Chapter 39: Phantom Thief Pokémon 7 Appears!

"Huh... The mysterious Pokémon 7..."

Brock was reading a newspaper when the others came over to see what he was reading.

"What you got there, Brock?" Ash asked, allowing the Kanto Breeder to turn to his four friends with a small explanation.

"It's an article from Sinnoh Now. There's been lots of thievery going on lately around this area..." Brock explained, as he revealed an article showing about a Phantom Thief and the burglary that's been happening in the town lately.

"Pokémon 7 strikes again by stealing back the valuable items that have been stolen by others, allowing the stolen items to return to their owners..." Dawn read, before she frowned.

"Well, doesn't that mean that this Pokémon 7 is actually a nice person? I mean, he's a thief who returns things that were stolen, right?" Dawn asked, causing Hareta to take a peek at the news article, too.

"I don't know... but this guy sure looks kinda funny... Just look at how he's dressed!" Hareta pointed out with a chuckle as Hikaru looked at the news article as well, with Ash taking a peek, too.

"Take a look at that. He's even got a Lucario as his partner..." Ash pointed out, allowing the others to see that it was true. Besides the Phantom Thief was the Aura Pokémon that the group was so familiar with.

The young Aura Guardian remained silent as he took a close look at how the Phantom Thief looked.

"This guy looks just around my age... Just who is this Pokémon 7 person...?" Hikaru thought before he looked outside to see the town looking rather normal, with no signs of any new activity.

Just before the young Aura Guardian could say something, a spark came to his mind as Hikaru blinked before he looked around in surprise.

"Hikaru? What's wrong?" Dawn asked, as she was the first to notice her boyfriend looking rather restless about something. But for Hikaru, he narrowed his eyes and looked around, trying to find the source that gave a spark to him.

"Never mind... It's nothing. I thought I felt something strange, but..." Hikaru shook his head, giving a sheepish look. This only earned him confused looks from the others before they accepted his response before looking back at the newspaper.

"Say, all this talking is kinda making me hungry..." Hareta groaned, feeling the urge to eat thanks to his growling stomach.

"Haha... I guess it is time for lunch..." Brock chuckled, until Dawn brought up a suggestion for everyone to hear.

"Hey! If we're talking about food, there's a bakery not too far from here!" Dawn exclaimed, catching the others' attention.

"A bakery?" Hikaru repeated in question, earning a nod from the Twinleaf girl.

"Mm hm! I hear that the bakery over there makes the best bread there! I think it was called... Sun-Sun?" Dawn explained, causing the Kanto Breeder to recognize what Dawn was referring to.

"Oh right...! That famous bakery that's in this town..." Brock chuckled, as the Kanto Trainer grinned.

"Well in that case, let's go there right now! My tummy is kinda rumbling!"

"Pika Pikachu!" Ash suggested, with the Mouse Pokémon agreeing with him.

But while the group was focused on where they were planning to eat, they didn't notice a boy with a bandanna on his head walking by with a basket full of bread. Not only that, he had a Lucario by his side...

[Opening: (Pokémon DP: High Touch! (English Subbed))

Hey Hey Hey!

(The screen spreads, like a puddle spreading)

Hey Hey Hey!

(Brock, Hareta, Dawn, Ash, and Hikaru's smiling faces show)

We fight, make up, and then we fight again
There are a lot of things I want to say to you

(The Japanese opening title shows)

But foremost...
"Thanks for being here for me!"

(Hikaru, Ash, Dawn, Brock, Hareta, Infernape, Pikachu, and Piplup runs together)

(The group rides on the sailboat across the sea with all their Pokémon)

Companions in this journey, compassion in the world
I pretend to understand those things, but

(The screen turns to Brock as he is making supper for the group)

The truth is...
"I'm happy you're here for me!"

(All of the group's Pokémon show)

Nice Partner!
Nice Rival!

(Zoey, Kenny, Paul, Hareta, and Lucas faces Dawn, Ash, and Hikaru)

(Glameow, Prinplup, Honchkrow, Hareta's Empoleon, and Grotle faces Piplup, Ambipom, Pikachu, and Infernape)

I'll push you forward

(Dawn gives Hikaru and Ash a small push)

I'll pull you along

(Hikaru smiles at Dawn, while Ash grins and gives a thumbs up)

The sun seems so dazzling when I look up at it
Hey Hey Hey!

