Pokémon Rocket

[K_S]

Chapter 6
Blitz review

Eventually Erik is gotta start asking if this blank place is real. Hes coming here a bit too often.

And then Dead Oak is going to be like:

yep, here's the rental payment plan. (Passes Erik a sheif of papers) since you keep spawning on my floor. (More papers appear) Damage fee for ruining the perfection of my private void by existing. The agrivation fee for destiny dodging. Noise polution complamt amd surcharges for making me listen to you whine...

Erik:
Passes back out to real world. Groggily opens bank account and sees he's been slapped with charges galore and now needs his Rocket job so he can rob a bank to pay this off

Dead Oak's still mean i see. But being a bit of guidence figure here. If grugingly. Oh brother we got free will vs destiny in play i see. And with that ominois cut off i suspect Eriks quest is likely to end in dying. Surprised he didnt call oit dead oaks wording there.

Or ask the pressing question of which god. Capital G version, Arceus, Mew, Cosmog, Groudon, Yvmetal... Theres way too mamy to count. I mean you can go a few miles to johto and shake a treat bag amd get ambished by the three dogs, celibi, oh ho or lugia, and thats only considering silver/gold canon. Heart/soul version has even more Legends.

Seriously though i would crawl to the nearest compiter upon waking and start combing through obituaries. Dead Oak gave a concretr time stamp and someone wound up in Legend stuff is likely to be important enough to get a page spread. Then Erik could figure out whats in his cards and maybe use the old chosen ones support network to get a broad hint/resources or escape clause...

Except considering where he's likely to wake (either being burried in a pit or at a rocket base) compiters might be a problem.

 

[Kandykorn]

Chapter 13:

After all that catching, it was time to show the others what we had found. I was slightly worried, because I had hucked a ball at the last minute at a goldeen I had named Salt, so I wasn’t sure if the other two had gotten their teams to six as well.

Molly decided to show everyone first. Gale closed its eyes and stepped back to proudly display the rest of its team. There was Pricilla the maractus, and a Heracross, Slugma, Houndour, and Chinchou.

“These are Gertrude, Hansworth, Cambridge, and Steve.” Molly introduced. Shank eagerly patted each of them on the head. I smiled.

“You know, you guys really didn’t have to do thi-” I started.

“Nope!” Shank interrupted.

“I just mean that you guys are some of my best frie-”

“I don't want to hear it. I have two pokemon of my own to introduce.” Shank shushed me again with a grin on their face. They sent out a tyrogue and a spinarak. “Introducing LittleMac and Buttface.”

“I like it.” Molly smiled slightly. While her tolerance of pokemon had gotten a lot better, being around this many still gave her the creeps sometimes.

“Allright well.” I sent out Harmony, Rocket, and Salt. Harmony and rocket did a like, cool duo’s pose when they landed. Salt however, flopped around. I introduced them quickly.

“That’s great then.” Shank said. “I suppose it’s time for step two?”

“I dunno.” Molly said. “It’s getting a little late.”

“But if Erick goes to sleep, then we have another ‘prophetic vision of doom’” Shank argued. “I say we stay up a bit, get to know these mons. See what moves they have!” They pulled out the dex Elm had given us.

“Okay. I suppose an hour couldn't hurt.”
I looked out to my (now full) crew. Chex, Pepper, Valentine, Harmony, Rocket, and Salt. I quickly recalled salt, who seemed to be actively drowning in air. Rocket and Harmony were playing with Chex and Pepper, and they both were seemingly getting along fine. Chex snorted slightly, and began to train the other three, taking up a sort of leadership position. Valentine made a whirring noise.

“I would train with you Val, but I know you hate fighting.” I sighed. Val nodded. Then, they pointed at Rocket and Harmony, as if to say ‘Talk to them, moron.’

“Okay, okay. I’m going.” I sighed. I called back Chex and Pepper into their pokeballs. Val nodded and hoped into theirs out of their own volition. Harmony and Rocket, newly leveled up, looked at me in confusion. “Hey you two.” I smiled. “I wanted to get to know you, you know, now that we’re hanging out. And you’re helping me on my quest and stuff.”

Rocket and Harmony looked at each other and then back to me. I pulled a ball out from my pocket. “Wanna play?”

Harmony smiled, and Rocket made a small noise.

~

After an hour or two of playing and training, Harmony was a Flaffy, Jangley Boi was a Buttterfree, Hansworth was a magcargo, and LittleMac was a hitmontop.

“And we have all day tomorrow to train!” Shank grinned. “At this rate, we’ll be the strongest trainers in Johto, beat your stupid destiny in the face, and then I can go on to be a crime lord, Molly can do a proper pokemon journey, and Erick can be boring and cook!” He raised a glass of ‘Shaymin up’ in a toast. “To us, and our soon-to-be champion level teams!”

“Not so fast.” a somewhat familiar voice said from the bushes. The sound of a whip cracking was heard, as from the bushes emerged Four team rocket grunts. Carmen, Carol, Dave…

And Fira.

Dave pulled out what looked to be a large boombox, and clicked a button. Music started playing under what I now knew to be the team rocket motto.

“Prepare for trouble.” Dave smiled

“And make it quadruple,” Carol continued.

“To protect the world from devastation.” Fira shouted.

“To unite all peoples within our nation.” Carmen smirked.

“To denounce the evils of truth and love.” Fira said, specifically highlighting the word love. I grimiced. Shank snorted.

“To extend our reach to the stars above!” Dave cried out, his voice the loudest I’d ever heard it.

“A pillar of all that cannot be saved, It’s me, Dave!” Dave rhymed.

“With my newly caught partner Marill, get ready for me, Carol!”

“I’m someone who’s anything but common. Because, I, uh, I- I’m Carmen?” Carmen said, clearly more out of practice than the others. Carol and Dave gave him a thumbs up, indicating they thought he was doing a good job. He smiled, and turned away, just in time to avoid seeing the other two making faces at him and laughing at his terrible attempt.

I don’t like you three, not even one bit, Especially you Erick, you ghosting little piece of sh-” Fira started, but Dave cut the music and interrupted.

“Woah fira, I know it’s your first field mission, but uh, you have to rhyme with your name.” Dave explained. “Try again.” he started the music back up.

“I cant believe at our date you didn’t Appear-a, and Incase you forgot, my name is Fira?”

“We’ll work on it.” Carol sighed.

“Anyway, team rocket blast’s off at the speed of light!” Carmen said.

“Surrender now, or prepare to fight!” Dave continued.
“You should be scared, you chumps. We bite!” Carol smiled.

