The Alpha Dex (rated PG)

[jeffdavid102]

An evil tyrant. "shiver" Oh wait, his name is Christopher. I don't know, but the plainness of that name just completely makes it impossible to take him seriously. I mean, it is funny that a pink heart-shaped fish is the tyrant, but either do an evil name or just overall strange/funny name. Christopher is so.....blah. Other than your name choice, I did like this section with your unconventional use of moves and Alomomola's healing ability.

[charizarddude]

Wow, I'd forgotten how good these were! But like jeffdavid102 said, Christopher just doesn't seem like a normal name for an evil tyrant. Still, great job with this one.

[SceptileFan]

I enjoyed it!

I have to agree with the others though...Christopher isn't the most intimidating name of the planet. It just makes me think of that boy on Winnie the Pooh.

The description was well done, and the story was an interesting one. I would have waited to reveal Relicanth's plan though. After I read that, I knew exactly what was coming.

Keep up the good work! And you can likely guess what Pokemon I'm to request next...

MAGIKARP!


...


Just kidding Sceptile

[Trickster Zorua]

I request you something, Zorua and Zoroark! 8D

Awesome One-shots though! ^^ I'm considering also making such PokéDex One-Shots with all 649 pokés! ;P

[EmBORING!]

These are AWESOME!i love it how you just take random pokes and make an epic story out of them.

[Z-nogyroP]

Off topic: I think this is the most comments I've ever gotten for an individual oneshot...

@everyone: Sorry for the bad evil tyrant name. We're renovating and we moved the computer, so I had to think of something fast. I'll change it to Magnus now, because I think that's a better name.

@jeffdavid102: Yeah, I had the "evil Alomomola" idea in my head for a while... Relicanth was In Process so I figured why not?

@charizarddude: Thanks! And Christopher is a really blah name...

@SceptileFan: Hm, maybe you're right. I'm probably not gonna go back and change it, but you have a point.

@Trickster Zorua: Sounds cool. I'll add Zorua and Zoroark alongside Sceptile.

@emBORING!: Thanks a lot! I seem to be a lot better at writing for random Pokemon though, like today's.

This was inspired by an episode of Almost Naked Animals(I'm immature, sue me).

Milotic, Pikachu and Kingler

Out of all Pokémon trainers, few were more famous than Red of Pallet Town. His trusty sidekick, Pika the Pikachu, was always there for him when he needed it most. He had thwarted Team Rocket with Pika and his other Pokémon. He was known for taking on anyone who asked and taking training seriously. Many novice trainers looked up to him as their hero. And right now, this world-famous trainer, who had defeated the Elite Four, the Champion, and was known for taking care of some of the world’s strongest Pokémon, was…

…relaxing at the beach.

On the grounds that “everyone needs a break,” Red had packed his bags with sunscreen, beach balls, and lawn chairs, and headed off to the beach in Sinnoh for some sun, sand and surf. With him was, of course, his trusty Pikachu, who had slathered on generous amounts of suntan lotion in the hopes that, by the end of the day, he could trick people into thinking he was shiny. Also by his side was a rarity of a Pokémon, a Milotic. This Milotic- named Jacob- had been lent to him by Wallace of the Hoenn region, because when he had been received, he had been very sick. Wallace hoped he could cure the poor Pokémon.

That was around three months ago. Now, the Milotic was looking very healthy, and was planned to be returned to Wallace in a week’s time. For now, Red had figured a little vacation couldn’t hurt. It was a perfect beach day too- the sun was shining, the sand was warm, and the waves were gently lapping against the beach. It was time for some rest and relaxation.
“Alright, gang, we’re here!” Red said as he took out the folding chair from his bag and promptly opened it up.

“<Yay! The beach! I love the beach. It’s so nice and warm today!>” Pika cheered. He went in the bag to grab a beach umbrella, but it slipped out of his greasy hands and fell on his head. “<Ow…>”

“<I think you should stick to grabbing the towels, Sergeant Butterfingers,>” said Jacob as he grabbed the umbrella with his tail and stuck it in the sand.

