Pedaling hard with his feet, Allen rounded the corner to the back of the lab—and what he saw made his blood run cold.
His eyes narrowed.
'How dare they target Professor Birch's lab? Where's the assistant? Was Professor Birch betrayed?'
The thought struck him like lightning. But he shook it off just as quickly. Scattered across the riverside grass were the lab assistants—unconscious.
Not a single one had been spared. And in the center of the chaos stood a Hypno, its pendulum swinging rhythmically, casting a golden glow as it prepared to put yet another assistant under.
Allen's gaze turned icy.
His mind flashed back to four years ago—he was observing a Shaymin with Graveler and Bibarel helped reinforce a collapsing dam. Then, all of a sudden, his eyes had grown heavy... and darkness took him.
When he woke up, he couldn't quite remember what had happened. He had felt... off, like something important was missing. But over time, the fog in his mind gradually cleared—and the lock on those memories finally began to weaken.
"Hypnosis..." Allen muttered under his breath.
He knew the move was used to put targets into a deep sleep through hypnotic suggestion, but he hadn't expected it to also cause temporary memory loss. Whatever Pokémon had used it on him back then had sealed away a critical memory—and he, foolishly, hadn't questioned it at the time.
Allen quickly ran through several possible scenarios in his head. 'What kind of Pokémon could've attacked me back then?'
Beheeyem came to mind first—but he ruled it out. He'd never seen any reports about UFOs yet, or maybe they just hadn't arrived. Alakazam was another possibility, but the chances didn't seem very high either. That left only one strong category: Pokémon known to feed on dreams.
'Forget it,' Allen quickly cut off his own thoughts.
What mattered now was that his memory had already returned—and for that, he was thankful. At least it hadn't been permanent.
Allen crouched low, carefully assessing the situation. A Zubat and a Poochyena stood at the ready, flanking their two trainers. Realizing this, a surge of confidence welled up within him. It was just two grunts.
"Zubat, Mean Look!"
"Poochyena, Tackle!"
The commands rang out, and the Pokémon sprang into action—but the one they targeted...
Allen's eyes lit up.
Standing defiantly in front of the babies Mudkip was one brave little Mudkip—only a little bigger than the rest—shielding the others like a big brother. Allen immediately recognized that Pokémon and grinned. That's my boy. He gave a thumbs-up.
Without wasting another second, Allen sprang into action. He launched from his crouched position, took a deep breath, and cupped his hands around his mouth like a trumpet.
"MUDDY—ROCK THROW!!"
Every living thing in the area froze in confusion. The two grunts flinched and instinctively turned around—only to see a teenager. They let out a breath of relief.
"Tch. Just a kid."
Still, they didn't lower their guard. Within Team Aqua, grunt ranks were competitive. Missions were more about racking up achievements than loyalty.
They had heard from inside sources that Professor Birch was out of town, and his assistants—likely too used to peaceful days—had grown lax. Littleroot Town was always quiet. That gave them the perfect opportunity to strike.
Everything had gone according to plan—at least at first. The senior grunt had deployed Hypno to swiftly neutralize all the lab assistants. From there, the next step was simple: snatch every Mudkip, Torchic, and Treecko from the lab to earn recognition within Team Aqua.
Only... they hadn't expected this Mudkip to be so tough. The little guy stood his ground like a seasoned battler, completely unfazed.
Of course, this Mudkip wasn't just any lab Pokémon—it was Allen's very own starter Pokémon, the third prize he received in exchange for his contributions.
When Professor Birch first contacted him about a possible breakthrough in hatching the mysterious eggs, Allen didn't hesitate. He made the trip to Littleroot Town himself, with Mudkip happily tagging along.
Upon returning, Mudkip instantly recognized Professor Birch's lab and was visibly thrilled to be back. Even better, many of the eggs stored there had recently hatched, filling the lab with a cheerful buzz of activity as older and younger Pokémon interacted.