“Can I kill them yet?” Fira asked. “Like is it over?”

“Our intro sequence?” Carol asked.

“Yeah.”

“Oh yeah no, go for it.”

And with that, Fira lunged into an all out attack, each of the four members of rocket releasing every member of their teams, and drawing various weapons (A whip, a baseball bat with a knife taped to it, a regular knife, and a regular baseball bat.) I silently cursed myself, trying to find a pokeball that could save me. “Valentine, Valentine…” I said under my breath, frantically searching for the pokeball that contained my ticket out of there.

I looked up. Fira screamed out, swinging her baseball bat, and hitting me square in the forehead. Everything almost immediately went black. The pounding started again.

 

[K_S]

Chapter 7
blitz reveiw

So hes not waking up to the sounds of digging. Nice. One bullet dodged.

Granted consodering Shanks new duds they are in the pyroars mouth now aren't they?

Mollys reasonably freaked out but layi g blame in all the wrong places. poor thing. We should be blaming Shank. Not Erik. And she technically could of passed her legend up for free pass without harassment amd noped out of this at any time.

Honestly getting orders is actually safer than not Shank. Useful means not dead... Granted generoc orders and task are less safe (your replacable) but its something.

I dont think any of them realize that though.

Ad for Mollys "nothings wrong" and Eriks "i am fine" Shank should be worried as thier standing in the epic cemter of a potential catfight in the making.

wait we got fillets and noodles (probably home made) all the ingrediants for a nice chicken tuscan... And Shanks asking for chickem nuggets.

Cue tisking noises from me.

Snorts. And between joey and mr. shorts npc Shanks has encountered the joys of half the npcs in red and blue.

Classy anoumcment system....why am i imagining meowths voice doing it? Ah well.

Molly, internal opinions need to be kept internal at this point. Gio said he wouldn't dream of going after your families, that does not extend to you.

And so the cat fight begins. Hope they dont get too loud or gios going to hear every word... Or the cameras will.

While i get why theyre foghting (Molly misappropriatong blame amd also the whole situation's tension plus Eriks epic foot and mouth moment) it feels a bit off. Mollys barbs feel like they'd habe more weight and would be suitable if they'd spent a few weeks together not a few days. Here it feels like shes.just flailing at anything that might hurt and trying to cut them off for any reason.

Love how Patricia is mirroring Mollys temper.. Well trying to...

 

[K_S]

Chapter 8
Blitz review

Shanks whining after 4 days in? Oh you poor summer child this could go on for months if someone doesn't step in.

I can imagine Rocket gambling can get fierce. I'm surprised Shank hasn't tried to fleece the games Mr. My GameCorner Pass!

That much activity, and yoga, you think the cast would be run ragged. Also we didn't see the breakfast with the Boss... I feel a bit cheated...

Love how Valintine is sulking a bit too. Better then going nerotic or violent but considering the trainer he bonded with just trotted up to Rocket amd said "here we are". Honestly i'd sulk too.

And now Erik is anger flailing... Its a mood. So is sulking. Love how Eriks like "I need no one amd nothing" anger stropping.

Wonder why the drum sound effect only he's hearing (updated?) To a bell tone. Is Erik going to be trapped in a void with a army of invisible bells or cell phones?

My knee jerk reaction was, sadly "Dead Oak redecorated." But nah its just Darkrai.

And it looks as if Darkrai is going to be as crabby as Dead Oak. Erik needs to maybe put a ban on rude head guests at this point.

Darkrais master. As in Giritina aka envoy of the abyss/dimension relm aka the 'mon world equivulant of satin? That'd be reason to nope out of participating. Grow roots to that Rocket cook job, lob the Legend at Gio and hug that npc status hard.

But nope. Erik has main protagitus and that stuff be terminal.

 

[K_S]

Chaptet 10
Blitz review

How'd Erik meet Fira again? She seems familiar with Erik to the point of ignoring the real computer expert Shank. Thats a bold move really considering Shank can empty her bank acconnt and seems to have feelings for Erik.

Yeah she's monofocused to the point of ignoring the other named cast. Thats not smart. Laughs of course its a cat posture. You think Interpol would just trace cat poster perchases to find Rocket bases at this point.

So Eriks got a date. Interesting. Seems a bit out of the blue as we didnt see him met Fira... It took a bit to realize they were going to the mon equivulant of red lobster. Poor Shank is dying in that tent. Just dying. And Molly is taking psychic damage from second hand unrequited romance vibes the poor girl.

I wonder what excuse is getting them out of base proper though. Because if its a good one they can reach out to get police help and get extracted from Rocket if they play there cards right. Granted i suspect Shank might not want to considering his criminal leanings and fanboy status but he might go along with the others to see them safley off even it he stays as he seems fond of Erik and Molly both.

So in conclusion i think i missed a chapter here. How'd this gal get leverage on Erik again to swing a date? Ah well i'll figure it out eventually i suppose. At least the casts anger has cooled that they're being civil again and repairing and (kinda) explorong thier bonds a bit.

Poor Shank he's set his hat on to a very dim pole.. Kinda like Misty did with Ash. I suppose the two can swing a support group to cope.

 

[K_S]

Chapter 11
Blitz review

No date details. Not even a "it went good?" Ah well.

And now he has more rude "divine" guides arguing it off. Poor erik they haven't even talked to him yet and i suspect things are going to go bad.

Oak-darkrai, well thats better then Dead Oak i guess.

From Dark's reactions Mr. Shadow dot dot dot is probably his superior. Considering that dot-dot-dot is able to insist on a timeline and Dark is confessing his plots to get Erik away from team Rocket...

When an evil legend feels obligated to point out you're failing in romance that bluntly... You're failing... As in a flaming dumpster fire of a failure...

Wince that a bit harder then scrouge had it... Puts a crimp on location too. That timer with its literal deadline at the end of it... All i can say is i hope Erik's destiny is walking distance and doesn't require too much research, espionage, or training because a week and a half is barely enough time to emotionally choke down the idea of whats happening much less do amything productive...

And if Erik wants a chance of making it i think he's gunna have to persuade Shank and Molly real quick that he isnt crazy and its real so they can pool thier resources.

No pressure.

Amd nice to know the plot points/coupons come with audio clues. Shame theres no visual hints as well. I think Erik is going to need all the help he can get here. Shame Dark isn't passing out a map.

