//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11 : Blitzkrieg, part 1 
// Story: A New World, A New Dawn 
// by Uber Reaper 
//------------------------------//

"Sometimes when I think about it, what I did is no more than another version of either good or evil. There are no true good or evil in this world. In order to perform goodness, one way or another you will perform evil, small or not depends on you and you alone. An example would be in order to capture an unruly criminals, sometimes you have to subdue him with force before 'imprisoning' him. That is one of the reason why I will never feel to find myself as a hero. The reality of the situation can be painful sometimes" - Eric Angelo

Play this as opening theme






Eric floated around the kitchen, cleaning up after the breakfast was done. The oddest thing of the situation was the broom in his possession that would make a Hydreigon look out of place.

In addition to becoming the official cook of Dawn’s household, he was also volunteering himself to clean up around the house for Dawn herself as some sort of repayment for allowing him and his team to stay at her house indefinitely.

As much as Dawn insisted that he shouldn’t, she gave up a few days ago, knowing how resolute her new friend can be.

With the last of the dust and all sort of small trash swept out of the backdoor, he floated back out of the kitchen and into the main room where Will relaxed on a sofa while Sally curled up on the spot on the carpet in front of the sofa facing toward the front door as usual.

“....I’m done with the kitchen. I’ll go clean your room in a moment.“ The Hydreigon called out as he headed up the stairs.

“Thanks, Eric.” Dawn replied without looking his way. “Dominus, I need some new quills.”

“On it!” Dominus who was behind Dawn all the time walked with his claw clicking on the floorboards toward one of the stacks of books on the corner where a stack of quill also put together in a used can.

The Braviary plucked one quill and made his way back to his partner. “Here you-“ Dominus was cut off when three knocks are made outside the door. Everyone just stared at said door.

“So anyone around here going to stop looking like a decent impression of a statue and get the door?” Will quipped with a grin.

Seeing no one would get it, Eric sighed and he went downstairs again. “...I’ll get it.”

“No, no, no, just no,” Dawn said with exasperation. "You’ve been helping around too much that it’s ridiculous, I’ll get it.” Without waiting for a reply, the mare made her way to the door.

She shouldn’t be surprised, considering she had seen Pokémons a lot for the last several days, as though they had been part of the population from the beginning. Yet, she was surprised when she opened the door.

Dawn didn’t know what to expect anymore as she saw them. The group consisted of a... bipedal dog-like thing, a blackish-gray dog with red nose, a....bipedal chicken thing and...a bat with oversized round ears. She scratched her head in confusion. “Uh, can I help you….sirs?”

“Er...yeah. We’re looking for…” The chicken thing started, pulling out a list and took a short look at it. “A Hydreigon, a Salamence, a...Reuniclus, and either a Dustox or a Volcarona. But mainly the first 3. We’re investigating the recent robbery, and we were told that they were witnesses to the crime.”

Hydreigon, Salamence, Reuniclus, Volcarona. She knew every single one of them and she happened to house all four of them. “Uh….can you excuse me for a moment?” She went inside and slammed the door as the mare leaned her back against the door.

“Eric!” Her frantic voice echoed through the room. “There’s someone looking for you!”

Sally’s head snapped up along with her body, her overprotectiveness kicking in and ready to defend her trainer.

Will decided to step in. “And who are these fine gentlemen that are waiting for the brooder?”

Ignoring the sarcastic part, Dawn proceeded to explain. “They were... this bipedal dog-like thing with those dreadlock thing, a blackish-gray dog with ungroomed fur plus with red nose, a....bipedal chicken thing the size of the taller Earth Ponies and...a bat with oversized round ears. She shook her head. “But that’s not the point. I don’t know why, but these guys are looking for you.” She didn’t want to think about it, but these guys might be looking for her friends about the ‘visit’ a few days ago.

Eric put up a head under his chin in thought. “...bipedal dog...probably a Lucario, a blackish-gray dog with red nose...possibly Mightyena....a bipedal red chicken thing?...I’ll bet on either a Combusken or a Blaziken...finally a big-round eared bat...Noibat or Noivern. They’re looking for me...for what?”

“Eric?” Dawn questioned.

Breaking himself out of his brooding session. He decided one course of action. “...I’ll go meet them.”

The whole room went dead silent. Then Sally went hysteric. “Eric, are you crazy!?"

Dawn herself followed. “Wait, wait, wait, back up. Meeting up with someone looking for you? Is that even a good idea?”

