Chapter 1

Silence surrounded him as he sat in his office chair. Absolutely no sound erupted or whispered from anything around him, but that was how he liked to do his work. Even at his foot, curled up by the lower right desk drawer, his Persian was wrapped up in a ball, enjoying the quiet time with an afternoon nap, though not a single snore came out of its nose.

Taking a break from the paperwork before him, he lifted the pen's tip from the paper, placed it on the desk and leaned back in the chair, letting in a deep breath before releasing it. The sudden movement caused Persian to stir, but it did not look up. These quiet moments were never taken for granted by him. It was much more relaxed than having to rush around with his tail between his legs in the shadows avoiding the police. Or running into miserable brats that always seemed to thwart his plans no matter what.

Looking around his office, beady black eyes looked around at his surroundings. His office was much more bigger than the one he had in the Viridian Gym when he was the Gym Leader there. He supposed that was something he had to thank Mewtwo for, as he destroyed it all those years ago when escaping his captivity. The office was much more spacious, and though it wasn't covered in a rug, it was tiled with purple tile. His desk was on an elevated platform, and in the middle of the huge area, a large red 'R' laid.

Picking up the pen, he read over the paperwork before him. The report read that a team of grunts had captured a large herd of Koffing. Excellent, he thought, a smirk growing on his face. Koffing had a sturdy defense, and its ability to use SmokeScreen would come in handy in missions that required a quick getaway. Not to mention, some of the more experienced Koffing would know Explosion to help clean up the dirty work. Pen flying across the paper, he wrote on the report to give Koffing to any new recruits who didn't have any Pokémon on them, and placed it in his outbox.

Breaking the silence, there was a knock at the front door. Eyes looking up from the papers in front of him for only a second, Persian immediately lifted its head, turning to look at the door with such offense that the person behind it woke it up from its nap. "Enter." With that one utter, the double door opened up on one side, and a young woman walked in, dressed head-to-toe in a crimson pantsuit and blouse combo – his secretary.

"Giovanni, sir," she spoke up, both as a greeting and to get his attention. That's what he always liked about her. She didn't waste time with pleasantries; she skipped right to the point without any mindless chatter to waste his time. "We've detected Legendary Pokémon activity on our cameras located in the Orange Islands."

"The Orange Islands?" he repeated. "If you're talking about the elemental birds, they're much too heavily guarded for us to attempt to capture."

"No sir," she responded without skipping a beat. "We've detected Mew." Never in his life had such a three-word sentence struck him with such surprise. His eyelids widened out of shock, and his mouth hung open only slightly. "Should we act upon this sighting?"

"Yes. The only time anyone has ever caught any video evidence of Mew was us about ten years ago," he responded, regaining his composure with a clearing of his throat. "I'll watch the footage myself, but let's send a response team right away."

"Yes, Giovanni, sir," Matori replied, pulling out a notebook and jotting down some notes. "Who should we get to lead this mission?" Giovanni was quiet for a long while, and he only opened the desk drawer by his right hand. Something shiny caught his eye, and he looked down to see the four Pokémon two of his Rocket Grunts had caught for him during their mission in the Unova region. He had almost forgotten that he had put them in there. Absentmindedly, he picked up one of the Poké Balls, rolling it between his fingers as the gears in his thoughtful head spun. Inside this Poké Ball contained a Pokémon called Amoonguss, a dual Grass and Poison Pokémon. Standing up, he pocketed the Poké Ball as Persian also rose to its feet and walked closer to its master.

"I will be leading this mission myself." The pen Matori was writing with skidded across the pad of paper, and auburn irises behind clear, oval glasses looked at Giovanni. "This mission is far too valuable for the underlings to screw up. I must have Mew for Team Rocket." Pushing in his office chair, he placed his hands in his pocket and started to walk out the side door. "Gather a large number of grunts, I don't care how experienced they are. Our success will come with quantity. Meet me in the video room. I will be sending you a text with the Pokémon I want to bring with me as well."

