Chapter Fifty-Five: The Pokémon Love Triangle

"Piplup, are you alright?" Dawn hurried over to check Piplup's injuries, just as an Electabuzz ran out from the orchard.

Seeing the Electabuzz, Cheng relaxed his guard.

At that moment, Electabuzz was launching an electric attack at Marill, but it missed.

"Electabuzz, why are you here again?" Lulu asked.

"Lulu, do you know this Electabuzz?" Dawn inquired.

"Yes, this child is a wild Pokémon from nearby. It often comes here to cause trouble, and it particularly enjoys teasing Marill."

Piplup got up again, determined to fight back, but Electabuzz struck once more, knocking Piplup down yet again.

"I understand now," Brock suddenly said.

"Understand what?"

"It seems Electabuzz likes Marill too."

"I've heard some boys often tease the girls they like," Brock explained.

Cheng watched the scene with interest, surprised to find rivals in love even in the Pokémon world. It was all so amusing. But, knowing the story, Cheng realized this battle for love would end with Electabuzz victorious.

Piplup stood up again, only to be knocked down once more by Electabuzz, and this time it lost the ability to battle.

After finishing off Piplup, Electabuzz lost interest and left.

"Piplup, are you alright? Honestly..." Dawn gently picked up Piplup and checked his injuries.

"Let me handle it," Cheng stepped forward and applied medicine to Piplup's wounds.

"Everyone, let's rest inside. I'll go prepare dinner."

"I'll take care of dinner!" Brock insisted eagerly.

"Then I'll make the Pokémon meals," Cheng volunteered. Brock’s cooking was excellent, but it wouldn’t do to let him shoulder all the work.

Cheng and Brock set about preparing the food while the others rested inside.

"Everyone, dinner’s ready!" Brock brought out the food, which looked delicious. Cheng had also finished preparing meals for the Pokémon, carefully organizing them by flavor and calling the Pokémon out to eat.

With everything done, Cheng sat down and began his own meal.

"Let’s dig in!"

"Brock, I never imagined your cooking would be this good," Lulu praised sincerely after tasting Brock’s dishes.

"Really? As long as everyone likes it," Brock replied happily.

After dinner, Brock washed all the dishes, living up to his reputation as the reliable big brother.

"By the way, why don’t you stay here tonight? Let me show you your rooms," Lulu offered.

Lulu’s house often had guests coming to buy berries, so there were plenty of rooms.

Brock and Ash shared one room, Cheng and Dawn each had their own.

Once everything was clean, Cheng sat on his bed and began his psychic training. After the intensive use of psychic power in the ruins earlier, his abilities had grown much stronger. His Seedling now had six leaves instead of one.

He calmed his mind and quickly entered a meditative state.

As night deepened, Cheng finished his meditation and prepared to sleep. Suddenly, he sensed something approaching. He spread his psychic powers outward and detected three familiar psychic waves in the garden outside.

Cheng smiled, recognizing the familiar presences. It looked like tonight would be busy. He didn’t rush out to deal with it, knowing Ash would handle things eventually.

A little later, he heard noises outside his room—Dawn and the others seemed to be up.

Opening his door, Cheng saw Dawn and the others in pajamas, eyes still sleepy.

"Dawn, what’s happened?" Ash asked.

"It’s terrible! Piplup is missing!" Dawn was frantic.

"Piplup’s gone?" Ash and Brock were puzzled.

"Oh no, my Marill is missing too!" Lulu appeared, realizing Marill was gone as well.

Where could the two have gone? Could they have run away together? Brock speculated boldly.

"Everyone, let’s hurry and search!" They rushed back to change clothes.

Cheng watched them go back to change, feeling a bit resigned. If they didn’t hurry, both Pokémon would disappear without a trace.

After quickly changing, everyone dashed out, with Cheng following at a leisurely pace. The scene felt strangely familiar.

When they arrived, the garden was in disarray, but Marill and Piplup were nowhere to be found. Clearly, they were too late.

"Look, someone has stolen the Lum Berries!" Lulu pointed out the missing fruit in the orchard.

