"Dad, can you make it a bigger version of brother Pikachu?"
"For the last time Eevee, no. The less Pokemon who know about my Ability, the better."
"But this is different! We can also say we got it from the mysterious seller!"
"No means no."
"Then how about…"
Dante sighed for the nth time. How come Alolan Vulpix is such a well-behaved child, but Eevee turned out to be a menace? He raised both of them the same way!
They were currently high above the sky, standing on the flat futuristic-looking disc that he conjured.
When the other Pokemon in Treasure Town asked what this was, he had claimed it as an exclusive gift from the seller who gave them the Pokeballs and other items- that had been enough to convince them.
Now, the problem comes from his overenthusiastic Pokemon, Eevee. According to her, such a mount was too boring and needed a redesign.
Dante humored her at first, adding mats and tables and what-not to make the flight more comfortable. Soon, however, the designs she proposed became more and more outrageous.
What about adding an Eevee tail that leaves trails of rainbows? Or making their mount a glass Zorua that glows in the dark?
In short, Dante learned about the artistic spirit hidden within his brown fox Pokemon.
Eevee continued to suggest other modifications to their mount, and only stopped when they arrived at the base- much to Dante's relief.
When they entered, they found Pikachu, Ursaring, and Azumarill relaxing on the sofa.
"Hey, what took you guys so long?"
Pikachu greeted, tapping his phone to pause the ongoing movie.
"I inventoried our items. Tomorrow's a big day, after all. How about you? How did the meeting with Chatot go?"
"They locked down five possible locations of the Time Gears. Here, they gave everyone a copy of the map."
Pikachu handed over a Wonder Map, with 5 areas encircled and labeled.
"The Northern Desert, Eastern Forest, Crystal Caves, Limestone Mountain, and Treeshroud Forest. Hmm? Wasn't the Time Gear in Treeshroud Forest already taken?"
"Yup! Chatot just marked it in case a team wants to investigate Grovyle's past traces."
Dante stared at the map and fell into deep thought. More than a month has passed, and traces of Grovyle have yet to be found.
The Federation had been worried they would once again fall one step behind the fugitive. So, after some discussion, a plan of action was made.
Since they couldn't catch Grovyle, then they'll just wait for Grovyle to come to them himself.
The Federation combed through the archives- to search for areas that likely contained a Time Gear. Since that was Grovyle's target, they planned to find it first then lie in wait to ambush him.
The meeting today was held to inform the Exploration Teams, who accepted the task of capturing Grovyle, the result of their research. Then, they were tasked to personally confirm which of the places really held a Time Gear.
"Which area should our team investigate, Dan? I vote for the Crystal Cave! My explorer instincts are telling me there's definitely a hidden treasure there!"
Pikachu stood up from the couch, his eyes shining.
"Ohh! I also vote to go there!"
Eevee followed suit. Hearing the word 'crystal' had her immediately sold. The others also began to voice their opinion.
Vulpix and Azumarill stated they are alright anywhere as long as it's not the desert. Riolu said he preferred the Crystal Cave or the Limestone Mountains, while Ursaring wants to go to the Eastern Forest. Only Mawile asserted that she will go wherever Dante wants to.
"Nice, everyone. Great show of teamwork."
Dante smiled, a pair of hands manifesting above him which made a clapping motion. Then, it disappeared, turning into grinning Gengar.
"Unfortunately, this team doesn't work that way. What I say, goes. And I say we go to the Northern Desert!"
Except for Mawile, the team collectively groaned. Vulpix even used her wide-eyed teary look to make Dante reconsider. But this time, it had no effect. (Dante used his illusion to mask her face so he wouldn't see it.)
"No! That's unfair! It's against the majority rule!"
"There's no such thing as fairness in this world, dear Pikachu. As the leader of the team, it's my decision where we will go."
"Not if I can help it! Off with the dictator!"
"Off with the dictator!"
Pikachu dramatically yelled, Eevee repeating after him. The two Pokemon rushed at Dante, who slapped their head with his tail in amusement.
After sharing a laugh, the topic finally got back on track.
"Seriously, Dan. Why the Northern Desert? It'd be all hot and stuff there. Is it because of your future knowledge again?"
"Yeah. From what I know, Grovyle should obtain the next Time Gear in a desert after getting the one from Fogbound Lake. Though now that I think about it…"
Dante paused. At this time, shouldn't Grovyle already have three Time Gears? After getting the one from the desert and the Crystal Cave, he would have gotten all five… Or did he remember it incorrectly?
"What is it, Dan?"
"It's nothing. Anyways, don't think too much about the desert for now. After all, we still have an important thing to do tomorrow. If we delay that again, Ursaring would be the one to throw a tantrum this time."
Dante turned to the large brown bear, his eyes twinkling in amusement.
"Come on, Dad! I wouldn't do that. But…did Eevee finally reach the target?"
Ursaring turned to Eevee, who pouted in dissatisfaction but otherwise didn't say anything.
"Not yet. But the Gummies from the Evolution Ritual would be more than enough to attain it."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Mr. Spinda!"
Eevee ran out, urging the others to hurry.
Before her birth, the team had apparently made an agreement to go to a 5-star dungeon when they gained enough strength.
And fortunately, her Dad and the others agreed for her and Vulpix to similarly grow up before entering said dungeon.
But now, the only reason they still haven't gone is because her stats have not reached her Dad's criteria.
'Stupid genes. We came from the same egg, how come Vulpix gains more from leveling up than me?'
—
Glug glug "Burp~ More!"
Eevee shouted, her stomach having a visible little bulge from all the Gummi drinks she had.
"Slow down, we're not going anywhere today."
Dante said in exasperation. From the moment they entered Spinda's Cafe, this Pokemon of his had been on a warpath and disregarded everything else. She sat on their usual seat and began to chug glass after glass of the Gummi drinks.
At the counter, Spinda worked non-stop just to keep up with Eevee's drinking speed.
Honestly, if it was any bartender, maybe their team would have been blacklisted already due to how much Gummi drinks they ask for every day. Fortunately, Spinda is the opposite. Even when Dante offered to pay some Poke for his service, Spinda always refused and just enthusiastically made their drinks.
"Dad. Burp~ How is it? Have I reached the target?"
Dante shook his head in helplessness and opened the Team Menu.
"Yes, you've reached it. You can stop drinking now."
With the drinks Eevee had, all her stats finally surpassed 105. And not only that, she also obtained a powerful IQ skill: No-charger.
No-charger allows a Pokemon to use charging moves like Solar Beam instantly at the cost of double the energy. Among their current team, only Mawile and Riolu have also learned this IQ skill.
Eevee slumped in relief when she heard she reached the requirements. She had consumed almost half their Gummies in the bag, and her stomach was about to burst. If that still wasn't enough, she would have puked.
"That's great. Hehe, 5-star dungeon, here we go!"
Dante took a sip of his Gummi drink. Staring at the eager expression on everyone in the team, he smiled.
He doesn't know the purpose of the guy who gave them this dungeon's information. Is it really just to complete the commission? A trap? Or something else?
Whatever the case, even if they meet another Legendary above Zapdos' level, Dante is sure.
Their team could take them on.
A/N: I've added the IQ Skills and their definition in the auxillary volume (volume 0). They will play a somewhat important role in this arc.