Giovanni's dante?

by cavyguru

Ash, Brock and Misty have found a new friend with a mysterious white Rapidash but Jesse and James finally have a plan go right and the Rapidash falls into his hands, can the pokemon rescue Dante or are they the ones who will need rescueing?

Part One: Giovanni's Dante?

Ash, Brock and Misty are on their way to the pokemon league. As the story begins we find the three friends are just re-entering Viridian Forest. They quickly found themselves lost; wondering around for hours, unintentionally getting deeper and deeper into the thick trees.

But this story is about a girl and her pokemon. I wish to introduce Sarah. Sarah is of average stature with thick wavy red brown hair. She usually wears full length dark brown pants and a jade green fitted top with a collar. Over her shoulder is slung a matching beige and pale green satchel bag. As the sun begins to sink Sarah watches the colours reflected off the surface of the lake and sucks on a flower stalk. All of her pokemon are out. Her Raichu (Amplitude) is sitting quite close to the water nearby. Her Kadabra (Psychotic) and Gravellor (Ecolos) are building a sandcastle together. The others are no-where to be seen. A few metres away grazed a special white Rapidash grazing contently in the grass.

"Rai….Chu!"

"Amp, you're not supposed to see him. That's the point. You should know better than to challenge him to a game of hide and seek. Especially alongside a lake like this"

"Choo"

"Okay Cloud, give him a hint please"

Splash! A pulse of water came from the lake, completely drenching poor Amplitude.

"I think he got the message." Sarah laughed. "Well, it's time to get going I think. Return Ecolos. Return Psychotic." Sarah then quickly looks over her shoulder towards her Rapidash as he nickers softly. He is gazing straight into the sky. Sarah follows his gaze. "Oh no, not again."

Meanwhile Ash, Brock and Misty are plodding along in silence as Brock tries to work out where they are on the map. As they reach the crest of an open hill they stop for a moment.

"So where do you think we are, Brock?" Misty asked.

I'm not sure. The pokegear just says Viridian Forest."

"Gee, that's helpful. I could have told you that."

"Pika!"

"What is it Pikachu?" Ash sees Pikachu point down the hill to the lake.

"Hey, is that lake on the map?" Says Misty as she snatches the map from Brock.

"I don't think that was what Pikachu was pointing at. There's someone down there, by the water. Maybe they can give us some directions." Brock said as he reached for his binoculars.

"There's certainly someone there with some pokemon, she's… she's Aphrodite."

"Oh' Brother." said Misty sarcastically. "I don't think she's going to want to be disturbed Brock.

"I don't know Misty." Replied Ash, "If she's got pokemon with her then maybe she'll battle"

"What do you think Brock?….Brock?"

Too late; Brock was already on his way down to see her. He was sneaking through some shrubs intent on spying for a bit. Ash and Misty quickly catch up with him but instead of telling him off for spying they end up spying as well because the most comical sight is before their eyes

Sarah is jumping up and down waving her arms in the air. "Will you both cut this out! For heaven's sake Ambient will you please get over it! This is not your sky!"

Suddenly there is the sound of heavy wings and a roar.

"That sounded like your Charizard, Ash" Whispered Misty.

Then a scuffle could be seen in the sky. A Charizard and a Pidgeot were battling it out. Then The Pidgeot went into a dive. He was in perfect control but it made Misty and Ash hold their Breath.( Brock was still watching Sarah). The Pidgeot pulled out of the dive a few metres above the ground. The Charizard was in hot pursuit and barely pulled up in time. He aimed a fire blast at the Pidgeot. It seared in a heat wave quite low to the ground. He caught Sarah's hands in the blast. Sarah winced in agony as she quickly drew her hands back to her chest. She ran towards the lake and plunged her burnt hands into the icy water.

"Amplitude, will you please sort those two out."

The Raichu bounded forward and watched the two pokemon for a few seconds. He then aimed a Thunder shock attack (Thunder would have made them faint). He caught them both mid flight with impeccable aim. Ash and Misty's eyebrows went up at this. Sarah quickly returned them to their Pokeballs while they were paralysed. She then returned to soaking her hands.

Brock simply couldn't stand seeing her injured and in obvious pain. He ran out of the bushes towards her. But the previously un-noticed Rapidash cut him off. Brock was completely stunned at the beauty of this white and blue Rapidash. He completely ignored the rear and flailing hooves and stared into his midnight blue eyes. "You're protecting her aren't you?"