“<Thanks, Jacob,>” said Pika. He went back in the bag and pulled out a multi-coloured beach ball, but like the umbrella before it, it slipped out of his over-lotioned paws and flew into the air. He turned it into a game by bouncing it on his head and tail. “<Whee! This is fun!>”

Red rubbed the Pikachu on his head. “I’m glad to see you’re having fun already. Who’s got the sunscreen?”

“<I do,>” Jacob said. Then he glanced over at the yellow rodent. “<Just don’t let him have any.>”

Red took the cream-coloured bottle from him and put a blob on his hands. He rubbed them together, and then began scrubbing the Milotic. “This ought to keep you protected from the sun. It’s gonna be a scorcher today.”

“<Thanks,>” Jacob said appreciatively as he lowered his head so the human could get more sunscreen near his face.

Pika put away his beach ball as Red finished coating Milotic with the cream. “<Red, I’m hungry,>” he said, patting his belly. “<Can we have a sandwich?>”

Jacob brought his tail to his chin. “<Now that you mention it, I’m feeling rather peckish myself. I doubt a mere sandwich now would ruin our lunch.>”

Red looked at the two, then laughed. “Sure, let’s open up the picnic lunch I made.” He went over to his bag and opened it up. He ruffled through some items and began grumbling to himself. He moved the other items faster. “Where is it?!” he shouted suddenly.

“<Red, did you leave it at home?>” scolded Pika accusingly.

“I left the basket at home,” he muttered.

“<Aw…>” Pika whined. “<But I’m really hungry!>”

“Don't worry, guys. I’ll get some food for you.” Then he looked around. “Why don't you two explore for a bit? That'll get your minds off food.”

“<'Kay…>” Pika said. Then he scampered off.

Red noticed the Milotic hadn't budged. “Why don’t you go play with Pika?”

Jacob snorted. “<I’d much rather stay here and sunbathe.>”

He shrugged. “Okay, whatever. I’m going to go see if there’s an ice cream stand anywhere around here.” The he left, leaving Jacob alone to guard the rest of their supplies.

-----

“<Ooh, pretty shell,>” Pika mused, picking up a nice pink-and-orange swirled shell that presumably once held a Dwebble. He then tossed it in the ocean, where it made a small splash before disappearing beneath the waves. Then he ran back across the shoreline, looked for something interesting.

Soon, he found a round, flat stone, perfect for skipping. He had seen Red do it a bunch of times and he wanted to try too. He grabbed the rock and angled it slightly, then took a step back. He was about to toss it, when something grabbed his tail. He threw the rock upwards in surprise; it landed behind him and hit something. That something cried out “<Ow!>”

He turned around. There was a massive crab rubbing its head with its smaller claw; the other one looked like it was bigger than the body. It was a Kingler. He had seen some before. “<Hey, what was that for?>” he fumed angrily.

It focused on him. “<You have big tail.>”

“<Yeah, so?>”

“<We need big tail to put in volcano. Volcano no get tail, volcano go boom. We no have tail. You have very big tail.>”

Pika took a step back. “<Your point..?>” he said, hoping it wasn't what he thought it was.

“<We cut off tail,>” it said, snapping its larger claw for emphasis.

“<That’s what I thought,>” he said weakly. Then, without hesitation, he ran off screaming. “<You’ll have to catch me first, you kooky Kingler!>” he yelled back.

“<Hey! Come back!>” the Kingler said angrily. “<We attack you! Go!>”

Suddenly, at least twenty Kingler popped out of the sand. “<You no get away!>” they chanted. They all began crawling towards him sideways, as if they were dragging their bigger claw. Pika turned around and began charging up a Thunderbolt, but was stopped short was they spat mud at him, making him unable to use electricity. He gulped and ran.

He spotted Jacob resting on the beach. “<Jacob! Jacob! Help!>” he screamed, trying to avoid the snapping pincers.

The Milotic woke with a start. “<Pika? PIKA!>” he yelled, lowering his neck so the rodent could get on.

“<Where's Red?>” Pika asked, panic in his voice.

“<He went to get some ice cream. What did you do?>”

“<I didn't do anything! I was skipping stones and then this Kingler came up to me and said it was gonna cut off my tail and throw it in the volcano and then I ran and I tried to shock them but they made me muddy and they said they have to get a really big tail in the volcano or it’ll blow up!>”

“<That’s wonderful, Pika, but did it ever occur to you that I’m ALL TAIL?>”

“<Uh, yeah,>” he said nervously. “<That’s why I came to you…>”

“<You idiot! I’m gonna…>” Jacob yelled before he noticed they were surrounded by Kingler.

