A PokéSeries #7: Pokémon Grand Theft

by Cyllya

*EPISODE not chapter; this has its own plot* NOTE: I'm *temporarily* ditching part six, so just skip from five to seven. Summary: All of Pallet Town's Pokémon are being stolen and Misty is kidnapped. Ash, along with Gary and Aura, have to save them.

Pokémon #7:

Pokémon Grand Theft

A/N: Okay, I decided to put Part 6 on hold. It needs a major make-over. There's not too much that happens in that part that you must know to continue with this one, but I'll list the key points.

Galacteon perfected his English-speaking abilities. Misty's Seel (the one she caught in Part 1 that was rarely mentioned since) evolved to Dewgong. Jessie caught a Magikarp that evolved into Gyarados. Ash and Co. get reacquainted with Aura, who lives in Pallet.

Since Scizor asked, I probably will put Scizor in this series sometime, but I'm already halfway through part nine, which is really long. Don't expect Scizor till part nine or later.

Chapter 1

Night Crawlers

"Time for bed everyone!" Mrs. Ketchem insisted to Ash, Misty, Tracey, and all of their Pokémon. They were all watching Pokémon Battles on TV. This was, of course, the fifth or sixth time she urged them to go to bed. Tracey, Misty, and their Pokémon decided to get up and go to bed at that point.

"Mime?" Mr. Mime asked, seeing Mrs. Ketchem look angrily at Ash.

"Two down, one to go," She said quietly. She took a deep and walked over behind Ash, "Earth to Ash! Bed Time!"

"Uh-huh..." Ash mumbled, completely absorbed in the match.

Mrs. Ketchem took another deep breath and counted to ten.

"Mr. Mime?" Mr. Mime asked.

"How?" Mrs. Ketchem repeated; she walked so she was standing to the side of the space between the couch and the TV, "I know how."

"[Then how?]" Mr. Mime asked.

"It's your usual cleaning problem when you think about it," she smiled and pointed at Ash, "Here we have the eyes." She pointed at the TV, "Here we have the television." She indicated the area between Ash and the TV, "And here we have the glue."

Mr. Mime smiled. They both went into the kitchen.

"Ooh," Ash said, "Gengar against Gyarados...!"

SPLASH!

Water and ice cubes came splashing down on him.

"Ahh!" Ash yelled as Mr. Mime turned the TV off, "That's COLD!"

"Change to your PJ's and GO TO BED!" his mom screamed, "NOW!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Ash scurried to his room.

After a few moments of silence Mrs. Ketchem cheerfully said, "Ice hardens and removes the stickiness from sticky substances such as bubble gum... and glue..."

~~~

Ash put his Poke-balls and Poke-Dex on his nightstand and went to sleep. Trainers throughout Pallet did the same thing. Gary, Aura, their friends, and even Prof. Oak with some of his pet Pokémon.

~~~

At about 3:00 AM (300 hours) Aura's bedroom window opened. Two flexible rope-like things came inside and gently wrapped around Oddish. Oddish awoke, startled. It started to scream and kick, but was restrained until it was pulled out of the window. Blue glitter sprinkled on Oddish, who quickly fell asleep.

The same happened with Bellsprout and, with a greater struggle, Charmander. There were two Ponyta in the backyard, but they were too big. There was a piece of metal and a lamp on Aura's nightstand, but they were useless. The rope-like things slipped out and the window closed.

~~~

Not much later, someone picked the lock on Gary's back door. Once in the room the three-foot-tall figure, took six Poke-balls, one PokéDex, three jars on Poke-food, and a Pokémon book. A yogurt cup was stolen from the fridge.

~~~

Several other trainers that only had a few Pokémon were also robbed. The thieves stopped outside the Ketchem residence and looked through the window at the five sleeping mice. They slowly walked past, not even opening the window.

~~~

The group of thieves stopped by Professor Oak's lab and crept inside. They plucked Poke-balls of Pallet's trainers from the shelves, one by one. Coincidentally, they started with the Safari Balls that held Ash's Tauros. When only one was left, the thief accidentally dropped it. When hitting the floor, it not only made a loud crash, but in a flash of red light the Tauros appeared.

The Tauros snorted, angry that it had been awakened. It stomped around threateningly and looked for its antagonist. The thieves quickly and silently ran out of the lab.

Groggy and tired, Prof. Oak cam in a turned on the light.

"Woah, settle down," he said to the Tauros, "Now how'd you get out?"

Too tired to notice that the others were gone, the professor put Tauros back in its Safari ball and placed it on the shelf. He turned out the lights and went to bed.

~~~

Once again, the thieves stopped at Ash's house. Hesitantly, they took a few things from the refrigerator and left again.

Chapter 2

Jenny's Frustration

"RING-RING-RING! RING-RING-RING!"

Inside the Police Station, the phone rang and one of the Jennies answered it.

"Hello, this is the police station," she said, "How may I help you?"

A pause as Jenny listened.

"A robbery?" Jenny began to write on her note pad, "What items are missing."

Another pause.

"Your Cukoo?" she asked, confused, "Your pet Pidgey, Cukoo, was stolen?"

Pause.

"When did you notice... Cukoo... was missing?"

Pause.

"This morning?" she asked, "Was... Cukoo... there last night?"

A pause.

"Okay then," Jenny said, "We'll get on it right away. May I have your address and phone number?"

Pause.

"Okay, thank you."

She hung up.

"Robbery?" her sister asked.

"Yeah," Jenny said, "Bet--"

"RING-RING-RING!"

The third Jenny picked the phone up, "Hello, how may I help you?"

She pulled the phone away from her ear as the person screamed loudly.

"Your beef stew was stolen?!" Jenny demanded.

The other Jennies could vaguely hear the woman yell, "I spent hours fixing that stew and I want it back!"

"I'm sure the stew was important, ma'am," Jenny said, "But we have bigger problems--"

The woman yelled loudly.

"Are you sure it wasn't eaten?"

More yelling.

"Your friends are missing food too?" Jenny reluctantly took down the names of everyone who was missing food. Ash's mom's name was on the list.

"Thank you for calling," she said sardonically.

As soon as the phone hung up, it rang again.

"Hello?" the first Jenny asked as calmly as she could.

A pause.

"Well, you're definitely the calmest person we've heard from," Jenny waited for a reply, "Yep, you're the third person who's called. Can you tell me what was stolen?"

She listened and made a large list.

"And you're calling for you friend too?" she asked, "What did she loose?"

…

"Okay," Jenny said, "We'll get on it."

"I'll get to work," one Jenny said, "You two keep at the phones."

"Right," the others said.

Jenny headed toward the back room in search of her equipment. She picked her gun of one shelf and looked in confusion at the other one, which was empty.

"Where are all the Growlithes?" she asked her sisters.

The other two looked with worry at each other. They shrugged.

"Uh! How could anyone get away with stealing police Pokémon straight from the station?!" Jenny said, "Oh... We'll have to do without till they're found."

"Good luck," her sisters said.

Jenny hoped on her motorcycle and sped off.

~~~

"Now, who needs to come out of their Pokéball today?" Professor Oak said, walking into the room that held Pallet's Pokémon; he stared at the shelf that now contained only one Safari ball, "Ahh! Where'd they all go?!"

He made sure the others were present, then searched for the missing Tauros.

The doorbell rang. Despite being frustrated, Prof. Oak answered it. It was Jenny.

"I'm a Police Officer," she said and held up her badge, "I'm requesting your assistance."

~~~

"I don't see what the big deal is, Mom," Ash said to his mom in the kitchen, "It's just casserole leftovers."

"It's not that it's missing," Mrs. Ketchem said, "But the thought that someone could come in and steal anything is unsettling."

"You have a point," Misty said.

Tracey nodded.

"Actually, I think the casserole is more important than that thought," Galacteon said.

"Pi?" Pikachu asked.

"I was gonna eat it..." Galacteon sniffled.

Ring-ring-ring! Ring-ring-ring!

"Can you get the door Ash?" Mrs. Ketchem asked.

"Uh... you mean the phone?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah..."

"Hello?" Ash asked, answering the phone. Prof. Oak appeared on the screen, "Hi Prof. Oak."

"Hello, Ash," Prof. Oak said, "I have some bad news for you."

"What's that?" Ash said, worried now.

"All but one of your Tauros were stolen," he said. "It seems several people in our town had their homes robbed. Do you still have your Pokémon with you?"

"My Tauros are gone?" Ash wondered, "Yeah, the others are here."

"Well the police would like to know if they could borrow a few of your Pokémon that have a good sense of smell."

"I'll ask if it's okay," Ash said.

"Who do you have to ask?" Prof. Oak asked.

"My Pokémon of course. Just a minute," Ash headed to the kitchen.

"He and Gary really are very different..." Prof. Oak thought to himself.

After a moment, Ash returned, "Galacteon will go. And so will Pikachu if I go with him."

"Very good!" Professor Oak said, "Perhaps after this predicament is over, you could come and allow me to study any rare Pokémon you have."

"Uh, maybe," Ash said.

"Officer Jenny is heading to your house now," Prof. Oak said.

"Okay," Ash said. Before he could say anything else, the doorbell rang.

"I suppose that's her," Prof. Oak said, also hearing it, "Goodbye."

"Bye," Ash said. He hung up and went to answer the door.

"Hello," Mrs. Ketchem said when Ash and Jenny came into the kitchen.

"Hi," Jenny said; she petted Galacteon, "We really appreciate you helping."

"It's no problem," Ash said cheerfully, then more seriously, "No one picks on other Pokémon trainers without picking on me too."

"My sisters suggested that we go in two groups and investigate some of the crime scenes," Jenny said, "Will your Pokémon listen to other people if you told them to?"

"Galacteon will," Ash said, "I'll probably have to go with you for Pikachu and Charizard."