As everyone knew, Professor Birch rarely around—his love for fieldwork kept him constantly on the move. Because of this, the process of handing out starter Pokémon to new trainers was frequently delayed. Over time, his lab became known—half-jokingly—as the slowest place in the region to receive a starter Pokémon.
So when Mudkip realized that the one taking care of them had suddenly collapsed, it was shocked. Without hesitation, Mudkip stepped in front of the baby Mudkips, shielding them with its small body.
They had already exchanged a few moves with the enemy, but even so, Mudkip couldn't help but feel anxious. In moments like this, it was usually its trainer who gave clear commands—what to do and when to do it.
That's why, when Mudkip heard the familiar voice shout, "MUDDY—ROCK THROW!!" its heart leapt with excitement.
Confidence: 50% → 100%
Mudkip stomped his tiny feet into the dirt, and the ground trembled faintly beneath him. Pebbles and loose gravel nearby began to rattle, then slowly rose into the air, pulled upward by an unseen force.
Allen's eyes widened in disbelief.
Rock Throw was still a new move they had only recently started practicing—one Mudkip had just begun to understand. Normally, it would either lift a large rock to throw or smash the earth to use scattered debris as makeshift bullets.
But this… this was on a completely different level.
"Don't tell me…" Allen muttered.
Sure enough, with a determined cry—"Kiiip!"—a radiant glow enveloped Mudkip's entire body.
Mudkip's shape began to shift and grow. Its limbs stretched, the back fin widened, and vibrant orange whiskers flared to life on its cheeks. The small body elongated and strengthened, its features becoming sharper and more defined. The glow pulsed—once, twice—then burst outward in a brilliant flash.
Standing in Mudkip's place now was Marshtomp—bigger, tougher, and overflowing with newfound energy.
"Marsh!!" Marshtomp roared, its voice deeper, brimming with strength.
Behind the newly-evolved Marshtomp, a row of tiny Mudkips peeked out from the tall grass, their big round eyes sparkling with awe.
"Kipp~! Kipp~!" they chirped in unison, their light-blue fin tails wiggling like excited little flags.
The one in the back scrambled onto the head of a fellow Mudkip in front to get a better view—only to lose balance and send them both tumbling into a pile of mud with a joyful splash.
Seeing its own trainer gaped with it snew form—and hearing the excited "Kipp! Kipp!" from the little ones behind him—sent Marshtomp's confidence soaring.
Confidence: 100% → 1000%
"Marsh!!"
Marshtomp snapped his head forward. The floating rocks shot through the air like bullets, arcing sharply before slamming into Zubat and Poochyena with crushing force. Both Pokémon were knocked back instantly, tumbling across the ground as a cloud of dust exploded into the air.
The grunts could only watch in stunned silence as their Pokémon were KO'd on the spot.
Seeing their stunned expressions, the senior grunt snarled in frustration.
"Idiots! What are you doing?!" he shouted, yanking a Pokéball from his pocket and hurling it forward.
A burst of light revealed a large, blue blob of a Pokémon—round like Chansey, but blue with white spots on its belly. It looked like a tougher, bluer cousin of Chansey.
"Hypno!" he barked toward another Pokémon—the one he had borrowed from Team Aqua.
Hypno was still manically swinging its pendulum with a wide, unnerving grin plastered on its face.
The sight made the senior grunt's mouth twitch in irritation.
Seeing this, Hypno reluctantly lowered its pendulum. With an irritated scowl, it turned to face the new threat—there was no other choice. Now, Hypno and Azumarill stood side by side, ready for battle.
But it didn't stop there.
"Hahahaha!" The senior grunt let out a maniacal laugh.
Then, with a flick of his wrist, he tossed another Pokéball into the air. A flash of light revealed a large, dragonfly-like Pokémon, wings buzzing sharply as it hovered above the battlefield.
Vibrava.
Hypno, Azumarill, and Vibrava?!
Allen gulped.
This... this wasn't your average grunt. That was a serious lineup.