Matori only stared as her boss walked towards his personal door, and only bowed her head. "Yes, Giovanni."

o 0 o

Misty could hardly believe it. Finally, the time had come! As if she hadn't already done it about a million times, she pulled a pair of tickets out of the white envelope and read them through again. With excitement, aqua eyes scanned across the laminated pieces of paper. Even reading it over and over again, she couldn't believe her eyes. She had been invited as a guest to participate in one of Prima's tournaments being held on South Mandarin Island in the Orange Islands.

Not only was Prima one of her biggest idols, but she was also a master of Water Pokémon and part of the Elite Four! To be recognized by Prima as a Water-type Trainer was one of the biggest deals to Misty. Even her sisters were sort of jealous of their little sister, as even they saw Prima as an idol.

"Why does Misty get invited to one of Prima's tournaments and, like, we never did when we were the Gym Leaders?" Violet had whined when Misty opened up the official-looking envelop that had been sent to her.

"It's totally not fair," Lily muttered, the pout on her face apparent as she crossed her arms and looked away.

"Not fair? I worked hard to make this Gym what it has become! It's not just a ballet stadium anymore that gives away Gym Badges!" Misty shot back, trying to control her temper. It was hard not to around her bratty older sisters. "Besides, you girls don't even like Pokémon battles anyways, and that's all this tournament is."

"But we'd, like, get over that if we battled in a tournament in our honor," Violet retorted, only causing Misty to roll her eyes. Meanwhile, Daisy snatched the envelop out of Misty's hand and took out the contents inside.

"Hey, give that back!"

"Hold your Horsea, Misty. I'm just looking to see how many tickets there are," the blonde replied. Pulling out the letter on the inside, she shook out the laminated tickets, and frowned when only two fell from the inside. "Only two?"

"Yeah, and one is for me," Misty told her. Suddenly, she was surrounded by her triplet older sisters, each of them whining and begging Misty to take them.

"Please Misty! Take me to see Prima! I'd love a chance to meet her!"

"You don't need to meet Prima! I need to! She's super pretty and needs to give me beauty tips!"

"You need beauty tips, but not from Prima! More like from a plastic surgeon!"

"C'mon Misty! You've always been my favorite little sister!"

Though Misty was quickly overwhelmed by it all, she was secretly enjoying this. It wasn't often her sisters were groveling at her feet, begging her for anything. In fact, when they were younger, it was always the opposite. Clutching Azurill in her arms, she took a step back, but found she could go no further when her back hit the wall. Looking down at her sisters' eyes, she finally closed her own and took a deep breath.

"Okay! I know who I'm going to choose to take to the tournament with me," she announced. All three of her sisters gasped and smiled brightly, then glared at each other, as if daring the other to assume it was them.

"Well, who is it?"

"C'mon little sis, don't leave us in suspense!"

A smile spread across her face, and, knowing she held all the power in her words, slowly paused. "I choose..."

A sudden ring at the front lobby told Misty that someone had arrived and walked through the front Gym doors. "Ah! That must be Brock!" she muttered to herself. "Coming!" Pocketing the tickets in her back pocket, Misty made her way to the lobby, cutting through the arena in the middle of the Gym to do so.

Just as she had predicted, the previous Pewter City Gym Leader stood in the lobby, a hand in the pocket of the brown and orange vest over the collared forest-green shirt he wore as he waited patiently for the redhead. He hadn't changed much since Misty had traveled with him and Ash in the Johto region, but there were subtle differences. For one, he was taller than before, but Misty was too. He looked a little older now, but his coffee-colored skin was still clear of all blemishes or wrinkles. Smiling as she came into view, he took his hand out of his pocket and waved. "Hey, Misty!"

"Hey Brock! Thanks for coming with me! I know you're busy with your studies."

"Nah, I should be thanking you for inviting me! Besides, it's good to get out of the house and away from the books for a while. Not to mention, my folks are driving me crazy."

"You're preaching to the choir..." the Water specialist muttered, glancing back at the second floor where her sisters were most likely sulking about her not choosing one of them.