"That works," Jenny said, "Come on, let's go."

~~~

Ash, Jenny, and Ash's Pokémon rode back down to the police station and left Galacteon with one of the other Jennies. Then they left with Charizard and Pikachu toward Prof. Oak's lab to investigate there.

"All but one of the Tauros disappeared," Prof. Oak said to them when they got there, "I think the thieves were going to take all of the Pokémon and start with the Tauros. Though perhaps they dropped the last one and the Safari ball opened. The Tauros started romping around and woke me up. That's probably when the criminals left. But when I put Tauros back, I suppose I was just too tired to notice the others were gone."

Jenny was writing furiously on her notepad.

"Pikachu, can you smell anything?" Ash asked.

Pikachu sniffed the floor. After a few seconds he wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"Pi-Pikachu," Pikachu moaned.

"Hmmm," Prof. Oak rubbed his finger on the floor and looked at it, "Appears to be Stun Spore powder. Not enough in quantity or freshness to stun a Pokémon, but Pikachu's nose may not work as well for an hour or so, now that it's inhaled it."

"Pika…Pikachu…" Pikachu rubbed its nose.

"Uh-oh," Jenny said, "I hope the others are having better luck."

Chapter 3

A Scent-sational Chase

"Meet my Pidgeotto, Galacteon," Jenny said to Galacteon, gesturing toward the bird perched on the back of her motorcycle.

"Pidge," Pidgeotto greeted.

"Hi," said Galacteon.

"Come on," the other Jenny said, "We have to get to work."

"I don't suppose we can stop by McDonald's on the way," Galacteon said.

"If you have to go to the bathroom, go now," Jenny said.

"Actually, I'm hungry," Galacteon corrected.

"We'll get you something, but you'll have to wait a while," Jenny said, "Get in."

Galacteon got into the rumble seat, and Jenny started the motorcycle. They sped down the street.

"So where're we headed?" Galacteon said over the roar of the motorcycle.

"One of the houses where a robbery occurred," Jenny replied. She noticed the house and saw she had nearly passed it. She slammed on the breaks.

"Jeez," Galacteon muttered to Pidgeotto, "You'd think the police would have better driving skills."

"[You can say that again,]" Pidgeotto replied.

"Nah, she might hear me."

"Come on, guys," Jenny said, hopping off the motorcycle.

Pidgeotto and Galacteon got off the cycle and followed her down the sidewalk. Jenny rang the doorbell. To Galacteon's surprise, Aura answered the door.

"Is this your house?" Galacteon asked.

"No, this is where Gary lives," Aura said.

Galacteon's ears drooped as Gary walked up behind Aura.

"Hello, my name is Jenny," Jenny said, "We're here to investigate the crime scene."

"Come in," Gary said and opened the door wider. He looked unsettled and confused when he saw Galacteon with Pidgeotto on his back.

"Do you know how the criminals got in?" Jenny asked Gary.

"Through the back," Gary said, still looking at Galacteon with distaste.

"Okay," Jenny said, "Let's go check it out. Come on, Galacteon."

Galacteon followed wordlessly down the hall. He sniffed at the mat at the back door. I know this scent, he thought. It seems familiar, but I can't place it. It's a Pokémon though. He followed the trail down the hall to Gary's bedroom. He sniffed at the nightstand.

"What was there?" Jenny asked Gary.

"My Poke-balls and PokéDex," Gary replied.

Galacteon sniffed the other side of the nightstand.

"There?" Jenny asked.

"A book," Gary said, "About Pokémon. The author was my grandfather's cousin."

Galacteon continued to sniff and circled out of the room. He went down the hall to the kitchen and sniffed at the refrigerator. Then he did another U-turn and went back down the hallway to the back door.

"Here's when they left," Galacteon said.

"Keep following the scent," Jenny said.

~~~

Ash, Jenny, and Prof. Oak were out behind the lab. Charizard was on surveillance while Pikachu tried to get his nose working again.

"Pi... ka... CHU!" Pikachu sneezed, "Pi...Pi... ka-CHU!"

"Bless you," Ash handed Pikachu more tissue.

"Pi, Pika-pi," Pikachu said.

"You're welcome," Ash said.

"Ka-pi-chu-Ka!" Pikachu yelled up at Charizard, "Pi-Pika-pika-ka. Pika, Pikachu. Pikachu."

Charizard landed and grumbled, "Rrrowwwrrr..."

"He didn't see anything except Pokémon tracks here and there," Ash said to Jenny and the professor.

"Hmmm," Jenny said, "Since we're not have in luck here, maybe we should try to find the others."

"Good idea," Ash said, "Let's go."

"We'll inform you of our progress," Jenny said to Prof. Oak. as she and Ash headed toward the motorcycle.

"Good luck," Prof. Oak said.

~~~

"Hey, wait up!" the other Jenny ran down the sidewalk after Galacteon. Galacteon was running with the scent he'd found. It was a very clear, easy to follow smell. Smells a little like tuna... Galacteon thought.

"Pig-yacht! Pig-yacht!" Pidgeotto cried from above Jenny. The bird Pokémon was looking behind them. Jenny skidded to a stop. Her sister and Ash were approaching. Pikachu was on Ash's head, and Charizard was in the sky.

"Galacteon! Stop!" the first Jenny yelled. Galacteon froze, but kept his nose to the cement.

"I see you're doing a good job," Ash said, right after the Jenny he was riding with screeched her cycle to a stop.

"Galacteon's going pretty fast," Jenny said, "Runs faster than Growlithe."

"We'll follow with you," the other Jenny said, getting off her motorcycle.

"Try to slow down enough for us to keep up," Ash said to Galacteon as he got out himself.

Galacteon gave a small glance of acknowledgment before continuing his glare on the sidewalk. I'll figure it out… he promised himself. What is it? I know…sorta…

"Pikachu," Ash asked, "Do you have your sense of smell back yet?"

Pikachu sniffed the air, "Pi…chu-pika," He held two fingers up together, as to say "A little bit."

"Okay, then," Ash said, "Let's go."

Everyone jogged after Galacteon. They went south and ended up going right out of town.

Galacteon continued until he got to a widened section of the stream that had a large rock in it. He looked at the rock with an unreadable look. He stepped in the water with one foot and sniffed the rock suspiciously.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"I think they went this way," Galacteon said, "I smell a human now too. Before it was just a Pokémon. They're both familiar, but I can't place them."

With that, he continued across the rock to the other side of the stream. Ash, Jenny, Jenny, Pidgeotto, Charizard, and Pikachu followed. They continued along a dirt trail.

"The smells getting dimmer because the dirt's getting looser," Galacteon said.

"But there are foot prints," Jenny said, "We'll follow those, but try not to step on them; they're evidence."

"Keep going," Ash said.

Galacteon did. Soon, the trail was joined by another one. Coming from the new trail was quite noticeable wheel tracks. The tracks went forward on the current trail.

"These wheel track are narrowed and un-detailed," one Jenny said as the other wrote, "It's probably tracks off a cart. And the foot prints... and some paw prints... go over the tracks."

"Just keep following me," Galacteon said.

As the trail continued, the dirt became more packed. The footprints and wheel tracks disappeared, but the scent was easier to follow. Ahead, the elevation lowered, but they couldn't see there yet.

"Hey look!" Ash said, looking at Charizard and Pidgeotto, who were on surveillance above, "They see something!"

Galacteon sniffed his way along fast enough to stay with the others as they ran forward. Everyone came to where the path led downward at an easy slant. Down the trail, they saw a Ponyta attached to a cart, heading toward them. There was also a cabin behind it. An old man stood at the door and a little girl played in front.

The cart continued along the path until it got to Ash and the others.

"Excuse me," one Jenny said to the man with a blue cloak driving the cart.

"Greetings, friends," the man said in a friendly way. He seemed nice, even though the hood of the cloak hid most of his face. His voice sounded old. "How can I help you?"

"We're investigating a theft," Jenny said, "May I ask what you're doing?"

"I'm taking vegetables and fruit that belong to my friends in that cabin to the market in Pallet," the man said. "That old man's daughter is the only one of the three that would normally be able to do it, but she has to take care of her daughter. The old man is blind. I do this for them. I sell half the produce at Pallet, then circle back to take the rest to a ferry that goes to Cinnabar Island."

"Hmmm," Jenny thought, "May I see what's in a few of these bags?"

"Certainly," the man got off his seat on the cart and walked toward the back. He pulled the strings on two bags and they opened, revealing vegetables.

"Carrots, tomatoes, and apples," Jenny observed.

"Pika-chu," Pikachu looked hungrily at the apples.

Jenny turned to the man, "Thank you. You may be on your way."

"You're welcome," the man said, "Is there any other way I can help you?"

"Yes," Jenny said, "Have you seen anyone suspicious around? Someone that appeared to be a Pokémon thief."

The man thought, "No. Aside from my friends, you've been the only people I've seen for the last few days."

"Okay, thank you," Jenny said.

"Good-bye," the man got back to his seat on the cart and rode away.

"Maybe we should try those people in the cabin," Ash said.

"The scent keeps going that way," Galacteon said.

One of the Jennies said, "I'll head back to the station and see what our sister has found out."

"Okay," responded everyone else as they continued down the path.

Chapter 4

Pikaclu

"Heh-woh!" the little girl said as Ash and the others approached.

"Hi," Ash said, "Can we talk to your parents."

"Mommy ith in da houthe," the girl said, "Whih Gwampy."

"Thank you," Ash said.

As they got closer to the cabin, Pikachu, who had been on Ash's head, jumped up onto the roof.

"Pikachu?" Ash asked.

Jenny knocked on the door.

"Hello?" a woman answered the door. She had eyeglasses with red frames and he hair was long and brown. It stuck out behind her suspiciously.

"We're investigating a Pokémon theft," Jenny said, "May we ask you a few questions."

"Certainly," the woman said, "Anything to help a police officer."

"May we ask the name of you and anyone who lives here?" Jenny asked.

"Well, my is Jessica," the woman said, "My father who is now in bed asleep is blind. His name is Jim. My daughter's name is Mia."

Ash noticed Pikachu fall through the chimney and land in the unlit fireplace. Pikachu shook the soot off himself and started prying around.

"What do you do here?" Jenny asked.

"We grow vegetables and such," Jessica said.

Pikachu hopped up on the windowsill and looked out. There was a good-sized patch of tilled soil. Half was covered in tomato-less tomato vines. The other half was bare, where the carrots had been removed. There no trees in sight, but Pikachu knew there was a single oak tree on the other side of the cabin.

"Was that man with the cart coming from here?" Jenny continued.

"Yes, that's my father's friend Robert," Jessica said, "He got all of the produce he had from here. He sells them at Pallet. I think he might sell some elsewhere, but it's my father that discusses those things with him."

Pikachu looked confused. He walked into the other room and saw Jim, the old man, sleeping on a cot. He still wore his glasses.

"Have you seen anyone suspicious around?" Jenny continued.

"Nope," Jessica said, "Haven't seen anyone but Mia, Father, and Robert for the last few days."

Pikachu investigated the area near Jim. There were three books near Jim. He had his fingers in one like he had fallen asleep while reading. Two of the books were about Pokémon and each seem perfectly normal. One of the two he wasn't holding didn't have words, just little bumps.

Pikachu looked up at a small table. There was a laptop computer and a birdcage with a Pidgey. The Pidgey didn't greet Pikachu at all, but it did look at him sadly.

"Pi-Pikachu," Pikachu said.

The Pidgey didn't answer. It just sulked.

Pikachu shrugged and continued poking around suspiciously. Then he paused, sat down, and thought. He knew there was something strange going on, but what. His stomach growled. He was too hungry to think straight. He attempted to push the thought of shiny red apples out of his mind.

"Pikachu!" he jumped up, his ears perked. He knew! It was these people who stole the Pokémon! He had figured it out! Sort of... he had to be sure before he told Ash and Jenny.

Pikachu jumped up on the table to the laptop. He pushed a few buttons until a window showing incoming email appeared. Pikachu read:

'You've got mail!

1. Get our new Comet Cursor!; From: Xoom.com

2. (no subject); From: op19042@aol.com

3. New: Enter Sweepstakes for Island Getaway; From: Xoom.com

4. New: IMPORTANT; From op19042@aol.com'

Pikachu used the mouse to click on the email entitled IMPORTANT. It hadn't been opened yet. It said:

'Tell Roland that the ferry going to Cinnabar Island is having technical difficulties. Make sure he goes straight from Pallet to my headquarters in Viridian City. Tell him to go through the edge of Pallet; going through the center might attract too much attention, and the less the police are involved, the better. If he's'

Pikachu scrolled down.

'already left, tell him when he circles' back near your cabin. I'll remind you again, DON'T screw this one up. This plan was laid out perfectly for you.'

Pikachu's ears perked. He heard a familiar voice outside with the others. It was Tracey. Pikachu heard him say something about looking for Misty.

Pikachu used the mouse to select the words in the message. He noticed it was a PC, so he pushed 'Ctrl' and 'C.' The words blinked. Pikachu dragged the arrow to the bottom of the screen and pushed start on the bar that came up. He scrolled through until he found "Word Pad."

His ears twitched. Ash and the others were leaving. Ash knew Pikachu was in here and wouldn't go far, but they couldn't cover for him.

He quickly pushed 'Ctrl' and 'V,' and the words appeared on the document. He went back to the email window and looked at the other emails. Numbers 1 and 3 were junk mail. The second one said:

'Now that we have everything set up, we can begin our mission. Infiltrate the houses at night only. If it makes you feel more capable, avoid the house where that one troublesome trainer lives. When Pallet has lost the rest of its Pokémon to us, then go there. I want the Galacteon, the Charizard, the two Pikachus, and the Pichus, and anything else you can get me. Do not fail.'

There was a link to the reply, which had been saved:

'Yes, sir! We'll give Team Rocket a remarkable victory!

-Jessie'

Pikachu copied both letters and pasted them in Word Pad under the other one. He went to "Outgoing Messages" and saw 'Re:(no subject)' and 'Captive.'

Pikachu clicked on the second one, which seemed to only have been sent a few minutes ago, before he, Ash, and the others came. It said:

'Hello, your excellency. I wanted to inform that a few moments ago, a young girl crept too close to our cabin and learned too much. We have tied her up out of sight, but we wanted to know what you'd like us to do with her.

-James'

Pikachu copied that message as well.

"Sneaky little brats," Pikachu heard "Jessica" whisper from the other room.

"Pi-Pika…" Pikachu said worryingly. He saw a box of floppy disks. He grabbed one, popped it into the computer, and saved his document as 'untitled.doc' on the disk.

"James, wake up!" Jessie yelled.

Pikachu froze. James stirred but didn't wake.

Pikachu ejected the disk, put it in his teeth, closed the computer programs, and ran for the window. Before he jumped off the sill, he saw Mia, the little girl, sitting boringly right beneath the window. Pikachu looked around desperately for a hiding place. He saw the closet. He ran and jumped to turn the knob. The door opened. And who should fall out, bound, gagged, and unconscious, but Misty.

Chapter 5

Evidence Revealed

"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu cried. He pushed on Misty's shoulder and shoved her back into the closet.

"JAMES?!" Jessie screamed, "Wake up!

"Chu…" Pikachu said worryingly. He dashed under the bed, just out of sight of Jessie, who came in and kicked James in the head.

"Ow! Hey!" James yelled, his glasses falling off, "What's the big idea?!"

"Wake up you oaf!" Jessie yelled, "We have work to do!"

"That's right!" Mia(Meowth) jumped in the window.

"Poetry time…" Jessie said, her eyes sparkling.

"Yep!" James agreed.

"Uh-oh," Meowth said.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie said.

"And make it double!" James rhymed.

"To—"

Meowth yelled, "Can we can it guys? The twerps and the cops could still be in earshot!"

"Okay, fine," Jessie said.

"And keep your glasses on!" Meowth snapped at James, "Try stumbling a little more! And limit the eye-contact!"

James put his glasses back on.

"Now lay low and act like farming civilians until we're positive they're gone,"

