"Lucky you."

Lucky in a sense; it sounded like someone Thomas cared about had to go through that ordeal. "One of the worst weeks of my life…and it was only two days long." Celebi's efforts did make sure they didn't lose too much time, but they still had to suffer for so long.

"Trust me when I say everyone on that ship wanted to kill them," Hideo stated matter-of-factly. "We did kill them." He wasn't going to sugarcoat it for Thomas - he wouldn't hide that he also wanted them dead. "But I guess they came back because I got to fight the Dog again over in Petalburg when Rocket was attacking."

He let out a sigh. "Think we killed the Dog, but it got right back up and ran off." The frustration in his voice would be palpable. "A friend of mine thinks that we might have a shot at stopping them from reviving again if we break these statues."

The heavy steps of a Melmetal approached them, the Joltik and Galvantula scattering. Hideo's Beheeyem gently guided the boy away from the statue, for the Melmetal wasted no time slamming a Thunder Punch right into the Munkidori effigy, shattering it under its Iron Fist.

"And they have tried to stop me, so it feels like I'm on the right track. And it does feel good to break their stuff."

Thomas Benoit

FISTFIGHT WITH A MONKEY

THOMAS X MUNKIDORI

AND AGAIN, THE LOYAL THREE WILL TRY TO STOP HIDEO ONCE MORE. The shattering of the effigy is accompanied by a vicious chimp clatter.

The MUNKIDORI has found ways to infiltrate cities and towns with ease. After all, a simian as smart as he, would have no issues with sneaking among Pokemon and people so simple-minded—especially in a place as rural as Littleroot.

Above its head, the monkey's TOXIC CHAIN rises while another shoots out from its palm.

INSTRUCTIONS

YOU MAY PLAY OUT THIS ENCOUNTER with a special prompt if you desire. Thomas Benoit (and Hideo Kino, Blue Star desires), can be succumb to the effects of a TOXIC CHAIN.

This complication can subdue or weaken him, or even cause him to become hostile to Hideo.

Alternatively, one of their Pokemon can succumb to the chain's effects instead.

By the end, the chain be eliminated from themselves in whatever way works best for your thread. Otherwise, Hideo Kino's UXIE will be able to easily cure them.

Thomas Benoit Hideo Kino

"...trust me when I say you wouldn't want to be there if you had." He wouldn't wish that ordeal on anyone. "I dunno if they're helping Rocket, or if they're just causing problems for everyone…more people are gonna get captured if they aren't stopped."

Whatever side the Loyal Three were on, it wasn't theirs. And he wouldn't want their help after all they did.

It would be Hideo's Beheeyem that checked the photo - but a quick look and a quick Telepathic message, and Hideo nodded. "They usually look the same," he said, "at least, from what everyone's told me. Makes it hard to mistake them for a statue for some other Pokemon."

They all felt the same to him - so did the shards his Pokemon left behind.

Munkidori's arrival was fast, sudden. Hideo didn't know it was there until he heard the chain shoot out, and it would have struck him and bound him - had Thomas not gotten in the way. Good for Hideo, less good for Thomas, as Elga informed him of the Toxic Chain around Thomas's neck.

"Ah shit," Hideo muttered. "Thomas, hang on! Jiggler, keep the monkey busy!"

The Melmetal made a strange noise, before rushing over towards Monkidori, striking towards the monkey - who was abnormally swift at evading its strikes.

"Elga, try and break off that chain, quick!" The Beheeyem Psychically attempted to grab the chain Psychically, trying to apply enough pressure to break it off…

Though as they would find out, the Toxic Chain was much tougher than that.

Thomas Benoit

Try as they might, Elga couldn't break the chain. And the Beheeyem was the only one free to help; Hideo's Melmetal and Thomas's Tapu Koko were preoccupied fighting off Munkidori.

If only Uxie were here…but the pixie was off who-knew-where.

Hideo tried to think of something - but the only option he had for breaking the chain was using a Z-move - but his Beheeyem carefully vetoed that idea by pushing the boy's own concern to the forefront of his mind; he had just as much chance of breaking Thomas's neck as he did of breaking the chain.

The Monkey couldn't resist sneaking a peek at Thomas's loss of control and Hideo's mental struggle, sneering and laughing at their distress as it fought off their Pokemon.

Hideo wanted to protest when Thomas urged Elga to get away, but he didn't know what to do - and the Beheeyem was pulling him away from Thomas.

His Melmetal, meanwhile, struggled with the Monkidori; an attempted Headbutt only resulted in the monkey jumping off its head, a Psychic striking the Melmetal. Strong as the Melmetal may be, it wasn't a very clever fighter.

And the monkey they fought was quite clever.

Thomas Benoit

There was something deeply unsettling hearing Thomas be taken over by the chain. His own chaining had been done while he was unconscious; he had no idea if the process was painful, but from what his Beheeyem was telling him, it didn't seem like Thomas was having a good time with it.

And Hideo hadn't been mentally changed by the event, merely forced to act under threat of being choked by the chain - yet his Beheeyem told him that Thomas was getting ready to attack him, his chain reaching over for a nearby crate.

As much as it hurt to consider, he was about to tell his Beheeyem to try and knock Thomas out.

Until Tapu Koko seemed to have the same idea - first intercepting the crate, with Hideo's Beheeyem standing in front of the boy to shield him from any debris - then outright attacking Thomas. Neither boy nor Pokemon knew of the mental struggle going on between man and Tapu; they had no way to know Thomas wasn't also mentally taken by the chain as well.

They didn't interfere, but they had to keep an eye out in case any other crates came their way.

All the while, the Melmetal was trying its best to catch the Munkidori, to no avail. The monkey was making a fool of them. A chain fired from the Munkidori's hand, squarely hitting the Melmetal, the chain beginning to wrap around its body…only for the chain to get absorbed into the Melmetal's body, dissolved in an instant as the Melmetal continued its attempts to fight it, the monkey tilting its head at the display.

Guess they would just have to stick to fighting.

Thomas Benoit

Perhaps Koko's influence was enough to help Thomas resist the chain's influence, or the fact he was awake meant he had a chance to fight it before it fully took control. Whatever the case, Thomas had been able to free himself from its influence - which earned a surprised look from the Munkidori.

Same from Hideo, though the boy was more relieved. "Thank Arceus," he said, slowly making his way towards Thomas - though his Beheeyem stayed close, out of caution. "We needed Azelf to break everyone's chains off before…guess this means the chains aren't as tough anymore."

Or Azelf's influence lasted longer and further than expected.

With that ordeal finished, they could once more focus on Munkidori, who was still making a fool out of the Melmetal. And it seemed to notice it was well, as its attention was fully on Tapu Koko.

Though it wasn't fast enough to avoid getting fried by the bolt of lightning. It was still standing, and still able to avoid the Melmetal's follow-up, but it was a solid hit.

The monkey wasn't out yet, but things were clearly not going in its favor.

Thomas Benoit