Anonynous Review Replies!

Foxfan: Happy to hear it! Though I think Tails would be hella weirded out if anyone tried to feed him with a bottle...

LoneGarurumon: Is that...how Pokemon rabies work? I never knew XD Having the cast fail spectacularly at something is a LOT funnier than having them succeed, anyway ;p And as for Shadow...yeeeeah, that IS another interesting topic, isn't it...:p Thanks for the review, as always!

tf: Eh, the Pokemon world seems to roll with quite a bit of weird stuff. As for Knuckles, I'm figuring the antivenom for Arbok bites should mostly work the same on any organism, so he's lucky in that regard :P

Recap: Last time we left our heroes, they had just tried to steal a Chaos Emerald from Pewter Town Museum of Science - which went so far south that chapter probably happened in Pokémon-Australia. Knuckles ended up unconscious at the Pokémon center after being bitten by Arbok, Tails got the translator bitten in half by a Rattata, and if Ash and Co hadn't come, Sonic and his friends would probably have ended up at the Pokémon Pound. And now that the Emerald is in police custody, it's the next morning...

xxx

Chapter 18: Aftermath

"Do all of your missions end this way?!"

Tails had repaired the translator, but this mostly seemed to mean that Brock now had ample opportunity to yell at them using words they understood.

"Not all of them!" Tails tried to defend himself. "Only, like, some…."

"You half-destroyed a monument of my home town!"

"Kid, when that hedgehog was involved, he has so far managed to flood an entire city, burn down another one, and crashed a murder space station on my island. Consider your town lucky," Knuckles grated at him, ignoring Sonic's indignant "Hey!" in the background.

(By now, all of them were fairly recovered. Sonic still remembered the somewhat tense ride in the police car after Knuckles had finally passed out and then started shivering uncontrollably, how Brock had immediately lifted him out of the backseat when they were there and Ash had already been sprinting toward the entrance of the Pokémon Center, yelling for Nurse Joy as soon as he burst through the doors. The woman had swiftly taken Knuckles with her and she and one of the curious egg-shaped pink Pokémon had disappeared into the back while another nurse had come out to look at Tails' scratches and bites.

Knuckles had been returned in the morning to them, now peacefully sleeping with no injuries visible anymore (though predictably cranky when he woke up). It had been a long walk back to Pallet town after that, and an exercise in frustration because no complex communication had really been possible. Once there, though, Tails had at least been able to use the resources of Oak's laboratory to repair the translator, but, as said…)

"Lucky?!"

"Brock, calm down. It wasn't entirely their fault. Team Rocket was also involved, remember?" Misty tried with a pained smile.

"Yeah, what would they want with their Chaos Emerald all off a sudden? That's really suspicious," Ash added, frowning.

"They could just want it because it's a large gemstone?" Amy asked, hopefully, but Misty shook her head.

"I don't think so, that Emerald hasn't even been valued yet, so Team Rocket wouldn't even know whether it's worth enough to go after it. With them, it's usually always about Pokémon, or just acquiring power."

"They couldn't possibly know about the power locked in a Chaos Emerald, though," Knuckles frowned. "It's only been found on your world three days ago, like you said, no one here would have been able to conduct any real research already."

"What do you think they'd do with that Emerald on this world, even?" Tails asked, wonderingly. "I mean, they already have access to the immense power some of the Pokémon here wield, I'm not even sure what they'd need a Chaos Emerald for…"

"Uh…" Amy interrupted them, mostly because she had started to say something while also pointing wide-eyed at the TV in Oak's kitchen. Misty saw what she was pointing at and immediately hit the unmute-button on the remote.

"…and exciting tournament! Today's unveiling of the exotic gem stone found in Viridian Forest as first prize is only the latest publicity stunt of this year's Xeno-Cup and what a fitting prize it is! Supposedly this rare jewel was the target of a failed heist by Team Rocket only last night. Slots are still available to enter and we are breathlessly waiting to see the rare and amazing Pokémon and their trainers compete for it this weekend! Favourites include-!"

The voice of the TV broke off again as Knuckles had grabbed the remote and hit the mute button again. "…they are offering the Emerald as a prize now?! In a…what on Mobius is a Xeno-Cup?"

"It's a…tournament. A Pokémon fighting tournament," Brock explained. "Takes place in Saffron City, they're big on fighting. Big on security, too…"

"Ah," Amy pulled a face. "So trying to steal the Emerald again probably wouldn't work, huh?"

"Not likely, no."

"But how come – I mean, wouldn't you think that scientific research on the Emerald took priority over offering it as a tournament prize? How on Mobius did the organizers even get their hands on it?" Tails asked, still staring at the TV where now the sponsors of the Xeno-Cup were being advertised.

"Yeah, I think we've established the generally Pokémon-based logic of this world already," Knuckles commented. "And we helped draw their attention to the Emerald now. Brilliant."