The Rapidash slowly lowered himself back onto four feet with a scream and an extra toss of his head. He nodded nobly as he nickered. Misty and Ash walked forward a little then jumped back again as the Rapidash snorted and moved forward a metre menacingly. Sarah whistled a signal. (Brock saw the Rapidash's ear flicking back as he registered the signal) The Rapidash instantly pivoted on his hind legs and sprang into a gallop back towards his mistress.

Brock started to continue forward. Ash and Misty were frozen to the spot. They watched on as Brock approached the girl.

"Quick! I have some burn heals in my bag. Front pocket." Sarah winced.

Brock returned with the burn-heal and gently sprayed her hands with it. The burns were painful but not serious. "Are you all right my beauty? Does it hurt? What can I do for you?"

"Um you could get off my foot for a start"

Brock looked down, "Ah, yes. Right" losing pace as he lifted his foot. He quickly changed the subject. "These are my friends; Ash and Misty."

"I'm Sarah. Thank you for your help. I'm sorry about Dante. He didn't hurt you did he? You just surprised him that's all."

"Surprised him?" Started Misty. She and Ash had ventured forward. "Don't you think that he surprised us?"

"Of course he did but he's not accustomed to trainers popping out of bushes like that. Only team rocket seem to pull that stunt.

Ash and Misty both gave Brock The Look.

Brock however missed the point entirely. He just continued to stare lovingly at Sarah as she scratched her Raichu behind the ear. "How about I show you how good a cook I am? I can cook for your pokemon too if you want." Brock then took Sarah's hand gently, "Please."

"I guess so. It'd be a relief. But I'll still cook for my pokemon thanks."

"Don't worry. Brock cooks for our pokemon all the time. He wants to be a pokemon Breeder." covered Misty.

"Really? So do I. But where I come from I can't get my breeder's ticket until I have defeated the Elite four."

"Well I'll cook you a meal and I'll make you and your pokemon ready to take on the world."

"That's enough, Twinkle toes." Says Misty as she grabs Brock by the ear.

Together they walk along the lake side to a picnic spot with a table and some benches. While Brock goes to work Sarah, Ash and Misty get talking.

"I'm going to the pokemon League as well. I want to be the best trainer ever. Speaking of which, would you like a pokemon battle?" started Ash.

"Not really. Actually I prefer to battle Wild Pokemon. That way I have better control over the stats and how they grow."

"But they grow faster when you battle trainers."

"Faster yes- but more random. In a trainer Battle you don't know what you'll be battling and if it's the wrong sort of pokemon you are unable to back out or run away. My training is very precise, Ash."

"You seem to have very strong Pokemon. How many badges have you earned so far?" Misty Enquired

"A few, but I love it here so keep coming back. It's also full of low level Caterpie and Metapods."

"Yeh, don't remind me." said Misty as she remembered her first experiences in this forest.

"What's your sixth pokemon, Sarah?" asked Brock suddenly.

"Sixth?"

"Well you have the Raichu, Charizard and Pidgeot and the Rapidash. There was also something in the river which is clearly a water pokemon. That's five."

Misty's eyes suddenly lit up. "Water pokemon? Let's see."

"You'll see him shortly. But Dante is not a part of my Party."

"How did you ever come by a white Rapidash?" Ash questioned.

"Now that is a very long story. But I have written permission signed by the council stating that I'm allowed to carry him. I actually ride him everywhere. I love him to pieces and he's useless for battling so that's how he earns his keep."

Why do you need written permission to carry him?"

"Because he's pokemon number Seven. I need a six pokemon party to succeed at the pokemon league. I'm unable to store him in the computer because he's so different from other Rapidash. His gene's and stats are totally different. He's got a professional arsenal of moves but lacks the ability to use them."

"I see." exclaimed Brock. "He only knows fire moves but is essentially an Ice pokemon.

"Sort of; same principle. The Fire on his back is blue not red. It is cold not hot. He still has a pokeball and everything. I don't think hotels would appreciate him being out all the time. A Rapidash is a bit different to a Pikachu."

"Do all of your pokemon have nick names?"

"Of course they do. Each and every pokemon is completely unique so why should they not have unique names. Particularly when in secret I've been quietly breeding Flying pokemon. How would it be if they were are all called Spearow or Pidgey. Ambient here has children and a grandchild of his own. I'm sure he doesn't name them all by species."