"But you should be really proud of yourself, Misty! Being invited as a guest to a tournament held by Prima of the Elite Four is no small feat! That just shows how far you've come in your Pokémon training! From one previous Gym Leader to another, and from a friend, I'm proud of you."

"Stop, Brock! You're making me blush!" Misty replied, putting a hand on her cheek and smiling giddily. "You were the first one who came to mind when I saw the ticket. Seeing the Pokémon of an Elite Four member and how healthy they are will probably be great for your studies! Plus, I think it will be nice to see you again."

"Yeah, I really think so!" Brock said, taking out a camera from his pocket to show her. His cheeks then turned red, and he got a familiar look in his face that made Misty's eyebrow twitch. "I'll get great shots of both Prima and her Pokémon for my studies."

"Don't make me regret this, Brock..." she grumbled. "I can still take one of my sisters, you know."

"Hey, speaking of which, where are those beautiful sisters of yours?" he asked, his head darting back and forth like an excited puppy. "I wanna see if I can get some shots of them too!" A flash of light shot out of his pocket, and a blue and black Pokémon with orange cheeks appeared at his side, raising a three-fingered hand.

"There's no need, Brock, because I'm sure they'll just shoot you down like they do every time you come here." This seemed to echo in Brock's head, and this snapped him out of his trance-like state, and he lowered his head in shame. "Don't worry Croagunk; I got this," Misty said, winking down at the Poison-type. Staring up at the Water Trainer for a few moments, Croagunk let out a scoff and looked away, almost as if it was disappointed it didn't get to stab its Trainer with Poison Jab.

"C'mon, we should get going. Our boat is going to leave soon," Misty proposed, reaching behind the counter to grab her pink shoulder bag that she had prepared for the trip beforehand. Recalling Croagunk back into its Poké Ball, Brock nodded in agreement, and the two left the Gym.

o 0 o

"Far! Farfar Farfetch'd! Far!" Letting out a happy laugh, the brunet looked up as a herd of Farfetch'd flew high above him. Each of the brown duck-like Pokémon carried their leek in their beak, and repeatedly squawked above as they flew above the bright blue ocean below in a V formation.

"It's amazing how many Farfetch'd I've seen!" Red said, holding onto the red cap perched atop his head as he watched the Normal and Flying Pokémon fly by. "They must really like the tropical weather here!" It had been quite some time since the events that occurred in Cerulean Cave and Mewtwo had been added to his collection. In fact, it had probably been over five years since all that went down. Though he was still the Indigo League champion, he found the life of the Champion to be a lot easier than he expected.

Only two Trainers had made it through the Indigo and Johto League twice a year, and most were not usually as skilled to get past the Elite Four. The closest anyone had ever come to battling him for his Champion title was a Trainer who made it as far as Lance, but the Dragon Master was able to sweep past his team with his Dragonite and Gyarados.

After all these years, he still had the same mission, however: to find Mew. He was determined to capture the elusive Psychic Pokémon. He traveled the Kanto region, following only rumors of sightings of the Phantom Psychic Pokémon, but they were the best leads he had. It wasn't a Legendary Pokémon for nothing, after all.

A few months back, however, Professor Oak told Red about the Orange Archipelago. They were a large group of islands that harbored all sorts of strange and unique Pokémon, and thought Red should check it out. He also mentioned that Blue was traveling through them as well, making his Pokémon as strong as they could be. Always ready for a new challenge, the brunet decided to explore the islands. Not to mention, these places were just new places that he could find Mew.

No, he wasn't collecting the Badges in the various Gyms here. Instead, he was exploring all the different islands, and seeing what kind of Pokémon were inhabiting them. He found it extremely interesting to see the Pokémon that lived on the island, and how the tropical atmosphere changed them. When visiting Valencia Island, he found Vileplume that had flowers much different from any other Vileplume he had seen, including his own.