The Kingler who had snapped at Pika before came up to them. She stopped when she noticed Jacob, then nodded her head trying to get his full height. “<Hmm… Okay. Ignore fat ugly rabbit. Get pretty snake thing!>”

“<Ugly?!>” Pika roared. However, he was quickly knocked off Jacob’s head as the Milotic was attacked. More Kingler, wielding thick rope, appeared and bound Jacob’s body to the point that he couldn't move. They dragged him away into the forest as some Kingler beat up Pika. When all was done, Pika was battered and bruised and Jacob was gone.

“<…that hurt,>” said Pika lamely. Then he looked around. “<Arceus dang it, they got Jacob! I’ll have to get him back somehow…>”

Something caught his attention. A discarded Kingler shell, minus the claws. He dashed over and put it on. It fit perfectly. He stuffed his tail in the back because Kingler “no have tail.” He ran around a bit, practicing his crabwalk, before finding a pair of shells that resembled claws. He put them on his paws. A more intelligent Pokémon would have realized right away he was an imposter, but he had a fair chance with the Kingler.

He followed their footsteps back into the forest, where he saw Jacob tied down and the Kingler leader(he assumed) trying to figure out where to cut him to separate body from tail. He made to approach the Tender Pokémon, but he was stopped short. Another Kingler was standing in front of him. “<You no look like normal Kingler…>”

“<But I normal! Normal Kingler are me!>” Pika said desperately.

“<One way to find out. We do bonk test.>” Then he raised his smaller claw and smashed him over the head with it.

“<Ow!>”

“<Okay. You say ‘ow.’ You real Kingler. But master must do bonk test too. In case.>” He dragged along Pika to the leader, who was thankfully still having problems about where Jacob should be cut.

They were going to bonk him again? Pika got an idea. He made static electricity run all over his body and the shell. The Kingler who was leading him talked to the master, who then nodded and hit him with her claw. She screamed as the electricity shocked her and fell over. Then Pika took off the shell. “<Fooled you, dumb crabs!>” he yelled before trying to untie Jacob.

“<Ugh…>” said the leader. “<Get… him…>”

The Kingler all began attacking Pika, who fended them off with Iron Tail or Thunderbolt. But there were too many, and the leader was back in action after one of the crabs fed her a White Herb. So Jacob himself decided to interfere. He let off a warm aura from his body that struck Pika and the Kingler. They stopped fighting, instead looking more confused. “<Uh… What we doing?>” the leader asked.

“<You were going to set me free and take us to your berry stash,>” put in Jacob.

“<Oh… okay.>” The Kingler used their larger claws to cut open the rope, although to them it was probably like cutting a piece of wet origami paper. Then they left and told them to follow them. However, he noticed Pika was crab walking.

He slapped him across the face. “<You’re not a Kingler,>” he hissed.

Pika awoke from the daze. “<Oh. Oh! Yeah. Thanks.>” He then grabbed Jacob’s horn and watched from above.

Soon, they arrived at a huge berry bush, where Pika and Jacob grabbed as many Bluk Berries as possible before leaving. “<Thanks again!>” Jacob called back.

“<You welcome…>” the leader said, still affected by the aura.

After a few minutes, the Kingler woke up from the state of stupidity they were in. “<Wait! What happen?>” asked the leader.

“<Ugly rabbit and pretty snake get away,>” one of them put in glumly.

“<CURSES!>”

-----

Red returned soon after their endeavors with the Kingler tribe. “Sorry, guys, I couldn't find an ice cream vendor- Pika!” he exclaimed. “What happened? You’re all scratched up and bruised, and there are bits of red shell in your fur! And Jacob! You look like you have- rope burn? How is that even possible? And where'd you guys get all these berries? What happened while I was gone?”

Pika turned to Jacob, then shrugged. “<Some things you just can't explain.>”

-----

Pikachu: It can cause powerful electricity to run across its body, so even a touch can leave you frazzled.