“Dude, I’m with Dawn on this one. Have you lost your mind? That is probably a bad idea.” Dominus argued.

"And who knows what those guys outside will do to you.” Sally exclaimed her concern. “Maybe it would be better if we just ignore it.”

Will scoffed. “Good luck with that, Sally. Cops are like flies you know, swat one and  the others are still stubbornly buzz around like one woman I know.” The Dragon gnashed her teeth at the sarcasm.

“...just...be on guard. Don’t attack unless necessary.” Eric left no room for discussion as he opened the door to face the storm that would hit him.

He leaned the broom on the wall beside the door and opened it to greet whoever it was that was looking for him.

Just as Dawn said, there’s a Lucario with some kind of wrist on band around  one paw, a Mightyena, a Combusken and Noibat instead of a Blaziken and Noivern respectively. Eric found them to be staring at his form, he decided to ask first. “...who are you?”

Eric’s voice allowed the Lucario to blink a few times before he answered. “I’m officer Jonathan Trace from Baltimare. My team and I are investigating the recent robbery, and we were told that you and your team were witnesses to the incident.”

“....Jonathan...is he a human? It’s rare to see a Pokemon having a human sounding nickname. Even if I do it all the time.” Eric muttered. The Hydreigon quickly suppressed such thoughts to prevent his mind from wandering off again.

The Hydreigon managed to suppress a frown as he let himself get back on track. He answered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Then he realized he had replied too quickly.

And the Lucario named Jonathan noticed this. “Ah, I disagree. Several ponies in town CLEARLY testified that they saw, and I quote, ‘a three headed black hydra carrying an unconscious dragon with axe-wings, and a bubbly green creature away from the museum’. That was shortly after the attempted heist.”

Eric knew he had messed this up. He tried to choose his next words carefully. “.....dammit....I was carrying them after they got into an accident, I don’t know about the museum robbery until after I heard of it.” It wasn’t a complete lie, the former human decided to twist the truth a little.

“I don’t know why you’re avoiding answering, but at the rate you’re going, you’ll be feeding the other rumors. The ones that say that you’re accomplices of the attempted theft, or that you did the theft yourselves. Now really, please stop doing something that will risk you taking the blame for Fox’s actions. None of us, Fox included, want that,” Jonathan sighed.

“Hey, Eric!” Sally’s voice cut through the conversation. “Is there something wrong out there? Is there anyone out there that needs a beating?”

“No, don’t worry, girl! I’ll handle this.” Eric knew better than to involve anyone else in this.

Now Will’s voice were added into it. “Looks like there are a bunch of Pokemon out there playing the detective, Sally! Isn’t that wonderful, now we got a bunch of kids playing investigations. Isn’t that rightfully cute? Sure, maybe you should leave them Eric, let them have a go at it and the worse is they ended up killing themselves.”

“Shut up, Will!” Sally shot back.

Eric had the urge to rub his forehead in annoyance. “...dammit.” He cursed silently.

“...your team, I’m guessing? Either way, I think it would be in all our interest if you came clean.” Jonathan simply said.

“Jonathan’s right you know,” The Mightyena added.

Eric contemplated the best course of action, yet if he knew if he resist, it might be bad in the long run. He decided to submit. “...what do you want to know?”

“Let’s start with names, then move on to what happened,” Jonathan smiled before holding out a paw. “Jonathan Trace, Baltimare Guard. These are my teammates, Heat, Howl, and Echo,” Jonathan started, gesturing to the respective Pokemon. “And this is our friend, Trixie. She’s helping us out for now,” he finished, gesturing to the mare.

".....I guess I was right,  the Lucario is a human, considering he is the only one with accessory and the only one with human sounding name. But that raises another point....what is the guard from other city doing here? As far as I know Baltimare on the eastern seaboard of Equestria....I’m getting curious.” Eric muttered silently.

He decided to ask. “Baltimare Guard? If my knowledge is correct, this city is not Baltimare, it’s Vanhoover. What are you doing here?”

“I’m assuming you’re the former human of this group, correct?” The Aura Pokémon asked.

“Yeah, what of it? I don’t see any relevance in your imminent questions.” Eric replied curtly.

“I am, or rather, I was the officer in charge of Fox’s case back on Earth. While I don’t think this was one of her actual heists, in that she isn’t directly responsible for it, I’m pretty sure she had a hand in this one, and so far, you seem to be the only person who can confirm this.” Jonathan asked.

Eric raised an eyebrow, he had already recalled an image. “The one who wore a cavalier hat?”