Fixing the brim of his cap, he placed it back over the mess of brown hair that covered the top of his head, and turned to look over at the ocean. A school of Goldeen jumped out of the water, letting out an elegant coo as they did. Their leader, a Seaking, followed suit, and when he landed, the water had managed to spray Red. "Hey! Watch where you're spraying!" the Champion joked. On his shoulder, the yellow mouse Pokémon let out a squeak, lowering its ears from the spray of water that hit it as well. Sparks flew from its red cheek pouches in reaction to the water, but it shook the water off and smiled. "This place is really pretty, isn't it guys?"

"Pika!" the Electric-type replied happily. Red had captured this Pikachu after becoming Champion, and found that the little Electric-type had a great deal of power. It also had very sensitive hearing, and he was able to have it listen for Mew. That was, if it ever decided to show up.

"Laa!" his Lapras agreed with the pair. One of the Pokémon he had defeated the Elite Four with, Lapras was his main method of transportation in the Orange Islands – since not very many boats shipped from island to island. Reaching out, he stroked the Water and Ice Pokémon's neck. He was very proud of the Transport Pokémon and how hard it had worked. The trek across the oceans and rivers in Kanto were one thing, but the sea was very vast here in the Orange Islands.

Once again, another elegant cry came from his Water Pokémon, and Red's brown eyes looked up to see an island ahead of them. Excitedly, he stood up on the Pokémon's shelled back, a happy gasp sounding from his throat as all three of them saw the island before them. "Good eye, Lapras! Land ho!" he cried, pointing towards the island. With a new destination in sight, Lapras began to move its flippers quickly to reach the beach at the island. "That must be Kinnow Island! That old man on the other island was right!" Looking down at Lapras, he gave the blue Pokémon a smile. "We'll be able to rest there. Sound good?" Agreeing with its Trainer, Lapras gave one last push to get to the beach.

About ten minutes had passed, and the Lapras's stomach started to skid against the wet sand on the beach. Jumping off the Transport Pokémon's back, Red gave the Pokémon a stroke on its chin. "Thanks, Lapras. You're awesome."

Meanwhile, Pikachu jumped off Red's shoulder, its paws sinking into a crisp white sand that made up the beach. The Electric-type's brown eyes scanned the area, its ears twitching. There weren't very many things of interest on the beach, and it seemed like a pretty deserted island for the most part.

Movement caught all three pairs of eyes, and the group turned to see a young girl with shoulder-length brown hair that curled at the ends walking along the salt water. The ends of her overalls were rolled up to her knees, and she had a cream-colored sweatshirt tied around her waist. Her arms were out as if she were walking along a tightrope, and she hadn't seemed to notice the newly landed group, but the Growlithe beside her gave a bark, seeing the new strangers before his Trainer. This alerted the brunette, and she looked up, her crystal colored eyes looking into Red's brown ones.

Surprise colored them at first, but then she smiled and approached the three. "Well, I wasn't expecting to see anyone on this beach!" she spoke, putting a hand in between her knees as she lowered down and held a free hand out to Pikachu.

"Yeah! We just came from Fairchild Island, and it was quite a stretch, but Lapras can handle it!" When Pikachu didn't respond to her outstretched hand, the girl receded, though didn't seem disappointed at all. Instead, she looked up at Red with surprise.

"Fairchild Island? Isn't that the place with the huge Rhydon and Pidgeot?"

"Yup! But my Pokémon are pretty strong; I'm pretty proud of them!" Pikachu and Lapras let out a squeal of happiness at being praised by their Trainer, and the girl looked between the two as a thought formed in her head.

"Wow, you must be really strong..." she muttered, then gave the boy a smile. "My name's Andrea! You and I should battle! If you can take on those giant Pokémon, I'd like to see if I can fair against them, too!"

The idea of a battle brought a grin to the Champion's face, and he nodded with approval at her suggestion. "I'm Red! A battle would be awesome!" Looking at Lapras, he sent her an apologetic look. "Sorry, looks like that rest will have to wait a few more minutes." Nevertheless, the Transport Pokémon shook its head, fire burning in its eyes.

