Operation: AZOTH

This is a Ralph-focused chapter as we introduce the other side of his family!

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Kids Next Door mission…

Operation:

A.Z.O.T.H.

Autonomous

Zealot

Outbreaks

Technological

Homeland

Loading transmission…

"A! A!"

The clanging of metallic boots stormed into the dim, windowless chamber. "The ship is ready, A!" asked the intruding cyborg, defined by his long pointed ears, green-domed head, and sharp wings. "What's taking you so long?!"

AA floated peacefully within a tube of red liquid, upside-down with his silver hair flowing upward and a green hospital gown. "The Executives may have decreed the Firstborn are useful, but I will not accept their existence."

"Stubborn fool!" The cyborg punched the tube, his eyes flashing red as he briefly assumed a higher-pitched voice. "The Genius says the Magearna might be necessary for the Aionios Project! Rather than acknowledge it as a god, acknowledge it as a mere tool. It's a machine, after all. Besides, Azoth is a kingdom of science. I thought that would be right up your alley."

"If that thing still has its conscience, I will destroy it. Remember that, C."

"Useless old fool." C turned and marched out of the room. "I guess the air conditioner is off today."

Planet Poké

Most people only knew this world as a setting for a popular videogame franchise, but the world of Pokémon was based on reality. A great tree defined itself amid the Kalos region. At its base was a walled city with a stone castle. "Wow, Ralph!" Perry chirped, raising his fingers to the kingdom and pretending to pinch it. "Your kingdom really IS the size of a penny!"

"IT IS NOT! Where'd you hear that?!"

"Hiyuki! Though she said a friend told her, so I dunno!"

"I know it don't take up the whole planet like Hyrule, man, but come on!"

"It may be a small kingdom," began Ralph's mom, Haylee, "but it's one of the earliest to develop its own technology. It's held onto its arcane architecture for centuries, but they still try to make new advancements."

"Looks like they got their own treehouse, too!" Shimmy pointed. The 9-year-old train engineer had black hair in angled-up pigtails. She wore a pink dress with red polka-dots, a white jacket, and black shoes.

"Yes, but… it's not a KND treehouse. It's a research center that was made by a rather unique benefactor… though it's since gone under some 'renovations.'"

"Oh, I think I get it." Max Murphy replied. The KND's star clown had short brown hair, a red shirt, blue jeans, and white shoes. Though he looked ordinary at a glance, Max had a sense of humor one would never believe. "It used to be a research center for fairies who studied the ways of toiletry."

"Yep." Perry nodded. "That's about what I figured, too."

"Heh heh… That's exactly right." Haylee chuckled.

Haylee landed the ship a few miles away from Azoth, where a mechanical carriage with cog wheels awaited them. A red-haired man with a large sword, green army boots with a similar open vest and shirt, and heavy pants with several belts approached them. He had a tall, red and yellow-furred Pokémon with him. "Queen Haylee! Prince Ralph! Good to see you!"

"Heya, Mr. Crosner!" Ralph greeted.

"WHO'S THIS?!" Max flared up in anger. "He's not a Pokémon character!"

"Er…no?" Haylee replied. "This is Agate the Royal Guard Captain (from Trails). This is his Blaziken."

"BLAZIKEEEEEEEN!" The Pokémon screamed in a mad manner.

"Is he alright?" Perry asked.

"Y-Yeah, yeah," Agate blushed, "he just… got some bad habits, that's all. Ahem, you must be Ralph's friends!"

"Yeah! I'm Perry, his Supreme Leader! This is Max and Ralph's girlfriend, Shimmy."

"N-No she ain't!" Ralph blushed, Shimmy giggling. "She's my co-pilot!"

"Still wanted to show her future palace, right?"

"What?!"

"DON'T TEASE HIM ABOUT THAT, KID!" Agate yelled, drawing a flaming greatsword at Perry. "You'll give people the wrong idea!"

"BLAZIKEEEEEEEEEN!"

"Okay, take it easy, Agate!" Ralph said.

"Sorry." Agate sighed and sheathed his blade. "Just… a touchy subject for me. So, why don't we get goin'? Tita's excited to see you."

A mix of rustic and modern, Azoth's homes and shops were set on multiple stone platforms with large cogs and energy pipes built into the sides. There were escalators, treadmill sidewalks, and cog-powered vehicles. Azoth Castle had several windmills along its roofs. "And with that," Ralph expressed relaxedly as they passed the town gates, "I'm officially in charge of you now, Perry! Feel free to bow."

Perry blew a raspberry at the portly prince. "I don't respect authority!"

"Fine! I was gonna name you my personal knight, but forget it then."

"Well, that's too bad." Perry kicked back as well. "'Guess you'll never have a knight who wields the exclusive Master Sword."

"Master Sword ain't even cool here. You need good Pokémon to be cool."

"Yeah, like the zero you have!"

"Joaquin, use wind attack!"

"Joaquin!" The G.En.I.E. blew a forceful gust at Perry's face, his lips and eyelids bending upward.

"Hahaha!" Ralph laughed. "Who needs Pokémon when I got this baby?" His G.En.I.E. swirled around in glee.

"Alright, no bending in the carriage, kids." Haylee chuckled.

"Then why are we sitting?!" Max panicked. "I'VE BEEN FOOLED!" He stretched to five stories tall, his body thinning as he pierced the roof.

It wasn't a secret that Ralph was born to royalty, but it was still often forgotten by most operatives around him. His carpenter mother had fallen for the prince of Planet Poké's Azoth Kingdom, who was then a transfer operative to Earth. They addressed Ralph's mother as a queen, but she hardly looked the part, clothed in thick khaki pants fit for her large thigh and a light-blue tank-top tied above the belly, damp from grease stains. Her pigtailed hair was topped with a weathered aviator's cap.

Even though Ralph dressed like a sharp and wealthy young man, Haylee didn't want him to grow up with the royal life, and her husband respected that choice. So, Ralph grew up in a humble workshop-house in Virginia and went to a normal school with his would-be friends. He loved the mechanic and piloting life and never longed for his royal privileges… except when kids picked on him. He would certainly like to lock Joto in a dungeon, and with how often his own best friend teased him, he couldn't resist the fantasy of Perry kneeling to him. Ralph usually only visited home once a year or so, but even his father's side of the family were more technical than royalty.

The castle gates opened with the same cog contraption, Agate driving them onto the pavilion. Of course, Max's stretched body broke through the top arch of the gates. The prince, queen, and their guests stepped off the carriage. "RAAAAALPH!"

"Hey hey!" Ralph opened his arms in delight when an orange-haired girl ran up to him. She had a red cap with goggles, a red mechanic's uniform with a white shirt underneath, black leggings, and large red boots. She carried a brown satchel with a wrench sticking out. "TITA!"

Ralph and his cousin shared a hug, though Tita's seemed tighter as Ralph's chubby frame compressed. She was a few inches taller than Ralph and two years older. "Are these your friends?"

"Introductions Round 2!" Perry cheered. "I'm Ralph's Supreme Leader Perry, that's his girlfriend Shimmy, and Max is…" still very tall, "having some growth spurt issues."

"Awe, you have a girlfriend now, Ralphie?"

"NO I DON'T!" Ralph yelled, Shimmy giggling.

"That's great! Now we can go on a double date with Agate!"

"Wait, what?!" Perry gaped.

"TITAAAAA!" Agate shouted. "I told you to quit telling people we're dating!"

"Hold on, how old are you again?" Shimmy asked.

"No, I didn't mean we were actually—ugh! You seriously need to stop, Tita, people are spreading rumors!"

"Oh, dear!" Tita blushed. "I wasn't ready for the whole kingdom to know."

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Agate screamed and flared up the same way Blaziken did… who was also mimicking him. "STOP SHIPPING US! RAAAAHHHHG!" And they both bolted out of the city in a cartoonish, zigzag fashion.

"Uh…will he be… okay?" Perry asked.

"Yeah, he usually comes back in an hour or two." Ralph replied.

The castle foyer had a rotating stairway that would lead to different passages, and the walkways had up-and-down platforms that would lead to other layers. "Okay, this feels a little unnecessary." Perry commented.

"Well, this is basically how they do it in videogames." Ralph shrugged.

"SON!" a voice exclaimed from an upper doorway.

Ralph looked up, beaming at a blonde-haired man wearing a blue, white, and yellow king's robe with several cog designs. "DAD!"

This would be the part where they run to hug each other… except King Raleigh had just missed the stairs' rotation. The guests rolled their eyes while the king chuckled awkwardly. "Heheheh…needs a stop button, doesn't it?" They waited a few more seconds before the king could run downstairs and share a hug with his son. "How've you been, Ralph?!"

"I've been busy, that's for sure!"

"I'll bet! Haylee's told me everything that's been happening. Crises happening left and right, reminds me when I was a lad."