And with the promise of research needed i really wonder if eight days is gunna be enough. I mean no one in the group screams scholarly (molly being a wilderness nerd, shank street smart, and Erik chief oriented and youre dropping them into archaic reading territory and expecting that they arent going to flownder?)

 

[Kandykorn]

Chapter 14:

Bells ringing. Drums pounding. At this point I had a whole damned percussion section in my brain. I looked around the grayish void, hoping to find some comfort. I noticed something moving in the distance, but before I could get a closer look, I got a tap on the shoulder.

“So.” Darkari said. “Seems your case of ‘this is very serious’ hasn’t worn off. That’s a choice.”

“Would you stop?” I asked.

“No.” Darkari laughed slightly.

“Thank’s for the tip about Bell tower.” I sighed.

“I didn’t give any tip.” Darkari smiled. “Today I was thinking we could scroll down memory lane.”

“What?” I asked, but before I finished, we were in Giovanni’s office. Arround a dinner table, being served hashbrowns, orange juice, and bacon, Were Shank, Gio and I. There was of course an empty seat where Molly was going to sit. As I remembered, she was not particularly fond of me or anything Rocket at this point. She had skipped out.

“...and then I said, ‘just kill him!’” Giovanni laughed. Shank also cracked up, while past dream vision me did an awkward laugh as well.

“Don’t worry, they can't see you.” Darkari said.

“Oh, okay.” I responded without paying attention, remembering this memory vividly.

“Anyway,” Giovanni said. “Unfortunate that Molly could not make it today, no?”

“Yeah she uh…” Shank looked at the empty seat. “She’s sick.”

“Yeah.” past me said helplessly.

“Well that’s too bad.” Giovanni smiled. “But, in her place, I have invited a star grunt of mine. Come on in.”
Then, into the memory entered Fira. I never got her name, but this was where I met her. The rest of the breakfast was smalltalk. Once Giovanni had stopped eating, he stood.

“Thank you three for coming, but of course, not everything can be pleasantries. I do have business to attend.” he waved at a grunt to the left of him, who brought him a briefcase. “You three will attend to your regular duties, I presume?”

“Yes, sir.” the three of us said at once.

“Good.” Gio said “Erick, would you stay a moment longer?”

The other two left. I looked at Giovanni. “What is it, sir?”

“Have you been having…” He paused. “Weird dreams?”

“I- What?”

“You know damn well what I’m talking about.”

“Well I- Yes, sir.”

He narrowed his eyes, and the memory ended. If I remembered correctly, he dismissed me, and never spoke to me since.

“What was the point?” I asked darkrai. “I mean, of showing me that?”

“To show you what you could have become.” Darkarai waved its hand. “I’m showing you what you could have been.” A picture of me with a suit on, Valentine, Chex, and weirdly, Rocket by my side. “If you had stayed with rocket, you would have become a monster.”

“Yeah but I didn’t”

“But you could’ve.”

“You know,” I sighed. “You’re giving me very mixed messages right now. I’m not supposed to take anything seriously, but this seems pretty serious!”

“I’m showing you the consequences.” Darkari frowned. “I can’t be just an evil nightmare god all the time. Sometimes oak’s presence seeps in. He likes you, kid.”

“He does?”

“Yeah.” Darkari sighed. “He wants you to succeed.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Then I saw it again. Movement on the horizon. “What’s that?” Darkari asked.

“You don’t know?” I asked.

“Nope. No clue.” it shrugged.

The blob came closer and closer. It was almost brown. I didn’t quite understand what it was until

“Rocket? Is that you?” I asked.

 

[K_S]

Blitz review
Chapter 12

Welp Erik confessed. Good on him. I think he failed his persuasion roll comsidering the rest of the cast is giving him "are you nuts" vibes.

And Shanks dealing with his unrequited crush... And wrestling with that crush being a few screws loose... And his own plots for the future. I can see Shank disconecting a bit.

So what did Erik do when he flaked out on the Rocket he was supposed to go out with to get thier cover? Because
It better have been very important to have got Rocket on all thier tails.

Also since they left Team Rocket Gios deal is off. So calling home and the police and booking it sounds like a great idea right about now.

Well to be morbid Erik it could have them wait eight days...

Like the rimg without the long haired kid. But thats kinda extreame.

Love how Shank gets the prophecy faster then the others. I suspected bell tower personally since its the only real bell mentioned in the handheld games i think...

Love how Mollys idea of rounding out the team sounds like shopping... We're gunna need an electric type and a those will be on aisle x and so on and so forth.

Again step four is going to be mighty complicated. I mean which mon god? Isn't arceus tied to mount cornet loke nine regions that a way?

Also Eriks bonding speach is probanly gunna go like this.

"Hi i got less then a week to live due to a Darkrai given destiny and oh my god please don't run, fly, or teleport off! i'm not crazy! But if you could you hack your own codes to max our your evs ivs and affection levels pretty please? Team Rocket wants me dead?"

Cue poor Erik's escapee 99 and Shank amd Molly who are passing out food and head pats getting more luck... Though thier teams are a little freaked with how ofter thier trainers keep checking thier watches and the "dying soon loon" that they keep cartimg behind them.

Also... I figured one way to give iron hamds a surprise. Teach metapod harden. Have it go first. Iron hamds picks up hardened jangles and chucks it at attacking monamd trainers. This will give both mon an experience share effect... right?

Ok the ramdom number god loves these three right off the bat. And more power to Molly for getting a heracross of all things (thats like a five percent spawn rate via headbutt) that eevee and maril are just dues ex mechanica.

Cue Erik trying to make his recent life sound sane. That eevee has very justified trust issues at this point that it shakes off... In exchamge for the mon wold equivulant of being named after a gang sign...

If nothing else if Gio tries to recapture.the stagglers the name migjt make him pause for a minute tonlaigh a bit.

What horror names did Shank inflict on jis marril? I vote "bouncy.boi".

 

[K_S]

Chapter 13
Blitz review

And drumroll please, the catchathon and namimg results are in.

In closing.

Shank should not name thier own children ever.

I can't suss the signifigence of Mollys names for her team besides they sound pretty.

And i'm expecting Eriks team to sound like he's rattling off a seasoning rack when he whips them out back to back.

So of course the goldeens named salt. At least he didn't name it lemon... And how is it going to fight out of water? Violently flop on its side at people?

So pricillas got some shaky coverage.

Fighting bug, fire (and later rock), fire dark, and water electric... A ground type with sturdy and earthquake could masacure her team... Except for heracross.but a rock throw would fix that...