~~~

"We have to get Pikachu out," Ash said.

"Why did Pikachu go in?" Jenny asked.

"He thought he noticed something suspicious and wanted to check it out," Ash said, quietly adding, "I think."

"Maybe one of our Pokémon could go in," Tracey said.

"Who do you think is best?" Ash asked, looking at his Pokéballs, "Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charizard?"

"Bulbasaur," Tracey said, "Officer Jenny? Can you send you Pidgeotto to look for our friend Misty. When we split up to look for you, she disappeared."

"Sure," Jenny said, "I've seen her around. Pidgeotto, go look for Misty,"

Ash said, "Now Bulbasaur, you have to go in that house and find Pikachu. You can act like a friendly stray Pokémon, or you can sneak in. Whichever you find best."

"Bulb-a-sore," Bulbasaur said as Pidgeotto flew off. Bulbasaur walked back down the hill toward the house. He noticed the three people leave the house. Jessica started to trowel the garden. The old man stumbled to the edge of the garden and sat down. Mia seemed completely absorbed in a red ball.

Because of this, Bulbasaur decided stealth was better. He hopped through the bedroom window and looked around.

"Bulb-a?" he whispered loudly.

"Pikachu?"

Bulbasaur looked under the cot. There was Pikachu.

"[Hurry,]" Bulbasaur said, "[They're gone for now.]"

"[It's Team Rocket,]" Pikachu said, "[They've captured Misty!]"

"[How do you know?]" Bulbasaur asked.

"[I read some of their emails and Misty is tied up in the closet!]"

"[Oh, good proof,]" Bulbasaur said, "[Can we leave now?]"

"Pi," Pikachu nodded. He and Bulbasaur jumped out the window. Once outside, they peered carefully at Mia, who was still rolling around with the ball. They turned their heads forward and found another pair of eyes directly in their face.

"[Ahh!]" they scream. After a second, they realized it was just Galacteon.

"Jeez, don't have a hernia," Galacteon said, "Come on, Ash is worried. What's with the disk?"

"Pika-pi," Pikachu said.

"Come on," Galacteon said.

Bulbasaur and Pikachu with the disk followed Galacteon up the hill.

"Did you find him?" Ash asked as soon as he spotted Galacteon; he saw Pikachu, "Pikachu!"

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu cried, rushing to hug Ash. After the hug, he held the disk in Ash's face. Ash took and seemed confused.

"Where'd you get this?" he asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu pointed.

"In there?" Ash asked.

Pidgeotto returned and shook his head.

"It's okay, Pidgeotto," Jenny said.

"Bulb-a, Bulbasaur," Bulbasaur said.

"Team Rocket?" Galacteon asked, "Was the stuff on that disk already there?"

"Pi," Pikachu shook his head.

"You loaded it there yourself?"

Pikachu nodded

"Cool," Galacteon commented.

"If there's something important on it," Jenny said, "We can use the station's computer."

"Okay, great," Tracey said.

"Let's go," Ash said to Pikachu.

"Pika-Pika?" Pikachu looked hesitantly back toward the cabin.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu pointed at the cabin.

"What's that?" Galacteon asked.

"Pika-Pika ka-chu!" Pikachu moaned, hopping and pointing at the cabin, "Pika-Pika pi, ka chu! Pika-ka! Pika-CHU!"

Galacteon gasped and cried, "Oh-no!" He was off and running toward the cabin. His claws made deep groves in the top layer of soil as his legs push him toward the cabin...only, he wasn't going anywhere...

"Where do you think you're going?" Ash asked. He was standing on Galacteon's star-blade.

"Misty!" Galacteon yelled at Ash, "Pikachu says Misty's in there!"

"What?!" Ash demanded.

"Unfortunately," Jenny said, "We need proof or a court order to inspect anyone's house."

"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu cried, pointing to the disk.

"Yeah," Ash said, taking the disk, "We have Pika-proof."

"We can always call your Pokémon Pikaclu!" Jenny said, "Come on."

~~~

"Oh, my," Jenny said, "This is bad."

They were all back at the station. Everyone, including the other Jennies, were huddled around Jenny and the computer.

"Team Rocket," Ash frowned, "They have Misty."

"They've stolen almost every Pokémon in Pallet," the Jenny at the computer said, "We have to go after them!"

"Come on!" Ash said.

~~~

"All right," Meowth said to Jessie and James (they all had their disguises on still), "I just finished talking to Roland on the phone. He says that the cops are probably on to us all, so this is the plan. When he comes back here, instead of going to Cinnabar Island, we'll act like cargo and be taken to Viridian City, like the boss said. We don't have time to round up the twerps' Pokémon, so we'll have to get them some other time. And we need to find a way to keep from being followed."

"Alright," Jessie said; she used her thumb to point to the closet, "But what about the twerp's girlfriend?"

"I asked the boss what to do with her," James said, "but he hasn't responded yet."

"We'll take her with us," Meowth said.

"Okay," Jessie said, "We already sent her Pokémon with Roland, anyway. Better make sure she stays out though."

Suddenly, they heard a noise from the closet.

"That's my cue," Jessie said, taking out a frying pan. She went to the closet and opened it.

"HMMM!" cried the struggling Misty, who looked up with wide eyes.

"Time to go night-night!" Jessie said cheerfully.

BONK!

Chapter 6

Missile Mayhem

The three Jennies were driving quickly down the dirt path. They of course had passengers in the little seats that connected to their motorcycles. Ash in one, Tracey in another, and Pikachu and Galacteon in the third. Because they wanted to help, Aura and Gary decided to follow along. Since Gary didn't have his strongest Pokémon, he was riding a Dodrio. It was his Dodrio, but it had been at his grandfather's lab.

Quite suddenly, one Jenny saw something in the path. It looked like a string held by two rocks going horizontally across the path. There didn't seem to be any point in stopping because of it.

SNAP!

Four missiles zoomed up from nearby holes and spikes popped up through the dirt on the path. The Jennies screeched their motorcycles to a stop, but still ran over the spikes.

Charizard used Fire Blast on one of the missiles. It exploded.

"Look out, Charizard!" Ash called.

Charizard turned around just in time to catch a glance of another missile. It hit him in the wing and exploded.

"Rrrowwwrrr!" Charizard cawed. Everyone who was standing fell over when 200 pounds of flaming dragon hit the ground.

"Charizard!" Ash cried. Pikachu's Thunderbolt light up the sky and took out the remaining missiles.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked.

Charizard groaned.

Ash said, holding up Charizard's Poké-ball, "Return."

Charizard winced as he was drawn into the Poké-ball.

"I think this means they know we're on to them," one Jenny said, "Our motorcycles have flats; we'll have to go on foot to the cabin."

"Okay," Ash said, "It's just over there."

They half-jogged-half-walked down to the cabin. They saw a note on the door. It said, "Gone on urgent business. In case of emergency, contact us on Seafoam Island."

"On that disk it said that the man with the cart would be going to Viridian City," Jenny said, "He told us he was going to Cinnabar Island. The note says Seafoam Island. Where should we go?"

"We'll split up," another Jenny said.

"Shouldn't we check inside first?" the third said, "The note could be a decoy."

"Right," Ash open the door and looked cautiously inside. Nobody there.

The others followed him. They searched the house slightly. Pikachu opened the closet and looked inside.

"Pika-Pika," he said sadly.

"That's where Misty was?" Ash asked.

"Pi-chu," Pikachu nodded.

"Well, If they're not here," Ash said, "We need to go look for them."

"Hmmm," Jenny said, "There are seven of us and three places we need to be."

"Okay," one of the other Jennies said, "My sisters go to Cinnabar; Gary, Aura, and Ash go to Viridian; and just in case, Tracey and I will go to Seafoam Island."

"That works," Ash said. For some unknown reason, Gary gave Ash an unseen and unreadable look. He didn't seem too happy, and Ash didn't look at him.

"All right, then," Jenny said.

After splitting up, Ash, Gary, and Aura were left with a bit of delay. They needed a quick method of transport to Viridian, and with vehicles out of the picture, that left Pokémon.

Aura, wanting to be Pokémon battle-ready, had brought her strong—and untrusting—Ponyta. A Dodrio can fit one person, and one person only, on its back. Charizard was injured. And there was only one other Pokémon Ash had that was big enough to ride.

Chapter 7

Tauros and the Journey to Viridian

"If I can't ride Charizard," Ash wondered, "How do we get to Viridian?"

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu jumped, exited suddenly.

"What? You have an idea?" Ash asked.

"Pi-Ka!" Pikachu nodded, "Pika-chu! Pika pi-pi-ka! Pika-ka Pi-KA!"

"What?" Ash asked, not understanding.

"I'm not getting this either," Galacteon said, "but it involves which Pokémon to use."

Seeing that saying it wouldn't help, Pikachu tried to symbolize what he meant. He stood on all fours and rubbed his front paw on the ground. He snorted and continued stomping his paw.

"He's not going to ride you, if that's what you're suggesting," Galacteon said.

Pikachu shook his head and continued his motion.

"You're acting like that Pokémon?" Ash asked.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded.

"We don't really have time for a game of Twenty Questions," Gary said.

"It's… a horse?" Aura asked, ignoring Gary.

Pikachu shook his head.

"A Nidorino?" Gary asked.

"Tauros!" Galacteon said.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped up and began waving flags with Galacteon's face.

"Tauros! Of course!" Ash said, "I can ride Tauros!"

"Why do I get the feeling we're gonna end up with a rodeo?" Gary asked.

Ash took out his PokéDex and exchanged Charizard for the one remaining Tauros.

When the Safari Ball appear, Ash threw it and Tauros came out.

"Hi, Tauros," Ash petted him.

Tauros snorted and looked around. He wasn't used to this; the rest of his herd was nowhere to be seen!

"I'm your trainer," Ash said, "Do you remember me?"

Tauros looked him up and down, then continued to search for more Tauros.

"If you let Pikachu, Galacteon, and me ride you to Viridian City, we can find your friends," Ash coaxed.

Tauros snorted and lowered his head, as a symbol of acceptance.

"Thank you," Ash said. Galacteon boosted him and Pikachu up, then hopped on.

"Move up toward his shoulders and put your other Pokémon in their Poké-balls," Gary advised.

"Pika, Pika-pi!" Pikachu insisted.

Ash moved up and pulled Galacteon onto his lap, "Get in my backpack, Pikachu."

Gary shook his head sadly.

"Pika!" Pikachu said happily, coming to rest in Ash's backpack.

"Okay," Gary said, "Are we ready?"

"Yep!" Ash said.

~~~

After the first few seconds of bouncing and occasionally getting hit by a tail, Ash realized why you never saw people riding Tauros. But he was determined to get to Viridian.

"Geodude!" a Geodude sprang out from behind a nearby tree. It didn't look like it had come to say hello.

"Pika-chu!" Pikachu said angrily.

"Geo! DUDE!" Geodude threatened.

"Geodude is a mountain Pokémon," Gary said, "This is a prairie."

"Maybe it belongs to Team Rocket," Ash said, "It doesn't look friendly."

"Pi-Pikachu!" Pikachu jumped out of Ash's pack and onto the ground.

"No, Pikachu," Ash warned, "Your electricity won't work."

"Pika, Pika-pi," Pikachu said reassuringly.

"Okay, be careful," Ash said.

"I know your Pikachu is tough," Gary said, "But if it can't use its electric powers, there's no way it'll win."

Ash gave no acknowledgement.

"Pika-CHU!" Pikachu yelled. He used his Agility and charged at the Geodude. Before ramming into him, Pikachu jumped back, and his momentum threw him feet-first straight into Geodude's face. The surprised Geodude was knocked back.

Again using Agility, Pikachu dodged Geodude's Rock Throw. He slipped under Geodude and jumped on his head.

"Geo?" Geodude wondered. It shook violently, trying to remove Pikachu. Pikachu held on tight and wouldn't budge. Geodude grabbed at Pikachu, but Pikachu kept slipping out of the way. Finally, Geodude was so frustrated that he tried to punch Pikachu.

Pikachu jumped away.

BONK!

"Dude…" Geodude moan, swooning.

"Pika!" seeing Geodude was weakened, Pikachu did a Thunderbolt, "CHU!"

ZAP!

Thump! Geodude hit the ground and didn't get up.

"Come on, let's go!" Ash urged as Pikachu returned to his pack, "Good job, Pikachu."

"Giddy-up, Tauros!" Galacteon said gleefully.

Tauros, Pony, and Dodrio continued running down the trail. They were urged several times to go faster. Soon they caught up with the man called Robert.

The cart was going full speed, but because of the load, full speed wasn't very fast.

"Get it, Tauros!" Ash ordered.

"Tauros is a little too tired," Galacteon said, "But if he keeps his pace, I'll get it!"

Galacteon squirmed forward so that he was leaning on Tauros's head. He did his Moonbeam attack twice, one on each back wheel.

SNAP! SNAP!

The cart went much slower suddenly, but the desperate driver made it keep sliding. As Tauros approached, Galacteon jumped onto the back of the cart.

"Stay back, you little beast!" yelled a familiar voice.

Jessie rose up from the bags in the cart and tried to hit Galacteon with a stick. Galacteon cut it in half with hit star-blade.

"Hah!" James appeared the same way Jessie had, "Let it be known that we were ready for that sharp-edged tail of yours!"

"And the high-voltage power of your little Pika-pal!" Jessie added.

Meowth popped out. He was holding up three large silver ovals. He said, "We have..."

"Shields!" the three of them said.

"Stainless steel," James said.

"And lined in rubber," Jessie added. They each took one.

"So you can't do a thing!" the three of them said. They laughed.

"Stainless steal, huh?" Galacteon asked, "Then what's that little spot."

"It works!" Jessie laughed along with her friends.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Galacteon used Cut three times—one per shield. As Team Rocket laughed, the top halves of each shield slowly slid off the bottom half. Team Rocket looked at the fallen halves.

"Uh-oh..." They muttered.

Galacteon grinned.

"Pokéballs! Go!" the driver yelled, once the cart had stopped. His three Pokémon, an Electabuzz, a Cloister, and the weakened Geodude stood ready.

"PIKACHU!" Pikachu yelled as he joined the battle.

"Quick!" the driver yelled to his teammates, "Release every Pokémon you have!"

James released Weezing and Victreebel and Jessie released Arbok, Lickitung, and Gyarados.

"CHU!" Pikachu fried the five of them, made a quick observation of his victory, and bowed.

"I have an idea!" Jessie said, seeing James and Meowth moping over how quickly their Pokémon had lost, "We can use the stolen Pokémon!"

"No, you idiots!" the driver yelled.

"Relax, Roland," Jessie said, picking a Poké-ball from a bag, "we know what we're doing!"

"This feels like a winner!" Meowth held a Pokéball up to Jessie.

"Right!" Jessie took the Pokéball and threw.

"NO!" Roland yelled.

When the Poké-ball opened, a medium-sized Pokémon appeared with a confused, worried look.

"Raichu!" Gary shouted.

"Rye-rye!" the worried look disappeared as the Raichu charged and jumped at Gary. It knocked Gary clear off the startled Dodrio. This was his second Raichu, the stronger and smarter of the two.

"Nice to see you too," Gary muttered as Raichu hugged him.

"CHU!" Pikachu refried the Geodude and turned toward Electabuzz and Cloister.

"Cloister!" Cloister said. It tried to clamp Pikachu.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu called.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled as all but Pikachu's tail disappeared into Cloister's shell.

"Hey, let go! Let go!" Galacteon yelled at Cloister. He scratched, gnawed, and cut at the shell but it didn't work. Pikachu's tail was limp. He was unconscious.

"Raichu! Thundershock!" Gary ordered, pointing at Cloister.

"Rye…CHU!" Raichu charged at Cloister and did Thundershock. Because the hard shell was closed and didn't conduct electricity, the seemed to be no effect.

Pikachu's tail twitched and perked. The electricity had woken him up. Inside the shell, Pikachu looked fearfully at Cloister, who had an impudent grin. As they both realized what was about to happen, their expressions swapped.

"Pi…ka…CHU!"

Extra electricity escaped through Cloister's shell. The whole Pokémon tipped over and opened. Pikachu jumped out.

"Rye-rye-chu!" Raichu called to Pikachu.

"Pi?" Pikachu asked.

"Raichu-rye," Raichu said, "Raichu-rye-rye-chu. Raichu."

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"Raichu!" Raichu threatened Electabuzz, "Rye…Raichu!"

Electabuzz used its Thundershock, but Raichu use his big feet and long tail to help him jump out of the way.

"R-r-r-rye!" Raichu giggled, "R…rye-CHU!"

"What are they doing?" Aura asked Gary and Ash.

They both shrugged their shoulders.

Pikachu was heading around behind Electabuzz. He was very quiet.

"Yo, Ash?" Galacteon asked, "The bad guys are carrying the cart away; I'll follow 'em!"

"Be careful and don't go far," Ash said.

"Raichu!" Raichu continued. He stuck his tongue out at Electabuzz.

Just as Electabuzz charged up for a Thunderbolt, something slammed into the back of his head.

"Pika-CHU!" Pikachu used his Thunderbolt instead. Then as Electabuzz was swooning, he jumped away and Raichu did a Thunderbolt.

Electabuzz fell flat on its face.

"Pika!" Pikachu cried happily.

"[Nice work,]" Raichu said, "[You battle pretty good for a little Pikachu.]"

"[Thanks…I think,]" Pikachu replied.

"[It's a shame our trainers don't like each other,]" Raichu said as Gary picked up Raichu's Pokéball.

"[I guess,]" Pikachu said.

"[Nice working with you,]" Raichu disappeared into his Poké-ball.

"Let's grab the Pokémon that those guys dropped, then go find Galacteon," Ash said.

"A lot of the Poké-balls are Safari Balls," Gary pointed out, "Are they yours, Ash?"

"I'll check," Ash said. He opened each Safari ball. Each one was a Tauros.

"Is that all of them?" Ash asked the other Tauros.

Tauros nodded and went over to greet his friends.

"Okay, return everyone," Ash made all the Tauros except one of the new ones return.

"Why are you leaving that one out?" Aura asked.

"I still need a ride, don't I?" Ash replied; he said to Tauros, "You'll help me try to get everyone's Pokémon back right?"

Tauros frowned, uneasy.

"Come on," Ash said, "You don't want a bunch of Pokémon to get hurt do you? I need to ride you to Viridian City. It's not that far now."

After a few moments of consideration, Tauros accepted.

Chapter 8

The Underground Passage

"There are three other Pokéballs that they dropped," Aura said, "We should check those out."

Since Gary was the only one who hadn't remounted, he opened each Pokéball one at a time. The first Pokémon was an Oddish.

"Oddish!" Aura cried.

"Oddish! Oddish, Oddish!" Oddish was lifted to Aura via Pony.

"Nice to have you back," Aura said.

The next one was a Slowpoke.

"Who does that belong to?" Ash asked.

"Don't know," Gary put the Slowpoke back and opened the next one.

"Pika chu!" Pikachu cried, surprised.

"Psy-yi-yi-yi?" the Pokémon said.

"Psyduck?" Ash said, "That's Misty's Pokémon."

"Then you carry it," Gary put Psyduck back in his Pokéball and gave it to Ash.

"Right," Ash put Psyduck's Poké-ball in his backpack with Pikachu.

Gary got back on Dodrio, and everyone continued to run toward Viridian City.

~~~

After a few minutes, they saw the buildings of Viridian.

"I wonder where Galacteon is," Ash said as they galloped up to the city's edge,

"He might have gotten caught," Gary said.

"Maybe," Ash said.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu pointed at the wall of the closest building.

"What?" Ash asked. He looked were Pikachu was pointing. There was a small imprint of a star. A trail of stars went all the way down the building and to the next one.

"Galacteon's Moonbeam attack is star-shaped," Ash thought, "But it would go deeper into the wall unless he was low on energy."

"Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"Was he making a trail for us, you think?" Aura asked.

"I guess," Ash said, "Lets follow it."

A few people on the street looked at them strangely as they passed two buildings and headed down an ally. The steps of their Pokémon echoed on the cement.

"This is a dead end," Gary said looking at the brick wall.

Pikachu sniffed around on the cement. About ten feet from the wall, there was a crack between to two slabs of cement. Pikachu looked at it suspiciously.

"It's just a crack," Gary said.

Pikachu inspected it carefully. It seemed like there was nothing beneath the crack. No wood or dirt. His ears shot up and he practically slammed his nose into the crack.

"What is it?" Ash asked.

Pikachu blew air out of his mouth.

"Blow?" Ash asked, "Wind? Air?"

Pikachu nodded.

"There's air coming from the crack?" Ash got off Tauros and went to feel, "There is air coming out."

Pikachu sniffed at the crack. He quickly changed his hair and ears to resemble Galacteon.

"You smell Galacteon down there?" Ash asked. Pikachu nodded.

"I think that crack is a little small for much more than a piece of paper to slip through," Gary said.

"Hmm," Ash though, "Give my brain a jumpstart, Pikachu."

ZAP!

"Maybe there's a switch!" Ash exclaimed, "Like in those old movies with the bookcases and all. Maybe if you press on a brick."

"Pretty out of proportion, but it's worth a shot," Gary said. He and Aura got off their Pokémon and started helping Ash push bricks.

"We've pushed every brick that we can reach, even when we're on our Pokémon," Gary said when they were done, "It's no use."

Ash frowned, knowing he was right, "But Galacteon and Misty are down there, so I'm not giving up!" He jumped up and down on the crack.

Out of frustration, Gary kicked a nearby rock. Instead of flying into the wall, it just slid a few inches.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu cried as the entire piece a cement between the walls and the crack slowly lowered.

Ash fell over onto the sinking cement. Pikachu jumped down with. Gary, Aura, and the Pokémon followed. The cement lowered into the darkness.

"What is this?" Aura asked.

"It's probably the entrance," Gary said. "If they unhooked the Ponyta for a few seconds, the cart would fit on this piece of cement."

The cement stopped moving.

"So it's kind of like an elevator?" Ash asked.

"Yep," Gary said.

"Since it's so dark," Aura said, "Pony and I will lead the way."

"Be careful," Gary said.

There were walls on three sides of the elevator, so Aura led Pony in the fourth direction.

"What so you suppose this is for?" Gary asked, looking at a lever sticking out of the wall. His mane and tail lit the darkness.

"Maybe it takes the elevator thing back up," Ash said, "There must be some way of closing it from the inside, or it would have been open when we came to it."

"Pika," Pikachu said to Ash.

"More stars," Aura said.

"Good," Ash said, "There might be forks in this tunnel."

"Speaking of which," Gary said as they continued moving, "Has anyone considered where this tunnel might lead."

"It must lead to where they're taking the stolen Pokémon," Ash said.

"Well that was pretty obvious," Gary said with a hint of snobbery.

Ash frowned at the remark.

"Fork up ahead," Aura said, "Stars go left."

"Then head left," Ash said.

Aura headed left and watched for more stars. Gary, Ash, Pikachu, Tauros, and Dodrio followed.

"Pika-pi?" Pikachu said, "Pi-Pika-ka. Pika-chu."

Pony whinnied, and Tauros snorted.

"They must smell something," Gary said.

Before anyone else could respond, water gushed toward Pony. It hit him in the chest, knocked him back, and stopped coming.

"Pi...ka...CHU!" Pikachu used Thundershock on the attacker in the darkness. There was a bit of growling and howling sounds before Pikachu got thrown into Ash's chest. Ash got knocked down, but Pikachu quickly stood back up and prepared to charge.

"Pony! Stomp!" Aura ordered.

As Pony charged at his target, his mane and tail lit the area around it. The others could clearly see an electrically injured Vaporeon. When Pony started trying to stomp on its tail, the Vaporeon turned and ran. Pony started after it but returned when Aura called.

"Good job, Pony," Aura said, "Are you okay?"

Pony neighed and nodded.

"You know, Ash," Gary said snidely, "You should have trained Pikachu not to run off and attack something with out you telling it to."

The way he'd said it made Ash mad, but he was determined to keep his cool and simply explain why he hadn't trained Pikachu that way.

Why haven't I trained Pikachu that way? Oh, yeah, Ash thought. He said, "Pikachu and I spend a lot of time together so we know each other very well. Between that and the fact that Pikachu's intelligent, he knew that I would have wanted him to attack when the Vaporeon attacked Pony."

"Oh, please," Gary said sarcastically, "The only living creature your Pokémon are smarter than is you. If you were a decent trainer, your Pokémon would wait for your orders."

"Pikachu and I are smart!" Ash said, now outraged that Gary had insulted Pikachu too, "Pikachu knew my orders because he knows I'm a caring person. And Pikachu and I both know that electricity has and advantage against water-types and fire has a disadvantage. Pikachu knew I'd want him to help Pony."

"So now you're using the Ponyta as an excuse?" Gary said, "So pathetic."

"You know," Aura said in an attempt to change the subject, "we should keep moving..."

"You don't have enough skill to be a good trainer," Gary ignored Aura, "If you were any good, you at least have more Pokémon."

"Maybe I don't have a lot of Pokémon," Ash said, "But the ones I have are great! You can only carry six Pokémon at a time anyway!"

"What do you mean your Pokémon are great?!" Gary demanded, "You don't have a Rock-type and your strongest Water-type is a Squirtle!"

"Don't pick on my Squirtle!" Ash yelled.

"No wonder the Charizard didn't listen to you in the Pokémon League!" Gary said.

"What about--" Ash began.

"SHUT UP!" Aura screamed. Suddenly the only sounds in the entire tunnel were the faint echoes of her voice.

Gary, Ash, Dodrio, Pikachu, and Pony all seemed a bit surprised. Aura looked back and forth between Gary and Ash to see if either of them dared not listed to her.

"Look," Aura said loudly, "If I wanted to waste my time listening to people argue instead of helping get this job done, I would have stayed home and watched Jerry Springer. Now even your Pokémon are looking at the two of you like you're total idiots. If both of you don't shut up right now, I'm gonna RIP OFF YOUR HEADS! GOT IT?!"

"Yes ma'am..." Gary and Ash said in unison.

"That's good," Aura said calmly, "Now can we be going?"

Chapter 8

Giovanni's Prison

Jessie, James, Meowth, Roland, and Roland's Ponyta dragged the cart full of Pokémon into a large room with a high ceiling, blue title, and dim florescent lights. There were several isles of cages, some small, some medium, some large. In some cages, there were Pokémon. The cages were much too tight, but each Pokémon did have just enough room to stand and walk in a tight circle. On the far wall of the room there were cages hanging from chains into a large aquarium.

All of the Pokémon were quiet so Team Rocket's footstep echoed in the big room. The first thing they did in arriving was head over to the table on the right side of the room near the largest cages.

"Set the cart down here," Roland said.

The others gratefully obeyed.

"Bet you're not so tough now that we've drained all your energy with Stun Spore," Jessie teases Galacteon, who was tied up in the cart.

When Roland took the bags out of the cart, Misty, who was also unconscious and tied up, was visible.

"James, use your Victreebel's Sleep Powder on these Pokéballs," Roland began sitting the Poke-balls on the table.

"Victreebel, Sleep Powder!" James ordered.

Victreebel sprayed blue powder over the Poke-balls.

"Good Victreebel," James commended.

Victreebel tried to eat James again.

"Victreebel, return..." James muttered from inside of Victreebel. Victreebel returned.

"Now let's open them up and put them in the right cages," Roland said.

"What about the girl and the mutt?" Jessie asked.

"Hmmm," Roland thought, "Put them both in a cage. Second-largest."

James walked over to the rows of cages near him, "Are these right?"

"Yeah," Roland began opening Pokéballs. The Pokémon inside them were asleep thanks to Victreebel. The first one was a Ditto. Roland placed it in a nearby glass cube and closed the lid.

"Jessie, can you help me?" James moaned, "This Galacteon is heavy!"

"Fine..." Jessie said. With a struggle, they lifted Galacteon off the cart and shoved him into a cage on the bottom row. They did the same to Misty.

"Ooh, a Dragonite," Roland commented. He returned Dragonite and re-opened the Poke-ball into a Dragonite-sized cage.

"This one's a Bulbasaur," Meowth said, helping Roland.

"Looks awfully puny compared to that twerp's Bulbasaur," Jessie said.

"What did you guys find when you went to that one person's house?" Roland asked, though continuing to sort the Pokémon.

"Since he and his friends weren't there, we found these!" James held up a Pokéball and a picnic basket.

"A Pokémon and food?" Roland asked.

"No," Jessie said, "See for yourself."

Roland opened the Poke-ball and the basket. He smiled, "Pichus!"

"Four electric mice total!" Jessie bragged.

"Who told you there were four?" Roland asked, "I didn't figure you were intellectually advanced enough to count."

"Excuse me?" Jessie demanded.

Roland shook his head and said, "Nice catch. Even the adult one's a little small though."

"Hey," James said, "Those are the family of that twerp's super-Pikachu. They can't be as weak as they look."

"I suppose not," Roland said.

Suddenly another pair of feet echoed throughout the room.

"Oh, hello sir," Roland said fearfully.

"Hello," Giovanni said with little enthusiasm.

Meowth glared at the Persian that followed at Giovanni's heels. It grinned mockingly.

"Did you get anything useful yet?" Giovanni asked wearily.

"Four electric mice," Jessie squeaked.

"And Galacteon," James added.

"And a bunch of others," Meowth whimpered.

"And that girl," Roland said, "She found out too much, and we wanted to know what we should do with her."

"What else?" Giovanni said, "You... dispose of her..."

"You mean kill her?" James said. It's one thing to be a thief, but a murderer?

"Yes," Giovanni said, "But don't do it now. There are probably too many of her friends snooping around to take her somewhere else, and I don't want any dead bodies lying around in here."

"Yes, sir," Jessie said timidly.

"Good job with what you have so far," Giovanni, "Get a few more good ones and all four of you get a raise."

"Sir?" Roland asked, "Can an Arcanine be considered one of the few more good ones?"

Roland moved aside to reveal an Arcanine asleep on the table.

"I'd say yes," Giovanni said slyly.

~~~

An hour or so later, Giovanni with Persian walked down the isles of cages inspecting the Pokémon his employees had captured for him. When they went down the last isle, they noted that Galacteon seemed more alert, even though he was still tied up, He had leather strips tying his front paws together, his back paws together, and his mouth closed.

"Reeow?" Persian meowed.

"Yes, you're right," Giovanni said, "I told those idiots not to leave the Pokémon tied up. It's bad for their health and I don't want sick Pokémon."

Swiftly, to keep from being clawed or bitten, Giovanni kneeled down and slipped the straps off Galacteon.

Persian growled.

"No, no," Giovanni said, "The others may be prisoners, but this creature here is our guest…"

Persian seemed surprised. Galacteon seemed a little confused as well.

"You should feel honored," Giovanni said to Galacteon, "Of all the Pokémon that have been stolen for me, you're my favorite."

Galacteon didn't show any expression, just continued staring in a look so hard it could nearly drill a hole though a person.

"See, I could use you for so much," Giovanni continued, "You have catlike reflexes, your eyes are intimidating, and most of all, you have power."

Persian glared back and forth between his master and Galacteon.

"I could help you make your power infinite," Giovanni said, "But a wildfire destroys everything in its path. I can teach you to use your power properly."

Galacteon seem non-enthused.

Persian growled suddenly, but not at Galacteon.

"Why, what's this?" Giovanni stood up and looked at the next cage, "Looks like our other little visitor has awakened."

Misty groaned. She tried to struggle out her ropes. She also tried to talk, but she couldn't because of the cloth over her mouth.

"Seems like you have something important to say," Giovanni slipped the cloth of her mouth.

"I don't know who you are or where this is!" Misty shouted, "But my friends are gonna come and get you! Ash Ketchem is the greatest Pokémon trainer ever, and his Pokémon will annihilate you!"

"Nope, I was wrong," Giovanni put the cloth back over her mouth.

"MMM!" Misty cried through the cloth.

"Now where were we?" Giovanni said, kneeling by Galacteon, "Ah, yes. Wouldn't you love to use your power properly? It could help you so much. What do you say?"

As foolish as it was, he put his hand through the bars near Galacteon's nose.

Persian stood ready, expecting Galacteon to bite him. He could practically hear Galacteon's brain grinding away in thought.

Then, like a canine or something, Galacteon licked his hand.

Chapter 9

Galacteon vs. Persian

"Watch where you're going," Gary snapped when Ash bumped into him.

"Sorry," Ash said sardonically, "If you hadn't just stopped suddenly for no reason, I wouldn't have run into you."

"I thought I heard something," Gary shot back, "It's not my fault you're deaf!"

"I'm not deaf, you're hearing things!" Ash said.

"Y—"

"Um, excuse me!" Aura said, "Cut it out now or else…"

Gary and Ash glared at each other, then wordlessly continued to follow Aura.

~~~

Click!

Giovanni used a key to open the door of Galacteon's cage. He slipped a collar around his neck and clipped a leash on it.

Galacteon looked at the leash in loathing.

"It's just till we get to know each other," Giovanni said, "Then I'll take it off. I promise."

Galacteon gave no response.

"Come on," Giovanni gave the leash a slight tug, and Galacteon walked out of the cage. Misty looked at him, stunned. As they passed Galacteon turned his head to face her. Persian, who was watching him closely, could only see the back of his head, but still noticed Misty's look soften.

"Now," Giovanni said as they left the room and entered one that was made of steel.

The room was completely plain except two doors and a large window next to the down they hadn't come through. There were the marks of a stadium on the floor.

"I want to know just what you can do, so I'll know where to start… Hmm, which Pokémon would be a fair match?"

"Reeow!" Persian growled.

"Well if you must have your battle for dominance," Giovanni said, "Might as well have it now."

Persian and Galacteon each took positions on the opposite sides of the stadium. Giovanni unclipped Galacteon's leash and headed through the second door and looked back in through the window.

Persian roared and sprang toward Galacteon. Galacteon crouched slightly, but didn't move. Just when Persian was about to finish his tackle, Galacteon simply sidestepped, causing Persian to land flat on his face. Galacteon giggled quietly, but Persian still heard.

Now that Persian was angry, he attempted a Fury Swipes attack. However, Galacteon was to fast for that too. He ran to the opposite end of the arena. Persian attempted to attack again. While he was charging, Galacteon glowed as he did his Focus Energy technique.

As Persian got near, Galacteon made one quick swipe of a paw. Persian was smacked so hard he was sent sprawling. Persian stood weakly, but Galacteon growled, and he fell back over.

Galacteon stood ready, in case he should get back up. He didn't. Galacteon let out a victory howl.

"Hey, not bad," Giovanni said, coming back into the room, "Let's see you go up against Golem."

Galacteon beat Golem easily.

"Yes, there's a lot I could use you for," Giovanni said; he thought for a moment, "Can you break this wall?"

Galacteon looked at the steel wall. He Focused Energy and swiped at it with his paw. Nothing happened. He continued to attack it with claws, tackles, and even bites. He groaned when it wouldn't come down. He growled.

"It's okay," Giovanni said, "Can you speak?"

"Rrreeow!" Galacteon said.

"No, human speech."

"Ro…" Galacteon muttered.

"That's okay too," Giovanni smiled.

Chapter 10

…

Aura, Gary, Ash, and their Pokémon continued to follow Pony.

"How long have we been down here?" Ash asked wearily.

Gary held his watch closer to Pony's tail and said, "A little over an hour. Jeez, I wonder if this is how a Zubat feels."

"I'm beginning to forget why we're down here," Ash said.

"We're here to save the stolen Pokémon!" Aura snapped, "Now stopped your whining."

"Yeah, stop your whining," Gary said.

"I'm not whining," Ash said.

"Yes you are," Gary said.

"No I'm not," Ash said, "You are."

"I'm not whining," Gary snapped.

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Are not."

"Are—"

Aura wrapped an arm around each of their necks, "Are we forgetting something, boys?" She squeezed her arms.

"Jeez, you don't have to suffocate us!" Gary said.

"Actually, I disagree," Aura said, "You see, I figure if you can't breathe, you can't talk, and if you can't talk you don't argue. So kinda keep this in mind and don't say anything to each other."

"Yes, ma'am," they said.

She let them go and continued to lead Pony through the tunnel. As they turned a corner, Aura gasped.

"What?!" Gary and Ash ran up behind her.

"Light, this is it!" Aura said.

There was light from the room they saw.

"Let's go!" Ash ran toward the room.

"Be quiet!" Aura hissed.

Ash slowed down and tipped-toed across the blue tile. He looked around cautiously.

"Look at all the cages," Gary said, "Are all of the Pokémon from Pallet?"

"Maybe not," Ash said.

"Stay back where it's dark, Pony," Aura said, "that way, no one will see you." She took off her high-heels and carried them. She walked over to the others.

"Why'd you take off your shoes?" Gary asked.

"I didn't want them making noise when I walked," Aura said.

Gary nodded.

"Should we look for Misty and Galacteon?" Ash asked, "Maybe they can tell us something."

"Should we split up?" Aura whispered.

"Why not?" Gary said.

"Be careful," Ash said.

Gary headed right, Aura headed left, and Ash headed toward the far side of the room. Ash saw the aquarium and the cages inside. In one of the cages was a Dewgong.

"That's Misty's Dewgong," Ash said quietly to himself, "I wonder how to get it out."

Aura scanned the rows of smaller cages. Then she saw a Pokémon she recognized.

"Bellsprout!" she cried quietly; she shook the cage door and realized it wouldn't open.

"Bellsprout?" Bellsprout asked

"It's okay Bellsprout," Aura said, "I'll get you out soon."

"Char-char!"

Aura turned and saw her Charmander in a cage as well.

"I'll come back for you guys," Aura said, "But I have to help Ash and Gary or no one will go home."

"Man-der," Charmander mumbled.

"It'll be okay," she said as she tipped-toed away.

Gary searched near the larger cages. He saw Misty half-asleep in her cage. He kneeled down and poked her in the shoulder. She jumped in surprise and seemed confuse to see Gary.

He pulled the cloth out of her face and said, "Hi. Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah, sorta," Misty said, "Isn't Ash here?"

"He's around somewhere," Gary said, "Why?"

"How much experience do you have as far as saving people from and beating Team Rocket?" Misty asked.

"None," Gary replied.

"I thought so," Misty said, "Go get Ash."

"Fine, I'll get him," Gary said snottily and stood up.

"Thank you," Misty said.

Gary went and found Aura and Ash.

"Have you done this sort of thing before?" Gary asked Ash.

"Save cages full of Pokémon from some underground dungeon that's who-knows-where?" Ash asked, "No. But I have had disputes with Team Rocket several times."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.

Gary nodded in acknowledgement but didn't say anything.

"Chu!" Pikachu cried when he saw Misty.

"Hi, Pikachu," Misty said, "You're gonna toast Team Rocket, huh?"

"Pi-KA-chu!" Pikachu nodded excitedly.

"Any idea how we can get you out?" Ash said.

"Unfortunately," Misty sighed, "I think they use a key to lock these cages."

"Do you know where a key might be?" Aura asked.

"I don't think Jessie, James, or Meowth have one," Misty said, "But there are these other two people. I think they have copies of it."

"Where's Galacteon?" Ash asked.

"He went that way," Misty said, pointing to the door, "With one of those guys."

"Anything else you can tell us?" Ash asked.

"Um," Misty thought, "Jessie's supposed to be on guard duty now, but she left a few minutes ago for some reason. A while ago I heard that one guy say they'd have hourly rotations of who guarded, and Meowth is next."

"Then if we're gonna do a sneak attack, we better hurry," Ash said.

"Go find Galacteon," Misty said, "Either way there will probably be a battle, and he'll be useful."

"Mmm-hmm," Ash said, "If that's it, we'll go try to find that key."

"Well there is one other thing," Misty said hesitantly, looking at Pikachu. She pointed to a small cage on the table. It had a picnic basket stuffed in it.

"Pi?" Pikachu jumped up on the table and opened the lid of the basket the single inch the cage would allow.

"Pikachu!" a yellow face with big black eyes appeared. Three tinier ones followed.

"Pika! Chu-pi!" Pikachu cried.

"Pika and the Pichus?" Ash asked, seeing Pikachu attempt to hug his family.

"Yeah," Misty said, "We left them at home, but because we weren't there, Team Rocket slipped passed your mom and grabbed them."

"We'll find that key, Pikachu," Ash said, "Come on, we have to go."

"Pi-Pika," Pikachu muttered to Pika as he dragged himself away.

"Pi-Pikachu," Pika said. She closed the basket.

"I'm surprise they kept them together," Gary said.

"The guy in charge wants the Pokémon to be healthy," Misty said.

"Well let's go," Ash said.

Chapter 11

Showdown

Ash, Gary, Aura, and Pikachu tiptoed through the door Misty had pointed to. Gary looked at his Dragonite sadly at they passed. They entered the big steel room. It was empty, so Ash looked in the window of the other small room.

"There's no one in there," Ash said, "But there is another door."

"Let's go there then," Gary said.

"Check the desk first though," Aura said, "No point in going any further if the key is there somewhere."

"Right," Ash said.

After a few seconds, Gary said, "Well? Are we going to stand here till the New Year?"

"Uh, yeah," Ash said.

"We are gonna stand here till the New Year?" Aura asked.

"Probably," Ash said, "Unless we turn around, or we can find a way to unlock this door."

"Oh, great," Gary said sarcastically, "Now what?"

"Now you hand over any Pokémon you have left!"

Gary, Aura, and Pikachu turned at the sound of the new voice.

Ash kneeled down to inspect the keyhole, only glancing back to see it was just Jessie.

"Hand 'em over kiddies!" Jessie said.

"Does anyone have a pen or something?" Ash asked.

"I do," Jessie said.

"Can I barrow it?" Ash asked.

"Of course not!" Jessie said, "You're the good guys!"

"Better than you know," Ash said, "But I that's how you wanna be…" He stood and turned to face her. He took out a Pokéball, threw it at her, and said, "Go, Bulbasaur! Use your Tickle Attack!"

"His what attack?" Gary demanded.

"Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur appeared and extended his vines toward Jessie. Jessie gasped.

"That's called Vine Whip," Gary said.

"No it's not," Ash said cheerfully.

"Bulb-a-saur!" Bulbasaur laughed as one vine wrapped around Jessie's legs and pulled her off the ground.

"Hey! Put me down!" Jessie said now that she was hanging upside-down.

"Bulb-a!" Bulbasaur used his other vine to tickle her sides.

Jessie yelled, "Stop it! Stop it!" and laughed at the same time.

Ash held up his hand to stop Bulbasaur, "Can I have that pen yet?"

"No!" Jessie snapped.

"Keep tickling, Bulbasaur," Ash said.

After more tickling, Jessie finally surrendered the pen.

"Return, Bulbasaur. Good work," Ash said.

"So you invent your own attacks?" Gary laughed, "Do you really know how to pick a lock."

"No," Ash said, "But I figure that unless one of you do, I'll just pick at it till it's opened."

"Pikachu," Pikachu said worryingly.

"It's the only way in," Ash said.

"Chu," Pikachu sighed.

"Hold it!" Jessie said, "I'm not allowed to let you get in there!"

With out giving her the respect of looking at her, Ash said, "How do you plan on stopping us?"

"I'll show you how!" Jessie took out three Poké-balls, "Go Arbok, Gyarados, and Lickitung!"

"Pikachu?" Ash asked, still trying to pick the lock.

"Pi…ka…CHU!" Pikachu's Thunderbolt lit up the room and fried Arbok. It hurt Lickitung and Gyarados.

"Gyarados! Dragon Rage!" Jessie ordered.

After a few seconds of silence, Jessie realized that Gyarados wasn't doing anything.

"What are you waiting for?!" she demanded of Gyarados.

Gyarados yawned and curled up. He began taking a nap.

"What?" Jessie demanded.

"It takes a lot of skill to train a Gyarados," Ash said, "Skill you don't have."

Jessie glared and made Gyarados return, "I still have Lickitung! Get 'em Lickitung!"

"Lick-ee!"

"Pika-ch—" Pikachu began. However, before his electric attack went through, he was hit in the face by Lickitung's big pink tongue. He swooned and fell over, paralyzed.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried.

"Hmph!" Jessie muttered smugly.

"Raichu will help!" Gary threw Raichu's Poké-ball.

"R-r-r-rye! Ch—" the same thing happened to Raichu.

Gary started to take out another Pokémon.

"Let me try!" Aura said, stepping in front of Gary. She drew out one of her Poké-balls and threw it.

"Magnemite!" the Pokémon said.

"A Magnemite?" Jessie wondered, looking at the small metal Pokémon; she grinned, "Lickitung! Lick that tin can!"

"Lick-ee!" Lickitung licked Magnemite the way it had Pikachu and Raichu.

"Mag-nee!" Magnemite moaned. It was knocked back, but not paralyzed.

"You can't paralyze an inorganic Pokémon!" Aura said, "Magnemite, Thunderbolt!"

"Magnemite!" went Magnemite's mechanical voice. It glowed then used its Thunderbolt on Lickitung.

"Tongue…" Lickitung muttered, blackened.

"Tackle!" Aura commanded.

Magnemite slammed into Lickitung. Lickitung was knocked into Jessie, and they both slid across the steel floor and into the wall. They were both dizzy.

Aura smiled.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a wrench flew toward Magnemite. It hit it hard and knocked it to the ground.

"Oh, Magnemite!" Aura gasped, kneeling down to it, "You're hurt!"

"Hey, no fair!" Ash yelled. He looked toward the other door and saw James, Weezing, Victreebel, and Meowth.

"All's fair in a Pokémon match!" James said, "Weezing, Victreebel! Get them!"

"Pika, Pika-Chu!" Pikachu moaned. He and Raichu were leaning against each other's backs. They tried to stand and fight, but they swooned and toppled back over.

"Go, Charmeleon!" Gary flung a Poké-ball.

Aura whistled and suddenly they could hear hooves banging on title outside the door.

"If Pikachu can't fight, then we'll try Squirtle. Go, Squirtle" Ash started to throw Squirtle's Pokéball. However, another Pokéball seemingly leaped out of his backpack. It landed in front of him and opened.

"Psy-ee-ii!" Psyduck leaped dramatically out. And yet, he made an equally dramatic landing—right on his head.

"Psyduck?!" Ash demanded, "Oh, yeah… Forgot I had Psyduck. And Psyduck has lame attacks when he doesn't have a migraine."

"Psy-duck?" Psyduck looked around as Pony came crashing through the closed wooden door.

"No Misty isn't here," Ash said, "You're battling for me temporarily, okay?"

"Duck?"

Ash looked at Charmeleon battling Weezing, and Pony trying to stomp on Victreebel. He sighed, "Okay, Psyduck… Do your… Scratch attack… on Meowth."

"Psy!" Psyduck held his hand in the air then ran after Meowth, who was standing by James.

"Psyduck?" Meowth wondered as Psyduck rushed at him. He looked at Psyduck confusedly.

But before Psyduck reached Meowth he tripped on his webbed toes and fell flat on his stomach a few inches from his target.

"Pathetic," Meowth shook his head sadly.

"RR-ee-ee-e-e-e-e!" Pony was knocked back.

"Pony!" Aura cried, still trying to help Magnemite, "Don't give up!"

Pony neighed and reared. He glowed and grew taller. His flames flew out, and a horn sprouted from his forehead.

"Rapidash!" Aura gasped.

Rapidash neighed and sped toward Victreebel. He ran over it and did a Head Butt on Weezing. As he prepared to charge at Meowth and James, the two of them screamed. Rapidash slammed into them and knocked them through the remains of the door.

"Pika-pi!" Pikachu yelled after he and Raichu had recovered.

"What?" Ash looked at the locked door. It was opened and two people—neither of which looked happy or friendly—stood there. It was Giovanni and Roland.

"Looking for this, kids?" Giovanni asked and held up a key ring with one silver key.

"Give us that key and let our friends go!" Ash yelled.

Giovanni laughed, "You're out of your league. If you think you're a Pokémon trainer, think again."

Ash glared.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu threatened.

Giovanni wordlessly opened a Pokéball.

"Golem!" a Golem appeared.

"Rock doesn't conduct electricity, Pikachu!" Ash informed.

Too late. Pikachu dived at Golem and swerved away as Golem attempted to counterattack.

"Pika!" Pikachu kicked Golem in the head twice.

"Double Kick?" Gary asked.

"Golem!" Golem tackled Pikachu.

"Chu!" Pikachu cried painfully as he was knocked back.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled. He ran over and snatched the injured Pikachu up off the floor.

"Pika-pi…?" Pikachu asked weakly.

"Are you okay, Pikachu?" Ash asked.

"Pi…" Pikachu nodded.

Ash smiled. He noticed one of his Poké-balls glowing and shaking. He looked at it curiously before it opened, and Charizard faced Golem with a blood-freezing glare.

"Charizard?" Ash asked.

"RRROWWWRRR!" Charizard screeched preceding his Blizzard attack.

Golem withdrew himself and started a Tackle attack. Charizard started to fly away, but his wing is still injured.

"Charizard, return!" Ash called and sucked Charizard into Poké-ball.

Giovanni added Kingler and Ditto to the fight. Soon Ash, Gary, and Aura had no Pokémon left.

"Did someone call an exterminator?" a voice suddenly went. Galacteon leaped into view.

"That thing can talk?" Giovanni wondered aloud.

"Yeah, of course," Galacteon said, "You think I'm dumber than that stupid cat in there? Speaking of which, he figured out my plan, so you might want to get him some medical attention."

"You little…" Giovanni said.

"I would never betray my trainer," Galacteon said, standing next to Ash, "Do your worst."

"Ditto! Attack!" Giovanni ordered angrily.

"Ditto!" Ditto transformed into Galacteon. The other Pokémon had already lowered his hit points. Galacteon used his Mega Moonbeam attack, and Ditto fainted.

"Hah!" Galacteon prepared to use the same attack on Golem. At the last second, Kingler sneaked up behind him and pinched his tail. Galacteon howled in pain and just happened to throw his head back in reflex. His attack hit the ceiling and made very noticeable dents in the metal. One piece of metal fell and hit him on the head.

"Coo-key-coo-key!" Kingler smiled.

"It using a Double Team attack?" Galacteon staggered and shook his head.

"Uh…" Ash only saw one Kingler, "Your seeing double!"

"Coo-key!" Kingler used his Crab Hammer attack on Galacteon's back.

"Galacteon!" Ash cried. Galacteon tried to get up, but he failed. Ash knelled next to him.

"Don't give up," Galacteon said to Ash, "Misty and the others are counting on your abilities as a trainer."

"But if you're down…" Ash said.

"I am," Galacteon said weakly, "but it's not over as long as you have a Pokémon."

"Everyone's been beaten," Ash said.

"Not everyone," Galacteon said.

"Psy!"

Ash turned his head and saw Psyduck. He turned back to Galacteon, "That idea's a bit farfetched, and, unfortunately, I don't mean the bird."

"I may be down, but my brain isn't," Galacteon said, "Here's your strategy…"

Galacteon whispered the plan, and Ash stood up.

"Okay, Psyduck," Ash said, "Do what Galacteon said. We're counting on you. We know you can do it."

"Psy!" Psyduck picked Pikachu, who was still injured, up and walked over to Golem.

"Water Gun!" Ash ordered.

"Duck!" Psyduck opened his beak. I very tiny stream of water trickled onto Golem's head. Even though Rock Pokémon are weakened by water, this little trickle had no effect.

Pikachu used the last of his energy to do a Thundershock on the wet spot on Golem.

Golem groaned and prepared to attack.

"It didn't work!" Ash said.

"Golem isn't wet enough," Galacteon's ears drooped.

"Chu," Pikachu panted. In one last desperate attempt to be helpful, he squeezed the muscles in his cheeks and spit on Golem's nose. Because of the electricity, Golem rolled back.

"Good work, Pikachu!" Ash said.

"Hey, Gary," Aura said to Gary, "Do think people would believe us if we told this story."

Gary considered for a moment, "No. I doubt it. I wouldn't believe it."

"He won't be out for long, so hurry, Psyduck!" Ash said as Psyduck placed Pikachu on the floor, "Do you Tail Wag—I mean Whip—attack on Kingler!"

"Psy-Psy-Psy-Psy," Psyduck walked backward toward Kingler while wagging his tail.

"Are you sure this'll work?" Ash asked.

"Of course not," Galacteon said, "How good of an actor are you?"

A second or so later, Kingler stepped to the side. Psyduck walked past.

Ash heard a sound behind him. He turned and saw Gary with his hand over his mouth.

"I'm not laughing!" Gary said, "I have no reason to laugh; I'm just…choking on… my tonsils…"

"Don't worry," Ash said casually, "We'll be fine as long as Kingler doesn't go for Psyduck's head."

"You said that a bit loudly, don't you think?" Aura said worrying.

"I did?" Ash said, "I need to learn to keep my big mouth shut."

"You got that right, Genius," Galacteon said sarcastically.

Ash sighed just as Kingler took the feint.

WHACK!

"Psy-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi!" Psyduck, having been hit in the head, began to run around in circles.

Kingler used its big claw to pick Psyduck up by his head. It squeezed.

"Psy-ee!" Psyduck screeched.

"Oh, poor Psyduck!" Ash said as dramatically as possible, "We've lost for sure!"

"That's pitiful," Gary said. "Not to mention pathetic."

"See what your big mouth got us?" Galacteon demanded of Ash.

"Oh," Ash bowed his head down, put his wrist to his eyes, and made a sobbing sound.

"Coo-key!" Kingler did another Crab Hammer attack on Psyduck's head.

"PSY!" Psyduck whirled to face Kingler and the awakening Golem, "Duck."

"Alright, Psyduck!" Ash said when he saw Psyduck's eyes glowing blue, "Do your Psybeam!"

"Psy…" Psy glowed, and after a moment, a huge beam shot from him. Kingler and Golem were knocked into Giovanni and Roland. All four were knocked unconscious.

"Psyduck, return," Ash said, returning Psyduck. He called, "Get that key!"

Gary grabbed the key. Everyone ran into the room full of cages.

~~~

The Viridian police were rather surprised to see a huge parade of Pokémon come out of an alley that had been empty only seconds before.

"Nice job, Ash," Misty said, she hugged Psyduck and said, "You did a great job too, Psyduck!"

"Psy…" Psyduck blushed.

"Can I… get someone…" Jenny, the one with a pencil and a pad of paper, asked uncertainly as she looked around, "anyone…to explain something?"

"Allow me to help," Gary said, "but don't expect to believe it."