(The group watches the sunlight along with Pikachu, Infernape, and Piplup)

If it all goes well, let's high five!

(The group runs across a map with their three Pokémon)

Hey Hey Hey!

(Ash, Hikaru, and Dawn high fives each other)

If we're feeling down, we'll come right back!

(Delia, Prof. Oak, Isamu, Luna, Minato, Korra, Max, Tracey, May, and Gary smiles together)

As long as we are together

(All of Ash, Hareta, Hikaru, Dawn, and Brock's Pokémon show)

I will not give up so easily! GO GO GO!

(Team Rocket are sent blasting off into the sky)

(Team Galactic shows, with Yamato and Cyrus' faces appearing behind them)

(Cheveyo and his Absol, Winter, watch the moon to the sky)

Hey Hey Hey!

(Hunter J appears with her Salamence, smirking)

It all went well, so let's high five!
Hey Hey Hey!
Shake hands with our opponent in battle

(The Buizel brothers uses Aqua Jets at different directions; Staraptor and Dragonair uses Aerial Ace and Dragon Tail)

(Gliscor and Luxray charges with X-Scissor and Wild Charge; Grotle uses Tackle as Leafeon uses Leaf Blade)

(Chimchar and Togekiss uses Flame Wheel and Air Slash; Pikachu and Infernape uses Volt Tackle and Flame Wheel)

As long as we're together

(The five trainers runs together with their three Pokémon on the map)

We can go even further than before! GO GO GO!

(Regigigas shoots Hyper Beam at Darkrai)

GO GO GO! GO GO GO!

(Hikaru merges with Infernape, Infernape turns into Spirit-Infernape with new fiery power)

(Hikaru stands together with his eight Pokémon along with Ash, Dawn, and Brock, and their Pokémon)

[Opening Ends]

After the Sandalstraw Pokémon Contest, along with the Pokémon Ping Pong event, the group were continuing their way to Snowpoint City, so that Ash, Hikaru, and Hareta would all be able to earn their seventh Gym Badge.

But before they could continue their way, they decided to stop by at a bakery where Dawn and Brock have heard that it was considered to be one of the most famous bakeries in the Sinnoh region.

"There it is! Up there!" Dawn called out, causing everyone to see up ahead that there was indeed a bakery not too far from where they were standing.

"That's the place...?" Hikaru questioned, as Infernape gazed at the small building.

"Let's go, let's go! I wanna eat!" Hareta exclaimed as he dashed ahead.

"No you don't! I'll get there first!" Ash called out as he dashed after the wild boy.

"You two! Come on!" Dawn groaned as she and Brock ran after the two, with Hikaru giving a sheepish smile before he and Infernape ran after them to join in on the chase. By the time the five Trainers reached there, a girl was coming out, looking rather tired.

"So many customers... Our bakery hasn't been getting a break..." The girl sighed as Hareta ran up to the girl.

"Hi there!" Hareta exclaimed, much to the girl's surprise as she took a step back by surprise.

"Ah! Oh... Don't scare me like that...!" The girl shot out, causing the wild boy to give a sheepish grin before the others joined him.

"Sorry about that! Is this the Sun-Sun bakery?" Hareta asked, causing the girl to raise a brow before she pointed up to where the sign was.

"Uh yeah? Can't you see the sign that's above me?" The girl asked as Dawn and Brock gave apologetic looks to the girl.

"Sorry about that... He tends to get overexcited when it comes to eating delicious food..." Dawn apologized, causing the girl to notice the five Trainers' arrival altogether before she gave a small nod of understanding.

"It's okay... I can understand... Our bakery has been getting so many customers lately thanks to the delicious bread that my Dad and I make, along with my childhood friend..." The girl sighed, before she cleared her throat.

"My name is Nazuna! It's nice to meet you!" The girl, now known as Nazuna explained as the five Trainers took their turns to introduce themselves as well.

"I'm Ash! And this is my partner, Pikachu!"

"Pika Pikachu!"

"I'm Dawn! And this is Piplup!"

"Pip Piplup!"

"Hey there, I'm Brock."

"I'm Hareta! Pleased to meet you!"

"And I'm Hikaru... This is Infernape."