Ah so Shank didn't catch the marril then? Well Shanks coverage is..
Flying bug, fighting, and bug poison... Two of his teams got issues with ground types but a hypno would massacure the whole set up.

As for Erik
Poison fire, fighting, normal(but likely to change) electric, and water.
Hypno again could sweep with the aide of a ground type.

As to why i'm calculationg that..
The stereotypical anime team rocket teams roll hypno, the zubat family, and gio bringing the normal groind types. A hypno paired with a graveler will be a very bad time for everyone present. And i'm not really.counting salt umless they start traveling by rivers to accomidate the fact its literally a fish out of water.

Maybe they could get to a town and get a fishtank on wheels or something.


That was fast... It makes context in the timeframe of the story but still yeesh o.p. much.

Just in time for Erik's ex and a few other grunts to show up.

I bet Erik is regretting standing her up right about now.

Oh god Daves got a boom box... Cue the motto i guess? A butchered... Very mangled....why did they not practice this before hand... Level of motto.

Coughs... One plot quibble but i thought rocket and harmony are out? Also shank and mollys teams too? Why arent they in the fray... Granted with Erik freaking out and knocked out (with what i pray was the blunt bat) i suspect he might be missing a few details.

And with him beat comatose he is now losing time to a vision. Tick tok.

 

[K_S]

Chapter 14
Blitz review

Cue the dream. I suspect Eriks gunna develop a fear of precussion sets or maybe the mon version of the band "smash"

I see darkrai redecorated again. Wonder why...

And if Erik doesn't keep a bead on the blob and darkrai he's earming am a plus in bad life choices.

Always with the galows humor with darkrai. I wonder if any of the other "chosen ones" willingly met him at his level and sassed back amd he is missing that kind of back and forth. Eriks not gunna be Dark's man in that regard. Its not in his character.

Now if he'd bonded with Shank he'd likely get that and then some...

So rolling with the dickenson slant would this make dark the ghost of chrismas past? Because the flashback seems.to be stepping into that territory. Though his words hint its more like hes seeing "alternate reality" more than the past.

I do wish he'd of shown bad!verse Erik being a monster than dark just saying it... It pokes holes into his credibility.

Oh so this is how Erick and Fira met?

Erik why didnt you lie at this point? Gios legend obsessed (for very different reasons) across all his itterations. You basically said "i got a mark of destiny On my back". Aka a legend magnet status. Gio's going to be personally interested in trailing after you to get out to steal what your destiny draws out...

Darkria, king of nightmares, hosting a personal nigjtmare/vision is like "I dunno" when something alien moves into his work area during a earth sjattering meeting? Thats one chill nightmare king i am telling you...

 

[Kandykorn]

Chapter 15:

“Get up.” Someone said, The lights were bright. Too bright. My head was spinning as the pain zipped around my brain in the worst headache of my life. “Up! Now, we haven’t got all day.”

I heard a thud, and then, almost as if on delay, I felt a sharp pain in my ribcage. “Shitaki mushrooms!” I yelled out. I heard a familiar laugh.

“Welcome back, Erick.” Giovanni said. Next to him was Dave, Baseball-bat-with-knife-taped-to-it drawn, ready to hit me again. I looked down at my throbbing chest and saw I was bleeding. I whinced. “I just have a few questions.”

“Shoot.” I coughed. My mouth tasted almost like copper.

“Where are they?” Giovanni asked.

“Who?” I responded. Dave hit me again, this time with the blunt side. I screamed to no one in particular as searing white pain rushed through my chest.

“You know damn well who, Erick.” Giovanni grimaced. “Your friends. The ones who got away with most of your stupid pokemon. Shank and Molly.”

Where were they going? The pain made me forget almost everything. I thought about it hard. “Time’s ticking Erick.” Giovanni furrowed his brow. “I was kind to you boy, but refuse to give up this information, and you won’t be the only one I ‘have a chat’ with.”

“N-no” I said. “Not mom!”

“Her, sure.” Gio smiled. “But she’s nothing compared to… this eevee here.” Giovanni spun around a chair, and ‘ducklett taped’ to it, was Rocket. “I know they were helping you with your dreams. I know they were going to help you get to where you need to be to go to your promised land. To do whatever it is Arceus wants from you!”

“Arceus?” I asked. “Like, the guy from the bible? No no, I have a differen-” I was cut off by another blow to the chest. Involuntarily, I spat up a little blood as I felt ribs break and tendons rip.

“Tell me. Where. He’s taking you.” Giovanni said. “So I can take back my paradox pokemon, and fulfill the destiny you are unworthy of having, or I will.” He snapped his fingers, and Dave pointed the knife-taped end of his bat toward Rocket. “Have Dave here murder your dog.”

“What’s a dog-” Dave began to ask.

“A small furry-” Giovanni cut himself off “You know what, it’s nothing. Don't worry about it. I’m going to kill this eevee in five. Four. three-”

“Wait! Wait! I’ll…” I strained my brain for a location, any location that wasn’t bell tower. “He wants me to go to… Spikemuth”

“In galar?” Giovanni asked.

“Yes.” I said, trying to be convincing. “It’s uh, where Marnie plays. She’s a rockstar.”

Giovanni stared at me for a while. The silence stretched out longer than it should. I felt sweat beginning to bead around my ragged unruly hairline.

“Dave, book me and this loser a flight to spikemuth, and then watch these two. Don’t let them escape.” Giovanni growled. “And for Helix sake, get a Chansey or Audino in here and clean up the traitor. I need him in peak physical condition for the ritual.”

~

Two hours later, I had been healed, and Rocket untapped. What must have happened was after I was knocked out, Molly and Shank took all my pokeballs they could and got out of there. I tried to stand up, and winced. They had brought down a woman who they referred to as ‘Evil nurse joy’, who had patched me up, but I still hurt like hell. Moving anything torso related made me feel like I was on fire, and not in the cool way. I looked over to Rocket, who was the only pokemon on me. She was pawing at the door.

“Rocket, are you oka-” I started, but the eevee turned back at me and glared.

“Fair.” I sighed. “You’re probably missing Harmony, huh.”

Rocket nodded.

“You and her, you guys are like, what? Friends?”

Rocket shook her head.

“Dating?”

Another shake, this time accompanied by a ‘bleh’ face.

“Siblings?”

A nod.

“That makes sense. We’re going to get out of here, I promise.”

Rocket made a noise of disapproval.

“Yeah yeah, okay. I know, I’m not too confident either. But we gotta get out of here. I need to talk to Molly and Shank and properly thank them. You gotta get back to the team. Plus, Shank can’t cook for shit, so those two are all alone right now.”