“That's right. Know any other Phantom Thieves who wear that and WEREN’T caught before this whole transfer?”

Eric sighed. “....no, I only saw this female Zoroark who does look like the Phantom Thief Fox judging from the hat and the cape she wore. I assumed it was her.”

“A Shiny Zoroark, right?” The cop questioned further.

“Yeah, she is.” Eric confirmed.

“Then it’s her. She literally just evolved after her first heist on this world, back in Baltimare,”

“Alright, so can you tell me what happened?” Eric noticed the Lucario sounded eager.

“I was going back after I saved this stallion from an angry Tentacruel, then when were just passing the museum, I noticed one peculiar thing in the dead of the night….the door is wide open. I decided to investigate inside and found a Sceptile wearing some kind of uniform and Weavile attempting a robbery. I ordered my team to stop them and they did, the Weavile and Sceptile were nearly knocked out. After that, it was chaos, as suddenly this flocks of Pidgeys suddenly appeared everywhere and the Shiny Zoroark appeared. I assumed that with how the Weavile and Sceptile disappeared before she herself appeared, they’re her accomplices.” Eric had maintained his straight tone and face as he explained what happened.

“Yeah, sounds like Fox’s usual entrance. The Weavile we’re aware, but the Sceptile is new. Though...a Sceptile in uniform...where have we heard that before...” Jonathan nodded, while musing the last part.

“That PLA Pokemon!” The Combusken exclaimed.

The Hydreigon was surprised, yet he didn’t show any indication of that. “Dammit...I knew I should have recalled that uniform before...PLA, huh?” Eric sighed. “What was he doing with Fox? More questions than more answers....but one thing for sure...why would he wear a uniform that would made anyone recognize him at first glance?” He silently brooded to himself.

“Right! So he’s in league with Fox now, huh?” The Lucario agreed. “Anyway, you were saying?”

Jonathan’s voice broke Eric broke out of his brooding. “....I tried to stop her, but…..she hardly fights fair. My Reuniclus, Will was knocked out by a Hyper Beam from the ceiling and, Sally, my Salamence….she still tried to….fight the thief even after receiving two Ice-type attacks.” Eric recalled as best as he can.

The Lucario had to blink twice as the word registered. “She what? That was a very dumb move. Fox is a thief, so don’t expect her to play fair when it comes to battles. Furthermore, insisting on fighting after taking two Ice Moves...not the smartest thing to do. You should have called her off,” Jonathan shook his head at the end.

Eric continued, giving no indication that he had heard Jonathan. “Sally can be stubborn, I would have called her back with her Pokeball if I could to prevent her from pushing herself, but that is out of the question now. In the end, I ordered Sally to stop her the best she can with her limited strength. We failed and she left as I tended to them and carried them back here that night.”

“Well...it was a good effort either way. Most civilians usually stay OUT of Fox’s way,” Jonathan nodded. “Thank you for the info. Is there anything else you can tell me?”

He tried to think of something else, Eric couldn’t recall anything anymore. “...nothing more that is relevant, she’s probably already long gone by now.”

“Alright then. Thank you for your time, and sorry to bother you,” Jonathan nodded, before they left the house. “Alright then, next we’ll check on the border guards. Maybe they can tell us where she went...assuming they saw her that is…”

“Here’s hoping,” The little bat commented.

Eric sighed. “...I know better than to hope. Things usually go downhill in the worst possible way.” The Hydreigon mumbled.





The supposed ‘cops’ left almost as soon as they were here. “...so that’s why this...Jonathan went all the way from Baltimare to here. He’s in charge with the many Fox cases. I thought I should remember the name from some newspaper before.” Eric mumbled as he shut the door and turned to face Sally and Will exchanging metaphorical blows right in front of the sofa facing the door.

“Yeah, great job there, Sally. Anymore then I might have the urge to kiss you.” A sharp growl made him shut up. Will put his arm up in submission. “Just saying, woman.”

Ignoring the exchange between the two Pokémon, Dominus decided to ask from his perch on the the sofa’s headrest. “Dude, who were those guys? Looks like a bunch of weirdoes if you ask me.”

“Yeah, I can clearly see that. Great evaluation, anything else that we obviously know that you would like to add?” Will quipped.

As much as the eagle  wanted to retort, the Braviary decided to ignore that. “So, dude, c’mon spill it.”

“...Put simply, they’re not here for me. They were just here to ask me something.” Eric said curtly.

A relieved sigh escaped Dawn’s mouth. “Okay, okay, these guys are not there for you. Good to know, but that brings up one question...Why are they looking for you in the first place again?”