Milotic: In times of strife, it releases a calming pulse from its body that causes people and Pokémon to lose the will to fight.

Kingler: Its larger claw is very powerful, but also very heavy. They walk sideways due to the claw’s massive weight.

[Zibdas]

I think Christopher is a name far more fitting, myself. Reminds me of the dictator of Pooh and friends.

Anyway, sorry for not being able to read for so long. Silly Winter Holidays. Regardless, I have finally caught up, and by the name of ham, it was amazing and many laughs were had. Thank you~!

[jeffdavid102]

Pretty funny. Let's hope Heatran does not get too angry because he didn't get his big tail

[Z-nogyroP]

Just a note- due to my computer being stupid, it has deleted everything I have written and also, apparently, Microsoft Word. Thus, this thread will be on hiatus until further notice.

@Zibdas- Well, can't please everyone :3 Also, thanks and sorry for the long wait(and me telling you guys about this about two weeks after it actually happened...)

@jeffdavid102- Hopefully not. Then again, if he is, we can outrun him. He only gets Eruption with a Quiet nature.

[Z-nogyroP]

So, we're finally back! Microsoft Word is up and running, so, I got another story for you guys. I'm also writing a little something for Valentine's Day (I promise you guys I won't forget again).

PS: I know Sceptile was supposed to be, like, last, but I had a good idea.

Working: Sudowoodo, Xatu/Sigilyph/Swoobat
Soon: Spoink/Simisear, Unown, Spinda, Shuppet, Zorua/Zoroark

Sceptile and Darumaka

One of his duties as king of the jungle was to survey his territory and break up any disputes. This was possibly the Sceptile’s least favourite activity, but it was all part of the fame that came with being the Ruler of the Amazon. He had other Pokémon to do more tedious business, like sorting out conflicts over certain areas of land, but making sure his land was peaceful was something he and he alone could do. To other Pokémon, having the ability to stop a fight with a single word would have been amazing, but to Edmund, it was merely boring routine.

With a sigh, he reluctantly crawled out of his comfortable nest onto the cold, hard ground. A shudder went through his body as he landed. The days were turning and the sun’s all-important warmth was lessening. He would have liked to spend the entire day lazing around in his treetop nest, absorbing as much sunlight as possible, but of course he had to do this first. He walked over to the river, cupped his hands, and splashed his face with the ice-cold water. It woke him up fully. He shivered and shook off the water droplets. Now that he wasn’t half-asleep, he carefully made his way across the river by jumping on stepping stones. The river, in actuality, wasn’t deep, but it was frigid. He did this so he didn’t have to freeze his feet off every morning.

After crossing the River of Ice-Cold Death (which was what Edmund called it due to its extreme temperature), the green Pokémon grabbed an old oak tree and climbed up. Holding on with one hand, he looked out over the Amazon in all its glory. The Whirlipede tribe was holding a race as planned for yesterday, some of the Kakuna were evolving and taking flight, the Aipom group was getting some berries for their newest litter; everything seemed to be in order.

However, that assumption was proven wrong when a Ninjask (or, as they’d come to be known around here, a Ninny-jask) flew by, screaming, “A shooting star! A shooting star crashed and it’s coming for us! Save yourselves! Build a barricade! DO SOMETHING!” Then he flew off into the forest, screaming out more nonsense.

“Ridiculous,” Edmund muttered to himself. “How could a shooting star crash? It’s insane…” However, he heard more screaming from the Aipom and Kakuna. Even the Whirlipede had stopped their race and were looking on in fear. He turned his head, and saw a red-and-blue streak race by, screaming in a high-pitched voice. A blue tail flame seemed to be propelling it forward. It was zooming dangerously close to the river. Worst of all, this was when many parent Pokémon took their young to get a drink. A collision would be inevitable.

He couldn’t let that happen. Calling up all his strength, he leapt from the tree and raced through the canopy to catch the fireball. It wasn’t easy, though. The little spark was moving insanely fast. He knew he could catch it; he just wasn’t sure how. But he remained undeterred, and continued getting ever-closer to the so-called shooting star.