"Fernape."

The group introduced themselves, causing Nazuna to smile and nod in understanding.

"Great to meet you all. Sorry to tell you this, but my dad and I are taking a small break... You see, ever since this is morning, we've been getting plenty of customers like crazy, so this is the only break we've gotten so far..." Nazuna apologized sheepishly.

"Aww..." Hareta whined a little as Brock gave a chuckle.

"Sounds like fame has its own flaws..." Brock pointed out, causing Nazuna to smile tiredly.

"Mm hm... You guys can come in if you'd like... We may not be taking any more customers right now, but we can always welcome visitors..." Nazuna offered kindly.

"Thanks! That would be great!" The group all spoke together before Nazuna invited them inside. As the five Trainers were inside, they found out that the bakery looked rather normal and a pleasant place to stay and eat in.

"Gotta say, this is a nice looking bakery... All normal and quiet... It's the perfect place to be able to eat and talk." Brock admitted, causing Nazuna to smirk proudly as she put her hands on her hips.

"I'm glad to hear that. My dad and I are the proud owners of the Sun-Sun Bakery. But since we're kinda low on staff, we have to rely on ourselves along with a friend of mine..." Nazuna explained, causing Hikaru to blink.

"Friend?" Hikaru questioned. But before he could ask, the bakery door opened up, causing the group and Nazuna to turn and see who it was.

"Hey, Nazuna-chan... I'm back... And- Huh? Customers?" A boy with a bandanna on his head called out as he came in, before he blinked in surprise to see the group. Nazuna raised a brow before she walked over to take the basket of bread from his arms.

"Thanks for the help, Hiori. These should be enough to make more bread..." Nazuna thanked, earning a nod from the boy. He turned to the group in question, allowing Nazuna to realize what he's thinking.

"Oh, them? They're new customers that wants to try out the bakery's bread... They're just staying here until we get started on working again." Nazuna explained, allowing the boy, now known as Hiori to slowly nod in understanding.

"Hey there... Nice to meet ya. I'm Ash, and this is my partner, Pikachu!"

"Pika Pikachu!" Ash introduced himself with Pikachu introducing himself as well. The introduction went the same for the others as Hiori gave a timid smile before saying his greetings, too.

"Nice to meet you... I'm Hiori, and this is Lucario, my best friend." Hiori explained, as he introduced the Aura Pokémon as well, who gave a grunt as a greeting. The young Aura Guardian raised an eyebrow as he gave a glance at the Aura Pokémon.

From what Hikaru sensed, the Pokémon didn't seem to be quite strong, but that left him confused. Despite of his aura not being strong, it's as if... the Aura Pokémon was trying to hide something from him and the others.

Turning back to Hiori, who was chatting with Dawn and Brock, the young Aura Guardian frowned as he was unsure on how to say his mind to the others.

"That guy... he's hiding something. That's for sure..." Hikaru thought as he sighed.

"Something wrong, Hikaru?" Hareta asked, earning a shaking head from the young Aura Guardian.

"Just... thinking, Hareta... About the Snowpoint City Gym coming up." Hikaru explained, causing the wild boy to grin in understanding, making him oblivious to the little lie Hikaru had spoke just now.

"Oh, I see...! Don't worry! Without enough training and hard work with our Pokémon, I'm sure we can defeat the Gym Leader there!" Hareta assured brightly, causing Hiori to blink as he turned to the two.

"Gym Leader? Are you all traveling together to attend the Sinnoh League?" Hiori asked, as Ash grinned before he explained.

"Sure am! Hikaru, Hareta, and I are competing in the Sinnoh League together!" Ash responded, with Dawn explaining her objective for traveling.

"And I'm traveling to earn my fifth Contest Ribbon... so that I can be able to attend the Grand Festival and become a Top Coordinator!" Dawn explained, before Brock explained his objective.

"And I'm studying to become a Pokémon Breeder." Brock added, causing Hiori to look rather awed by their objectives for traveling.

"Huh... You all have dreams to be what you want to be..." Hiori commented in awe as Hikaru raised a brow at the boy.

"You don't have a dream?" Hikaru asked, causing the boy to be silent before he gave a sheepish smile.

"Nah... Not really..." Hiori admitted, until Nazuna shot up, glaring at Hiori for his lack of enthusiasm in life.