“....they were looking for the thief we encountered a few days ago.” The word ‘thief’ brings up unpleasant memories, even Sally silently snarled.

“Oh? The one where they had a lady guy along with his gay-ish boyfriend, and the so-called Queen of the Parfum Palace along with her purple liar cat?” Will grinned.

Sally just facepalmed while Dominus gave him a blank stare. Fortunately, Eric ignored him entirely and spoke. “....yeah, those guys.”

“Bingo,” The Reuniclus clapped a couple of times. “Looks like another fated encounter is inevitable. I’m so happy that I’m going to laugh so hard that Arceus can hear me. Yeah, those wannabe cops gonna get into trouble.”

Will’s happy thought is quickly brought to a halt. “....doesn’t matter, the annoying thief is their problem now.”

“What why?” Sally asked with an incredulous expression.

Eric sighed. He knew Sally is not going to like the next part. “Basically, they’re the ones in charge of capturing Fox back on earth. Given the fact they just came to us for information from all the way to Baltimare-“

“Wait, wait, wait,” Eric was cut off by Dawn. “All the way from Baltimare? Are you serious!?” The mare asked with a scratch of her head.

“It is, if they went this far coupled with the fact they’ve been doing Fox cases back on Earth like there’s no tomorrow, I just assumed they’re some sort of...hard-boiled...cop.” Eric shrugged. “Either way, we’ve done what we could. And I don’t want us to ged involved with the police or any form authority during our little...spectacles. Let them deal with it.”

“Whoa, there, looks like my expectation is wrong after all. I expect nothing less from the brooder who took care of us.” The Reuniclus’ tone was dripping with full sarcasm.

Sally pointed at Will with a snarl. “You, shut up! And Eric...” Sally whined. “We can’t do that. Remember what happened back at the museum?”

“Yeah, right, as if we could forget that, woman. Good enough to know your brain is still in the right spot enough to remember.” Will pointed at his head and motioned a circle.

A simple glare shut him up. “Please, Eric?” Sally shot her trainer a pleading look. She could see that even with his unchanging expressions that he is having doubts. “We can't stop now."

Her trainer bit his lip as he came at an indecision. “Are you sure about this, girl?”

Sally nodded resolutely. “Eric, you know better than to let that thief walk around like that. Those cops you mentioned don’t know what they’re up against. It’s up to us to take care of scum like those guys!” Remembering the thieves that had her soundly beaten is already enough to let her temper to flare with a silent snarl.

“Hmmm....what should I do then?” The Hydreigon glanced at Will.

Sensing it, he replied. “Whatever you say, I’ll follow,” Will shrugged.

Next, Eric’s eyes found a certain Volcarona peeked his head out from the back of the sofa to the right. “.....sure, I mean, I will if everyone goes.” He replied softly.

If there is one thing that he admired about his team, is their loyalty to each other. No one would go forward without the other. “....alright, then, guess we’ll go through this. Everyone agreed after all, it’ll be bad for Sally if I decline either. Besides...Alex is here....he should be able to handle them alone if that is necessary. Sally’s had a point...in a way.”

Eric made his decision. “Alright, we all agreed, I guess we can go through with this.”

Will grinned before crossing his arms. “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re officially back in business.”

Sally smiled, knowing that her trainer would come through after all. “Thanks Eric. I knew I could count on you.”

“...Don’t mention it, girl.”

“Right,” Will quipped with a sarcastic eye-roll. “If we’re going to do this, what’s your brilliant plant this time, my intelligent brooder? Something about boring us to death here with your silence or the second part, where your brain kickstarts to develop a plan to let us put an end to the so-called menace to society thieves? I willing to bet on the latter.”

Dawn just shook her head with a sigh. She knew this is getting nowhere fast.

“Grandpa, you’re so sarcastic, you know that!?” Dominus groaned.

“Join the club, kid. When did I ever oh-so-graciously mentioned that I’m anything lesser than that?” Said the Multiplier Pokémon with his insufferable grin. “Did I mention your brain cells also need some work if you have such a hard time figuring out a simple answer.”

A momentary blank stare is made toward the Reuniclus. “....you know what, dude?” Dominus looked at Eric in resignation. “I’m not gonna deal with this. Leave me out of this one, actually, leave me out of anything that has anything labelled with Grandpa Sarcastic all around.

Said Hydreigon raised an eyebrow. “....do you really want that?” Eric knew that with how much of a fanboy Dominus is now, he would actually jump at the chance to help bringing the thief that got the better of him to justice.