When it was in range of his grab, his adrenaline pumped him up and he leapt forward. He tackled the strange object and, taking care to avoid the tail flame, he picked it up. This was certainly a Pokémon- he just wasn’t sure how much was alive. The top part was round and red with a circular orange nose that was screaming like crazy. The bottom half looked like a human thing. It was blue with three pairs of small wheels and three straps that felt scratchy on one side and soft on the other. He grabbed the top part and started pulling, but the Pokémon part was stuck tight. That was partly his fault. He couldn’t get a good grip on the skate because of the fire.

An idea struck him suddenly. He jumped over to the river and dipped the blue flame in the water. It was doused immediately, but the Pokémon was still screaming. He managed to pull it out; it had four stubby limbs with three yellow circles on its belly, and it was very hot to the touch. It didn’t seem dangerous, just traumatized. He decided to take it back to his nest and see what he could do. He started crossing the river, but the Pokémon slipped out of his arm and fell into the stream. An immense cloud of steam rose from the water, proving the Pokémon was a Fire-type.

When he picked it up out of the water, it seemed to be asleep. It retracted its limbs into its body and closed its eyes. It was snoring soundly. Its fur was also much cooler than it was before. He sighed, dried it off with the leaves on his arms, and brought it to his canopy nest. He placed it in the middle where it looked uncannily like an egg. He poked it, and it wobbled before coming to a standstill again. He flicked it, but couldn’t get it to wake up. He placed his hand on its head in an exasperated fashion, but felt warmth. He retracted his hand and saw it wake up.

It blinked its eyes, then looked up to him. “Hello!” it said. “My name’s Dorian. I’m a Darumaka. Who’re you?”

“Edmund,” he started, but before he could finish, she interrupted.

“Edmund? Cool. Do you live here? It’s so high up. I come from a laboratory. Ooh, a pretty butterfly! In the lab, they use us for tests on items. I was testing the rocket skate! It’s super-duper awesomely fast! I broke a window and then ended up here! Then you caught me! It’s so pretty! I like hamburgers! Do you have hamburgers? That cloud looks like an explosion! I was in an explosion once! It was fun!” As she spoke, she got progressively faster and faster, and her speech turned into a garbled jumble of unintelligible sounds. Her final words were, “Where does this go?” before she hopped off the edge of the nest and slammed onto the ground. Good thing, too. Edmund felt like he was going to snap.

He jumped down to check on her. When he picked her up, she was cool again, but she was rapidly warming up. “Hey, do you have any rocket skates?” she asked when she came to.

“No.”

“Oh, well do you have any Grass Gems?”

“No-”

“Eject Buttons?”

“NO-”

“Rocky Helmets? Red Cards? Absorb Bulbs? Cell Batteries? Float Stones?” Her voice was speeding up again.

“I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING, NOR WILL I EVER OWN ANYTHING YOU WILL SAY!” Edmund raged.

“Oh well that’s a real shame because you could definitely use them especially that last one because you’re getting sort of pudgy and at the lab we have all of that stuff and it’s really cool and they give us Pokémon food that’s one hundred percent not real meat and it tastes like old shoes and did you know old shoes taste good because they’re really delicious and you should try one and I want a shoe-”

“I have to find some way to shut her up,” Edmund muttered through her rambling.

“-and we have a special rainbow in the lab that makes you purple when you touch it and oh! I could use a bath with little rubber Psyduck and a waterproof toaster that doesn’t make toast because it makes waffles and I think it should be called a waffler but the scientists don’t think so and I like pretty yellow fire trucks and they come to the lab a lot because stuff explodes a lot like the waterproof waffler-”

The only thing Edmund could make out was “I could use a bath.” Didn’t she fall asleep when he put her in water? She’d wake up again eventually, but it would grant him a bit of peace and quiet. He walked over to the river and began dipping her in it. However, when she was about halfway submerged, her speech slowed down to a normal conversation speed. When he dunked her deeper, she talked in an unnaturally slow voice. He took her out of the steaming water, and her annoying high-pitched voice returned. He put her half underwater again. “I like you best like this,” he told her.

“Really? I find one of my endearing qualities is my hyperactivity,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, not so much with me. As I was saying, my name is Edmund Von Rosario the Sixth. I’m widely recognized as the King of the Amazon. All who reside here know and respect me.”