"Yeah, but at least Perry has something to brag about."

"Hahaha…" The Supreme Leader blushed.

"So, what'd you wanna show me, Dad?"

"It's in the vault. Come this…" Unfortunately, they missed the stairs again. They had to wait for another rotation before they stopped at the intended door. "…way." They quickly hurried up.

Ralph had visited the royal vault only twice, so he could already anticipate what this was about. Opening the vault required solving a multi-sized cog puzzle, rearranging them so they interlinked and spun the right way. The guests could only wait in wonder as the vault opened with a rumbling.

The inside was dark and was neither big nor glamorous. There seemed to be a short robot in the back end of it. It had big eyes, wore a metal dress, had a cog-shaped head, and rabbit-like ears. "You brought us all this way to see a bunny mech?" Shimmy asked.

"It's no ordinary mech, it's Magearna!" Ralph said. "It's our kingdom's sacred treasure!"

"What's so sacred about it?" Perry asked.

"Because it used to house the Firstborn Bolypius." Raleigh answered. "And look closely, Ralph."

Ralph approached Magearna. There was a faint red flicker in its eyes. "What's up with that?"

"We check on the Magearna once a week, but when we checked her last week, we saw the eyes glowing. Boly disappeared from the Magearna several years ago, just like most of the other Firstborn."

"But maybe this is a sign that Bolypius is returning!" Tita said excitedly.

"But if Magearna was a Firstborn's body, doesn't that mean we're its Guardian?" Ralph asked.

"No." Raleigh said. "Our ancestor created Magearna to harness Firstborn chi, but Bolypius had a completely different history. It was only a happy coincidence they managed to work out together. I wanted to ask if you would take Magearna with you, Ralph. If Boly really has shown up again, I'm sure she'll want her body back."

"I don't see why not."

"So, this Boly didn't have her own body?" Perry asked. "…Haha! No body for Boly, no Boly for body, no Boly—crud, I couldn't do it!"

"Hahaha! But no, Boly was a digital being. In fact, it was her powerful data that helped create the KND game series you kids love so much."

"That… gives me an idea, actually." Ralph said. "Joaquin, see if you can possess Magearna like you could a Drone."

"Joaquin!" The G.En.I.E. flew from Ralph's watch into the robot.

"What was that?!" Tita gasped.

"Ah, forgot to introduce ya! Tita, Dad, this is Joaquin! We got him from Terraqua on Aquaria! He can possess my RC planes and give them airbending."

"You sure it was a good idea to have him possess your national treasure?" Max asked.

"Wait, I think it's working!" Tita said as Magearna's eyes grew yellow like Joaquin's goggle-eyes. The robot twitched as its arms rose and ears twisted.

"Joa…Joa…JOAQUIIIIIN!" Unfortunately, with some bright sparks and flickers, Joaquin was spat right out of Magearna, which hung lifeless again.

"Well… it was a good try." Raleigh tipped the head up. Its eyes still had the faint red. "It's strong enough to hold a Firstborn's chi, so it might be too strong for other Programs to control."

"Ah man." Ralph approached the dazed G.En.I.E., recalling him to his watch. "That would've been a heck of a power-up."

"You're already power-hungry enough here." Perry remarked.

"Joaquin kind of has the same power as Rotom." Tita said. "Though I never thought of trying that."

"Who's Rotom?"

"My Pokémon!" Tita drew out a Pokéball and tossed it open. A small, orange Pokémon with a pointy head, electric aura, and ovular blue eyes appeared. "Ta-daaaaa!"

"Rotom! Rotom!" He zipped around.

"Joaquin, Joaquin!" Joaquin flew around him. They circled each other around the room.

"I think they're already friends!" Perry smiled.

"Yeah, so where's the train station?" Shimmy asked. "I wanna see the Azoth Railway!"

"It'll be a few miles north of town." Raleigh replied.

"YIPPEEEEEE! Ralph, let's go!"

"Don't you wanna check out Tita's workshop? We can make our own train."

"Fine! Then I'm makin' a COOLER train than what they got!"

"Hehe, alright, Shimmy! This way!" Tita led the excited engineer through the palace.

"Well, I'm not a tech geek, so I think I'll just explore town." Perry said. "What about you, Max?"

Max's corner of the room had turned into a military base full of goose guards, and he himself a secret agent in a fire suit. "This is Max to Fort Duckville: I'm under fire in Dackquack Headquarters. I've retrieved the Grand Yolk and am making my way to the nest now. Over easy and out!" He picked up King Raleigh, who had a cracked egg and yolk over his hair, and stealthed his way through the base.

"Wait, I'M the Grand Yolk?!"

"Well, he's got his affairs in order." Ralph said. "I think I'll join you, Perry. I can show you some of my favorite places."

"Like the chilidog stand?"

"I'm thinking of Hodtogs, man. Maybe if we're lucky, we'll spot a wild Agate on the loose. Oughta bring a Pokéball to catch him with."

Outskirts

C's ship was cloaked as it entered Poké's atmosphere. His crew consisted of Pigmask Soldiers with red and gray suits and cybernetic parts. "Azoth Kingdom is in sight, sir. Should we give it the old bombarding?"

"Not yet." C answered from his captain's seat. "We'll provoke them with fear first." The Enforcer twitched and sparked as he assumed a voice like Dr. Nefarious. "They're so WEAK and SQUISHY! They'll surrender Magearna in no time! Let's see… perhaps that." He noticed the train crossing the relatively tiny railway on the monitor. C took on a voice like Clockwerk. "Send the Darktopus to destroy that train. It will be a simple, but effective demonstration."

Town

"Prince Ralph!" exclaimed the hotdog stand vendor, a portly man with a gear on his apron and gear-shaped chef's hat. "It's good to see you, lad!"

"Hi, Mr. Coggles!" Ralph beamed.

"Did he say the prince?" Nearby citizens looked over.

"It IS the prince!" a woman gasped.

"I didn't know he was visiting already." said a man with a cog-shaped mustache.

"Look, he has a Pokémon now!" a little boy pointed at Joaquin floating above the prince.

"So, who's this kid with the swords?" Coggles asked. "Your knight?"

"Yep! This here's my own royal knight, Perry!"

"So, you ARE hiring me." Perry said.

"Finally found yourself one, did ya? Well, how about the house special: Azoth's very own Hotcog!" Coggles presented a round wiener in a cog-shaped bun. "Specially made to Queen Haylee's liking!"

"You guys are really into gears."

"Is it startin' to grind yours, man?" Ralph joked.

"Don't even." Perry took the Hotcog and tried a bite. "Mmm!" He hesitated to say it really 'got his gears turning.' "Not bad!"

"I think I'll try a Hodtog today." Ralph said.

"Comin' right up, Your Highness!" Coggles whipped up a puppy-shaped hotdog with beady, edible black eyes, a tongue sticking out of the smiling mouth, and a tuft of mustard hair.

"Uhhhh…" Perry drawled, brimming with questions.

"What? It's not made from a real Pokémon, if that's what you're thinking." Ralph assured.

"We've also got Wienebark," Coggles presented another doglike wiener whose ketchup and mustard were done like a flame, "and Saudoge!" A curly canine with a more prominent ketchup and mustard flame along its body.

"I'm… just gonna pretend I never saw these." Perry's stomach churned.

"Then don't order the Slurpuff ice cream either." He directed to a separate stand selling ice cream resembling Slurpuff. "It was Dad's main Pokémon, so it's pretty popular."

"Can you please take me somewhere that doesn't make me want to hurl?"

The Ferris Cog was a popular tourist attraction, a Ferris wheel made of several cogs horizontal and vertical, which would exchange the cars at each intersection. Fortunately, the prince himself got immediate front-of-the-line access, so he and his knight could unwind in a relaxing, winding ride. "So, Ralph… you think the Magearna's lighting up because the Firstborn are starting to reappear?"

"You think that's it?"

"Yeah. Remember what happened in Oceana? I wonder if that might've even started it."

"So, it ain't just Bolypius we'll be seeing. Well, that's gonna be a big plus for you, won't it?"

"Unfortunately, Mack's gonna get one, too." Perry was still a tiny bit disdainful with him. "But historically, bad things usually happen when the Firstborn show their selves. And things have been crazy enough these last few months."

"You wanna know what's really scary? Silica with Firstborn power. What're you afraid of?"

"That's your problem to deal with, man."

"I'm moving back here permanently if that's the case!"

"I can't imagine a sadder farewell. …Say, is that Agate?"

The Ferris raised them high enough to see the fields outside, something blazing across it. "Dude sure can run. Is he trying to catch the train?" They saw the train returning to town as well. "…Wait, what's that?!" He pointed at the sky.

"Whuh?!" Perry gaped, seeing a meteor-like object plummeting toward the tracks.