"Ugh... This is why you're always being made fun of, Hiori! Both you and your Lucario! The last time you had a battle, you lost in just one attack!" Nazuna groaned, causing the group to be surprised.

"One hit...?" Dawn gaped in disbelief, causing Hiori to wince at the mentioning of his easy defeat. Lucario frowned, but didn't object or growl as he placed his paw on Hiori's shoulder to comfort him.

"Y-Yeah... I don't really like Pokémon battles..." Hiori explained, much to the Kanto Trainer's surprise.

"Why's that?" Ash asked, as Nazuna sighed.

"Apparently, he hates Pokémon battles... saying things like strength isn't the only thing that gives you power... But to me, I think he's just saying that because he's scared to actually battle..." Nazuna sighed, causing Dawn to frown.

"Isn't that kind of harsh? Anyone can have different opinions in life. I mean, you may like battling, but he doesn't..." Dawn pointed out, causing the bakery girl to shake her head a little.

"Still..." Nazuna started, before Hikaru made a little request.

"All right, then... In that case, how about a battle?" Hikaru asked, causing Hiori to be taken aback.

"W-What? But I already said I don't like to-"

"Still... I just want to see whether or not if it's true that you're weak or not..." Hikaru explained, interrupting the bandanna boy's protest.

At the explanation, the bandanna boy pouted before he sighed. Turning to Lucario, the Aura Pokémon gave a small nod of understanding, as he was willing to battle for his Trainer.

With that being given, Hiori turned to the young Aura Guardian with an uninterested look.

"Don't expect the battle to take long..." Hiori sighed as he started to head for the door with Lucario by his side. As he took his leave, the young Aura Guardian watched carefully before following the bandanna boy.

The others followed with Nazuna following along, and soon... Brock took place as the referee with Hiori and Hikaru facing each other.

"So, how many Pokémon?" Hikaru asked, causing Hiori to respond slowly.

"Just one... I only have Lucario with me right now." Hiori answered as Brock nodded, before he explained the rules.

"This will be a one on one battle with no time limit! The battle will be over when one side is unable to continue! Battle begin!" Brock declared as Hiori turned to Lucario, who nodded before he took his place on the battlefield.

"Infernape..." Hikaru called out, earning a nod from the Flame Pokémon before he jumped onto the field to face Lucario. As the two Pokémon were out, both boys were ready to fight...

Hiori: Lucario VS Hikaru: Infernape

"We'll make the first move...! Infernape, Flamethrower!" Hikaru called out as Infernape did so, shooting his Fire Type attack towards Lucario. But surprisingly, as Hikaru watched, Hiori made no response to call to Lucario.

Instead, the Aura Pokémon took the hit without making any movements to dodge! By taking the super effective attack, Lucario roared in pain before tumbling back, before falling in defeat.

The quick defeat caused Ash, Dawn, and Hareta to gape at the sight while Brock too, was shocked to see this happen. Nazuna on the other hand, sighed in annoyance for what she had seen just now.

"Of course..." Nazuna groaned as Brock frowned before he declared Hikaru as the winner.

"Lucario is unable to battle, which means the winner of this battle is Hikaru!" Brock declared out loud.

Winner: Hikaru

Sighing, Hiori called Lucario back to his Pokéball before making an unfazed expression to the young Aura Guardian.

"Did that satisfy you now?" Hiori asked, only to get a suspicious glare from the young Aura Guardian.

"Quite the opposite actually." Hikaru replied, causing Hiori to blink in surprise.

"What was that just now? Why didn't you tell Lucario to dodge or at least, counter back with another move? You should've known Flamethrower was something Lucario was weak against..." Hikaru reprimanded in annoyance.

"It's just as I said... I don't like battles. And besides, strength isn't the only thing that matters in a battle or with Pokémon." Hiori explained before he started to take his leave by heading back to the bakery.

"Aw man... I wanted to see some moves from Lucario..." Hareta pouted as Dawn frowned, with Ash not liking the situation very well.

"That didn't even look like a good battle." Ash commented, with Pikachu giving a small cry of agreement.

Later...

"I'm sorry about Hiori... Ever since he lost his sister years ago, it's like he lost any motivation to do anything except to help me and my Dad with making bread." Nazuna explained, catching the group's attention.