Running more up along the beach, Andrea and her Growlithe took one side of the beach, the white sand now sticking to her wet, bare feet. "Does three Pokémon each sound okay?" she asked, and Red approved of the decision. "Excellent! Okay Growlithe, you're up, boy!"

"Growwwl!" the Fire-type howled, trouncing forward and baring its teeth as if protecting its Trainer.

"Lapras, think you can handle it?" Red asked, turning his head to look at the Water Pokémon.

"Laa!" it replied, dragging itself onto the shore and facing the Puppy Pokémon.

"You're going to use a Water Pokémon on land?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, then gave her opponent a smirk. "Looks like you're underestimating my Growlithe."

"Nah, Lapras can handle itself just as well on land than it can on the water, right?" A coo was the response of the Water Pokémon, and that gave the start of the battle. "Alright Lapras, Ice Beam!"

"Growlithe, Flamethrower!" Andrea countered. Both Pokémon took in deep breaths, but spouted different attacks. From Lapras, a stream of sparkling blue liquid shot out of its mouth. Growlithe, however, fired a powerful blast of fire. The two attacks collided, and immediately exploded upon impact, kicking up a large amount of sand.

Pikachu held up his arms to protect its eyes from getting sand in it, but Red took advantage of the opportunity. "Body Slam!" Andrea gasped as the dust started to settle, and she looked up to see the large Water-type falling through the air, looking to squish her Pokémon.

"Flamethrower again!" Wiping off the shock on its face, Growlithe released another stream of fire from its mouth. This time, the fire attack made contact with Red's Lapras, hitting the underside of its stomach. Fire escaped from in between its flippers, and Lapras flinched as the fire scorched its soft underbelly, but this only managed to slow it down for a second, and it continued to make it way towards Growlithe. Cutting the fire short, Growlithe leapt out of the way just in the nick of time. With a loud bump, Lapras landed where Andrea's Growlithe had been just seconds before. Turing around to look at the striped pup, Lapras flinched, and suddenly its body began to glow with a red hue.

"Oh no, Lapras has been burned!" Red exclaimed, and Andrea gave a thumbs-up to Growlithe.

"Nice job! Now, let's use Take Down!" Throwing its head back and howling, the Fire-type began to charge forward. As it did so, its body became surrounded in an orange aura. Leaping up, Growlithe tackled Lapras with great force. The Water Pokémon seemed to brace itself for the attack, however, and lowered its head as Growlithe hit it. The two Pokémon struggled for dominance, but Lapras pulled its head up, sending Growlithe flying backwards. Flipping around, Growlithe landed on the ground on all fours, though white sparks appeared around its body as it was hit with recoil damage. Meanwhile, Lapras's body turned red once again as it took damage from its burn. "Wow, that Lapras has a lot of endurance..." Andrea muttered, her eyebrows raising slightly from surprise.

"Lapras isn't battling at its best because its exhausted from traveling..." Red whispered to himself. "I have to finish this now! Lapras, use Hydro Pump!"

"Laaa... pras!" With a cry, the Transport Pokémon fired a powerful jet of water from its mouth. Still recovering from the recoil damage, Growlithe couldn't do very much to counter the attack, and only let out a cry as the water attack enveloped it and carried it away. Struggling to get away from the super-effective attack, Growlithe jerked its body, and fell to the sand as the Hydro Pump fired off behind it.

"Let's finish it off! Use Surf!" Red commanded. This time, it was Lapras's turn to throw its head back, and it let out a loud cry that echoed throughout the beach. Andrea's eyes immediately darted to the sea beside them, and noticed the ocean was receding back, getting ready for a massive wave. Helpless to do anything, she watched as Lapras launched itself into the air, and a large wave rose from the ocean, catching and turning around its conjurer. Letting out one last cry, Lapras's body started to turn red as it took Burn damage before the wave crashed down onto the beach. With nowhere for Growlithe to run, the Puppy Pokémon was overtaken by the wave. As Lapras landed in the now-wet sand, the water pulled back into the ocean, and Growlithe was lying on the ground, covered in seaweed and swirls in its eyes. A relieved sigh escaped Red, while Andrea frowned at the scene.

