down at Jigglypuff. "Man, Kirby, ya can't only copy people but ya can change shapes too?!"

At the mention of his name, Kirby peered out from the window. "I-I'm right here..." he said.

Dedede looked back and forth between Kirby and the mad Jigglypuff. "Aw man, puffballs are multiplyin'!"

Diddy looked at Jigglypuff. "Okay, now you got your own nickname. Are you happy?"

"That nickname sucks, no offense... I mean, yes offense!" Jigglypuff yelled at Dedede.

Bowser frowned at this. "What the hell are you kids doing here? Can't you see we're having a good life without doing crimes?"

This sudden statement made everyone but Wario's party to look at the King of Koopas with some surprised looks.

"What?" Ana asked. "I thought you were going to something shady, you...lizard guy..."

"Pfft," Bowser said as he rolled his eyes. "We servered ties with the army. We're no longer with Tabuu anymore. Why did you come here to annoy us, anyway?" he asked with a glare.

Diddy looked at him. "So wait..." he began as he scratched his hat. "You're not planning to make chaos or disorder in the city?"

"Or both?" Popo asked as Nana let go of him.

"Oh no," Bowser said with a chuckle as he patted Wario's back. "Wario here convinced us to join his crew of workers to become filthy rich. You don't know how much money this honest guy gives to us for doing small work."

"Wahahahahahaha!" Wario laughed at this. "Yeah, that's right. These guys work hard, though. They help a lot to increase our sales very well."

Kat blinked at the 2 villain Smashers before looking at Wario. "Wait, there's something I don't quite get... You're being generous to someone for a change?"

"Yeah," Wario said. "You got a problem with that or what?"

"N-no, but it doesn't sound right..."

Wario pointed at her. "Look, believe it or not, I'm being generous," he said as Dedede and Bowser grinned at them. "They're as helpful as you 2 girls are. I hope you don't mind having 2 more bosses to boss around everyone."

Ana looked worried. "B-but this doesn't sound right!" she complained. "I don't think you did this because of generosity!"

"If you keep arguing, I'll kick you out from the company," Wario said annoyed.

Dedede took out his hammer and grinned down evilly at the Smashers. "Can I give 'em a good beatin', though?"

Kirby looked shocked before he got back inside, hiding behind a growling Shadow that glared at the penguin.

Diddy, looking angry, adjusted his hat and glared at Bowser. "I don't believe this at all," Diddy said. "You can't fool us anymore."

"Look, monkey," Bowser said as he removed his glasses, looking angrily at Diddy. "If you don't want to believe in us, fine, just ignore us and let us do our business, 'kay?"

"I REFUSE to believe such a thing," Nana said with a glare. "Bowser, you probably want to be a bad guy rather than a big boss of some company."

"That some company turns out to be MY company, girl," Wario said angrily. "You insult it, you DIE."

Everyone in there stared at the treasure hunter.

"...What?" Wario asked. "I can be pretty serious when I want to."

Kat, coughing, looked at the Smashers as she walked to them with Ana following. "Did we just waste our time with them?" she asked to Nana.

"W-well..." Nana looked away. "I can't just believe any of this..."

"You are quite right, little girl. I also do not believe such a stupid idea like the one I just heard from the King of the Koopas and...whatever Dedede is."

"I'm the KING of DREAMLAND!" Dedede yelled annoyed.

Everyone around the ninja house blinked in confusion at the sudden threatening voice that came from the road to the street.

Popo, looking from the window, leaned to the right to find another character looking annoyed at the whole scene as he had his arms crossed with a glare at the 3 villains. "...Aw man, it's Boogieman medieval-era style, and he finally found pretty us!"

The rest of the Smashers merely frowned at this mistaken guess (if it was even a mistaken guess) before they all looked at Ganondorf with glares.

"It has been a real pain to look around for you, imbeciles," Ganondorf stated as he glared at the 3. "Thank the Triforce of Power for your loud shouts during the endless night."

It was a matter of time before some footsteps with several lights began to come from Ganondorf's direction...

Interstate 239

2 hours ago...

"Hey, hey, do you hear me?"

"..."

"You look exactly like that main character of EarthBound, did you know that?"

"Yes..."

"Heck, you could be the best cosplayer I've ever met before!"

Ness groaned at 9-Volt's excitement.

[DededeCloneChris]

It has been a long time after the first team met the 2 gamers. For Chris, he was having a good time while discussing video games with the 2 other gamers. For Dribble and Spitz, they didn't mind the sudden distraction before getting to Mona.

As for Ness and Lucas, they didn't think the same.

"Please, stop talking about video games already..." Ness muttered, the 3 gamers ignoring him. "Please, stop..."

Lucas looked away in embarrassment. "D-d you think this has gone far enough, Ness?"

"Well, I'm sitting on Chris's legs like a darn baby," Ness said, faking an amused look. "Add the fact that he's been talking with these 2 guys for a long time, and you'll get the image of my face very well in your mind. Want to imagine how it really looks like?"

"I-I'd rather not..."

"Good," Ness said as he faked a smile. "Because I don't want to show you."

The blond kid looked back at the group of gamers discussing games while Dribble kept driving as Spitz merely remained in silence. Lucas looked around to do something, but he didn't have any luck before giving up.

?...Do you know where she went?? Lucas asked to the cab.

Dribble closed his eyes and rubbed his chin. ?I forgot,? he admitted. ?I dunno where she went.?

Hearing this, Ness got a bored yet mad look in his eyes. ?You mean to tell me you forgot where she went??

?Yeah,? Dribble chuckled. ?Guess you can't remember everythin', right??

Dribble was oblivious to the fact Ness's eyes began to fill with rage. His body began to shake in fury while his hands turned into tight fists, flaring up with fire PK energy.

Lucas, aware of this, looked worried at Ness. ?N-Ness??

?I'm going to ask you a favor, Lucas...? Ness muttered.

?W-what kind of favor is that??

?A simple one,? Ness said as the gamers ignored him. ?I'm going to take out my baseball bat...cover it in flames...jump to the front seats...and beat the heck out of that bulldog's thick skull...?

Lucas looked away worried. ?I-I don't know where the favor is...?

?Let me continue...? Ness said through gritted teeth. ?What I want you to do...what I want you to do...WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO...?

?Y-y-y-yes?? Lucas asked.

Ness took out his baseball bat before raising it over his head. ? WHAT I WANT YOU TO DO IS TO STOP ME FROM KILLING THIS DUMB BASTA-?

Unfortunately, his speech of rage was interrupted by Spitz standing up from his seat, pointing a nail forward.

?A-ha, there she is!? interrupted Spitz.

All the people behind his seat looked forward to the street where, from a distance, the busy teenager was speeding in her red scooter to the south. She happily hummed to herself as the pizza kept emanating a sweet smell of pepperoni.

?HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!? Dribble laughed proudly. ?What do ya know, we found her!?

?Phew...? Chris sighed. ?I thought we lost her for a minute...?

Seeing that they found their target, Ness decided to keep his baseball bat before sighing. ?Lucas...? Ness muttered before he covered his face with his hands. ?This isn't irony anymore...?

?W-what is it?? Lucas asked.

?It's cruel destiny that's playing with us but more with me...?

?I-I'm afraid I had to agree...? Lucas muttered.

Dribble looked at the 5. ?Okay, it's gonna be a matter of time before we get her attention. You guys better be prepared to meet her.?

?Does she have a thick forehead?? Ness asked. ?My baseball bat wants to meet her so badly.?

?Er, no, she doesn't have a thick forehead,? Spitz said. ?Why'd you ask??

Lucas knew Ness was going to jump and rip Spitz's whiskers by the looks of the Onett reisdent's eyes, so Lucas grabbed Ness's left hand before looking worried at him.

?Claus, stop it!? Lucas pleaded. ?You don't need to get this angry for that!?

The sudden plea from Lucas was loud enough to make everyone in the taxi look at him. The blond kid blinked a few times before looking at everyone staring at him (fortunately, Dribble kept his sight on Mona's trail). Lucas blushed a little bit embarrassed at this situation that he looked away.

?...Lucas?? Chris asked, breaking the silence.

?Y-yes?? Lucas asked without turning around to face the 4.

?Lucas, did you just call me Claus?? Ness asked confused. ?Why did you say that to me??

Lucas looked down and played with his fingers. ?I-I'm sorry...I think I wasn't thinking right...?

?You weren't thinking right?? Chris asked.

?Y-yes...? Lucas said, trying to avoid something he didn't want to talk about. ?P-please, don't mind me...?

9-Volt looked up at 18-Volt. ?Yep, these guys are so weird...that they convince me.?

?Word,? 18-Volt said with a nod.

9-Volt looked at them. ?Anyhow, want to keep talking about video games??

As Lucas ignored a scoff from Ness, the blond PK user decided to look outside to the clouds where his mind wanted to wander and think about what he said. Unaware, he didn't notice that Ness was looking at him from behind.

"Okay," Ness began as he tapped Lucas's shoulder. "It's has been enough time already. Lucas, turn around."

The other PK kid knew the point where Ness wanted to get by how his voice sounded. Lucas shook his head as sign of refusion.

"Lucas, I'm serious now," Ness said. "Turn around and look at me."

"..." Lucas gulped and slowly turned to Ness. "Y-yes?"

"Look," Ness said as the taxi kept going after Mona. "You have been looking down a lot today."

Lucas looked embarrassed.

"And above else, you have been mentioning your brother's name to me," Ness said. "Tell me..."

Ness summarized everything he knew about Lucas in his mind. Ness knew Lucas had twin brother that looked like him but wasn't the same. Ness knew Lucas wasn't exactly stubborn or brave, even if he fought well during battles. The fact that Lucas has been calling Ness by his twin brother's name could mean something for the Onett resident...

"...Every time you look at me..." Ness tried his best to come to a conclusion. "...Do I remind you of your brother?"

Lucas gasped loudly enough to make the gamers and Spitz look at him.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you or anything," Ness reassured the shocked Lucas.

"Are you 2 talking about video games?" 18-Volt asked interested.

"We're NOT talking about video games," Ness said annoyed. "We're talking...or discussing what Lucas has."

"I-I..." Lucas stuttered.

"It's inevitable, Lucas," Ness said. "I've been losing my guts this entire trip to get to that clueless girl to hear us with some guys who happened to interrupt the chase, forcing me to sit on Chris, stare at the boring sunset and the street, trying to do something to calm myself before I finally decided to have a talk with you after those weird reactions of yours."

Lucas looked down in shame.

"And it's time for you tell us everything you know that you have problem with," Ness said. "I mean, I'm serious Chris would like to know so you can feel good with yourself."

Lucas took a glance at Chris before looking at the other Diamond City's residents. The blond boy looked back at Ness as Lucas avoided shedding a tear. "Ness..." Lucas began. "...I'm sorry..."

"Sorry for all those weird moments you've had?"

"...No..." Lucas said. "I...I just..." Lucas began to sob silently. "I...I just can't tell you... I-I don't want to say it...not now..."

"If it is about you reaching the highest score in a particular video game that you didn't reach because you screwed up something, it's fine," 9-Volt said. "I've been having that situation a lot of times before."

Chris looked at him. "Oh, me too. It's really frustrating when that happens, right? All the work you put into a task getting demolished in a single sec-"

"Chris, video game freaks, focus..." Ness muttered, interrupting the young boy. "And it's not because of that," he said before looking at Ness. "It's about your brother, right?"

"...Y-yes..." Lucas admitted in shame.

"And you have been calling me his name a couple times already, right?"

"Yes..."

"And..." Ness was finally making progress. "...I remind you of him..."

Lucas, having a shocked look, tried his best not to stare back at Ness. He knew Ness already guessed right about his problem, but he just couldn't tell him straight to the face because it would feel so embarrassing that Lucas would get sadder to admit the truth.

With a gulp, Lucas decided it was time to reveal it.

"...Yes, Ness..." Lucas muttered as he scratched his right arm. "You...remind me a lot of my brother Claus..."

Ness nodded. "Okay... Why do I remind you of him?"

"W-well..." Lucas tried to think. "...Both of you are brave, and you 2 look almost the same as me or Claus. Since we're almost all the time together, I think most of the time that I have Claus right next to me to help me out," he said as he smiled a bit. "Ness, you resemble my brother in almost every aspect he had. Why do you think I feel so safe when I'm around the team I'm with you?"

Ness rubbed his chin and nodded. "Yes, it's making sense now... I know very well."

"I feel happy and calmed because I like to think you're my brother, Ness..." Ness admitted as he blushed a little. "D-don't think it the bad way, though. It makes me happy to think there's someone like Claus out there, and you happened to be that one..." He looked back at Ness. "Ness...I think you're my real brother who looks after me if I get in trouble...and...and...and...and I couldn't be happier..."

Chris decided to speak. "But we don't know why you look so sad. You've been looking so sad ever since today."

"T-that's because..."

"That's it!" Dribble interrupted the conversation by opening the window, making Spitz sit back on his seat. "MONA, YOU DEAF GIRL, TURN AROUND!!!" he demanded loudly as he punched the horn several times.

The only thought Ness had in mind right now, after he was interrupted from knowing what Lucas wanted to say, was to make stew out of Dribble. Ness was finally making progress, but as he mentioned before, destiny was just cruel to him tonight.

"Chris..." Ness muttered, getting Chris's attention. "I want you to hug me so tightly now..."

"Why is that?" Chris asked.

"Because I want you to stop me, and of the fact someone is going to die RIGHT NOW!!!" he yelled loudly as he took out his baseball bat, wanting to leap right to Dribble before Chris gasped and restrained the enraged PK kid from beating Dribble to a bloody pulp. Lucas and the other gamers watched somewhat shocked at this reaction that they backed away to the doors.

9-Volt wanted to do something, and that something was to look at Lucas from behind Chris's back. "Hey, do you play video games? If so, what games do you like the most?"

"I like the game were Jumpman is," 18-Volt said.

"E-er..." Lucas shifted his eyes uncomfortably at the question while Chris kept Ness away from hitting Dribble's head.

"MONA!!!" Dribble yelled enraged. "TURN YOUR HEAD AROUND ALREADY!!!"

Back with the teenager...

"...Huh?" Mona blinked confused as she looked up. "Weird, I thought I heard a voice coming from behind..."

"IT'S BECAUSE I'M YELLIN' AT YOU!!!"

The high schooler looked forward and around before looking back over her right shoulder at the taxi. Mona gasped once she looked at the car following her from behind. "O-oh, hi, you guys!" she greeted by waving her hand.

Ness, noticing that the seemingly deaf girl finally turned her head around, opened the window close to Lucas where he stuck his face out. "Hey, you! Would you stop and listen to us already? We have been chasing you this whole time and you HAVE to stop!"

Mona stared at Ness for a few second before looking at Dribble. "Who are you? Why do you need me to stop, anyway? I'm busy, can't you see?"

Chris was the next one to stick his head out from the same window. "Please, this is urgent! We need you to stop whatever you're doing and listen to what we have to say. Just please, stop so I can finally stand up!"

Mona blinked confused at this sudden demand that she looked back at the pizzas before sighing.

A miracle happened; Mona was slowing down her speed...

A while later...

The red scooter stood still in front of the taxi as the Smashers were standing in front of the busy girl while Dribble, Spitz, 9-Volt, and 18-Volt watched from the taxi at the 4. A time passed after the Smashers explained everything they went through to get to her (counting the long chase they had to do as well).

"And..." Ness panted for breath. "We need you to come with us to the Smash Mansion so you can sing a song and become a musician..."

Mona looked worried for a bit before looking at Chris. "Let me get this, you need me to sing?"

"I-it's important," Chris said. "We really need your help..."

"A-and we don't know what Master Hand will do to us if we don't come back with you..." Lucas added.

The high schooler rubbed her chin. "I dunno..." she said. "I have a lot of work to do and..."

Ness rolled his eyes. "Can't you just ask for vacations? Have you ever tried that alternative?"

Mona looked at him. "I'm not so sure. I don't know if I should go with you as well..."

"P-please..." Lucas asked. "We have to take you with us...but if you don't want to come..."

"It's just that..." Mona shook her head. "It's just that this became so sudden and...it kinda came out of nowhere for me."

Ness smacked his forehead and frowned. "Okay, I guess we did all this chase for nothing. She doesn't want to come with us, we should accept her decision," he said as he turned around. "It's obvious she was being rude."

Mona looked a little bit worried. "I-I'm sorry if I didn't see you guys... I have a lot of things going on in my mind that I lost the notion of time very easily. It's not easy to keep up with all my part-time jobs, y'know?"

"Why don't you just have one part-time job instead of 5?" Chris asked.

Mona chuckled. "I like to do a lot with all this energy I have. What can I say? I'm very wild."

"(She got that right, unfortunately...)" Ness thought annoyed.

"Well...since I put you through all this..." Mona nodded. "I think I should go with you as a form of apology."

The 3 Smashers didn't believe their ears as they looked back at her. "...Oh, wait a minute, there's no trick?"

"No..." Mona said ashamed. "I'm really sorry for putting you all into this, really. It wasn't right for me to ignore you...and I wanna make it up for you," she said before looking happy. "Besides, I wanna rock on the stage even more by having a part-time job as a full time musician!"

"I-I don't think you can call that part-time job a full time on-" Chris was interrupted.

"Well, if you want me so badly, count me in!" Mona said excited. "By the way, the Mona Pizza theme song wasn't sang by me."

"...What?!" Ness asked.

"It was sang by a famous singer who wanted to promote the restaurant," Mona explained. "Unfortunately, she went on vacation overseas. I can't call her right now."

"T-then why do you want to be the one singing?"

"Why not?" Mona asked with a chuckle. "Heck, if I can rock on and sing at the same time, it'd prove I'm a very talented girl, right?"

"I guess..." Lucas muttered.

"Okay, it's decided," Mona said. "I'm gonna go with you guys in a bit. What do you say?"

"In a bit?" Chris repeated confused.

Mona pointed at her scooter with the hot pizzas. "I need to deliver those pizzas first before my..." She looked down at her watch. "8:30 PM..." She sighed. "I lost. I can't ask for money now that the time ran out... Even so, I have to deliver these pizzas." She looked away. "Seriously, that guy shouldn't have called me by cell phone. It's harder to track people that way." She looked at them. "Can you please wait for me to deliver those pizzas? I need to call Joe and tell him I'm going to be away from the city."

Ness sighed loudly. Finally, they made progress, succeeding in the process. "We did it..." He looked back at Mona. "Okay, but we're going to follow you."

"Oh, that's fine with me," Mona said. "Let's go hit the road, then."

"Yeehaw!" Dribble yelled in excitement. "Mission accomplished, soldier Spitz. Say status report."

"Not completed yet," Spitz said. "We have yet to accomplish these guys' destination."

"Oh yeah," Dribble said as he looked at Ness. "You're gonna have to pay." He showed him the amount of money.

Ness lifted his shoulders at the rather big amount of 5 zeros. "Okay. Follow Mona, please."

"T-that's a big amount..." Chris remarked.

"When you're me, no amount is impressive enough to make me gasp," Ness said, receiving a surprising look from Lucas.

The 3 Smashers got back in the car, unaware that Ness forgot 2 other people in there...

"What kind of difficult do you like to play?" 9-Volt asked to Chris.

"Well, I like to choose the easiest one before I choose harder options."

Ness looked at 18-Volt. "You know, you 2 could have said something about what we're going through."

18-Volt chuckled. "Sorry. We're not that good at talking about other things that aren't video games."

The taxi and the red scooter turned on before they all drove away to the south...

"...You guys suck, did you know that?" Ness muttered silently.

"Huh?" 18-Volt tilted his head confused.

"Nothing, you heard nothing..."

Half an hour later...

The 5 passengers were sleeping deeply (with 9-Volt snoring) as the taxi followed Mona's trail. Dribble saw that Mona was driving to a familiar spot he knew so well that he didn't bother to tell the sleeping 5 as a form of surprise.

Lucas felt that the car had entered some kind of field, leaving the street's floor. The blond kid slowly opened his eyes with a yawn to extend his hands up. His vision was a little bit blurry before Spitz stood up and rested his head on his seat. "Hey, we're here, Snoring Beauties," he joked as the taxi came to a halt.

The other 4 shook their heads after hearing the cat talking. Ness, who accidentally rested against Chris, began to hear some voices from outside.

"Okay, who ordered 5 Mona Specials? Since I got late, they're all free!" Mona said with a chuckle. "Sorry for being late!"

"Aww, sweet! My pizzas came to me!" a familiar voice that Ness recognized a little bit said in excitement.

"Okay, pal, here you go."

"...Oh my god, I can't believe it..." another familiar voice said.

"..." Ness blinked several times before fully awakening. Once he looked forward, he could barely recognize some people in front of the taxi. "..." His eyes looked shocked. There was a person he didn't want to see who was looking back at them. "...Wake up!" he yelled loudly.

Chris's eyes opened quickly before looking forward. "O-oh no..."

"U-uah!" Lucas yelped once he managed to look outside.

The 3 Smashers quickly left the taxi to go outside while 9-Volt and 18-Volt fell asleep again. Mona, who chuckled, turned back to them.

"We're here," she said. "Here's the guy who ordered the pizzas."

"..." Ness began to pant heavily at the sight of a blue parka in front of him, as well as many other people they all knew so well. Trying not to take out his baseball bat for the 6th time (or was it 4th?) time in the day, Ness glared angrily at...him.

Kat and Ana's House - Entrance

"Hi, you guys!" Popo said happily as he held up the 5 pizza boxes. "Did you do what you had to do? We sure did!"

"...POPO..." Ness began with a deep breath. "...You were the idiot who ordered all those pizzas from Mona?!"

"Like hell I did," Popo said with a chuckle as he put the pizzas down. "I heard she had good stuff when I saw the poster on a poll, so I used my cell phone to call her," he said as he showed them a hi-tech telephone. "You know what this is? It's a Tell, a subsidiary of OrangeMec."

Nana frowned as she walked next to Popo. "This idiot thought that he wanted to eat something while we were doing our things. I told him 4 times no, but I think the bastard did it when I wasn't looking."

"But my plan worked," Popo said with a devious chuckle. "The sneaky Ice Climber moved around and away from the pizza girl so he could get my free pizzas. Now you know how evil I am, mwahahahahahaha..."

Everyone in the place looked or shifted eyes around after knowing about Popo's "true" nature.

"..." Ganondorf coughed to break the silence as the taxi was behind him. "It seems all the group is here reunited...how lucky I am..."

"Not quite," Popo said. "There is another group in h-"

Nana blocked his mouth. "If you believe him, you're surely going straight to hell for sure..."

"I...guess I should ignore your stupid brother..." Ganondorf said before shaking his head.

The Gerudo began to hear some whimpers from the left. By turning his head at the mentioned direction, Ganondorf found a scared Lucas, who was looking scared at the fat business man...

"...Hey," Wario began as he walked down the steps of the house, his sight focused on Lucas and Ness. "...You're the same kids who wanted to cause trouble before..."

Bowser blinked shocked. "Wait...you still remember what happened during the invasion?"

Wario lookd at him. "What, you don't? I remember pretty much everything that happened."

Diddy raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean Wario and Bowser were the only ones who managed to maintain the memories about the invasion?"

"Why do you keep asking me that? I remember every single detail there is. If I wanted to go back with them, I would have laughed," Wario said before glaring at Lucas and Ness. "I STILL remember those brats annoying the heck out of me, for example..."

Lucas gulped and took a step back. "Y-you told me we weren't going to see Wario..."

Ness looked at him. "I know, but I didn't know we would end up all the way here where he was," he said before looking at Popo. "I know who made us get here, though..."

"Hey, I remember I asked you to come with us," Dedede said with a glare. "Why didn't ya say anythin' else after we left you?"

"Because I don't wanna get involved in business where there isn't money," Wario explained. "If there isn't money, screw you."

Dedede grunted annoyed at this before Wario turned to Lucas and Ness. The Onett resident gave him a glare while Lucas stood behind him.

"Wahahahahahaha!" Wario laughed at the 2. "Do you remember the time I trophified the boy with the red hat? I sure do!" he said before looking at Lucas. "And I still remember the crying baby who ran away from me after I grabbed the boy's trophy!"

"What?" Mona asked as a mutter.

Ness stared at Wario before looking at Lucas. "Lucas...did you run away?"

"W-what?" Lucas asked worried. "N-no, I just..."

"He SURE ran away, alright," Wario said. "The crybaby didn't have enough guts to face me and save you. Didn't he tell you or did you forget?"

"N-no..." Ness said as he looked down. "...I completely forgot about that event..."

Lucas frowned to himself before he looked down ashamed.

"What is going on here?" Kat asked suddenly.

"Yeah, what's happening?" Ana asked. "What is that about Wario kidnapping children?"

The high school girl couldn't understand anything that Wario was talking about. The only thing Mona did was to take a step forward to get the attention. "Hey, Wario," Mona began. "What is that about all you said? I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Oh, you need to," Wario said simply. "It's something you shouldn't know about."

"B-but..." Mona shook her head. "I...I'm worried about you, y'know?" she said. "I just can't get the part where you fought innocent children..."

"Hey, we're not that weak..." Ness said bored.

Dribble and Spitz exchanged glances as they continued to watch from inside the taxi as the 2 gamers snored loudly on the back.

"Worried? You?" Wario asked before chuckling. "Goodness, Mona, you sure know how to make me laugh."

Mona looked serious at him. "Wario, I'm being serious here. I don't like to see you getting hurt. I DO care about what happens to you."

"Aww..." Jigglypuff said...then she thought things over. "Bleh..." she muttered from behind.

"You don't need to worry that much," Wario said before looking at the 2 kids. "Okay, I guess I need to get my revenge on you 2."

"W-what?" Lucas asked.

"That's right," Wario said as he cracked his fists. "The only thing I can't forget is you 2 trying to attack me while I was doing my job," he said before pointing at Ness. "You're the one who played around with me."

"So what if I did?" Ness asked harshly. "I don't care about a guy like you."

"I never got to fight you," Wario said. "Or torture you for that matter like I did with blondie here."

Ness looked back at the terrified Lucas before glaring at Wario. "Just try it," he taunted as he made his right hand glow with fire. "If you want to torture me, go ahead..." Ness moved his glowing hand down. "Go right ahead."

"N-Ness..." Lucas muttered worried.

"Everything it's fine," Ness whispered to Lucas. "If something goes wrong, we have everyone here to help us out."

Ganondorf, after hearing all the conversation, chuckled evilly before holding out his left hand in front of him. "Then, Wario, do you want me to help you?"

The other Smashers stared back at Ganondorf as he called forth a dark portal from the grass. Pure darkness emanated from the ground before something squared emerged from it. Everyone in there stared at the block of darkness before the darkness itself began to disappear, revealing something...

Under Ganondorf's hand, there was a cage with a Shadow Nightmare, standing still as it looked at all the people around it. Mona gasped and backed away from the monster as some did the same.

"W-what is that thing?" Ana whispered to Kat as she stepped behind her, Shadow running at her side to hide himself from the ominuous creature.

"I-I don't know..." Kay muttered with trails of sweat on her forehead.

"Coooooooooooool..." Dribble and Spitz said in awe.

Ganondorf chuckled as everyone stared at the cage. "Wario, my annoying companions, I would like you to meet a Shadow Nightmare," he said with an evilly grin.

"S-Shadow Nightmare?" Kirby asked as he shook in fear.

Wario, tilting his head, walked closer to the cage to inspect the demonic monster, examining its surroundings. "What the heck is this thing?"

"Oh, you do not worry," Ganondorf said with a chuckle. "This monster should make things interesting if you order it to attack someone."

Wario looked at him. "Wait, I can tell it to attack anybody I want?"

"They were created to listen to our commands," Ganondorf explained. "It will listen to anything you would like it to do. Now, I ask you..." he trailed off before grinning. "What do you want it to attack?"

"Hold on right there!" Mona yelled. "What is going on here?"

Wario chuckled at the sight of the monster. "...Mona, shut up..."

"W-what?" Mona asked shocked.

Wario looked at the lock of the cage before he opened it quickly. The Smashers gasped once they saw that the beast could come out and attack them. So far, they didn't know what it could do to them, but they were prepared for the worst...

"Okay, you thing," Wario said as he pointed at Ness, who gasped at this sudden move. "Go and get him! Give it all you've got! Go, go, go!" he ordered with some laughs as Ganondorf grinned in pleasure.

Ness and Lucas looked at the creature in the cage. They noticed that it began to move its legs to the clean ground, staring deeply at Ness's eyes. Unfortunately, Chris wasn't exactly feeling so well with a creature made out of darkness, and the fact that he was brutally attacked by several of them didn't help.

"What are we doing here without doing nothing?!" Nana asked to the others. "We have to stop that thing from attacking them!"

The other Smashers shook their heads to snap out from their states. Bowser and Dedede, who also heard the shout, looked confused at what do to.

However, something went wrong...

In a few seconds, the Shadow Nightmare quickly dashed along the grass towards the other side of the taxi. Ness and Lucas gasped once the monster quickly ran behind them, making him turn around with Lucas as both were standing right next to each other. The monster was probably running from the back so the others wouldn't interfere.

Chris quickly turned his head to see the beast extending its arms with pincers to the sides as it ran after Ness. The World Traveler backed away from it out of fear as the Shadow Nightmare passed him, eyes focused on Ness.

The Onett resident gulped as the monster went after him...

The Smashers tried to run as fast as possible to attack the monster...

Wario and Ganondorf were chuckling in front of the taxi while Dribble and Spitz were under some kind of trance at the sight of the scene...

Mona just watched in horror at the beast about to attack Ness from a safe distance...

Kat shielded Ana and Shadow from whatever happened, but instead of doing that, she decided to join the fight, making Ana and Shadow follow her...

Bowser and Dedede looked confused at each other to think about something to do...

Chris was paralyzed in fear at the sight of devilish monster, close to the taxi...

9-Volt and 18-Volt were still sleeping...

Popo protected his pizza boxes...

Nana slapped him and took him with her to attack the monster...

But, as for Lucas...

"Lucas, stay back!" Ness yelled as the monster prepared to ram its full body at him. "You have to run away from here if you don't want to figh-"

The unexpected happened as Ness's right arm was suddenly grabbed and pulled away, making him trip to the right before hearing some screams...

"..." Ness pushed himself up shocked. "...N-no..." he muttered in disbelief as he turned around. "...T-this...no, he didn't just...do it... N-no, he didn't do this! No, he just didn't do this!"

His eyes, along with everyone else's, couldn't believe what they saw...

There was a panicking Lucas trying to push away the Shadow Nightmare that latched onto his head. No matter how much Lucas tried to push the monster, it didn't let go of his head before the Shadow Nightmare let out a screech of pleasure as it slammed down its pincers on Lucas's back, making Chris's eyes widen in terror.

"U-UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Lucas's screams yelled loudly as many gasps followed after. "H-help me, somebody!!!" Lucas pleaded as the monster's pincers began to traspass his body. "I-I need help, please!" he cried loudly before the whole monster made itself transparent to take over his body, giving Lucas a painful look of darkness that shrouded him inside a bubble of pure black. "A-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

"Lucas!!!" the Smashers yelled loudly as several whips of darkness began to come from within the bubble, showing a horrific scene as Lucas kept crying out in pain during the night...

"UAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

...

TO BE CONTINUED...

...

"First Liar: Lucas the Weak-Hearted. A liar? Why would he be a liar?" Jigglypuff asked.

Do you want to save your data?

Yes

Overwrite File?

Yes

Diamond City
Chris, Ness, Lucas, Jigglypuff, Diddy Kong, Kirby, Ice Climbers, Mona, Kat & Ana, Dribble, Spitz, 9-Volt, 18-Volt/Sonic, Chip, Amy, Penny

[DededeCloneChris]

Chapter 149: First Liar: Lucas the Weak-Hearted

Kat and Ana's House

The darkness shrouded Lucas completely in the blob of emptiness. The Smashers didn't know what to in this situation. If they went to the blob, would they be covered by it? There were no parts where Lucas could be seen.

?HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!? Lucas cried out in pain.

?S-somebody do something already!? Ana yelled.

?W-what can we do?? Diddy asked.

?Nothing,? responded Ganondorf with some chuckles. ?Once the Shadow Nightmare gets you, there is no other way to help the one inside its darkness.?

?What?? Ness asked. ?Hey, you better let Lucas go now o-?

?Like I am going to listen to some brat,? Ganondorf interrupted. ?Do you really think I am going to help you? Think again.?

?Y-you bastard...? Ness muttered before charging at the Gerudo. ?Let him go! Lucas doesn't need to suffer even more than he did!?

?Of what did he suffer??

?Like I'm going to tell you!?

?If he was suffering from some emotions he could not calm down,? Ganondorf said. ?It is going to be even better for the Shadow Nightmare...?

?What the hell is that supposed to mean?? Ness asked with a glare.

?H-hey, something is happening!? Jigglypuff yelled as she pointed at the blob of darkness, managing to get everyone's attention.

The blob of darkness began to blink a few times before, from it, a fainted Lucas was tossed out to the grass, close to where the terrified Chris was. The World Traveler shook his head to snap out from his state to look at Lucas.

?L-Lucas!? Chris yelled worried as he approached the fainted blond. ?L-Lucas, are you okay? Lucas!?

The other Smashers had to sigh in relief after Lucas was merely tossed out from the blob of darkness before they all (along with the Iga ninjas) gathered around the fainted PK user. Ness, who was the most worried, knelt down to shake Lucas's head a little bit.

?Wake up, Lucas, wake up!? Ness yelled. ?Everything's fine now!?

?...? Lucas slowly shook his head as he saw everything and everyone around them as blurs. His vision slowly returned back to normal before he looked around weakly. ?W-what just happened?? he asked.

?You decided to be a hero by pulling Ness out of the way from that thing,? Diddy explained. ?Seriously, what were you thinking??

The World Traveler smiled a bit at Lucas...but once he turned around, his eyes widened in fear.

Lucas blushed and looked down. ?I-I didn't want Ness to get attacked by that monster...? he said before looking at Ness. ?N-Ness, remember that time where you pushed me out of the way of Wario's gun??

Ness knew what Lucas meant. ?Yes... Let me guess, you wanted to do the same here to stay equal with me, right??

Lucas smiled a bit. ?Y-yes...?

?...? Ness frowned. ?Lucas, you didn't have to do that, really...?

?I had to do it...? Lucas said before standing up. ?I wanted to show how brave I am...?

?That's craziness, not bravery,? Nana said. ?What if that thing killed you??

?I...I...I wouldn't know...?

All of them sighed in relief as Kirby turned around. The Star Warrior's eyes began to tremble in fear as he saw something where Lucas was pushed out. He shyly tapped Diddy's shoulder to get his attention.

?What?? Diddy asked before turning around. ?...Oh no...oh no...oh no...? he muttered once he looked at Kirby's direction. ?G-guys...?

The rest of the Smashers looked at their direction before they gasped quite silently...

Some feet away from a shocked Mona, there was the same blob of darkness in place.    Wario, Ganondorf, and were staring at the darkness in front of them before it began to get smaller. For some reason, the blob began to take shape; a shape that wasn't recognizable by a simple look.

However, what they noticed was that it was taking the shape of someone. The darkness didn't let them see it clearly, but it was definitely someone by the looks of the shadow.

?W-what is happening now?? Mona asked.

?Behold, the Shadow Nightmare's true power,? Ganondorf said with a grin.

?The true power of the Shadow Nightmare?? Nana repeated in confusion.

The shadow?s appearance began to take a much clearer shape. Everyone watched as the shadow itself took the appearance of someone that they quickly recognized, but Lucas thought differently as he stepped forward.

??C-Claus?? Lucas asked in pure disbelief.

Right in front of him, there was an identical shadow that looked exactly like Claus. The Smashers and the Diamond City?s residents were confused at this sudden appearance.

??Lucas!? Ness suddenly yelled, trying to stop Lucas from advancing more to the shadow. ?Stop now! What the hell do you think you?re doing??

??C-Claus?? Lucas asked again to the shadow.

It was so confusing for the Smashers to understand why Lucas didn?t stop moving. For some reason, Lucas felt right at home as he stared at the shadow with a small smile that formed in his lips. The Smashers were shocked at the event that they watched carefully before doing something reckless. They didn't know what to do rather than watch for the time being.