Tita's Workshop

"How about a crane to grab debris off the track?" Tita suggested, picking up a detached claw crane.

"And a crane to grab boulders and throw them at enemies!"

"Or a snow plough that can push snow to the side during winter!"

"NO, FLAME CANNONS!"

"ROTOM!"

"Hehe, this is fun, Shimmy! I never thought of doing all this with trains."

"Anything's possible with trains! They can even be planes!"

"Ha ha! Before you know it, you'll be building a whole town on a train!"

"Wait, is Azoth built on a giant train?!"

"No, no! But part of our outer wall can become a floating defense fortress, so the idea's considerable."

"Hey, if I can turn a giant playground into a train, I wanna try it!"

"That sounds incredible! 'Course, I'd need my family's permission first."

"Bah, don't Pokémon Trainers get to do anything without permission? It's like… bein' a KND operative!"

"They don't have THAT kind of freedom. Besides, Rotom is my only Pokémon. I never wanted to become a professional trainer. I just like helping out at home and building machines. Plus, Agate…"

"Hm?"

"N-Never mind." Tita blushed. "What should we put on our train next?"

"Wait!" Shimmy's ears rose from a distant whistle. "My engine senses are tingling! Where is it?!" She peered out the window.

"It's the Azoth Express!" Tita joined her. "Bringing its regular load of tourists. …Shimmy!" Horrified, she pointed at the "meteor" closing in on the train.

"WHAH?! Is that thing gonna hurt the train?!"

"There's something else!" A different source of flame was rocketing toward the object. "AGATE!"

…

"Blaziken, give me a boost!" the captain ordered.

"BLAZIKEN!" The Pokémon grabbed his trainer and hurdled Agate with a rocket-powered throw!

"RAAAAAAH!" His fire fueling his greatsword, Agate's impact sent the object away from the gear-powered train, the patrons breathing a great sigh of relief. The object crashed in the field as Agate landed near it. The object rose: it was a dark-purple, jellyfish-like robot with an ovular purple head of energy and tentacles linked in the center.

"What's going on out there?!" Ralph asked.

"I dunno, but I'm checkin' it out." Perry forced the Ferris car door open. "Joaquin, wanna give me a boost?"

"Joaquin!" As Perry jumped out and opened his sail, the G.En.I.E. blew him in the battle's direction. (Play "Baron Battle" from Jak II!)

The Darkfish released electric beams, spinning and trapping Agate in their radius. Agate swung fire slashes at the robot, but the size of each one dwindled. "Ugh…what's wrong with… Blaziken, jump and use Flamethrower!" His Pokémon focused fire on the robot's head, the electricity switching off. The Darkfish smashed the ground and blew him back with a shockwave. The robot stretched its tentacles and spun, forcing Agate and Blaziken to take to the air with Rocket Boost. Agate spun vertically and attempted to slice the tentacles, but they only seemed to take minimal damage. One wrapped his sword, swung, and slammed the captain down. Agate dodged when it thrusted two other tentacles, smashing one beneath a fireball. Blaziken struck the core with a Blaze Kick, but was blown back by its energy.

The Darkfish rose and surrounded Agate in another spinning electric field. He kept feeling his chi drain in trying to burn the core. "AYAH!" To his surprise, a young boy fell from above and stabbed the head of the Darkfish with a white sword, its barrier disabling. The robot managed to shake Perry off, whipping tentacles that he slashed. "Perry!"

"Me and Ralph were watching! You saved that train in the nick of time!"

"Yeah, my training's paid off."

"Your… training from running away when Tita calls you her boyfriend?"

"Don't change the subject! Is the prince safe?"

"Um, yeah, but I'm sure he'll catch up soon."

"Catch up?! This is clearly a terrorist attack, you should make sure he stays safe! What kind of knight are you?!"

"I'm not Ralph's knight!" The Darkfish shockwaved again, the three jumping. It spun with tentacles stretched, but it generated an updraft for Perry to fly up with his sail. He let go, drew both swords, and pierced the core. "Hah! That should do you—IIIIIN!" A tentacle swat him off. The robot rose and reformed its core barrier. "Darn. That usually works." The Darkfish spun its electric streams and moved swiftly around the area, aiming to sweep over its foes. Perry raised his Mirror Shield to deflect the beams when it came over, zapping the robot's own tentacles. Its barrier short-circuited, so Perry Hookshot its head and reeled himself up. The boy leapt and stabbed the core again. This time, Agate rocketed above and smashed his swords deeper into the robot.

"Run!" Agate grabbed Perry and leapt off the Darkfish, the robot exploding behind them. (End song.)

"Phew…where did that thing come from?" Perry wondered.

"Didn't look like anything from around here."

"Perryyyyyyy!" They saw Ralph, Shimmy, Max, and Tita riding on Shimmy's Rocket-chan train.

"Tita, what're you doing out here?!"

"We saw you stop that thing from hitting the train! I had to come see!"

"Tita, it's dangerous out here! For all we know, more could come!"

"What'd you guys even fight?" Ralph approached a circular piece from the Darkfish's core.

"ERROROROROR!" A holographic, long-earred cyborg head projected from it. "Did you fools like my little toy? That was merely the appetizer. In just half an hour, I will lay siege upon the entire Azoth Kingdom!"

"Who are you?!"

"You're the prince, aren't you? This makes things easier. If you want your kingdom to live, surrender the Magearna at once."

"The Magearna?!"

"I'll be waiting at…hmm, the top of that big tree seems like an ideal meeting spot. I will C you later." The device beeped, and Ralph ran before it exploded.

"No, not the Treehouse!" Tita exclaimed. "Mom's up there!"

"Let's get up there and kick his butt!" Shimmy fist-palmed.

"He's threatening the kingdom." Ralph said. "And he's only giving us half an hour. But even if we hand over Magearna, he might just do it, anyway…"

"Then I propose we hide the entire kingdom." Max suggested.

"How do we do that?" Tita asked.

"They'll never find it in my oven!" Max shoved the kingdom into his oven.

"What if someone wants to cook something and turns it on?!"

"If he goes up there," Agate said, "he'll obviously hold the queen and researchers as hostages, too."

"Hey, Tita said the outer wall could become a defense fortress!" Shimmy stated.

"Tita, you can't just give away national secrets like that!"

"Something like that would be hard to keep secret." Perry replied. "Ralph, what do you think we should do?"

"Why're you asking me?"

"Well, 'cause… it's your kingdom. Magearna's your national treasure."

"Man…" Ralph wanted to argue Perry was getting back at him for his behavior this trip. Just because he was a prince, he wasn't a strategist. "Alright, well… I say we tell Mom and Dad to set up the fortress, 'cause that robot probably came from a ship. Meanwhile, we can bring Magearna up to the Treehouse to 'negotiate' with this guy. Like, we can figure out where he came from and stage an attack there… maybe?"

"If it comes to it. Even if he'll leave after getting Magearna, we couldn't just let him keep it. He's gotta have some kind of plan for it."

"Okay, but first things first." Agate said. "The prince and Tita need to go to the bunker!"

"Agate!" Tita shouted.

"I ain't staying in any bunker!" Ralph argued. "Did you forget I'm an operative, too? When a villain threatens a kingdom, I stop 'em."

"And you're neither Ralph's knight NOR his Supreme Leader, so I say he comes." Perry decided. "If there's any chance of a tradeoff, he can help it go better."

"Hmph…then I hope you're planning to shoulder responsibility if anything happens. But you, Tita, need to go to the bunker."

"If you're all going, I'm going!" ("Rotom!")

"We can't have too much royalty in the enemy's crosshairs! You're neither a trainer nor an operative, so I want no excuses!"

"But you're just going to get hurt yourself!"

"That's a guard's job! We don't have time to argue, so either get to the bunker yourself or I'll drag you!"

"Mmmf…!" Welling with tears, the princess bolted back to town.

"Wait, I'll take you back, Tita!" Shimmy turned her train around. "We can work on trains in there! Tita!"

"Your help would be welcome, too, Shimmy!" Ralph shouted.

"Just let her stay with Tita." Perry said. "Call your plane to take us up the Treehouse. And call your parents to set up the fortress."

"'kay, but we need to grab Magearna, too."

"I mean…" Perry poked the side of his head with an 'obvious' expression, "we don't need to hand over the real Magearna, do we?" He glanced over at Max, who was eating the baked Azoth cookie.

Tita slowed in her steps, her frustration eating most of her energy. It's not that she didn't understand Agate's feelings… not after that day.

The watering can robot spun and jiggled as it watered the dehydrated flowers of the field. "It hasn't rained in so long!" the 10-year-old princess cheered. "I hope you're happy to finally have a drink!"

"Flabébé! Flabébé!" Some flowery Pokémon rose up from the grass.

"Haha! Look, Agate, it's working just like the Steam Gardens' robots!"