"Which one is Ambient? The Charizard."

"Oh, no. The Charizard is called Pyromaniac. Maniac for short. Ambient is the Pidgeot. Speaking of which, If you'd excuse me a moment I need to have a stern word or two with that bird."

The others looked up, even Brock's mind was stolen away from his cooking. They watched on with curiosity.

Sarah opened the two pokeballs, to release Maniac and Ambient.

"What was all that about Ambient?" Sarah said sternly. "Why will you not even try to get on with Maniac? You both got on fine until he evolved. Yes, you are my flying pokemon and Yes he is my fire pokemon but that does not mean he is forbidden to fly. His wings are not mere decorations." Sarah then turned to her Charizard. "You should not let him Bully you like that. I didn't name you Maniac so that you lose your temper at a bit of taunting. Just ignore him would you, he's the one who's got to get over it." Sarah took another deep breath. "I don't want to have to let you out on shifts. I don't want it to be a case of your turn now and his turn later. There is plenty of sky, okay Ambient; there is enough room for both of you."

Sarah then turned back to where the table was. Ash, Brock and Misty pretended that they hadn't heard what happened. "I'm sorry you had to hear that. I hate having to yell at them but I knew that it was only a matter of time until someone got hurt. I guess I didn't expect it to be me. I've had enough of their bickering."

"Why do you think they argue like that?" asked Misty as she prepared to feed her Togepi.

"It's because Ambient has always been the flying Pokemon in my party. He knows that he's not as strong as the others. He feels threatened now that Manic is able to learn Flying moves. It didn't help that I allowed Maniac to learn wing attack."

"So your Pidgeot is scared that you'll deposit him in the PC."

"Yep"

They waited in silence as Sarah helped Brock with the meals. Ash and Misty both allowed their pokemon out. The pokemon played with some of Sarah's toys. The bright red ball was the favourite piece.

"Sarah, didn't you say that you had a water pokemon?" asked Misty, unable to hold herself back any longer.

"I do. He's in the lake at the moment but he'll come when he smells his food. He's a bit Cheeky and a bit of a loner, the sort able to keep himself occupied for hours. But he can be trouble. I don't know how many times he has wondered off. That's why I have problems with team rocket. They want him now that they know I have him. Thankfully they are afraid of Dante. They don't know that he's all bark and no bite. He's very powerful and threatening like any stallion on the outside. Brock's actually the first one to see through that."

"It was his eyes. They held concern not anger. He must love you very much."

"Yes" Sarah seemed lost in thought at this. They didn't talk again until the meal was prepared. Brock served Misty and Ash some food while Sarah dished out the Pokemon food. Sarah then proceeded to pull out different bottles out of her bag and play around with the bowls in front of her. Ash and Brock watched her before their attention was moved to Misty who'd dropped her spoon and had a screwed up look of disgust on her face. She looked like she was going to be sick.

"What is it Misty?" asked Ash.

"There is something cold and wet on my foot. If it is a caterpie I'll scream."

"Look down, Misty. It's not a Caterpie." said Sarah with a smile.

Misty swallowed deeply before working up the nerve to look down. There was a beautiful Vapoureon sitting on her foot looking up at her. He then put a front paw on her leg as he begged for food like a kitten.

"Cloud, over here." called Sarah. The Vapoureon leapt of Misty's foot and padded over to his owner and the meal she provided. Sarah then let her remaining pokemon out one at a time and gave them their bowls. She then gave a feed bag to Maniac and Dante before taking a seat next to Brock, who immediately blushed.

"He is sooo sweet, Sarah." Misty deplored

"Yes, he can be cute. He can also be very annoying. He hates going in his pokeball and makes a real mission of it. He also has problems working with the other pokemon."

"Why don't you just do the same as I do for Pikachu?" suggested Ash.

"Because the other pokemon would get jealous; I have enough problems as it is. That's why I'm here really. I can't go to the pokemon league until they stop trying to outdo each other. It's all very good in a battle situation but as you saw before it makes things difficult outside of the arena. I want them to act as a team and mostly they do. That's what the toy's are for. It's all about team building."

"Those are good ideas, Sarah. It's funny really." said Misty

"How do you mean?"