?Lucas?? the shadow said with a chuckle. ?Come to me, Lucas. It?s me, your brother.?

The shadow itself looked like Claus. However, the big differences that made them not alike were the fact that the shadow had a shadowy aura with yellow glowing eyes, and the fact that his voice was a distorted version of Claus?s voice.

?H-he?s his brother?? Chris asked terrified.

?T-there?s no way he could be Claus?? Ness muttered. ?I thought he was supposed to be??

?Don?t listen to them, Lucas?? the shadow of Claus said as he motioned at him. ?Do you want your brother to hug you??

??? Lucas nodded as he kept walking to the shadow.

?Lucas, snap out it already!? Jigglypuff yelled.

?Lucas?? the shadow continued. ?Don?t you want to hug me tightly? C?mon, I?m your brother??

??Y-yes?? Lucas said as he looked happy. ?C-Claus, I thought you were dead?b-but here you are??

?Of course I?m alive,? the shadow of Claus said with a chuckle. ?It?d be stupid if I was actually dead, right? Don?t you agree with me, Lucas??

?O-of course?? Lucas said with a chuckle. ?How stupid of me to think you were dead?right??

?You tell me,? the shadow said with a smile before opening his arms. ?Now, come over here and let me give you a welcome hug, Lucas.?

Wario, confused at the whole thing, looked at Ganondorf. ?Hey, what the heck is going on? I don?t see anyone hitting someone here. I thought there was going to be a fight.?

?Relax,? Ganondorf said. ?This is not over yet. Keep watching.?

The Smashers were able to hear this before looking back at Lucas, slowly opening his arms. ?Lucas, stop right there!? yelled Ness. ?How we can tell if he?s Claus or not, anyway??

?Ness?? Lucas muttered as he kept advancing at the shadow. ?Claus is just right here? Can?t you see him? I thought he was dead, but I knew he was alive??

?What the heck is wrong with your mind?? Ness asked. ?This isn?t you, Lucas. Stop it before it?s too late!?

?But Claus isn?t going to hurt me, Ness?? Lucas muttered as he was about to reach Claus. ?Claus is willing to protect me from anything...?

?That?s right,? the shadow said as he finally embraced Lucas tightly and patted his back softly. ?I?m his brother. Why should I hurt him? That would be so bad? Don?t listen to them, Lucas. After all, you?re relieved to see me again, aren?t you??

?Of course?? Lucas said as he shed a tear. ?I?m so happy to see you again, Claus??

Kirby looked worried at Nana. ?I-I don?t like where this is going??

?I don?t? like it either,? Nana said. ?But what is happening here??

?This is hard to comprehend to me, sorry?? Kat apologized.

Ness glared at the 2. ?Hey, Lucas, I thought Claus was supposed to be dead. Don?t you think it?s a little bit fishy for this doppelganger to appear out of nowhere??

?No, Ness?? Lucas said. ?I knew Claus was really alive, and he?s right here??

The 2 stopped embracing each other before ?Claus? looked at Lucas. ?Hey, Luc, I want you to give you a present for waiting for me.?

Lucas gasped a little bit in excitement. ?A-a present? What kind of present??

?Oh, don?t you worry,? Claus said with a chuckle. ?I need you to close your eyes, hold out your hands to me, and wait for me to give your present to you.?

Lucas smiled a bit. ?This is not like you, Claus??

?Hey, I wanna make up for all this waiting for you,? Claus said before Lucas closed his eyes and held out his hands to him. ?After all, you deserve it??

An eerie silence took place as everyone watched the happy Lucas standing still for the shadow to give him a present.

??Claus?? Lucas began. ?Where?s my gift??

The only thing that Lucas received after asking was a hard punch on his face that sent him tumbling along the ground towards the Smashers. Everyone except Ganondorf gasped in shock as the blond kid rolled recklessly to them, a look of pure disbelief on his face as he noticed some blood spilling from his mouth.

?Lucas!? Ness yelled before kneeling down to help Lucas. ?I told you he was bad news! Look at what he did to you!?

?U-uah!? Lucas yelped once he touched the small drop of blood. He also noticed the mark of the punch that was delivered on his right cheek. The mark made him shake in pain before looking back at the shadow, with a right fist pointing down. ?C-Claus, why did you hit me so hard??

No response came after Lucas asked that until the shadow began to chuckle rather evilly before standing straight to him with a smirk.

?Lucas, Lucas, Lucas?? the shadow said, gaining a distorted voice that sounded like Lucas?s voice. ?Always believing things that aren?t true??

?W-what do you mean by that?? Lucas asked.

?Puh-lease, I can?t believe you can?t recognize who?s alive and who?s dead,? the shadow mocked. ?Such stupid beliefs will ultimately bring you to a life full of sadness; sadness that will overcome you before killing you off.?

Lucas?s mouth hung a little bit open as he looked shocked at the shadow. ?C-Claus, you?re scaring me??

?Claus?? the shadow asked before chuckling. ?Oh, for crying out loud? How the heck didn?t you notice the difference between him and me?? he asked before fixing his hair?a little bit to make it look exactly as Lucas?s hair. ?Okay, who do you see now??

??A-a shadow?? Lucas responded.

??Well, that?s true,? the shadow said before chuckling evilly. ?What I?m trying to say is that my name is?Lucas.?

?Your name is Lucas?? Kirby asked confused.

?Of course I am Lucas,? the shadow said with a smirk. ?I mean, that?s who I am, right??

Lucas shook his head in disbelief. ?W-why do you have my name??

?Because, scared rat, I am you, and you are me,? the shadow said.

Nana held her head in pain. ?I-I?m sorry, but I can?t seem to understand who he is??

Kirby thought for a moment. ?Can we call him?um?I don?t know?Shadow Lucas??

?Shadow Lucas?? Ness repeated.

?...Wow, even you guys are liars when naming people,? Shadow Lucas said with a chuckle. ?But if you want to call me that, it?s fine. It?s not like I care, anyway.? Shadow Lucas looked at Lucas. ?Anyway, thanks to you, I was given birth.?

?W-why?? Lucas asked confused.

The shadow closed his eyes before speaking in a familiar voice. ??Hurry it up, Lucas!?

The blond PK user gasped at the familiar voice. ?T-that voice was Claus?s??

?Lucas, I?m going to win at bringing down the Drago down,? the shadow said, mimicking Claus?s voice. ?Aww, no fair, I thought I got the winning ticket!? he imitated. ?Lucas, stop acting like that and be brave!?

Lucas shook his head in pure disbelief. All of the sentences that the shadow said were exactly the same he heard from Claus when they were both young or when Lucas met him in his dreams. How could the shadow know so much? This was the only question that scared Lucas the most.

?W-why are you saying that?? Lucas asked with a gulp. ?W-why are you imitating Claus??

?Because of the fact I know every single detail about you,? Shadow Lucas explained, accidentally using Claus?s voice before using his normal one. ?I came out of you, and we?re technically the same person.?

?W-we?re not??

?Ah-ah-ah, we?re the same,? Shadow Lucas said with an evil chuckle. ?Don?t try to deny it now or else you?re going to keep on lying to everyone you talk to like you have been doing this entire time.?

The Smashers looked at Lucas with some worried looks. ?Lucas?what does he mean by that?? Ness asked.

?But if isn?t my brother Claus!? Shadow Lucas suddenly spoke in a whining voice to Ness. ?Aw, brother, I thought you were dead all this time!?

?W-what?? Ness asked.

?Dude, you mean to tell me you didn?t notice?? the shadow asked normally with a small laugh. ?I have been trying to understand that my brother Claus was alive. I?m seeing him right now in my eyes.?

Ness made a confused look. ?Hey, we never spoke to each other.?

?Oh, did we now?? the shadow asked. ?But Ness, I?ve been spending my whole time with you. I mean, weren?t you asking me things about what was happening to me in the taxi trip we just had??

?What?? Ness muttered. ?Y-you weren?t there??

?Like hell I was there,? Shadow Lucas said. ?You were being stubborn by interrupting my thoughts about my living family. I know that my mother and my brother are alive. I haven?t found who my mother is yet, but I DID find my beloved brother,? he said before pointing at Ness. ?And it?s you.?

??I?m not your brother in any way or another,? Ness replied harshly at the shadow. ?Why would I be someone?s brother??

?Wow,? the shadow said, faking amazement. ?Ness, deep down, you?re a big mean bully,? Shadow Lucas said with a glare to Lucas. ?Why did I think he was my brother Claus? Do you know, me??

?M-me?? Lucas repeated in confusion.

?Enough of this bulls(beep)t,? Shadow Lucas said annoyed. ?I always thought Ness was my brother. He acted pretty much the same. Claus was brave, Ness is brave, and he must be my brother, right?? the shadow asked to Lucas. ?I mean, that?s what he is, right??

?N-no?? Lucas said. ?N-Ness isn?t Claus??

?And there?s the lie I wanted to hear about you,? the shadow said before glaring at Lucas. ?I wanted to call Ness Claus instead of his weird name. What kind of name is Ness, anyway? Claus seems more fitting for his personality.?

?I-I never?? Lucas shook his head. ?W-why are you telling me all these lies??

Ganondorf laughed, interrupting the shadow from speaking. ?He is saying that because he is saying all the truths you have been hiding from everyone, clueless boy.?

?W-what??

?The shadow that you see before you is none other than yourself,? Ganondorf explained as the shadow smirked. "He is a manifestation of your deepest, darkest truths that you hide with lies."

"The green-skinned dude is right," Shadow Lucas said, receiving a glare from the Gerudo. "But what he didn't say is that you can't get rid of me as long as you keep lying to yourself."

"I-I'm not lying to myself..." Lucas said worried. "I-I'm not..."

"Oh, sure you are," the shadow said. "You're a filthy liar who takes advantage of every interruption in order to avoid tellling the truth. Isn't that what you, or me, have been doing all day long?"

Ness looked back at Lucas. "Lucas..."

Lucas began to sob silently before looking at Ness and the others. "D-don't listen to him!" he yelled loudly. "H-he's saying lies!"

"Oh, c'mon," Shadow Lucas said annoyed. "If you think I'm lying, I'm going to say something embarrassing about you that you don't wish anyone to know."

Lucas forced a nervous glare at him. "I-I don't believe you..." He armed himself with a little bit of courage to confront the shadow. "O-okay, if you're me, tell me what I'm thinking no-"

"You're thinking about not telling anyone that you have wet the bed around 26 times in your life...and you have the amount counted perfectly," the shadow said with a chuckle. "My god, I'm so embarrassed right now..."

Lucas's eyes shook (as he blushed in embarrassment). "I-I didn't..."

"Nope, no use hiding it," Shadow Lucas said. "And I felt pretty good when I did."

The Smashers slightly backed away from Lucas who began to look a little bit panicked...then they decided to walk back to him once Lucas looked at them.

Shadow Lucas chuckled. "And now," he said as he looked at Ness. "Brother, do you want to come with me to our house?"

Ness glared at him. "Why can't you stop saying I'm your brother? I'm getting sick of hearing that word!"

"I won't stop from saying it until I fully believe my brother is dead...which is not true, according to me," Shadow Lucas said.

Ness looked down with a look of disbelief. "According to you?"

"...I understand why he's saying that," Kat said, getting the attention of everyone. "The fact that he was born from Lucas means that he knows every single detail about his memory and what he's thinking right now."

Shadow Lucas frowned. "Finally, someone remembers how I work here!" he said before laughing a little.

"B-but he can't be me..." Lucas said. "I-I'm me..."

"Not quite," Shadow Lucas said. "We're the same person... However, I'm the best one here."

"W-what? Why are you the best one?"

"I'm the best one because I don't hide truths like you do," Shadow Lucas explained. "Do you know why I'm living? I'm living because you had to lie to yourself, so I got out from you to be an honest little kid."

"B-but I'm honest..." Lucas muttered.

"Hahahahahaha!" Shadow Lucas laughed to the sky. "You, an honest person? You barely told Claus, or should I say "Ness," about what you were suffering. You let events interrupt him so you wouldn't try to explain yourself. I think that's something a jerk would do...jerk."

Lucas forced a glare at him. "I-I'm not a jerk!" he yelled loudly.

"Okay, jerk, if you're not a jerk, I want you to see you saying to Claus that you kept thinking he was your brother, and that you wouldn't stop thinking that even if he told you so."

Ness blinked a little bit shocked before looking back at the ashamed Lucas. "Lucas..."

"..." Lucas began to sob. "...N-Ness..." he muttered as he sniffed. "...D-do you believe him or me?"

"I-I..." Ness wanted to find the words to talk back. "...I-I...don't...know..."

Shadow Lucas frowned in disgust. "Goodness, you won't just say it, right?" he asked to Lucas. "No matter what you do, you're never going to tell them the truth about you. Why is it so hard to say it out loud? It's not so hard..."

Lucas covered his head before falling to his knees. "S-stop...n-nothing of what you're saying isn't true!"

Shadow Lucas sighed. "...I have had enough of your pathetic attitude of avoiding the undeniable..." he said before he began to glow brighter than before, his face gaining an evil look. "Now, it's time for you to die."

Lucas looked up to Shadow Lucas. "I-I need to die?"

"Yeah," the shadow said. "Thanks to your constant statements, my power is growing even more than I expected. I think I need to thank you for giving me the power of the lies before your time ends forever," he said with a chuckle before pointing at him. "There's no enough space for 2 Lucas in the universe. You know what this means?"

Lucas's eyes widened in horror as he began to back away on the ground. "N-no!"

"Yes," the shadow said. "It is time for you to die, I'm afraid."

The Smashers, snapping out from their shocked looks, ran towards Lucas before his shadow made his right hand glow before shooting off 5 PK Fires with a single move. "W-what?" Lucas asked as he saw the 5 bolts exploding into fire in the air.

"This is just a small example of my powers," Shadow Lucas explained as the Smashers forced glares at him. "Piss me off, and you'll die." He looked down at Lucas. "As for you, me, it's time for you to join your dear brother and mother..." he said with an evil chuckle. "...Aren't you happy? You're finally going to stop lying by reuniting with those 2..."

Lucas had a terrified look in his eyes as he shook his head. "W-who are you?" Lucas asked in disbelief. "W-what are you?"

"...My name is Lucas," the shadow said, opening his arms at him. "I'm a shadow, the true self..."

"Y-you're me?"

"That's what I've been saying all this time," the shadow said. "What, did you forget, or were you trying to lie to yourself that I'm wasn't you? Oh, that's right..." He smirked down at Lucas. "I know that very well because YOU WERE JUST THINKING IT!"

"N-no..." Lucas shook his head. "N-no!" he yelled louder. "Y-you're...you're..." Lucas closed his eyes, trying to prevent his tears from falling off as they did what he didn't want. "...YOU'RE NOT ME, YOU HEARD ME?! STOP ANNOYING ME AND GO AWAY! YOU'RE NOT ME!!!"

The loud yell startled everyone as Lucas glared at his shadow with crying eyes. The shadow noticed the raged look on Lucas's eyes that made him chuckle silently before laughing out loud.

"Hahahaha...hahahahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" the shadow laughed maniacally, making everyone feel confused. "...That's right..." he said to Lucas. "...We're not the same person anymore..." He opened his arms at them. "I AM me at last now that you said the most undeniable lie ever...me..."

"You're not me!" Lucas yelled back at him before taking out his branch from his back, finally deciding to attack the shadow by leaping to it. "Go away from here and don't show your face again! AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

"...Pitiful," commented Shadow Lucas.

The Smashers didn't know why, but Lucas was quickly knocked back towards them as he rolled recklessly on the grass, holding his broken branch as he seemed to have fainted. The Smashers gasped before Ness shook the boy quickly to wake him up.

"Lucas? Lucas?! Lucas?!" Ness kept asking, receiving no response from the knocked out Lucas. "Lucas! Lucas! Stop faking this and wake up! Lucas!"

They all quickly looked back at the shadow who was holding another branch on his right hand. He smirked evilly at the Smashers before he began to laugh maniacally. Ness quickly glared at him before Shadow Lucas stopped laughing, putting his branch on his right shoulder. "Finally," he said as he glowed darker. "My power has reached its maximum," he explained before looking at them with an amused look. "Now that he's knocked out, I believe it is time for me to finish this and kill him for good."

"L-listen, you..." Mona began to speak. "W-why did you do such a horrible thing to that poor boy?"

Shadow Lucas looked at her. "Because liars only cause sadness and chaos around the world. They don't deserve to walk the earth to do whatever they want," he explained.

"So you're saying your job is..." Mona tried her best to think. "...Your job is to punish liars by killing them?"

"...Wow, I'm amazed," Shadow Lucas said. "The deaf girl thought about the true fact for once."

"D-deaf girl?" Mona asked.

"Didn't he tell you? You were annoying him because you didn't even hear them the first time they, or we, talked to you in front of that pizza place." Shadow Lucas smirked. "He thinks of you as deaf, isn't that funny or what?"

Mona looked down. "...Did he think that because I wasn't listening to them?"

"And that's not all," Shadow Lucas said as he looked at the Smashers. "He thinks Diddy is stupidly hyperactive, Nana is scary, Popo is just plain dumb, Jigglypuff is kind of a jerk, Chris should help him more, Sonic is a bastard, Amy is plain annoying, and Chip is an idiot," he explained before looking at Ness. "And above else, he thinks Ness is a heartless, selfish, imbecile who can't seem to respect him more than he does currently."

The Smashers looked down worried at the fainted Lucas.

"And," Ganondorf began. "The Shadow Nightmares only speak truths and no lies whatsoever."

Nana looked worried. "...If they're telling the truth...then...we shouldn't have acted like that to Lucas if we didn't want him to think of us like that..."

"If he said truths, I wouldn't even be alive," Shadow Lucas said. "Guess what? Since I'm still alive, that means he's living in a pool full of lies that he can't escape because his sea of lies is way too deep for him. Right now, he's struggling to live with his lies; lies that he can't seem to surpass as long as he doesn't speak the truth."

"So..." Popo began. "...As long as he keeps lying, you won't go away?"

Nana looked bored at him. "Oh, now you're back with your intelligent self?"

"Y-yes..." Popo said embarrassed. "S-sorry if I put you through all that..."

"That's right," Shadow Lucas said (answering Popo's question). "No matter what happens to me, I'll keep existing as long as he lies." He gave them a true smile. "Now, shall we get going after I kill this pathetic liar?"

"W-what?" Chris asked.

"I have proved that I'm me," Shadow Lucas said. "There's no need for him to keep on living, right? He has a very weak heart that can't tolerate lies. Why don't we kill him for good and let me go with you?"

The Smashers looked shocked after hearing the bizarre suggestion from the shadow. They took a quickl glance at the fainted Lucas before looking serious at Shadow Lucas.

"So?" Shadow Lucas asked. "I'll promise I'll be a good asset for the team."

The Smashers looked worried at each other before glaring back at him.

"...C'mon, don't give me that look," Shadow Lucas said. "I'll promise my promise."

Ness took out his baseball bat. "...Why would let a monster like you come with us?"

"T-that's right," Chris said. "W-what you just did to Lucas was..."

"So mean!" Kirby finished.

"Y-yes, that..."

Diddy adjusted his hat. "I guess it's time to fight."

"Fight? Who?" Shadow Lucas looked around. "Where's the army?"

"We meant you," Nana replied harshly as Popo stood next to her. "You're the monster here. You're the real problem."

"..." Shadow Lucas glared at them. "I'm the monster, you say?" he asked. "But I'm being honest here. A monster isn't honest."

"T-that's not what we meant," Jigglypuff said angrily. "We meant that you have to go away."

"...OH, now I understand..." Shadow Lucas said with a nod. "You rather let that lying, crying baby go with you rather than a good guy like me." He frowned in shame. "Geez, you like to live in lies?"

"No," Ness responded. "We don't like to live in lies. We like to live with people who are the originals. Do you know who's the original person out of you and Lucas here?"

The shadow remained silent before he glared daggers at Ness. "...Me, of course..." he muttered darkly. "Honesty should be more appreciated than dishonesty," he said before lowering his branch down. "Since you like dishonesty so much, it's my job to get rid of filthy scum like you along with that idiot you call your friend..."

All the Smashers took their places before they saw Kat and Ana preparing as well. Shadow, however, remained at the door of the house with Bowser and Dedede.

"Kat? Ana?" Nana asked.

Both sisters looked at them. "Do you think we're going to watch you fight this abomination?" Kat asked.

"Please, we want to help you out," Ana said. "You like Lucas a lot, don't you? A friend of yours is a friend of ours."

Nana blinked a few times before smiling to them. "Thanks, both of you."

"Aww..." Shadow Lucas said. "Isn't that cute? More people who believe dishonesty is the only way to be happy." Shadow Lucas slowly smacked his branch on his left palm. "I better finish this quickly before you keep spreading lies."

"For the last freaking time, we don't like dishonesty!" Ness yelled at him. "We want Lucas, the real one, to keep on living. You're a piece of garbage who can't just shut up his mouth."

Bowser stomped the ground with Dedede as they walked to the shadow. "Hey, we wanna have a piece of the action too."

"Stay back, filthy fools," Shadow Lucas ordered. "This is a fight meant for me alone. If you get in my way, I won't hesitate in taking you guys out."

"Ha!" Dedede laughed as both stood next to the shadow. "We're not listenin' to a creepy boy here. We wanna fight as well, especially if Kirby is in the mix!"

Bowser smacked his fists together. "Say your prayers, kids..."

Both of the kings quickly noticed that the shadow grabbed both of them by the arms. "Okay, you didn't hear me, right?" he asked annoyed. "Get away from my sight, now!!!"

Dedede and Bowser felt a strong grip on their arms lifting them above before they were tossed back into the woods, and to the trees where they yelled in pain and moaned afterwards.

[DededeCloneChris]

The 2 Pok?mon watched as Entei roared loudly before charging at Mewtwo at a fast speed. The Psychic Pok?mon narrowed his eyes at the Volcano Pok?mon before he held out his right hand to him. Mewtwo began to glow with energy as his eyes glowed blue while Sudowoodo used Rock Slide on the Fire type (by taking out rocks from his back that he tossed above Entei rapidly). Entei's eyes widened once he felt that his feet were running in the air rather on the ground. Looking down, he found his feet separating from the floor.

Wes knew there was something wrong here. He barely knew Red, but he knew enough to tell and judge Red?s experience as a trainer.

?(How?)? Wes questioned to himself as he looked at Entei's shocked expression. ?(How did a person like Red catch Mewtwo? Mewtwo was supposed to have fled from the lab at Cinnabar City in the Kanto region as I've heard before...)? He rubbed his chin. ?(This is really fishy...)?

Red looked surprised as Entei was lifted off from the ground. The Legendary Pok?mon looked around confused before it began to roar loudly in fury. Mewtwo narrowed his eyes at him before he slammed Entei down the floor, making it grunt in pain.

Wes shook his head and reminded himself he was in a battle. ?Sudowoodo, keep using Rock Slide on Entei!?

?Sudo!? Sudowoodo obeyed as he resumed his rock tossing attack on the Legendary Pok?mon.

?(You mean to tell me this altered Pok?mon is supposed to be strong?)? Mewtwo thought in disgust as he sensed Entei?s dark aura. ?(Pitiful, if you ask me.)?

Dakim made fists as he watched Entei being slammed down on the floor slowly. ?Entei, use Flamethrower!?

Mewtwo glowed brighter than before. ?(You better not,)? he thought as he put more energy into Psychic.

Entei?s mouth slowly began to close so it wouldn?t use Flamethrower or roar anymore. Grunts of pain came out from its shut mouth before Sudowoodo?s rock began to fall all over him.

Rui gulped. ?I-I can?t believe Red captured Mewtwo??

Chris looked at her. ?Does everyone in this region know about Mewtwo??

Vander looked at them and nodded. ?The incident at Cinnabar City was one of the most reviewed incidents due to Pok?mon activity. Many have heard from the news that the Pok?mon that caused the incident at the lab of Cinnabar was named Mewtwo, the clone of Mew.?

Rui raised a finger. ?It?s one among the most shocking ones like the rumor of the Pok?mon that was hit by a laser beam in space.?

Chris thought for a moment. ?(She must be talking about Deoxys?)?

?Stop it!? Dakim yelled as Entei tried to stand up while Mewtwo used Psychic on it.

Wes looked at Red. ?Red, you must keep Entei down, you hear me??

Red looked at him. ?What? Why??

The shady trainer pointed at Sudowoodo throwing the rocks at Entei. The attacks from both Pok?mon were starting to debilitate the Volcano Pok?mon greatly as it tried to attack back but with no success because of Mewtwo?s strong Psychic attack.

Wes took out an Ultra Ball. ?Tell Mewtwo to keep Entei down. I?ll snag it in a moment.?
The machine on Wes?s left arm began to make sounds as the Ultra Ball got engulfed in a light before fading.

Dakim gasped. ?W-what? Not if I say something about it!? he yelled as he aimed Entei?s Pok? Ball at it. ?Entei, retu-?

?Too late!? Wes yelled once he tossed the Ultra Ball at the downed Entei. Dakim?s Pok? Ball?s light didn?t make it in time before the converted Ultra Ball hit Entei?s forehead, making it retreat into it before it fell down on the floor.

?E-Entei!? Dakim yelled.

Vander gasped. ?What? Did he just??

Rui looked at him. ?Please, mister, we?ll explain everything to you in a bit!?

The Ultra Ball rocketed a few times to the sides. Mewtwo looked down at the sphere with some curiosity as Sudowoodo remained at a safe distance from the intimidating Psychic Pok?mon. Red blinked as he kept a serious look on the sphere. Rui, Vander, and Chris remained silent as the Pok?mon behind them watched the Ultra Ball moving a bit.

And then, the Ultra Ball made a sound, indicating it snagged Entei successfully.

??? Wes grinned and looked at Dakim. ?Game Over, you lose.?

??Y-you?? Dakim punched the floor with his right fist and looked down. ??Darn you??

?W-wait,? Red began as he looked at Wes. ?W-we won??

?Don?t you see? We did win,? Wes said as he walked to the Ultra Ball to pick it up. The shady trainer looked up at Mewtwo narrowing his eyes down at him. The Psychic Pok?mon could notice that Wes flashed a small grin at him before looking at Dakim. ?Okay, you lost the match. Now, get out of my sight.?

Dakim gritted his teeth as he looked at Wes. ?Y-you? Don?t think this is the end just yet, kids. You?re just starting to get more in trouble by meddling with Cipher?s affairs??

Rui, Chris, and Vander gasped once Dakim began to run towards Wes. The shady trainer crossed his right arm in front of his face before the Cipher Admin leaped high up, jumping a long distance over all of them as he landed just behind the 3 Pok?mon that glared up at him. The admin just sulked a bit before he began to run away with all the members he brought with him to area.

?That?s over with,? Wes said as he looked at his Ultra Ball. ?Hope you don?t eat me, Entei??

Lobby

After the whole event, the group returned to the main lobby where the relieved faces of the trainers made the atmosphere around the place feel like it should have been before the attack. For Pikachu?s dismay, Wes decided to call both Espeon and Umbreon back to their Pok? Balls, halting him from knowing more about Wes?s past.

?In the name of all the trainers of Mt. Battle, I thank you all for helping us to drive those thugs away,? Vander told the group. ?That man seemed to be looking for the Time Flute I hold.?

?The Time Flute,? Wes repeated. ?I recall Senilor saying something about such a flute.?

?You know about it?? Vander asked. ?This flute is supposed to call Celebi in person. It summons Celebi, or so the myth says.? The Area 1 Leader showed them the flute, which was carved with odd carvings on brown wood. ?Here, take it with you.?

Rui blinked surprised. ?Wait, we can take it??

Vander nodded. ?Of course, since those guys came for this flute, I think you should have it with you so you can use it or protect it from them. Also, this was the main cause of their take-over as well.?

Wes didn?t take another second to grab the flute. ?Thanks.?

?No problem, you?re all good trainers,? Vander remarked before looking at Red, ?especially you.?

?M-me?? Red asked.

?Yeah, I mean, you have Mewtwo with you,? Vander remarked. ?What kind of trainer are you to capture such a rare Pok?mon??

Red scratched his head as he showed him the Master Ball where Mewtwo was kept. ?I-it?s all thanks to this Pok? Ball, sir. This is the Master Ball. I heard it can capture any Pok?mon without failing even once.?

Wes narrowed his eyes at the Master Ball. ?(Of course? He just had to toss that to Mewtwo to catch it?)?

?Well, aren?t you lucky for getting one of those? I haven?t heard a lot f Master Balls, but I did hear that they?re pretty rare to find anywhere.?

Red chuckled as he kept the Master Ball. ?I-I?m lucky, am I not??

Chris rolled his eyes. ?(You?re lucky because Mewtwo didn?t decide to kill you or US off.)?

?Oh, by the way,? Vander began as he showed them a disk. ?I found this disk lying on the floor where that man was. I guess it fell off from him.?

Wes looked at the disk and examined it a bit. ?Hmm??

?You can have it as well,? Vander said. ?It?s not mine, but it should help you in some way or another.?

?Thanks,? Wes said as he kept the disk in a pocket. ?Well, I guess that?s it.?

?Hmm?? Vander wondered for a moment. ?You seem to know something about them, right??

Wes nodded. ?They happen to be an organization that sells altered Pok?mon to people. We?re trying to stop their movements by tracking them down.?

?It?s remarkable that such young trainer like you want to stop an organization like that,? Vander remarked.

?(Dude, 10 years old kids are the perfect people to stop evil organizations,)? Pikachu thought.

?Well, you have everything under control so I?ll leave you for now,? Vander said with a chuckle. ?Please, come here to take on the challenge to defeat all the trainers waiting for you. You can also take the challenge as a way to train your Pok?mon while gaining coupons to exchange them for prizes.?

Wes nodded. ?Thanks, I?ll consider the challenge very soon. For now, we have to leave.?

?Good luck, then,? Vander said with a chuckle before he turned around and walked back to the Area 1 where he walked all the way to Area 10.

Rui looked at the Time Flute. ?So this is the Time Flute??

?Pretty much,? Wes said. ?If this has the power to call Celebi, then we should think about how to use it.?

?Why don?t we head down to Agate Village and see by ourselves?? Rui suggested.
Red looked at them. ?You mean we have to go back there??

Wes rubbed his chin a bit. ?Hmm? I think it should be for the best for now,? he said. ?Let?s see what the flute can do for itself.?

The group nodded together before they all left the lobby, leaving the mountain behind as they rode the weird bike to the west.

Agate Village
Relic Forest

Once the group crossed the passage, they all watched as Wes approached the relic. Putting a hand on it, the shady trainer took out the flute as Rui, Red, and Chris watched him from a safe distance.

?Let?s see what this can do?? Wes muttered before he stared at the Time Flute. ??? He raised an eyebrow. ??Er?? He tilted his head. ??What do I do with it again??

The group groaned a bit, annoying Wes a little.

?Okay, if you know how to do this, would someone please use this instrument instead?? Wes asked annoyed as he showed them the flute.

Rui tilted her head and walked to him to take a closer look to the flute. ?Maybe I can do something with it,? she said.

Wes didn?t hesitate to give her the flute. ?Okay, play a song or something.?

A sudden silence came once Rui stared down at the flute in her hands. The trainers blinked confused at this before Wes spoke. ?Rui, are you okay??

??You know?? Rui muttered as she took a closer look of the flute. ??I don?t know why?but I remember a song??

?You do?? Wes asked.

?Yeah?? Rui muttered. ??To be honest?I think I??

The others watched as she stopped talking once she put the flute?s pipe in her lips. The young girl held the flute by the side before she slowly closed her eyes, sounds starting to come from the Time Flute.

For some reason, the melody that Rui played had some sort of effect overall forest as it suddenly became silent. Wes looked around the trees? branches where many Pidgeys were staring down at Rui and the flute in silence. The chirping noises that they were making a moment ago came to a halt as they all decided to listen at the melody from the flute.

Pikachu?s ears perked up after listening to the melody for a while before he closed his eyes and accommodated himself on Chris?s right shoulder to enjoy the song. Red, seeing that Pikachu got a happy expression, rubbed his head bit.

Chris noticed him. ?Are you taking advantage of the situation?? he whispered.

Red chuckled embarrassed. ?W-well, why not? I want to have him on my shoulder one of these days??

??Okay,? Chris said with a chuckle. ??You know, if Pikachu likes the melody as the Pidgeys?why don?t we call everyone out??

??Does everyone count Mewtwo as well??

Chris glanced at Wes and Rui. ??They all know about him. It?s going to be okay, though. He didn?t try to harm us back at Mt. Battle.?

Red took out the Master Ball and stared at it for a moment. ??I hope you?re right?? he muttered worried.

The 2 Smashers called out all their Pok?mon out. Once they all looked around confused, they began to listen at the melody that Rui played. Pichu, Jigglypuff, Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Lucario all closed their eyes and began to listen closely to the tune, the Aura Pok?mon even sat down after a while.

Red looked worried at Mewtwo, who had his arms crossed as his eyes were focused on the Pallet Town trainer. Gulping, Red walked to Mewtwo. ??Mewtwo??

??? Mewtwo kept staring at him.

??You?you?? Red thought hard. ??You have to understand that you had to come with us like this, inside a Master Ball??

??? Mewtwo grunted.

??I?m sorry if I made you angry for being inside something you didn?t want to be in?? Red apologized. ?But please, don?t take it all on me. I just had to do it because my excitement took the better of me??

??Whatever,? Mewtwo said, making Red look at him. ?What?s done is done, Red. I had to admit that it was the best way for me to stay safe from the army.?

?You?re saying you don?t care about being captured by me?? Red asked.

?I despise the Master Ball a lot,? Mewtwo admitted. ?However, I tried to think about what was good for me until I came up with the decision to just stay safe.?

??? Red looked down. ?Even so, I?m sorry??

Mewtwo closed his eyes. ?I?m still a little bit angry, but you should wait until I?ve calmed down.?

The trainer looked worried at Mewtwo before smiling a bit at him. The 2 then began to listen at the melody from the Time Flute in peace.

Wes blinked surprised as Rui played the flute with a perfect symphony that she made. The shady trainer?s look, somehow, looked a little bit amazed.

A Pidgey came from the bushes behind Rui before it looked around and flew to a tree to listen at the melody in peace.

Wes noticed that the Relic Stone began to resonate together with the melody as it glowed brighter than before. Everyone but Rui noticed the bright green light emanating from the Relic Stone, making the background around turn a little bit dark before another different light came from the top of the stone. They all looked at the top where the sphere of green light began to shrink, revealing a Pok?mon that had its eyes closed.

??Celebi?? Wes muttered under his breath.

Before them was the Time Traveling Pok?mon that floated on the air. The traveler Pok?mon opened its eyes and chirped its name happily once it looked at all of them. ?Bi! Bi! Celebi!? it said happily as it circled around the relic before stopping in front of Rui. ?Bibibibi!?

Red?s eyes shook in surprise before he quickly took his Pok?dex to get Celebi?s data quickly, making Chris roll his eyes.

At that moment, Rui stopped playing the flute before she opened her eyes to look directly at Celebi?s face. Her eyes shook a bit in surprise before she spoke. ??Celebi?? she muttered.

Celebi hummed happily before it looked around and saw Wes staring at it. The Legendary Pok?mon blinked at him before it looked down at its belt with the Pok? Balls. Celebi?s eyes widened in shock after it perceived a dark aura emanating from the Ultra Ball that it was able to sense. The Pok?mon looked at Wes and pointed at the sphere.

?Huh?? Wes looked at Celebi. ?What do you want??

?Bibibibibi, Cele, Cele,? Celebi said.

Wes stared at his belt before he grabbed the Ultra Ball. Once he looked at Celebi, it nodded at him.

?This is the Ultra Ball that contains Entei within it,? Wes told Celebi. ?If I take it out, it?s going to attack me. Also, it?s not ready to be purified yet.?

Celebi shook its head and pointed at itself several times.

?What are you trying to say?? Wes asked confused.