“Yeah, better than to deal with Grandpa Sarcastic all the time.” Dominus mustered a simple annoyed-filled glance at the aforementioned Reuniclus.

“Thank you for your compliment.” Will quipped idly, earning him a snarl from Sally.

“Besides, I’m still all battered from my fight with little guy yesterday. I figured Dawn would want me to sit here for now?” Dominus glanced at Dawn, still at her work table.

“Uh, right, right, yeah that.” Dawn scratched her head. Dominus had to slightly chuckle at her reaction.

“....I’m not little, please, uhm, stop saying that?” Alex said timidly, unheard by anyone.

Eric knew that was pretty reasonable, considering his still fresh bruises. Will’s sarcasm reinforced the decision. “....I don’t know whether I should be grateful to Will or not. He can be so obnoxious at times I wonder how Sally kept her temper in check. Regardless, things turn out better this way. “

“...alright, Dominus, and I agree that you’d better stay here.” But his stare turned sharp. “So don’t follow us, okay? This is not a normal thief we’re dealing with.”

“Yeah, I know, chill. Whoever this Phantom Burglar or something of that ilk was, I’m sure you guys will do fine this time.” Dominus smiled.

“...Alright, we all agreed that Dominus, given  his injuries should stay and watch Dawn. Sally,” Addressing the Dragon besides Will in front of him, he spoke. “I’m going to need you to tail the cops from before and it shouldn’t be too hard to find them. I’m going to describe them for you so listen closely. One is a Lucario, the second is a Combusken, third is a Mightyena while the fourth is a Noibat....the fifth and final strangely...a pony with a magician hat and cap with silver mane and blue-ish coat. They are all travelling together and should be easy to find. You get all that?”

“Got it!” Sally nodded, eager to catch the scum once and for all.

“....Time’s running out. If we’re going to do this then I need you to tail them for a little while right now. Their investigations on Fox’s whereabouts might give us a sign on where she might be.”

“Don’t worry, you can bet that I will find the information to arrest the scum.” Without another word Sally walked past Eric who glanced over his shoulder at her. “Wish me luck on this guys.”

"Oh right yeah, I’ll be wishing for you good luck all the way.“ Will quipped.

With a simple annoyed grunt, Sally walked out and let the door shut itself.

Eric sighed. “....sometimes I worry about her.” He muttered to himself once more.

“...I’ll go clean house again in the meantime.” The trainer picked up the broom he leaned on the wall beside the door before floating off.





“There they are.”

It didn’t take long for Sally to find the one Eric described again. Being in a group together with each member being a different species of Pokémon tends to make you stick out like a sore thumb. It helped too that she had flown up high and scanned the entire suburbs.

Sally precariously followed the cop and his gang as best as she could. Being in charge of surveillance alongside Larry easily allowed her to maintain distance while making sure not to lose her quarry. Being a part Flying-type also increased the distance of her vision.

The Dragon had been hiding behind one roof at a time as she tailed the gang of cops. She always flew to one roof as soon as the distance between them increased.

It wasn’t long to find that the gang seems to be meeting with another stallion of a grayish coat. Sally flew in as close as she could and landed behind a roof just to their right before straining her hearing before peeking over to see the Lucario speaking to a guard judging from the uniform.

“Alright, so you say you think you saw a suspicious figure that night dart into the woods?”

“Yes. That’s right. I would have followed, but as things were I felt it best that I didn’t since at the time I was the only one on patrol at the time, I didn’t want to leave my post for what I thought I might have seen,” The guard confirmed.

“Alright then…” The Lucario pulled out a sheet of paper. “If she really did exit through this way, that makes her likely destination...Tall Tale.”

“Then we’d better get going before she can jump towns again,” A Combusken said.

“Right, let’s hurry,” The Lucario nodded toward the rest of his gang before they all quickly headed for Vanhoover’s exit.

She grinned. “Gotcha!” The Dragon quickly flew back home to relay the news.





The afternoon went by as Eric sat on his usual spot on the sofa facing the front door. Meanwhile, his other two team member Will and Alex was relaxing on one of the two sofas laid facing each other.

Dawn just stared at everyone as she felt the tension surfacing, thus her agitation returned. She never could bear with awkward silences.

The mare took a deep breath. “Hey-“

And then the door got slammed inside, surprising Dawn and revealing Sally herself.

“Eric!” All attention quickly focused upon the Salamence who had barged through the front door. “I’m back and you might want to hear this.”

