Chapter 5/Final: Hanging by a Monument
What a wild couple of days. First came the mysterious theft of the Jynx Jewel in which Team Rocket was falsely accused of. Hiring Zenigata was pointless. Ash and Zoey found the diamond in the hands of Dr. Yung. Yung had used the diamond's secret power and altered the looks of Lupin III and Jigen. He used an element of surprise to kidnap Dawn while Fujiko made out with Brock. Thanks to Ash, Zoey and the Pokémon, Dawn, Lupin and Jigen were saved while Yung got a taste of his own medicine. He was locked up as a Dustox. Paul was changed back to himself but left almost immediately, not saying a word in edgewise. The purple mop on his head was the last image anyone saw from his scowled demeanor. As for the Jynx Jewel? Safely returned to the museum. "Ash, I can't thank you enough for returning the Jynx Jewel back to the museum," Officer Jenny praised with Zenigata by her side. "I heard that there was a feud between Dr. Yung and Prof. Oak that you happened to intervene with." There was a moment where Ash got involved with Yung's works?
"It's in the past," Ash didn't want to argue about. "Besides, I couldn't have done without Dawn's quick thinking." It must have been when Dawn ordered Piplup to do Whirlpool which caused the jewel to react and reconfigure Jigen back to his original form.
"Come on, Ash," Dawn tried to ease off. "I should be thanking you for bringing Piplup back to me in the first place." It made sense. If Ash and Zoey didn't notice Piplup, you think Ash would've found out how to remove the curse?
"Doesn't that kiss count as thanks?"
"No, that kiss was for rescuing me." Poor Jenny couldn't help but laugh at the friendly feud within the two. Hey, police work's tough. Zenigata had a few words to announce.
"Now I told you that I didn't want kids involved in this caper," he merely scorned. "But you three didn't do too bad. I doubt my men would've solved this mystery in the time you succeeded in." Well, that was nice of him to say.
"Mr. Zenigata, I'm sorry we couldn't keep Lupin in our sights," Zoey apologized. Yeah, where did Lupin and Jigen go?
"Don't worry about it. He's strictly my business as an Interpol inspector to make sure he's in line." So no fretting on losing him. Peter returned the Jynx Jewel on the podium where it should be.
"By the way, did the Jewel turn Dr. Yung into the Dustox?" Jenny asked. It was the source which caused the curse.
"Yeah, Dr. Yung said that anyone who gazes at the Jynx Jewel will turn into the Pokémon that best fitted their lifestyles," Dawn reviewed. "Only the attack of the same attribute to the Pokemon-formed human would revert the curse like Ember to a Fire-type or Silver Wind to a Flying-type." Interesting. Dawn wasn't old enough to be a scientist but she studied the curse enough to make the details.
"Much like Iron Tail to a Steel-Type or Smog to a Poision-type," Ash figured. Dawn nodded to that addition.
"You know," Zenigata spoke up. "Let me give you three a little something for helping track the crook." He handed them silver plastic badges which was shaped like shields. On each was a couple of words: "HONORARY POLICE DETECTIVE." That was really sweet.
"Thanks a lot, Inspector," Dawn praised. With that exchange, the three shook hands with Zenigata and left the museum while a janitor...Was that Lupin watching the kids? Outside, the three with their Pokémon began to discuss plans on what to do now that this case was closed.
"You know, maybe we should look for Brock," Ash concernedly wondered. "Maybe Staraptor can help us." He began to dig into his pockets when a carhorn sounded. Looking, they had to be thinking it was someone with an issue with traffic...which was not there. That's when a vintage convertible rolled up to the three. Inside, Lupin, Jigen and Goemon spotted the three kids.
"Hey, you guys!" Lupin greeted. "You seem to be ready on heading out." Pretty obvious, right?
"Yeah, we're heading out to my next contest in the next town," Dawn explained. "I'm going after my final ribbon to compete in the Grand Festival. Then it's Ash's turn for his final Gym Badge to compete in the Sinnoh League." Sounded like there was a lot of anticipation between the two.
"Well, good luck with those, then," Jigen complimented.
"You may need it," Goemon mumbled. Hey, be a little more supportive of the two!
"Don't be so cold, Goemon. That would be us saying nasty names to you. I'd be a little more vocal if we didn't have kids here." Thanks, Jigen. That's when Lupin dug into the car and pulled out a present. Guess Zenigata wasn't the only giver.
"By the way, here's a little something for just in case," he grinned. It was handed to Dawn who peeked inside and closed it. Was it something she didn't want? Suddenly, police sirens wailed. The heat! "And here comes Pops. See ya!" Lupin slammed his foot down on the gas pedal and his vehicle screamed out of the scene with Zenigata in hot pursuit in a police car.
"You won't get away from me, Lupin!" he bellowed with an anger of determination. All Ash and the girls could do was look with a mull.
"Why do I have a feeling that Zenigata chases Lupin for the heck of it?" Ash wondered. No one, not even Pikachu could answer that. They began to stroll through a thicket of wooded lands on the trail to get to their next destination. That's when Ash thought back to when Lupin popped a question involving Dawn and Zoey. "Is it all right if I ask you two a question?" The girls were a little stunned with this sudden asking.