?U-um?? Chris decided to speak. ?M-maybe Celebi wants you to release Entei so Celebi does something with it??

Wes looked back at his Ultra Ball. ??Fine,? he said with a sigh. ?Celebi wouldn?t try to play pranks on me, right??

Celebi shook its head sincerely.

??Then?Entei, come on out now!? Wes yelled as he let the Ultra Ball open by itself, shooting a bright light on the floor before it faded and revealed a furious Entei that roared loudly at Wes. Wes looked shocked once the Entei?s mouth began to ignite with fire, indicating it was going to use Flamethrower. ?W-wait, you haven?t even fought that much alongside me and you have Flamethrower already learned?!? Wes asked in shock.

Red looked at Chris. ?What does he mean by that?? he whispered.

Chris thought for a moment. ?Well, thing is, Shadow Pok?mon need to fight so their hearts slowly open up by themselves. Shadow Pok?mon also have their moves ?banned? and they only know how to use Shadow Rush.?

?But if I remember, that Dakim guy told it to use Flamethrower. How come it can use it here??

Chris met a hard question. ??If the Shadow Pok?mon attacks you, it surely means it?s your enemy??

Lucario then remembered something once he looked at Entei. ?Wait, what is Entei doing here?? He looked at Chris. ?Did Wes already snag it??

?U-um?? Chris bowed to Lucario. ?S-sorry, I forgot that you wanted to fight again, Lucario??

Lucario rolled his eyes and grunted. ?Please, remember I?m here with you as well, Chris?? He looked back at Entei. ??Isn?t it gathering fire in its mouth??

The World Traveler remembered that Wes was going to be burned to a crisp. ?OH MY GOD! Lucario, stop Entei!?

?GUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAARRRRRRGH!!!? Lucario roared as he quickly dashed at Entei. The Volcano Pok?mon quickly looked at Lucario and decided to aim its attack at him. However, the Aura Pok?mon proved to be faster than Entei as Lucario sent a hard fist at Entei?s face, making it roll back on the floor in pain before roaring in pain.

??H-how did it do that?? Rui asked surprised. ?Entei was bigger than Lucario was but he managed to push Entei down that easily??

Wes shook his head. ?Who cares about that now? Entei?s getting back up!?

?(I blame myself for not using my aura to make me stronger,)? Lucario grunted mentally as Entei got back up on its feet, growling deeply at its watchers before focusing on Celebi.

However, once it glanced to Celebi?s eyes, Entei looked shocked. Celebi?s eyes were glowing a bit, and Wes noticed the weird move of the Pok?mon. ?(Celebi is?calming Entei from attacking?)? Wes thought interested.

Celebi?s eyes stopped glowing before it flew to the now calm Entei. The Volcano Pok?mon looked calmed as its eyes? sight was being dragged by the peaceful Pok?mon floating around it. Everyone in there watched as Celebi began to glow in a green light that let sparkles fall around Entei. The Legendary Dog?s eyes widened a bit before it sat down while Celebi kept circling around it.

Wes and Rui gasped a bit once the dark aura of Entei began to emanate. However, the aura seemed to be dispersing into the air where it vanished as Celebi?s light began to make Entei glow as well. Some seconds later, the light in Entei soon faded completely as the Volcano Pok?mon looked blankly at the humans and Pok?mon, Celebi chuckling happily as it stopped by its side.

??Entei?? Wes asked.

His Entei looked at him before standing up on its 4 paws. The Volcano Pok?mon walked to him and stopped right in front of Wes. The shady trainer gulped silently at the sight of his owned Pok?mon in front of him while Lucario stared at Entei.

??? Entei nodded to Wes.

??What are you trying to say?? Wes asked.

?Hmm?? Rui wondered for a bit. ?Maybe it?s trying to say that it?s thankful for something? Wait a minute, I can?t see its dark aura anymore!? she said surprised. ?In fact, it?s gone!?

?Really?? Wes asked in surprise before looking at Celebi. ?You?you did this to Entei??

?Bibibi!? Celebi said happily as it flew closer to Wes. ?Bibibibibi, bibibi.?

??I guess you?re trying to say you have the power to purify any Pok?mon without any problems, right?? Wes asked.

Celebi nodded happily.

Wes chuckled and grinned. ??Well, thanks,? he thanked. ?I didn?t want Entei to bite my brains out every time I call it out.?

?Bibibibibi,? Celebi said happily before looking at Rui. ??Biiiiiiiiiiii!?

Rui suddenly smiled a bit. ??Celebi??

?Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii?? Celebi said happily as it flew very close to Rui before hugging her neck. ?Celebi!?

??? Rui blinked surprised before she looked at Wes. ??Wes??

?What, are you surprised it hugged you?? Wes asked.

??No, it?s not that?? Rui trailed off. ??I?I?I just?I just??

There was something in Rui?s mind that made her think something that she suddenly remembered after Celebi hugged her, something in her mind that was triggered when she felt Celebi close to her. The young girl?s eyes shook in surprise before looking at Wes.

??I just remembered?how I got my power to see auras??

Red, Chris, the Pok?mon, and even Wes himself gasped a bit after Rui told them that.

Rui looked down at Celebi. ?And I remembered thanks to Celebi?? she muttered as Celebi looked up to her happily. ?In fact, Celebi?was the one who gave that power?somehow??

Wes blinked in confusion. ?Wait, so does that mean you met Celebi before??

Rui slowly hugged Celebi as she looked at him. ?To be honest?yes, I did meet Celebi a long time ago?? She looked at the others. ?Red, remember when I told you I went to my grandparents to say good bye before we left the village??

?Well, yes, you did and I remember? Why?d you ask?? Red asked.

?And remember when I was about to tell you about what my grandparents told me when we were at Mt. Battle??

?Yeah??

??They told me that I surely obtained my power from Celebi itself?? Rui said as she looked at Celebi. ?I?I remember everything now??

Wes took a step forward. ?So, Rui, you say you met Celebi before??

?That?s what I said,? Rui said. ?I can recall the time I met Celebi perfectly now.?

?When was that?? Chris asked.

Rui chuckled and looked up to the sky. ?It was when I was 8 years old, when I wanted to sleep here with my grandparents,? she explained. ?I was really mischievous, I?m telling you. There was once a night where I snuck out from the house to go here and see the Relic Stone with my own eyes. My grandparents told me that Celebi lived here, and I wanted to meet Celebi in person. They surely told me a lot of things about Celebi because they went as far as to tell me that the Time Flute could call it here.?

?Then?? Wes thought for a moment. ??You knew how to play the flute before because you??

Rui nodded with a chuckle. ?Yep, my grandparents taught me themselves. They had a Time Flute with them. When I was very little, I wanted to make sure that I?d meet Celebi for sure. When they showed me how to play the flute, that same day, I snuck out during the night into the forest when the guard wasn?t there??

Flashback

Many years ago, there was a girl running inside the passage to the forest as she held a Time Flute in her right hand. The girl was a young Rui, who ran in a hurry to the other side of the passage. When she was little, she wore smaller versions of her present clothes, the only difference being the red ribbon on her left pigtail.

?I?I?m there?? muttered the young Rui as she saw the moonlight coming from the other side of the passage. ?I?I?m going?to meet Celebi?using the Time Flute?? she said before chuckling. ?And my grandparents won?t know it!?

?I shouldn?t tell you that I was high on sugar that night??

?Then we?ll play tea time, we?re gonna smell flowers, we?re gonna watch TV together, we?re gonna take baths together, and then we?re gonna play tea time while watching TV in the bath together!?

??Seriously, I was crazy back then?a-and stop giving me those looks!?

Once the little girl made it to the other side, she stopped to catch her breath before looking around the tranquil forest. Looking forward, Rui smiled once she spotted the Relic Stone.

?I was really anxious to see Celebi in person that I ran to the relic and stood in front of it,? Rui narrated.

The young Rui stared at the Relic Stone for a moment to order her thoughts a bit before looking down at the Time Flute. Rui smiled a bit at it before she took out a piece of paper with some dots dribbled on it.

?Let?s see?? Rui muttered. ?The song went like this?right?? She chuckled. ?Easy thing to do ?cuz I?ve been practicing in secret.? The girl put the flute?s pipe in her mouth. ?(Okay, I gotta remember how the melody went? Here it goes?)?

After concentrating a bit, Rui began to play the melody exactly as she did in the present. The young girl had her eyes closed to try focus her rhythm perfectly in order to play the right tune. The forest around her became silent, the wind brushing the leaves and branches a bit.

?I was very excited to meet Celebi in person that I memorized the whole song that my grandparents taught me just so I could learn about Celebi,? Rui narrated. ?They told me so many stories about Celebi traveling through time, and I grew very curious??

?And they told you not to approach the forest,? Wes said.

??Pretty much?? Rui said. ?The forest was a sacred place that nobody should visit. The whole village worships the forest very much that they don?t want anyone else to enter. People like Cipher aren?t allowed here, so that?s why they have to keep a guard so nobody enters?but the guard at the entrance was asleep that night, and I took the advantage to sneak in.?

The young Rui kept playing the melody for a little while. She opened her eyes and shifted them around to see if something happened. Once she looked at the Relic Stone, nothing seemed to happen at all. Making a worried face, the girl stopped playing and lowered her flute in disappointment.

?Celebi?? Rui asked. ?W-where are you? ?Why didn?t you appear??

?I got a little bit upset after Celebi didn?t appear thanks to the Time Flute I had,? Rui explained. ?I was a little bit heartbroken when nothing happened in the forest; not even a single glow.?

The young girl grabbed the flute with both hands and looked down. ??What happened??  she wondered. ?I thought I played the song right?? She sighed before turning around the passage. ??Maybe I shouldn?t have come here??

The depressed Rui began to walk back into the cave, still looking down in shame after no event happened.

As she walked to the cave, she noticed that there was a sign of green illumination that came from behind her after she looked at the cave enlightening a bit with the light. The girl gasped a bit and turned around to find the Relic Stone glowing.

?W-what?? Rui asked. ?W-what is happening??

?I got shocked when the Relic Stone began to shine like that,? Rui explained. ?I didn?t see it glow before so you would guess my reaction when I was little??

The monument began to glow brighter, making Rui fall back on her rear as she looked a bit scared. She thought Celebi was just going to appear from the forest, not make the funny-looking stone glow, at least that was she thought as she clutched herself a bit.
From the top of the Relic Stone, a green sphere of light began to appear. The shocked girl thought it was going to attack her so she covered her face.

?I should have run to a tree instead of doing that??

?If I don?t see it, it won?t hurt me!? the young Rui yelled.

?Gosh, I was embarrassing back then??

The young girl trembled a little in fear once she noticed the light was gone between her fingers. Rui gulped a bit before removing her hands off her face. She suddenly blinked surprised when someone was some mere feet away from her face.
?K-KYAH!? Rui yelped as she moved back from the Pok?mon in front of her. ?W-what happened here? H-how did you get here?!? she asked in fear.

The Pok?mon in front of her tilted its head curiously before floating closer to her.

??C-Celebi?? Rui asked suddenly as she took a closer look to the Pok?mon. ?I-is that really you??

Celebi tilted its head a bit before it nodded happily. ?Bibibibi!? it said happily.

??W-well?? Rui shifted her eyes. ?H-how did you come here? D-did you hear the melody from my Time Flute??

Celebi looked at Rui?s right hand where the flute was. The Pok?mon chuckled happily as it nodded. ?Bibibi! Bibibibi, bibibibibi!?

??? Rui managed to make a small smile. ?N-no way, I called you with the flute??

?Bibibibibi,? Celebi said. ?Celebi, lebi, Celebi, bi.?

?I wished I could have understood Celebi better??

??Oooooooooh, you came here to play with me?? Rui asked.

Celebi looked confused at her for a moment without doing anything except floating.

??I?guess not?? Rui asked.

Celebi merely blinked at her.

??? Rui looked down. ?B-but?I wanted to meet you so we could play together?? Rui sniffed a bit. ?I?I just wanted to play with you, Celebi??

??? Celebi floated close to her and pointed at the Time Flute. ?Bibibibi??

?H-huh?? Rui looked at the flute. ?W-what are you trying to say??

Celebi smiled. ?Bibibibibibibibibiiiiiiii!? It put its hands to its right where it tried to tell something to Rui. The young girl saw Celebi blowing air at the side of its hands as it looked at her.

It was a matter of time before Rui understood the message. ?Aaaah, you want me to play the flute again??

Celebi stopped its mimic and nodded happily. ?Bibibibibi!?

??Okay!? Rui said cheerfully. ?But?can you promise me something??

Celebi tilted its head confused.

?If I play the flute, can you play with me this time?? Rui asked as she joined her hands. ?Please, I really wanna play with someone so special like you! I-I wanted to play with you a long time ago after my grandparents told me so much about, Celebi!?

The Pok?mon gasped a bit as Rui hopped in her feet a little bit.

?Please, please, please, please, please, please?? Rui asked repeatedly.

??Bibibibibi,? Celebi said, smiling at her.

Rui gasped excited. ?Y-you mean it? You?re going to play with me??

?Biiiiiiiii!? Celebi nodded.

?I was so happy when Celebi told me that?? Rui said. ?I was so lucky that Celebi wanted to play with me. So, to fulfill the promise, I played the flute??

After a small while, Rui coughed a bit before she started to play the flute with the same tune from before. Celebi closed its eyes and smiled a bit as the melody echoed through the surroundings. The Time Travel Pok?mon began to dance around in the air, flying across the forest as Rui played and watched Celebi flying about. Rui smiled a bit as she kept blowing into the flute while Celebi said its name happily, echoing through the trees and leaves.

?I watched Celebi dancing and flying around,? Rui explained. ?Celebi was glowing, and it released some green sparkles that trailed off from behind it, touching the branches and leaves. You should have seen it, Wes, it was so beautiful when the sparkles kept shining??

?Wes isn?t exactly a fan of beautiful things, though?? Red muttered.

The young girl giggled happily as Celebi flew around in the forest. The Time Travel Pok?mon suddenly turned towards her to return to Rui, stopping flying as it floated close, still releasing the sparkles of light that fell on the floor. The young girl stopped playing the flute before giggling at Celebi. ?Okay, did you enjoy my performance??

?Bibibibibibi!? Celebi said happily.

?Now,? Rui began as she pointed the vanishing flute at Celebi. ?You need to play with me or else I?I?I?IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII??

?For my surprise, the very same flute I used started to vanish like magic?? Rui explained. ?I really got shocked once the flute began to feel?like nothing in my hand. To be precise, it was floating in midair when I pulled my hand back.? She looked at her hand, the flute already gone. ?Look, I don?t have that Time Flute with me anymore.?

?W-wah!? Rui pulled back her hand from the vanishing flute before it completely disappeared in the air. ?W-what did just happen??

?After I asked myself the reason behind the disappearance of the flute, I remembered my grandparents telling me that there were very few Time Flutes hidden across Orre. My grandma told me that the flutes are special because they can be used one time only to call Celebi.?

The young Rui looked shocked after the flute disappeared. Celebi merely blinked and tilted its head a bit at this. ?O-oh no?I remember these flutes can only be used once?? She looked worried. ?A-and worse yet, I took this directly from my grandpa?s drawer in their room! T-they?re going to find out I used it since I wanted to come here during the day!?

Celebi saw Rui?s panicked expression. The young girl put her hands on her head and shook them all slowly to think of something about the flute?s disappearance. The Time Travel Pok?mon put a hand close to its mouth before looking around. Celebi then flew away to pick something from the ground. The Time Travel looked happy and returned to the panicking Rui before touching her head to make her look at it.

??Huh?? Rui looked at the object on Celebi?s right hand. ??Wait, you?re trying to say you want me to use that branch as a replacement??

?Bi!? Celebi nodded.

??It?s not going to work that way?? Rui rubbed her chin. ??I have to admit the branch looks a little bit like the flute from a far view??

?And I had to admit it didn?t even look like the flute AT ALL??

The young Rui chuckled to herself before taking the branch from Celebi. Both of them chuckled to each other after Rui kept the item in her jacket.

?After that, Celebi made his promise, and we played all night with each other. We played hide-and-seek in the trees; we looked around the forest to see the sleeping Pok?mon like Pidgeys and Spinaraks, we ate some apples that Celebi found in some trees, and I told Celebi everything about my life with my grandparents and such,? Rui explained. ??I had a lot of fun with Celebi?and I started to think Celebi was my first Pok?mon ever since that night??

Very soon, the 2 got tired, and Rui decided to call it a night. The young girl then remembered that Celebi had to go away and not return until someone else played the Time Flute. The Time Travel Pok?mon looked worried as it and Rui were close to the passage.

??They told me that you won?t return unless I use another Time Flute?? Rui said depressed before she sniffed, making Celebi gasp a bit. ?I-I want you to stay here with me, Celebi??

?Biiiiii?? Celebi said depressed.

?C-can?t you just come back to this time period to play again with me??

Celebi looked down and shook its head.

?W-why?? Rui asked before she started to sob. ?W-why can?t you stay here? D-do I annoy you or something??

Celebi gasped. ?Bibibibibibi! Celebibibibibi!?

Rui tried to wipe off her tears before looking at Celebi. ?Then why do you have to travel around time, anyway?? she asked by yelling loudly. ?I don?t see why you need to go around and visit peaceful times! Every single time is peaceful!?

?Bibibibibibibi?? Celebi looked down and shook its head. ?Bibibibibi??

??What?? Rui calmed down a bit and looked at Celebi?s depressed look. ?You?re saying you don?t only go to peaceful times??

??Bibibibi?? Celebi said.

?I was lucky back then,? Rui narrated. ?For being a small child, I managed to tell what Celebi wanted to say??

??You mean you go to other time periods where there are no peaceful times??

Celebi took a moment of silence before nodding in shame.

??You go to dangerous time periods as well, then??

Celebi nodded in shame.

??Why?? Rui asked. ?I just don?t understand you??

?Bibibibibi,? Celebi said as it pointed at the trees. ?Bibibibibi??

Rui tilted her head a bit. ?The trees??

?Bibibibibibibi, Celebi!? Celebi suddenly said shocked. ?Celebi, bibi, Cele, bibibibi!? It moved its hands like it tried to imitate something like fire going up. ?Bibibibiiiiiiii!?

??Fire??

?Bibibibi!?

Rui wondered for a bit. ??You?re saying that?hmm?you travel to dangerous times?to?hmm?make them?peaceful??

??? Celebi nodded.

??And you do?what?? Rui asked. ?You put out forest fires??

?Bibibibibi,? Celebi said nodding.

??I see?? Rui said depressed. ?So?you travel through time in order to save forests that were once burned?? Rui asked and Celebi nodded. ??But aren?t you messing with time??

Celebi shook its head and smiled.

??Oh, right!? Rui said. ?You?re just doing the right thing for other Pok?mon, right??

?Bibi, Celebi, bi, Celebi,? Celebi said happily.

??You?re so gentle,? Rui remarked with a giggle. ?You do that every day??

Celebi shook its head.

?Ah, you also enjoy meeting others like me, right??

?Bi!?

?I knew it!? Rui said happily. ?You?re one of the kindest Pok?mon who helps other no matter what is there, right??

?Bi, Celebibi!? Celebi nodded happily as it flew around Rui, making her laugh a bit together with it.

?I was happy to know Celebi had a good reason to travel through time,? Rui said. ?It traveled to peaceful times where danger was afoot. I understood Celebi very well, you know??

?That doesn?t explain how you got your powers, Rui,? Wes said.

?Well?it was just before I left Celebi, actually??

Rui and Celebi chuckled to each other before the young girl yawned loudly, lifting her hands to the air. ?Well?I want to go to sleep now, Celebi?? she muttered, mumbling a bit. ??I guess I won?t see you until I use a Time Flute, right??

?Ce, Ce, Bibibibi,? Celebi said, smiling a bit at her.

Rui giggled a bit. ?It?s okay, I won?t cry?? she muttered as she sniffed a bit. ??I won?t cry??

Celebi blinked a bit before touching Rui?s head. The young girl stopped a sniff before looking back at Celebi. ?Bibibibi, Cele?? Celebi?s eyes suddenly glowed.

??Huh?? Rui blinked confused at this. ?W-why are your eyes glowing like that??

?And then, suddenly, I felt like something entered through my eyes?? Rui narrated. ?There was an odd feeling in me that made my vision go blurry for a minute. I kept staring at Celebi as its eyes glowed green? Celebi was surely doing something to me before it would leave me. At first, I didn?t know what, but once it stopped, I was able to blink and look around??

The young girl stared blankly at Celebi, who smiled a bit at her. ?W-what did you just do?? Rui asked.

?Of course, I couldn?t tell what Celebi told me, though??

Celebi began saying its name many times, but unfortunately, Rui didn?t understand most of it. Seeing that it was surely something important, the girl just giggled and nodded enthusiastically. ?Oh, I see!? the girl said clueless. ?You gave me some kind of power, right??

?Celebi, bi!? Celebi said happily before turning around. ?Bibi, Cele,? it said, waving a hand at Rui.

??Wait!? Rui said as she held out her right hand at Celebi as it flied to the Relic Stone. ?I-I was kidding, what did you give me?? she asked confused. ?I mean, did you give me the power to fly or something? If so, I?ll try it right away!?

?Bad choice??

The young girl leaped forward, flapped her arms quickly, but then fell down and hit the floor, making her moan in pain as Celebi chuckled to itself, glowing brightly in a green aura together with the Relic Stone as it stopped flying on top of the monument.

After pushing herself up, Rui shook her head and stood up to look up at the glowing Celebi. ?W-wait, are you leaving now??

?Celebibibibibi!? Celebi said happily.

?B-but wait!? Rui yelled. ?I-I haven?t told you my name yet! M-my name is Rui, nice to meet you!?

??? Celebi smiled happily. ??Nice to meet you, Rui. I have to leave for now, is that fine with you? I hope so!?

??? Rui looked shocked as she took a step back. Did she just hear Celebi speaking English? ?D-did you just talk?w-with your mouth??

The only response that Rui got was Celebi teleporting away from the forest. The young girl gasped and looked around as the Relic Stone began to dim down until it turned back to normal. Rui looked around the forest for any traces of Celebi, but obviously, there were none.

??Celebiiiiiiiiiiiii!? Rui yelled as she put her hands close to the sides of her mouth. ?Celebi, where are youuuuuuuuu?! Celebiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!?

?I wanted to find Celebi in the forest again,? Rui said depressed. ?After it left, I thought Celebi wasn?t going to come back again. I was desperate to find Celebi again, but it was useless, and I kept yelling at no one?until someone else heard my yells??

The young girl stopped yelling at the trees before she heard some footsteps and yells coming from the passage. She gasped a bit once she turned around to find a worried Eagun kneeling down to see her. ?Rui!? he yelled. ?My goodness, you?re alright, my girl!?

?G-grandpa!? Rui yelled surprised. ?H-how did you know I was here??

?Well, little girl, I have some tea sometimes during the nights, and I went to see if you were in your room, but you weren?t there anymore,? Eagun explained. ?I panicked a bit, but I wanted to see where you ran off to. I didn?t tell Beluh this because I didn?t want to start an uproar. When I noticed the Time Flute was gone, I thought you took it and ran off to the forest.?

Rui blushed a bit embarrassed as she folded her arms. ?W-well, yes, I did take it??

??Phew,? Eagun sighed. ?Well, Rui, I hope you didn?t use it before I came here??

?Oh, was I so dead during that moment??

Rui began to sweat a bit before she quickly showed Eagun the branch that Celebi gave her. ?O-of course not,? she said with a gulp. ?S-see? T-the Time Flute is right here, safe and sound!? She chuckled a bit. ?Heheheheheh, get it? Sound? Time Flute??

The tension in her grew bigger as Eagun examined the branch. Rui knew Eagun wouldn?t fall for such a childish trick after he took the ?instrument? off her hands.

??Rui?? Eagun said disappointed.

Rui smacked her palms together and bowed. ?L-look, I?m so, SO sorry if I-?

?There are some cloth balls all over it!? Eagun interrupted her granddaughter.

Looking up confused, Rui raised an eyebrow. ??What did you say, grandpa??

?Look at this mess?? Eagun said as he took off some cloth balls that surely got stuck on the branch when the girl kept it close inside her jacket. The girl?s mouth hung a little bit open before her grandpa tossed all the balls away to the ground. ?There, it?s clean now.?

?B-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b?? Rui couldn?t just find the right words after Eagun was easily tricked into believing he was holding the ?Time Flute? and not a branch.

?There, there, Rui,? Eagun said, rubbing her head. ?You didn?t use it, so it?s all good, my girl.?

??I decided to stay silent so he wouldn?t punish me or something?? Rui said embarrassed.

Rui blinked a little bit nervous before chuckling. ?Heheheheheh, a-am I a little good girl, grandpa??

?Well, what do you think you are after wandering all the way here without permission?? Eagun asked.

??Crud,? Rui muttered.

?Come now,? Eagun said as he turned at the passage. ?We shouldn?t stay here any longer.?

End of flashback

Rui chuckled after narrating them her story. ?After grandpa took me back home, he put the ?Time Flute? back in its place. I decided to stay silent about Celebi or else he would have punished me?a bit, I guess.?

[DededeCloneChris]

Wes, Red, Chris, and the Pok?mon stared at her and Celebi.

??? Rui looked down at Celebi. ?I started to notice that I could sense auras if I concentrated long enough,? she explained. ?I have to tell you something about it. Sensing auras is a really hard think to do because, for me, they seem so dim and almost small, but when I first spotted a Shadow Pok?mon?the aura was easy, yet so powerful. I was frightened when I saw that Makuhita, and those 2 thugs took a hold of me when I yelled about its aura?? Rui looked at Wes. ?Then, I wound up meeting you, Wes?? She looked down at Celebi. ?If it wasn?t for you, Celebi, I wouldn?t have been here or even hear about Shadow Pok?mon??

?Bibibi,? Celebi said happily.

Wes crossed his arms. ?There?s something in your story that doesn?t make sense, though??

Rui looked at him. ?What would that be??

?I forgot, but didn?t you say Celebi?talked??

Rui blinked a few times before getting an annoyed look to Celebi. ?Wait just a minute there! Don?t try to lie to me this time, you. I DID think that was you talking, Celebi!?

Celebi chuckled and pushed itself from her, floating in the air.

?Okay, I have another chance to talk with you, Celebi,? Rui said. ?Was it you who spoke to me??

The Time Travel Pok?mon folded its thin arms and looked around in the sky while it hummed.

??Celebi, it was you, right??

Celebi looked at her and chuckled. ??Of course it was me.?

Wes, Red, Chris, and the Pok?mon gasped once they all saw Celebi talking through its mouth. Rui was the most shocked one after hearing Celebi?s somewhat high-pitched voice.

?O-oh my?? Rui said, covering her mouth with her hands. ?Y-y-y-y-y-you just spoke!?

Celebi chuckled. ?Of course I spoke, Rui,? it said to her. ?You didn?t even think I was only obliged to talk with ?bis? and ?Cele,? did you?? Celebi chuckled again. ?I?m way wiser than that because I'm a Psychic Pok?mon.?

Wes stared at Celebi in surprise before speaking. ?Celebi??

Celebi turned around. ?Yes? Do you have something to ask me? Your face has that look, I know.?

?Yes,? Wes said. ?I wanted to ask you, after noticing you can talk, about why you gave Rui that power to see auras.?

Celebi looked worried. ??I gave her that because?she was the only one who called me here?? Celebi looked at all of them. ?In truth, I gave Rui that power because I already knew how the events would turn out in the future.?

?You?re saying you traveled in the future?? Chris asked.

Celebi nodded. ?That?s right. I knew the Shadow Pok?mon would eventually appear.? It played with its small hands. ?I sensed that the future of Orre was going to be a very bad one, so I went to the future to see what it?d look like?and what I found wasn?t pretty??

Wes nodded. ?You saw the Shadow Pok?mon from a safe distance.?

?Exactly,? Celebi said. ?There were lots of them everywhere, though? Right now, there seems to be a small percentage of Shadow Pok?mon, but it?s growing in numbers as time passes. I was stuck in that period, though.?

?You were stuck?? Red asked.

?I was stuck because I didn?t know what to do,? Celebi admitted. ?If I was seen purifying a Shadow Pok?mon, that organization called Cipher would have spotted me and captured me in some way??

Wes thought for a moment. ?But you can warp, can?t you??

?I can, but Cipher?s technology is a little bit advanced to prevent me from warping in time,? Celebi said. ?They sent people here to destroy the Relic Stone, right??

?Yeah.?

?They were surely looking for me so there wouldn?t be a way to purify Shadow Pok?mon,? Celebi explained. ?The Relic Stone is a very important artifact. I was the one who created this.?

?You created the Relic Stone here?? Rui asked. ?Why??

?I created the Relic Stone in order for people to call me using the Time Flutes that were created by the people who worshipped me a long time ago,? Celebi explained. ?I made the Relic Stone a very long time ago in this place because it?s really peaceful. Look at the scenery?? Celebi smiled. ?It?s just so beautiful and pacific enough for me to dwell.?

?Interesting, I must say?? Wes said. ?Let me get this straight. You?re saying you knew the Shadow Pok?mon would appear, right??

?Yes,? Celebi said.

?And I would assume it was before you met Rui, right??

Celebi nodded. ?That?s exactly the truth,? it said. ?The future of Orre was going to be a really bad one with the Shadow Pok?mon?? Celebi looked down. ?If I let the time go as it is, the Orre Region would have been overrun by countless and countless of Shadow Pok?mon?? It began to shake its head. ??And worse yet, it would have spread all over the world, and Cipher would have commanded an army of them??

The World Traveler blinked in surprise at this. ??That would be horrible??

Wes looked away. ?(Yeah, put the trainer calling a Shadow Pok?mon out and the Pok?mon would kill him or her off?)?

?But why me?? Rui asked. ?Why did you want me to have the power to see auras??

Celebi looked at her. ?You were the only person closest to the timeline where the Shadow Pok?mon would appear,? it explained. ?I saw your future. Do you remember the Makuhita you saw before? You would have passed through there and not see its aura with the power I gave you.? Celebi nodded. ?I was so lucky to find a person who would use a Time Flute to call me. I knew it was so risky to put you in this, but it was the best option to keep the future of Orre safe?? Celebi looked down. ??I?m sorry for giving you the power without your permission??

Rui noticed the sad look on Celebi?s face. The girl looked at it worried before smiling. ?It?s okay, really??

?What?? Celebi looked at her. ?You?re not upset that I chose you??

?Why?? Rui asked. ?You just gave a very important mission no one else could do! I like to do thrills in life, and I like Pok?mon very much as well. You gave the opportunity of a lifetime, Celebi!? She looked at Wes. ?I wouldn?t have met Wes if you didn?t give me the power to see auras, Celebi?? She made a happy expression. ?I should have disobeyed my grandpa in coming here with the Time Flute, don?t you think??

??Heheheheh,? Celebi chuckled. ?I guess you?re right, Rui. Your excitement to meet me eventually gave you a very important mission to keep Orre?s future safe.? It turned around to look at Wes. ?And you got yourself a partner.?

?Hey, the partner here is Rui, not me,? Wes responded.

?No, you?re both partners,? Celebi said. ?In the future, I saw you.?

??What??

Celebi nodded. ?You would have used the Snag Machine without Rui around. You would be at a loss to identify Shadow Pok?mon. This problem would turn you into an accidental thief before getting in jail?? It looked worried. ??Worse of all, you seemed to enjoy it so much??

Wes?s eyes widened a bit but looked away with a sulk.

??You seem to have some troubles with your past, am I right?? Celebi asked, tilting its head. ?I can tell your past wasn?t a pretty on-?

?Would you just shut up?? Wes asked.

Celebi gasped. ?O-oh, sorry, I think I was being a little bit rude??

?You were, now don?t go and spy my past, please,? Wes said, still staring away.

Pikachu narrowed his eyes. ?(Thanks, Celebi, you just reminded me of something I can find out through Umbreon and Espeon?)?

Celebi looked back at Rui. ?So then, are you okay with the task I gave you??

Rui nodded. ?Absolutely? I don?t want to see Shadow Pok?mon spreading out to the other regions??

?It would be so bad that way,? Celebi said. ?This wrong process to turn them into Shadow Pok?mon would reach Legendary Pok?mon as well, and then that would be really worse??

Rui looked at Celebi with a smile. ?Thanks, though. I?ll use this power for greater good.?

?That?s more like it!? Celebi said enthusiastically. ?I trust you and Wes that you will do it just fine.?

??Wait,? Wes interrupted as he turned around to look at Celebi. ?Do you know if we can really defeat Cipher if we keep going like this??

?That?s?something I don?t know?? Celebi admitted. ?I could go to the future, but you know?? It chuckled a bit. ?It?s up to you to find out.?

?What?? Wes asked. ?So you?re telling me you know the outcome??

?I do, but sometimes I forget,? Celebi said, confusing the whole group. ?I?ll let you shape your path alone. I don?t want to spoil your future. Do you really want me to tell you something you want to see by yourself without knowing what will happen??

??I guess,? Wes said.

?There you have it,? Celebi said with a chuckle before turning to Rui. ?I have to go for now, Rui? There are other time periods I?d like to see??

Rui nodded. ?I understand.?

?Good, but you can call me back once you find another Time Flute,? Celebi reminded her. ?I suggest you should call me to purify really strong Pok?mon like Entei, for example.? Celebi looked at Entei. The Volcano Pok?mon looked at it and nodded in gratitude. ?Legendary Pok?mon are really hard to purify by normal means. My power can make the process really easier.?

?I?ll have that in mind,? Wes said.

Celebi began to glow together with Relic Stone as it flew on top of it. Once it reached the top, it looked back to the whole group. ?So then, it?s time for to go. Wes, Rui, people I barely even saw, it?s up to you to save Orre before the Shadow Pok?mon conquer it and the whole world.?

Red gulped. ?(I?m very young and Celebi wants me to save the whole world?)?

?(That?s how it always works,)? Pikachu told him. ?(Trust me.)?

The Time Travel Pok?mon looked once more at Rui and laughed a bit. ?I?ll be wandering through time, so call me when you want to talk again and purify a Shadow Pok?mon.?

Rui began to wave her right hand at Celebi. ?You don?t worry, Celebi.?

The Time Travel Pok?mon flipped in the air before the light in it shone bright enough to cover itself. ?Well, time for me to go. Good luck to you all, you hear me? Good luck!? it said enthusiastically before, in a flash, Celebi disappeared, making the relic stop glowing, the scenery around turning on with the light from the sun.

After staring at the relic, Rui sighed pleased. ??I?m glad I was able to know the reason behind my power??

Chris hummed happily. ?(I?m glad I discovered something really interesting.)?

?(I?m glad I wasn?t spoiled about my future of being a professional singer,)? Jigglypuff thought happily.

Red looked down at Ivysaur. The Seed Pok?mon was?bowing several times. ?(What are you doing?)?

?(I met Celebi, I?m not worthy enough. I met Celebi, I?m not worthy enough?)? Ivysaur prayed, making Red roll his eyes.

Wes looked at Entei and decided to return it to its Pok? Ball. ?Well, now you know your power?s origin.?

Rui nodded. ?And now we can resume with our mission?? she said before she looked at the Smashers, ?with them, of course.?

Wes stared at Mewtwo and Red for a moment. The shady trainer narrowed his eyes at them before walking to the passage. Wes also took a glance of Lucario. ?Okay, we need to head to Pyrite Town.?

?What?? Rui asked. ?Why do we have to go there??

?I received another email from Duking,? Wes said. ?It said that they captured some of Miror. B?s members. He told us to go to Pyrite and interrogate them.? He looked at the Smashers. ?Do you know about Pyrite Town? It?s a town full of thieves. I?d watch out if I were you.?

?Why?s that?? Red asked.

?Most of the people you meet there are bandits. They?ll steal something from you when you less expect it,? Wes warned them. ?Call all your Pok?mon back, we?re going to Pyrite Town. You better be prepared for the people in there??

Pyrite Town
Entrance

The group, after taking a long trip to the south near the canyons, arriving at sunset, reached the town of bandits, thugs, and thieves. Red and Chris didn?t like the town?s appearance already?

?Is this the town?? Red asked.