Rocket made a sound that almost sounded like a laugh. I looked at the clock.

10:57 pm

“I might need to go to sleep soon. It might be good to pass the time.”

Rocket looked at the clock and cocked her head.

“I have a question. Was that you in my dream?”

Rocket nodded.

“How?”

Rocket rolled her eyes and pointed at her mouth. With her front-left paw.

“Right, right.”

11:00 PM

“Goodnight Rocket.” I said, trying to lay down, and wincing hard. Rocket immediately ran over and curled up next to my chest, Her warm body pressing against my bandages. I smiled slightly, and drifted to my presumably percussion filled sleep.

 

[Kandykorn]

Chapter 16:

Drums and bells. You get it. They seemed to be getting quieter.

I woke up to find Rocket curled up next to me, and smiled softly, before turning to see Darkari, who was staring at Rocket.

“Kid, in all my years of this gig, no one’s ever brought a pokemon with them into the dream.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I’m not really doing it on purpose.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Darkari sighed. There was a slight pause in the conversation.

“So are you gonna give me some wisdom? Or show me a memory?”

“I mean, we can?” Darkari sighed. “Look kid. You have two nights with me left, and then you get ‘scrooge’d’ as it were. The biggest piece of advice I can give you is not to panic.”

“That’s it?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Darkari said. He snapped his fingers, changing the color of his void back to its original white.

“So you can’t like, tell me how to get out of rocket hideout?”

“Nope.”

“Or how to heal my wounds?”

“Nada.”

“Or even why Rocket is here?”

“It’s your dream kid. I’m just living in it.”

I patted Rocket to try and calm down, furrowing my eyebrows. “So you can’t do anything?”
“I could scare you shitless?” Darkari shrugged. “It’s been a while since the boss let me do a good scare.”

“I’m going to pass.” I glanced at Rocket. Rocket looked in distaste at Darkari.

“Eevee.” she said gruffly. Darkari’s eyes widened.

“That is a very rude thing to say, young lady.” He laughed. “Respect.”

“What’d she say?”

“She called me a no-good whore-faced piece of shit.” Darkari said almost gleefully. “It was the first funny thing anyone’s said in a hot minute.”

“Oh.” I said, glancing at Rocket. “Wait, all that in one ‘Eevee’? Really?”

“The Pokemon language is strange.”

“I mean. Fair.” I said. “So should I just wake up… or...?”

“Do whatever.” Darkari said.

“And you’re sure you can’t help at all?” I asked.

“Well, maybe I could put in a favor for something to happen.” Darkari said. “But the effects won't hit for a while.”

“...do you want to play connect four?”

“Sure.” Darkari smiled, snapping his fingers. A connect four board appeared, and the three of us played until morning.

~

I woke up to the taste of dried copper in my mouth, followed by excruciating pain in my chest. To think that just a few days ago, I was complaining that I had to go on a regular pokemon journey was wild.

“Morning.” I heard an unfamiliar voice say. It was feminine and smooth, and I looked around to see where it came from.

“Hello? Who said that?” I looked around.

“Danger? Where?” I heard the voice again. Rocket ran to my side. Pieces began to take place in my head.

“Rocket?” I asked.

“What?” She responded.

We both screamed at the same time.

 

[Namohysip]

Hey there! Review Blitz has been hitting this fic hard, and I'm here to contribute! I read chapter 14, and it looks like more chapters have been published since then. A blistering pace... Still, I may return for those while I get to these.

Overall, before I get into my thoughts as I read them, one thing I noticed from this story is how fast its pacing is. Despite how few words there are per chapter, a whole lot happens. That can be a good thing, but it suffers in some ways because it doesn't allow for much breathing room for us to get to know the characters or the circumstances. It's one thing after the next, and the most real breathing room we had was when there was a new crush in town. I think one of the major things I would suggest is to slow down a little and give some time for plot to settle in.

Now, let's get to the thoughts I had while reading through these...

Well, that's a crazy opening if I'd ever seen one. A dream about a dead professor talking like it's one of the game openings, though it seems with the inclusion of Animals: Salt and Pepper it's not an in-universe game in itself. I thought that some of the prose was a little redundant in the way it said that the professor was dead several times, or that it was cutting off Erick each time. You don't have to say that explicitly each time. In a lot of ways, you can give some credit to the reader to put the pieces together with the implications of them always being interrupted. Less is more!

Verrrry interesting goal here. A chef! I don't think I've seen a premise for that sort of occupation before. A chef is a very high-stress and high-pressure job, though. I wonder if being a Pokemon Trainer would arguably be an easier line of work...

Wow, Professor Elm in this story is one piece of work, basically no redeeming factors in front of the delinquents. So we are two for two on unpleasant professors if we count the dream Oak.

Erick nearly getting an Iron Pokemon, and then the revelation that they were indeed stolen, is an interesting one... and it seems like the Rockets might have been eyeing them anyway, too. So it looks like our starting squad is going to be an Iron, a lizard, and Erick's true first partner, Farfetch'd. Interesting...

Having a team dynamic like this has the most interesting potential out of all the little twists and turns introduced with the story's premise. Looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

Valiant, huh? Interesting match. You know, the attitude that the mother has for the nature of what's going on with wanting to be a chef instead of a trainer is crazy to think about, to be honest. Like, the world needs chefs and other people who do work beyond training, don't they? You know, to function as a society. That being a trainer is so hyper-normalized to the point where you're a delinquent if you don't go on a journey is odd without the backing in how this world works, admittedly.

Anyway, despite having no experience with training, it seems like he has a lot of power behind him! Valiant warmed up quickly to Erick, though that may be partly because they both bond in their shared interest in not being there. So, paradoxically (ha) they can fight better with their unity in not wanting to fight... for now, at least.

And so the chapter ends with an evolution... Wow. And only in chapter 3, too! This is a very fast-paced story in terms of progression. Curious to see where it will go from here...

Oh boy, and the evolution was a little meaningless since they immediately ran away afterward and had to regroup. Still, running into Giovanni afterward brings us straight to the big boss. Makes me wonder just what that will amount to... Odd that the word benevolent is used here. Is this some kind of AU where Giovanni is good and the league is evil?

Upon reading the next chapter... no he's still evil. Everyone is just terrible for the most part is my takeaway, from how the kids are to how everyone around them is. A pretty rough go about it.