"You did great, Growlithe," she commended, pulling out her Pokémon's Poké Ball and recalling it. Replacing it with another, she tossed it forward, releasing a Kabutops.

"Kabu, kabutops!" the Shellfish Pokémon announced, slicing the air in front of it. Pulling out his own Poké Ball, Red recalled Lapras, knowing if she got hurt anymore from the burn it got it wouldn't last long in this battle.

"Your turn, Scyther!" In a flash of light blue light, Red's green Mantis Pokémon appeared before him. Eyes narrowed as it looked at its opponent, readying its scythes for battle. It seemed almost jealous that its opponent had scythes just like it.

"An interesting choice...!" Andrea exclaimed, her smile widening. Despite being one Pokémon down, she seemed as though she was having the time of her life, and this made Red smile. He was glad that both her and him could have a good time and bond by battling. "Okay Kabutops, Aqua Jet!" Complying right away, Kabutops crouched slightly, and its body became surrounded by water. Leaping into the air, it rocketed at Scyther. The attack was quick, and both Red and Scyther gave a shocked look as Kabutops barreled at the Bug Pokémon. Within seconds, Kabutops rammed into Scyther, and the Mantis Pokémon skidded against the beach floor. With a wave of its scythes, Scyther knocked Kabutops off of it, and managed to break the Aqua Jet attack at the same time.

"X-Scissor!" Crossing its scythes in front of it like an X, the twin blades began to glow purple, and clear wings began to beat, sending their master flying towards Kabutops. Appearing behind Kabutops, a pair of purple energy blades at its chest disappearing in the air before the Shellfish Pokémon indicated where Scyther had struck it. Kabutops seemed shocked that its opponent could too move quickly, but the attack hardly had any effect on it. Turning around, Kabutops grumbled as Red's own Pokémon turned to face the Rock and Water Pokémon.

"Slash!" they both yelled in unison, and both Pokémon jumped at the other, delivering a barrage of scythe slashes. Though, with each strike of a scythe, a loud metallic clang echoed through the beach, almost as if swords were being parried. The suspense that hung in the air could be cut through with a butter knife, and both Trainers stared on the edge of their seats to see who the victor would be. Finally, both Pokémon struck forward once more, and their blades met once again. This time, another blade wasn't brought up, and the two shoved forward, trying to overpower the other. Either unwilling to give up, they jumped backwards.

"Scyther, Swords Dance!" Red ordered. Taking in a breath, Scyther stood up straight and crossed its scythes in front of it. It then began to spin around and around. The spin started to blow away stray sand, and soon the sand started to blow all around. Andrea's Kabutops raised a scythe to protect its eyes, but tried to keep its eyes on the bug Pokémon at the same time.

"He's trying to raise its attack power to try and knock out Kabutops quickly!" Andrea thought aloud. "Well, we won't let it! Kabutops, Hydro Pump!"

"Kabu!" the Shellfish Pokémon responded, holding its claws out. An orb of water formed in front of its body, and it fired a powerful jet of water from the orb straight at Scyther. The attack hit the spinning Pokémon, and though the wind Scyther had created managed to hold the attack for just a moment, it soon overpowered it, and rammed into it. Knocked out of the Swords Dance, Scyther was thrown backwards, sprawling on the ground.

"Hey Scyther! Are you all right?" Red called. Slowly, Scyther soon stood back up, though it was panting heavily. A relieved smile crossed the Kanto Trainer's face when he saw Scyther stand, and chocolate eyes turned to Andrea. "Your Kabutops is really powerful! You can tell you've really raised it well!" The brunette seemed to be thrown off by the other's compliment, but smiled back at Red.

"Thanks!"