"Not bad, kid. If engineering doesn't work out, at least you have a fallback career."

"What makes you think it wouldn't?!" Tita's cheeks puffed. "Wah?!" The robot began sparking and shaking wildly. The watering can popped right off the base, flying 20 feet in the air before landing.

"That's why."

"Aw…" Tita looked to her Pokémon for support. "I bet you wouldn't have trouble controlling it." ("Rotom!")

A plane was flying overhead. Unbeknownst to the pair, a group of dark-clothed agents were observing them from it. "Say, isn't that the Azoth princess?"

"Yeah! And she's got a Rotom! This was easier than I thought!"

"Let's drop down and snag it. Get the Thermos ready."

"If we take the princess captive, we might be able to ransom her for more Pokémon."

"You think they'd even hand over the Magearna?"

"Heh, now that's thinkin' ahead!"

Tita began trying to repair the robot. "Hey, Tita!" Agate alerted her when 10 agents dove their way, using arm gliders to slow their descent, surrounding the princess and her knight. They had big red R's on their shirts.

"Prepare for trouble, sorry to interrupt your day!"

"Make it decuple, we're not here to PLAY!" a lady agent whipped out a mechanical thermos and fired a blue laser at Rotom, the electric ghost zipping in evasion.

"Team Rocket agents!" Agate exclaimed. "Tita, run to the city, I'll hold them back!" He slashed a wave of fire at some agents, forcing them to clear a path to the kingdom. "Combusken, use Flame Charge!" He summoned a yellow and orange chicken Pokémon, who burned another group of agents.

Tita looked back and halted. The agents summoned a Samurott, Quaxwell, and an Inteleon, the Water-types overwhelming Agate's Pokémon and reducing his own flames into steam. "Rotom, we can't let him fight by himself! Zap those Water-types!"

"Rooooo-TOOOOOM!" The agents and their Pokémon were blackened in his electric waves!

"Tita, I told you to run!"

"I had to help, Ag—AH!" an agent grabbed her.

"Bartha, catch the Rotom, now!"

"GET OFF HER!" Agate bashed him in the skull with his heavy blade. He then lashed a flame at Bartha, who sheathed the Thermos and dodged while throwing a Pokéball open.

"Swalot, Acid Spray!" The purple, blobbish Poison Pokémon spewed acid at both opponents, but Agate jumped in Tita's way to shield her.

"AGATE!"

"COMBUSK!" Agate's Pokémon flattened Swalot with a fiery talon.

"Tita, it ain't your job to protect me! Your safety is all that matters here! Combusken, grab Tita and go!"

"Combuuuuuusk!" The chicken hauled Tita with little effort and sprinted back to the kingdom. As it did, Tita was awestruck as its body whitened and grew. Combusken evolved into Blaziken, powered by Agate's determination!

But Rotom carried Tita's will, too. He stayed behind with Agate to fight the Rocket agents. "You just don't make it easy for me, do ya? Fine then… it's your job to protect Tita, too."

…

The castle guards were sent to assist Agate, but by the time they arrived, he'd already defeated the agents and forced them to retreat. Tita was horrified as they dragged him back: not only was he terribly bruised and ragged, he was sick from the Swalot's poison. "Agate…"

"M…Mischa…"

"?" That was his sister's name. His late sister… He must be hallucinating from the poison.

"Tita!" Shimmy parked the Rocket-chan beside her. "Oi, who does he think he is yellin' at the princess? He oughta change his name to Aggravate, huh? You okay?"

"I'm fine, Shimmy." She climbed on the train.

"Hey, we ain't gonna let the boys get all the glory, right?" she whispered, her wide grin in a smirk. "I bet you got a plan."

"No, let's just go home. I'll just make Agate worried."

"You sure?"

"Yeah…"

Treehouse

"There's an intruder breaking in the rooftop hangar!" Princess Kimia shouted. King Raleigh's sister had blonde hair in four rotund pigtails tied with gear braids, wearing a blue coat with a fluffy white bottom rim. "Call your Pokémon!"

The researchers' Pokémon stood ready as Enforcer C breached the doors. He had long ears and only the left half of his head was somewhat human with cracked skin. He had a tall green dome on his head with a satellite inside, sharp metal-feathered wings, and a huge left, claw-ended arm. "Nice pets you have." The Cyborg smirked. "I wonder if they'd make a good meal."

"Mega Gardevoir!" Kimia shone a bracelet on her Shiny Pokémon, which only seemed to change her dress brown and wider. "Use Dazzling Gleam!"

"Gardevoir!" She cast a cloud of sparkling light that C blocked with his wings. He flew overhead and shot his claw to grab another trainer's Klang, throwing the gear Pokémon like a Frisbee to bash his head and bounce into two other trainers. A Cufant leapt and rammed C with its Iron Head, but C grabbed its trunk to smash it into its trainer. C fired lasers down at the crowd, but Mega Gardevoir used Reflect to bounce the lasers back, knocking the cyborg down. An Orthworm seized the chance to wrap C in its body, allowing a Camerupt time to build up its Lava Plume. The Orthworm fled just before the Camerupt fired; they considered C a "Steel-type," so the blast of lava may weaken him. "You think that's enough to burn ME?!" C yelled in his Nefarious voice, charging against the lava to slice Camerupt with his wing. The Cyborg conjured some Holo-Clones, each of which swiftly moved to strike each Pokémon once before disappearing.

Inside the palace vault, King Raleigh opened Magearna's chest and pulled out its blue and red heart, lodged within a gear. "We've never had to use the Azoth Defense Fortress, but I made some modern modifications to it in case we ever faced another attack. King Nikola designed Magearna's Gear Heart to be the power source."

"You think it'll be strong enough for whatever's up there?" Haylee asked.

"It's better than letting Ralph handle this alone."

"Ralph's not alone, smarty. And neither are you. I'm gonna locate their ship in my own plane and get some hits in!"

"Who's talking about not being alone?! At least let some of my guards come!"

"Fine, Mr. Worrywart. But don't forget who your senior is!" Haylee flicked Raleigh's forehead. The king smiled and blushed.

Ralph flew his teammates to the outdoor roof hangar on his plane. Agate grabbed "Magearna" and dashed into the destroyed entrance. The researchers were injured on the floor, and only Kimia was barely standing in Gardevoir's Reflect barrier. "Agate! Ralph?! Is Tita safe?"

"She is." Agate answered.

"Well, you got here quickly." C turned to them.

"Ew!" Perry cringed. "What oven did YOU crawl out of?"

"Don't provoke him!" Agate shouted.

"Insolent boy. I am C the Composite Cyborg! And if you don't hand over the Magearna, I'll skewer these people along with the rest of this kingdom!"

"C?" Perry repeated. "So, you're part of the Letter Clan…"

"What?"

"Look, we have the Magearna. Show him, Agate." Ralph ordered.

"Mmmgh…" This is never gonna work, he wanted to say. Agate presented Magearna: was clearly cardboard with misshapen paper eyes, broken-in-half plates for ears, and a laundry basket for a dress. Kimia's expression fell dead.

C stared with clear skepticism. "…Perfect."

He's buying it?! They internally screamed.

"Now set it down right there and back off."

"Let Aunt Kimia and the others leave the room first!" Ralph demanded.

C grabbed a researcher's legs in his claw and crushed them—Agate slashed a flame that the cyborg brushed away with his wings, throwing the man away. "You're not the one giving the orders, fool!"

"What do you want Magearna for, anyway?!" Perry asked.

"That's not your concern. Your concern is that man's spine!" C looked to a man trying to crawl away, shooting a laser. Gardevoir quickly rushed to Reflect the laser away, but this left Kimia vulnerable. The Cyborg flew to slash her with his wings, only for Agate's sword to get in the way. C glanced to see the dropped Magearna, with Perry in the way of it.

"Dude, just let him take the fake." Ralph whispered.

"He's pissing me off, Ralph. I don't feel like handing him anything." Perry drew his Gilded Sword and Mirror Shield.

"Heh. That's what I like about you, man. You don't let bullies push you around. Hey, Aunt Kimia's Gardevoir, protect the researchers!"

Gardevoir looked to her trainer for guidance, the princess nodding. (Play "Krew Battle" from Jak II!)

C caught Agate's sword between his feathers and flung it away, but Blaziken lunged to grab his master and dodge C's following strike. C heard running to his right and turned to shoot his eye laser at Perry, who aimed the Mirror Shield to deflect it back at his face. Perry leapt for a jump strike, landing a clean cut down C's front, but the cyborg grabbed him by the skull in his large claw. "I was hoping it'd turn out this way from the start! With the rumor going around that you defeated Y, I was hoping to crush you like a grape—AGH!" Agate stabbed him in the back with his greatsword. C turned his large arm at the guard captain and fired it along with Perry, pushing Agate back and recalling the arm afterward. Perry slashed up at its fingers to make them release during the recall, tumbling along the floor toward C and slashing a spin attack on his ankles.