"I...guess so," Zoey agreed.
"What is it, Ash?" Dawn questioned as Piplup watched from on her head.
"What is it that you see in me that you like?" he asked in a pretty straightforward manner. Zoey seemed a bit appalled about the question he posted.
"I thought I told you already," she gruffly huffed.
"I thought Dawn would hear it and see if she's got a similar reason." That got Zoey to reconfigure her thought process.
"Oh, okay. Well, it's your thought process when it comes to battling. You go by trust and outside thinking and when I saw you use Buizel's Aqua Jet back home which became that Ice Aqua Jet, it made me think that you can use Pokémon abilities to an advantage far beyond what an average trainer would use." Not a bad reasoning. "If only Paul saw how you can use so many of your techniques and adapt them to his battling skills, he'd see the light and maybe be an unstoppable force." That's like saying Paul's skills were basic but that he was pretty tough.
"Well, you should have seen him when we dealt with Giratina," Dawn retorted. "If you ask me, he possesses a heart which is somehow connected to these legendary Pokémon all over the world. He was able to talk Palkia out of trying to destroy the dimension we were in, protect Giratina from some whack-job and even changed the past to which Arceus became friends. I mean, I swear that you have a lot of girls following you, even those Brock tried to hit on." That's a bigger surprise. It sounded like Ash was a better ladies' man than Brock.
"Not...fair..." moaned...Brock? Hearing the voice, Ash, Dawn, Zoey and the Pokémon gazed up and there he was dangling above in a tree...wrapped in spring coils attached to a boxing glove...upside-down in striped boxers.
"Brock?" Wonder what happened?
"How did you wind up on a limb?" Ash joked. Well, Brock?
"That Fujiko can be such a knockout," he chuckled. "After making dinner for her, I felt like maybe she was the one for me and when she offered space for me to sleep with her... I swear that trap came out of her vagina." That long spring coil and glove in such a narrow and tiny space? No way. Realizing that maybe it would be best for Brock to think about it, Ash and the girls chose to walk away. Let him learn his lesson.
"It's kind of surprising that I didn't wind up the way Brock acts, considering how long I've been around him." Before long, there was a split in the path: one going left and other right.
"Well, I've gotta get training done for the Grand Festival," Zoey made plans. "Dawn, good luck getting that final ribbon." Dawn nodded, promising to meet her in the Festival.
"Don't worry, Zoey," she grinned. "That ribbon is as good as mine." Zoey smiled on that gritting grin. Now, for Ash.
"And Ash?" Before speaking another word, she came in and just laid a big one on Ash's lips. Needless to say how dumbfounded Ash became. "Don't let Paul's hotheaded actions get to you." With one final scratching behind Pikachu's ears, Zoey dashed off down the left path. Dawn was a little upset with Zoey and how she embraced Ash.
"Maybe Zoey and I were meant to be," he wondered. That got onto Dawn's nerves, thinking that Ash would go after the redhead and not her.
"Is that so?" Dawn snarled. What's with that attitude? Ash turned around...which was not a wise move. In Dawn's hand was the Jynx Jewel. Lupin managed to steal it from the museum and gave it to Dawn. It just so happened that Ash gazed right into the Jewel and a flash of light engulfed Ash. So which Pokémon did he become? That night, Ash sighed at Dawn's reaction to the matter.
"You know, Dawn didn't have to overreact like she did." Pikachu softly nodded.
("Well, you did admit it while she was in earshot,") Pikachu reminded. And that's when the shot showed Ash as a Pikachu. He still had his cap on. ("Don't worry, Ash. Tomorrow, she'll let me change you back.") That only had Ash sort of smile.
"It's not that I don't like being a Pikachu, Pikachu. I mean, you remember with Lily when she tried to make that potion that would make a human think like a Pokémon." Pikachu nodded once more, remembering that moment.
("When you found out that it was temporary, you took it for granted.") He did?
"Yeah, I did, playing with you, Togepi and Murkrow." That's when the two began to yawn. It was a long day for the heroes. "I think we should retire. We've got a lot of training ahead of us."
("You bet.") Pikachu got to and snuggled into its sleeping bag. Ash tried to do the same, although his bag was a lot bigger. That's how it would feel when you've shrunk to a quarter of your size. Before trying to get into his bag, Dawn reached out and wrapped her arms around him and pressed into her chest. It took a moment for Ash to realize Dawn's intentions.
"Don't leave me..." she sleepily muttered. Who said Ash was going to leave? For someone so young, she would have a small rack. It only dawned on Ash that Dawn wanted someone or something to cuddle with.
'If I remain like this, I think Dawn will never let me go,' he pondered in his head. However, he did see Dawn with a cheery smile. 'Then again, it may not be all bad.' And so, after the case of the missing cursed diamond, Ash had to be the real person cursed...with being a magnet to the ladies. Sometimes, a curse acts more of a gift. Ash should take it for granted.
THE END