"But we're not done, are we Scyther?" A cry of approval was heard from the Bug-type, and it shook its body to get any excess water off, and its wings began to buzz, lifting it off the ground. "Slash attack!" Kicking off the ground for speed, Scyther took off like a shot at Kabutops, raising a single scythe. "Its weak point is its stomach! Go for it!" he instructed, remembering his own Kabutops's weakness and using this to his advantage. Striking forward, the point of Scyther's scythe connected with Kabutops's chest, and sparks flew off the hard armor as the sword-like appendage made contact. Between the sheer power of Scyther's attack and the speed in which it shot at Kabutops, the Shellfish Pokémon skidded backwards, but both Trainer and Pokémon smirked as Kabutops stood up straight. "It's still not down?!"

"My Kabutops has a special ability called Battle Armor that protects its weak point!" Andrea explained. "Your Scyther is doing extremely well, I have to say! I figured it would have been defeated by now! Kabutops, attack with Slash!"

"Scyther, you too! Once more!" Like before, both Pokémon charged at each other, but this time, only a single scythe was raised from each Pokémon. In a flash, both Pokémon slashed each other, crossing scythes as they did so. The moment happened so fast that if Red had blinked, he would have missed it. A bead of sweat dripped down from underneath his hat as he watched the scene. Both Kabutops and Scyther passed each other, standing back-to-back. The moments seemed to pass like seconds, and suddenly, both Pokémon let out final breaths before falling to the sandy beach below. Eyebrows rose on both ends of the makeshift battlefield, and Red realized just then that he had been holding his breath. Giving a strange look of disappointment and happiness, he grabbed Scyther's Poké Ball and returned the Bug-type inside.

On the other side of the battlefield, Andrea pulled her Kabutops back into its own Poké Ball, giving a nod to the Rock-type that was pulled inside. "I'm impressed! You really are a strong Trainer, Red! Even though I'm losing, I'm still having a great time!" she commended, then retrieved another Poké Ball from her overalls and pushed brown locks behind her ear with her free hand. "But I'm not gonna back down! Venomoth, go!" Throwing the Poké Ball into the sky in front of her, the red and white sphere opened up, releasing a purple moth Pokémon with large, round eyes from the light that emerged.

Pocketing Scyther's Poké Ball into the pocket of his jeans, Red looked down at his feet. "Can you handle this, bud?" A determined look appeared on the Electric-type's face, and Pikachu ran onto the battlefield, sparks dancing on its cheek pouches to show it was ready for battle.

Eager to start the final round, Andrea pointed forward with a delicate finger. "Venomoth, Superson-"

"Pikachu, Electro Ball!" Red cut in, jumping in for the first attack. As Venomoth prepared the Supersonic attack, Pikachu bolted forward. The yellow Mouse Pokémon leaped into the air, and Venomoth flinched back in surprise at its sudden appearance. With a smirk on its face, Pikachu began to gather electricity at the end of its tail, until it formed a yellow and blue orb of electricity. With a flip of its body, it slammed the orb of electricity into Venomoth, sending it plummeting to the ground and cutting out its concentration for the attack.

"Venomoth! Are you all right, darling?" she asked, looking up as Venomoth struggled to stay in the air. Shaking off the attack, Venomoth looked down at its Trainer and nodded.

"Now use Iron Tail!" Not wasting a single moment, Pikachu landed on the ground, then bounced back up, its cheeks sparkling with electricity as it prepared for the attack. The sparks traversed down its body, ending at the tip of the tail where it began to glow silver. Flipping around, Pikachu swung its tail forward with enough force to smash a concrete wall. However, Venomoth anticipated this movement, and began to flap its wings forcefully. The action pushed Venomoth backwards, dodging the Fighting-type attack, but that wasn't all. The attack caused a twister of wind to appear in front of Venomoth, sucking up the Electric-type Pokémon in its Gust attack. Pikachu started to spin around, and a worried look ran across Red's face as Andrea smiled.