"It seems whoever stole the Lum Berries also took Marill and Piplup," Brock speculated.

"Let’s hurry after them. Come out, Gliscor, Staraptor!"

"Gliscor, Staraptor, please help us find Marill and Piplup!"

"Chimecho, Solrock, you two as well." Cheng took out Solrock and Chimecho as a gesture.

"Solrock, Chimecho, please notify me if you find Piplup," he instructed.

Chimecho and Solrock floated off, though their slow pace probably wouldn’t help much.

"Let’s search ourselves! I can sense their presence to the east," Cheng suddenly said.

"Then let’s head east!" Everyone hurried that way, hoping to find them in time.

After an hour or two, fatigue began to set in. Suddenly, they spotted something ahead—a hot air balloon, decorated with Meowth’s face. Clearly, Team Rocket had stolen the Lum Berries and captured Piplup and Marill.

"These are Lum Berries, so it must be them. Let’s hurry!" Lulu picked up some berries from the ground.

"Chimecho has found Piplup and Marill," Cheng relayed the message he received from Chimecho, indicating they must be nearby.

After running for another half hour, they finally caught up. During their search, Staraptor also returned, having found traces of Piplup and Marill.

When they arrived, Piplup, Marill, and Electabuzz were together, battling Team Rocket.

"Stop right there, Team Rocket!"

"I heard someone shout 'Stop, Team Rocket!' and arrived at the speed of light!
The wind!
The earth!
The sky!
Let danger descend upon this world!
Let crisis befall this universe!
Whether angel or devil calls that name,
The bewildering voice makes all tremble.
Jessie!

James!
Meowth, that's right!
We are the stars of this era,
We are invincible,
Team Rocket!"

"Team Rocket, it’s you again."

"Hmph, you brats can’t stop us this time. We’ll definitely capture Marill!"

"Go, Yanmega, use Ancient Power!"

Electabuzz struck immediately, knocking Yanmega out.

"Cacnea, use Bullet Seed!"

"Piplup, use Bubble Beam!"

Bubble Beam collided with Bullet Seed, and both sides were evenly matched.

"Solrock, use Psychic!"

Cheng arrived late, having lagged behind Ash during the run. He was beginning to doubt his own stamina.

Solrock used its psychic power to snatch Marill back from Team Rocket.

"Piplup, use Whirlpool!"

Whirlpool knocked out both Yanmega and Cacnea.

Electabuzz followed up with another electric attack, blasting Team Rocket away.

"What a nasty feeling!"

Team Rocket was sent flying once again, and everything was over. Yes, it was all over, and so was Piplup’s romance. Electabuzz and Marill were together now, with Marill seemingly thanking Electabuzz. It appeared the two had become a pair, and Cheng found the scene even more amusing.

Originally, Marill and Piplup were both Water-type Pokémon, but now Marill was paired with the Electric-type Electabuzz. What kind of offspring would they have, Cheng wondered.

Marill was delighted, while Piplup stood dejected.

"Alright, now that the Pokémon have been found, let’s head back. Maybe we can get some early sleep."

By the time everyone returned to Lulu’s house, dawn was nearly breaking. They slept a little longer, then got up for breakfast. After tidying up, they decided to set out once more.

"Thank you so much for your help. Here’s a little gift—some berries."

"Well, thank you!" Ash accepted the berries.

Piplup remained downcast, and seeing Marill with Electabuzz made him even sadder.

"Piplup, you have to be strong. A true man doesn’t shed tears lightly. We must hide our sorrow and always appear strong," Brock encouraged him.

"Pip-pip..." Piplup tried to hide his disappointment, looking confident, but turned away and began to cry.

"Well, it’s time for us to say goodbye."

"You’re always welcome to visit again," Lulu said cheerfully.

"Alright, goodbye!"

They left, heading toward the next town. On the road, Piplup behaved with admirable resilience.

"Piplup is really strong," Brock said with a smile. "A man grows only after experiencing things like this."

"You’re very convincing, Brock," Dawn replied.

Cheng grinned at Brock’s words; for him, it truly made sense.

And so, everyone set out for their next town.