"Eh, so what?" Sonic slid from his chair. "Let's participate for it, then."

Knuckles raised an eye ridge. "Participate in a tournament for an Emerald. Why am I not surprised."

"We played baseball for one before," Sonic shrugged. "And it could be fun, right?"

"Well, we can't participate, do we? We're neither Pokémon nor trainers. That'll be up to Ash and his pets, right?" Amy glanced at their friend, who for some reason then seemed to look rather awkward.

"Er, uh...ahahaha..."

Amy blinked. "What?"

"Ash has this...habit..." Misty sighed, "of releasing his most powerful Pokémon. We think it's a defect," she added in a stage whisper.

"That or his most powerful Pokémon refuse to obey him," Brock agreed. "See Charizard as an example."

"Hey, he does obey!" Ash protested, before muttering. "Well, sometimes anyway..."

"Um. So do you have any Pokémon you could enter in the tournament that would stand a chance?" Tails asked.

"Well, Pikachu, obviously." Ash scratched his head. "And like I said, Charizard is pretty strong, too. But other than that...I do need at least three, and that's not even accounting for variety of types. And neither of them are particularly rare."

At the Mobian's questioning glances at that last bit, Brock added, "Oh, right, yeah, you wouldn't know. That tournament isn't just any tournament, but the Xeno-Cup. We don't usually enter that one, because it's a bit…pompous. Their special gimmick is you need to have at least one rare or exotic or shiny Pokémon to enter, that's how they get their high viewing numbers and afford special prizes like the Emerald. It's usually more a playground for rich kids than normal people like us…"

"Hm, well..." Tails cocked his head. "Sorry if this is stupid, but then why don't you enter Sonic and Knuckles as your Pokémon? That'd take care of the exotic angle, too."

When the rest of the room only stared at him at this suggestion, Tails was quick to shrug and hold his hands up. "I just mean, everyone already keeps confusing us for Pokémon anyway. And they're both really powerful."

Sonic also cocked his head, one ear flat, the other upright, as lips pursed in contemplation started to slowly transform into an interested grin. "Hm, actually, I think I'd quite like a tumble with some of your critters. Knuckles?"

The echidna hesitated at the question. Sonic could see the challenge appealed to the Guardian, but…

"...no." Knuckles crossed his arms. "If I fight, I do it on my own terms and not as the lapdog of some human."

Sonic nodded, not really having expected anything else. "Okay. Fair enough."

"Well, but one is really all you need, right, Ash?" Misty held out her hands. "With Sonic, you'd have at least three Pokémon able to take on opponents at a tournament level."

"Hm, yeah, that could work," Ash said, scratching his head but obviously warming to the idea. "It's been a while since I participated in the last one, too."

"And it's for a good cause," Brock pointed out. "Namely, helping them get home before they inflict more major structural damage."

"Great, then that's settled!" Misty said quickly, a bit too brightly, "And we have until the weekend to train, so that's perfect…."

Xxx

"Okay," Misty said, hitting one last key stroke at the computer in Professor Oak's laboratory and then heading back to where the rest of the group had just been finishing lunch in the kitchen. "First stage of the application for the Xeno-Cup is filled out. For the next one, we need to print out the paper form and attach a picture as proof of ownership of the exotic Pokémon we intend to participate with. Um." She held up what looked like a polaroid camera. "Wanna pose, Sonic?"

"Pose?" from his sitting position at the table, the hedgehog gave Misty a glance that was not at all encouraging. "Pose how?"

"Er..." Ash fumbled a bit. He had to admit, the way Sonic was currently positioned – one elbow on the table, hand wrapped around a soda can, one leg dangling down from the oversized chair, the other folded across it so his sneaker rested on his knee while the fingers of his other hand were drumming impatiently on his thigh – did not look very Pokémon-like.

"Um. Differently?"

"Yeah, you can't sit at the table like that. That makes you look more like a teenager in a fursuit," Brock said, crossing his arms.

"I am a teenager in a fursuit," Sonic pointed out with a frown. "It's just a suit that doesn't come off."

"Yeah, well, you have to try and look less like one and more like a Pokémon," Misty gave him a pained smile. "Just for one picture, please?"

"Ugh. Fine." Reluctantly, Sonic put the half-empty soda can back on the table and slid down from the chair. "This better?" he asked, crossing his arms and glancing up at the humans questioningly.

"Somehow...not really, no." Brock shook his head. "Maybe if we head outside? Try going for a 'natural habitat' background?"

Knuckles snorted. "What, like a fast food restaurant?"

"Yeah, okay, let's. Tails, where do you live on your world, actually? In the forest? In caves? Or are you nomadic?" Misty said as they gathered their things and walked toward the door, Sonic and Ash with the camera in the lead, but everyone else trailing closely behind. The kit frowned.

"Uhm...Sonic technically lives in an apartment on the 33rd floor in Station Square."

