Opening theme:
The carriage was filled with a happy atmosphere as all of its occupants were in a good mood. Not that anyone could blame them as they could already see the city of Baltimare from the last hill they went over. In fact, some of the servants were playing a few instruments to help the travelling go more smoothly, much to Sleight, Storm, and Toichi’s delight.
Of course, not everyone was enjoying it. “I kind of wish they’d turn down the volume…”Alice groaned from her spot, rubbing her head a little. Ever since the fight in Las Pegasus and her first hand encounter with a Perish Song, she’d been having a few migraines every now and then. Fortunately though, those didn’t last all that long and were slowly but surely getting fewer and shorter each time, meaning she was recovering.
“...we could ask them to do that,” Shade suggested.
“No, let’s not be a wet blanket. Let them have their fun,” Alice said shaking her head. “You can join too if you want.”
“Nah, I’m fine here,” Shade said.
“Spend time with Scep? No thanks. I’d rather stay right here,” Rascal snorted.
“We will stay here,” Spinner and Charlotte said.
Alice chuckled slightly at that. “Thanks guys,” she said as she laid down and closed her eyes. How nostalgic, moments like this were the times when she felt her mind wander back to her time on Earth, of the few simple days where she wasn’t Fox, just Alice who was spending time with her Pokemon.
Meanwhile, another party was taking a break of sorts.
“So now what?” Trixie asked as she took a bit of the fruit Echo had picked, her face brightening at how perfectly ripe it was. She used to be sceptical about how Echo’s species, Noibat, could tell when fruit was ripe, but with how Echo always picks the fruit that is ripe while avoiding the ones that aren’t, she was a believer now.
“For now, we head back to Baltimare,” Jonathan said as he placed more wood for a fire down. It was still midday, but after everything that’s been happening, everyone was too tired to try to make it to Baltimare by night. “Once we get back then we can think up a new plan of action.”
“Wonder how the chief is gonna react to this,” Howl mused.
“Eh, even if he reacts badly, it's not like it's anything we haven’t heard before,” Jonathan shrugged. It was true too. He’d already endured being chewed out for his ‘failure’ to catch Fox for the last 5 years or so. So much so that he’d gotten numb to it.
“Well, no point worrying about it now,” Echo shrugged.
“In the meantime, let’s train a bit,” Heat grinned.
Jonathan smirked at that. “Alright, but this time you’re going down, bird.”
“Dream on, doggy,” Heat smirked back as the two walked to a more open area to spar.
Jonathan just chuckled at that, a small smile on his face as he remembered again the days when they would just train for the sake of training.
“Ah, it's so good to be home,” Sleight smiled as they unloaded and entered the mansion.
“Feels like we’ve been on the road for so long,” Storm nodded in agreement as she trotted up next to him. However, just as they entered the main hall, a blur shot past in front of them. The only thing they saw was a notable color of yellow...and what looked like a lightning bolt shape.
“Stop thief!” came an angry shout as several of the servants that had remained in the house barreled past them, not even realizing they were there, all of them intent on catching the blur.
“...what just happened?” Toichi blinked.
“If I were to guess…” Alice mused. “Seems like the servants were chasing a Pikachu. Good luck trying to catch one of those on the run,” she chuckled.
“Pikachu?” the three ponies asked.
“Small electric mice,” Shade clarified. “They’re native to many regions back on Earth, and generally live in forests, though they have been known to come into cities and chew on power lines.”
“I see…” Sleight said, though that was a lie. Honestly he didn’t see, but figured he’d just roll with it. Any thoughts he had were cut off when they heard the sound of something smashing.
“That...doesn’t sound good,” Storm groaned as they followed. When they came to the room, Sleight and Storm fought hard to suppress a scream. The once well decorated room now looked like a tornado had hit it, with furniture turned over, a grandfather clock smashed, and pieces of potted plants scattered all over. That and it seemed someone had been playing with the yarn, with how it was scattered all over.
Scratch that, once the full scene set in, the two looked like they wanted to have a heart attack, something Alice and Toichi quickly took notice of. “Okay mom, dad, I think you need your rest,” he said quickly.
“Yeah, just relax. We’ll sort this out. Maybe a nice nap will make it all better,” Alice said comfortingly...but winced when she heard another smash. “I hope…” she whispered to herself.
“I...maybe you’re right…” Sleight sighed, wiping a bit of sweat off his brow.
