Poketropolis Chapter 5

An hour later, Dawn was putting tickets on cars on Viridian Street. On a roof of a building, Fax was holding the Jumbo Pop from Vanillite Delights. He took out his pacifier and breathed fire on it, making it melt and slide down the roof and into gutters. Zach collected the liquid remains of the Jumbo Pop with jars and put them in a truck. Zach and Fax got in the truck and drove off, with Dawn secretly following them.
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The truck headed to Snowpoint Falls, and Zach and Fax made fresh footprints in the snow. They then poured the melted Jumbo Pop liquid into each of the footprints along with popsicle sticks. They soon froze and became Pawpsicles.
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Zach and Fax drove back to Downtown Poketropolis and parked near a bank run by Togedemaru. Zach brought out the Pawpsicles and said "Pawpsicles! Get your fresh Pawpsicles! Only 5 Poké Dollars!" A group of Togedemaru exited the building and noticed the frozen treats. They grabbed the Pawpsicles, paid for them, and ate them up. After they finished, the Electric/Steel-Type Pokémon threw the popsicle sticks in a recycle bin. Once they left, the Recycle Bin opened up and revealed Fax, who carried the popsicle sticks with a wagon.

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Zach and Fax then headed to Pikachu Square and gave the popsicle sticks to a group of Raticate, passing it off as lumber.

"What's with the color?" Asked the Raticate.

"It's redwood." Answered Zach. Dawn was watching from some tall grass, and she was mad.

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Back in Downtown Poketropolis, Zach was giving Fax his share of the loot.

"39, 40." Said Zach. "There you go. Way to work that diaper, big guy." Fax then went inside his truck. "Hey, no kiss bye-bye for daddy?" Fax spat out his pacifier and gave Zach an angry look.

"You kiss me tomorrow, and you're in for a Fire Blast!" Threatened Fax, and he drove off. Dawn then appeared in front of Zach.

"Well," She began. "I stood up for you, and you lied to me. You liar!"

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart." Said Zach. "And I'm not the liar. He is!" Zach then pointed left and ran off. Dawn was too smart for that, and she soon caught up with Zach.

"All right, slick Zach." She said. "You're under arrest."

"Really?" Zach asked sarcastically. "For what?"

"Gee, I don't know." Said Dawn. "Selling food without a permit, transporting undeclared commerce across border lines, and false advertising." Zach then pulled out a piece of paper.

"Permit. Receipt of declared commerce." Said Zach. "And I didn't false advertise." The two Pokémon were about to cross the street, and Zach was behind a Chesnaught.

"You told that Raticate the popsicle sticks were redwood!"

"That's right. 'Red-wood'. With a space in the middle. Wood that is red." The street light turned green, and a herd of Tauros walked by. Zach was protected by the Chesnaught.

"You can't touch me, Carrots. I've been doing this since I was born."

"You might want to refrain from calling me Carrots."

"My bad. I just assumed you just came from some little Berry-choked hoedown, no?"

"I am from Diggersby Dunes."

"Okay. Tells me if this story sounds familiar. Naive little hick with good grades and big ideas decides 'Hey, look at me! I'm gonna move to Poketropolis, where predators and prey live in harmony and sing Kumbaya.' Only to find out, whoopsie, we don't all get along. And that dream of becoming a big city cop? Double whoopsie. She's a meter maid. And whoopsie number three, no one cares about her or her dreams. And soon enough, those dreams died, and our Lopunny sinks into emotional and literal squalor living in a box under a bridge until finally she has no choice but to go back home with that cute, fuzzy tail between her legs to become, you're from Diggersby Dunes? How about a Berry farmer? Does that sound alright?" While Dawn was walking, a Nidoqueen was carrying groceries and almost stepped on her.

"Be careful now." Said Zach. "Or it won't be just your dreams getting crushed." This made Dawn angry.

"Hey!" She snapped. "No one tells me what I can or can't be! Especially not some jerk who never had the guts to try to be anything more than a popsicle hustler."

"All right, look." Said Zach. "Everyone comes to Poketropolis thinking they can be anything they want. Well, you can't. You can only be what you are. Sly Zoroark. Dumb Lopunny."

"I'm not a dumb Lopunny." Said Dawn, trying to hold in her anger.

"And that's not wet cement you're standing in." Said Zach, and Dawn was, in fact, standing in wet cement. Three Bibarel were filling in a hole in the ground with cement.

"You'll never be a real cop." Said Zach, as he walked away. "You're a cute, meter maid, though. Maybe a supervisor, one day. Hang in there."

"Don't worry, madam." Said a Bibarel. "We're calling an Excadrill to help you out right now."
Author's Note: Viridian Street is named after Viridian City from Pokémon Red and Blue, as well as the remakes FireRed and LeafGreen.