With his ankles temporarily short-circuited, C took to the air and conjured Holo-Clones to strike his foes. Perry and Agate were quick to counter them, but C turned his attention to Ralph and Magearna. The prince was defenseless, feeble prey, merely fiddling with a remote controller, so he swooped down to pop him. But that's when a small, blue and black plane flew in C's way and fired a condensed ball of air, exploding and causing C to crash. "Even if Joaquin can't possess the Magearna, his current upgrades should suffice!" Ralph's drone fired magnetic braces that bound C's right arm and leg to the floor, afterwards bombarding him with bullets. C used his claw to rip and crush the braces, in time for Perry to engage him.

C flashed on a barrier, Perry's swing bouncing off it. His left was open, so C quickly swung his right wing at it, but Perry thought fast, spun, and deflected his wing with the Mirror Shield. "How do you like it?" Perry stabbed the Gilded Sword into C's hip, but was immediately sent flying by his claw. Agate and Blaziken threw a flaming slash and kick, which C blocked with his wings. They anticipated a counterattack, which C delivered by shooting his claw out. Agate met it with his sword and forced it to the floor with a rocket-powered swing, all while Blaziken duck-ran and tackled C's legs. C merely took flight to keep from falling, spinning to shake the burning Pokémon off. Once Blaziken fell, C shot a laser clean through his gut. "Blaziken!" Agate screamed.

"Sorry. My aim's a little off." C remarked. "Agh!" An arrow struck him in the forehead, the cyborg casting a glare at Perry and Ralph, side by side. Perry shot arrows through Joaquin's wind tunnels, which the G.En.I.E. bent to shoot the evasive cyborg. The furious C dropped spider drones that approached the boys while he flew after Joaquin. "Ralph, look out!" Perry pulled his friend aside before the drones exploded. Unfortunately, Ralph lost focus on his controller, forcing Joaquin to act on his own. The drone flipped and dodged C's wing swings the best it could, but its right wing was severed. With that, he turned to the boys and dove directly toward them. Perry readied his sword in defense, but Agate intercepted him first. C blocked his flaming greatsword and turned toward Magearna, swooping to grab it off the ground. "HEY!"

"Always watch your surroundings, fools!" C stretched his wings and made for the exit. Perry just noticed a Holo-Clone above them, going for Ralph. He managed to push his friend out of the way, but the clone slashed down the right of Perry's body in his attempt to strike it.

"Dude, you okay?!" Ralph exclaimed.

"Ech!" Perry clenched his wound. "This is the part where I say 'Just fine,' but nah, this kinda hurts."

"There's a medical wing downstairs!" Kimia yelled, rushing back into the room. "There's still room for you!"

"Now that he thinks he has Magearna, maybe he'll leave." Ralph said. "Then we'll track Max back to his hideout."

"What if the kid gets found out?" Agate asked.

"Trust me, they'll have more problems with Max than he will with them." Perry assured. "All that matters is catching up."

"Princess!" A researcher entered. "The Defense Fortress has begun liftoff! And it looks like Queen Haylee is in combat with an invisible structure."

"You think the enemy will delay their exit to fight them?" Agate asked.

"I don't know." Perry replied. "But we should get ready for battle, anyway." (End song.)

Tita's Room

She was too stubborn to go to the bunker, so Tita went to her room instead. She sat dejectedly on her bed, hugging her legs, while Shimmy was lazily playing with her toy robots on the floor. "Do you think they're okay up there?"

"Oh yeh, Perry and Ralph are the toughest. Well, not really, but they're still pretty tough! And I'm sure Agate is, too."

"I hope so…"

"Say, isn't agate a type of rock? Why'd his parents name him that if he's a firebender?"

"Maybe they named him before they learned his element…"

"Mmm?" Shimmy stood and turned. "Look, we both know you really wanna go up there, so let's just go! If we hurry, we can whip up a good mech and give that bad guy a thrashing!"

"But the bad guy will try to hurt me, and Agate will get hurt to protect me…"

"What's wrong with that?" Tita looked up at her in slight surprise. "That's what we do all the time. If we see an attack goin' for our pal, we save them. I bet ya Agate's protecting Perry and Ralph the same way he would you. Or maybe just Ralph 'cause prince and all."

"I guess… but why can't I protect him, too?"

"Why can't ya? You got mechs, you got a Rotom!" ("Rotom!")

"I tried to once, but I got in the way. I'll just be a distraction."

"Do ya really think that?" Shimmy climbed on her bed to meet her eye level. "Or are you thinking of the perfect mech to fight with him?"

"Mmmmm…!" She muffled her mouth in her knees and shut her eyes tight.

"You wanna protect him as much as he does you! He's just gotta give you the chance, but you gotta give yourself that chance, too! So, what do you wanna do, Tita?!"

"Mmmmm!" She pulled her mouth away and shouted to the sky, "I WANNA HELP MY AGAAAAAATE!"

The palace guards looked around confused as her voice reverberated.

"Then let's go build us a train!"

"YEAH!"

But then it was time for the commercial minigame! "WHO'S THAT POKÉMON?!" Showing what was clearly Rotom's silhouette.

…

…

…

…

When the commercial break was over, the silhouette cleared, "Iiiiit's… LOGGO!" and transformed into a toilet with eyes. "POO-POOOOOOT!"

C-Station

Five Porkships were on Haylee's tail, firing homing hotdogs. "You made that your ammo just to spite me, didn't ya?!" They were no deterrent to her superb piloting, dodging the hotdogs with grace. Some of the Pigmask pilots predicted her movement and shot lasers where she would be, but she was already prepared to barrel roll and deflect the lasers back at them. Haylee saw a winged cyborg returning to the station from the Treehouse. "That's not a good sign. Yuh-oh!" Two Darkfish intercepted her.

C returned to his control room and plopped onto his seat, dropping the Magearna at his feet. "Mission accomplished. Let's return to headquarters posthaste. Drop the last few Darkfish off before we go. Might as well give them something to play with."

"You sure you want to leave so soon?"

"?!" C looked up. There was a man standing upside-down on the ceiling. He had flowing white hair, a green gown, and no shoes. "A? Decided to come after all? Well, you're too late."

"I figured I would make sure you didn't do anything foolish. Did they really hand over the Magearna that easily?"

"See for yourself." C raised the phony robot.

AA narrowed his gaze. The 'Magearna' possessed an unusual scent… a disdainful scent. AA grabbed the robot and smashed it against the ceiling, its pieces falling. "What've you done?! What…" C examined its bizarre insides.

It was a bakery. Max Murphy was serving pies to sentient ants. "And a blurpleberry pie for you, Mrs. Antoinette."

"I ORDERED PINEAPPLE PIE!" The ant threw it in his face. "I saw you give that big, juicy one to Lady Mesoma!"

"Oh, Antoinette," Mesoma began in a haughty tone as she munched her pie, "anyone can plainly see that your gaster is not sizeable enough for such a delicacy."

"I'll pop YOUR gaster, you overbaked balloon!" Antoinette grabbed a bazooka from behind Max's counter and shot Mesoma with pineapples. The stray pineapples flew up and hit C's eye.

"AGH! What in the Precursors' name are you?!" C tried to pick him out.

"WAIT YOUR TURN!" The ants dramatically gigantified and swarmed C like a beam. When it finally cleared, Max stood before the cyborg. "You know why ants like pie? Because pie is as endless as the number of ants in the universe! And because there's so many, they have to wait in line a super long time, so it's rude to cut!"

"You…" C's eye twitched. This boy looked and sounded familiar. "Tsskt, zzzt, kkkttt!" He sparked as his Nefarious voice took control. "Za—ach—AAAAAAAACH-!" His satellite dome fizzled and his body froze up. His dome played what sounded like a soap opera recording.

"It can't be, Calculon! Do you really have rusty crotch plate fever?"

"I'm afraid rusty crotch plate runs in the family, Monique. Ever since my great-great-grandfather Torbert was left out in the rain. And he was a marvelous bike."

C's head sparked again as he regained mobility. "Errorororor!" he laughed in his Nefarious voice. "Thought you would get the better of me with that silly style of yours? I'm already adapted to that nonsense! See for yourself with my CAT CANNON!" C's arm became a cannon and fired cats that scratched Max's face.

"OUCH! Curses! There's only one way to counter a Cat Cannon!" Max reached in his pocket.

"Let me guess: a Dog Cannon? Water Cannon? An Animal Whistle Cannon? I'm prepared for whatever you throw at me, Za-a-a-a—A-A-ACH!" C glitched.

Max whipped out a, "DEATH STAR CANNON!" firing the tremendous, planet-destroying laser directly at C and burning through a chunk of the ship.