?Yeah,? Wes said. ?Be careful now.?

The 2 Smasher trainers glanced around. Almost half of the people they saw were giving them sharp and odd looks. The residents of the town knew very well that Red and Chris were 2 new visitors. This put them in a dangerous situation.

?They like new visitors, just warning you,? Wes told them as they walked into the town.

The World Traveler gulped. ??I don?t know you, Red, but I?m calling my bodyguard here,? Chris said as he called Lucario out. The Aura Pok?mon looked at Chris. ?I need you to protect me from the thieves in here. Would you mind if you can do it??

Lucario looked at the people and nodded, giving them a death glare to see if they would stop looking at them. However, this only made them grow interested in the group even more than before.

?Duking told me that Miror. B.?s members were arrested at the police station. It should be close to here,? Wes told them as they walked through the dirty, small streets of the small town. ?It?s right over there.?

At that moment, the World Traveler accidentally bumped into a shady guy; a Rider trainer. ?Oh, sorry there,? he responded before walking away.

??GRRRRRRRRRRRR!? Lucario suddenly grunted and went after the same guy.

The group stopped walking as Chris gasped. ?L-Lucario, what are you doing? Come back here! It was just an acciden-?

?UAH!?

After the scream, fists flew to the Rider trainer?

Seeing the rather violent scene, Chris ran towards Lucario in time to stop him from killing the Rider. ?L-Lucario, stop!? he ordered, to the point where Lucario had the trainer?s neck in his right hand, growling down at him. ?S-sorry fo-?

?O-okay, okay!? the Rider interrupted as he tossed Chris a familiar wallet. ?I-I won?t steal from him again, just let me live, please!?

?GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!? Lucario pulled the Rider?s face close to his, showing a wild look.

?AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!? the Rider screamed loudly before Lucario let go of him. Wes watched amused as the Rider clumsily ran away from the furious Aura Pok?mon.

??? Chris looked at the wallet. ?Oh, he bumped into me to steal my wallet from my pocket?? He looked at Lucario and smiled a bit. ?Thank you so much, Lucario.?

His Pok?mon replied by nodding, letting out a small growl that made Chris rub his head a bit.

Wes chuckled a bit at this. ?I just love to see thieves getting what they deserve.?

Rui and Red looked at him. ?Weren?t you one, though?? Red asked.

?That?s why I?m glad I can repent for my actions,? Wes said. ?Okay, let?s go to the station.?

A while later?

After interrogating the members, 1 of them being asleep, Wes was able to find something that fell off from the thug. The shady trainer found a key to an elevator located somewhere in the city.

?Was it good for you to steal that key from her?? Rui asked as the group continued their way deeper into the town, people giving them their looks.

?They?re thugs, and they had crucial info about Cipher,? Wes explained. ?They won?t miss a key.?

Red and Chris were looking around, feeling uncomfortable with the thieves looking at them. There wasn?t day where you would see 4 people and a rare Pok?mon walking through Pyrite Town. It was obvious that the people of Pyrite were aware of the new visitors.

The group eventually crossed the Duel Square, where people would battle each other for the fun of it. This was the only place of the whole town where there were some honest people. Wes happened to know everyone in there since he fought them all to get their Shadow Pok?mon.

The only weird thing that puzzled Wes was the fact that the trainers didn?t even ask him for their Shadow Pok?mon. This was probably due to Wes halting Miror B.?s moves in the town since he was considered the ruler until Wes defeated him, liberating the town form his control.

That didn?t mean the residents would stop being thieves, though.

?C-can we move on?? Red muttered. ?The kid with the roller blades is scaring me??

Once they crossed the Duel Square, Wes looked at the building where it was once one of Cipher?s hideouts. The shady trainer recalled seeing something in the first floor that looked like an elevator. ?Rui, remember that place??

?Why, yes,? Rui said. ?We stormed inside like 2 days ago. How could I forget??

?If you didn?t forget, did you remember seeing something like an elevator??

??Hmm?oh right,? Rui said. ?There was the girl in front of it. She seemed to be guarding it, right??

?Well, true,? Wes said. ?I checked it but it needed a key. Do you think this is the key??

?It may be as well that,? Rui said as she went to the entrance?s door, which was an automatic one as it slid down to open the way inside. ?Let?s go check it out.?

Chris looked around. ??Hold on! I lost my DS!?

The growls from the Aura Pok?mon came from behind them with some yells coming from a kid.

Wes chuckled at this as the World Traveler went after Lucario. ?Priceless?? he muttered pleased.

Pyrite Building

Once the group (after Lucario almost killed the kid who stole Chris?s DS) entered the building, they found a lot of broken barrels, water leaking out from tubes on the ceiling, poorly maintained floor tiles, and a counter that had a PC and a Pok?mon Restoration Machine (a machine that could either be found in Pok?mon Centers or around in some places) behind.

?Eww, this place stinks?? Chris said as he pinched his nose. ?It?s too damp??

?Tolerate the odor and you?ll be fine,? Wes said as he looked to the right. ?If I remember, the elevator should be turning around left over the other side of the counter.?

The group proceeded to walk all the way to the other side before turning to the left, finding a girl in front of what looked to be an old elevator. The girl was a Chaser trainer that wore a headband that had 2 long trail cloths that ran all the way down her back.

?Halt!? she yelled. ?You can?t pass through here!?

Wes rolled his eyes. ?I already defeated you once. I don?t care about you, anyway.?

The Chaser trainer made a shocked look once the group merely ignored her, used the key to the elevator, walked inside the elevator, turned around to see her one last time before the elevator began to move down.

?W-wait just there!? the Chaser yelled. ?You can?t ju-?

?Yes we can, now shut up,? Wes said, making the whole group chuckle before the Chaser trainer began to hit the bars of the elevator in anger.

The Under
Town

Pok?mon Colosseum ? The Under

It there was some kind of leader board about the most dangerous places in Orre, The Under would have ranked first with Pyrite Town being second.

The Under was an underground city where sewer pipers ran along the walls (at least some) and people actually lived. Wes himself didn?t know much about the city, but he heard rumors about a town that resided just below the cliffs of Pyrite Town that were located underneath the bridge that led to the coliseum of Pyrite Town. The rumor proved to be true, much for his surprise.

The underground city was hidden in darkness, the only means of illumination being the poles and dazzling extravagant signs? lights that adorned the few buildings. From time to time, something would fall from above where the cliffs were. The town itself was a little bit big, being in front of another chasm (below the cliffs) that had the coliseum of The Under across it. Not only those were the highlights of the town but also there were also many TVs that were used as broadcasting system for something.

?I never thought there would be an underground town in here,? Rui said as she folded her arms and looked around with everyone.

?Aw, god, it stinks even worse in here?? Chris said. ?How can people live in this place??

?They get used to it, I guess,? Wes said as he looked at the right to look at the city. ?Now, what should we do here??

?Look around until something comes up?? Red suggested.

?Interrogate people?? Rui asked.

?Wait for something to happen?? Chris suggested.

?Our 3 suggestions at the same time?? Red, Rui, and Chris asked in unison.

Wes looked at them annoyed. ?Well??

At that moment, a nearby TV on top of a bronze wall turned on by itself with some tune playing. The 5 characters saw as the rest of the TVs across the town turned on in the same channel, making everyone look at them instantly.

?What is happening?? Red asked.

Once they looked up to the TV, the image of a woman appeared. She was dressed with several layers of pink silk on her shoulders, long white skirt, and her back as well. She had brown hair with some braids hanging around her head. On her back, there was some kind of levitating crescent moon-shaped object that floated by itself. The woman looked cheerfully.

?Heeeeeeeellooooooo everyone! I?m your Venus!? she greeted. ?Welcome to yet another wonderful time for The Under Time, your hostess truly, Lady Venus in person!?

Many cheers came from the town itself, making the group look back a bit before focusing in the TV.

Red leaned towards Rui. ?Something is telling me that she is surely some kind of boss to this place??

?I guess,? Rui whispered.

?Hmm-hm! I can hear your cheers pretty well from here, my lovely citizens!? Venus said. ?Okay, it?s time for some breaking news! Recently, I heard from a little birdie that we got ourselves some intruders right now.?

The group gasped once Venus informed the whole town about the intruders. She surely meant them.

?That?s so bad, you know?? Venus asked worried. ?Do we really want intruders to mix with us and steal my valuable information? Do you want that??

Many negative responses came from the town, making a big echo.

?I know I was right, after all, I?m your Venus,? she said with a wink. ?Anyway, I want to announce that whoever captures the intruders will receive a special gift from me. Be on the lookout so you can have the chance to meet me and be broadcast in The Under Time!? she said excited. ?That?s all I have to say for today. Please stay tuned for more The Under Time and me as well. Bye bye!? she said cheerfully before the signal ended.

??She has a lot of vanity and a big ego?? Chris muttered.

Wes grunted and made a right fist. ?dangit, they know of us??

?But how did she know we came here?? Rui asked. ?I mean, we just barely walked out from the elevator!?

?Maybe?? Red wondered for a bit. ??Can we assume that the elevator hasn?t been used for a long time? Look at it,? he said as they all looked at the elevator. ?Isn?t it pretty big to transport anyone here? Someone could have seen us from somewhere and well?he or she reported this to that Venus woman??

Wes thought for a moment. ??It makes a little bit of sense, but it should be that,? he said. ?Duking and Silva would have alerted us from people coming from the building.?

Chris looked worried. ?What do we now??

Wes looked back at the town and glared at it. ??We?ll have to go in and wish for us to blend in.?

?That?s asking for suicide right there?? Red said worried.

?No, I?m confident that this will work,? Wes said before he began to walk down the platform they stepped on through some stairs of steel. ?Trust me, we?ll mix in well.?

The residents of the Under quickly focused on the group, but somehow, they looked away to look around for the intruders.

??What do you know, it?s working,? Red said as a male Hunter trainer shrugged his shoulders after looking at them from an alley. ?Why?s that??

Rui chuckled. ?Oh, I know why. They think we blend in here because of how we look. Wes looks too shady enough (Wes: Thanks, that really made me feel better?), and I think they think I?m some kind of bad girl with the way I?m dressed.?

?How about us?? Chris asked.

Rui looked at him. ?Well?that strange doll hanging on your neck looks devilish. I guess they think you?re a shady guy who uses freaky puppets to scam people or something??

The World Traveler stared at her with an odd look.

?And Red because he?is with us so they think you?re going to get beat up by us,? Rui said with a chuckle. ?Sorry, Red, that was the closest reason I could find??

Red rolled his eyes. ?As long as you don?t really beat me up??

Chris crossed his arms. ?And I guess Lucario blends in well because he looks tough.?

?Guuuooooooorgh,? Lucario growled happily.

Chris chuckled and looked at him. ?What? It?s true and we both know it.?

The town wasn?t that big as they went deeper inside. Just a few buildings had dazzling signs and items displayed behind windows. At that moment, Rui decided to yawn loudly.

?You know, we did arrive here at sunset?? Rui said. ??Why don?t we look for a place to rest for the night??

?Can we even tell if it?s sunset?? Chris asked as he looked at the big chasm. ?Light barely comes down from there??

Wes looked at a clock. ?It?s 7 PM now. We haven?t stopped going from place to place.? He twisted his neck a bit. ?It wouldn?t hurt to rest for the day.?

Red yawned. ?I want to sleep now myself??

?Let?s see if there?s a place here that looks like an inn,? Wes offered.

The World Traveler and the Pallet Town looked around a little bit scared. Wes noticed they were embracing themselves a bit.

?What is it? It?s not cold in here??

?I-I?m sorry to ask, but do you think there?? Red trailed off. ??Are there any?well?pedophiles in here??

??I bet there are.?

Chris quickly put Lucario?s right arm on his shoulders. ?I-I have protection right here??

?Guuuuooooorrggh?? Lucario growled please before he began to glare at his surroundings to the people that dared look at Chris.

The Under Hotel

Luckily, they were able to find a hotel in the dark town. It looked a bit suspicious, and the rooms were small. The hotel itself had 2 floors, but the first floor was the hotel itself, the second floor being a small bar for people to hang out. It was much better to rent rooms in there than sleeping in the alleys.

?$1000 Pok? Dollars for each one of you,? the old man behind the steel counter said.

Red looked at him annoyed. ?T-that?s s-?

?Okay,? Wes said simply as he gave the old man the mentioned amount of money, surprising Red a bit.

?How did you get a lot of money?? Red asked as Wes gave them the keys to their rooms. ?That was a lot, right??

Wes rolled his eyes. ?I got this money from defeating trainers and peons,? he explained. ?I thought you had a lot by this time, don?t you??

Red looked away. ??No??

?Figures,? Wes muttered before calling out Umbreon and Espeon. The 2 Pok?mon looked around before looking up at their trainer. ?We?re in The Under, an underground town below Pyrite Town full of thieves.. I don?t like the looks of this place, so I?m going to have to ask you 2 to stay on guard from anyone suspicious, you got that??

The 2 Pok?mon obeyed with a nod.

The shady trainer looked at Rui. ?I?ll let Espeon stay with you so he stays on guard from anyone.?

Rui blushed a bit. ?O-oh, thanks??

?As for you 2,? Wes said as he looked at Red and Chris. ?You should call some of your Pok?mon to stay on guard as well.?

Chris looked at Lucario. ??It wouldn?t hurt to call Pikachu, Pichu, and Jigglypuff out?? he said before he called the 3 out, looking around curiously.

Red nodded and did the same, but not calling Mewtwo out. Squirtle and Ivysaur looked around as well before their trainer knelt down. ?I?ll explain to you where we are, okay??

Wes cracked his fingers a bit before heading to his room, close to the stairs that went up to the bar as Umbreon followed him. ?Well, I?m going to make myself feel right at home here. Let?s all take a rest before continuing tomorrow.?

As he left them behind, Rui decided to talk with Red and Chris. ?You guys, have you thought something to make Wes friendlier yet??

Red shook his head. ?Nothing??

?It?s really hard to come up with a plan?? Chris complained a bit. ?Wes is way too complicated to understand??

Rui bit her lower lip a bit. ?Man, this isn?t working??

Seeing that the 3 humans were in a fit, Espeon motioned at Pikachu to come with him. Pikachu decided to call the others with him to hear what Espeon wanted to say. ?(Meet Umbreon and I outside later tonight,)? he told them. ?(We have all the time to talk more about Wes?s past.)?

?(Where?)? Pikachu asked.

?(We?ll call you all, just wait,)? Espeon said.

Sensing that the Pok?mon were talking to each other telepathically, Lucario decided to walk to them. He looked down at the smaller group. ?(What are you all doing?)?

Espeon looked up at him. ?(Oh, I guess we haven?t spoken to you about this yet.)? Espeon stared at Lucario. ?(Pleased to meet a rare Pok?mon like yourself. My name is Espeon.)?

?(That?s?something really obvious?)? Lucario commented.

?(I don?t like nicknames if that?s what you mean,)? Espeon said. ?(Pikachu, explain to him everything we?ve been talking about.)?

Pikachu looked at Lucario. ?(We?ve been talking about Wes?s past to understand him better.)?

Lucario rubbed his chin. ?(I see?)?

Espeon looked bored. ?(Wow, it took you 2 seconds to explain Lucario everything?)?

Pikachu looked back at him. ?(Hey, I wanted to get to the point here.)?

Espeon frowned before looking up at Lucario. ?(Still, I?m afraid he?s not going to come with us tonight.)?

?(Why is that?)? Lucario asked a bit irritated.

?(You?re like 6 feet tall, and most of us reach 2 feet and a half or less,)? Espeon pointed out. ?(It?d be easier for us to sneak out. You should stay behind.)?

?(I want to know more about Wes.)?

Espeon looked at Chris. ?(You rather leave your trainer unprotected in an underground town?)?

?(Aren?t you doing the same thing?)? Lucario asked.

?(Unfortunately, you?ll have to stay back and guard them all by yourself. I already took a glance at your power, and it should be enough to fight anything or anyone here.)?

?(?)? Lucario sighed. ?(Fine, I?ll stay behind.)?

?(Besides, you rather keep Chris safe, right?)? Squirtle asked.

?(?Yes,)? Lucario said.

?(It?s settled, then,)? Espeon said. ?(Wait for us until everyone is asleep. We?re going to end everything tonight, you got that?)?

That night?

It was hard to tell that it was night, but the clock of the hotel helped to point out that it was 11 PM. Around this time, most of the residents of The Under were already sleeping, the lights of the signs and the poles being the main sources of light that illuminated the whole town.

Back at the hotel, the 4 humans were already sleeping. The beds were soft enough for them to fall asleep quickly. Umbreon was taking care of Wes, Espeon was in Rui?s room, Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Pichu were with the sleeping Red, and Chris slept peacefully while Lucario sat down on the floor close to Chris.

Pikachu was also in the room as he was curled up on the bed. Suddenly, his ears perked up, Lucario opened his eyes, and they both looked at Espeon standing in front of the room?s door.

?(Now, let?s go,)? Espeon said. ?(The others are waiting. There?s hardly anyone outside as well.)?

Pikachu grumbled a bit before standing up. ?(Okay, okay, I?m going?)? He looked at Lucario with tired eyes. ?(You stay here and make sure no one barges in here?)?

Lucario rolled his eyes as Pikachu leaped close to Espeon before both ran away silently, the Aura Pok?mon yawning a bit before falling asleep while sitting.

Town

Around 7 Pok?mon came out from the hotel?s front door. They all looked around for any people. For their luck, the coast was clear, and Umbreon turned to them.

?(Let?s look around for a safe place to talk about this,)? Umbreon said. ?(Preferably a place where?s deserted.)?

Espeon looked to the right. ?(Hmm, what about that alley?)?

The other 7 looked to the right. Umbreon nodded at the place. ?(I hate the place, but it?s all we have.)?

?(Shall we, then?)? Jigglypuff asked.

The group nodded to each other before they all ran to a very dark alley. Luckily, a sign illuminated it enough to find some boxes, broken tables and chairs lying around the floor. The Pok?mon walked slowly into the alley before they all spread around to sit down in the cleanest place they could find.

?(Okay, everyone?s here,)? Umbreon said as he saw Pikachu and Pichu sitting together in a chair, Ivysaur and Squirtle sitting inside a big box, and Jigglypuff sitting on top of the box they were sitting. Espeon himself was sitting besides Umbreon, on top a broken table. ?(Good, now we have all the time to explain more about Wes.)?

?(I?ll hear from here, too.)?

The 7 Pok?mon gasped once they heard Lucario?s voice coming from the hotel.

?(Gosh, you have a lot of power to use telepathy, don?t you?)? Espeon asked impressed.

?(I?m not a Legendary Lucario for nothing,)? Lucario said. ?(Besides possessing brute force and a strong defense, my aura abilities far surpass other Lucario?s auras very easily.)?

?(?Legendary Lucario?)? Espeon asked. ?(So are you some kind of Legendary Pok?mon?)?

Pikachu hit the cold floor with his tail. ?(Hey, let?s not get sidetracked here, will you?)?

?(Oh, my bad,)? Espeon apologized. ?(We?re here to talk about Wes, after all.)?

Umbreon nodded. ?(He?s more important to talk about. I?m sure some of you haven?t heard much of Wes?s past, right?)?

Pichu, Jigglypuff, Ivysaur, and Squirtle shook their heads in unison.

?(Just as I thought,)? Umbreon said. ?(Well, I?ll have to resume everything for you t-)?

?(Just give me a moment to call Mewtwo out,)? Squirtle said as he took out a Pok? Ball that he placed on the floor.

?(?You what?)? Pichu asked. ?(Y-you brought Mewtwo here?)?

Squirtle looked at the shocked looks of his team. ?(Hey, he needs to breathe air once in a while. Why not let him know about what we?re doing?)?

Umbreon and Espeon looked at each other before looking at Squirtle. ?(?The more minds, the better, I say?)? Espeon said.

?(Besides, Psychic attacks don?t work on me,)? Umbreon said. ?(Call him out.)?

The Tiny Turtle Pok?mon nodded before he clicked the button of the sphere, instantly calling Mewtwo out as a bright light rose up. The light vanished, and Mewtwo was there, staring down at them.

?(Where are we?)? Mewtwo asked as he looked around. ?(This place is making me sense those dark powers from those Pok?mon?)?

His group decided to explain everything to him before Umbreon and Espeon explained him about Wes. The Psychic Pok?mon had his arms crossed to understand the situation better before they were all eventually in the same track.

?(I see?)? Mewtwo said.

?(First off, I?m honored to meet such a Pok?mon like you,)? Espeon said. ?(We?ll be glad to be one of your acquaintances, Mewtwo.)?

Mewtwo gave him a glare before frowning. ?(Fine, it?ll make me feel better, I guess. Besides, I don?t want to be inside that cursed sphere any longer.)?

Squirtle grinned at Ivysaur. ?(Ha, I freed him and you didn?t.)?

?(Knock that off already,)? Umbreon said. ?(We have a lot to talk about now. You better stay quiet and listen to what we need to continue. Mewtwo, will you try to help as well? If you go out, somebody could spot you, and we?ll be in a real trouble.)?

Mewtwo grunted a bit as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. ?(I?ll stay here for the time being. It?s not like I can attack back,)? he said sarcastically.

?(Then I?ll ignore your sarcasm and believe you can?t attack,)? Espeon joked, making Mewtwo glare at him from the corner of his eyes. ?(Moving, let?s continue.)?

Umbreon nodded as he coughed a bit. ?(From where we left off, Wes was recruited to join Team Snagem...)?

Flashback

Team Snagem?s Hideout
Canyon

?(The smell of the place? Yuck, I still remember its scent?)? Umbreon narrated.

?(After Wes was taken to the hideout, he was quickly met by all those bald guys,)? Espeon said. ?(They were all bald for some reason. I think it was a rule to look the same. That aside, let?s continue?)?

A frightened Wes with 2 scared Eevees shook together as they stood close to each other. A proud Gonzap grinned at the sight of the hideout hidden behind cliffs and canyons.

From Wes eyes, he could see a metallic building that stuck out from a canyon. There were some windows across the 3 different floors of the building. Wes could also see some people staring down at him from the third floor, which made his legs shake a bit in fear.

But from Gonzap?s eyes, he could see his home.

?Alright, we?re here,? Gonzap said as he patted Wes?s back slowly. ?Quite a ways away from Pyrite Town, isn?t??

?Y-yeah?? Wes muttered as the Eevees stood close to his legs.

?We rode the long way here for about 1 hour or so,? Gonzap pointed out. ?Good thing that nobody was chasing us in our way here, right??

?I-I guess?? Wes asked, looking up at the tall man.

Gonzap grinned down at Wes. ?You ready to go in and meet my boys??

?You have children?? Wes asked.

?Hahahahahahahaha!? Gonzap laughed at this clueless answer. ?Not, that?s a saying. Those boys inside are other members I personally recruited?or they just wanted to join,? he explained. ?You could be a pretty fine boy to call my son, though.?

Wes looked at him surprise. There was a small hint of excitement. ?D-do you want to be my adoptive dad, then??

?Hmm?? Gonzap rubbed his chin. ??I dunno? You need to prove yourself worthy to be a son to me??

Wes hopped up in his spot, the Eevees getting excited a bit. ?If you become my dad, it?d be so cool to have a strong looking person like you as my dad!? Wes said. ?L-look at yourself, you look pretty strong!?

Gonzap looked at him amused. ?Hmm, you wanna be my adoptive son? Are you trying to flatter me??

??Maybe?? Wes asked. ?I?just want to be the son of someone??

??Tell you what,? Gonzap began as he tilted his head to the side. ?If you wanna be my son, you have to prove yourself worthy to be a son to me.?

Wes thought for a moment. ?What do I have to do??

?Listen to whatever I need you to do and everything will be fine,? Gonzap said. ?If you work hard enough, someday, I?m going to be proud to call you my son.?

Wes stared at Gonzap for a bit. Gonzap could tell that the kid from the alleys tried to suppress his excitement for having the opportunity to become his son. The Team Snagem leader saw Wes?s small lips twitching, trying to prevent themselves from making a big smile.

The motion was stronger, though?

Wes smiled wide. ?O-okay! I-I?m gonna do everything I?ve got for you to be my dad!?

?Hahahahahahahahaha! That?s the spirit, boy,? Gonzap said as he messed Wes?s hair more. ?Anyway, let?s get inside your new home. If they don?t like you, I?ll scare them so they fear you as well.? He moved his right hand to the sides. ?I need to make you a real man, kid. You gotta look strong and intimidating at all times so anyone gets scared.?

?(Oh, let me guess, he got his attitude from the Gonzap guy?)? Squirtle asked.

Umbreon grunted. ?(No, he didn?t get it from Gonzap?)?

?I gotta look strong and intimidating?? Wes muttered to himself before chuckling. ?Heheheh, that could work? It?d make me look cool, right??

?Well, we need to give you some good clothes, boy,? Gonzap said. ?But enough about that, let?s go in so you meet my boys.?

?Your children??

?Have I ever told you that you?re funny?? Gonzap asked with a chuckle as the 4 walked inside towards the hideout, walking up to the automatic door that split itself in 2 to the right and left. ?Go in.?

Entrance

Wes?s excited look slowly turned into a blank look once he and the Eevees entered. When they got inside, all they found were cracked walls, iron barrels that were hit by something, some pipes leaking with water a bit, hallways that looked long, automatic doors of steel, and several scrapped floor tiles that revealed pipes underneath. The place smelled a bit damp, making Wes get a bad impression.

?Who is it?? a voice asked from one of the hallways. A bald member of the team walked from it and gasped when he saw Gonzap. ?M-Master Gonzap, sir!?

Gonzap grunted. ?Move out, we have another member to join our team. You, meet Wes.?

The member looked at the kid. ?A-a kid??

?What about him?? Gonzap asked with a glare. ?Do you dare question me??

?N-not at all, sir?? the grunt said worried. ?I-it?s just that it?s so weird of you to allow kids to join the team??

?Look, I saw potential in Wes?s eyes, and I convinced him to come here and live with us,? Gonzap explained. ?He might not look like it, but he?s a pretty good thief himself.?

Wes looked worried at the member, giving him a worried smile with the Eevees.

?Heck, even I saw him stealing food at a fast speed I could barely notice!? Gonzap said, trying to cheer up the kid. ?So I told myself to take him in with us. He lived in a dirty alley with his Eevees.?

?But?? the grunt trailed off as he looked unsure about the decision to let Wes in.

Gonzap showed his teeth at him with a glare. ?Are you questioning this even more or what?!?

Wes saw as the grunt gasped and backed away from the muscular man. ?N-no, I didn?t mean to say that, sir!?

?Well, I hope you didn?t,? Gonzap said with a grunt. ?From today on, the kid?s gonna be second-in-command in this place.?

The kid from the alleys and his Pok?mon gasped at this mention. Wes looked up at Gonzap, who looked down at him with a grin and a wink before glaring at the scared grunt.

?You got a problem with that or what?? Gonzap asked.

?No?? the grunt muttered, feeling a little bit jealous of Wes.

?You better?? Gonzap muttered. ?C?mon, Wes, let?s go hit my office.?

?Your office?? Wes asked.

?Yeah, nobody will bother us there,? Gonzap said. ?And as for you,? he began as he pointed at the grunt with his finger. ?Tell the others about the kid?s arrival. They better obey to what I said about him or else somebody?s getting a punishment today!?

The grunt gulped a bit and made a salute. ?R-right away, Master Gonzap, sir!? he said before running away upstairs.

?(Gonzap was doing a good job at instigating fear in the hideout,)? Espeon remarked. ?(He made sure nobody would bully, hurt, or make fun of Wes at all. The members of the team really respected Gonzap a lot. Whatever he said, it went.)?

Umbreon frowned. ?(Yeah, right?)?

?(Don?t mind Umbreon, he just didn?t like Gonzap that much.)?

?(More like murder him.)?

Espeon rolled his eyes. ?(Whatever, let me continue.)?

Gonzap?s Office

Gonzap leaded Wes and the Eevees to the second floor where his office was. Once arriving there, Wes found the office?s appearance being just a little bit more organized. There was a long table over a red mattress that also had a long orange couch on the other side. An orange desk with some papers and coffee mugs was in front of a wide window that overlooked the outside terrain of the hideout. A long portrait was on the other side of the office, but it was empty, not having any painting at all.

?Like it?? Gonzap asked at the curious Wes.

?I guess?? Wes commented with a chuckle. ?Definitely much better than the alley??

?Hey, I only look for the best,? Gonzap said. ?You, being the most important one I have found during my entire life.?

Wes looked at the grinning Gonzap before blushing a bit. ?T-thanks, sir??

?Hahahahahahahaha!? Gonzap laughed loudly. ?Well, what are you waiting for? Sit down on the couch, or lay down on it. You surely haven?t rested in something soft before, right??

?No.? Wes looked at the couch and smiled a bit.

?Go ahead, I?ll even let you play on it with your Eevees,? Gonzap said. ?I need to think about something over my desk. Try to rest a little bit.?

?(Wes and us eventually went after the couch,)? Espeon narrated. ?(It was so nice to feel something soft for once. No cold floor, but a warm couch where we lied down to feel the softness of it?I was so happy when I saw Wes chuckling to himself.)?

?(That was the only good memory I have about the hideout,)? Umbreon said.

?(So what happened next?)? Pichu asked.

?(After we rested for a bit, Gonzap decided to speak to us?)?

Wes and the Eevees, after resting on the couch, were looking at Gonzap right across the other side of the table. The kid sat down while the Eevees lied down at his sides.

?Okay, let?s get down to business,? Gonzap said. ?I already told everyone that they?re not allowed to threaten you in any way. If they do, tell me so they get a good punishment and not mess with you or your Eevees.?

Wes nodded, joined hands between his knees. ?Right.?

?Now, you have all the freedom to wander around the hideout. You can even meet the members in person,? Gonzap explained. ?I have 3 members who are in charge of some, but you?re allowed to order them anything because I put you second-in-command. Some of them are going to feel jealous, but ignore that.?

Wes nodded before looking worried.

?What is it? Why are you making that face??

Wes looked away. ??Do you really think I have potential, Gonzap??

Gonzap tilted his head a bit. ?Why are you asking that?? he asked before he walked around the table to sit besides Wes, putting a big arm around his shoulders as the Eevees moved to the right side. ?Wes, I have seen you a lot of times to make you come here.?

?Yeah, but?I?m still unsure about all this?? Wes muttered before looking at him. ?I mean, I?m going to be a thief my whole life??

?That?s hard to say,? Gonzap admitted as he looked away. ?To be honest, this is something you have to decide for yourself, Wes.?

?I need to?? Wes asked.

?Yeah, it?s not like I?m forcing you,? Gonzap said. ?The people would think I kidnap kids, then. I don?t want to have that kind of problems following me around, you know??

Wes thought for a moment. ??But if I stay here?? He looked at his worried Eevees. ??They?re going to have a place to live, right??

?Of course,? Gonzap said. ?You get that benefit, too.?

?Hmm??

?You have a potential in you,? Gonzap said. ?That potential can be used to make you a very well-known thief among thieves.?

?But it?s?wrong??

Gonzap nodded. ?True, but you do have that skill nobody else has.?

?(Did he REALLY say those encouraging things?)? Umbreon asked.

?(I remember much more than you do, so shut up,)? said Espeon annoyed.

Wes sighed and looked down depressed. The leader of Team Snagem made a worried look as well as the Eevees. Looking away, Gonzap thought about something to convince Wes to be a member of Team Snagem.

??If you decide to stay here, I?ll consider you my son.?

Wes quickly gasped and looked at Gonzap. ?W-what? D-do you really mean it??

Gonzap chuckled and looked back (and down) at the surprised Wes. ??Yeah!? he said, reconsidering. ?I presume you hate to be alone in the world, right??

Wes nodded quickly. ?Y-yeah, I really hate that? I have my Eevees, but I want to have a real family for once?? He thought for a moment. ?There?s the idea of being a thief in the process, but the other way would mean that I?m going to have someone to call my dad?? He smiled up at Gonzap. ??I want to stay here, let my Eevees have a home?and?and??

Gonzap raised an eyebrow. ?And??

??I?I want you to be my dad?? Wes muttered embarrassed. ??I want to live here, train my Eevees and myself to become expert thieves, and make you proud of me?? Wes shed a tear that he wiped out. ??Can I call you dad??

??Heheheheh?? Gonzap closed his eyes before he looked up to the ceiling. ?HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!?

Wes could definitely that Gonzap was going to agree with his question. Stopping laughing, the tall man looked back at Wes and pulled him under his arm. ?So what do you say??

?Wes, you got it,? Gonzap said. ?From now on, you?re officially my adoptive son, proud and youngest member of Team Snagem.?

?A-are you sure?? Wes asked before Gonzap nodded at him. ??Y-yay!? Wes cheered as his Eevees began to say their names happily. The kid got so excited that he hugged the big leader as tightly as his arms could let him.

?Yep, that?s the spirit I was talking about, alright,? Gonzap said as he began to laugh together with Wes and the Eevees, their laughs echoing through the second floor of the hideout completely.

?(We never saw Wes get so happy before,)? Espeon narrated. ?(We were happy that he was happy. We basically shared the same feelings with one another.)?

?(?I don?t see how he turned out like this, though?)? Jigglypuff commented.

Umbreon shook his head. ?(If I recall, the following years were the years that changed Wes slowly?at least I remember a bit of it?)?

[DededeCloneChris]

Chapter 152: Thieves and Temples

Pyrite Town
Streets

The scene of a town where bandits walked around, weird-looking houses were located, cracked streets with some liquids leaking out from some sewer pipes, and the sound of metal screeching from the nearby windmill of steel was seen. The town was known for mostly for its remarkable but dangerous thieves and bandits, most of them being Pok?mon trainers that liked to fight every day with anyone.

The police of the town was so small, putting the officers with hard tasks every day. The town pf Pyrite wasn't exactly a good place to live since there were always many reports of thievery, caused by the shady people that lived in there. The police was helpless to stop crime; it barely did its job, but at least the police helped to maintain a little bit of order.

But their eyes weren't focused on a particular shop where the window suddenly was shattered as a kid, holding some food in arms, jumped out from the window. The kid had a really bad look on his face due to the fact he looked as shady as any other thief in town. This kid wore some worn-out gray shorts, shoes that were poorly made of cheap cloth, and his red shirt had some holes around it: from the front and the back. The kid's face was covered with some dust as well as his arms. In a hurry, he looked around before running away as the shopkeeper yelled for help, not receiving any, unfortunately.

?Damn that kid!? the shopkeeper yelled from within the shop. ?It's the 38th time he steals from me!? he cursed out, not having anyone else to help him to capture the kid.

The kid that stole from the shop ran south in a hurry with the food on arms. The people that he passed didn?t even try to stop him due to the fact most of them were thieves themselves. They all merely chuckled, smirked, or did both as the kid ran away into an alley where he stopped running to catch his breath.

?(Good? That guy isn?t sending the cops on me?)? the kid thought as he panted heavily. He began to walk through the narrow alley where trash cans, some shallow pools of water, and some wrecked boxes were seen in the compact space. The kid, however, focused his sight on a box that shook several times by it.

The kid smiled a bit at the sight of the box. He knew more than others that the box had something that he had been taken care of for a long time. Starting to walk forward, he made sure the fruits on his arms wouldn?t fall off.

?I?m back,? he muttered under his breath as he walked around the box to kneel down and let go of the food on a cloth to keep it clean. ?Here, I?ve got you 2 some food.?

?Ee??

The kid chuckled. ?Don?t worry, it?s tasty and a little bit plentiful for you 2 to eat.?

The box?s upper side was touching the floor with one corner directed at the kid. Inside the box, there were 2 small creatures with brown fur that shook a little bit as they both walked out and looked down at their food. Looking up at the kid?s happy expression, the 2 creatures smiled a bit before they both sat down to eat the apples that he brought for them.

The 2 creatures were 2 young Eevees that looked like they were recently born. The kid could tell that much since he was the one who found them abandoned in the same box they were in.

?(I still remember the day where he found us abandoned in Pyrite Town? We both thought that we were done for without anywhere to go?)?

The kid chuckled and rubbed both of the Eevees? heads with care. ?You 2 are so lucky, you knew that??

The 2 Eevees stopped eating to look up at him.

The kid rested his arms on his knees as he kept chuckling. ?You really are lucky.?

?(Of course we were both lucky to meet him?)?

?You know why you?re lucky?? the kid asked. ?You?re lucky because I found you 2.?

The 2 Eevees squeaked with glee as the kid chuckled with them. The 2 Evolution Pok?mon then resumed eating the food that the kid brought for them. Seeing the both eating, the kid decided to grab one apple from the pile of food so he wouldn?t starve.

?(He found us one day abandoned in some of those dirty alleys? It was raining that day, I remember that much because that same day? Unfortunately, we don't even know where we came from, but we surely lived somewhere in Orre before he found us...)?

The kid looked up with a faint smile. "You know... I always thought I'd be alone for all my life..."

The 2 Eevees stopped eating and looked up at him.

"Ever since I turned into an orphan, I never thought of having Pok?mon like you," he said as he looked back at them. "I really am fortunate, you know?"

"(The 3 of us shared the same pains like not knowing where we came from... He didn't know where he lived before because, according to him, he was raised by an old man that found him as a baby in an alley. He told us that the old man was himself very poor before he passed away. When he found out the old man that took care of him died, he was already around the same age he found us. To be honest, he found us that very same day after it stared to rain...)"

"(He has some very faint memories about the old man, but that's all he remembers. We wonder why he isn't that good with other people.)"

"(My guess is that the old man didn't treat him well enough to consider him his adoptive grandson or kid.)"

"(You know, that memory about the old man you just mentioned could have been the reason for his cold attitude towards others.)"

"(It could have been...after all, he said he had faint memories about him. The most logical reason would have been that h-)"

Mt. Battle
Area 1

Pok?mon Colosseum - Cipher Admin Battle

"Darn it!" Wes cursed loudly as Camerupt used Earthquake to strike Feraligatr and Squirtle while Metang used Protect to shield itself from the super effective attack, interrupting Espeon and Umbreon's narration to Pikachu. "I need a fast Pok?mon here now... Return!" he yelled, calling back his Feraligatr while Squirtle managed to stand up. "Espeon, go!"

Espeon's ears perked up and frowned. "(Oh no, he's going to start calling us now... I should leave it all to you, Umbreon,)" he said before he leaped into the battle.

Umbreon sighed mentally before looking back at Pikachu. "(I guess we weren't being that specific enough, were we?)"

Pikachu shook his head. "(Well, I think you said something important about that old man that took care of Wes when he was little.)"

Umbreon grunted annoyed. "(Damn it, I don't think it was because of that person, though... Maybe it was because of...)" Umbreon remained silent for a moment before he nodded. "(I think I'm getting to somewhere important...)"

"(Well, do it fast! There's a battle going on here!)"

It had been a small while after the battle and the narration started at the same time. Wes and Red were having troubles fighting Dakim's Pok?mon. Apparently, the 2 young trainers were getting attacked continuously by a combination of Camerupt's Earthquake to damage everyone on the field and Metang's Protect to protect itself from the quake itself. This put Wes and Red in a fit as they tried to attack back, Chris, Vander, and Rui watching carefully from behind them.

"Okay, you won't do that annoying move anymore," Wes said as he pointed forward. "Espeon, use Psybeam on Camerupt!"

"Espeon!" Espeon yelled his name as he shot a rainbow-colored beam from his red crystal on his forehead to Camerupt.

"No, you don't. Camerupt, use Protect!" Dakim yelled, ordering the Fire and Ground type Pok?mon to shield himself inside a green sphere of energy. The beam came into contact with it, and it couldn't harm Camerupt.

?Squirtle, use Surf on Metang!? Red yelled.

?(Hurray, he got the name right,)? Squirtle thought as he ran forward to Metang.

?Use Protect, Metang!? Dakim ordered, letting the flying computer-like brain Pok?mon to use its own shield to resist the incoming attack.

Noticing this, Red yelled out another order. ?Stop!? he yelled.

Squirtle gasped and stopped, looking up at Metang's Protect.

?Wait until it takes its shield off!? Red ordered.

?Grrr...? Dakim grunted annoyed.

Both of his Pok?mon's shields soon lifted off, allowing Wes to give out the next order. ?Espeon, now use Psybeam!? he yelled, ordering Espeon to fire his beam of psychic power through his red crystal.

?Now use Surf!? Red ordered.

?Try using Protect again!? Dakim yelled at Camerupt.

The 2  Pok?mon tried to use Protect, but due to the constant use of the protective attack, it didn't manage to work well for the dismay of the admin before Camerupt got a hit with the beam right on its face as Metang was pushed to the air by Squirtle's Surf.

?Red, attack Camerupt with Surf!? Wes yelled. ?It should take it out with one hit!?

Red blinked confused before he understood. ?Squirtle, go to Camerupt and use Surf!?

?Metang, stop that turtle from harming Camerupt!? Dakim yelled as Metang floated forward to Squirtle.

?And you stop Metang from interrupting, Espeon!? Wes yelled at Espeon. The Sun Pok?mon growled a bit before he dashed towards the Psychic and Steel type Pok?mon.

?Are you stupid? Psychic attacks won't hurt Metang!? Dakim yelled.

Wes grinned. ?I'm letting luck do its part here. Espeon, use Confusion!?

A growl of agreement came from Espeon as he used his psychic attack on Metang. The Sun Pok?mon glowed in a pink aura together with Metang. The flying Pok?mon looked at itself stopping suddenly before it put its steel arms on its head.

Wes chuckled at this. ?What do you know, it got confused, just as I planned.?

?Metang!? Dakim yelled loudly at his Pok?mon, the aura vanishing suddenly. Metang looked around in confusion before it began to slam itself down on the floor recklessly. ?Hey, stop it! You're hurting yourself!?

Red's eyes looked serious once he saw Dakim's attention was on Metang, finding Camerupt looking around to do something about Squirtle. ?Now, use Surf on Camerupt!?

Dakim gasped once he remembered his other Pok?mon. Unfortunately, the admin didn't make it in time to give an order to Camerupt before Squirtle called forth a rising wave underneath his feet, right on its face, causing the volcano-like Pok?mon to scream loudly in pain before Squirtle landed all the way from the back.

Camerupt began to tumble at the sides before it fell down to the right, moaning in pain after receiving the severe super effective attack.

?Camerupt!? Dakim yelled. ?Return!? he yelled as he called back Camerupt to its Pok? Ball. ?Dammit...I need to do this quick... Golem, go!?

The Rock and Ground type was called forth from its Pok? Ball, landing on the floor as it created a small quake before it roared at its opponents.

Wes rolled his eyes. ?Why do you have Pok?mon weak against ours? Red, it?s all yours!?

?R-right,? Red said as he glanced at the Golem. ?Squirtle, use Surf on it as well to finish it off!?

Wes narrowed his eyes as Squirtle went after Golem. ?(I should have noticed before. When Squirtle uses Surf, it doesn?t necessarily call forth a huge wave from behind? To be honest, that?s scientifically impossible, but the way it uses Surf on just one opponent?)?

?Golem, use Protect!? yelled Dakim so Golem would use Protect to shield itself, stopping Squirtle from attacking as he stopped in front of the rock creature.

Wes grunted at this. ?Don?t you know another move than Protect or what? I?m really getting sick of that!?

?Well, too bad for you,? Dakim said. ?This is based on my own strategies, so don?t stick your nose in.?

?Oh, I?ll stick it if I want to,? Wes said as he looked at Metang banging itself on the floor, Espeon waiting for the next order to attack. ?Espeon, come back!?

Espeon?s ears perked up before he ran back behind Wes and towards the other Pok?mon. Taking out another Pok? Ball, Wes tossed it to the air to release Ampharos out. ?Ampharos, come forth!? he yelled.

?Ampharos!? his Pok?mon responded, illuminating its small spheres.

?Now, use Thunderbolt on Metang to take it out!?

Hearing this, Dakim grunted. ?Metang, pull yourself together and us-?

?PROTECT,? Rui, Vander, and Chris repeated bored and aloud.

Ampharos glared at the confused Pok?mon before Ampharos?s spheres began to illuminate with electricity, shooting off blue sparks that went after Metang, colliding with it hardly, Metang began to screech in pain before it slowly landed down on the floor and got knocked out.

?Metang!? Dakim yelled before he stopped the floor. ?Damn you, kid? Return!? he yelled, calling back Metang to its Pok? Ball before tossing another one to the battle. ?Marshtomp, come on out and defeat them!?

The Mud Fish Pok?mon came out from the sphere?s light, saying its name happily as it clapped its hands together. Chris looked at the Marshstomp and chuckled a bit. ?A Marshtomp! Oh, now I want to have my Swampert here with me.?

Rui looked at him. ?You have a Swampert??

?Well, kind of. I raised one bu-?

?Marshtomp, use Mud Shot on Ampharos!? Dakim yelled loudly, making Marshtomp look at Ampharos before shooting out a stream of mud.

Red and Squirtle were still facing the Golem inside Protect. Since the Golem?s Protect kept going, the trainer decided to look at the Marshtomp (while getting its info in the Pok?dex). ?Squirtle, use Water Gun on the attack!?

Squirtle turned around and nodded before shooting out a stream of water that collided with Mud Shot, making the mud fall down on the floor, saving Ampharos from the attack.

Wes knew that Ampharos didn?t have any good attacks for both Ground types. ?Ampharos, return!? Wes yelled, returning the Electric type to his sphere. ?Go, Jumpluff!?

Back with Espeon, Umbreon, and Pikachu, the 3 resumed the discussion and narration.

?(Let me think more?)? Espeon said. ?(Now you know Wes was an orphan that was raised by that old man, right?)?

?(Yeah, I know that now,)? Pikachu said.

?(The old man is not worth mentioning because we barely know about him,)? Umbreon said. ?(How about if we continue from where we left?)?

Espeon thought for a moment. ?(?Wait, everything started to change after that memory, don?t you remember?)?

Umbreon thought before he got what Espeon was thinking. ?(You mean the day someone approached Wes?)?

Pikachu?s ears perked up. ?(Did someone meet Wes before?)?

Both of Wes?s Pok?mon nodded. ?(Right, now I recall the event,)? Umbreon said. ?(Like a month after he found us, Wes kept doing his thievery to feed us both.)?

?(Wes is a good runner. He used that advantage in order to steal food and things from people before they would look,)? Espeon explained. ?(Sometimes, people would spot him, but all those times were easy for him due to the fact he hid very well from the police of the town.)?

Umbreon closed his eyes. ?(One day, someone came?)?

Flashback

Pyrite Town
Streets

Pok?mon Colosseum ? Outskirt Stand

A month had passed ever since the day that Umbreon and Espeon narrated. Wes and the 2 Eevees were hidden in another different alley that didn?t look that different from the previous one. The 3 apparently had stolen more food from another shop before somebody could see them.

?(I have to say that the shops were poorly guarded,)? Umbreon pointed out. ?(The whole town?s security was really poor. Once Espeon and I were found by Wes, we grew up a little bit enough to help Wes to steal more food.)?

Espeon chuckled. ?(Even if we were doing little crimes, it was fun to follow Wes.)?

?(You both befriended him very quickly,)? Pikachu said.

?(Yeah,)? Umbreon said.

?That shopkeeper was as clueless as the last one,? Wes said to the 2 Eevees sitting besides him while they all ate oranges. ?Nobody can see us at all, don?t you think??

?Eee!? the Eevees squeaked happily, making Wes smile a bit at them with a chuckle.

?Yeah, you guys aren?t that bad,? Wes said as he took a bite of the orange on his right hand. ?You?re fast enough.?

?Ee,? an Eevee (Umbreon) said with a nod before continuing to bite the orange in front of him.

Wes looked back at his orange and stared blankly at it. ??You know??

The 2 Eevees stopped eating and looked at him.

??I?m getting a little bit sick of doing this every day?? Wes muttered, blinking at the orange. ?It?s always the same thing, isn?t??

The 2 Eevees looked at each other.

?We wake up, we search for a shop with food, we steal the food, we retreat and hide in the alleys, we play a little bit in there, and then we go to sleep?? Wes summarized. ??I hate to do that, but it?s the only way to survive these conditions we?re in?? He looked around the alley. ?I myself am feeling upset for stealing, you know??

??Eee?? the Eevees said worried in unison.

Wes embraced his knees as he stared at the orange. ??I never knew who my parents were?I was raised by an old man I barely knew?I started to live all by myself until I found you 2?I?ve resumed the same things I do every day?? He closed his eyes. ?I?I?m starting to think I had bad luck?or we have bad luck to live??

The 2 Eevees looked worried at Wes.

?We don?t know anyone for that matter,? Wes muttered. ?Nobody ever came to us to meet us because we?re thieves. I hate to be a thief, but it?s the only way I can survive with you,? he said. ?I don?t want to keep living like this any longer?? he muttered before he moved his face down. ??I hate this!? he yelled, startling the Eevees. ?Why can?t I live in a good house with a family?!? he asked before he started crying.

The 2 Eevees looked at each other and leaned their faces by each side of the young kid. Wes lifted up his face to reveal he was crying a bit. The 2 Evolution Pok?mon gasped a bit.

?Y-you don?t know either?? Wes asked as he sniffed. ?I have to admit it, we weren?t meant to live at all, right?!?

?Eee!? the Eevees shook their heads.

?Then for what are we good for? I don?t see why we should stop stealing things like this!? Wes yelled before he tossed the orange to the wall, splattering it all over the place. ?I really, REALLY hate this!?

?(Wes got all sad from all the things he said, right?)? Pikachu asked.

?(Yes,)? Espeon said depressed. ?(We knew that he would soon enough say something like that? He has been making faces every time we stole something from others. Umbreon and I could tell Wes was getting tired from a long time now.)?

?(It must?ve been so hard to live in those conditions.)?

?(You don?t have an idea of what we went through in those days?)? Espeon said in shame.

?(If he didn?t yell like that, we wouldn?t probably have let the person who found him come to us?)? Umbreon said.

?(You mean that same day was the day you met that mysterious person?)? Pikachu asked.

?(?That?s the whole reason to explain everything,)? Espeon said. ?(The same day Wes cried was the same day he came around into the alley?)?

The 2 Eevees rubbed their faces against Wes's sides. The sobbing kid looked at each other and calmed down for a bit. A small and silent chuckle came Wes before a shadow rose from the light coming from the other side of the alley.

"Huh? Who's there?" Wes asked, spotting a large shadow that stared at him from the other side of the alley. The Eevees blinked scared as they hid behind Wes while the figure chuckled a bit.

From what he could tell, the figure was really tall. Once the person began to walk forward, Wes managed to notice a small red vest that the person wore. The kid could see a lot more than before. The person that walked to him wore a small red vest, exposing his muscles, he had pointy brown eyebrows and mustache (both being really long in length), wore black pants and black boots, and his head was bald, wearing some kind of earphones. The person stood around 6"11' judging by his height.

Wes embraced himself even more as he looked up scared at the person, an amused look on his face.

"Hey, kid," the person spoke in a somewhat deep voice. "Nice to meet you at last."

Wes shook a bit and gulped. "W-who are you? W-what do you want with me?"

The person chuckled and knelt down to take a closer look to the kid and the Eevees. "Oh, don't be scared, I won't hurt you or your Pok?mon."

The Eevees shook in fear together with Wes. The man before them looked intimidating by his height and muscles combined. What if he wanted to do something to them?

"...O-okay," Wes said with a gulp. "W-why are you here?"

The man grinned. "I saw you a lot of times running to the alleys with those 2 you have there," he said as he pointed at the 2 Eevees. "And I must say, you have a good speed. Your legs surely are strong."

Wes took a glance to his dirty legs before looking back at him, the Eevees trying to hide themselves more behind his left leg. "T-thanks, but why did you want to come here and talk to me?"

The man made Wes gasp once he let his left hand pat Wes's right shoulder. "I came here to meet you in person."

"...Yes?" Wes said.

"Of course," the man said with a nod. "You see, I've been visiting this town for a while now. I've seen you and your Pok?mon stealing food from the nearby shops."

Wes and the Eevees gasped. "W-wait, you're not going to turn me in to the police, right? T-they'll do something bad to me if you do!"

"...Hahahahahahahahaha!" the man laughed, making Wes grab the Eevees to hug them in fear. "Why would I do such a foolish thing?"

Wes and the Eevees' eyes widened in surprise after the muscular man told them that. "...What? You're not going to turn us all to the police?"

The man stopped laughing before looking back at him. "Oh no, I don't want to do that."

Wes tried to stare at him blankly. "T-then what do you want with me?"

The man looked around the dirty alley. "You live here in this dump?"

"W-well, yes, there isn't any other place like a home we can go..." Wes muttered, looking worried at the Eevees.

"Do you..." the man grinned, "...want to live in a house or a place you can call home?"

"...Huh?" Wes blinked surprised at the stranger. "W-what?"

"You heard me right," the man said. "You know, you seem to have a lot of potential to do certain jobs in order to get yourself a good life," he said. "And by the looks of it, you have what it takes to be something more important besides being a petty thief."

"(If I was an Umbreon back then, I would have bitten off his face...)" Umbreon muttered with rage.

"(Calm down, we have to keep explaining what happened after that,)" Espeon reminded him.

Wes looked away worried with the Eevees.

"Ahh, don't turn away from me," the man said, using a finger to move Wes's face back to look at him. "I'm a nice person who wants to give you 3 a place to call home."

Wes moved the finger away and looked worried at him. "W-why should I trust you, anyway?" he asked. "You're a stranger who came to me from nowhere..."

"Kid..." the man trailed off as he gave him a sincere smile. "I don't want to hurt you. In fact, I was to...hmm...what's the word..." The man wondered for a bit. "...Oh, right!" He looked back at Wes. "I want you to come and join me."

"...Join you?" Wes repeated in confusion. "For...for what?"

"You see, you're speaking to the leader of a very feared organization of thieves," the man said with a grin as he pointed at himself with a thumb. "The name's Gonzap, leader of Team Snagem, kid. I'm glad to meet such a kid with the ability to be a worthy thief of mention."

"(Recalling makes me want to bite off his face even MORE, you know,)" Umbreon muttered.

"(Will you just shut it?)" Espeon asked annoyed.

Wes got a frightened look after knowing that the man was the leader of a supposedly feared organization of thieves. "W-what? Y-you're the leader of a gang?"

"Exactly!" Gonzap said proudly. "Isn't that a big honor for you, kid?"

Wes shook a bit with the Eevees. "M-more like a big scare..."

"You don't worry," Gonzap reassured him. "Like I said before, I won't hurt any of you."

"..." Wes remained silent, trembling in fear with the 2 Eevees.

Gonzap rolled his eyes. "Kid, really, I'm not here to hurt you or something," he said. "I want to offer you a job with me team so you can have  place to call home."

"..." Wes looked down. "...But...I...I don't know what to do..." he muttered. "What if you're tricking me?"

"I'm NOT tricking you," Gonzap said. "I saw the potential hidden in you, and I want to help you exploit it so you can become a very important person in my team." He messed Wes's hair a bit. "Besides, just look at you! Once you grow up, you're surely going to be one great thief!"

"...But...I don't want to be a thief anymore..." Wes said. "It's...it's wrong..."

"It's wrong if it doesn't benefit you," Gonzap said. "What we do in our hideout are things that we HAVE to do in order to be powerful. Don't you want to have all the power you want so people don't look at you the wrong way?"

"(I...want...to...kill...him...off...now...)" Umbreon panted heavily.

Espeon sighed. "(Just ignore him. I have better control in my attitude than him...)"

"All the power...I want?" Wes repeated. "I'm not so sure if I want people to fear me..."

"I'm telling you, life is sweet that way," Gonzap said with a chuckle. "The people that used to mess with me now become frightened if I throw a punch at them."

"(With those big muscles, who wouldn't get scared?)" Wes thought.

"Don't you want people to give you anything you want from them?" Gonzap asked. "The first path to achieve that is to join me."

Wes looked miffed at him. "B-but...this is just so sudden..." Wes looked down at his Eevees. "I...I just want to have a life where I can live somewhere peaceful...and probably find something I'm good at..."

"You're good at running," Gonzap said. "Thieves are experts in running. You have the requirements to be a great thief, kid."

"Ee..." the Eevees said worried in unison.

Gonzap looked at the 2 and grinned a bit. "Those 2 are your Pok?mon, I presume?"

Wes hopped a bit and looked at him. "W-well, I found them abandoned one day and I've been taking care of them ever since... I guess you could say they're my first Pok?mon I have..."

"...Tell me something, kid..."

"...Yeah?"

"Have you heard of Pok?mon battles before?"

Wes gasped and looked surprised. "W-well, yeah! I-I've seen a lot of those battles at the Duel Square in here!" He smiled a bit. "I always sneak close and hide to watch the battle with different people and Pok?mon. I always get so excited to see a lot of Pok?mon!"

Gonzap chuckled at this reaction, making Wes return to his scared state with his Pok?mon. "I can tell you'd like to battle and have Pok?mon battles on your own, right?"

The kid looked down at his 2 frightened Eevees before looking back at Gonzap. "...I don't know... I don't want to risk their lives in battles... I mean, they're just babies..."

"Fast babies, though," Gonzap remarked. "Those 2 may as well be very healthy for living in such poor conditions."

"...I...thank you..." Wes trailed off worried, sneezing a bit.

"Oh no, you're going to get ill if you continue to live here," Gonzap said. "Come with me."

"B-but what if you're..."

"Kid, kid, kid, I'm giving you an offer of a lifetime!" Gonzap said with some annoyance. "There's a door opened for you to take so you can live somewhere better than this dump! Tell me, don't you want to give those 2 Eevees a good home as well?"

Wes gasped and looked down at the 2 Eevees. Both Evolution Pok?mon shivered a bit as they moved closer to each other.

"(I curse that stupid chilling feeling for not letting me do somethi-)"

"(Geez, you won't just drop it, right?)" interrupted Espeon with a frown.

"I see a lot of potential in those 2 as you, kid," Gonzap said. "If you train them good enough one of these days, they'll become strong Pok?mon in no time."

Wes looked back at Gonzap. "...You mean it?"

Gonzap chuckled. "Well, how can I tell if we haven't done any progress yet?"

Wes's eyes drifted away from Gonzap's face. The kid closed his eyes to focus his thoughts about the offer that he was given by the leader of Team Snagem. Thinking hard, Wes covered his head with his hands.

"I'm going to be honest with you," Gonzap continued. "Many people under my hand aren't that nice with each other. In fact, they're so evil that they'd surely kick you around."

Wes's thoughts came to a halt as he gasped.

"But you don't worry about them," Gonzap reassured Wes. "I'll ALWAYS keep you close to me so those knuckleheads don't mess with you. They become Torchics once they see me close to them. They're like Growlithes because they listen to everything I say. You know what this means?"

"N-no..." Wes said a little bit frightened.

"You're going to be second-in-command of the whole hideout alongside me," Gonzap said with a grin. "You'll have a taste of my leadership in your hands, you're going to be respected by a lot of members, your Pok?mon and you will have a good home, and you'll work for special missions as well!" he said with a laugh. "What do you say? A really big door opened for you!"

"(I should have REALLY bitten his mustache off when I had th-)"

"(Knock it off or I'm REALLY going to shut you down by force this time,)" threatened Espeon.

Pikachu looked bored. "(And here I thought I met a good Umbreon for once...)"

Wes looked back at the shivering Eevees. The kid thought about the offer some more. If he accepted, he would leave the alleys to leave in a better place, but his thievery would continue. Gonzap looked threatening, but he seemed to be honest with him. Besides, Wes really liked to take care of the Eevees. Surely, providing them a place inside a building would be better than the alley.

"...I...I...I accept..." Wes muttered before smiling a bit at Gonzap. "...I think I can trust you..."

Gonzap, after hearing this, grinned at Wes and patted his right shoulder a little bit hard. "That's what I wanted to hear from you! Hahahahahaha, kid, you just made the right choice!"

Wes couldn't help but smile down at the Eevees. The 2 Pok?mon smiled a bit at him after seeing his happy expression.

"(And I would have said "No, you idiot! He's taking you to the wrong path!" before biting off Gonzap's fac-)"

"(That's it, I'm not going to mind you anymore,)" Espeon said annoyed.

Pulling himself back, Wes tried to stand up, but he couldn't. The boy of the alley looked surprised once Gonzap held out his hand down to help him to get up. Wes slowly took his hand before he got pulled back on his feet. Wes looked down at the Eevees before Gonzap messed up his hair a little bit more. "H-hey, stop that..." Wes muttered with a chuckle.

"Nah, you're enjoying it pretty well," Gonzap said. "Your hair's a weakpoint. I'll strike it down a lot."

And thus Wes's hair got messed up even further as he began to laugh a bit with Gonzap. The 2 Eevees looked at each other and chuckled together as the leader of Team Snagem patted Wes's small back.

"We're giving you some good clothes as well," Gonzap said. "I don't want the guys to laugh at your current clothes. Hmm, you like red vests? You'd look good in one."

"E-er, no..." Wes muttered.

As Wes and the Eevees looked up at Gonzap with a happy expression, the leader took them all out from Pyrite Town, where they headed off to the east after Wes and the Eevees were taken to a car that they rode with Gonzap.

"(Please, stop it already!)" growled Umbreon. "(I don't want to leave this place and go to take Gonzap down!)"

"(Geez, what's the matter with you?)" Pikachu asked.

Mt. Battle
Area 1

Present

Espeon frowned. "(My guess is that Umbreon's hatred to Gonzap is coming back to him.)"

Umbreon glared at him. "(You should know as well as me here, Espeon! We know Gonzap was tricking Wes all along from the very beginning!)"

"(Calm down, why don't you?)" Espeon asked before looking back at Pikachu. "(We're getting to Wes's turning point in his life. You'll need to calm down and let me continue so Pikachu can understand Wes's past more we-)"

"Dammit!"

The sudden yell from afar made them look back to the battle where Marshtomp, after receiving a fatal attack from Jumpluff's Mega Drain, fainted along with Golem, who fainted after Squirtle used a single Surf that proved severely super effective on it. Both Pok?mon fell down on the floor with knocked out expressions before Dakim called them back, his anger rising up as Wes grinned at him while Red sighed in relief.

"Well, it looks like you're almost going to be defeated," taunted Wes with a grin as he crossed his arms. "I guess you can take out the Shadow Pok?mon you have with you."

Dakim narrowed his eyes at him. "Well, you're a really good guesser, meddling kid."

Wes rolled his eyes. "The fact that you're an admin means you should have at least 1 Shadow Pok?mon in your team. Judging that you're an admin, then that means the Shadow Pok?mon that you have is very strong. If you ask me, that'd be something I'd like to fight. I like challenges."

Red looked away. "(This guy really likes extreme things, doesn't he?)"

For Red's surprise, Dakim chuckled a bit before he took out a Pok? Ball. "Alright, Wes, other guy whose name I have yet to hear, it's time for you 2 to face the wrath of my Shadow Pok?mon."

"I'll face its wrath once I snag it from you," Wes said annoyed. "I'm seeing my grave, but I'll avoid it."

Rui looked bored at him. "Geez, you don't have to show that depression either."

"Sorry, but this is really going to be this way," Wes said with a frown.

?Enough of this,? Dakim said as he tossed the sphere into the floor. ?Go, Pok? Ball!?

Red, Wes, Rui, Chris, Vander, and the  Pok?mon behind them watched as a big light came out from the Pok? Ball. It was not long before something roared that came from the light itself. Once the light vanished, Wes and Red (taking out his Pok?dex) gasped when they saw the Pok?mon before them...

?(...Holy crap!)? Pikachu commented.

?(Isn't that...)? Espeon trailed off.

?(Oh my goodness, now isn't that some Pok?mon?)? Umbreon thought.

There was, right on the field, no one else than one of the three Legendary Dogs: Entei, the Volcano Pok?mon.

?...Entei?? Wes said in surprise as the Entei stood proudly. ?How in the world did you get your hands on Entei??

Red looked at his Pok?dex. ?Watch out, it says here that when he roars, a volcano erupts!?

Chris rolled his eyes. ?Red, this isn't the time to say the info about Entei...?

Rui gulped. ?B-but Entei? Seriously? I-I thought it lived somewhere else than this region!?

?It's...unbelievable...? Vander said in surprise at the sight of the Volcano Pok?mon. ?I didn't think I'd see an Entei here...?

Dakim crossed his arms. ?Impressive, isn't?? he asked. ?Cipher has been looking for these Pok?mon in other regions besides Orre. I've obtained my Entei from them.?

Rui's eyes blinked to examine the Entei. ?...It's a Shadow Pok?mon, Wes!?

?Just as I expected...? Wes muttered with a grin. ?Heheheh, Entei will be quite the prize if I manage to snag it from you.?

?Don't you dare do that sort of thing!? Dakim yelled angrily as he pointed forward to them. ?Now, Entei, prepare for battle!?

Entei responded by roaring wildly at the 2 trainers and their Pok?mon on field. Recalling that Entei was a Fire type, Wes returned the scared Jumpluff to its Pok? Ball before releasing another different Pok?mon out. ?Go, Sudowoodo!?

The Rock type Pok?mon came out from the sphere, looking cheerfully as it shook its hands around.

Red looked a little bit concerned about Entei. According to the Pok?dex, Entei was one of  the many Legendary Pok?mon of all times. The trainer looked at his Squirtle trembling in fear at the sight of the big fire dog.

Chris watched as Red returned Squirtle back to his Pok? Ball for safety. However, the World Traveler's eyes widened once Red grabbed another different Pok? Ball from his belt...the Master Ball.

?R-Red?? Chris began with a gulp. ?W-what are you doing with that??

Red looked at him over his left shoulder. ?I have to it sooner so we can defeat Entei, right??

?B-but what if he kills us??

Red lowered his hat. ?...I'll accept the whole fault, then...?

?What are you doing?? Wes asked, narrowing his eyes. ?We have to start the battle against that Entei.?

Chris and Pikachu looked shocked once Red decided to toss the Master Ball in front of him. The 3 characters literally watched their whole lives flash by in front of the eyes as another light came out from the Master Ball, releasing a big image besides Sudowoodo. Red, gulping, looked serious at the light before him.

?...What the?!? Vander said in disbelief.

Rui covered her mouth. ?O-oh my goodness, isn't that Pok?mon...?

Espeon's eyes looked shocked. ?(What in the world is it doing here?)?

Umbreon growled a bit. ?(What the hell? He had THAT Pok?mon with him?)?

Pikachu looked miffed. ?(Oh Arceus, now we're doomed in some way or another.)?

Wes's eyes widened in shock and surprise once he looked at the Pok?mon before Red. ?...How in the world did you...?

The Psychic Pok?mon looked at all of them with his glare. There was a hint of fury in his eyes as he examined his surroundings for a bit before turning around to find Entei and a surprised Dakim staring at him. Red, gulping again, tried his best to talk with the tall Pok?mon before him.

?M-Mewtwo...? Red began. ?A-are you ready to fight??

Mewtwo slowly turned his head to look at Red over his right shoulder, his eyes locking on him.

Red gulped. ?P-please, you have to get over it now...? he muttered as Wes watched the Pok?mon carefully from his spot, along with a somewhat frightened Sudowoodo.

?...? Mewtwo just narrowed his eyes at him.

Red pointed forward. ?Mewtwo, I chose you to fight Entei! Please, listen!?

?(...I'm not going to listen to you,)? Mewtwo called telepathically. ?(I reconsidered after you captured me when I least expected.)?

?(...What?)? Red asked. ?(You ACTUALLY found forgiveness to me?)?

?(If you don't do this sort of thing again, I'll promise I won't try to slam your head at the nearby rock wall of this mountain.)?

Even if he wasn't going to do it on Red, the trainer's eyes widened as he sweated in fear.

?...Would you stop the creepy silence and just fight?? Chris asked, deciding to break the silence of the place.

Wes shook his head and looked back at Entei. ?Okay, there's no time to waste and see this Mewtwo. Dakim, be prepared!?

Dakim looked back at Wes. ?Well, I'll be a lot prepared this time! After finding such a rare Pok?mon on field, I'm going to pummel you 2 down so I can take Mewtwo and turn him into a Shadow Pok?mon!?

Hearing this, Mewtwo crossed his arms with a glare aiming at the wary Entei.

Dakim laughed for a bit before pointing at Mewtwo. ?Entei, use Shadow Rush on Mewtwo!?

Wes yelled back, ?Sudowoodo, use Rock Slide!?

?Mewtwo!? Red yelled.

?(Shut up,)? Mewtwo interrupted with a cold tone.

Red took a step back and nodded frightened of his owned and yet not his Pok?mon.

[DededeCloneChris]

?(I recall more,)? Espeon admitted. ?(Gonzap wasn't the one who changed Wes, but the people of the hideout were the ones who changed him...)?

Some years passed in the hideout, around the time where Wes was 12...

It had been a long time after Wes first came to the hideout. The kid had grown used to the place of thieves as Gonzap's second-in-command. Every member respected Wes a lot, and that also included his Eevees.

However, there was something Wes wasn't allowed to do...

?What do you mean I need to wait a little bit longer to participate in missions alone?? asked Wes as he stood on the other side of Gonzap's desk.

The leader nodded to Wes. ?I'm afraid you need a little more training before I send you out to do missions by yourself, Wes.?

Wes rolled his eyes before looking away. ?Seriously, I'm getting a little bit sick of doing the sorting out of the hideout,? he admitted, looking down at his Eevees.

?(Back then, we were babies, but when years passed, we finally grew up a little,)? Umbreon explained.

?(We were cubs before Wes reached 12,)? Espeon said. ?(However...)?

Wes stared at his Eevees' cheerful faces before turning to Gonzap. ?How do you think I'm going to train my Eevees? The members in here are reckless in training their own  Pok?mon. In fact, I've seen punishing quite badly.?

Gonzap. ?Those idiots never learn, you know that well, Wes.?

?But still...? Wes made a fist. ?I want to train my Eevees so they can evolve someday...?

?Have you studied how battles work??

?Yes, I did,? Wes said. ?And I found out a lot about an Eevee's evolutionary forms. There are 5 known, but I've heard there are more out there...? Wes looked back at his Eevees. ?It's hard to find Water Stones, Thunderstones, and Fire Stones in this region, so I figured out I could make them evolve into an Espeon and Umbreon.?

Gonzap grinned. ?Yeah, they look tough, alright.?

?That's what I'm saying,? Wes said as he opened his arms a bit at Gonzap. ?I want them to become strong enough to allow me to go solo.?

Gonzap sighed. ?Even so, you need to wait a little bit longer and participate on missions together with the others... You're the leader of a small group of them, remember??

?Yeah, but they make me sick a bit,? Wes admitted.

?I do think they're a little bit weird,? Gonzap said. ?Hell, they do nasty things when I'm not looking. They get punished for that, though.?

?...? Wes closed his eyes and sighed with a frown. ?Fine, I'll wait a little more... You have to keep your word, though.?

Gonzap smiled at him. ?You don't worry, Wes. You'll see soon enough what I have for you.?

Wes looked at him. ?What does that even mean??

?You'll see, my son, you'll see...?

?(If we had found out sooner...)? Umbreon trailed off. ?(Things wouldn't have turned out so badly...)?

?(What do you mean by that?)? Pichu asked.

?(Well, thing is...)? Espeon trailed off.

As Wes turned around, something in his mind triggered by itself after he remembered something. ?...By the way,? Wes began before turning around. ?I've seen some people coming in here yesterday...?

Gonzap stared blankly at him. ?Oh, you mean the guys in ridiculous blue and purple suits with helmets??

?Yeah, those,? Wes said. ?What were they doing here? I mean, you let them come in here? Isn't that going to risk the hideout's whereabouts??

The leader of Team Snagem shook his head before standing up, dragging Wes's sight to look up at him. ?They're some benefactors that are helping us.?

?Benefactors in what??

Gonzap chuckled. ?They provide us with some technology we have exclusively for us. They've been coming here for quite a long time now, even before you came here, Wes.?

Wes crossed his arms. ?Should I know more about them??

Gonzap chuckled again. ?Nah, not yet.?

?Not yet? You're being a little bit vague...dad...?

?(I SO wanted to bite Wes's left leg when he said dad,)? Umbreon said annoyed, Espeon ignoring him.

Gonzap walked around the table before patting Wes's right shoulder. ?You'll see soon enough, boy. There's something I want you to do.?

?...What?? Wes raised an eyebrow. ?I'm someone who can do something special? Because the only things I do here are really petty crimes likes stealing big supplies of food or furniture. By the way, some of them broke the new Kanto Table we recently stole from that truck the other day.?

Gonzap cursed loudly in his mind. He really liked the table.

?(...Was it necessary to say that he liked a table from Kanto?)? Jigglypuff asked.

Espeon chuckled a bit. ?(I knew he liked it very much. He went as far as to yell the whole people in there after talking to Wes.)?

Gonzap's grin didn't fade. ?You don't worry, boy. For now, you have to find out a way to train your Eevees so they become strong  Pok?mon. Can you do that, Wes??

Wes thought for a moment before grinning at Gonzap. ?Of course I can do that. There are other ways to train  Pok?mon rather than pitting them against the others here.?

?Yep, you certainly can find another way,? Gonzap said. ?I have to leave for now. I want to get you an ?advanced? birthday present when you hit 13.?

Wes blinked at him. ?A birthday present? Wow, what are you gonna give me for a present? The recent parties were...a disaster, you know.?

Gonzap sighed depressed. "Remind me never to bring any beer in here, please..."

Wes rolled his eyes. "That's something that someone would expect with those guys you have here..."

"Yeah," Gonzap said before remembering something important he had to do. "...If you'll excuse me, I need to give an important order to the guys..."

Wes obeyed as he sat down on the couch with his Eevees. He began to rub their heads slowly as Gonzap calmly went downstairs.

After that...

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU BREAK MY KANTO TABLE?! ANSWER ME!!!"

Wes and the Eevees got a little bit startled, looking around at the echoing voice from the leader of Team Snagem. People began to scream as bones breaking apart were heard, along with louder screams that made the Eevees hide underneath a cushion. The young member just remained there, looking at the floor as chaos ensued in the first floor.

After that, explosions were heard...

"...Hyper Beam from Crawdaunt..." Wes muttered as explosions shook the building. The trainer sighed as even more explosions came afterward. "...It's incredible that he can keep a very calm attitude around me, though..."

"(We're thankful that we weren't subjects of Gonzap's rage,)" Espeon said. "(We would've died, then...)"

"(You better get to the point of this talk,)" Mewtwo said. "(Something came up from somewhere in here, and it doesn't look good.)"

"(What is that?)" Ivysaur asked.

"(I have yet to know, but give me more time to concentrate.)"

Espeon nodded. "(Right, we'll move up to Wes's 13th birthday...)"

Canyon

"...No...way..."

"Yep, this vehicle was specifically made for your to use only. It'll make you look like a real admin of Team Snagem. What do you have to say for your present?"

"...3 words: Best. Gift. Ever."

A grin of proudness formed in Gonzap.

Wes's eyes were shaking in excitement as he and the Eevees saw before them a machine monster. The young member looked at the long bike with the rider's seat and the passenger's seat along with the long motor.

"A beaut, isn't it?" Gonzap asked. "Yep, the boys did a pretty good job at making this. I'm telling you, Wes, hovering technology is hard to find these days. This special motorbike can hover along the ground while going at a speed of 150/mph."

"...Frickin' sweet," Wes responded, his eyes' sight glued on the bike.

Gonzap chuckled as he walked to the other side and touched the passenger's seat. "Even I went as far as to tell them to make this seat for either your Eevees, a guy you want to take along, or maybe your first love."

"..First love?!" Wes asked shocked before sticking out his tongue. "Nah, I won't fall in love with a girl, ever..."

"Hahahahahahaha! We'll see about that!" Gonzap taunted Wes, making the young member sulk a bit at this. "You can turn out quite pretty for one. What's so bad about it?"

Wes looked at him from the corner of his topaz eyes. "Will you please drop the girl talk now?"

Gonzap walked to Wes and patted his back, making Wes grin a bit. "Y'know, I'm not stoppin' you. Go get 'em, tiger."

Wes pushed Gonzap's big hand away and chuckled. "Like I said, I won't fall in love."

"Can I add yet in your statement?" Gonzap asked, looking down at the Eevees with a wink. The 2 Evolution Pok?mon looked happy at him, which made him wink a bit at them. "Your Eevees want the best for you."

"NO," Wes said with a small laugh.

"(That's it, skip the good times with Gonzap!)" demanded Umbreon. "(I'm going to get sick, or maybe get a disease!)"

"(Have I told you that you have the weirdest friend?)" Mewtwo asked.

"(You get used to him,)" Espeon said as Umbreon muttered a curse.

After the 2 played with each other (to the point they began to push shoulders away with punches, Gonzap actually pushing Wes down by accident sometimes), Wes looked back at the long motorbike.

"So, can I ride on it yet?" Wes asked.

"Hmm..." Gonzap crossed his arms to think.

"C'mon, you just gave me a bike," Wes said. "It's be shame if you just showed it to me and prevent me from using it."

"...I'm not too sure..." Gonzap admitted, making Wes look annoyed at him. "You're still too young to drive around that by yourself, Wes. Maybe I should drive it first so you get the ropes."

Wes thought for a moment. "...I wouldn't want to die the first try..." he muttered before looking at Gonzap. "Fine, you ride it and give a tutorial for that matter."

"You got that," Gonzap said with a grin. "Take your Eevees with you. We're gonna hit the road around the canyon in this baby."

"Alright," Wes said, trying to look cool.

Gonzap and the Eevees shared glances. "What, you trying to look tough?"

Wes grinned at him and crossed his arms. "You wanted me to become tough and intimating, right? Well, I'm trying my best here."

"(Objection!)" Umbreon interrupted. "(There's a contradiction in your statement, Espeon. I thought We-)"

"(He didn't EXACTLY get his attitude from Gonzap,)" Espeon interrupted. "(Now, be quiet for 10 minutes and let me continue. If you remember something good, tell me then. If you rant, I'll use Return on you.)"

"(Pfft, I have a lot of Defense, anyway...)" Umbreon muttered.

The trainer of Team Snagem and his Eevees rode the beast machine with Gonzap. The leader of Team Snagem revved up the motor in front of him before it began to accelerate, turning around the canyon that they were behind to hide the hideout. Wes and the Eevees became very fascinated as the motorbike began to pick up speed overtime. Gonzap had to put on some goggles in his eyes to prevent sand from getting in them. From the corner of his eyes, he looked to his left where Wes and the Eevees had their mouths opened in awe.

"Close your mouths before you get sand in!" Gonzap yelled.

"What?" Wes asked. "Pfppt, bluhlhf, pfpfpft!" Sand got in his mouth. The Eeves took this accident as an example before shutting their mouths.

"Priceless," muttered Gonzap as he accelerated.

"(Wes had grown very well,)" Espeon said. "(Even if we did petty crimes, he still enjoyed to do something. Having a home also helped, too.)"

"(Espeon, could we please move on to the important stuff?)" Umbreon asked annoyed.

"(Look, I'm trying to give them all the info I can think of,)" Espeon said. "(Besides, I'm about to reach the following years where Wes changed.)"

"(And I'm afraid that'll have to wait another time,)" Mewtwo interrupted.

The Under
Town

All the Pok?mon in the alley looked back at the Psychic Pok?mon. "(Why's that?)" Umbreon asked.

Mewtwo looked back at the small streets of the town and narrowed his eyes. "(There's a familiar presence coming from the colisseum. Actually, I can detect a lot of them coming this way... Wait...)" Mewtwo closed his eyes. "(...Charizard...)"

Squirtle and Ivysaur quickly stood up. "(What? Is that guy somewhere around here?)" Ivysaur asked.

The rest of the the group quickly stood up, except for Espeon and Umbreon who looked confused at the sudden reaction of the whole team. "(Care to...explain to us why you're looking so interested in a Charizard?)"

Pichu and Jigglypuff looked at each other. "(If we tell you, promise you're not going to tell anyone else?)" Pichu asked.

"(We have a pretty big secret, you know,)" Jigglypuff said.

Umbreon rolled his eyes as some of them looked at the street. "(What could be more shocking than Wes losing a battle?)"

5 minutes of explanation later...

Both Espeon and Umbreon looked at each other after the group explained everything to them. "(...You're saying all of you, including the trainers, are here to find some kind of temple from some guys that can travel through universes that they're trying to conquer?)" Umbreon asked.

"(...I'm sorry to say this, but it's hard to believe,)" Espeon said.

Pikachu pointed at Mewtwo.

"(...He helps a bit, I guess,)" Espeon admitted. "(It'd be really strange for Mewtwo to be wandering all the way here. Also, the fact that you can talk to your trainers through your mouths makes it more believable.)"

"(I guess you can stop talking through Lucario's telepathy now,)" Umbreon said. "(You guys surely are more used to talk with your mouths. We can talk to you through our minds, though.)"

"Good, now you know," Mewtwo said before looking back at the street. "Charizard is here, and he got company as well..."

"What can you see?" Pikachu asked.

Mewtwo glowed a bit more. "...Charizard...some people in ridiculous suits...and a woman with some kind of crescent moon floating on her back..."

Everyone looked at each other confused.

"(He surely means the Venus woman that we met through the town's TVs,)" Lucario called from the room. "(She alarmed the whole town about us. She said we were some intruders who got here without permission.)"

"That makes things even harder for us," Squirtle commented.

"Not really," Mewtwo said before stopping glowing. "They're not heading this way at all."

Umbreon looked at him. "(Then where are they heading to?)"

"Around the town," Mewtwo said. "More specifically around the elevator. They're going south from there."

Ivysaur looked serious. "Whatever Charizard is planning to do here, it must be bad."

"Also, if he's going with a human girl, wouldn't she try to capture him because he can talk like us?" Jigglypuff asked.

"I checked, but it seemed that the woman and him were walking close to each other," Mewtwo confirmed. "Frankly speaking, something happened between the 2."

"Should we spy on them or tell everyone?" Pichu asked worried. "I rather tell Red and Chris before going by ourselves..."

The group thought for a moment.

"...Let's face the dude right now," Squirtle said. "But we're calling Red and Chris here. Also..." He looked at Umbreon and Espeon. "Can you guys give us a hand?"

Espeon looked at Umbreon. "(Well, Mewtwo mentioned something about some guys wearing ridiculous costumes. How did they look like?)"

"They were all wearing blue and purple suits," Mewtwo said.

"(...Cipher,)" Umbreon and Espeon said bored.

Umbreon looked at them. "(If Cipher's involved, then we may as well go with you, too.)"

"Cool," Ivyaur said. "Now, we need to find a way to convince Wes and Rui from coming. I don't think they're going to believe us at all."

Umbreon showed his right paw at them. "(Why bother? We have a plan to make them come.)"

"You do?" Pikachu asked.

"(Of course we do,)" Espeon said. "(You just need to tell this to Red and Chris. After you tell this to them, then...)"

The Under Hotel

Some sounds like someone trying to scramble around a room to get some stuff started to come from Red and Chris's rooms. The 2 trainers suddenly ran out in hurry with the group of Pok?mon. The loud sounds reached over to Wes and Rui's rooms.

"Mommy, don't let me get near that Tauros because it's gonna bite my short skirt again, the pervert..." Rui muttered as she moved to the right.

"ESPEON!" Espeon yelled loudly, being the one inside her room.

"IT'S BITING IT! HELP!" The teen girl quickly gasped and got up, looking around confused before staring at Espeon. "W-what? W-why did you just yell, Espeon?!"

Espeon grunted a bit before he ran off from her room in a hurry.

"H-hey, wait up! Where are you going?!" Rui asked as she looked around for her boots.

"Umbreon, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Wes was heard yelling from his room before its door opened as Umbreon ran away from the hotel with Espeon. "Umbreon, Espeon, what is wrong with you 2?!" Wes asked angered before he came to Rui's room, looking a little bit tired. "Rui, did Espeon just run away randomly?"

Rui looked worried. "I-I dunno, he just started to get upset..."

Wes grunted annoyed and looked back at the exit. "Dammit, we have to follow them. We can't let them go out in this kind of town."

Rui blushed a bit before covering her face with the bed sheet. "A-and put some pants on. I can see your boxers!"

Wes cursed mentally in his mind before he ran away to his room to get himself dressed, Rui doing the same.

Town

Red, Chris, and the rest of the Pok?mon were seen running south of the elevator. In a corner, Mewtwo was leaned to the wall with crossed arms. The Psychic Pok?mon looked at the group and decided to follow them.

"You were late," Mewtwo said.

"Hey, I was telling everything to Red," Squirtle said. "I had to tell him everything twice before he understood."

"And Chris was dreaming," Lucario said. "I don't like to interrupt his dreams."

"You didn't want to interrupt his dreams because you heard him muttering that he was surrounded by Riolus," Pikachu said on Chris's right shoulder.

Chris blushed. "H-hey, those are my private dreams. Stop talking about them now!" he yelled embarrased.

Red looked down at Espeon and Umbreon. "Really, thanks for telling us about Wes. The guy creeps me out, but surely something happened in his past that made him like this, right?"

Jigglypuff (on Chris's arms) stared at Espeon before looking at Red. "He says that it's nothing. They want Wes to become more sociable with people as soon as possible."

"There they are!"

The group, without stopping running south on the steel floor, looked back to see an angry Wes and a worried Rui trying to catch up with them.

"Dammit, are you taking Espeon and Umbreon away from me or what?" Wes asked angrily.

"N-no!" Red yelled. "It's not like that! They happened to see more of Cipher members heading down this way!"

"What?" Rui asked. "So they were just perturbed by Cipher?"

The Smashers slowed down a bit to let Wes and Rui catch up. Once Wes ran between Espeon and Umbreon, he looked at Red. "You saw them as well, then?"

"Actually, Lucario did," Red said, trying to cover up the lie. "He alarmed Chris that there were those Cipher guys going down this way. Chris alerted the rest of us and we had to leave in a hurry."

"...I guess that's why Espeon and Umbreon ran out as well," Wes said. "They were worried about you all."

It was time to ask something important for Wes.

"...Were you worried for us, though?" Red asked.

Wes shook his head. "You have pretty powerful Pok?mon with you. Why should I worry, anyway?"

"(You little...)" Red thought upset at the response.

"S-stop!" Rui yelled, halting everyone from running west.

The group had stopped in the south wall of the city. There was only the cold steel floor and the wall. The hotel that they used to rest was 10 feet down below the platform, but they decided to take the long way in order to make Wes and Rui tag along as well.

There was something weird in the small area they were. Some sort of tunnel was silently waiting on the right side of the wall.

"A tunnel?" Rui asked.

"That's weird..." Wes muttered as everyone stared at the dark tunnel. "It's easy to find this tunnel even from a long distance." He turned around. "You can see the tunnel from the elevator."

"But I blame the town," Chris said. "It's pretty dark on this side. The signs' lights barely reach this place as well."

Wes looked back at the tunnel. "That would be the most logical answer, then..." He crossed his arms. "What's so great about this tunnel, anyway?"

Pikachu and Pichu noticed some footprints on the tunnel's ground. The 2 Electric Pok?mon jumped off from Chris's shoulders and pointed at the marks.

"Hey, there are footprints in there," Rui said.

"...Pipipipi!" Pichu got startled as he pointed at some big footprints that looked like feet with claws.

"Those other footmarks look pretty different, though..." Rui muttered. "...A Shadow Pok?mon acting as a guard, maybe?"

"Somebody could have just entered inside some other time, though," Wes said as he thought. "...But the fact that you said the peons went through this path...it's be easy to tell that they went through here."

Lucario began to grunt and show his fangs at the tunnel which made Chris look worried at him. Red looked at Mewtwo's narrow glare.

Wes noticed the 2 Pok?mon's silent but aware behavior. Something about them told him that whatever was on the other side of the tunnel wasn't good.

"...Let's go in," Wes said as he began to walk carefully into the tunnel, making some of them gasp a bit. "Let's go, but let's be careful as well. If there are Cipher members on the other side, then we should be quiet." He stopped walking and turned to them. "Call all your Pok?mon back so we don't make too much noise."

Red and Chris told their Pok?mon to return to their Pok? Ball as Wes did the same for Espeon and Umbreon. The other 3 human characters remained behind, feeling a little bit uneasy about going in.

"Let's go," Wes muttered to them. "Be careful with your steps as well, you got that?"

Once Wes turned around to walk into the tunnel with Rui following suit, Red and Chris looked at each other. "Charizard must be on other side of this tunnel..." Chris whispered.

Red nodded and adjusted his cap. "If I can, I'm going to catch him now."

"But why would he be here, anyway?" Chris asked. "Shouldn't he just attack us right away instead of going through this tunnel?"

"Do you remember this tunnel being here through your...game memory?"

Chris shrugged. "N-no, I don't. In fact, this tunnel wasn't even here before..." He thought for a moment. "...We haven't found the temple yet, have we?"

"No..."

The World Traveler looked back to the tunnel. "...What if..."

The Pallet Town trainer looked serious to the tunnel. "...You don't mean the temple is in there, right?"

"Hey, you 2, hurry up or we're going to leave you behind," Wes's voice called from the tunnel.

The 2 Smashers looked at each other before nodding and going in, wishing to find the temple.

They were unaware that they would soon face another battle against the next Shadow Nightmare thanks to the Subspace subordinate...

Would the Shadow Nightmare go after Red or Chris? It was a mystery for them to know that there was going to be another one, unfortunately...

"...I heard something coming from over there..." Rui muttered as she looked around. "...This tunnel isn't that long..."

The 4 humans found a big boulder that obstructed their way to the other side of the tunnel. Wes could tell that the people that walked through here walked around the boulder. There was another way around the boulder to the big area behind it. For his luck, there was a small visible space where the boulder was against the wall. Closing his left eye, Wes looked through the space to see anything.

The 3 humans stopped walking behind him. "Do you see anything?" Red asked.

"...What the..." Wes muttered.

"...Wes?"

"...I see...Venus...the Cipher members...a Charizard..." Wes trailed off. "...You were right after all..."

"But I don't think that's so surprising," Rui whispered.

"That's not all..." Wes muttered before he looked at them. "I...I found some kind of...ruins...or...some kind of big temple... They were looking at it as well."

Rui looked confused at this, but Red and Chris looked at each other surprised at Wes's finding. "(We found the temple, then!)" Chris thought.

Red knew Chris thought something about the temple. The trainer followed it with his own words in mind.

What were those words?

"(We found the temple, then!)"

TO BE CONTINUED...

...

"Second Liar: ???...What?" Squirtle asked. "Why is the title like this?"

"I don't know," Ivysaur said bored. "To create suspense and destroy whatever the people think will most likely happen?"

"That's evil."

"No, it's promotion to enhance the suspence. They'll eventually fall down on our knees to beg for the answer."

"...You have a pretty twisted mind, did you know that?"

"Yep."

"...Scary."

Do you want to save your data?

Yes

Overwrite File?

Yes

The Under
Chris, Lucario, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Pikachu, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Mewtwo, Red, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Samus, Kirby, Meta Knight, Link, Zelda, Toon Link, Fox, Falco, Wolf, Captain Falcon, Olimar, Marth, Roy, Ike, Ness, Lucas, Pit, Ice Climbers, Snake, Sonic, Chip, Wes, Rui

[Magnum]

So how many chapters did you lose exactly?

[DededeCloneChris]

So how many chapters did you lose exactly?

I lost 2 chapters.

HOWEVER, they're not entirely lost. I have the 2 chapters saved in my CPU and they're also safe at fanfiction.net.

Overall, nothing was lost.

[Magnum]

I lost 2 chapters.

HOWEVER, they're not entirely lost. I have the 2 chapters saved in my CPU and they're also safe at fanfiction.net.

Overall, nothing was lost.

Oh well that's good.
Can't say that I'm a devout reader (I am NOT reading 150 somewhat chapters) but I see some of them occasionally.

[DededeCloneChris]

Chapter 153: Second Liar: ???

The Under

The Under was known by a few people as the darker side of Pyrite Town. If Pyrite Town already had its thieves, the ones in The Under would be nastier than they could be. The underground town was ruled mostly by Cipher, who began to use the Coliseum and the town through the same way Miror. B. used Pyrite Town. However, unlike Pyrite Town, The Under had its own admin in command.

That admin was Cipher Admin Venus or often called Lady Venus by her admirers.

One thing that the town didn't have before was the fact that a tunnel appeared out of nowhere in the south wall of the whole underground. This particular tunnel leaded to some ruins; ruins that Red and Chris recognized by its name. The temple looked a little bit luxurious with grey walls and sophisticated carvings that adorned the temple's outer walls.

Apotos Temple - Entrance

The group spied from the other side of the boulder the Cipher members and Charizard.

"...Is the Charizard talking?" Rui asked, hearing some words coming from Charizard.

"Unbelievable," whispered Wes as he narrowed his eyes. "I can't understand why the Charizard is talking at all. Maybe Cipher is trying out new technology..."

Red and Chris knew better than Wes and Rui. The 2 decided to stay silent as they all looked serious at the group of villains.

"I swear," Venus began as she looked at the temple with the members and Charizard. "This temple wasn't here before."

Charizard looked at her. "Well, you know I was called here to keep those guys from coming to this weird temple. We had a deal, remember?"

Venus looked annoyed at him. "If I discovered this temple before, you would've been already captured when you came to me. After that, I'd have used you in some commercials for The Under Time for more propaganda."

Charizard grunted. "Why would I be some kind of commercial material? You're not making me try that toothpaste."

Venus grunted back at him. "Oh, please! The toothpaste itself is really good, you know! Don't you dare insult me with your words, fat dragon!"

The Flame Pokémon glared at her. "Call me fat again and I'll slice that thin body of yours."

"Ha, try it," Venus said annoyed. "I have my people here for you."

Behind Charizard, a squad of Primids came out, adjusting their hats a bit. "And I have my own squad here. They're weak, but they're formidable in groups."

The Cipher Peons kept their sight on the Primids as Venus sulked a bit. "Anyway, do you want me to leave? The air in here is just disgusting and my dress is getting dirty with the dust."

"No can do," Charizard said. "I want you stupid squad to examine this place and see if they can find a way in to the temple. See over there?" the Flame Pokémon asked as he pointed at the entrance. "There are 3 doors in the temple: a door with a sun mark, another door with a moon mark, and then we have the middle door that leads to the deepest sanctum."

"What, do you expect me to break through that?" Venus asked.

"I went inside yesterday and I got a headache after I rammed my head against the doors," Charizard recalled annoyed. "So I'm calling you here and see what your guys can do."

The Cipher Admin looked at him with an annoyed look before she snapped her fingers. The peons nodded at this and began to charge inside the temple. "Go in and examine the temple! If there's anything luxurious, bring it back to me!"

"What is that for?"

Venus chuckled. "If there are any artifacts in there, I want at least to have the most gorgeous ones. I'm not helping you without a prize."

Charizard frowned at this as the group looked at each other. "What is the deal with that Charizard?" Rui asked. "And what are those shadow creatures? Are they Pokémon?"

"I...don't think so," Chris said.

Wes rubbed his chin a bit. "The woman in there is a Cipher Admin, alright. She would be in charge of this town. She didn't alert the people in here by us for nothing."

"(Actually, there would be a guy who would be the false intruder...)" Chris thought. "(What was his name again?)"

"You people are disgusting!"

The sudden voice from the entrance of the temple startled the group. They all looked back to Charizard and Venus. There was another person close to Charizard on the floor that had his hands tied behind his back. The person was a young man with grey hair, wore a light blue jacket, and also wore black pants and black shoes. The person was familiar to both Wes and Rui as he tried to stand up.

"What the hell do you think you're going to do, anyway?" the guy asked to Venus.

Venus laughed a bit. "What do you think? I'm going to do the usual as Miror. B. did in Pyrite Town."

"Distribute Shadow Pokémon to the people in here so they later go to Pyrite Town and revive what Wes and Rui stopped?"

"Just like that," Venus said with a chuckle. "Miror. B. failed to accomplish his job so I'm going to be the one who will have to finish it up with success. Our leader will be so pleased after hearing that the operations in Pyrite will be soon recovered."

"I knew you were stupid!" the guy yelled as he stood up before Charizard pushed him on the ground. "Ugh!"

"Shut up before I roast you, got that?" Charizard threatened as some fire gathered in his jaws.

"It's Silva!" Wes and Rui whispered before they all looked at each other.

"How did he get here?" Rui whispered.

"How should I know? As far as I know, he would have used the elevator, but we had the key," Wes said. "Unless he got another key from the other people at the police station, then he would have found out about The Under."

"Yeah, I know how headstrong he is..." Rui muttered.

"You guys know him?" Red asked.

Wes nodded. "He got in trouble with Cipher before. We had to go rescue him from getting hurt in the same building we entered to come here."

Rui sighed depressed. "Silva's always like this. When something bothers him, he won't let it go that easily. Also, he's Duking's detective partner, another reason why he got here."

Silva managed to push himself up to stand on his knees, a glare directed at Venus. "Well, I don't see any of you doing that, though!"

Venus rolled her eyes. "Look, you just happened to be in the way when we came here. When I said there were intruders, I didn't think of you at all. Those other intruders are 4 meddling kids who stopped Dakim's progress from getting the Time Flute and Mt. Battle."

"Ha, so they wiped the floor with your admins, huh?" Silva asked with a grin. "I knew they would kick you out from the mountain eventually!"

"Ugh, you're useless and annoying, you knew that?" Venus asked. "You'll have to stay quiet or else I'll throw you down the chasm in front of the coliseum."

Silva ignored her as he looked back at Charizard. "What the hell are you to be talking human language, anyway?"

Charizard pushed Silva back with his right foot before chuckling. "I'm a very special guy who wants to stop some idiots from interfering in my plans. Now, what were their names again? Oh yeah... Red and...Christopher."

"It's simply Chris!" Chris yelled before gasping.

The 3 people in front of the temple looked around confused. "Did you just hear someone?" Venus asked. "Hey, who's there?"

"I definitely hear someone yelling nearby..." Charizard said as he pushed some smoke from his nostrils. "That voice was really familiar..."

"Voice? Oh please, your minds surely are playing tricks to you because I didn't hear anything myself," Silva said, face on the floor.

"You shut up before I use Flamethrower on you," Charizard threatened.

Wes looked angrily at Red and Chris. "What the hell was that for? You know very well we're hiding away from them."

"S-sorry..." Chris muttered.

"Also..." Wes stared at them longer. "...That Charizard knows about you?"

Red and Chris gasped mentally. "W-well, truth is...we've been chasing that Charizard around the outskirts of Orre until it escaped here..."

The World Traveler looked at Red.

"He's some kind of special Pokémon, you know..." Red tried his best to come up with an excuse. "A-and did you see how those creatures appeared behind him? Well, that's another reason why we want to capture him."

"..." Wes narrowed his eyes at him.

Was Wes not stupid, or he just didn't like Red? Possibly both.

"...And he happened to know about us as well..." Red added.

The shady trainer kept staring at him for a while longer before he looked back to the group. "Just to let you know something," he muttered.

"W-what?" Chris asked scared.

"I'm not believing most of the crap you've been saying," Wes admitted. "You're hiding something from me and Rui for sure. Your scared expressions tell that much."

Red gulped. "W-well, that's the whole truth..."

Good thing they said the truth about chasing Charizard, but bad thing it was just a fragment of the whole truth.

Chris looked worried at Red. The Pallet Town trainer looked down in shame before they returned to spy on the Pokémon, the admin, and Silva.

"So," Venus began as she looked at Charizard. "What are you going to do once the people you're waiting for show up here?"

Charizard smirked as he held his right claw out, a dark portal forming beneath on the ground before it made a cage; a cage with a familiar monster that made Chris gasp. "I'm using this," Charizard said as he patted the cage several times, the Shadow Nightmare inside standing motionles, staring forward emotionless.

"Eww, yuck, what's that hideous monster in the cage?" Venus asked disgusted at the Shadow Nightmare.

"A helpful creature I'm planning to use of that idiot kid Red," Charizard said. "Once this monster latches on him, it'll create a shadow monster of the kid. Once he gets an emotional breakdown, I'll use him as a my pounding toy."

"(What?!)" Red thought in shock as he stared at the monster. "(T-that's the same thing that attacked Lucas before, right?)"

"What are they talking about?" Wes muttered. "The Charizard seems to be somewhat smart for my tastes..." He looked back at the 2 trainers. "Are you sure you're not hiding something from me?"

"L-look, we just happened to find the Charizard we're looking for," Red said.

"...Then why didn't you tell me that before?" Wes asked with a glare. "I mean, what's there to it? We came all the way to spy on Cipher, and now you're saying that the talking Charizard is a target you've been looking for all this time without even telling us?"

The World Traveler got preoccupied at the situation. They were supposed to be gathering info from Charizard and Venus, not argue with each other. Thinking fast, he came up with something. "...Yes..." Chris said. "...We...kind of didn't want to say that before..."

"Chris..." Red trailed off worried as Wes looked at Chris.

"Why didn't you want to say it before?" Wes asked, narrowing his glare. "Are you telling me that you've been using us all this time to get to the Pokémon that you didn't want to mention to us?"

"N-no, you got it all wrong!" Red whispered. "We wanted to help you too!"

"Does that mean you also wanted to look for this useless Charizard that can speak?" Wes asked. "I don't believe any of this crap anymore..." He pointed a finger at Red and Chris. "I've been questioning your reasons behind helping us."

"W-Wes!" Rui whispered in shock.

"Shut up, Rui, this is something you don't need to hear at all."

"H-hey!"

"Now, tell me," Wes asked with a demanding glare. "Why the hell did you decide to follow us knowing that we somehow could find that Charizard? You're starting to piss me off with those stupid attitudes of yours now. I demand all the answers you have."

Red and Chris backed away a bit. "H-hey, we're supposed to be hiding and spying them..." Chris muttered.

"Who cares about them? I don't give a darn about Cipher that much because they're imbeciles who can't treat Pokémon properly."

"What?" Red asked.

"I hate Cipher because they turn innocent  Pokémon into Shadow Pokémon," Wes admitted. "But let's not talk about that anymore. What I want to find out is your reasons behind helping us. You're both travelers, right? Why did you want to meddle your noses with us?"

"Wes!" Rui whispered louder.

"And for that matter, why do you both have rare and missing Pokémon? Red is possibly the most reckless trainer I've ever met before in my life."

At this complaint, the Pallet Town trainer glared at him and took a step forward. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you know well," Wes said with crossed arms, Chris and Rui at a loss to do something to stop the shady trainer's suspicions. "You're just lucky to have a super powerful Pokémon who didn't even obey you during the battle with Dakim. Did you really think I didn't see that? Mewtwo was acting all by itself the whole battle and you didn't order an attack."

"W-well..." Red looked down.

"Also, it makes me hard to believe that you captured it with a Master Ball," Wes said. "You surely had lucky of a bastard."

"W-who are you calling a bastard?" Red asked angrily.

"It's obvious who the bastard is here," Wes said. "The bastard not being me but you 2."

The World Traveler looked down in shame, but Red wanted to speak his mind to Wes. Red never was angered before as much as Wes made him to be.

"Look, you heartless idiot..." Red muttered with gritted teeth.

Wes narrowed his glare at him. "What the hell did you just call me?"

Rui looked back and forth between the 2 soon-to-be-rivals. "S-shouldn't we keep our voices dow-"

"A heartless idiot, that's what you are!" Red yelled as he began to walked slowly to Wes. "I'm sick of your stupid, cold, insensitive, intolerable, sickening, enraging (Chris: Red, you really need to sto-), infuriating, stinky, obnoxious, and above else, your presence!" he yelled loudly. "Do you think I'm just going to let an idiot like you you insult me just like that? Well, I'm here to tell you something: I'm not going to let you insult anymore because you're all those things, you heard me, huh?!"

The World Traveler and the girl looked back at Wes with shocked look. They could tell that Wes's face wanted to explode and attack Red. His topaz eyes were widening, and his hands made tight fists.

"...Do you really want to hear my answer, idiot?" Wes asked through gritted teeth.

Red crossed his arms. "Yeah, I want to hear what you have!"

"Okay..." Wes sighed, staring blankly at him. "...Too bad you're gonna have to feel it INSTEAD!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Chris and Rui gasped before Wes lunged directly at Red, pushing themselves away from behind the boulder where they began to throw fists at each other on the dirty soil, rolling towards the temple where they startled Charizard, Venus, and Silva. Red, obviously, had to retaliate by throwing his own fists at Wes as they rolled recklessly on the ground.

"THIS IS FOR BEING AN ASS TO ME!" Red yelled.

"THIS IS FOR BEING A STUPID IDIOT!" Wes yelled.

"THIS IS FOR BEING A COLD BASTARD!"

"THIS IS FOR BEING A WEAKLING!"

"THIS IS FOR BEING STUPIDLY EVIL LOOKING!"

"THIS IS FOR BEING STUPIDLY WEAK LOOKING!"

"ASS!"

"IDIOT!"

"BASTARD!"

"IMBECILE!"

"HEARTLESS!"

"ANNOYING BUG!"

"THIEF!"

"UNORIGINAL NAME GUY!"

"What the hell is going on here?!" Charizard demanded as the 2 continued to punch each other to death. "It's you!"

"Uah, it's the kid who defeated Dakim and Miror. B.!" Venus yelped.

At that moment, Rui and Chris came from the boulder, looking alarmed. "R-Red!" Chris yelled.

"Wes!" Rui yelled.

"Both of you, stop it right now!" they both yelled worried before they ran at the 2 stoped them from punching their teeth out. However, both trainers were pulling their arms and fists so fast that Rui and Chris were unable to come closer without getting hurt.

"You!" Charizard yelled as he pointed at Chris.

"The girl that can see auras!" Venus yelled as she looked at Rui.

Silva looked confused at the whole event. "W-what is happening? Why is Wes beating up that trainer?"

"Who cares about the shady trainer?" Charizard asked before smacking his right claw. "Time to bring them down once and for a-"

The Flame Pokémon stopped talking as Wes and Red pushed each other back before standing up to try to choke their throats at the same time while shaking their shoulders. "G-get away from here!" Wes yelled as he gasped for breath.

"N-no!" Red yelled as applied more pressure. "Y-you go away! I don't need you!"

Rui had her hands on her cheeks. "Oh my god, somebody stop them from hurting each other!"

"R-Red, Wes, stop!" Chris said in panic. "Y-you have to resolve your differences like civilized people for once!"

Silva tilted his head before Wes and Red began to throw fists at each other. "If you ask me, that's their way to do things in a civilized way," Silva commented.

"You shut up, I didn't ask you!" Chris yelled in panic. "Oh my god, they're starting to bleed!"

"Aww, gross, this is turning out so badly!" Rui yelled. "Really, somebody, stop them!"

"I-I know!" Chris yelled as he called Lucario, Pikachu, Pichu, and Jigglypuff out. "Jigglypuff, use Sing!"

"W-what is happening here?" Jigglypuff asked as she saw Red and Wes fighting. "W-why are they punching each other?"

Rui looked shocked at Jigglypuff. "U-uah! I-it talked just now!"

"Whoops..." Jigglypuff muttered, making Pikachu and Pichu facepalm with a frown.

"Grrrrrr..." Lucario's eyes turned wild as he stared at Charizard in anger.

Charizard rolled his eyes. "I don't have time for you! I wanna crush Red and those 2 idiots with him as well!"

"Hey, like, do something, then!" Venus demanded. "I want to have a merit for defeating the shady kid myself, you know!"

At that moment, Wes was punched hard in his face, making him back away a bit before 2 Poké Balls fell off his belt. The 2 spheres instantly opened, letting Umbreon and Espeon to come out. Wes's Pokémon looked around confused before they heard their trainer yelling loudly as he charged at Red and threw a fast fist to Red.

Red was pushed back by Wes's fist, accidently letting his belt release 3 Poké Balls that fell on the ground. The 3 Poké Balls instantly released Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Mewtwo out. The 3 confused Pokémon looked quickly at Red as he yelled and continued to fight against Wes physically.