Erick passing out the moment his strange dreams take over for him to see Oak again, or whoever he is, is another interesting twist. Destined to meet a god and then... fulfill his destiny. Not only vague, but that's also a tautology. Volo, though... so something about how his desire passes from champion to champion, and Oak was the latest one? Passing in the torch until they could find someone to succeed... but does that mean Oak failed and refused, somehow? Or was that why he was focused on trying to find Mew? I suppose Mew could count as a god. That'll be my running theory for how that fits together.

It's hard to get a feel for Giovanni's game here. He seems to have them under his total authority and power, but he doesn't act on it at all. Maybe he's training them or testing them to see how well they would behave as more than just grunts. For example, perhaps as admins? Does he see that much potential in the way they're behaving?

The meeting with Darkrai was... something. I guess that counts as meeting a god, in a way, but that also means it's somewhat of a fabrication, right? It's hard to tell whose destiny is being fulfilled now or if it was just a bullshit conjuration by Darkrai. There isn't any proof that it's true now that we can attribute it to a nightmare from Darkrai.

Darkrai's behavior in itself was very tonally different. Strange, even, considering everything that came prior.

Annnd now they're escaping from Team Rocket after a crush bails them out! Man so much is happening one after the other, and now there's a time limit being placed upon this whole thing. I guess that will help map out just where progress will go, though I wonder what Erick will do in response. I almost thought he was going to be a Rocket chef somehow...

And that's where I finished reading at the time of checking this story out! Overall, you have a lot of interesting elements at play here, but there are so many at once in so few words that they can't properly breathe. There are also a lot of spelling and grammar errors throughout the story, and given how quickly you publish these, I think that might be part of the problem. You'd do very well to spend a little extra time running your work through something like Word or, if you don't have that, Grammarly's free editing website online. That's what I use to help touch up mistakes with my prose and it helps you learn how to not make those same mistakes in the future.

The most interesting plot points are the ones that I also feel were the most neglected. I wanted to see more of how Erick's desire to be a chef would actually influence the way he behaves, but so far it has only been in how he was, as an aside, doing some cooking as a Rocket grunt or helping with meals here and there. But since it was his passion, and he's now getting involved with this destiny plot, I feel that there wasn't as much conflict or integration as there could have been since this was his central theme when introduced. For example, maybe there could have been a scene with Iron Valiant trying to get into cooking instead of fighting, too? Cutting vegetables with his blades instead of enemies, as an example. There's a lot of potential still unexplored and it could have been brought up a lot earlier.

This "destiny" and the passing of champion spirits, and how this ties into Volo, is also an interesting overarching plot, though where he currently is as a Rocket grunt and former delinquent, it's hard to see the believable pathway to it just yet. With how fast-paced the story is, though, I doubt it will be long before we get more clues there. I do think that there should be some further proof for Darkrai and the nightmares he's conjuring, though, since with it being conjurations, it's no longer something that can be... associated with a prophecy, you know? It's just what Darkrai is telling him. No proof. And Erick kinda buys into it, which is also odd, since people generally have not been kind to him, so why trust literally an evil god to be telling the truth?

Anyway, hope this is helpful feedback for how you get these out in the future! It was fun to read and I hope to see you improve as a writer with your next chapters.

 

[Kandykorn]

Chapter 17:

“Nope nope nope.” I said aloud. “Nope. Not happening. Nopity nope nope.”

And, like a parrot, Rocket responded “Nope, Nuh uh, don’t even get near me.”

“I- Rocket?”

“Erick?”

There was silence for a second. “So” I started, filling the void of the cell-like room with my weak voice. “How can you? I mean, what can you? I mean, What in-”

“I have no fluffing clue.” Rocket sighed. She looked at the floor. I stared at her, dumbfounded, and tried to let out a very painful sigh. The probably broken ribs in my chest shifting uncomfortably.

“How did you get into my dreams?”

“I have nothing about that, Mr.Fieri, but why don’t I ask you about existential problems about your existence.” Rocket snarked back.

“I- Fair.” I said. I glanced at the walls. “Soon we’re going to go to Galar. It’s funny, I, uh, I wanted to be a chef there. Like my dad.”

“Yeah.” Rocket said. “And that Giovanni guy’ll probably kill us when we get there.”

“Yup.” I sighed. I tried to stand up, but the pain in my chest was almost unbearable.

“No, don’t stand up.” Rocket warned. “Sit down. Rest. That’s what’s best for you right now.”

I did as she asked. Everything, for a second, stopped hurting. Then I took a breath and it hurt again. Breathing even hurts. I’m never going to get out of here.

~

“Up.” Fira’s voice urged from the doorway. “You have a plane to catch.”

“I-” I started. “Okay.” Fira walked over and pulled me up, nudging Rocket to the side with one foot. She then dragged a very much in pain me over to the official entrance to rocket HQ, through the cassino, and out the door. Waiting outside was a helicopter, and Giovanni.

“I’ll take him from here.” Giovanni said. Fira shoved me forward, and Giovanni loaded Rocket and I into the helicopter. As it took off, there was a horrible silence, filled only by the whirring of the copter’s blades going back and forth around and around.

“You know Erick.” Giovanni smirked. It was the most evil I’d seen anyone be. “When I found out it was you they needed, I was surprised. You’re so weak. So… Unmotivated. So worthless.” He leaned back in his seat. I glanced at the floor, which was leaving at an alarming rate. “I said, ‘Mewtwo my dear, it can’t be him’. But he insisted. So I went out and found you. Like I found Oak. Like I found Red. But what makes you so different from them is fascinating. You arn’t strong, like red was. You arn’t smart like Oak. What you are, Erick, is resilient. You don’t die. Like a cockroach.”

“A wha-”

“You’ll know in due time.” Giovanni shushed me. I was too weak to argue. “Erick, we are about to break the boundaries of time and space, aren't you excited to fulfill your destin-'' He trailed off his sentence, staring to the side. I glanced at where he was looking, and to my surprise, there was Shank and Molly. Shank had a book raised above his head. But the most striking thing about this display, was the fact that they were casually riding on the legendary bird Ho-oh.

 

[Kandykorn]

Shank’s Chapter.

Hi, it’s me. Shank DeVay. International crime lord, millionaire playboy/rapper/mob boss, and certified plumber.

Okay, technically only that last one is true.

I bet you’re wondering like, how I came to be riding on Ho-oh. It’s actually a pretty fun story, I think. A story that starts in a forest five minutes after a rocket attack, where Molly and I were being the definition of calm…

~

“What in the everloving shit are we going to do!?” I yelled out to seemingly nobody.

“Calm down Shank.” Molly said.