The C-Station flickered into visibility, a gray and red C-shaped ship. "Hey!" Haylee beamed. "I guess I must've hit the right spot!"

"Well done, Haylee!" Raleigh smirked, standing on the roof of the Defense Fortress. "All troops, concentrate all Pokémon on the giant floating 'C'!"

The fortress's cannons were designed to channel and amplify Pokémon attacks, bombarding the C-Station with fire, water, electricity, and fairy power. King Raleigh summoned two of his Pokémon, Raichu and Magnezone, and linked them to their own firing stations.

C and the surrounding Pigmasks were left in a charred state. "Well, it appears the cloaking has disabled." AA said.

C shook the soot off. "What?! But Bo-bobo Kempo can't do any real physical damage!"

"S-Sorry, boss…" one of the Pigmasks groaned. "I fanboyed over the Death Star so bad that I hit the 'Off' switch." C smashed him with his claw.

"Now that this baby's uncloaked, it's time for a paint job!" Max declared. "Super Fist of the Kidder, Let's Get Colorful!" He whipped out a bucket of paint and raised a brush!

Max and a bunch of Julie Beans began painting the C-Station's exterior. "We're gonna make this drab old 'C' look fresh and new!" And once they were finished, "Voila!" the ship resembled Sakura Haruno and Orihime in bikinis.

"I DON'T WANT MY SHIP TO LOOK LIKE THAT!" C screamed.

"AT LEAST THEY'RE CUTER THAN TINKER BELL!" Max spilled the rest of the paint on him (it looked like a more liquidy version of the two girls). "AAAH!" He was impaled to the floor by upside-down Crosses.

"You should know, boy," AA spoke, "many of us are trained in the art of this Kempo. C may be inexperienced, but your trickery will hardly effect me."

"Not even if I offer girl scout cookies?!" Max raised a box, crying.

"You shut your mind from the law of the universe and attack us with mal logic." AA took the box and munched the cookies. "But I've long rejected the law myself. That is why I must be rid of that force inside you."

"The Force penetrates ALL of us!" Luke and Obi-wan rode in on a giant pen labeled 'FORCE' and pierced them all.

"I speak, of course, of the Goddess of Chaos inside you. Pandora." AA brushed off the attack.

"Huh?!"

"Twenty-five years ago, your father sealed Pandora inside himself, not just to spare her from the God Killing, but to contain her chaos with his own. But it seems a piece of her has gone to you."

"It can't be… Dora, is this true?! Are you really… a piece of Pandora?"

A window opened on his chest, exposing Dora the Explorer. "Don't listen to him, Max! I'm still your exploring buddy! Remember all those blueberries we picked? Those foxes we exterminated?"

"Then why does Dad have Peter Pan in his armpit? There's no other explanation!"

"Indeed." AA replied. "My Anti-Crosses are only able to impair gods, not mortals, but it seems God Vessels are not exempt. I'll soon have you rid of your burden, boy… for I am the Anti-Arceist. I reject the gods' existence."

"Then I'll let you deal with him." C replied in his Clockwerk voice. "First, perhaps you can use that staff of yours. I'm famished for hatred."

"Who do you propose I use it on?"

The citizens were in panic as their kingdom was overrun with Darkfish. The soldiers called their Pokémon to fight them, but in the midst of combat, C's holographic visage projected from the robots. "PEOPLE OF AZOTH!" The citizens faced them in terror. "Your prince has ignored my demands and attacked me! Now you will all be punished in his name!"

The hologram switched to that of a staff with twisting points around a light center. The staff spun and flashed at everyone. The soldiers and civilians immediately turned on each other.

Treehouse

Perry's wound was disinfected and his torso was bandaged up. "Am I good to go?" he asked the doctor.

"Er, you're good to start resting, but I hope you aren't planning to 'go' anywhere besides the bath-"

"Nope." Perry kicked out of bed and ran.

"Hey!" cried the doctor.

"Ralph!" Perry caught his buddy and Agate waiting outside the room. "Any updates on the situation?"

"Yeah, and they're… not good."

"That C guy figured out your trick and is still attacking!" Agate shouted. "And worse, the soldiers and citizens are fighting each other now!"

"Our camera feed shows it was a wide-range transmission, followed by a flash from those squid from those jellyfish robots!" Kimia explained. "They're under some sort of hypnosis!"

"Hypnosis?!" Perry gasped. "M-Maybe I can do something. Those jellyfish look like Dark Chi, so maybe my Light Arrows can fix them!"

"I want you kids to stay put!" Agate ordered. "You're in no shape to fight and I don't want you risking the prince's life either!"

"Oh, and I guess you'll stop this whole mess by yourself?!"

"If I have to, I have to! But you kids have done enough!" The guard captain raced upstairs.

"Agate!" Kimia called. "Where are you going, that cyborg destroyed all the hangar ships!"

"He missed one!" Agate raced to the outdoor hangar and hopped in Ralph's plane.

"HEY, THAT'S MINE!" the prince screamed. They couldn't catch up before Agate started the plane up and took off. "Do you even have a pilot's license?!"

"He doesn't even have a Pokémon! Blaziken's still recovering!" Kimia shouted.

"I guess we should've handed him the real Magearna after all…" Perry said.

"Don't sweat it, man." Ralph assured. "We would've had to get it back, anyway. I'd rather scrap this tin can now! Let me try to call Mom and see if she'll bring her plane over."

C-Station

"I've used my Archetype Control to divide the citizens and royal guard." AA said. "I still don't intend to participate in this search for Bolypius, so you can take it from here."

"The Genius says he'll want your help on the big project, so good luck with that. Now then, time for a feast!"

The Cyborg flew outside and turned his hearing up to bask in the rage and violence from town. His Clockwerk programming sapped the emotions right in. "Excellent! As for Magearna…" he glanced down at the Defense Fortress. "Perhaps His Majesty will know."

Unfortunately, Raleigh was facing opposition from an unexpected enemy: "Haylee, what're you doing?!"

His wife had still been fighting one of the Darkfish when the Archetype Control flashed. Now her guns were turned on her husband. "I'm sick of you royalty and your big castles and quality dining! Why don't ya serve me up some royal chilidogs?!"

Magnezone projected an electric field to block Haylee's lasers. "Those things must've done something!"

"Well, isn't that convenient?" Raleigh looked as C closed in on them, blasting the fortress' cannons. "Then perhaps I'll allow her the honor of destroying you… if you don't hand over the Magearna!"

"Raichu, Magnezone, give him a Flying Volt Tackle!"

"RAICHUUUU/-NEZOOOOONE!" Raichu rode atop Magnezone and charged at C in a sphere of electricity. They dodged his claw and rammed him directly, his circuitry sparking, but he was able slash his wings through and stab Raichu. Magnezone pulled back and shock more Thunderbolts, C tanking them as he flew toward the Pokémon and bashed them back to the fortress' roof. Raleigh returned the two and summoned a Bronzong.

C was surprised by laser fire coming from his right. "Stay away from the king!" Agate shouted.

"Agate, where're the kids?!" Raleigh asked.

"Safe!"

"Okay, but why aren't they here?!"

"They're afraid of me is why!" C barrel-rolled to deflect the lasers right back at the plane, shaking Agate as he tried to regain bearings. As the cyborg lunged toward the plane, Agate wanted to make a hard dive down, but as he had no pilot's license, he merely wound up twisting the plane at an odd angle. C landed a solid kick to the right wing, sending Agate spiraling erratically. "Let me help!" C grabbed the craft and flew it on a direct collision course to King Raleigh. Raleigh quickly ordered Bronzong to stop the plane with its psychic. The king ran out of the way while Agate climbed atop the plane to throw a flaming slash at C, only for the cyborg to kick him away afterward. The plane was allowed to crash as C pursued Agate. The captain's swings were blocked by C's left wing while his right dealt him cuts. "Not so tough without your brats to protect you."

C was tackled by Bronzong. "Agate, get inside, you're injured! AH!" Raleigh's legs were bound in a mass of gum fired by Haylee.

"I won't!" Agate rushed to his side to melt the gum off. "I won't let Tita… or anyone be hurt!"

"Run, Mischa! Run!"

The Crosners lived peacefully in the farming village of Ravennue. As they slumbered one night, expecting another ordinary day tomorrow, the rapid bombing of Electrodes woke them from their peace. Agate, almost 14 years old, clenched the hand of his 8-year-old sister as they ran from the bombing. The ships seemed to belong to Team Flare, who were probably this for some twisted operation.

"AH!" Mischa pulled her hand from Agate's.

"What's wrong, Mischa?!"

"Your present! I have to get your present!" She rushed back.

"What?! Mischa, no!" Agate chased her. Sadly, his younger sister carried a lot more stamina in her young legs and managed to outpace him. She made it into the house, just as Agate saw the Electrode falling toward it. "NOOOOOO!"