“Yes...maybe a quick rest will help,” Storm sighed as well before Toichi ushered them away. A few minutes later, Toichi ran back into the room. “We need to stop this chase…” he started, and winced when another crash could be heard. “Before mom and dad have a heart attack from the damage to the mansion!”
“You’re right. Everyone, follow the destruction!” Alice said as they did so.
When they got to the next room, they saw the servants, an almost manic look in their eyes, climbing on each other to reach for the chandelier where the Pikachu was. “What the?! For Celestia’s sake stop that!” Toichi shouted. Just in time too, as his shout surprised them enough to cause them to lose balance and fall, fortunately not hitting the chandelier.
“What in the world were you thinking doing that?!” Alice asked incredulously. But once she got a closer look at them...she wondered if she even wanted to know anymore. The reason for that. The servants looked like possessed ponies what with the bags under their eyes, the slightly manic look...oh and they looked frazzled and slightly charred, meaning they probably experienced first hand why Pikachu could be considered such annoying pest sometimes.
“...when was the last time you all slept?” Toichi deadpanned.
“Sleep?” one of them slurred, as if it was an alien concept.
“Can’t...sleep. Must...catch...annoying...mouse!!” Another said...to which all of them agreed...in a way that reminded Alice and Toichi of mindless zombies.
“...oookay...that’s not disturbing at all…” Shade said sarcastically.
“...maybe you should all lie down...preferably before mom and dad have a heart attack from all the damage this chase is causing,” Toichi sighed. THAT seemed to finally make them realize the mess they were in.
“...we are so fired for this…” they groaned when the realized that in their rage/obsession induced chase, they’d probably worked up enough damage to owe their bosses...for about a decade or so...hopefully…
“We’ll try to work something out,” Alice said reassuringly. “Just leave your little ‘pest’ problem to us. After all, it takes a Pokemon to catch a Pokemon.”
The servants just nodded before wordlessly leaving. They weren’t in the mood to possibly dig themselves deeper than they already have.
“...okay, so now what do we do?” Toichi asked, as they had already noticed that the Pikachu had left during the conversation.
“For starters, let’s catch its trail,” Alice said, pulling out some yellow fur, a bit that got snagged during the chase. “Shade?”
“On it,” she nodded as she took a whiff. She wasn’t exactly a dog, but her nose was good enough to tell where the Pikachu was. Not hard considering there was the distinct smell of ozone that was present around Electric Pokemon, especially ones that had used electric moves.
“So once we find the little dude, what are we gonna do?” Scep asked. This was the first time they’d directly planned to catch anyone.
“Well, we can’t exactly let him keep causing havoc in this house, or Sleight and Storm will keel over. Fortunately, I have a few ideas on how to contain him,” Alice mused.
The little Pikachu scurried through the mansion, a mischievous smirk on his face having outwitted the ponies again. However, his mirth didn’t last for long, as one of the winged ponies suddenly came into view, aiming to grab him, to which he was forced to evade, before it gave chase. He quickly started running again, but as he ran more ponies tried to catch him, while some gave chase, forcing him to evade more and more. However, as he ran, he never noticed that some of the ponies who didn’t give chase vanished after a while. That and the ponies appearing were leading him somewhere.
It wasn’t long before he entered another room, one that was suspiciously empty. True enough, the moment he got in, the door closed behind him as all exits were sealed shut with Ice Beam.
“That’s far enough my scurrying little friend,” one of the ponies chuckled, as its form faded revealing a female Zoroark with glasses in its place. “I can’t exactly have you indirectly destroying this mansion,” she said, her tone somewhere between amused and somewhat annoyed. “So do us a favor and give yourself in. I promise we’ll let you go after that,” she said.
The little Pikachu noted the new ice coverings and regained his smirk. The reason became apparent as he turned around with his cheeks sparking. He was going to try launching his attack off the ice.
However the Zoroark was faster, and threw something into the ice, expanding what appeared to be a coating of web...right as the electricity flew, striking the webs...and did absolutely nothing. “Surprised?” The Zoroark smirked as the move failed. “You’re not the first Electric-type I’ve dealt with and you won’t be the last. So what’s say you save us the trouble and surrender?”
The Pikachu let a look of surprise shine through momentarily, then grinned as his tail began to glow white. If Plan A wouldn’t work, perhaps Plan B would.