“We're way over our heads, we barely made it out of that shit alive! And we’re over the legal limit for number of pokemon you can hold! We’re gonna have Jennies on our asses in less time than you can say ‘magikarpet ride’” I continued to ramble.

“Calm down Shank.” Molly repeated. She was slightly more agitated.

“And I bet Erick doesn't even care about all this goddamn work we do for him! God if I didn’t adore him, I’d slit his handsome little-” I started.

“Shank, if you do not shut the fuck up, your boyfriend is going to die.” Molly said calmly but firmly.

“I-” I frowned. “...He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Whatever.” Molly said. “We help him because he’s letting us live our dreams. I’m getting to go on a real adventure and face my fears away from my dad. You’re getting to meet criminals and learn from them.”

She had a point. Ever since we had met Erick, this magnetic property about him that seemed to attract danger had inadvertently given us our dreams. It probably had to do with his prophecy or whatever, but I digress. He gave me the story I wanted to be in.

I owed him everything.

“What now?” I asked.

“We go to Bell Tower.” Molly said, looking into the distance. “It’s the only clue we’ve got.”

The two of us threw out Jangely Boi and Gertrude, and prepared for our flight to bell tower. Whatever was there, it had hell to pay.

~

Are you enthralled? I’m enthralled. Reading Shank’s story is so much more interesting, right?

I mean, I know Erick’s story is much more compelling or whatever, but fine. Don’t worry, we’re about to get to the thrilling story of how Molly and I caught Ho-Oh, and saved my damsel in distress, Erick.

~

There was nothing in this entire bell tower. The only thing worth noting was an old book, that was blank on every page except this nonsense writing on the cover.

“This means nothing!” Molly said, frustrated. She punched the wall and groaned.

“Yeah. This whole thing means nothing.” I concurred. “I bet Erick with his chosen one bullshit can read it.”

“This is so dumb.” Molly groaned again, walking over to the edge of the balcony. We were currently at the top floor of the tower. The view was breathtaking, but ultimately worthless.

“You’re right.” I sighed. “This book is just as worthless as anything.”

“I mean, what’s the point? It’s been a whole day. Erick’s dead, and his eevee is being tortured for sport.” Molly said pessimistically. I laughed slightly at the absurdity of it all.

“We’re fucked out here for arceus sake.” I said, just before I heard a sound I’d never heard before. A slight drumbeat. Bells chiming. A chorus of a thousand perfect, beautiful voices. I looked at Molly. Molly looked at me.

“Fuck.” we said at the same time.

~

I mean, thrilling stuff right? The way I accidentally said the word that did the thing? Erick is probably soooooo jealous right now. He wishes he was cool like me, doing plot shit.

Or he’s more concerned with the fact that his ribs are shattered and he can talk to pokemon now. I guess we’ll see. Anyway, here is the thrilling conclusion of the Shank chapter, which I’m affectionately calling:

“Red-Dead Shank-demption 2: electric boogaloo.”

~

As we watched, Arceus descended from the sky. It was beautiful.

“Hello Erick. I’m surprised you’ve found me so soon and-” He stopped, noticing Molly and I. “who the fuck are you?”

“Molly and Shank, sir.” Molly said, bowing almost immediately.

“I- where in the everloving shit is Erick? How did you read the cover?” Arceus asked.

“I was complaining and I said-” I started, but I was interrupted by literal god.

“You said my name! In vain?!” It asked, furious.

“I-” I considered this. “Yes?”

“By the power invested in me, you will never get into heaven.” Arceus furloughed its eyes.

“Wasn’t planning on making it there anyway.” I smiled.

“Sir, please!” Molly said, staying bowed down. “My friend here is a non-believer, but ignore his stupidity. We are friends of Erick. We can bring him to you. But we need assistance! Please, hear our prayers!”

Arceus looked at Molly a little while longer, and nodded.

~

And yeah. I'm sure you know the rest. We were given Ho-Oh for temporary use. I threw a great ball at it for the bit, accidentally caught it and named it ‘Ho-Oprah’, Arceus smited me, I dodged it somehow, yadda yadda. You get it. None of that is important, obviously.

Anyway, we made it to Erick, so that means the next chapter will be from his POV. That sucks (poke)balls.

Bye I guess.

Remember the Shank chapter as the best chapter.

 

[K_S]

Chapter 15
Blitz review

I imagine after a bat to the head any ligjt is going to be too much light.

Eriks profamity is food ingrediants... Why am i not surprised? Wait so by aquiring a food named mon does he lose swears? Like mild ones, like if he used to swear on salt he cant necause he owns Salt the goldeen. If there was an adjustment period would he be like "so salt/pepper when i scream that without an attack name or out of baby talk i meed ypu to cover your ears because the other words that are going to come out are not ok for little ears"?

Yeah i think waking up to angry rocket boss is not the best way to wake up. Much less one who has questions. Eriks gunna have so mamy broken ribs.

Wonder how many chosen ones gios ran dry to get tjis mich info. And love how everyone around him is like "what?" When gio mentions real life animals. I suspect he has a contact back to the real world... Possibly via hoopla if rainbow rockets a thing. But the man is scarily in the know and likely to ne decked out with a hell of a team and masterballs if he's smart.

And gios like... I'm.doing the killing becuase i need the damn stress relief at this point...

Love how eriks like spikemuth... Aka old home terf... Aka farthest poimt from his buddies he can think of. Tje fact that gio doesnt question it was surprising.

Rocket and Erik talking. Aka rocket phantom miming because "hes a mon and cant talk" was pretty funny. And canon. So very canon.

Wonder how dead oak (or ghost numner one) is going to take this disaster in the making. Maybe erik can negotiate an extension on his deadline.

 

[K_S]

Chapter 16
Blitz review

Yeah one nap closer to dying. Lets be blase about the tramsition. I vote Dark has changed the colors to red and black to comemorate eriks capture amd is prepped to troll.

Dark: and why do i have a dustbumny stowaway?

EveeRocket: we're mim maxing the friendship stat so i can evolve and kick butt.. Not like stones grow on trees... I mean you guys kinda made a time limit here so gotta crunch? Thats not foreshadowing a type preference by the way!

Dark: okay then...

Also durimg the meeting

Erik: how about concreete help?

Dark: do i look like a ground type... Or would that be rock? I mean concretes basically a sin against geology and nature so i got the "dark" part licked but...

Rocket: is it always like this?

Erik: yep...

Rocket: i am no longer scared of nightmares now...