The house was completely incinerated, the blazes forever burned into Agate's irises. Agate, crossed with fear and conviction, jumped into the fire, using his bending to move some of the flames away. He burned his hands trying to pick up and throw the rubble, lurching in horror upon unearthing Mischa's charred corpse. Yet, tucked in her hands was a small, ribboned box.

Agate drowned in guilt for the next few years, taking his anger out on any classmate or grown-up that crossed him. Then, by the time he was 18, he was a gang leader. Agate's aggressive nature earned him respect from some ne'er-do-wells. Since they all possessed bird Pokémon, such as Agate's Torchic, they called their selves the Ravens. "But Corviknight is our only raven." Deen said. "Maybe we should be… the Bad Birds?"

"RAVENS IS COOLER!" Agate shouted.

"DAH, okay, okay!"

The Ravens spent their time stalking the fields at night and robbing passing trainers, which naturally led to traditional Pokémon battles. But one day, they found an odd mechanical carriage with cog-shaped wheels. "Must be from that weird techy kingdom." Rais said. "I hear they're obsessed with gears."

The gangsters forced the carriage into a stop as Agate was about to attack the man stepping out. "Raichu, Thundershock!"

"CHUUUUUU!" He was heavily electrocuted. King Raleigh exited the carriage. "What do you boys think you're doing?"

"Crud, I've seen him online!" Bargo gasped. "That's the king of the Gear Kingdom!"

"What?" Raleigh cringed at the plain name.

"Uncle Raleigh, what's wrong?" A 6-year-old girl stuck her head out.

"Tita, get back!"

"Corviknight, use Steel Wing!" Bargo barked.

"COOOOR!" The raven flew to slash its wings.

"STOP!" Agate threw a flame to stop it. "There's a kid in there!"

"So, what?!"

"Raichu, Volt Tackle the rest of these trainers!" Raleigh ordered.

Raichu moved with lightning speed and zapped all the trainers off their feet, proceeding to zap their Pokémon out of the air. King Raleigh then approached the grounded Agate. "Do you know how much time you'd have to serve for assaulting a king and a princess?"

"I-I didn't know there was a kid in there!"

"And that excuses what? It shouldn't matter who was in here. Are you really proud of this line of work?"

"Tch! What's it to you, anyway?!" Agate pulled himself up. ("Torchic!")

"That's what I was asking you." Raleigh smiled passively. "Well, I guess I should call my guards to arrest you all. Maybe you can reflect on your life choices while you wait." Raleigh nudged his niece inside the carriage. Agate met the gaze of her innocent blue eyes as the door shut.

The Ravens spent a month in Azoth Prison, leaving Agate with nothing to do but reflect. Why did he fall down this path? Because Mischa died? Was all this thieving in her name? Was it making her happy? How? No, he merely took his anger out on others, became a bully, and dissolved into thiefhood. He had no good excuse.

"The king is willing to shorten your sentences in exchange for some… work." The elderly guard captain began sheepishly.

"Like what?" Agate asked. "Cleaning the Poképoop? Washing the royal garments?"

"For some reason, he wants you to work as royal guards."

"Heh, seriously?"

"Personally, I think you're more suitable as janitors myself. But it's His Majesty's word against mine."

The Ravens trained to be guards, but half of them never grew committed to the duty. They even plotted to escape before Agate himself foiled them. Only Deen, Rocco, and Rais stayed loyal to the cause. Raleigh felt that he could trust Agate by the time next year rolled around, enough that he and Kimia could entrust Agate to watch over Tita while they were away on a research trip. All he had to do was watch the 7-year-old play in her workshop and make sure she didn't get hurt. "What kid your age has her own workshop?! I thought a princess would have a room full of ponies, a giant dollhouse or somethin'…"

Agate would play games with Tita on later days, take her out to get ice cream in town, and in time, he became Tita's own "knight." On his 20th birthday, Agate found a ribboned box outside his bedroom. It was a small, smooth Fire Stone. "Heh. Torchics don't evolve from Fire Stones, kiddo. Hmmm…" He put his hand to the pearl necklace his sister gifted him. "But… it'd fit right in here." Agate fit the stone into a slot on the hilt of his greatsword. "Needed some jewelry, anyway."

C shot his claw at Agate, who spun to whack it away, but C willed the arm to fly overhead and bash the captain's skull. "Carry this name to the afterlife:" C began. "I am Errol, the greatest racer on Coruscant! May it haunt you for eternity."

Choooooooo! Errol looked up at the sound of a train whistle. (Play "Undefeatable" from Sonic Frontiers!)

"LEAVE AGATE ALONE!" Tita screamed, operating the bottom pilot's seat of the Sky Gear Train. She launched one of the several side gears at Errol, who swat it away and took flight toward the train.

"TITA?!" Agate screamed.

"I guess I have time to crush this toy!"

"Here he comes!" Tita yelled.

"FLAME CANNONS!" Shimmy, manning the top seat, kicked on two cannons that blasted fireballs at the cyborg. He tanked the flames and went to slash the cockpit, but Tita pulled a lever and had two right gears whip around to send Errol flying. The cyborg recovered and launched missiles, while the girls sent colorful fireworks to cloud his sensors. They each controlled two claws to grab four total missiles out of the air, flying skyward. Errol exited the firework cloud and searched for them, but the girls chucked the missiles directly at him before he could notice. They stomped the gas and shot down, ramming Errol in their snow plough! They smashed Errol into the earth and scraped him along before he managed to shove the plough upward and escape back to the air. He dove for their cockpit, but Rotom shot out of it and shocked him, diverting his trajectory as they retreated across the landscape.

"Your Majesty, we gotta do somethin'!" Agate yelled.

"Darn right. We gotta start focusing fire on that ship again, and help the brainwashed citizens!"

"I meant about Tita!"

"Agate, don't you know anything about kid power? We're pressed enough for help as it is. Speaking of, Bronzong!"

"What was that train thing?" Haylee asked. "Was there a royal on it?! Whuh?" Bronzong had floated up beside her cockpit.

"Psyshock!" Raleigh ordered.

"ZOOOONG." Bronzong dealt her a mental electrocution.

"Agh! Ugh…" Haylee held her head as she regained herself. "Huh? Raleigh, what was I doing?"

"It worked!" Raleigh beamed. "Bronzong, get back down here, I'll link you to the bell at the bottom of this fort! We'll fix the whole town!"

"Hey, how long has Ralph been calling me?! I better get up there!"

Errol pursued the train across the field, his pride as the best racer tainted by these brats! Shimmy blew him a raspberry and flicked some of the side cogs at him, but as Errol dodged, he was guided toward the center-back of the train. A claw shot out of the rear compartment and bashed Errol on the ground as they drove. Errol grinded the claw with his wings until he was freed, grabbing hold of the rope to better pull himself to the train. Errol clung to the roof, and when the cogs flipped up to crush him, Errol shot lasers to melt their tethers and let them fly off. "Detaching rear car!" Tita pressed a button and sprung the car away.

The train took to the sky and faced the cyborg. Errol fired rings that electrified the area around them. While the train couldn't fit through, Rotom could fly through the rings and use his own power to draw the outer electricity in. An angered Errol flew to slash the Electric Ghost, but Rotom zipped evasively and dealt a Shockwave. The Sky Gear sped headfirst toward the cyborg, who shot lasers, but the train elevated to avoid and surprised Errol with a full, frontal flip. It slammed him downward, the girls following up with Flame Cannons. They curved upward when Errol returned, spiraling with their cogs outstretched. Errol latched onto a cog from the second rear train. When it retracted, he sent Holo-Clones to slash and sever more cogs, forcing the girls to detach that car.

With three cars left, Shimmy pulled a switch to make the back two position diagonally beneath the front car. Errol smirked, thinking this made their cockpit easier to reach. He closed in from behind, but the bottom-right car thrusted to "punch" him. Tita sent a side gear, which Errol dodged before burning its tether, but the girls were able to catch him in the train's claws. Holding him in place, the "fist cars" pummeled him with punches. The Cyborg ripped free and severed the claws before lunging right under the front car and grabbing the cockpit. "AAAH!" Tita screamed.

"Now I got you!" He shattered the glass and aimed to grab the princess.

"I got a gun!" She whipped out a laser rifle and shot his face, the momentary surprise allowing them to spin and flick the cyborg off. Errol recollected himself… he was somewhat flabbergasted that a young girl in Pokémon World would just have a gun. But he was in for greater surprise when a condensed Air Bomb blew him away. "Hey, Shimmy! And Tita, is that you?"

"Ralph!" the girls cheered.

"Sorry for the holdup!" Haylee said, riding in the backseat. "I'll let a pro take the wing!"

"Ralph, I made sure to install a landing latch for your plane!" Shimmy pressed a button to unveil the hatch on the front car's roof. "I hope your mom's plane fits. It's got a big booty."