But once again the Zoroark saw the move first, and with a snap of her claws, the Iron Tail was stopped by a Leaf Blade from the Sceptile. “Next,” the Sceptile chuckled lightly, before knocking him away.
With his exits blocked, and his attacks blocked, he decided he had no other choice. He merely sat down, crossed his arms, and assumed a pouting face. There wasn’t any way out… for now.
“Done?” the Zoroark mused, before nodding. “Good. Okay guys, let’s round him up for now,” she said, as the other Pokemon appeared, one of them being…
The Pikachu began hyperventilating almost instantly, his eyes locked on one of the newcomers. Shortly after his cheeks began sparking wildly and building up a charge. With one last panicked look, he unleashed a wild Discharge hoping to create any exit, any exit at all to escape.
This time Alice didn’t expect that, so the Discharge hit all of them, and happened to blow open one of the doors that had been sealed. Unsurprisingly, the Pikachu bolted the moment the door was open. “Okay...that didn’t work like we expected,” Alice groaned.
“No kidding. He took one look at Shade and he went ballistic,” Rascal groaned, rubbing his head.
“Ailurophobia...ironic…” Alice sighed. “New plan…”
As the Pikachu hightailed it out of there, his mind was in full panic. Not another one! He thought, Why is there always a cat? It’s like Vermillion City all over again!
As he ran, he never noticed the Zoroark following after him as her eyes glowed. The moment they did, the Pikachu was met with the sight of Meowth blocking one of the doors.
(insert Benny Hills Theme)
Almost instantly a shock left his body, aimed at the Meowth, as he hung a left to get away and stun the Meowth.
The Meowth dodged the attack, letting him get away. Of course, had he been paying attention, he’d notice it vanishing. Of course that meant little when the next thing he saw was a Purugly coming out of another door.
Once again, his panic heightened, and an even stronger bolt shot towards the Purugly. Immediately after, he turned right and went down another hallway. All the while thinking, How many cats does this place have?!
Once again though it seemed that the world was not through messing with him, as the Liepard from before suddenly came down from the ceiling like a spider lunging for its prey, her teeth and claws bared.
With a loud shriek, the Pikachu gathered what electricity he had left and fired it in a Thunder towards the Liepard and ran as fast as possible… Well as fast as he possibly could with his newfound lack of energy.
The attack hit...before the Liepard poofed out of existence. Of course, right after that, he felt a tapping on his shoulder. Turning around…
“Boo,” Shade simply said, standing right behind him.
His fear took over him again… But he couldn’t do much besides a few weak shocks. His flight had left him low on electricity and at this point all he could do was huddle in fear trying to back away as quickly as possible.
Shade quirked an eyebrow. It seemed this Pikachu had a knack for going against what Alice expected. Well, that’s what contingency plans are for. “Toichi, drop it,” she said, right as something big fell on the Pikachu, before he realized he was now inside a large glass jar of all things.
(Theme end)
“And that’s game,” Alice nodded in satisfaction as she entered.
He was still afraid, there was no doubt about that. But he didn’t have much freedom in this jar. Just who were these Pokemon? He hadn’t met any like them during his stay in this strange town. He certainly hadn’t met anything close to them in the forest. With a last sigh, he plopped down, resigned to his captivity it seemed.
Alice nodded when she saw that. However, noticing that the Pikachu was still trembling, she motioned with her hand to Shade, who nodded in understanding before leaving. “Now that I have your undivided attention,” she started. “Let’s start with this. You got a name?” she asked.
At this point, the Pikachu got the hint. This Pokemon was commanding the others. “Thief,” He said simply. His fear was vanishing as the cat was out of the area. It got him wondering if those other cats were under this one’s command as well.
“Thief huh?” she nodded. “Interesting. Are you a trained Pokemon by any chance?”
“Trained?” He tilted his head before getting it.. And then shaking his head.
“Ah, so wild it is,” Alice mused. “Well then Thief, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alice. Alice Maximilion. It's a pleasure,” she said pleasantly, giving him a slight bow.
“I’ve never heard of any Pokemon having a name like that,” he said.
“I’d be surprised if you did. After all, I wasn’t always a Pokemon,” Alice chuckled. “I’m one of the humans Lord Arceus brought along and transformed. This form of mine now is known as a Zoroark. Unless you came from Kalos, I doubt you’d have ever seen one.”