"His sister?" Dawn repeated in question, causing Nazuna to blink before she frowned.

"M-Mm... Hiori has a twin sister named Lily, and well... they're close to each other and were close to Lucario back when he was still just a Riolu. Surprisingly, Lily had the ability to sense other peoples' auras..." Nazuna explained.

"Hey! That's just like Hikaru!" Hareta exclaimed, catching the bakery girl by surprise.

"What?" Nazuna spoke in surprise as Hikaru explained.

"Hareta's right. I too can sense other peoples' auras... Not just people though, but Pokémon, too. As an Aura Guardian-in-training, I decided to become an Aura Guardian while also trying to become the new Sinnoh Champion." Hikaru explained.

That caught Nazuna a little by surprise before she frowned at what she learned just now.

"Aura Guardian, huh... Maybe that's why she went missing..." Nazuna breathed out, catching the group's attention.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, allowing the bakery girl to explain.

"Apparently, there was this certain organization that's been trying to track down people with special abilities so that they can accomplish of doing something big. I don't know what this organization is, though..." Nazuna explained.

"Maybe Team Rocket...?" Ash guessed, with Brock and Dawn making other guesses.

"Could it be Hunter J and her goons...?" Dawn guessed, with Brock shaking his head.

"No... her way of doing things is to steal or capture rare Pokémon so that she could sell them to clients. Team Galactic would most likely be that criminal organization since they're the biggest organization here in the Sinnoh region." Brock guessed.

At the mention of Sinnoh's organization, Hikaru could only frown. The mentioning of Team Galactic made him recall his father... of how he had met Yamato for the first time during the Celestic Town incident...

For Nazuna on the other hand, she sighed, folding her arms.

"I can guess that's part of the reason why Hiori has been acting very... I don't know... uninterested and timid with many things. I just hope that he will break out of that habit someday..." Nazuna sighed sadly.

The group frowned, understanding the bakery girl's concerns with her childhood friend. But while they were having their conversation, no one had noticed Hiori eavesdropping on their conversation as his face darkened while standing at the entrance of the kitchen.

Not saying another word, the bandanna boy headed back inside the kitchen, preparing to continue his work.

Later...

"Wow! Thanks for the food!" The group was awed by the number of different tasty breads that were in the basket.

After their conversation about Hiori and how his sister was abducted by a mysterious organization, Nazuna baked some bread so that they can all enjoy it and try to forget about the depressing talk they had.

While they were eating the bread, the one who reacted to it the most were...

"Wow! This tastes so good...!" Ash exclaimed as he took another bread to eat.

"I've never tasted anything like this so far..." Hareta admitted with a grin as Nazuna smiled.

"Good to hear. Our bread is quite popular in the Sinnoh region, so that's why we get many customers coming here." Nazuna explained, as the group continued to eat with the bakery girl.

While they were eating, Brock recalled something as he turned to Nazuna with a question.

"Hey, Nazuna... Do you know anything about a certain someone called Pokémon 7?" Brock asked, causing Nazuna to blink before she shushed him, much to the Kanto Breeder's surprise.

"Don't say it so casually like that... There could be someone spying on us while we talk...!" Nazuna spoke seriously, causing the Kanto Breeder to quickly apologize. After he did so, Nazuna sighed as she took a look around.

Seeing no one but themselves around and knowing that Hiori might still be in the kitchen, the bakery girl began to speak of the young phantom thief.

"I do know some things, but... in a big way... He's my big hero!" Nazuna cried out happily, causing the group to blink in surprise at her sudden change with the attitude.

"Huh? Really?" Dawn asked, with Piplup cocking his head out of curiosity.

"Mm hm! During one of his operations, I was taken as a hostage so that 7 wouldn't be able to fight back by this big jerk and his Machoke... But thanks to him and his Lucario, he was able to complete his task while saving me at the same time!" Nazuna exclaimed happily.

At the thought of recalling when 7 rescued her from a clock thief once, the bakery girl sighed as Hikaru sweat dropped. To his thoughts, he swore that he could see hearts coming out of the bakery girl.

"Looks like someone's fallen in love... And with a phantom thief, no less..." Hikaru thought before he continued to eat the bread.