“Were there actually five other Edmund Von Rosarios in your family, or is that just for royalty value?” she asked.

His eyes widened. No one had ever asked him that before, and to be honest, he wasn’t even sure. “Er, well, you see… So! Where’s this lab of yours?”

“It’s over that way,” she said, pointing to the west.

“Well, I’ll get a group of Pokémon to take you back as soon as possible.”

“No!” she shouted suddenly. He turned back; she was quivering ever so slightly. “The scientists will be very mean to me if they find out I broke the rocket skate. Could I stay here? Please?” she asked, doing her best adorable face.

He wanted to say no. He wanted to say he had had enough of hyperactive red circles. But… something was nagging at him, telling him to give her a chance. “Well,” Edmund started, but suddenly, he slipped on a spot of mud. Falling face-first into the water, he expected it to be freezing, but it was actually quite warm. Was this her doing? Hmm. “Okay, you can make your home here. But make sure you don’t take someone else’s den, alright?”

“Yay!” she cheered. In her happiness, Edmund smiled. Maybe having her around wouldn’t be so bad after all.

-----

Sceptile: Its speed and agility are unmatched in the jungle. Many forest Pokémon respect this noble species.

Darumaka: Its inner fire is intensely hot, so it radiates heat. When the flame goes out, it curls up and falls asleep.

[Z-nogyroP]

Yes! I know I'm a day late, but I did get one up for Valentine's Day! Woohoo!

This was originally going to involve a Sudowoodo, a Wormadam, and plenty of barf, but Valentine's Day is a day for calmness and happiness. That story will show up later.

Oh, and today's story is shorter, but it's still good, I think.

Working: Sudowoodo, Xatu/Sigilyph/Swoobat
Soon: Spoink/Simisear, Unown, Spinda, Shuppet, Zorua/Zoroark

Darmanitan

It was a quiet day in Unova’s Route 4. The route was covered in half-completed buildings, ancient ruins, and massive sand dunes. Usually, the desert was bustling with activity, be it from new trainers, workers, or people coming from Join Avenue. Today, however, there were very few- if any- people walking around. Even the trainers seemed to be staying at Castelia City or Nimbasa City, the cities on either side of the route. Of course, today was February 14th- Valentine’s Day. Thus, not a lot of people wanted to be pelted by flying grains of sand when they could be home with family and friends.

This, however, was noted as unusual by a group of Darmanitan, who stood motionless in front of the beat-up entrance to an ancient castle. Darmanitan were normally fearsome Pokémon, ape-like in appearance with two long, powerful arms, flaming eyebrows, bright red fur, and a massive smile. However, these four were different. Instead of bright red fur, their bodies were covered in cold, grey-blue stone. Their arms were pulled into their bodies, and their huge hands rested on the side of their heads. Their eyebrows were no longer of fire, rather consisting of a simple swirl. And the huge smile was replaced by a face of mere indifference.

Though the Fire Pokémon had never been given formal names, they decided to give each other names, going by the simple and easy-to-remember Z1, Z2, Z3, and Z4. They were thought to be statues by most, since they rarely ever moved. However, they actually enjoyed conversing with each other by way of telepathy. They talked about anything they happened to observe, since they had much higher intelligence than most Pokémon, or most Darmanitan for that matter. They had stood guard for this castle for who knows how long, driving away intruders with small bursts of psychic energy.

The Darmanitan, however, had no idea of the holiday, despite the fact that all the Scraggy, Sandile, Trapinch, and even Sigilyph were celebrating with loved ones. As such, they spent most of the day wondering where all the humans had gone.

-----

Quiet today, noted Z1, as a veil of sand whipped up around them.

Agreed, added Z3. There are usually plenty of humans for us to observe.

The humans are odd creatures. Perhaps they are avoiding the sand? There seems to be an excess of it today, telepathed Z4.

Still, that hasn’t stopped them before. Remember that child who arrived here during one of our fiercest sandstorms? said Z2.

Oh yes, I remember him. But he came here by way of a Swanna using Fly, if I remember correctly, said Z3.

Brace for impact, Z1 said suddenly. All four Darmanitan shut their eyes tightly, and suddenly- WHAM!- a Scraggy flew out of nowhere and crashed its bulky head into Z4. However, he took the headbutt with no ill effects. A second Scraggy- this one female- came chasing after him. After assuring that the first one hadn’t been hurt, the two hugged and scampered off.