"Well it's always fascinated me how different people train their pokemon. You have completely different approach to Ash and I. The basic principles are still there. But your pokemon still love you and your pokemon are healthy and look strong."

"There is always another way to do things. Just like there is always a right way and wrong way. It's in the eye of the beholder. Treat your pokemon in the way you feel you should. At the end of the day you and your pokemon must be happy and content together."

"I love the way you talk, Sarah." wafted Brocks voice.

"Sorry, I talk too much don't I? It's just that I haven't sat down to eat with anybody else for a while."

They ate in silence for a while before relaxing on the grass watching the pokemon. The sun had set and the pokemon were slowing down when they spoke next.

"Sarah, would you like to camp with us tonight?" Asked Brock

"I suppose so. Not much chance of making it back to town now that it's twilight." Sarah smiled. She then pulled out her lap top and withdrew some camping gear. A compact little tent and some blankets for her pokemon.

Ash, Brock and Misty called their pokemon back and Sarah whistled for Dante. (Her other pokemon hadn't gone that far.) After dinner they lay near the campfire swapping stories. Ash told Sarah all about the Orange Isles and the Orange League. Sarah and Brock then got talking about pokemon breeding leaving Ash and Misty to fall asleep. Eventually Sarah drifted off to sleep as well. Brock lay awake for a moment longer, lying on his stomach and looking out of the tent over the sleeping pokemon. A little way up the hill he could see the Rapidash. He moved like a ghost as he danced in the moonlight and seemed to glow slightly as his silver body caught the moons pale glow. Brock fell asleep with happy thoughts on his mind.

Come morning Ash, Brock and Misty awoke to find Sarah gone. Her tent had been packed away already. But her pokemon were together by the lake playing in the sand. Brock set to making some breakfast and Misty started clearing up and packing things away. Ash walked over to where Sarah's pokemon were waiting in the sand. Using his pokedex he looked at the pokemon before him. They were all fairly highly levelled with impressive stats for their size. They were also happy and healthy with coats that shone much like Pikachu's. Ash knelt down beside where Pikachu was playing with the Raichu. "You really enjoy this don't you Pikachu?"

"Choo" replied Pikachu with a nod.

Ash walked back to help Misty with the tents. They finished packing up in silence.

"I wonder where Sarah went?" asked Misty.

"She'll be here very soon." answered Brock

"What makes you say that?" said Ash.

"I can hear hoof beats." Brock replied casually as he started to serve breakfast.

"Hoof beats?" said Ash and Misty together.

Almost instantly they heard it too; the distinct beat of Dante's hooves on the grass. Sarah rode towards them across the open patch that came down the hill.

"Good Morning." Smiled Sarah

"Morning." said Misty as she sat down to eat.

Sarah joined the table at the place that Brock had set her. "I'm sorry I left before. But I wanted to give Dante a good gallop around before we walked back to town. I must say that I'm surprised you even came out this far."

"Actually, we're not really sure how far out we even are. Our map is useless." said Ash

"Oh, okay. Well it's a good five hours walk from Viridian City." said Sarah as she pulled out her notebook. "You see the lake? It's actually not on the map you have. It fills with rainwater and drains away in early spring." Sarah opened her notebook to a hand drawn map and pulled a marker out of her bag. She put a small circle on their map to show the little lake. And a dotted line was added to show the open fairway that would take them safely back to the road. "There you go. Now you know exactly where you are."

"Wow, I didn't realise how lost we'd gotten ourselves." exclaimed Misty. "We're lucky we even found you. We'd probably still be wondering around."

"That's alright; You would have found your way back. Your Charizard could have led you if you needed him to."

The three fell into an uncomfortable silence (particularly Ash who hadn't thought about that).

"You must spend a lot of time here, Sarah. That was a pretty decent map you'd drawn up."

Brock said to break the silence.

"Yes, this is my favourite place to train. I've travelled quite a bit but nowhere else has the forests and lakes like this. There is also some open areas where I can ride Dante at a faster pace. That's why I like it so much; peaceful for me and peaceful for the pokemon."

Sarah put her things away and the group prepared to go. They walked in silence through the trees until they reached the fairway that Sarah had marked out on the map.

"Will you come with us Sarah?" asked Ash.

"For a bit; I need to go to the Mart in Viridian. Otherwise you're on your own after that."

"I'm hoping we'll convince you to come along with us to the pokemon league before then." remarked Brock.