"H-hey, Red, why are you beating Wes?" Squirtle asked suddenly. "Red, are you hearing him? Hey!"

Rui looked even more shocked. "T-the Squirtle just talked as well!"

"...Oh, crap," Squirtle muttered embarrassed.

Mewtwo sighed and frowned. "I knew this was going to eventually come to this..."

The girl of the group covered her head. "Ooh, there are too many things I wanna ask right now..." Rui muttered in confusion.

The situation in the tunnel was at a complete loss. Charizard and Venus wanted to attack, but seeing that Wes and Red were both busy fighting each other, they weren't listening to anyone. Rui tried to think of something, but Wes's look frightened her, Chris couldn't stop Red from punching Wes, Pikachu and Pichu were trying to understand the situation with Squirtle and Ivysaur, Lucario kept his wild glare on Charizard, Umbreon and Espeon yelled at Wes to stop, Mewtwo tried to think of something to stop both of them without involving him to separate them (due to the fact they would quickly return fighting each other), and Silva did nothing but stare.

Overall, if only Red and Wes stopped, there would be something different than them trying to punch their skulls off.

Having enough to see somebody else beating Red than himself, Charizard stomped the ground. "HEY, KID!" Charizard yelled enraged. "STOP FIGHTING THAT GUY AND TURN TO ME!"

"Y-you're a faggot!" Red yelled as he threw a fist at Wes's face.

"You're an annoying idiot who keeps following us!" Wes yelled back as he did the same to Red.

"We just wanted to give you a hand!"

"I like to work alone!"

"You have Rui with you!"

"Oh, sorry, I meant to say WE like to work alone! That means getting the hell out of here!"

Silva managed to stand up and run at Rui's side. "R-Rui, could you untie my hands, please?"

Rui shook her head before looking at Silva. "O-oh, okay. Here, let me help..."

Venus looked angry at Charizard. "You let the boy escape, you numskull!"

"Who are you calling a numskull?" Charizard asked as he turned around at Venus. "I haven't seen you doing something, Ms. Floating Crescent Moon On My Back!" he taunted.

"Oh, how rude of you!" Venus said with a pouting face. "I thought you were supposed to attack them while they're beating each other to death!"

"How funny because I expected you to do it as well!"

"Then why are you holding back?"

"I could ask you the same thing!"

"Well, real gentlemen protect gorgeous women like me, just to let you know!"

"Too bad you reach creepy category."

"What did you just say to me?!" Venus yelled angrily. "I am the most beautiful, lovable girl in the whole town of this place!"

"You like this stinky town?" Charizard asked with a chuckle. "Wow, that really fits you well."

"That does it!" Venus yelled as she pointed forward at the fighting trainers. "Go fight them, now!"

The Flame Pokémon grunted annoyed before turning around. "Hey, Red, you better say your prayers because it's time for you to face your shadow version..." He thought for a moment. "Wait, I want to do the emotional breakdown here..." He looked at the creature in the cage. "And I want to do the fighting as well..."

Chris gasped and quickly looked at Lucario. "Lucario, destroy the monster in the cage before Charizard releases it!"

Charizard's eyes widened before his gut got a fast and severe fist of aura by Lucario. The Aura Pokémon had a menacing glare before he pushed Charizard away to the side. Venus yelled and backed away from Lucario before he looked down at the cage and growled at the monster. "GUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGH!!!" Lucario roared as he brought down a devastating fist of aura upon the cage, destroying it into bits.

Chris and the Pokémon (except Mewtwo) sighed in relief. "Phew...you destroyed it..."

"..." Lucario closed his eyes before pulling his fist back.

"...The monster escaped," Mewtwo suddenly said.

The World Traveler and the Aura Pokémon looked shocked before looking back at the cage. There wasn't a sign of the Shadow Nightmare instead of the pieces of the broken cage scattered around. "What?" Lucario asked confused as he looked around and grunted. "Where did it go?"

The Psychic Pokémon quickly looked up on the rocky ceiling, spotting a big black spot that moved crazily at the sides. "Up there, on the ceiling."

The World Traveler knew Red wasn't going to order Squirtle or Ivysaur from attacking. Taking the iniciative, Chris pointed at the monster of the ceiling. "Everyone, attack it with long range skills, now!"

"Stop!" Mewtwo suddenly yelled, stopping Pikachu, Pichu, Ivysaur, Squirtle, and Lucario from attacking. "If your attacks end up missing the monster, you're going to cause a cave in and everyone in here will suffer the consequence."

"B-but what do we do, then?" Chris asked.

Mewtwo held out his right hand to the ceiling as he suddenly glowed with psychic energy. "I'll take care of it. I'm going to bring it down for you t-"

The shadow quickly moved far off to the right.

"What the..." Mewtwo muttered before narrowing his eyes. "It knows I'm trying to grab it with Psychic... It won't get away from me."

Everyone (except the arguing trainers) looked up to see the shadow moving insanely fast over all the ceiling. Ivysaur noticed that Mewtwo's right hand quickly moved everywhere where the shadow moved. It eventually tried another different move by moving along the walls. The Psychic Pokémon narrowed his eyes even more before the shadow passed to the ground.

"Dammit, it's too fast for me to lock it on," Mewtwo muttered. "Keep yourselves away from it or else you will regret it."

The Smashers gasped and quickly dispersed along the area. Charizard, confused, shook his head to do something. However, he wanted the Shadow Nightmare to go against Red and no one else. Seeing that Red was...fighting against Wes for some reason as he thought, the Flame Pokémon pointed at the trainer. "Hey, shadow, go get Red and make sure you get him!"

The group gasped and turned around to look back at the 2 bickering trainers, still distracted.

Rui didn't care about anything else than Wes. Whatever was happening there was something she didn't want to hear more for the time being as she looked at the Shadow Nightmare sprouting out from its spot. It played with its pincers as it glanced at Red. The monster was hungry to get a victim under its possession.

"RED!!!" the Smashers (except Mewtwo who tried to restrain the Shadow Nightmare from leaping to Red, unfortunately failing as it quickly dashed to the sides) yelled loudly to get Red's attention.

"SHUT UP!" Red yelled as he blocked a fist from Wes. "This guy needs to learn that he shouldn't an a(beep)hole with me!"

"And you should learn to not meddle with our affairs any longer!" yelled Wes as he blocked a fist from Red. "You little INSOLENT!!!" he yelled loudly as he lunged at Red, making Red gasp in shock as he was pushed away.

The shriek from the Shadow Nightmare made everyone look back at it as it leaped quickly at Red. Chris ordered Lucario to use Extremespeed and get Red before the Shadow Nightmare could attack him with its shadow pincers.

A lot of confusion came after that, unfortunately...

The World Traveler noticed that Lucario already got Red. The Aura Pokémon held the furious trainer under his right arm as Red tried to get off. However, Lucario's brute force didn't even make his arm budge a bit before the trainer calmed down. "Hey, why did you do that for?" Red asked angrily as he looked at the glaring Lucario. "I was going to teach him a-"

Red stopped talking once he heard someone falling on the floor as the sounds of some pointy tips ripping something was heard echoing in the tunnel.

"What the hell?!" Charizard suddenly interrupted.

Umbreon and Espeon suddenly yelled for some reason.

Rui covered her mouth in pure shock. "N-NO!"

Chris looked back with Lucario and Red before they all gasped. "O-oh no, I forgot abou-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

Pikachu, Pichu, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Jigglypuff, Umbreon, and Espeon couldn't believe what happened next...

Seconds before, after Lucario grabbed Red and pulled all the way to the east of the tunnel with Chris, Wes was seen falling on the ground before looking up with a mad look. "You bastard, come back here!"

Unfortunately, during this time, the Shadow Nightmare was about to latch itself on Red, but since Lucario pulled Red back, and the fact that Wes was going to leap at Red to hit him again, made him the accidental target of the monster.

The shady trainer suddenly felt that some pincers pierced his trail coat from his back. His eyes widened, and his pupils shrunk in pain before he screamed loudly.

"...T-the Shadow Nightmare..." Pikachu looked shocked before gulping. "...I-it just..."

"...WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!" Rui cried out as she saw a blob of darkness covering Wes as he laid down on the ground.

Everyone watched and heard the shady trainer screaming in agony from within the blob of darkness. Umbreon and Espeon quickly dashed and stopped in front of the ominuous darkness, trying to come up with something to save Wes from whatever was happening to him.

"(Do something!)" Espeon said in shock to Umbreon.

"(H-how the hell should I know how to save him from that blob?)" Umbreon asked panicked. "(You're the smart guy here so think of something before we're trainerless!)"

"(I don't have all the answers for everything!)" Espeon argued.

"(Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have trust you before!)"

"(Will you just knock it off an-)"

The 2 quickly looked back at the blod where an unconscious Wes was pushed out, falling right between the 2 alarmed Pokémon gasped in relief.

"(We're not trainerless, we're not trainerless!)" Umbreon rejoiced before Espeon slapped him with his 2-tailed tail. "(Oww!)"

"(Calm down, please,)" Espeon said annoyed before touching Wes's head. "Espi, Espeon, Espeon!"

"He's alright," Squirtle said with a sigh. "Let's go and see if he's fine, though."

The entire group ran to Wes, Umbreon, and Espeon. Charizard and Venus looked away from a distance as they stared at the blob of darkness intact. The Flame Pokémon slapped hit his forehead with a claw and frowned to himself. "I wanted RED to go down, not the other guy..."

"Whatever that thing do to the meddling boy?" Venus asked.

Charizard's eyes widened before he looked back at the blob.

All the Pokémon and the 3 humans gathered around the fainted Wes. Some grunts came from his closed mouth before he slowly opened his eyes to find Umbreon in front of him. The Moonlight Pokémon's ears twitched a little bit before looking happy at him. Umbreon walked closed and licked his face a bit. "...Heheheh...stop it, Umbreon..." muttered Wes before he slowly pushed himself up. He looked at everyone surrounding him, especially a sniffing Rui who quickly hugged him tightly. "Rui...what just happened?"

"You...idiot..." Rui sniffed and muttered. "I-I was so worried about you, Wes... You were attacking Red for no good reason...and you weren't listening to anything we were saying..." She pushed herself back to look at Wes, tears strolling down her cheeks. "Don't you know you were trying to kill Red because you hate for something he..."

Wes slowly turned his face to look at Red's beaten up look. The Pallet Town trainer glared a bit before looking away, Squirtle and Ivysaur looking worried.

"..." Wes remained silent before he looked at the blob of darkness some feet away from all of them. "...What is that thing...over there?"

The entire group looked back at the blob before it began to shrink down in size. They watched as a dark figure materialized from it. The figure was too dark itself for anyone to make out a face or spot any clothes. Eventually, the shadow slowly took form...

"...!!!" Wes gasped, feeling a little bit frightened at whatever was in front of him...

The humans and Pokémon had shocked looks as a small kid was purely made of darkness. No one them knew the kid at all, but for Wes...

Wes couldn't believe his eyes...

"..." The shadow kid was looking down on the floor before he looked up to the tall people. A sincere smile formed on his lips before chuckling. "Hello...me..." he greeted Wes. "How's it been?"

Rui shook her head in pure shock. The shadow kid before them looked innocent, but his voice was really distorted and twisted. "W-who are you?" Rui asked to the shadow kid. "H-how did you came out from that monster?"

"Monster?" the shadow kid asked as he tilted his head. "I don't remember seeing any monster..." He embraced himself. "I hate monsters...but...but..." He looked up to them happily. "...I like Pokémon a lot..."

Lucario examined the kid for a bit before he began to show his fangs at him. Seeing the Aura Pokémon, the shadow kid merely chuckled, making Lucario get confused as he stopped growling down at him.

"Heheheh," the shadow kid smiled at Lucario. "You look so cool and so powerful and...so tall..." he remarked. "I wanna have a Pokémon like you someday..."

Lucario looked confused at the scared Chris. The World Traveler didn't know the kid very well, but he could tell that he was surely...

"..." Wes looked a little bit frightened at the kid before him. Umbreon and Espeon looked at each other, puzzled at the kid that chuckled at them as well.

"Hey, I know you 2," the shadow kid said. "You're my Pokémon: my Eevees. So awesome, you evolved!" The kid began to jump in happiness. "I knew you would evolve very soon!"

"(Who the hell is this kid?)" Umbreon asked. "(Something about him...makes me recall Wes for some reason...)"

Espeon examined the kid a little bit more. "(...He couldn't be... No...it'd be impossible for him to be...)"

"Why are you 2 staring at me like that?" the shadow kid asked. "You're...scaring me a bit..." The kid looked up at Wes. "You, do something! Our Pokémon are looking me weird!"

"...Our Pokémon?" Wes repeated confused. "What are you saying? They're not yours..."

"..." The shadow kid looked down. "But...that's not true... It's not true because..." He looked up at Wes and smiled. "...You're me...and I'm you..."

Wes took a step back from the shadow kid. The shady trainer didn't look shady anymore, but scared of the shadow kid that looked at him innocently happy.

"...Who the hell do you think you are?" Wes asked, his scared look turning into a mad glare. "Why did you come out of nowhere telling me that we're the person?"

"You don't understand, then?" the shadow kid asked. "My name is Wes, and your name is Wes."

Rui, Espeon, and Umbreon gasped at the same time. Wes's right eye twitched at the nonsense that the kid told him. For him, there was no way the shadow thing was him in any way.

"I mean..." the shadow kid opened his arms at himself. "Don't you see? Aren't these the same clothes you once wore when you were stealing food from the people of Pyrite Town?"

Wes gasped, but he kept glaring at the shadow kid. "How the heck do you know that much about me?"

The shadow kid chuckled heartily. "'Cuz we're the same person! Don't you get it? I'm here because your presence allowed me to do so!"

Wes swung his right arm in front of him in anger. "You're now saying foolish things!"

"Not quite," the shadow kid said before he looked down. "I remember when Gonzap took me to Team Snagem's Hideout where I became an admin for everyone..." He looked back at Wes, the same frightened look on his face appearing. "Do you remember now?"

Pichu gulped and looked up to Chris and Red. "S-shouldn't we do something before the situation turns out worse?"

Red snapped back to reality. "H-hey, he's right! We need to attack the shadow before it harms Wes!"

The shadow kid suddenly began to shake in fear. "N-no, don't do that mean thing to me! You're going to end up hurting the 2 of us!"

"...What the f(beep) are you?" Wes asked annoyed and mad.

"I'm you..." the shadow kid said before he closed his yellow eyes. "...Man..." His voice suddenly turned into a twisted variation of Wes's voice. "...I knew people were mean to themselves..." He opened his glaring eyes. "I knew as such, after all..."

Wes became a little bit more scared after the shadow kid began to use his voice. "What are you doing by mimicking my voice?!" he asked angrily.

The shadow kid sighed. "You don't understand at all, right, dummy knucklehead?" he asked harshly. "For the last time, we're the same person. Get your head checked."

"You're supposed to be me? ...Wow, now I know I'm going insane," Wes joked.

"Such attitude isn't going to be easily forgiven," the shadow kid said. "But enough about that. I came here to punish the infidels that threaten Pokémon without a good reason."

"W-what is that supposed to mean?" Jigglypuff asked.

"Geez, you're so clueless. Well, that's what I expected the first time I met you all," the shadow kid said. "Oh well, my fault for being such an ass. Wait a minute, oh right, I'm not an ass because you're all idiots who harm Pokémon without reasons. In reality, you're the bad people and not me."

"What?" Wes asked. "You're saying you're me?"

The shadow kid sighed. "Why do you keep asking me that pointless question? Look at me!" he demanded, opening his arms. "Don't you recognize these worn-out clothes, this messed up hair, and even my face?!"

"..." Wes narrowed his eyes before he looked shocked. He began to shake his head in disbelief as the shadow kid nodded.

"It's you when you were younger," Shadow Wes said. "It took you some sweet time to figure it out, huh?"

"What are you supposed to be?"

Shadow Wes frowned. "You know what? I'm going to ignore those worthless questions. Let me go kill those infidels around you."

The rest of the group looked a little bit shocked at this statement. For Wes, this was pure nonsense coming from whatever the kid in front of him was.

"Also, that's what you wanted to do," Shadow Wes said. "Isn't it true that you wanted to punish humanity for being mean to Pokémon?"

"When did I even think of that?" Wes asked with a glare, making a right fist.

"Oh, you ALWAYS think of that, alright," Shadow Wes said. "In fact, that's your mission in life after all you went through to become the person you are now."

Wes took a step back from the shadow. "T-that's not true."

"Isn't it?" Shadow Wes asked. "Oh, I happen to know the truth very much well than you,   me," he said before holding out his right hand. "You hate people, but you like Pokémon, right?"

"Yeah."

"But you don't like people hurting what you like the most, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you want to punish humanity for being mean to all Pokémon, right?"

"...The whole humanity?" Wes asked. "You got it all wrong. I just think some people should be punished fo-"

"That also means the people that are behind you," Shadow Wes interrupted.

Wes's eyes widened as his group looked at him. Rui didn't know what to believe anymore and she remained silent to the whole event. "...Did I even try to punish them or what?"

"Oh, you punish people without even battling them," Shadow Wes said. "In fact, you hurt them emotionally as you always do. That nasty face we both have helps to accomplish our goals."

"Nasty face?" Pichu repeated.

Shadow Wes looked down, changing Wes's voice to his childhood one "I...I want to make the people who hurt Pokémon pay for their actions..." he muttered before looking up. "I wanna punish them...nobody is different, after all..." He pointed at the group, his voice turning harsh like Wes's voice. "That includes the whole squad of weirdos. They're absolutely NO different than anyone else."

Red blinked in shock. "W-wait, so does that mean we deserve to be punished for something we haven't even done?"

"Tsk," the shadow kid frowned. "You have done a lot, alright. I don't see who's different and who's not because of the fact nobody is different."

"T-that's a lie and you know it!" Red yelled back as Wes tried to think of something to get rid of the shadow kid. "Why'd you think something so twisted, anyway?"

"I think that "twisted" lie because it's the truth I believe," Shadow Wes said. "You people are the same no matter what..." He made fists on the sides of his hips. "Everyone is cruel to  Pokémon in many ways...it makes me the one who cares deeply of them..." He glared at them. "And you must be eliminated for mistreating Pokémon..."

Red looked at Wes worried. "...Wes...do you think everyone is cruel to Pokémon?"

The shady trainer blinked a few times before looking away. "I...I don't think so... I don't think like that."

"Don't give me that crap, please," Shadow Wes said. "It's easy for both of us to tell that you've defined yourself as some sort of Pokémon prophet."

"What?" Wes asked.

Shadow Wes frowned. "Okay, if you don't believe in me..." He began to glow darker as pure darkness flew out from his feet, completely covering the cave that made everyone in there gasp in shock. "Maybe seeing is believing..."

The whole cave turned into pitch-black darkness as the Smashers (and even Charizard and Venus) looked around in surprise. The darkness blinked with light a few times before it all vanished. When the whole darkness that covered the tunnel disappeared, they found themselves standing in another different place...

Team Snagem's Hideout
Canyon

Most of the people didn't know where they were, but Wes didn't have an idea about why they were taken all the way to the hideout of the petty thieves. It was like they were in there for a long time as Wes thought.

"W-where are we?" Pichu asked as he jumped to Chris's left shoulder, trembling in fear.

"W-what is this place?" Rui asked as she walked around.

"...Team Snagem's Hideout..." muttered an astonished Wes as he took a few steps forward to the entrance of the hideout. "...The place where I once lived..."

"Like, this is so supernatural," Venus commented as she rubbed her chin a bit. "Is this the hideout of those poor excuses for thieves?"

Shadow Wes saw as Wes looked up to the building. Chuckling, the shadow kid walked to his side, his eyes fixated on the automatic door. "I remember when I was 14..." Shadow Wes said as the automatic doors opened. "After I reached 14, Gonzap allowed me to ask for battles against the other members of Team Snagem. However, before I even had my first battle...there was something I didn't want to do..."

Wes looked back at the entrance where 3 figures came out. The former Team Snagem member saw 3 familiar faces. The 3 members that came out were the 3 important members of the team that were a rank below him. They all looked the same, but they had some differences than made them stand out from all the members.

There was Agrev who wore black sunglasses over his eyes, Biden who had different eyes than most members, and finally there was Wakin who didn't even look that different since he looked exactly like all the members. However, Wakin was previously the second-in-command person of Gonzap until Wes came around.

"Okay, boys," Wakin began. "It's time for us to train some more."

"Why do we have to keep doing this?" Agrev asked. "You know the boss ain't gonna give you a raise in our ranks to beat Wes. Gonzap is way too fond of the kid."

Biden grunted. "If Wes didn't show up, we would have received a better treatment from Gonzap."

Wakin sighed. "Who cares, really? Gonzap will surely kill us off if we ever hit Wes. Remember that he has high hopes for the kid."

"Well, shall we begin with our training?" Agrev asked as he released his Marshtomp. "Hey you, you better give it you all in battle or else I won't give you food."

"M-Marsh..." Marshtomp shook in fear.

Biden decided to release his Smeargle. "Hope you don't slack off or else you'll know what will come to you."

"Smeargle..." Smeargle looked worried.

Wakin released his Corphish. "You better try to evolve into a Crawdaunt or else."

"Cor-Cor..." Corphish looked worried.

Wes knew exactly what was going to happen if the 3 started their training. "N-no, stop!"

Shadow Wes clapped his hands to get his attention. "Nah-ah, this isn't real but an illusion."

"What?" Red asked. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm simply projecting our memories from the past so he realizes the truth about this event. Whatever you try to do here won't take place. You're just going to trespass any illusion in here," Shadow Wes said before rolling his eyes. "I swear it's annoying if you try to forget what you consider worthless..." He looked back at the entrance where the Wes of 14 years and his Eevees walked out to breathe fresh air. The shadow coughed a bit before changing his voice to the young Wes. "When I came out from the hideout, I wanted to ask the guys if they could help me with my training. It's been a long time after I last trained my Eevees so I thought I'd ask them for help, but..."

The group from the present watched as Wes and the Eevees found the 3 training. A small smile formed on Wes before he decided to stop in his tracks after he saw something...abominable...

"Use Bubblebeam!" Wakin ordered Corphish to attack a boulder leaned against the canyon in front of the hideout. Corphish looked serious before opening its pincers. However, mentioned attack didn't come out and the Water type looked worried before Wakin kicked it in the back.

Red, Rui, and Chris gasped once the Corphish fell down.

"C'mon, can't you do better than that?" Wakin asked angrily at his Corphish. "I told you to use Bubblebeam, not gasp, stupid trash!"

"C-C-C-Corphish..." Corphish muttered on the ground before it stood up and shook himself, trying to forget his trainer kicking him.

Agrev gave a sharp look at his Marshtomp. "You, use Mud Shot on the same boulder."

"M-Marsh!" Marshtomp said serious before shooting a stream of mud to the boulder. The attack didn't seem to have any kind of mistakes as it successfully crashed against the boulder. "...Marshtomp!" Marshtomp said happily.

However, Agrev kicked Marshtomp hard on its back, making the Mud Fish Pokémon fall down on his face, muttering its name in pain. "What the hell have I been telling you all this time? You better look serious, stupid excuse for a Water type!"

Chris didn't like the way the Marshtomp was being treated. He glared at Agrev. "What does he think he's doing?"

"He's trying to make Marshtomp a serious Pokémon," Lucario said as he glared at Agrev as well. "He seems to dislike any kind of happiness."

"T-that's so mean..." Rui muttered in shame.

"A real sad case, isn't?" Shadow Wes asked with his young but distorted voice.

Biden looked at his Smeargle. "I hope you used Sketch on Gonzap's Machoke so you could use Seismic Toss."

Smeargle looked worried at his trainer.

"Use Karate Chop on that same boulder."

Smeargle looked at the shoulder worried before shaking his head. "Smeargle, Smear..."

"...What was that?" Biden asked as he tightened a fist. "You mean to tell me that you didn't use Sketch to learn Seismic Toss?"

"S-Smeargle..." Smeargle put its hands close to his chin as it shook in fear.

"You stupid bastard..." Biden said before he sent a downward fist on Smeargle's head. "I told you to learn that the other day! What the hell were you doing instead? Were you looking somewhere else or what?!"

"S-Smeargle! Smeargle, Smeargle!" Smeargle looked up at Biden as it shed some tears. "Smear! SMEAR!" It received a hard kick on its stomach as it fell to the side.

"Pathetic..." Biden muttered. "I guess you'll have to learn the darn attack very soon.."

Rui, Red, and Chris saw horrified as the 3 Pokémon were being hurt by their trainers. Yells, hits, punches, and yells of pain came from the scene. The Smashers looked back to the entrance where a frightened Wes and his scared Eevees were watching astonished. Thinking quickly, the young Wes decided to stop the mistreatment.

"STOP!" the young Wes yelled loudly to the point the 3 Team Snagem members looked at him. "W-what do you think you're doing to your Pokémon?!"

"If isn't Mr. Second-In-Command," Wakin said with a grunt. "Go away, you're not required to be here, Wes."

Wes looked back at the Marshtomp, Smeargle, and Corphish. The 3 weakened Pokémon looked hurt to the point they tried to keep training. "You 3, you don't have to continue!"

"Who do you think you are now?" Agrev asked, crossing his arms. "These are our Pokémon and we can do anything with them."

"No, you're wrong!" the young Wes yelled. "What you're doing to them is just inhuman!"

"What? We're just giving them what they deserve for not meeting the expectations we had for them," Biden said. "Isn't that what we want to get from them?"

"Are you insane or what?" the young Wes asked as his Eevees growled silently at the 3. "They don't deserve this kind of punishment! Why don't you encourage them instead of scaring them?"

"Fear is better than stupid encouragement," Agrev said. "They'll learn faster not to screw up. They need to become brave and strong this way, Wes."

"You're just sick..." the young Wes said with a glare. "Stop doing this to them!"

Wakin turned around to his scared Corphish and lifted his shoulders. "I'll pretend you didn't come here to interrupt us. Corphish, I wanna see a good Bubblebeam attack this time and you better do it right."

"What the hell are you doing?" Wes asked as the Corphish looked weak, panting a little bit. "Your Corphish is already tired because of what you've been doing to it!"

"Shaddup!" Wakin yelled as Agrev and Biden turned back to their horrorized Pokémon. "Corphish, what are you standing there for? Use the darn Bubblebeam already!"

"C-Cor!" the Ruffian Pokémon gasped before it turned to the boulder, making a weak-looking expression as it tried to use Bubblebeam.

"Marshtomp, I didn't tell you to stop either," Agrev said. "Go now."

"M-Maaaaaaaaarsh..." Marshtomp moaned a bit before Agrev kicked it straight on the face. "MARSH!"

"I told you to go now!" Agrev yelled. "Or do you want to make me angry?"

Marshtomp sniffed sadly a few times before it turned to the boulder and resumed its painful training. Rui shook her head in disbelief, Red tightened his fists, Chris felt awfully sorry for Marshtomp, and most of the Pokémon glared at the members with total despise.

"Smeargle, try to use Sketch on Marshtomp so you learn its Mud Shot," Biden said. "Why are you looking at me with that ignorant look? Go!"

"S-S-Smeargle..." Smeargle shook in fear as it shyly turned to Marshtomp. The Painter Pokémon grabbed its paintbrush tail as it tried to concentrate on the scared Mud Fish Pokémon.

"(Dammit, why can't they stop?!)" the young Wes asked in rage as he continued to watch the training that the 3 Pokémon underwent, their trainers constantly yelling and punishing them for any small mistake.

Shadow Wes frowned. "Poor Pokémon..." He sobbed a bit. "They didn't deserve this unfair training..." He shivered a bit. "Why didn't I do anything to stop this for good?"

'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" the young Wes yelled as he charged forward with his Eevees. The 3 Pokémon and their trainers turned around before Wes tackled Wakin and his 2 Eevees used Tackle on Biden and Agrev.

However, the canyon along with the hideout and the past selves suddenly got covered in complete darkness excepting the Smashers, Rui, Silva, Charizard, and Venus. The people in there looked around confused before the scenery changed to the hideout's third floor.

Third Floor

The real Wes looked horrified as there were more members mistreating their Pokémon unfairly. Shadow Wes kept shaking his head in shame as they all heard cries and screams from many Pokémon. "I was in hell..." Shadow Wes said. "...True hell became more apparent when I grew up over the years..."

Wes and everyone else heard cries and screams from many different kinds of Pokémon. Many cries that came from all directions of the hideout made them all feel heavy and horrified.

Pichu shook in fear as he leaned closer to Chris's face.

Pikachu looked down in shame as he wanted to do something to stop the cries..

Squirtle and Ivysaur looked up worried at Red who also looked ashamed.

Jigglypuff looked around to find the sources of the cries.

Rui blocked her ears to stop hearing the pleas for help,

Silva got a headache for thinking too much about the most logical reason behind this event.

Lucario and Mewtwo closed their eyes feeling some guilt.

Charizard just waited for the supernatural event to end so he could attack Red.

Venus was having enough with all the screams that she blocked her ears.

And Wes's pupils shrunk as he slowly shook his head. Umbreon and Espeon remained close to him. The 2 Pokémon didn't like anything they were seeing or hearing.

Shadow Wes turned to them as he sniffed a bit. "It...it was hell for all the Pokémon..." he trailed off as he wiped some tears. "Wherever I turned, I heard cries of Pokémon being abused by the members... I did everything I could do to save them...but the members all yelled at me that they weren't my Pokémon and I shouldn't try to tell them how to train their Pokémon..."

"..." Wes gritted his teeth as he looked down.

Shadow Wes's voice turned harsh. "And then I realized that I was there for a reason," he said. "I was there to stop the stupid and worthless tyranny of the people... I grew sick of them...sick of their unfair punishment to Pokémon...I hated them all...I wanted to kill them if I could..." He looked at Wes. "Everyone is the same as Team Snagem... Humanity itself is cruel to Pokémon..."

"..." Wes looked at him with a mad look.

"No matter how much I ran to punish the idiots from hurting their Pokémon, they continued to hurt them all without showing any signs of emotions or resentment," Shadow Wes explained. "Why the hell were they all like that? Their horrible examples made me think that no one in the world was truly friendly to Pokémon..." He trailed off a bit. "...I was the only one who cared about Pokémon and no one else deserved to be their friend..." He looked at the Smashers. "You're just like them for imprisoning Pokémon in those filthy things called Poké Balls."

"W-wait just a minute there," Red said as he took a step forward. "You're saying we're guilty for training our Pokémon?"

"Duh, it's obvious," Shadow Wes said as he pointed at Wes. "At least so he thinks...or we think."

Wes tightened a fist as he glared down at the shadow kid. "Whatever you're saying is a complete lie," he said. "I don't believe in any of your crap."

"Aren't you very persistent for not recognizing the truth?" Shadow Wes asked with a sigh. "Get in that little head of yours that we're the Savior of Pokémon."

"Savior of Pokémon?" Jigglypuff asked.

Shadow Wes's voice turned back to its childhood one. "We're the Savior of Pokémon...that's our purpose to live, after all..."

Wes looked down at the floor as the cries of the Pokémon kept echoing in the hideout. "You're starting to say very foolish things about me..."

Shadow Wes's voice turned harsh again. "Why can't you just accept the truth that you avoid a lot of times, me?" he asked angrily. "Don't you want to save Pokémon from every single bad guy in the world?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Then work as the Savior of Pokémon!" Shadow Wes yelled before he snapped his fingers. "Why don't we find out why you quit Team Snagem?"

Wes's eyes widened before looking back at the Shadow Nightmare. "W-what?"

"I can do that and project it without problems," Shadow Wes pointed out. "This interesting event changed you as well...it changed both of us..."

Umbreon looked at the aware Espeon. "(The event that changed Wes? Doesn't he mean...)"

Espeon looked down. "(...That...monster just complete a part of Wes's past that we wanted to explain to the others...and none of it was a lie but the whole truth...)"

"(So can that shadow really show his past through his own weird powers?)"

"(...I don't know...)" Espeon said. "(I can barely understand the events unfolding here. Maybe Pikachu and the others know more than we do.)"

Umbreon looked back at the group of Smashers. "(...They've been in something this odd for a long time? It's hard to believe that they face this almost all the time...)"

"(Those people are seriously fascinating and unbelievable in some ways I wish to understand more than you do,)" Espeon said. "(For now, let's see what that shadow does to show Wes's past...)"

"Y-you..." Wes grunted in fury as the scene changed after complete darkness covered the third floor. This time, the scene changed to Gonzap's office where the leader seemed to be waiting for someone to arrive at the hideout.

Gonzap's Office

Silva gasped once he looked over the desk where a glaring Gonzap was resting his legs on the table. "U-uah, it's Team Snagem's leader!" he yelped.

"Please, calm down," Pikachu told him. "This is just an illusion after all."

"D-did the Pikachu just...talk to me?" Silva asked confused before scratching his head. "W-what is wrong with this place? W-why are we seeing all these things?"

The World Traveler had the thought of kicking Silva out, but there was no way to do what he wanted as they were in a completely different scene, Venus admiring the place a little bit, ignoring the fact that the time got odd in a matter of seconds.

Espeon and Umbreon gasped mentally as they looked around. "(T-this is the same date where we both evolved...)" Umbreon recalled.

"(I evolved into this during the day while you evolved during this night,)" Espeon said. "(I still remember the event very well. We had finally evolved to what we could evolve... However, by this time, Wes already had changed like he is now...)" He frowned in shame. "(It was...too late to change him back to his...)"

Umbreon noticed that Jigglypuff walked to them. The Singer Pokémon stopped in front of them and decided to talk. "(I...happened to listen to what you were saying...)" she said, worried about the whole situation.

Espeon looked at her. "(Since we have some time left, let me be brief,)" he said. "(This date was the same day and night where we both evolved. It had been so long, but we finally managed to evolve into what we are now.)"

Umbreon decided to continue. "(Wes had to endure every single cry and scream from the Pokémon of the hideout. Espeon and I had wanted to become friends with them, but...seeing as they were all treated like trash...and the fact that the members were so mean...)"

Espeon closed his eyes. "(...We never had the chance to hear their thoughts about what they suffered all this time...)"

"(Worse yet...)" Umbreon said as he looked at the stairs. "(...Wes...he...)"

"(...His friendly attitude and happy self...they both vanished forever...)" Espeon said. "(...It was as if his usual self died and some kind of bad omen got into him... His face tells so much. Believe us; Wes had a much happier self, long before this happened. The constant abuse to the Pokémon he saw through the years surely had something to d

[DededeCloneChris]

"(...His friendly attitude and happy self...they both vanished forever...)" Espeon said. "(...It was as if his usual self died and some kind of bad omen got into him... His face tells so much. Believe us; Wes had a much happier self, long before this happened. The constant abuse to the Pokémon he saw through the years surely had something to do with his cold and harsh attitude. He remained loyal to both of us but ...)"

"(We'd wanted to change him...but we couldn't do anything after that...)" Umbreon said ashamed. "(Thanks to the sick Team Snagem, Wes never was the same person anymore... I hate them...I hate them all for taking away our Wes from before!)"

Everyone looked back at the stairs where some kind of evil-looking guy came up. The person's eyes looked extremely evil as they were completely red, he wore a tight purple suit, ripped orange skirt that somehow moved by itself, and his grey hair was long and eerie since it made him look malicious. Looking to Gonzap, the man grinned with a chuckle and walked to him.

Seeing the man, Venus gasped excited. "N-no way, it's Master Nascour!"

Rui shook her head as she saw the man some feet away from them. "W-wait a minute, Wes and I met him at Phenac City before..."

"And did you just call him master?" Silva asked.

Venus laughed heartily. "Of course I called him Master. He's Cipher's Leader."

"...He's Cipher's Leader?!" Rui and Silva asked in shock.

"Of course he is," Venus said with a giggle. "He's the one who commands the whole production of Shadow Pokémon, gives orders to us admins, and carries out his master plan to conquer Orre with Shadow Pokémon. He's like the greatest guy who has existed."

Silva glared at her. "What the heck are you talking about? Thanks to him, Orre's Pokémon are being turned into the crap you call Shadow Pokémon!"