“Right, welcome back, Sally.” Will said idly. “Did you enjoy making a fool of yourself out there by getting caught or did you really have any information that you should share with us?”

Already everyone stared incredulously at the Reuniclus, except Eric. Sally growled. “Shut up. This is an emergency, go trash-talk to a tree.”

Will raised an invisible eyebrow. “Right, I guess as a gentleman it’s my duty to allow ladies to speak first then.” He floated back and bowed mockingly. “After you, milady.” His tone dripping with sarcasm.

Momentary deadpan stare later, Sally’s paw once more collided with her face. “Just shut up before I make you a fish food.” Sally growled, her temper already flared again.

Eric is glad that Sally saved him the trouble of fixing the situation. “I wish Helen was here.” He muttered, missing his other friends already. “I was....hoping they’re alright....they have to be.”

“....Will.” The warning tone is visible all around.

Will just shrugged. “Yeah, yeah, sure.”

With a nod, he turned toward the Salamence who is standing before the door. “Sally?”

“Right, I just heard it straight from them. They were talking to some guard that says the scum is heading toward the woods and the Lucario deduced something that the scum is heading toward the next town closest to Vanhoover.”

Eric had to admire the Dragon’s hearing. It was after all one of the perk being on the surveillance for a long time. “Good job, girl.” Sally visibly beamed at the praise.

The Hydreigon put a head under his chin. “....next town, huh? Hmmm, if I remember it correctly from the world Atlas from the books....it had to be...” Eric mused.

“Tall Tale?” He said out loud.

“Huh?” Everyone stared with confusion at the Hydreigon except Will who had already figured it out.

“Sally said the next closest town, I just thought that it was Tall Tale. One of the well-known center of tourist and history which had to include some priceless artifact, it’s one of those thieves heaven.” The former human explained.

Dawn had to admire his observations for actually noticing it. What made her more impressed is that he actually know what Tall Tale is known for. “Observant as always.” The mare sighed.

Dominus nodded. "You said it. Dude's got one sharp mind there."

“There’s no such thing as stupid or inobservant. Anyone can be good if they try hard.” Eric replied. "...you two are the same."

What Eric had said almost always the truth, so Dawn decided to take his words for it. “Well,” the mare scratched her head. “I’ll take your word for it.

Eric continued where he left off. “...hmm, if it’s in Tall Tale, that means she’s somewhere within those city.”

“Tell me what to do, Eric. I’ll find that thief if you say it.“ Sally looked eager for some reason.

Wil whistled. “Wow, what a genius, good thinking. What’s wrong with your brain cells this time? Got blown away by the wind earlier?”

Sally pointed at Will with her teeth gnashed together. “One more word out of you-“

“Everyone...not now.” Eric instructed firmly. “Alright....it’ll be useless to find a thief that is a master of disguise, if I still remember correctly, within a search area as wide as a city like Tall Tale. It will be a literal needle in a haystack. But that can be taken care of.”

“Meanwhile....Alex,” Eric’s voice cut through Alex and surprised him. “You’ll play an important role in this later. Make sure you get your part perfectly, okay?”

“Uhm...are you really sure? I mean, er....” If Volcarona had fingers, Alex would have bit down on the nails by now. Instead, his short legs twitching is a sign of his nervousness.

“Right, I’ll hold your hands and I’ll be the one to drive all the scary bad guys away.” Will quipped.

“Will, I don’t need you adding ‘taking care of Alex’ on top of the garbage pile you slowly stockpiled. So....Shut. Up!” The Dragon threatened.

“I feel so much better already.” The Reuniclus shrugged, not fazed by the threat.

Eric had to resist the incoming urge to rub his forehead. “....please, can we get on with this?”

“Sure, I’m anxious to get to the best part. The part where you will lay out your plan to either catch the thief or make us their chew toy.” The Reuniclus leaned his entire body upon the backrest. “Don’t mind me, though just a speculation.”

The former human decided to take that as a sign to continue, barring the sarcasm. “Alright, here’s my plan for finding Fox, Sally, continue monitoring the cops and if you see Fox go back here in an instant. I’ll think up of a plan in the meantime. Sounds good?”

“You got it. Hold the fort while I’m gone. Any scum in my sight and I’ll report back.” And the Dragon left again without another word through the front door. A sound of beating wings is heard afterwards.

All is silence again which is acceptable as Eric wanted some peace and quiet when he planned something.