"I won't be ready for this league, Brock. I'll be at the next one though, as a competitor that is."

They left it at that and walked in silence. Ash was deep in thought about something, Misty was talking gibberish to Togepi. Brock's eye's kept going back to Sarah, who was soaking in the smells and sounds of the forest around her. It was just about lunch time when they met other trainer's. One of the boys came forward…

"Wan'na battle?"

"You bet!" laughed Ash.

Brock and Misty sat nearby to watch. Sarah came over and joined them. Brock and Misty commented to each other on how the battle was going. Sarah listened in silence as she watched the battle. Ash knew what his pokemon were capable of and trusted them implicitly. His pokemon were all very highly levelled and had brilliant attacks. In secret Sarah added an entry to her Notebook.

Ash finished the battle without even needing to bring out all six Pokemon. The two trainers shook hands after the fight and Ash came back over to where his friends waited for him. He watched as Sarah finished scribbling in her note book and glanced up at him.

"Good match, Ash" said Brock.

"Ready to go?" came Misty's Voice but Ash ignored her.

"What were you writing, Sarah?"

"Just thoughts about the Pokemon League."

"Thinking of enrolling?" Brock said excitedly.

"No, I told you I'm not ready. I'm attending as a spectator."

"Oh, great! You can sit with us." said Brock as his face lit up.

They walked along a little. They looked for a good place to stop for lunch. They found a nice spot but another teenager had also seen it. Ash, Brock and Misty looked disappointed as the teenager ran forward to the table to get it first. Sarah approached the boy with disapproval.

"Excuse me but can my friends and I please use this table? There is only you, it would be unfair to hog it for yourself."

"If you want it you'll need to battle for it. Com'on I challenge you."

Sarah looked offended. She stood there staring at the boy for a while before lowering her head in acknowledgment and saying "All right then."

The boy threw out a pokeball and a Diglett appeared in front of him.

"OK, go Ambient!" Yelled Sarah as she launched her own Pokeball. Ambient soared away from her. He swung away and returned to perch just in front of where she was standing. "Wing Attack!"

"Slash!" came the reply as the boy issued his orders.

Ambient used a powerful thrust of his wings to lift himself off the ground before leaning into them. He came down upon the Diglett. The Diglett tried to slash as Ambient came in. Ambient was forced to move out of attack position to avoid it.

"Come About!" Sarah yelled and a microsecond later Ambient seemed to pivot on his Left wing as he sharply turned to catch the opposition unawares. Wing attack delivered a critical hit and being super effective was enough to make the Diglett faint.

"Diglett, Return. Go Ghastly"

"I wonder which pokemon She'll use" Whispered Ash.

"Return Ambient! Go Cloud!"

Everyone was a bit surprised by this Move. Brock had expected her to pull out the Gravellor because the ground/ Rock would be effective against the Poison half of the Ghastly. The Gastley here faded from view, disappearing away. Sarah didn't lose faith. "Okay Cloud. like we practised. Snoop him out and let him come to you then Bite."

She taught her Vapoureon Bite, It's a dark move. Super effective against Ghost type. Brock said in his head.

Cloud crouched low to the ground like a cat about to pounce. He closed his eyes in concentration. Sarah seemed to chant something quietly, too quietly to make out the words but her voice was delicate and soothing. His ears flickered back and forward as he listened and his breathing was slow and deep as he smelt the air. Suddenly the Ghastly appeared behind him and used a powerful Spite attack. Cloud was hit but kept his focus as he struck the ghastly to the ground with his tail before spinning around to deliver a direct Bite attack. The Ghastly was down for the count.

"You got Lucky! Take your stupid table" The boy spat with disgust. He left in a huff with his Ego somewhat deflated.

Ash came over to congratulate Sarah while Misty went over to the table. Brock continued to stand still. He watched Sarah as she dodged Ash's congratulations as she checked the Vapoureon for injuries. Brock realised that she was a very special trainer. She did not battle for the glory. She battled for respect and for her honour. Brock could not help wondering about her. This was a different feeling to the normal infatuation. Brock walked over and joined the others. He made himself busy getting lunch ready.

Sarah was quiet for a long while, hardly saying anything all through lunch.

"You're a great trainer, Sarah" smiled Ash.

"Thanks," She replied quietly.

"I reckon you'd do really well in the Pokemon League."