Venus pouted a bit. "Well, excuse me for not giving you the good news properly, meddling boy," she said annoyed before crossing her arms. "He's just trying to make a better future for the trainers who want to be powerful."

"B-but the fact that Pokémon are being turned into machines of battles is just wrong!" Rui yelled. "What gives you all the right to do such a horrible thing?"

Her question was unanswered as Nascour began to speak to Gonzap.

"So," the man began as he crossed his arms in front of Gonzap. "I believe you'll have him ready?"

Gonzap shook his head. "Have who ready, exactly?"

At that moment, there was a somewhat proud Wes from the past (now looking just like the present Wes) coming from down below. Umbreon and Espeon remembered that the shady trainer was going to hear Nascour and Gonzap talking.

"You know who I'm talking about," Nascour said. "The kid you want to use in order to use our Snag Machine technology?"

A gasp was heard from down below the stairs. Espeon and Umbreon looked down the stairs where the Wes from the past and their past selves were hiding behind some barrels. Jigglypuff, seeing this, motioned at her group to go look down to find the Wes from the past (while Rui and Silva looked at the leader of Cipher). The real Wes looked shocked at he saw Nascour's back while Shadow Wes looked horrified at the evil man. Venus was humming happily, and Charizard wished for this "unnecessary" event to end.

Gonzap grunted. "Seriously, you want me to use Wes to steal other Pokémon from people?"

The Wes from the past gasped silently after he heard that sentence.

Nascour nodded. "You said yourself 9 years ago that he had that special spark to catch Pokémon."

Gonzap grunted once more. "What makes you think I picked him randomly from nowhere, promising him great things that I didn't even know he could reach?"

The real Wes looked shocked after hearing those words. His face looked scared, but his fists showed anger. Unfortunately, he couldn't decide what to do.

"How odd," Nascour said. "I thought you did that."

"..." Gonzap sighed and looked down. "...Yes, I know I picked him randomly..."

Wes began to shake his head.

"You picked him because you didn't trust any other member in here to use the Snag Machine," Nascour said. "Or so you said before."

"I had the luck of the bastard," Gonzap said. "I was lucky to find an orphan like him in Pyrite Town."

"Well, what's holding you back from using him as the Snag Machine's user?" Nascour asked. "He shows big promises to become a well-known thief; a thief that can steal other people's owned Pokémon."

Another gasp came from the Wes of the past.

"Wes has trained harder every day after he turned 15," Gonzap said as he stood up from his chair, his eyes locked on Nascour. "The kid's got some skill to become an expert in Pokémon battles, I'm telling you. But, he just doesn't like this place that much as he used to...even I can tell he dislikes doing crimes."

"How odd, I thought he never liked the place from the very beginning," Nascour said.

"He never liked this place," Gonzap admitted. "But...he liked to have someone to look up to..."

"Aww, is Gonzap a softie?" teased Nascour. "You grew fond of the kid, then?"

Gonzap glared at Nascour. "I...I...grew fond of him, alright..." he admitted. "...He managed to be the son I never had before..."

"Did you forget about the deal we had before?" Nascour asked. "If you don't give him the task to snag people's Pokémon, Cipher isn't going to provide your group more technology and Pokémon."

Gonzap slammed his fist on the desk, his eyes still fixated on Nascour. "Are you trying to blackmail me or something?"

"I'm simply recalling you about the deal we had before, Gonzap," Nascour said simply. "Deal or no deal, you decide."

Wes merely watched the event as he tried to prevent from erupting into rage. The conversation between both leaders was making him decide to do something involving violence.

"You can't do anything to interfere," Shadow Wes suddenly said, getting Wes's attention. "You try that, and you'll just pass right through them. You gotta watch everything if you want it to end so you realize the truth."

"What truth is there?" Wes asked annoyed as the whole group turned to look at him. "I don't get any of this crap you're showing me."

"...I have 4 words for you," the shadow said. "Shut up and listen."

Gonzap thought hard about the deal that Nascour offered. He liked to update the team with the technology that Cipher had. Cipher itself had the best machines, including the only Snag Machine that they had made recently. On the other side, there was Wes whom Gonzap had grown fond.

"...So..." Gonzap trailed off as he glared at Nascour. "...You want Wes to be the one to capture Pokémon by using the compact Snag Machine?"

Nascour chuckled evilly. "That is right. The big Snag Machine we gave you isn't going to help you fast to recollect Pokémon."

"..." Gonzap stood up from his chair. Many thoughts in his head told him that the decision that he was going to choose would decide the fate of the hideout and his team. The team or Wes, 2 choices he had to decide.

Wes's eyes widened after he saw Gonzap extending his right hand across the table.

"...Deal," Gonzap said. "Wes is going to capture Pokémon for you..." He sighed depressed. "He isn't going to like this...but...this is for the future of both of our organizations...and he could understand the situation... (Most likely not, though...)"

"Excellent," Nascour said as he shook hands with Gonzap. "You've just made the best decision in your life, Gonzap. Cipher will provide you with any kind of technology available as long as Wes keeps on task."

The leader of Team Snagem tightened his left fist as he gritted his teeth. "Fine, Wes will do that. He's very talented and obedient."

"Then I guess I shall be leaving for the time being," Nascour said as he turned to the stairs. Umbreon and Espeon looked down where their past selves, along with the past Wes, hid behind some barrels to stay out sight. "Do not worry about this at all, Gonzap."

"It's easier for you to say..." Gonzap muttered under his breath as he sat down and frowned in shame. "(...Son...forgive me for doing this to you...I...I just didn't know the right way for you to go...)"

The group watched as Nascour, chuckling, began to walk down the stairs, the past selves hiding perfectly behind the barrels. Wes didn't even want to look at Nascour's look when he was around during that time. If he had seen the leader of Cipher, he would have confronted him at Phenac City.

But he was weak during that time, and he had no choice but to ignore the leader as he walked away from the hideout, an evilly grin plastered on his lips.

Shadow Wes glared at Gonzap. "That idiot whom I called dad before...he sold me to some strangers' work..." His voice turned childish. "Gonzap was like a father to me. He looked cool and strong... I wanted to be like him..." His voice turned harsh and twisted. "But noooooooo, he was keeping me in the dark before THIS happened..."

"Gonzap..." Wes muttered as he slowly raised his fists.

"Wes..." Rui muttered worried as Silva looked down, feeling shame for Wes.

"...So this is what happened..." Chris muttered.

"...Poor dude..." Ivysaur muttered.

"The man who he used to look up...." Lucario muttered before frowning. "...I think I can understand it very well..."

"(Wes....)" Umbreon and Espeon thought worried.

Red felt a little bit guilty after hearing and seeing Wes's past. The Pallet Town trainer lowered his hat a bit and tried to think about something to comfort the shady trainer. There was nothing to comfort Wes, unfortunately.

"2 weeks passed after that day, and Gonzap showed me the arm machine that was the Snag Machine," Shadow Wes said. "He said he needed me to snag people's Pokémon and bring them here. I knew what he talked about in the conversation. Quietly, I told him to give me some time before I could be deployed to capture Pokémon. I took Umbreon and Espeon along with me so they could understand what I really felt about the whole idea."

Shadow Wes snapped his fingers, instantly changing the scene to the next day where, far away to the north from the hideout, Wes was punching the canyon's wall in rage, Umbreon and Espeon watching from the passenger's seat, a hint of preoccupation in their looks.

"Why, why, WHY, WHY?!" Wes asked as he punched the wall hardly. "Why did he do this to me? That darn old man shouldn't have tricked me into joining this stupid and maleficent group of petty thieves just to some crap like stealing Pokémon!" he yelled loudly as he continued to punch the wall. "Everyone here treats Pokémon like s(beep) and trash, it infuriates me to see such a treatment! UGH!"

The past Espeon and past Umbreon began to yell at their trainer. The past Wes stopped punching the wall before turning to them.

"I've been training this whole time to STEAL Pokémon from people?" Wes asked to them. "Why the hell would I do such a horrible thing? I want to catch wild Pokémon, not owned Pokémon..." He closed his eyes, tightening his fists. "...Dad...no...Gonzap...you...you...you betrayed me...didn't you?"

Espeon and Umbreon looked at each other and nodded a bit. Their presents looked down and closed their eyes.

"(This was the day where we began to think Gonzap did wrong actions on Wes...)" Espeon muttered.

Umbreon showed his fangs a bit. "(That dirty scum... Tricking us to do sickening crimes...)"

Wes saw his past self looking up to the sky. The past Wes seemed to be thinking about something to do and punish Gonzap for all the years he spent on Wes before using him to use the Snag Machine and capture owned Pokémon. The past self looked at his bike machine and his Pokémon, staring at them for a long while as the wind of the wasteland swiped the sand away to the north.

"...Of course..." the past Wes muttered. "...I can always escape..." He made a small grin. "...But not just escaping..." he continued as he walked to the bike, an evil look appearing in his face. "So, if Gonzap wants me to use Snag Machine to steal Pokémon...I'll do it..."

Rui, Silva, Chris, Red, and most of the Pokémon gasped.

"...But not like he wants me to do it..." the past Wes continued talking as the past selves of Espeon and Umbreon looked at each other. "...I'll snag those Shadow Pokémon he's been talking about with that guy once he sets me out to scout them..."

The Moonlight and Sun Pokémon watched as the past Wes jumped on the bike, starting the motor. They both looked serious as well as their trainer.

There was more that the past Wes muttered.

"...Forget it," the past Wes said. "I'll steal some dynamite, blow up the hideout, steal the Snag Machine while destroying the big one, and we'll escape from there," he said with a chuckle as he grinned evilly, showing his teeth a bit. "Hope you like the surprise, Gonzap..." he chuckled silently as the motor's roar covered the small laugh, quickly accelerating to the west.

Silva rubbed his chin a bit despite the headache he got after watching the whole event. "So...if my suspicions are correct and accurate...this revenge threat turned into..."

Shadow Wes snapped his fingers once more, changing the whole scenery as they were all taken to Team Snagem's Hideout, many feet away from the entrance.

Team Snagem's Hideout
Entrance

The whole group of people looked at a familiar bike with an Espeon on the passenger's seat. The Sun Pokémon moved its 2-tailed tail at the sides as it looked at the hideout.

"...This was the day where I secretly hid bombs all around the hideout..." the real Wes said. "...This was also the day where everything for me changed because I wanted to do so..."

Suddenly, before them, the hideout began to explode and burst into flames. Screams and yells of pain came from within the building where some members ran out and fell down on the ground. Looking up to the second floor, they all saw an explosion that came from the left side, making a hole where the past Wes's shadow could be seen within the smoke.

If they were close to him, they would have looked at the Snag Machine on a mannequin's left arm. The past Wes had his goggles on. The shady trainer looked at the Snag Machine, its reflection on Wes's goggles as a malevolent grin formed under them.

"What a great treasure..." the past Wes said chuckling as he grabbed the machine and put it on his left arm, fitting just fine. The past Wes turned around and prepared to leap down, his Umbreon waiting for him on the ground. "Good bye, Gonzap, bunch of idiots..." he muttered before leaping down on the ground, signaling Umbreon to run alongside him to the bike as more members came out after more explosions came from all parts of the hideout.

"This is the incident of the hideout, then?" Silva asked. "The police found the hideout after the smoke began to rise up, but I didn't know Wes was responsible for it."

The past Wes, with his grin, ran to the bike and hopped onto the rider's seat while Umbreon leaped to the passenger's seat and sat right next to Espeon. The 2 Pokémon looked back at the hideout where an enraged Gonzap came out, glaring menacingly at them.

"WES!" Gonzap yelled loudly through the screams and yells from the others. "COME BACK HERE, YOU SON OF A B(BEEP)!!!"

"Well, too bad I don't have a mom!" Wes yelled with a laugh as he started the engine. "Catch ya later, Gonzap!"

"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!" Gonzap yelled loudly as his former member before an explosion made him trip down, falling hard on the ground as he barely saw Wes's bike disappearing into the west. "...Wes..." Gonzap muttered in shame before more explosions came, making all the members panic as they ran around. Annoyed by their yells and screams, he decided to order them to calm down.

The group looked back at Wes and Shadow Wes. The shady trainer was looking down at the ground before Shadow Wes snapped his fingers, instantly changing the scenery to the present, back at the tunnel in The Under.

The Under
Apotos Temple – Entrance

"...Wes..." Rui muttered as she looked at Wes, not caring about the shadow. "...I...I think I can understand why you turned out like this..."

Persona 4 – Border of Insanity

Shadow Wes began to sob with his childish voice. "I...I was so sad after I left my old home..." he admitted. "...I wanted to be with Gonzap and do the small crimes we always did... I sort of grew up enjoying thievery with as long as the others wouldn't interfere because they were so mean to Pokémon..." He looked at them with a glare, his voice turning harsh and twisted. "But after I lived through all that, I began to realize that humanity is just downright cruel to all Pokémon. You're the people who make me sick every darn time I look at your faces."

The Smashers snapped out from their sights at Wes before glaring at the shadow.

"No matter whatever I do, you just won't leave Pokémon alone, right?" the shadow asked mad. "I found out that I was the only one who could save all Pokémon from the likes of you. My goal in life is to save them all and punish the infidels who mistreat them."

"W-wait just a minute!" Squirtle interrupted. "Neither Red or Chris have been treating us badly! They've been taking care of us just fine!"

"Oh, but you surely hate the fact that you must be in those so-called Poké Balls," Shadow Wes said. "You want to roam free and do whatever you please with the world, right?"

Jigglypuff took a step forward. "We like to enjoy the time by spending it with everyone."

"Is that true? Well, I don't believe in such a foolish thing like all of you do," Shadow Wes said before grunting. "The Pokémon I have are safe from the harming hands of people. I keep them away from getting hurt."

"If you're saying you're the only one that takes care of Pokémon, then you're wrong," Lucario said as he glared at the shadow. "We know much better than you will ever do."

Shadow Wes frowned. "You're rebelling against your own freedom? It's so pathetic and so sad to think you're rebelling against something that you should have owned before..." He grunted again.

"Look, we share our freedom with them," Pikachu said. "We like to be with them because it's the only way to enjoy life."

"Share freedom?" Shadow Wes asked. "Please, you're just being plain ridiculous now. Freedom isn't supposed to be shared; freedom is supposed to be every single Pokémon' right to enjoy life. It's not supposed to be shared. What are you really trying to say to me?" the shadow asked before looking at Wes. "What do you wanna do?"

Wes looked down at the shadow and swung his right arm angry. "You shut up!" Wes demanded. "Why would I listen to all the crap you've been saying, anyway? You don't know anything about me!"

"Wow, you don't believe me despite all the truths I showed you just a minute ago?" Shadow Wes asked. "You truly are pathetic. You make me pathetic as well. Personally, I don't like the way you're answering me."

"What is it about the whole thing about you being me?" Wes asked with crossed arms.

"I'm the real facade that you should be," Shadow Wes said. "I came out of you because you can't support yourself with the lies that you believe are true," he explained. "Do you know that if you keep lying it'll make matters dangerously worse for you?"

"No, because whatever the heck you are isn't going to affect me," Wes said with a glare.

"...I'm you..." the shadow said. "...And you are me..."

Wes closed his eyes with rage as he tightened his fists. Everyone watched as he slowly showed his teeth in pure fury. He had enough of the shadow that mocked him a lot, and he didn't care where it came from. Wes just wanted to get rid of him so he wouldn't bother him any longer.

Taking the iniciative, Wes raised his right fist while glaring down at the shadow. "FOR THE LAST TIME, YOU'RE NOT ME, PIECE OF S(BEEP)!!!"

The Smashers, Rui, and Silva gasped when Wes threw a fist down at the shadow. However, just before the fist could connect with Shadow Wes's face, the shadow quickly disolved into the ground where Wes accidentally moved forward, losing his balance a bit before the shadow rose up from behind him, grunting angrily.

"So, I guess you're just going to ignore me," Shadow Wes said. "Fine!"

Wes turned around as he panted heavily. Espeon and Umbreon felt a bit frightened as they looked at their trainer's wild look.

Shadow Wes chuckled evilly. "Well, what do you now? We're not the same person anymore," he said. "Since you deny your own self, that means your real self, me, will live freely doing whatever I please..."

The Smashers saw as the shadow began to get covered with more darkness. Wes's wild look quickly changed to a surprised look as the shadow began to grow in size, eventually reaching his own height. Once the pure darkness cleared out a bit, Wes gasped.

Shadow Wes had turned into Wes. The shadow wasn't a kid anymore, but a Wes covered in darkness with glowing yellow eyes.

"Now, I am all of me," Shadow Wes said as he smiled wickedly at Wes. "You don't deserve to go on living and lying to yourself, you know why?"

"U-ugh, why?!" Wes asked, demanding for the answer.

Shadow Wes moved his face up while staring at Wes. "You don't deserve to go on living and lying to yourself because I'm going to finish you off once and for all, meaning you're going to die right here. In fact, I'm going to save you by killing you."

"...WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Wes asked enraged as he threw a fist at Shadow Wes. However, the fist was easily and swiftly avoided by the shadow who merely moved to the side. Wes accidentally moved forward like before, but this time, the shadow quickly retaliated by thrusting his right elbow on Wes's throat, making him gasp before his shadow grabbed him from his back with a right hand and tossed him against the ruins' walls, crashing on his back and the back of his head hardly. "UGH!!!"

"WES!" Rui, Red, Silva, and Chris yelled as the shady trainer had a painful look.

Wes had received a fatal blow that made him lost consciousness. The shady trainer fell down while leaning on the wall before he sat down, his body slightly moving forward as some blood began to stick out his lips.

Rui began to look horrified before she ran towards him, a worried Silva following while the Smashers glared back at the shadow.

Umbreon and Espeon had shocked looks after looking at their downed trainer. The 2 growled at the shadow that turned around to look down to them. "Oh, what's the matter?" Shadow Wes asked as he opened his arms. "You're my Pokémon, right? You won't attack me, right? Think of all the things we've been through together."

Umbreon growled. "(You're not the Wes we know!)"

Espeon looked at him. "(Umbreon, he won't understand us. It's futile to yell at him with words.)"

"Why's the barking for?" Shadow Wes asked with a glare. "Are the fleas jumping on you? You want me to give both of you a bath? I can do that because I care for you."

Espeon glared back at him before he tried to use Psybeam by shooting the rainbow-colored beam from his jewel on his forehead. However, when the attack was shot, it trespasses the shadow without doing any damage. Umbreon and Espeon gasped as Shadow Wes frowned in shame.

"Why are you attacking me now?" Shadow Wes asked bored. "I thought you were my Pokémon..." His depressed look turned into a glare. "Or do you want to rebel against me? Ouch, that's so mean of you. I raised the 2 of you when you were found abandoned in Pyrite Town. This is how you express your gratitude?" He stomped the ground. "I don't like your attitude AT ALL."

Espeon and Umbreon began to notice that Shadow Wes's dark aura began to get bigger, giving him a more maleficent look. The 2 Pokémon jumped back some feet away to stay cautious about the monster before them.

"G-get back here!" Chris yelled at the 2. "W-we don't know what he could do!"

Umbreon and Espeon looked at the Smashers. The 2 talked with each other a bit before running to their side.

Shadow Wes crossed his arms as he looked at the Smashers. "You're the ones who have been pissing me off this entire time," the shadow said. "It's time for me to release your Pokémon from yourselves by killing them all. They want to stay with destroyers of freedom? Well then, I'll have to punish them all as well."

Pikachu, Pichu, Umbreon, Espeon, Lucario, Mewtwo, Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Jigglypuff glared at the shadow as Venus laughed loudly from behind them. Red and Chris tried to think about something to get rid of the shadow as the Cipher Admin walked closer to them from the right side of the entrance.

"Lovely!" Venus remarked as she took out a Poké Ball from her back. "Well, I thank this little monster for taking the kid out. Seriously, all those super-extremely-natural events that you showed here were just perfect to knock him out of co-"

"Hey, ugly, shut up," Shadow Wes interrupted. "I'm doing something important over here. If you don't mind, go away."

Venus blinked a few times before she grunted. "What the hell did you just call me, impudent shadow monster?"

"What you heard from me, that's all," Shadow Wes said.

"Well! Since you're being such a fine gentleman, I'll guess I have to give you a special treatment," Venus said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes, her Poké Ball.

The Flame Pokémon ran next to her as he looked at the sphere. "W-wait a minute, you're going to fight him? You're supposed to fight the others in front of him!"

Venus sulked a bit. "Sorry, but I have a reputation to keep here," she explained. "If someone calls me something I am NOT at all, that person isn't going to get away with it that easily."

Charizard frowned. "Are you like most girls or what?"

"I don't need your interrogations now," Venus said as she looked at Shadow Wes. The shadow frowned and turned around to face her. "Well, boy, even if you gave me a hand by kicking that other boy out, you're not getting away by calling me ugly!"

"Look, I don't care about you Cipher people," Shadow Wes said. "I don't give a darn about you. You can go straight to hell as much as I care."

"Oh, why you little..." Venus grunted as she tossed her Poké Ball to the ground. When it opened, it released a Suicune who howled at the shadow. "Behold my Shadow Pokémon, Suicune!"

Red had to take out his Pokédex and get Suicune's info. Jigglypuff looked bored at him. "We're in a dire situation and all you can do for now is scanning Legendary Pokémon?"

Red looked down at her. "I-I'm doing this for Professor Oak's research, okay?" he asked annoyed.

"Hohohohohohohoho!" Venus laughed pleased, not noticing that Shadow Wes grinned evilly at the Suicune. "Shall we get started with the battle so you go home crying?"

Mewtwo narrowed his eyes at Suicune. "I sense dark and negative thoughts in Suicune. It must be a Shadow Pokémon."

"Glad to see you can tell Suicune's a Shadow Pokémon," Venus said pleased before looking amused at Shadow Wes. "Shall we begin?"

"Why do that?" Shadow Wes asked as he took out a shadow Poké Ball from his back. "I can finish our pointless battle by releasing that Pokémon from your hands." He tossed the ball at the Suicune. The Legendary Pokémon growled a bit at the shadow before it received the hit of the sphere.

Venus and Charizard gasped after they saw the shadow Poké Ball not rocketing at the sides on the ground. Shadow Wes chuckled as he went to pick up the sphere, a smirk slowly forming on his lips. Most of the Smashers looked shocked at how the shadow easily captured the Shadow Pokémon.

"...Did he just capture Suicune without doing any effort whatsoever?" Chris asked.

"He just did..." Lucario muttered.

"That's one of the many benefits for being honest," Shadow Wes said as Venus began to back away from him. "I get to catch any kind of Pokémon I want."

At this statement, every single Pokémon ran to different ways as well as Red and Chris. The shadow chuckled amused as they all glared at him.

Venus, however, was starting to lose her focus. "You better give me back my Suicune or else I'm calling my squad here!"

Shadow Wes stared blankly at her. "Like I care."

"That's it," Venus began as she snapped her fingers. "Peons, come on here and give me a hand!"

The Smashers saw as all the peons that went to the temple returned, forming an organized line where a blue peon saluted her. "We're afraid to report that there is no way to enter the temple, Lady Venus. We tried attacking, exploding, and even research the places for clue but we didn't have success."

"I don't care about a stupid temple anymore!" Venus yelled loudly.

Charizard fumed a bit. "I thought we had a deal here!"

"Oh, screw the deal!" Venus said as she turned to Charizard. "What I want to do now is recover my Shadow Pokémon from that shadow monster!" She pointed at Shadow Wes, who looked at her from the corner of his eyes as he faced the temple. "Peons, call out your Pokémon an-"

Shadow Wes quickly responded by throwing a Poké Ball at the floor, instantly releasing the same Suicune that he captured. However, unlike before, Suicune was now covered in pure darkness as it let out a howl that echoed. The peons gasped in fear as the Legendary  Pokémon glared at them with its yellow eyes.

Venus saw them all trembling in fear. "Hey, like, what are you doing standing like that?"

"L-Lady Venus, forgive us, but we're not strong enough to face one of your Pokémon!" a purple peon said as she covered her face with her arms.

"What? Oh, please, just send out you Pokémon and attack the shadow kid without merc-"

"Suicune, use Blizzard!" Shadow Wes interrupted, ordering his Suicune to gather ice mist inside its mouth.

Instantly feeling Suicune's energy, Mewtwo's eyes widened as he noticed some of them (himself, Jigglypuff, Pikachu, Pichu) were at the right side of the tunnel. "Spread out to the left, now!"

"W-why?" Jigglypuff asked.

"Suicune has been corrupted by the Shadow Nightmare," Mewtwo explained. "Its power has been increased to an alarming level... If we stay here any longer, that Blizzard attack could obliterate us."

"Teleport, Teleport, Teleport!" Pichu suddenly suggested as Suicune prepared to fire its attack.

"That's the most useful method," Mewtwo said as he teleported all of them to the left side, Suicune unleashing its attack.

The new shadow Pokémon released a very strong wind of ice that came out from its mouth. The peons were instantly flung against the other side of the tunnel while a terrified Venus and Charizard managed to run back to the exit to watch the attack. Looking back, Venus gasped once she saw all her peons moaning in pain to the right side. What made her get more shocked was the fact that half of the cave was now covered in ice with stalagmites and stalactites.

Shadow Wes chuckled proud as he petted Suicune's head. "Well done, my friend."

The peons shook their heads slowly as they all began to stand up in pain. After looking back at the Shadow Nightmare and his dangerous Pokémon, they all decided to retreat to the exit by screaming and ignoring her leader.

Venus grunted annoyed as she looked at Shadow Wes. "L-look at what you've done! You scared all my peons!"

"Good," Shadow Wes said. "It's time for you to receive the same treatment."

Venus knew what was coming to her as her previous owned Suicune began to gather ice mist in its mouth. . "I-I can't stand this anymore!" she yelled before turning to the exit. "I'm getting out of this temple! I don't want to stay here any longer!"

"WAIT RIGHT THERE!" Charizard demanded.

"I like my life, thank you," Venus said simply before she ran away outside, Suicune stopping charging the attack. "Good luck fighting that thing for me!"

"Hey!" Charizard grunted annoyed as the admin ran away in a hurry. "Dammit, you need to stay here and give me a hand! Oh crap, she ran away..."

Shadow Wes chuckled. "Well, guess she didn't have the guts to face the Savior of Pokémon," he said before turning to the Smashers. "I wonder if you will run away as well. Sorry, there's no route to get away from me." He glared at them. "I'll kill you all for imprisoning the  Pokémon you have with you."

"W-wait!" Red yelled. "Y-you said you were Wes, right?"

"I was Wes once, but not anymore," the shadow said. "Since he lied to himself, I was freed to be the true Wes. Why are you asking me that?"

"If you're supposed to be Wes...then why do you have a grudge against all of us?"

"Team Snagem taught me that humanity is cruel to Pokémon," Shadow Wes said. "Thanks to them, I was able to find out that I am the Savior of all Pokémon. No person I meet deserves to go unpunished by taking freedom out of Pokémon."

"You...the Savior of Pokémon?" Ivysaur asked.

"I am the Savior of Pokémon," Shadow Wes. "That's my job."

Red looked over at the unconscious Wes while Rui and Silva tried to wake him up. The shady trainer had some sort of sad look on his closed eyes. The girl and the detective wanted to make him wake up, but Wes was totally fainted. Rui could only sob as Silva shook him a few times.

The Pallet Town trainer stepped forward. "If you ask me...you're not exactly the Savior of Pokémon."

At this statement, Shadow Wes glared at Red. "Oh, so does say the inexperienced trainer. You're not exactly the normal trainer, that's for sure."

Red grunted a bit. "...Do you want to hear the truth from me?"

"Like I care," Shadow Wes said. "I couldn't care less of a weakling like you, Red."

"And I don't care that much about a bastard who wants to kill humans for something we haven't done!"

"What makes you say that?" Shadow Wes asked. "No one should be allowed to capture and take care of Pokémon! You and your stupid group of people are the perfect example of that!"

"Then why the hell do you capture Pokémon?!" Red yelled.

"I do that because I'm going to set them all free once I complete my mission in life," Shadow Wes explained. "I'm the only exception of the whole world that can capture Pokémon in order to free them from their chains that tie them up to you." He twisted his neck a bit. "Shall we begin the battle that will decide whether I'm wrong or right?

The Smashers looked confused at the shadow. "The battle? I thought you were going straight to capture o-" Red's mouth quickly got blocked by an alarmed Chris.

"I-if you want to have a battle, we'll give you one," Chris said serious, gulping a bit.

Shadow Wes smirked. "Just to let you know I'm still honorable. I wanna have a double battle against you 2. Rules are simple: each one of you can use all the Pokémon you have, and I'll use 5 because Espeon and Umbreon seem to be betraying with those looks they're giving to me."

Red and Chris looked at their right where the Sun and Moonlight Pokémon were glaring menacingly at Shadow Wes. Red thought that Shadow Wes was limited to 4 Pokémon due to the fact Umbreon and Espeon were released just before Wes got possessed before being pushed out the blob.

"Too baaaaaaaad," mocked Shadow Wes. "I thought we were partners... Oh well, there are always idiots who change their minds for the worst answer." The shadow looked at the Rui and Silva, looking worried at the real Wes. "Very soon, you 3 will die."

Rui and Silva turned to the shadow. "W-what? He's going to kill us off?" Silva asked.

"I won't but my Pokémon will," Shadow Wes said with a smirk. "Okay, let's prepare for the battle!"

"Hold on there!" Charizard stopped as he approached the shadow, the monster glaring at the Flame Pokémon. "I'm not going to let you do all the fighting in here. I want to have some action as well."

"Tsk, whatever," Shadow Wes said. "Be glad you're a Pokémon yourself. You're already free to do whatever you please but if you want to help me to liberate them all, then I won't complain."

A while later...

The Smashers were situated on the left area of the tunnel while Shadow Wes and Charizard were located at the right area covered in ice. The shadow and the Flame Pokémon had arms crossed as they watched the group preparing for the fight.

The World Traveler and the Pallet Town trainer looked at Pikachu, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Squirtle, Ivysaur, Lucario, and Mewtwo. "We have 7 Pokémon," Chris pointed out. "Each one of us should use 3 or 4 because he said we could use everyone."

Red rubbed his chin. "But do you think we can do this? We all watched how Shadow Lucas's power was...and what if Shadow Wes is the same?"

"It is the same," Mewtwo said. "It's the same monster. Since Wes isn't a fighter, the Shadow Nightmare probably gave enhancements to his team. I suggest we should think our strategies well."

"Oh great," Jigglypuff said bored. "Another night to die for good young me."

"..." Chris looked back at Tokunaga, the doll that hanged on his throat from his back. "Wait, Master Hand told me I could use jobs compatible to you to unleash CFSs..."

"That surely gives us an edge, right?" Pichu asked. "...Right?"

"But..." Red looked at the glaring shadow. "He said he was going to be honorable and fight with the rules..."

"The fact he told us we could use all the Pokémon we want discourages the whole idea of rules, don't you think?" Lucario asked.

"...I guess," Chris said. "And he could...you know...capture any of you like he did with Suicune..."

"We're gonna be careful with him," Squirtle said. "Suicune didn't see it coming, but we can do it."

"Are you sure?" Red asked. "I don't want to lose you 2, personally..."

Ivysaur smiled a bit. "You just don't worry, Red," he reassured the trainer. "Just alert us if we don't see him."

Pichu's ears twitched a bit before looking back. There were Umbreon and Espeon looking at them. The Electric type looked at Espeon. "(Please, we wish to be your temporary Pokémon,)" Espeon said.

Pichu looked surprised before looking up at Red and Chris. "H-hey, they want to help us!"

Red and Chris looked at the 2 Pokémon. "They want to fight as well?"

Umbreon looked at Pichu for a bit. "He said they can't bare to see the real Wes in that state," Pichu said. "They want revenge on what the shadow did to them."

"B-but we don't know the attacks they know..." Red said.

Espeon stared at Pikachu for a moment before looking up at the trainers. "They said Espeon knows Psybeam, Confusion, Helping Hand, and Return. Umbreon can use Faint Attack, Bite, Sand-Attack, and Confuse Ray."

"That helps..." Red said unsure.

Wes's Pokémon stared at Red for a moment before they walked to him by his side. Espeon and Umbreon looked up to him before nodding.

"They're saying they want you to be their temporary trainer," Lucario said.

Red blushed a bit. "W-what? W-why are they wanting me to do that?"

Lucario looked at Espeon before looking back at Red. "They're saying they want to prove Wes's shadow that you're a capable trainer. They're doing this to forgive you for the other day, and for all the things Wes has been telling you as well."

"Umbreon!" Umbreon yelled at Red. "Umbre, Umbre, Umbreon!"

"He said that you better take revenge on the shadow or else he'll bite your face off," Lucario explained.

Espeon looked angrily at Umbreon. "Espeon..."

"He just told him to shut up for once."

Red looked embarrassed a bit before looking at the 2 Pokémon. "...I...I don't know if I can do this, you guys..." He scratched his right shoulder a bit. "When Wes began to critizise me for..."

They all began to hear footsteps from behind them. The entire group turned around to look at a sobbing Rui, her hands close on her neck as she looked at them. "I..." she began, sniffing a bit. "...I want to say something after not saying anything else..."

"Rui?" Red asked. "A-are you okay?"

Rui shook her head. "N-no, I'm not alright at all..." she admitted. "...I don't understand anything here...and I don't want to be nitpicky and start to interrogate you either...but..." She looked back at Silva trying to awake Wes. "...I want you to...to do something about Wes..." She looked back at them. "...And I want you all to stop that monster who came out of him..."

Red, Chris, and some of the Pokémon gasped a bit as Rui closer her eyes, crying silently.

"D-do something, I beg of you!" she pleaded as tears began to scroll down her cheeks. "I-I don't want Wes to die like this...not in this kind of weird events!" she yelled before opening her eyes full of tears. "I know that shadow is going to kill him off if you don't beat him, but I beg of you, don't let that monster do whatever he wants with Wes!"

Red looked worried at Rui before he thought about something. "...Rui...why...why do you care a lot about Wes?"

"...Why are you asking me that now?" Rui asked as she sniffed.

"I-I just don't see why you're interested in him..." Red said preoccupied.

"...I...I care about Wes because he rescued me..." Rui admitted. "...The fact that he rescued me without even knowing me from the beginning made me think that, despite his shady face, he has a good heart, deep down in him..." She looked serious at them. "And to tell the truth...that shadow doesn't know what he's saying. I want you all to stop him from doing his stupid purpose in saving all Pokémon... I want you to save Wes...save him from that creature..."

"..." Red looked away. "...I think we can do it..."

Rui smiled a bit and wiped some tears away. "Y-you mean it?"

Red looked at her. "I'm not so sure, but...it's worth the try... To be honest, I really hate Wes..."

"Even after all the events that passed right in front of our eyes?" Rui asked.

"I understand he turned out like this because of Pokémon abuse, but I just can't forgive him for all the things he told me before," Red said serious. "I'm a trainer because I want to find someone special to me!"

"...What?" Rui asked.

Red blushed a bit. "I-I..." He looked at the Smashers, some of them getting some curious looks. "...I'm going to explain this later if you promise me something, Rui..."

"What would that be?" Rui asked.

"...Please, tell Wes to stop being so rude to me," Red said. "I want to settle things with him before I lose my temper and hit him. I don't want to do that anymore, Rui. He makes me angry whenever he badmouths me, but I want to settle the score."

"...Alright," Rui said with a smile. "I'll make sure he listens to you."

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!" Shadow Wes called from the other side of the field. "We're waiting here. We want to rescue Pokémon very soon from Cipher!"

"Since when did I want to do that?" Charizard asked.

Shadow Wes glared at him. "You better shut up or I'll capture you."

The Flame Pokémon glared at him. "You threatening me?"

Shadow Wes showed Charizard a shadow Poké Ball. "You wanna discuss it with the sphere from within it?"

"(Is he turning the tables on me so he's the one in charge of this battle?)" Charizard asked before frowning. "(I'm so going to have a sweet talk with Dr. Eggman to complain to him about this little but annoying detail.)"