"But as you all know, he's known to steal things from criminals that have stolen valuable items from others... such as jewelry, expensive items, and even Pokémon!" Nazuna explained, smiling a little.

"She's calling Pokémon valuable items...?" Hareta thought, frowning at the thought of a person treating a Pokémon as a thing instead of a living being.

"So who is this Pokémon 7 really...? Hikaru asked, as Nazuna gave a sheepish smile before shaking her head.

"No one knows... His identity has been kept a secret for quite a long time. Although, there was a time when Hiori was accused of being Pokémon 7 by a reporter named Mako..." Nazuna explained, catching the group by surprise.

"Hiori...? The one that Hikaru defeated with just one hit...? No way..." Dawn replied in disbelief.

"Mm... In a way, Hiori is the exact opposite of Pokémon 7... I mean, their skills are completely different and the way they seemed to socialize with others are completely different as well! So there's no way Hiori could be him...!" Nazuna chuckled to herself.

While the others seemed to agree, the young Aura Guardian couldn't help but think differently as he turned to where the kitchen was, where Hiori should be at. Using his Aura, he sensed Hiori in there by himself.

"All alone... And his feelings seemed to be rather... complicated. What is this feeling...?" Hikaru thought before he turned back to enjoying the bread that was given to him and his four friends.

Later...

"Thanks for the bread, Nazuna...!" Ash spoke gratefully as the group were about to make their leave from the Sun-Sun Bakery.

"Come back any time, you guys! The Sun-Sun Bakery will always be open whenever you guys or other people are hungry!" Nazuna cried out as she waved goodbye to the five Trainers as they did the same to her.

"We will!" Dawn and Hareta called out together as the group continued their way back to the town to where there was the town's Pokémon Center. As they arrived there, they got ready to spend the night there.

After checking in, the group were in their room as Hikaru continued to think while remaining silent.

"Hey, Hikaru. You okay?" Dawn asked, catching the young Aura Guardian's attention.

"Huh?" It was the only thing the young Aura Guardian said as he looked up to see the others staring at him in concern with the Kanto Trainer adding in his concern.

"You've been kinda silent and looked serious looking for quite a while now. Is everything okay?" Ash asked, causing Hikaru to smile sheepishly to his four friends as he shook his head in reassurance.

"Me? No... I'm fine, you guys... I was just thinking on how delicious that bread tasted! I kinda wished that we took more with us so that we could enjoy it later..." Hikaru lied sheepishly.

"Haha! I hear you! That bread tasted so good...!" Hareta giggled with a grin.

"In that case, if we do visit this town again, why don't we go to the Sun-Sun Bakery again? I'm sure it'll have lots of more bread for us to enjoy and eat!" Ash suggested, causing both Dawn and Hareta to smile.

"No complaints here!" Hareta exclaimed with a grin.

"That sounds like a great idea." Dawn agreed as the three continued to talk together about the bakery. At seeing them talk about it, Hikaru gave a sigh of relief before he turned to see Brock staring at him with a frown.

"What's the matter, Brock?" Hikaru asked, only for the Kanto Breeder to give a small smile and shake his head.

"It's nothing, Hikaru..." Brock spoke, causing the young Aura Guardian to frown at the answer.

"Did he notice that something else was up with me...?" Hikaru thought before he turned to see Ash and Hareta continuing to chat with each other while Dawn took out her Ribbon Case to look at her Contest Ribbons.

Clearing his throat, the young Aura Guardian took his leave from their room before heading down to the lobby of the Pokémon Center. As he walked, the puzzling thoughts came back to his mind.

"That battle..." Hikaru thought as he recalled of how Infernape easily defeated Hiori's Lucario.

"Hiori didn't even try to command a counterattack or have Lucario dodge it... It's like... he was trying to lose on purpose. But why? I know Lucario had some power in him that seemed to be on almost equal length with Infernape's..." Hikaru thought seriously.

"Was he trying to hide something from me and the others? The only reason as to why he would do that is to hide the fact that he could be..." Hikaru continued to think before he widened his eyes, realizing on what this could mean...

"Hiori himself could be Pokémon 7...!" Hikaru breathed out in disbelief as he shook his head.

"Of course... in order to hide his identity... he made Lucario look weak when in truth, Lucario is a powerful opponent to have..." Hikaru spoke to himself as he looked out at the window, seeing the moon in the sky.