"Thanks"

Misty gave Ash a hard jab in the side but he just wouldn't take a hint. Misty could see that Sarah was anything but happy about the battle. Ash, however, had now started to talk about the Pokemon league; there was no stopping him now. He was talking a mile to the minuet about the last time he went to the Pokemon League. Misty and Brock met eyes briefly. They knew there was no point trying to change the subject.

While the stew simmered away Brock made a quick phone call.

Bleep Bleep….Bleep Bleep

"Hello? Oak here"

"Oh, Hi Professor. It's Brock."

"Hello Brock long time no see. How are you and your pokemon doing."

"They're good thankyou."

"What's on your mind?"

"I was wondering if you knew anything about a white Rapidash."

"White Rapidash? Let's see." (sound of typing in the back ground) "Hmm...Yes...Oh. There is only one white rapidash that we know of. It belongs to a trainer named Sarah, from New Bark Town. Now that is interesting. I haven't seen Sarah since the pokemon league last year. I wonder how she's doing."

"You know Sarah?"

"Yes, she was one of many trainers who came to me to start them on their way and one of the few that chose Charmander. She's been doing quite well as far as I know."

"Thank you Professor you've been quite helpful…..One more thing."

"Yes"

"You said that you last saw Sarah at the Pokemon League. Was she a spectator?"

"Unfortunately yes. She was registered but changed her mind the day before her first match."

"Okay thank you Professor."

"Oh, Brock, are you and the others nearby at the moment? I'm visiting Viridian tomorrow on my way to Celadon."

"Yes we're on our way to Viridian now. We'll meet you outside the pokemon Mart around morning tea time."

"Alright I'll see you then."

"See you."

Click!

Brock turned off his phone and glanced up at his friends. Suddenly he smelt something burning and raced over to rescue the stew. It was okay, just thicker and richer than he'd prefer. He called to the others as he started to fill the bowls. There was a bit of chatter over the table as they ate. They were all reminiscing about the last time they were in this forest and the league to come. Ash was telling Sarah all about the caves of the Victory road. Sarah was slowly coming out of her shell again and was perhaps just as excited as he was. Brock turned to Misty, "I just spoke to professor Oak. He'd helped out Sarah the same way that he did for Ash. He gave her Maniac."

"Wow." said Misty quietly to Brock as she glanced to where Ash and Sarah were talking. " I didn't realise that she knew the professor."

"Neither did I. It will be interesting. The professor will be meeting us in town tomorrow."

"That'll be nice; I haven't seen him for a while. It will be nice for Ash too."

Brock nodded at this and he got stuck into his stew. Misty ate in silent thought as well. After lunch they continued on their way. They walked along chattering quietly and Sarah was leading Dante along. From the picnic ground it was only a short walk back to the town. Viridian City suddenly came into view. The beautiful green rooves melted together with the many trees that grew within the town itself.

Together the four of them wondered around the town. They did some window shopping and did a few chores before they came to a nice motel to stay. Dante grudgingly entered his pokeball and they went inside. It was a basic motel, in a nice way. The quiet uncluttered lobby had only two other people in it. The travellers did not recognise Jesse and James however Jesse and James did recognise them.

"Look James, It's the twerps."

"Yes. And they've brought a friend with them. I wonder who she is?"

"You fool, that's the girl with the white Rapidash."

"Oh."

Jesse grabbed James' arm. She pulled him out of sight. Together they stood in silence as Ash arranged their rooms (Numbers 14 and 15); Ash and Brock in one, Misty and Sarah in the other. Ash allowed Brock the use of the window bed and collapsed, suddenly very tired, into the other bed. Pikachu leapt up beside him.

"Ash, do you remember seeing Sarah at all at the last Pokemon League? I talked to Professor oak and He said that she had entered previously."

"She did? No, I don't remember seeing her before."

"She was competing but changed her mind. I wonder what happened to make her do that?"

"Maybe we can ask her? We can help her couldn't we Brock?"

"I don't know. That depends on why she stopped competing."

The two fell into silent thought. Why had Sarah stopped competing? The two of them sat in silence for quite a while trying to think up any sort of reason for anybody not wanting to compete when they had come so damn close. Presently Misty came in after quietly knocking on the door. She came into a dark silent room with Ash and Brock lying on their beds.

"Why's it so quiet?" She said as she flicked the light switch.