Someone wasn’t having any of it. “Uh...Eric?” A single glance behind him revealed Dawn who was scratching her head. “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Eric couldn’t help, but raise an eyebrow. “....what brought this on? Is she being concerned about me again? If so...right, it might that way. I’ll deal with it now.” He mumbled.

The Hydreigon sighed. “....sure. What is it?”

Dawn quickly pointed toward the direction of the front door. “Let’s talk outside.”

“Go on and have a date, brooder. I’ll be cheering for you all the way.” Will remarked.

The Multiplying Pokémon put his arms up defensively. “Hey, just saying.”

Dawn had to sigh at the daily obnoxious display, silently wondering how did a Dragon even managed to keep her temper in check. Regardless, she had more pressing matters to attend to as that is a question for another day.

Dawn opened the door and led Eric outside before shutting it again. Eric turned around to face Dawn properly as she stood before the door. Of course, this lead to another awkward silence that caused Dawn’s agitation to slowly return full force.

Seeing the mare’s agitation, he decided to break the ice first. “....what is it you want to talk about?”

“Right, right, about that....” Dawn grinned while scratching her head awkwardly. “Uh....how should I say this?”

“....is this about my plan?” Eric offered.

That made the mare sigh, he can be so observant at times. “Uh, yeah, that. Are you sure about that?”

Eric already had an inkling to what she had meant. He decided to play along for a bit. “....what?”

“I....” Dawn was unsure what to say next. She was at a loss of words. “....ah, to Tartarus with it. I get it that you’re some sort of vigilante, but going after the same thief who had beaten all of you down easily? It all just screams ‘bad idea’ to me.” Just as she said that, her hoof met her mouth. “Sorry, sorry, sorry, my mouth.....”

“....it’s not a problem.” Inwardly, Eric cursed and wondered how his team lost to a thief with like that so easily, but he didn’t let it show.

The Hydreigon turned left, facing away from her and stared up at the clear skies. “....Wonder how much peace in the world back in the day....before criminals ran rampant....if criminals even ran rampant in the first place.”

Dawn had noticed her friend starting to brood again. “Eric? What’s wrong?”

“....nothing, just brooding as usual.” His honesty sent shiver down her spine again. “And about your distress. I appreciate it, but....I can’t let this slide. I don’t want an infamous thief like her to run around and cause trouble for whatever reason Arceus brought her here. And I’ll be honest..... part of this is because Sally insisted that we go after that thief while she’s still in the adjacent town.”

The moment the name ‘Sally’ left his mouth, suspicion was all over her face. “Wait, wait, wait, what do you mean by that?”

The Hydreigon glanced left at the mare with an eyebrow raised. “...what is it?”

“What does Sally have to do with this? Is she somehow sore that she got beaten by a thief?” Dawn asked incrediously.

The Hydreigon bit his lip. “....it’s nothing like that.”

“Then what?” She felt her own curtness and she immediately cursed herself for running her mouth again like that. “Sorry about that...I was just....you know.”

“It’s not a problem, you were just concerned which I appreciate.” Eric replied. 

Now Dawn felt bad for intruding like that. “Alright, alright, I understand. I know I can’t persuade you out of this, but...be careful okay?”

Eric frowned at the implication. “....Trust me.... I’m already careful.”

That wasn’t enough to convince Dawn, but she felt it was better than nothing.





“Alright, this is getting boring.” Sally groaned.

If one think that tailing someone for various reasons is fun, they are sorely mistaken. It was unbearable that Sally had to fly high all the time to avoid risking being spotted by those Pegasi or anyone who happen to look up, but what made it even more annoying is that she had been following them for a few hours yet nothing had happened.

“I really wish that stupid bird was here now. At least we can do shifts.” Sally muttered as she palmed her face.

She had tailed them all the way to this city, Tall Tale, yet just her luck, there seemed to be something going on this evening, and it was attracting not just ponies, but Pokemon too. Naturally, with how big the crowds had gotten, keeping track of the Lucario and his team became pretty much impossible.

“Ah, what the hell!?” Sally had spotted the group moving toward the show, yet because of that, it resulted in her losing her quarry. “The crowds....where are they!?” Her head is on a swivel, trying to find any sign, anything that resembles a Lucario or anyone else within the group.

For all her efforts to find the group again, it was for nothing. She sighed. “I lost them….I can’t believe this. Will is never going to let me live this down.”

She flew back toward Vanhoover to relay the news, knowing it was futile trying to find a quarry within a crowd. “I’ll be back tomorrow to finish this.”