"Whuh?!" Haylee flushed.

"Yeah! Then we'll REALLY blow this guy away, eh Joaquin?!"

"Joaquin!" the G.En.I.E. chirped inside the plane.

"Alright, Bronzong." Raleigh linked his bell-like Pokémon with the base of the ancient bell. "Give us the biggest Psyshock you got!"

"BROOOOOON…" The bell echoed with powerful reverberation. It projected Bronzong's psychic over the whole kingdom, zapping the people back to their senses.

"Ugh…what were we just doing?" Deen questioned.

"Those robots did something to us!" Rais said. "Hey, who's that kid?"

Perry stunned a Darkfish with a Light Arrow before Hookshotting to its head and stabbing it with both swords. Two more Darkfish approached him. "Well, don't just stand there!" Rocco yelled. "Skarmory, Metal Claw!"

"SKAAAR!" The Steel/Flying-type slashed a Darkfish.

"Fearow, Drill Peck!" Deen ordered.

"FEEEAAA!" The orange bird burrowed its beak into another one.

"About time I had some help here!" Perry said.

Ralph attached his plane to the Sky Gear. "Alright, Rotom." Tita said. "I know you can't hold it for long, but give us as much juice as you got!"

"Rotooooom!" The ghost entered the engine and spread his energy throughout the wiring, the whole front car turning orange.

"Joaquin, give us a good breeze!" Ralph ordered.

"Joaquiiiiiiiin!" The train began to spin, stirring an electric tornado.

Inside the C-Station, the Anti-Arceist was slowly drilling a corkscrew throw Max's belly. "You're not the only one who can induce illusory pain. Tell me, will that goddess of yours come out if I dig far enough? Or do I need to kill you altogether?"

"If you're upside-down all the time, does all your food just go to your brain or something?"

"I know your friends have another God Vessel in custody, too. I wonder how many others there are? If I must, I'll see them all perish…?" He noticed something peculiar on Max's nose: a T-posing booger with Max's face and hair. "Is that all you can do?"

"Seeing all these T's got me thinking… no one can resist the domineering power of a T-pose."

"Yet, I resist it better than you resist mine. Hm?!" The ship began rumbling.

"Wah, what's happening?!" a Pigmask cried.

"I wasn't talking about you. My Bo-bobo may not affect you, but there's someone's feelings you forgot to consider."

"SIR! Th-The ship is transforming! AAAAAHHH!"

Indeed, the C-Station couldn't stand someone doing the T-pose inside it. It didn't even have enough limbs to do the pose, so it had to make some adjustments. The "C" stretched into a straight line, but to compensate for the lack of arms, it stretched its insides out. Doing so exposed Max and the others to the outside. "This is bad, sir! The C-Station tried to become a 't', but it stretched its limbs in the wrong place! IT'S A SHURIKEN, SIR!"

Errol glared into the eye of the tornado. The sounds of the hatred had silenced, so he felt a drop in power. "I will WIN!" The confident cyborg boosted toward the train, but they suddenly dove it downward. "Cowards!" But it curved back up to meet Errol for the promised challenge.

"Looks like Max worked his magic on that ship!" Ralph said. "Let's give it the final piece!"

"Yeah!" Tita cheered, raising the snow plough to impact Errol. "HURRICANE TRAIN!" Errol was struck from all sides by lightning, the rapid spinning disorienting his senses.

"Zzzzt—tck-tck—flowers—you little—Jak—Ratchet—this isn't over!"

"And BLASTOFF!" Ralph fired a powerful gust that sent Errol spinning toward one of the points of the Shuriken Station. The force was intense enough to get the ship spinning.

"WHOOOOOOAAAAA!" The Pigmasks clung on for dear life, while Max had already flown free from the motion. As C's unconscious body lay against the shuriken, it flew out of the planet's atmosphere and left a twinkle in the sky.

"Those kids are something else, aren't they?" Raleigh smiled.

"Yeah…" Agate mumbled in awe. (End song.)

That night, Azoth was alit with fireworks and the people cheered the prince and princess's name! "TITAAAAAAAA!" Except Agate's was more from anger. "How could you do something so reckless?! You could've died, do you have any idea how worried we were?!"

"Agate, you know you couldn't have won without me! I had to help, no matter how dangerous it was! If you had died… I don't know what I would've done…"

"Tita, you don't…"

Tita embraced him in a hug, tears soaking his belts. "The next time something bad happens… I wanna be there with you. I wanna protect you as much as you protect me."

"Nnn…" Agate put an arm around her. "Well, how can I say 'no' after you made a monstrosity like that?"

"Well, it was mostly thanks to Shimmy. She brought a lot of her own tech… and creativity. But you know… this got me thinking. Maybe I should expand my knowledge." Tita pulled away and pumped her fists. "Maybe I should go on a journey!"

"You mean… a Pokémon Journey?"

"Well, I wanna visit other towns and places to study their technology, to get inspiration for new inventions! And catch Pokémon on the way, too! Then I'll be able to protect the kingdom even better next time! You should come, too, Agate! Then we can both train!"

"I think that's a great idea." Kimia smiled. "I always thought you'd be a fantastic trainer."

"It'd be good for you, too, Agate." Raleigh said. "It's been a while since you really got to see the world, huh?"

"Heh…'guess I got no choice then." Agate smiled modestly. "Can't let you get eaten by an Aerodactyl or something."

"Can we visit your hometown first? I-I mean… I guess it's…"

"Sure, Tita. We can."

"By the way," Ralph began, "I'm worried if those bad guys will come back for Magearna again. Do you think I should take her with us? Then again, they could invade anyway and you won't be able to activate the fortress."

"This world has a KND, doesn't it?" Perry asked. "We'll ask them to keep watch on Azoth."

"I wouldn't mind if you took Magearna." Raleigh said. "You might be able to bring her closer to Bolypius."

"Alrighty. We'll take her then!"

"Are you okay, Max?" Perry asked. "Sorry we put you in that rough position. What happened up there?"

"I met, like, the weirdest Spider-Man fanboy." Max replied. "I kept thinking he was trying to reenact the kissing scene."

"Ooooo…kay?"

"At least we didn't have to do it, huh, Julie Bean?"

"Yeah, he's, he's, he's an ice cream man." A rooster with a jellybean bib and glasses strolled in. "Look who's here, Agate's here, hi, Agate!"

"Uh…hi? Who's this?"

"She's the Juicester."

"I'm a nice rooster. T-T-Tita's your girlfriend?"

"What?!"

"Yes, I am!" Tita blushed.

"No I'm not!"

"Aw, don't be shy, Agate," Julie said, "give your girlfriend a doggy treat!"

"No, I won't! And we aren't dating!"

"Not without MY approval!" Kimia shouted.

"Your Highness!"

"And, and, we're gonna have a wedding," Julie continued, "in Perry's bedroom!"

"My bedroom?!"

"It'll have 50 elephants! And spiders!"

"That's one heck of a wedding!"

"THERE'S NO WEDDING!" Agate screamed. "WE'RE NOT DATING!"

"D'aww, he's just shy 'cause he's marrying Perry's mother."

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW HIS MOTHER! STOP SHIPPING ME WITH PEOPLE! AAAAAAAHHHHH!" And Agate bolted out of the palace and out of town.

"BLAZIKEEEEEEEN!" His Pokémon joined him.

"He, he, he's scared of the spider." Julie said.

"Yeah, he… sure is." Ralph replied. "Hey, Perry, can I borrow your sword for a minute?"

"Why? To cut Julie's head?"

"OH, GOSH!" Julie flapped her wings. "W-W-W-W-We don't do that, d-don't cut the rooster's head!"

"No, no! Just, give it here, I wanna do something."

"'kay." Perry handed him the Gilded Sword.

"Now get on one knee."

"Dude, I'm not bowing to you."

"It's not—ugh, fine, forget the bowing! Ahem…" Ralph drew the sword. He held it above Perry's left shoulder, then to his right. "For your bravery and service to my kingdom, I, Prince Ralph Gilligan of Azoth, appoint you… my knight."

"Awwwwwe!" Perry poked his tummy. "It's an honor, Ralph! When we get back home, I'll appoint you my favorite beanbag chair!"

"Dude, I was tryin' to make this nice, but you're ruining it!"

"Ha ha! That's what loyal knights are for, Ralph!"

"Alright, kids, who wants some Slurpuff ice cream?" Raleigh asked. "I hear it goes great with a fresh Hodtog!"

"I DO!" Shimmy jumped.

"You should try the Saudoge, it's the best!" Tita said as the kids raced outside.

"Yeah, I'll just… stay here, thanks." Perry cringed.

…

…

…

…

…

"Khh, hah, hah!" laughed an Azoth citizen working a hamburger stand. "Bro, Tita with a gun! Hah hah!" His burgers were extra cheesy.