"Venomoth, Psybeam!" From its eyes, two beams of rainbow-colored energy burst out, striking the Pikachu that was trapped in the twister created from its wings. The Psychic-type attack had enough force to knock the Electric-type out of it and destroy the wind cyclone at the same time. Rolling on the beach below, Pikachu stood back up on all four legs, shaking away the pain the still subsided. "Now, use Sludge Bomb!" Andrea commanded her Pokémon. Taking in a deep breath, Venomoth released it as a glob of brown sludge that shot out of the moth Pokémon's mandibles.

"Look out Pikachu!" Red cried. Beady black eyes turned to look behind it, and the Electric-type reacted quickly, rolling out of the way of the Poison-type attack. In its wake, the glob of sludge exploded in a small detonation upon impact, causing a geyser of sand to shoot up. Seconds later, another Sludge Bomb whistled through the air, and Pikachu had to jump, just barely missing the right half of its body. "Time to wrap this up, Pikachu! Use Volt Tackle!" Knowing this was its Trainer's finishing move, Pikachu smirked and looked forward. Golden sparks danced on its cheek pouches, and it ran forward to gather energy. A white stream of energy was left behind it as it ran, but once a little distance was gained, golden electricity sparkled around Pikachu's body, pouring off the Electric-type's body so much that one could barely see the Mouse Pokémon inside.

Meanwhile, Venomoth kept up its Sludge Bomb attacks, its arsenal of poison explosives never fading. "We have to hit Pikachu before it can hit you, Venomoth!" Andrea instructed. Venomoth agreed, and fired rapid-fire Sludge Bombs from its mouth. As each one flew at Pikachu, the Electric-type swerved back and forth to avoid Venomoth's assault.

"Pika pika pika pika pika pika..." the Electric-type muttered, timing each utter of its name with a forward movement. Finally, the Pokémon reached Venomoth, and both Trainer and Pokémon gasped as Pikachu leaped up towards the Bug and Poison Pokémon. "PI-KA!" A huge explosion rocked the island as Pikachu made contact with Andrea's final Pokémon, and the loose sand that was kicked up from the battle now flew through the air, and both Trainers had to cover their eyes to avoid getting any of the particles in their eyes. Andrea's eyes narrowed, attempting to look through the smoke from the attack to see if she could find her Pokémon, though she already knew the outcome.

"Venomoth!" she cried. On the other side, Red's Pikachu jumped back, electric sparks appearing around Pikachu's body from the recoil damage, but it only flinched for an instant. Venomoth, however, had sparks dancing on its own body, and the Poison Moth Pokémon was on the beach floor, swirls in its eyes indicating it was unable to battle. As Pikachu and Red cheered in victory, Andrea only smiled lightly and recalled her Pokémon into its Poké Ball. Placing the ball back in her pocket, she approached Red and extended a hand. "That was a battle well fought. You're very strong!"

"Thanks! Your Pokémon did really well too!" Red returned, shaking the other girl's hand. "I'm not the Indigo League Champion for nothing!" Hearing this, the other girl's eyes widened, and she dropped her hand, holding it in her other hand as though he had shocked her with an electric buzzer.

"You-You're the..."

"I gotta go now. I promised Lapras that I'd bring her to a Pokémon Center. Thanks for the battle!" he told her, smiling and waving one last time before darting towards the path that led to town.

As Andrea stood there a little while longer, Pikachu, who had taken residence on Red's shoulder, watched the brunette for a bit longer as its Trainer left her. Just as it was going to turn around, however, Pikachu's ears twitched, hearing a foreign sound coming from the woods to their right. "Pika?"

"Everything all right, buddy?" Red asked, not slowing down. Pikachu's coal black eyes stared into the woods, looking for movement, but it could find none. Disregarding the noise, Pikachu only shook its head, and finally looked away.

Meanwhile, a spectator of the battle smiled widely. The small figure let out a giggle, large blue eyes looking down at the brown-haired girl a moment longer before bouncing off the large palm leaf it had been sitting on. Flipping through the air, it stopped dead in the air as its psychic powers took over, keeping it afloat. A long pink tail trailed behind it, but that soon vanished. With another giggle, a rainbow-colored energy covered its body, and the Pokémon disappeared from view with a single utter of its name.

"Mew!"