While he hadn’t seen a Zoroark, he readily recognized it as a species of Pokemon. On the other paw… “What’s a Kalos?” He asked. He had no familiarity with human terms unless they were related to stuff that could help his horde.
“...I see…” Alice sweat dropped. “Well, that’s not important,” she sighed. “For starters, what were you doing in this mansion?”
“Gathering stuff for my horde. I’m the only one that can get around human places without being caught… for the most part,” he added in, looking at his glass prison. He wondered where the rest of said horde was. He hadn’t seen a single one of them in this city at all during his time here.
Alice nodded. “I see...and where would this horde be? You see, we ourselves just came through the nearby forests. I think we’d have noticed a horde of Pikachu in the area,” she pointed out.
“I… don’t know,” he said with his ears drooping. “We were in a forest but.. I don’t know where they went when we came here. I haven’t seen a single one. So I’m gathering stuff for when I finally do find them.”
Alice frowned at that. On one hand she could respect the sentiment, but on the other hand...Thief acting like this could cause more problems down the road. “I’m afraid to say...that might be difficult,” she said, pulling out a map from her mane, then spreading it out for Thief to see. “Currently we are here, in Baltimare,” she started, pointing at the spot on the map. “And considering Arceus didn’t exactly pick the locations by hand...your horde could be anywhere...here…” she sighed as she indicated almost the entire map.
Most of the horde wouldn’t even know perspectives, Thief had to know this due to his own job within the horde. And with that, he could actually grasp what this meant. He didn’t exactly like it either, letting his ears droop even further down. “So… it’s hopeless?” He asked.
“Alone? Probably,” Alice said, causing his ears to droop even further. “But with some help? It's possible,” she said, causing him to perk up in surprise. “You see, this mansion belongs to my...benefactors, if you will. They’ve been lending me some support in my endeavours, and I believe that if we ask nicely, it's possible that they can help you as well,” she said.
His ears perked even further up with the hope that brought… and he peered up at Alice with his attempt at the ‘cute’ eyes. “E-even after the damage I caused?” He asked.
Alice opened her mouth then closed it. “Er...we’ll probably need to work on THAT part. For one, we’ll probably need to help clean up...and we’ll probably need to help pay for the damages,” she admitted before placing a claw on her chin as she thought about it. “You know, you certainly have a talent. You’ve been able to evade capture for a long time, not to mention you managed to weave your way through the mansion...not to mention technically you didn’t do much smashing per say...I have a proposition for you…” she mused. “I could use a mon like you in my gang. So how about this. You join my team, and we’ll help you find your horde.”
Thief didn’t even need to think about this one. He hopped back to his feet and nodded. Then a thought came to him. “Um… What about the cats?” He asked. All things considered, cats were still the bane of his existence.
“Oh those? Those were just my illusions,” Alice waved off, as she conjured up the same illusions she used to herd him. “This is the power of a Zoroark, the Illusion Fox Pokemon,” she explained. “But if you mean Shade...well...I’m afraid we’re gonna have to work on that, seeing as she’s an important member of my gang,” she admitted at the end while scratching the back of her head.
Thief gulped nervously but nodded. If it meant finding his friends and family, he would do what it took. He reached out a paw and tapped the glass. “Can I come out now? I promise I won’t run,” He said.
Alice was about to nod...but then she stopped short. “Er...you did kind of piss off the servants...and Sleight and Storm looked like they were gonna have heart attacks...I think its best….and safer for that matter...if you stayed in there for a bit,” Alice admitted awkwardly. “Er...this thing is breathable right?” she asked, as Toichi trotted up next to her.
“Of course, I only wanted to catch him, not kill him,” Toichi nodded. “Speaking of which…” his horn lit up, before he casted the translation spell on Thief. “There, now anypony who talks to you should be able to understand you,” he said. “I’ll...see if we can help Mom and Dad calm down…” he sighed.
“So they couldn’t understand me before this? That might be a good thing…” He scratched an ear awkwardly. He may have thrown a couple insults out as he ran from the servants. He did that when running from humans before and had gotten used to the fact that non-pokemon couldn’t understand him. Perhaps this was for the best.
“Okay guys, grab a broom or something, cause we’d better start cleaning…” Alice sighed slightly, as everyone complied. They all knew that being guests, it was only right that they helped clean up. Now they just had to also think of how best to avoid getting their newest member killed.
Ending theme:
