A/N: So this chapter is... not exactly stellar, and it is very dialogue heavy. But I figured getting the sooner I got the show on the road, the sooner I could get to writing the fun stuff. With that in mind, please enjoy my shaky grasp on writing Ash :P
Denounce The Evils is the child of me and my best friend Ven. Neither of us could make it happen without the other-or at the very least, it definitely wouldn't be as good. He's responsible for most of the ideas with external conflict-the action, if you will-I'm the one who puts words to it, and writes the more internal stuff/dialogue. My writing, a combination of mine Ven's ideas. He's also responsible for most of the more creative chapter titles... mine tend to be pretty boring, his could actually be episode titles half the time.
If you're ever wondering who to praise for an idea, just ask! I'll tell you if it was me or Ven, pff. He doesn't get nearly as much love for all the content he puts into these chapters, tbh.
That being said, this chapter was all me! It was written before we decided to work together, back when I wasn't sure if I could commit to the story or not. He didn't even beta this one! This garbage fire is solely my own :'3
Enjoy!
It's a curious concept, the moment everything falls apart.
Oftentimes, when a person is prompted to imagine their collapse, their mind goes to catastrophic places. You see your loved ones passing, or your home ablaze, or the airless wreckage of an accident as you try to claw yourself to freedom. So easily, we view the foundations of our lives as strong and supporting, only felled by the most vicious and foul of circumstance.
Real life, of course, is a little less exciting than that.
Real life reminds you that no—it is not always dynamite tumbling down the strong and stable wood of your heart's home. Sometimes, a screw comes loose. Sometimes, a crucial beam breaks and sends the whole thing cascading.
Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet were sitting in a cheap diner when it happened. They were dressed lazily in civvies, their attention directed to a meal they were still deciding if they were going to pay for. The heat stuck Jessie's bare back to the seat of the booth, and she brushed her hair out of her face, taking another bite of her syrup-logged waffle. The mood was one of apathy, boredom, and a general feeling of 'well, what now?' The television was drolling, the fluorescent lights above them hummed weakly, and the chatter of various trainers and their pokémon from within the dive wasn't really doing anything to help their moods.
The TV flashed to breaking news, and the quartet didn't care to pay any more attention to the fact. News happened every day, and none of it was any more exciting than the things they would often get caught up in themselves, always hovering around the Ketchum boy's protagonistic luck. The patrons of the diner, however, had since broken into cheers over whatever was happening on the diner's minuscule television. This changed two things: one, it piqued Team Rocket's curiosity. Two, it provided a window of opportunity, for them to run away in the euphoria and avoid paying for their meal.
The four of them shared a look, then a nod, as they all shoved as much food as they could in their faces, and rose. Quietly, they began to tiptoe away, towards the door, each of them sneaking a casual glance at the commotion on the TV as they passed the crowd around it.
Then, in sync, the Rockets all froze one by one.
From the static speaker of the shoddy diner TV, the newscaster's words rang in their ears.
"—at last, puts Interpol's longstanding investigation into the infamous organization to a close, or at the very least, the beginning of one—"
Their eyes widened as they saw him. Giovanni, their boss, being carried out of Kanto's Rocket HQ in handcuffs. Hundreds upon hundreds of pokéballs being carted out in trucks. SWAT teams surrounding the building, cuts to even more of them surrounding the Viridian Gym.
People cheered.
Every time it cut to new footage, people cheered.
"Do you think this is the end of Team Rocket for good, Mr. Looker?"
"Well, there will always be loyalists out there who act of their own accord…"
The foundation below the Rockets cracked eerily. They all felt it somewhere deep within them as they stood there, frozen, surrounded by strangers.
Crack, crack, crack...
"...but Giovanni was entirely the brains of this operation, and we've apprehended his next-in-commands as well. All things considered, Team Rocket won't be able to do much, de-funded and dethroned."
SNAP
People cheered.
Uproarious. Deafening. Unrestrained.
They all watched as every single patron in the diner rallied, roaring praise at their demise. Celebrating, pointing, laughing as the four of them fell into the rubble of their shattered lives.
The cheering turned to white noise. The world fell away.
The team formerly known as Rocket receded back into their corner of the diner, horrified expressions unchanging as they stared blankly into their empty plates.
Trainers and pokémon continued to cheer.
A haze of doubt hung over the former agents. As the celebration petered out around them, none of the four of them spoke a word.
Ash couldn't pry his eyes away.
And it's not like he wasn't trying! Alright, so in his younger days, yeah—he had been fooled by some pretty silly disguises. But over time, he'd become more perceptive to those kinds of things—eyes tuned to the sharpness of the emerald and sapphire glares that would peer into him from behind strangers' smiling faces. Asking him if, just once, might we handle your pikachu?
You couldn't even really classify these as disguises. They were dressed stylishly, their hair done up even more so, and despite half their backs being turned to Ash, he could tell it was Team Rocket. They took absolutely zero note of him, not even casting him a glance. They just sat there, unmoving, taking up space in the location.
The boy's mind flashed back to the rumour he'd caught wind of that day, arriving in town on his way back from the League. He hadn't believed it at the time—being Kantonian, he'd watched Team Rocket persist for years with little to no involvement from the police. There was no way it'd fall in his lifetime, clearly.
But as Ash stared (quite impolitely) at his enemies sitting adjacent from him, and registered the darkness that seemed to hang over them as a whole, it began to slowly sink in that maybe there was some merit to the word on the street. He shot a look at Pikachu, who'd been just as oddly mesmerized by the spectacle as him, and the pokémon met his eyes. Without words, Ash inquired, and Pikachu hesitantly nodded, climbing up onto his trainer's outstretched arm.
Team Rocket's eyes didn't move to meet him, even when he stood awkwardly on the side of their booth. They simply stayed quiet, with the world dissolving into chaos around them, their gazes fixated on nothing, unfocused. Waves of empathy hit Ash hard, and he cleared his throat sheepishly, unsure of what to say or do or if he was wasting his time on people who tried to rob him literally less than a day ago. The whole thing, conceptually, was a little bizarre—but he was and always would be an empath. Ash sensed no malice in them, standing there.
"Hey, uh…" he looked downward, hand scratching the back of his head. "Are you guys, like… okay?"
The Rockets were snapped out of their cruel trance, their heads moving mechanically to stare up at their nemesis. Ash saw their eyes, finally, red-rimmed and tired and weakened. One set of them still wet with tears. They stayed silent, letting their current state answer his question. He sighed, then looked at Pikachu, then back to them.
"No sneaky stuff," he preempted. "Can I buy you dinner?"
He saw their lips quivering and their expressions creaking as soon as he said the words. All at once, they tackled him as a unit, shouting 'thank you, Twerp!'s and soaking his outfit with their tears. The diner was empty, except for the single waitress who stared curiously at the spectacle—wondering if someone had finally come to pick the sulking and unresponsive group up.
Pikachu had reflexively jumped onto the floor at the sight of Team Rocket lunging in his general direction, and Ash met his eyes again. They shared a look, their thoughts mingling in silence.
Are you sure about this, Ash? Pikachu had pondered. It could easily turn sour.
It could, The boy responded, then smiled. But helping someone who needs it is always worth the risk.
"For real? You're telling me you taught yourself to talk? Just… because?"
"No, ya dope! I did it for love! "
"Not sure I get it… but that's really amazing! Who knew someone like you was so smart!"
"Don't make me retract my t'anks, Twoip ."
Rain pattered on the streets outside, painting the roads into mirrors that reflected the lights of the city and the glow of the midnight stars. Ash's eyes were heavy and aching for sleep, but he couldn't pull himself away from what he was hearing. A whole new world was slowly opening up before him—and it was one he never dreamed existed, let alone one that he'd see. Under buzzing lights, he sat with old enemies, their battle scars becoming acquainted with his own.
"You both have been through so much!" He beamed. "I mean, James, I knew about some of your history, but knowing even more, it's amazing you made it out of that alive…"
"Trust me," James responded. "I tell myself the same thing most every day."
"Hey, Jessie!" The boy dragged his gaze over to her. "What about you? Got any stories like that?"
The redhead took a long sip from her soda. "Of course I do. My life is a long epic of trial and tribulation…"
Ash peered into her, his eyes shining, his hands balled into excited fists.
"...but I hardly have time to sit here and turn myself into a pity magnet. That's what we have these two for."
He softened, a little disheartened. Jessie was walled in . She was hardened. It wasn't that he wanted to pry, it was moreso that he was painfully curious, throughout the years, to know what on earth made her… like that . He picked his words carefully.
"Well, the only time you guys are pitiful to me is when you're doing bad stuff," he said. "I don't really see… these things that made you, I don't see them as pitiful! They're obstacles you've overcome! That's like, the exact opposite!"
Jessie regarded him, considering his words, her expression morphing into something that Ash couldn't entirely identify. She tested the waters.
"Listen," Jessie began, staring at a particularly interesting spot on the wall. "What is there to say? I'm the most talented, passionate, gorgeous, and brilliant orphan you will ever meet. My beginnings were humble, and I quickly trampled them to rise to stardom. I don't know how to frame it more romantically."
Meowth rolled his eyes. "Oh please. You was so poor ya ate snow. And t'ought it was a treat."
"Because it was!" Jessie snapped. "Honestly, what kind of deprived life did you live that you don't think it's a treat?!"
Ash had a feeling there was quite a lot he was missing, but he could practically see the writing on Jessie's forehead that boasted 'sorry, you must be a level sixteen friend to unlock my Tragic Backstory.' He decided, wisely, not to press his luck.
"Yeah, see, nothing about that is pitiful," he told her. "The world gave you nothing and you worked for everything that came after. That's not deserving of my pity. That's grit. You deserve pride, and it looks like you know that!"
She laughed, almost scoffed, and buried her face in her soda, cheeks flushed. Ash smiled, feeling the gratitude practically radiating off of her from behind ages and ages of toned and steely demeanor. Wobbuffet saluted in her general direction, his mouth hanging open in a knowing grin.
"You guys…" he said. "You… please don't take this the wrong way? You really don't seem like bad people. You just seem like you were dealt hard circumstances and wound up… here."
"But where else is there to wind up?" Said James. "Being bad is the only thing we're good at."
"No offense, but… that's literally the wrongest thing you've ever said."
"Yeah? 'N' how do ya figure dat?"
"I mean, think about it," Ash responded. "Every time you try to do bad things, to me or to others, you all end up fumbling around and then getting blasted off far away."
They nodded. He continued.
"But I've seen you help out before. How many times have you come to the world's aid when it's been in danger? I know because we fought together, on the same side. Whenever you fight for good, you triumph. You had to have realized that by now, right?"
The quartet blinked, then shared a rather blank look.
Oh, Ash realized. They had no idea.
"...you really… never made the connection?"
Their expressions stayed. Jessie was the one who spoke.
"We… just…" she paused. "We had a life before you, you know. Before this wild game of cat-and-mouse began…"
"Too literal."
"Point taken. What I mean is, we used to be good at this. Used to be ruthless, and criminal, the stylish rogues that we were…"
There was a bittersweet longing in her voice. Ash caught himself empathizing again. Rooting for the villains as he stared into that small window through the past.
"...but we fell into this routine, with you and your pikachu. And… I think you might have rubbed off on us, Twerp."
He shook his head. "I think you always had the potential to be good at heart. You just… might not have known."
"No, it's not just that," Jessie continued. "You're obnoxiously goal-oriented. You've been chasing this dream of yours, this Pokemon Master thing for years now, and you still haven't thrown in the towel, no matter the setback.
"I guess we just told ourselves that so long as there was a twerp out there running towards that goal, there would always be us right behind him, arms outstretched to snatch up his sparky rodent. I feel like, if one of us stops… the balance of the world disappears."
"Hm. Well," Ash said. "Like you said… there was a you before me. And there was a me before you, before our paths crossed, anyways. And look… everything was okay."
It was James who responded this time. "He's right, you know…"
"My goals haven't changed, true. But dreams aren't set in stone. When I met Brock—"
"Who?"
"The tall one."
"Right. Continue."
"...when I met Brock, he was so certain he wanted to be a breeder. Dedicated years of his life to it. Studied every ounce of information he could find.
"But come Sinnoh, through a few twists and turns of fate, he realized what he really wanted to be was a doctor. Now he's far off somewhere training for that dream, probably losing it over how many Joys he gets to hang with all day.
"The point is… just because you're passionate about something… I mean, if you change your dreams, that doesn't mean all your hard work and passion goes to waste. You still lived through it. You still learned it, and gained something valuable."
"Getta load o' dis," Meowth grinned wickedly. "The Twoip praisin' us for stalking and stealing from him for an eternity!"
"Hardly!" Ash laughed. "But there had to have been non-nefarious things you learned through pursuing even the nastiest of goals. That's just something that goes on when anyone works hard at anything."
"You think so?"
"I know so! There's nowhere to go but upwards after this. Don't think of it as losing the battle. You're not giving up! You've collected tons of experience, so now you're evolving!"
"Evolving!" The three of them repeated excitedly, with an enthusiastic 'wobbuffet!' layered over the exclamation.
"Exactly," the boy gave them a thumbs up, his winning smile stuck on his face. "Go for broke on your next dream. Make this one a mega-evolution."
"Dreams…" James echoed, suddenly lost in thought. "But… the only dreams we've ever dreamt besides this one have caused us to split up, and…"
"...we learned pretty quick dat splittin' up doesn't woik for us."
"It's true. We're an unbreakable trio!"
"Wobb~uffet!"
"...an unbreakable quartet!" Jessie corrected herself. "Team Rocket is the only dream we can all chase at the same time… what if there's nothing else out there for us?"
Ash crossed his arms, deep in thought, considering what they'd said. When he spoke again, he sounded just a tad unsure.
"I think everything happens for a reason," he told them. "There has to be something else out there you haven't discovered yet, or why would you all be here, trying to figure out where to go?"
"That's true…"
He closed his eyes, continuing to speak. "Maybe… maybe you guys should keep traveling. Learning more about yourselves… learning how to be good… the world is so big, and has so much to offer. I think if you do that, your dream will find you on its own."
When Ash opened his eyes, he wanted to see theirs burning with purpose. Instead, the group looked slightly dejected. James voiced their concerns.
"But… being good," he moped. "That's a tall order… where would we even start?"
"Hm…" Ash's thoughtful expression returned with a vengeance, his eyes pointed downward. "Wait! I got it!"
"Have you, now?"
"The easiest way to be better is to own up to the times when you were worse!" He exclaimed. "So, why don't you start with apologies? Everyone can do those!"
"Have you MET us, kid?" Meowth mumbled.
"How do you apologize to someone for the kind of things we've done? No one's going to want to forgive us."
"That's how it is for everything," the boy told them. "People can't always forgive you. But if you apologize to them, it means you've owned up. You've done what you can to fix things. And honestly… it feels good."
"It… it does…?"
"Well, yeah!" He beamed. "Try it. Right now. You can apologize to me! I'm not gonna reject you lot."
"Start with YOU?" Jessie gaped. "But—you—our track record with you is by far the nastiest!"
"All the more reason to get it done sooner," Ash stayed smiling. "C'mon. I promise you'll feel great."
The four of them shared an uncertain look. A year ago, a month ago, a day ago, five hours ago—if you had told any one of them that this is where they would be soon, none of the Rockets would have believed you. They envisioned themselves there, again—the remnants of their foundation dead under their feet. And beyond it, a boy with a name that literally meant "remnants," aglow with embers untouched, beckoning them forward to shelter.
James was the first to move, clasping his hands together, his head down. The silence was shattered instantly as he spoke.
"Please find it in your heart to forgive us, Twerp!" He begged. "I have no idea what we could ever do to atone for all the years of chase we've put you through! But at the very least, we have nothing to lose now, so I'm willing to try!"
Meowth seemed to respond to this, his tail twitching nervously, and he uncrossed his arms as soon as his teammate finished speaking.
"Jimmy's right," he stated. "Dey say th' definition of insanity is doin' th' same t'ing over 'n' over while ya expect different results. I dunno how many years I got left on dis big round earth… might as well see what it's like on da other side of history.
"Twerp, I hope you can forgive us for all we done some day, even if I've played ya like a fool more'dn a few times," the cat gazed beside Ash, towards two small auburn eyes, and a softness unlike anything any of them had ever heard entered his voice. "And Pikachu…?"
The mouse's voice was far less soft, suspicious. "Pi?"
"You ain't never gotta forgive me," he said. "I made my peace wit' dat. But… I am sorry."
Pikachu's expression loosened, seemingly caught off-guard in the sincerity of the statement. As he became momentarily lost in the feeling of it, his trainer beamed beside him.
From across the table, Wobbuffet stirred, quietly inquiring at his trainer, who was silent as the night and locked rigidly in place. Jessie's arms remained crossed, her eyes somewhere else, her jaw tight. Ash and Pikachu watched her body language dance with itself for a while as she tried to muster up the humility to say what everyone else had said so easily.
"Fight me." She finally mumbled.
"What?" Everyone responded in unison.
"Fight me!" She said, louder this time, face completely red. "You and me, Twerp! A Pokemon battle, fair and square! One on one!"
Ash blinked. "Sure, but, why?"
Jessie seemed to have gone back to having no way to articulate herself, so James became her voice.
"No, that makes complete sense, actually," he said to Ash. "When Jessie really feels indebted to someone, she buys them gifts. She doesn't know anything about you except that you love to battle more than anything. This is her way of apologizing."
"I'm—right—here—!"
"An' yer about as eloquent as a mamoswine right now."
"Twerp," she turned to him. "Do you accept?"
The boy seemed mystified for a moment, but it wasn't long before his smile came back brightly, and he stood, arm outstretched towards her.
Jessie grabbed it, and he yanked her out of the booth, pulling her to her feet, fire in his eyes and determination lining his grin.
"Prepare for trouble."
Stars were fading from the sky above them, and the sun's slow creep into the waking world painted the universe around them in the bluest hues. Leaning against a bench outside the Pokémon Center, the battlefield in front of them still warm with energy, they sat united.
"Aren't your friends worried about you, Twerp?"
"We've parted ways," Ash responded. "I was on my way back to Kanto. My flight'll be leaving in a bit."
"And you decided to spend your last day here hanging out with old enemies in the middle of the night…" James marveled. "Your faith in the world absolutely astounds me sometimes."
There was silence, then. Flying types started waking up, chittering gently in the trees.
"Hey..." the trainer started.
"Yeah?"
"It might take a while before I've decided whether I forgive you, or not… but I can accept those apologies. I can tell they meant something."
James regarded Ash, a genuine smile completely enveloping him.
"I hope just as much as you do that someday I can forgive you," Ash said. "And Jessie?"
She turned slightly, her eyes moving but her head cast upward.
"Use your wobbuffet more," Ash teased. "You guys probably woulda gotten Pikachu by now if you had! What a powerhouse!"
"Tell that to him," Jessie grinned, balancing her foot on the back of the pokémon's head. "Lazy little blob would rather scream all day than battle."
In response to this, he did indeed scream.
When the sun was far enough into the sky to warm their faces, the six of them got up to part ways. The dawn brought with it a new day. For Ash—a new adventure, somewhere beautiful. For the former Rockets, a new life entirely.
Blues and pinks and purples danced across the world as they all shook hands in the sunrise. In the hustle of the morning, Ash asked them one last question.
"So… was it worth it?" He inquired. "Was I right, I mean. Did it feel good?"
Surprisingly, Jessie was the one to answer him. "It did."
"Freeing." James added.
"Like somet'ings missing, but in a relieving way."
"Now imagine feeling that way all the time."
"Do ya t'ink we could do it?" Meowth said. "I mean… the scope of everyt'in. Travel backwoids… right our wrongs…?"
Ash spoke, his words full of promise.
"No dream is unattainable if you want it bad enough."
They nodded wordlessly, their hearts swimming.
"The next time we meet, it'll be as friends! Okay?"
Jessie's response carried resolve that nearly matched Ash's own.
"Tell Pallet to expect us. Not today… but some white tomorrow."
"I will."
He disappeared towards the Pokemon center, waving the whole way, even Pikachu broke his suspicion and cast a cursory smile toward them. It felt warmer than any heist they'd ever pulled, left them more full inside than any meal they'd ever stolen, gave them more promise than any direct deposit they ever woke up to.
The quartet stood there for far longer than necessary, hearing the world come to life around them, their feet itching toward their balloon in the forest but locked firmly in place. The weight of Jessie's previous confidence suddenly hit her, and staring straight ahead, she perused her teammate for validation.
"James, are we really going to do this?"
"Meowth," he mirrored her. "Are we really going to do this?"
"...Wobbuffet? Are we really gonna do dis?"
"Wobbuffet!"
The foundation at their feet was gone, but the soil beneath it was rich.
The dawn brought with it a new day, and as its sunlight came upon them, they felt the soft earth begin to sprout anew.
Ash whispered quietly into the call as his mother answered. The sunlight filtered in through the windows on her end, and he thanked his lucky stars that the timezones hadn't been unkind to him.
"Ash, honey! And Pikachu! Calling again so soon? Did my birthday come early this year?"
He laughed, softly, and pressed on. "Actually… something weird came up."
"Oh, are you doing alright? Do you need anything? Are you going to be able to get home okay?"
"Yeah, mom, I'm fine! I'll be on the flight in a few hours. It's just…"
"Tell mommy what's up," Delia insisted. "I know that face."
"It's… a lot." He said.
"And I'm a whole lot of mom. What do you need?"
"Well," He scratched the back of his head.
"Have you been watching the news?"
A/N: So, there's the set-up! If it wasn't completely obvious, I want this series to be about the rockets backtracking through every region, meeting up with old friends and enemies, and hopefully making amends in the process. I have a good chunk of ideas, but... not enough to make this story as epic as I really want to. I know how it's going to end, but as for how to get there... I'm very open to input. So! I have some questions for any TR or Pokeani fans in general out there-
- Who are your favourite characters? How can I include them in this story? Honestly, I'm open to any ideas!
- What are some of your favourite episodes? What characters of the day would you like to see again?
And, one that's a little stranger...
- Would anyone be opposed to me writing this series non-chronologically? I'm thinking that I'm gonna just write it as a series of loosely-connected chapters, and then order them as time goes on. Would that be too confusing, for anyone? What order you read them in shouldn't matter too much, I don't think-when the development really hits at the end, I'm gonna crank out a couple chapters in traditional chronological sense. Until then, it's gonna be more structured and free.
What do you think? Give me some feedback, if you're out there. I'm really excited to write this fic-and the more input I have, the more I can write.