The door slammed inside again to reveal Sally with a frown on her face. Her eyes found Eric who sat on the sofa. Alex is beside him fast asleep on his side with his back turned to her. Dawn and Dominus was nowhere to be seen.

“I lost them in the crowd.” Sally stated sorely before shutting the door with a simple flick of her tail.

Cue a mocking whistle from the premier sarcastic Pokemon. “How did that happen, woman? Did you lose your lunch mid-air and had to buy yourself a few breath mints? I’m surprised such stunt is actually performable by an expert flyer like you.” Will quipped.

The Dragon snapped her head irritably at the Reuniclus. “Not another word! I’m not in the mood to deal with your trash-talk.” Sally walked and stopped before the sofa where Eric sat. “What now?”

The trainer put up a head under his chin. “...how did you lose them exactly?”

“They were in a crowd, how was I suppose to track them like that? If that stupid bird was here, at least there will be additional eyes to help me.”

“So additional eyes makes it into four-eyes, huh?” Will clapped sarcastically. “Seriously, what are you, a comedian? Well, you did a pretty good job at it.”

A death glare shut him up. “Shut! Up!”

Eric raised an eyebrow. “Will, not now and Sally....try to be a little bit detail-ish.”

Said Dragon facepalmed. “Look, there’s this sort of show or something that attracted a bunch of crowds. You can guess what happens next.”

“Hmmm....this complicates things.” Eric muttered. “...I guess there’s still a chance, though, considering they travelled in a group with variety of species. Those things. Of course, I’m one to talk. Regardless, the chance is still there. Where they would go? Hmmm...I can think of one place...”

“No matter,” Eric quickly cut Sally off with a raise of his arm as she tried to say something. “As I said, the group sticks out like a sore thumb. Scan around the area around the police station if you can Sally, my feelings tell me it might be the first place they might go seeing they will try to contact the local law enforcement first when it comes to dealing one of the most wanted person back on Earth.”

A clap heralded Will’s incoming sarcasm. “Impressive observation once more, my dear brooder.”

Eric ignored him entirely. “....Sally, I need you to-”

“I got it, I already know what to do. I’ll be back over there tomorrow morning and watch the area around the guards station.”

Eric nodded in confirmation. “...yeah, try not to lose them again tomorrow.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not going to let that scum just walk away again. I won’t!” Sally declared boldly.

“Oh, mommy, I’m scared hold my hand. I’m really, really scared for a moment there.” Will grinned before turning over .

He is completely ignored for his troubles as Sally lay curled up on the carpet with teeth gnashing together, resisting the urge to toss him out the door.

“.....Sally, girl.” Eric’s voice cut through the silence.

Looking to the left, Sally found her trainer had sat down beside her. “Yeah, what is it?”

“.......are you really sure this is what you want? We’ve done what we could, we could just let the cop and his fellow team member handle it from here on out while we focus on other things.”

The word had struck a chord in Sally’s head. “Eric,” Sally looked up at her trainer. “You’re saying we should just give up?”

“....I’m not saying it like that, it’s just that you said you wanted for us to stop back at the beach? Although, I’m a hypocrite if I mentioned that I haven’t decided to do ‘that’ again.”

“Exactly.” Sally nodded. “If thieves like her managed to get into this world, who knows how many other scum out there managed to get here too. I know I wanted us to stop, but we can’t let this slide either. Let someone like that scum thief run around and scum will follow her example.”

Eric couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “....are you trying to get me to agree with you, girl?”

Sally let out a sheepish grin, knowing she had been made by his observant side. “Maybe a little, yeah. But I’m completely serious about the example one.”

A few seconds of silence occurred before Eric sighed, followed with a shake of his head. “.....alright girl, and I do think you have a point in what you said earlier. I think we can hold on to it for a few months.”

Sally smiled. One thing she knew that her trainer is quite the dependable sort. The Dragon had never once witnessed anyone dissatisfied with how he was running things.

“....Personal experiences say that things will go from bad to worse. It’s never gets easy, that’s just reality.” He whispered.

“What was that?” Sally had sworn Eric had started brooding again.

“....nothing.” Though, he knew Sally would have probably knew what it was. Eric brushed a head on the back of her head back and forth.

It was at this moment Sally’s melted into her trainer’s gentle touch. A soft-sounding purr emerged from the back of her throat. Oh, how she wanted this to last forever.

Pretty soon, both of them fell asleep. Eric’s head propped at the edge of the sofa while Sally still remained as curled up as ever.





Play this as closing theme