("And in his own filth," Knuckles added once again, but apart from a definite indignant growl fom Sonic no one rose to the bait yet). Misty blushed.

"Oh, uh, right. Sorry. I just thought, because Knuckles sleeps in a tree at night-"

"Yeeeah, but that's more because he's Knuckles," Sonic pointed out with a snort. "Dude's got more self-reliance hang-ups than DIY addicts anonymous."

"It's okay," Tails laughed. "What you probably meant were climate zones, right? Station Square where Sonic and Amy live lies in one of the temperate ones on Mobius. The vegetation isn't too different from here." He gestured at the small grove of trees and shrubs at the wayside where they were headed. "My house isn't too far from the city, either, and I think Knuckles mostly keeps his island in the temperate zones, too. We all prefer weather that doesn't make you sweat or freeze all the time."

"Sounds reasonable," Misty ventured a smile. "So hopefully that means a picture for the committee shouldn't be completely impossible, right?"

"How about him on that rock over there?" Brock pointed at a nearby clearing of the small grove. "That'd look authentic, right?"

"Yeah! Sonic, try and sit on it?"

"Okay..." the blue hedgehog shot Ash another half-convinced look, but then nevertheless leapt onto the rock. "Like this?"

"Uhm, no. Try not to lean back on your hands. No, wait. Try also not to cross your legs," Misty said, while Ash peered at the camera, muttering 'I think something is wrong with the focus', and Brock tried to arrange more little rocks around Sonic's rock to 'get the rustic atmosphere right'. The hedgehog in question, of course, continued to show that special kind of unique unnaturalness in posing that is the mark of only truly intelligent species when suddenly faced with a camera.

Amy crossed her arms, sighing. "Oh, man. If only I had my things here, you know, I have literally thousands of snapshots of him in my scrap-books..."

"Amy, now you're making him look queasy!" Tails squeaked.

"Am not!"

Misty groaned. "Guys..."

"Sonic, can't you try to look a little bit more natural?" Brock tried at the same time, standing next to Ash holding the camera. "Somehow you only manage to look, well...cool."

"It's a gift and a curse," the hedgehog replied smoothly, (ignoring Tails' giggle, Knuckles' irritated huff and Amy's dreamy sigh). "This better?" he asked, shifting so he was more half-crouching on the stone.

"Nope, still cool," Brock shook his head. "Man, I wish I could do that, for some reason I just always end up looking squinty in all my pictures..."

"Can't you give us some more 'animal', Sonic?" Misty asked, desperately. "Like, more feral. More...'Grrr!'" She tried baring her teeth at him, fingers curled into claws. Sonic gave her a look that was very much not 'feral' and a lot more 'very, very concerned'. Misty gave an exasperated huff.

"Oh come on, at least I'm trying!"

Sonic shook his head, scowling. "I know. It's just, usually I get photographed for the tabloids, not National Geographic-"

"Sonic, we've been here for fifteen minutes. Just give them a good shot so we can get this over with," Knuckles cut in, making an impatient gesture with one hand. "For the 'Fastest Thing Alive' you sure are taking your sweet time about this."

"Oh yeah?" Sonic's tone, of course, had instantly become irritated. "I'd like to see you try and give them 'a good shot', Knucklehead, because so far, you aren't doing anything to help. In fact, if Ash tried to photograph your mug, the film would probably catch on fire."

"Say what?!"

"Knuckles, Sonic-" Tails tried to calm them down, but it was obvious to see the attempt would be useless, the blue hedgehog having effortlessly leapt from his rock to land straight in front of Knuckles, their noses only a foot apart.

"Oh, I'll say it again," Sonic growled, "In fact, ever since we got here, what have you even done to help instead of just complaini-!"

There was a click! and an accompanying flash of brilliant light that abruptly cut the blue hedgehog off, Sonic's hand flying up to protect his eyes.

"Ah! Hey, what-?"

"Well, right now Knuckles just helped us get a star shot of you," Misty smiled, pointing at the camera a grinning Ash was holding out to them. The digital display showed a semi-close up of Sonic, taken from right above the echidna's head, and on it, the hero of Mobius was clearly snarling at something off-camera, small hedgehog fangs slightly exposed and spines visibly raised (with his very human-like accusing index finger pointing at Knuckles also very handily cut off). "Is that a great pic or what?"

"Hm. Yeah, okay," Sonic frowned. "I think we can use that."

"Oh gods, it's amazing! I gotta start a new scrap book just for that, Misty, you have to make me a copy!"

"Of course!"

Sonic gave a very quiet groan. Tails gave him a comforting pat on the back, which he supposed was better than what Knuckles did, which was taking another picture of him looking queasy.

"Perfect. We should use that one."

Note to self: When going home, leave him here.

xxx

To be continued...

whelp, hope everyone's healthy and holding up (why can't we have Pokemon centres for humans that heal us up in like 5 seconds, amirite?) and if you read and wanna brighten up my day, please leave a review, it means a lot :D