Also eevee: extreamely long censored profanity

Dark: okay, one me and my mom are not like that... Two the dead magikarp stewing in its own feted fluids being shoved up there while an interesting concept isn't viable because i'm dead and dont have that organ anymore...

Erik hugging RocketEevee thinking: i dont know if i should of named eevee Salt or if Rocket still fits... I really dont know anymore...

And in further news Rocket talks. Surprising but fitting for the chaos vibe of this tale.

Her and Shank are.going to hit it off so well. If her mouth doesnt make gio shoot her first that is.

 

[K_S]

Chapter 17
Blitz review

Yeah because "noping" always works. Winning stratagy erik. Also didnt he see the dumb dumber and dumbest trio's talking meowth back at Base? You'd think he'd realize... Ah well.

At least the blue screen is mutual. I'm surprised no one investigated the sound of two voices screaming.

Though i can imagine Rocket:

"aw crap now i gotta pg13 things or i'll get banned from competing in the league... And also small humans... Children... Angry parents and censors.... Nooooo"

Love how Rockets like... "So team Rockets going to kill us and while i appreciate the irony... Not that much." Tied in with a dry. "Oh my god dont be stupid. Sit. Stay. Dont play with those ribs you just broke them."

I suspect Rockets going to be the voice of reason here.

Be glad gio that erick does not get helecopter sick. because his foxating on the blades kinda hints that might be an up and coming event with you at the front seat...

And i gotta love how gios pulling the "i control and know all from the back scenes, even canon heros like Red and oak arent safe" just warming up to a good villian speach, dropping hints he knows of other places like earth (another real worlds animal reference is not helping that theroy i'm just saying...)

And then we hear that dreaded hum of a random encounter kicking in as a wild oh-ho appears with Shank and Molly riding on it's back.

Hope gio packed mewtwo. Or a parachute. Or both.

 

[K_S]

Blitz review
Chapter 18

Very spiderverse tribite opening. It fits Shanks humor and ego very well.

So they're a plumber... I suspect theres a story here and am feeling cheated for not getting it in full.

Calm? You were screaming like loons i expect.

And i called it, well shanks screaming molly is trying to run damage control.

Kinda

Could you explain the magikarp ride line?

Love how mollys got perspective. And shes a better person then i am as i'd of been tempted to point out that if you kill him after rescuimg him from death then the rescue is kinda pointless. At least Shanks being open about they're mixed and homicidal feelings.

Though molly probably doesnt appreciate being thier relationship counciler. I vote she gets paid.

Also shank's dream is going to be very rough to achieve considerong gio and Rocket is going to want them dead.

Um molly it says- ( is muffled by obligation not to point out spoilers).

Love.how shank casually swearing solves the riddle.

Nothing like a blow to your confidence to have actual mon god turn at you and in tones directed to a roach "what is that?"

Her, shank, volo, and cyrus, could make a support group i guess?

Aw man we aren't going to have an arceus verses shank battle? Why not? I was hoping more details then Arceus smited... But then after Shanks name for ohho i actually kinda agree with deer god's criticism.

Seriously if shank settles down with anyone first line of the prenup " cant name anything ever." Seriously put it in the wedding vows.

Well that was a fun romp via shank thanks for sharing.

 

[Kandykorn]

Chapter 19

“God fucking dammit!” Giovanni screamed in my ear, pulling a gun out of his pocket, and immediately firing it at the giant bird. The blasts were deafening. Shank and Ho-Oh dodged out of the way downward, and for a second, they were gone. “Fuck! This cannot happen! You cannot do this! I won’t let you! You’re my only hope to get back!”

“Nope.” Shank’s voice called out from behind, and suddenly I wasn’t standing on the ground. “Oprah! Now!”

“Not. Again.” Giovanni whispered. I looked down at Rocket in my arms, who looked at me with paralyzing fear. Giovanni threw out two pokeballs. The familiar chrome Iron Moth was let out, as well as…

Mewtwo.

“Get them! Now!” Giovanni yelled. We booked it, as Ho-Oprah threw me onto her back with the other two. Jangely Boi and Gertrude flew back to try their best to slow the two down, the helicopter in pursuit. Shank looked back to me, and before I could say anything, their lips were on mine.

The kiss wasn’t perfect. My lips were chapped and bloodied. He missed my lips a little. We were flying hundreds of thousands of feet in the air, fighting against an angry mob boss. But it was also beautiful. It was my first kiss, and it might be my last, and it was perfect just for that.

“Don’t you ever get captured again, you stupid beautiful idiot!” Shank said. “You’re so lucky our dumbasses love you, because you NEEDED saving.”

“I- Yes Shank.” I said, blushing profusely. “Would you want to go out sometime?”

“YES.” Shank rolled their eyes. “Obviously.”

“Guys, this is super cute and all, but-” Molly started, as an explosion sounded to the left.

“Yup! Right!” Shank said, refocusing on piloting ho-oh. Molly handed me back my pokemon, and Rocket looked me dead in the eye.
“Let me fight?” She asked.

“You’re just an eevee.” I said.

“Trust me.” Rocket smiled.

“Okay.” I responded, smiling.

“Erick, who the fuck are you talking to?” Molly yelled, having her Magcargo and Houndoom fire off powerful fire attacks at the oncoming attackers.

“Can you not understand Rocket?” I asked

“What!?” She asked.

“I-” I considered my options for a second. “I’ll tell you later.” I glanced back at Rocket.

“You’re in.” I smiled. Then I threw out Valentine, Harmony, and Salt. All of which were now in their fully evolved form.

“Oh yeah!” Shank glanced backward. “We did some training!”

“Hey coach!” Salt, now a seaking, gleefully said.

“Woah!” I was taken aback. “Harmony? Valentine?”

“Yes?” Harmony said. Valentine stayed quiet. Rocket ran over to harmony and gave her a hug.

“Okay, Rocket, Harmony, Provide more support to the body. Valentine, you go in for takedowns.”

They nodded.

“And me?” Salt asked. I picked him up.

“You just need to use your strongest move where I point you!” I said. Mewtwo and Iron moth were gaining on us at an alarming rate. Valentine jumped up, and immediately began to fight with Mewtwo. Mewtwo struggled against them as we flew forward. Harmony and Salt and I fired at the Moth, and Rocket was rummaging through shank’s bag.

“Rocket! We need you!”

“I know, I’m just looking for-” Rocket stopped, and smiled slightly. “This.” She picked up a little green stone from Shank’s bag. Shank looked back and groaned.

“Not my rock collection!”

But it was too late. Rocket was a leafeon.