"I'll have to see the reason to this... why he's doing this... why he's Pokémon 7..." Hikaru spoke out as he ran in the hallway to run out of the Center. He didn't notice Ash and Pikachu seeing him run out.

"Hikaru?" The Kanto Trainer frowned in concern and curiosity as he had watched Hikaru speaking to himself, yet he didn't hear of what the young Aura Guardian said. All he saw was him talking before running out.

Turning to Pikachu, the Electric Type nodded to his partner, causing Ash to nod back before he ran out of the Center to quickly follow after his Sinnoh friend.

Meanwhile...

Using his Aura to sense where Hiori's Aura could be at, the young Aura Guardian found himself running to some sort of a big building in the town.

"Is that it?" Hikaru asked himself before he ran inside, as he wasn't aware of Ash running to follow him.

"Where's Hikaru running to? In that building? But why...?" Ash asked, while the Mouse Pokémon was also stumped about the young Aura Guardian's intentions. Nevertheless, the Kanto Trainer ran into the building to make chase after his friend.

As for Hikaru, he ran up the stairs after finding that the building seemed to be quite empty.

"Judging from what I've seen so far while climbing up the stairs, this seems to be an abandoned building. But why would Hiori come here? Is this his hideout or did someone lure him in here?" Hikaru thought as he continued up the stairs.

Eventually, he found himself in the 14th floor where there was...

"A Bastiodon?" Hikaru widened his eyes to see the big Pokémon in front of him. It seemed to be blocking the door as to prevent letting anyone in or out. Narrowing his eyes, he goes up to it to confront the strong Pokémon.

Upon seeing a new face, the Rock-Steel Type turned its eyes at Hikaru and glared as Hikaru glared back at it.

"I'm going to have to ask you to move out of the way, Bastiodon." Hikaru demanded calmly. The response the young Aura Guardian got was a small grunt, as if he was refusing to move even an inch for Hikaru.

Taking a deep breath, the young Aura Guardian took out a Pokéball.

"If that's how you want to play, fine. I'm counting on you, Infernape!" Hikaru called out the Flame Pokémon, who turned to the young Aura Guardian in question before he turned to see the glaring Bastiodon glaring at both him and his human brother.

"What's this guy giving us the nasty look for?" Infernape asked, causing Hikaru to reply back.

"I'll explain later. For now, we need this big guy to move." Hikaru explained, allowing the Flame Pokémon to nod in understanding before he turned to the heavy Rock-Steel Type, who continued to just glare.

"Sorry about this, big guy." Infernape grunted before...

WHAM!

Bastiodon let out a loud grunt in pain before it slumped down, unconscious from the super effective hit he had taken from Infernape's Mach Punch attack. Then, with his strength, Infernape pulled Bastiodon out of the doorway so that he and Hikaru could get through.

With the door now in their sight, Hikaru was about to open it when...

"AUGH!"

That caught both Hikaru and Infernape by surprise as the young Aura Guardian opened the door to see a Lopunny zipping past with something in her hands!

"Damn it... My mask!" A familiar voice caught Hikaru's attention as he turned to see a boy who had the same brown hair as...

"Hiori!?" Hikaru watched as Hiori's Lucario chased after the Lopunny, attempting to retrieve what the Normal Type seemed to have stolen! But unfortunately for the Aura Pokémon, his efforts were futile as Lopunny kicked him away hard!

"Lucario!" Hiori gasped while covering his face. Hikaru narrowed his eyes before he heard another voice that seemed unfamiliar to him.

"Hehe... There's no way your Lucario can keep up with Lopunny's speed. Now, let's get a good luck at that face." A woman smirked as Hikaru turned to see a black-haired woman who seemed to look rather ambitious.

"I see... So she's the reporter Nazuna talked about... The reporter, Mako!" Hikaru thought before he turned to Infernape. The Flame Pokémon nodded before he charged at Lopunny, who turned around in surprise!

WHAM!

"LOPUN!" Mako turned in surprise before she was knocked away by Lopunny crashing into her!

"EEK!" Mako shrieked as she and her Lopunny hit the wall, with the impact knocking them both unconscious! With the reporter taking the hit, she dropped her camera, causing it to skid on the floor!