Most of the Pokémon here seem to be courting today, observed Z4.

Odd, stated Z2. What makes today any different?

Perhaps the humans are out courting as well, mentioned Z1. That would be the most logical explanation.

I’ve heard from some of the local Sigilyph that the humans call today “Valentine’s Day,” Z3 said. It is a day where love and kindness is celebrated, and where people put aside their differences to be friends.

Why haven’t we heard of this day before? questioned Z1.

Perhaps it’s due to our sparse interaction with humans, suggested Z2.

But we observe them nearly every day, commented Z3.

Well, the other Pokémon are actually battled by humans, whereas not a lot of the humans even know we’re alive. They can also go along with the humans, but if they threw a Poké Ball at one of us, it would merely bounce off, Z4 stated.

Look, there’s two now, said Z1.

Indeed, a pair of humans were walking towards the four Darmanitan. One was male, with short, spiky hair that continued over his sun visor. The other was female, with her hair in two bun shapes and a long ponytail falling down from each. The female was giggling softly as she walked alongside the male. They looked incredibly happy to be in each other’s company.

These humans seem to be in love with each other as well, telepathed Z2.

Apparently, commented Z3. But why would they come here? There’s even more sand now that the wind’s picked up.

Listen, they’re talking, said Z1.

“I know how much you’ve wanted one of these guys,” said the male, “but apparently they’re impossible to catch unless you wake them up.”

“Yeah, I heard that too…” said the female, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

“Well, I’ve found out a way to wake them up,” he said.

The girl looked up and grinned ear to ear. “Really?!” she squealed. Then she hugged the male. “Oh, you’re the best, Nate!”

The one called Nate smiled back, then reached into his bag. He pulled out what seemed to be just an ordinary chocolate bar. “I found out using this will wake up the Darmanitan by giving it energy.” He unwrapped the bar and walked over to the four Pokémon.

Z1 sniffed the air. Oh, that does smell delicious.

Indeed, said Z3. It looks like Z2 is going to be the lucky one to eat it, though; he’s heading towards him.

Z2 watched carefully as the chocolate bar was waving in front of his mouth. Guys, help me out here! Should I go?

Of course, said Z4. You always wanted to explore, right? Here’s your chance.

That was all Z2 needed to hear. He quickly wolfed down the chocolate bar, and felt himself changing shape. In a burst of flames, he exploded back into his original fiery form. “<Oh yeah!>” he exclaimed, not using telepathy anymore. “<This feels good!>”

“Go, Samurott!” called the male human. In a burst of light, a massive blue sea lion appeared. It quickly unsheated the sword-like shell on its arm and waved it around menacingly.

The battle was fearsome. Z2 continually punched and kicked the Samurott, but it never had much effect. Meanwhile, the Samurott’s Water attacks did massive damage. However, Nate knew that he couldn’t weaken the Darmanitan too much, or it would revert back into its statue form. Once he believed it was adequately weakened, he threw a Great Ball at it. It shook three times, but then exploded.

What was it like in there? asked Z4, intrigued.

“<It was really cool!>” shouted Z2. “<There was lots of room to run around and lots of stuff to light on fire!>”

So? Do you think you want to go with this human? asked Z1.

“<Yeah, yeah! Definitely!>” Just then, another Poké Ball struck Z2. aThis time, it shook thrice and clicked, meaning he had been caught.

Nate went over and picked it up. “Here, Rosa,” he said. “Happy Valentine’s Day!”

Rosa, the female, hugged Nate. “Thank you so much! I love you!”

Nate blushed and patted her on the back. “Don’t mention it.” The two then walked off, even happier than when they had arrived.

-----

Do you think they’ll treat Z2 well? wondered Z4 as the sun began to set.

Hopefully, put in Z1. They seemed like very kind humans.

Do you think we’ll ever find love? asked Z3.

Z1 made a movement that suggested he would have shrugged, if he had shoulders. You never know, Z3. You never know.

-----

Darmanitan: When in normal form, these Pokémon are hyperactive and excitable. In their statue form, they are calm and rarely move.