Hiori widened his eyes in surprise while he kept his face covered with his arms to prevent his true face from being seen. As for Lucario, he turned to Infernape in surprise, as the Aura Pokémon recognized his past opponent from earlier this afternoon.

"You okay?" Hikaru walked over with the mask in his hand before offering it back to Hiori, who slowly took the mask while keeping his face covered.

"Um... Yeah. Thanks." Hiori spoke before he quickly turned around to put his mask back on. As soon as he did though, his personality changed as he turned to the young Aura Guardian with a smile on his face.

"Thanks for the help! I don't know what would've happen if that reporter got a good shot on my face!" Hiori exclaimed as the young Aura Guardian narrowed his eyes before he folded his arms.

"Drop the charade. What are you even doing here in the first place, Hiori?" Hikaru asked, causing Hiori to wince while Lucario frowned a little upon seeing his master being called by his true name.

"W-What are you talking-"

"Don't play dumb... Even with that mask, I still know that it's you, thanks to your Aura." Hikaru explained with a frown, catching Hiori by surprise. The Aura Pokémon on the other hand widened his eyes a little before he frowned.

"Aura...? B-But wait... so you're..." Hiori started to speak before Hikaru answered for him.

"Mm. An Aura Guardian. Well... Aura Guardian in training, really." Hikaru explained, causing Hiori to widen his eyes before he looked down and sighed, now understanding that his disguise was pointless if he was caught already.

"How long have you known...?" Hiori asked, causing Hikaru to explain.

"One, you didn't even try to fight back during our battle very well. It's like you were planning to lose despite on how much power your Lucario had. Second, was me sensing your Aura despite the disguise you had as Pokémon 7." Hikaru explained.

That caused the young thief to sheepishly smile and rub the back of his head.

"Ha... I... guess you caught me, then." Hiori spoke sheepishly as Hikaru raised his brows. But before he could ask on what Hiori's intentions were as Pokémon 7, someone else had joined in on the conversation with a loud yell.

"HUH!?"

"PIKA!?"

Both boys and their Pokémon partners turned in surprise to see...

"Ash!?"

"Pikachu!?" Both Hikaru and Infernape widened their eyes to see their Kanto friend and his Electric Type partner, as both of them were gaping to see on what they had heard just now from Hikaru and Hiori himself.

To be continued...

Hikaru's Team:

Infernape: (M): (Flamethrower, Mach Punch, Flame Wheel, Close Combat)

Buizel: (M): (Ice Beam, Aqua Jet, Razor Wind, Water Gun)

Luxray: (F): (Wild Charge, Discharge, Iron Tail, Hidden Power)

Leafeon: (F): (Magical Leaf, Shadow Ball, Synthesis, Leaf Blade)

Gardevoir: (F): (Psychic, Double Team, Thunderbolt, Teleport)

Riolu: (M): (Endure, Quick Attack, Foresight, ?)

With Prof. Rowan:

Dragonair: (M): (Dragon Tail, Aqua Tail, Thunder Wave, Safeguard)

Togekiss: (F): (Ancient Power, Aura Sphere, Safeguard, Air Slash)

Next chapters:

Chapter 40: Aura VS Thief! An Unexpected Bond!

Chapter 41: It's Class Time! Teacher Candice!

Chapter 42: Exhibition Match! Hareta's Chance!

Chapter 43: Hikaru VS Candice! The Seventh!

Chapter 44: A Meeting Between Aura Guardians!

Next chapter preview:

Hiori: I've been putting up with this Phantom Thief Pokémon 7 disguise so that I can possibly find a clue relating to my sister's disappearance.

Hikaru: We've heard that from Nazuna, too... So this sister of yours... she can use Aura like how Lucario and I can do it, right?

Hiori: Mm hm. Ever since she was kidnapped one day back when we were young, Lucario and I worked hard in order to try to find any clues...

Ash: Does that mean you haven't found any clue, yet? I mean, the Sinnoh region is a big place. She could be in any place right now!

Hiori: I know... but I'm not giving up. I promised Lucario that we would find her together, no matter how difficult things would get.

Hikaru: So you're acting as a thief to gain attention. But what good will that do if someone almost unmasked you and discovered your identity?

Events that occurred:

- The group meets Nazuna and Hiori

- The group hears about a Phantom Thief named Pokémon 7