Ash sat up and asked Misty, "What do you think would stop you from competing in the Pokemon League?"

"Um, I don't have the eight badges."

"Well, what if you did?"

"I don't know...I wouldn't be good enough. Not experienced enough for those trainers."

"Well that can't be it because she is strong enough, you saw her pokemon." said Ash.

"I think Misty's right." replied Brock after some thought.

"I am?"

"She is?"

"Yes , from what we can see Sarah is definitely strong enough to try out for the pokemon league but Sarah feels that her party won't work because her pokemon won't get on."

"How do you figure that, Brock"

"She said so remember? 'Until they can work together I won't be ready for the pokemon league.'"

"Wow, you were listening" Said Misty under her breath so Brock wouldn't hear.

"So how do we convince her that she is ready? Do we have to make her pokemon get on?"

"It's not that easy Ash. I mean, you have to admit that her pokemon seem pretty set in their ways. You can't just make them get on. It's something they need to work out themselves." replied Misty.

"Ash, maybe we need to convince her to battle you. Or maybe trick her into battling another Pokemon league contender."

"Yeh, Gary would be good." said Ash with a jibe. The three of them started laughing as Sarah walked into the room.

"What's so funny?" asked Sarah with a smile.

"Gary." said Ash as more of an excuse than anything else.

"Gary?"

"Let's just say he's an old rival of Ash's. He's entered in the Pokemon League as well."

"Oh, Is he the one who also has a Kadabra, pallet town right? I saw him yelling at it. I didn't like him much." Sarah fell silent for a moment before adding quietly, "People like him should not be allowed in the league"

"You're right, Sarah. People like him shouldn't be allowed in. It should be reserved for trainers like us." Brock hinted.

They left it there for the time being and silently agreed that it was time for dinner. They locked their rooms and left.

Once they had left the hotel Team Rocket snuck into the corridor. "Do you think you could pick the lock James?"

"Why would I do that? I have the key."

"You dunce! Why did you do that? The manager will know it's gone and come here."

"But Meowth is keeping him distracted."

"Oh" Said Jesse. She had lost her stride slightly. She stood back while James opened the door. They entered the girl's room, closing the door behind them. It was dark but a slight glow from the sunset gave everything a purple-grey tone. They quickly noticed a plummet in temperature and started to see their own breath in front of their faces. They looked to each other as the sound of a large animal snorting entered their ears. They turned to the left a little to see Dante pawing the carpet furiously. They yelled and bolted back to the door as Dante screamed in fury. They wrenched the door open and ran down the hall. Dante didn't stop. He trotted after them down the hall and out into the lobby. Jesse grabbed Meowth as she ran past where he was talking to the manager. Meowth yelled in surprise then yelled again when he saw Dante (So did the hotel manager).

Team Rocket ran out of the lobby and into the street with Dante at their heels. After a while Dante skidded to a halt and let them leave. He now found himself by himself in a circle of people. Some Officers were advancing on him. He felt trapped and started to fret. He reared in a spectacular display and neighed out in desperation. Three officers were braving his fierce blue eyes as he ducked and bucked around them. To the on lookers it was like watching a dance as he pirouetted around the officers, never letting them get too close. However they were pokemon handling experts and before long had managed to rope him. Now he was terrified and he began to get vicious.

Suddenly Sarah was there. The group of friends had been attracted by the crowd and Sarah had recognised Dante's call. She ran straight into the throng and before any of the officers could say anything Sarah was between them, "Dante, What are you doing! Wooah boy, easy. There is nothing to fear."

"Girl! get back. Can't you see he's mad?" Yelled an officer as Sarah stretched out a hand. Dante reared. She was within striking distance but he kept his legs close to his chest so that he didn't hit her. Sarah then fell to a knee in submission and stared into the stones beneath her. Dante pulled back on the officers unexpectedly dragging them to the ground beside her. He stood motionless with his head raised (besides the continued nervous flick of his tail) they could see the whites of his eye. Before long he cooed softly and walking towards Sarah with his head lowered. She remained motionless as he nosed her hair, then her ear. She slowly lifted her head then slowly rose to her feet again, placing her hand calmly (but firm) around his halter. She carefully removed the rope from around his neck then proceeded to stroke the nervousness out of him starting at his head, then neck and down to his shoulder.

By now the officers themselves, following the girls example, Slowly got back to their feet.

"Do you mind explaining what happened here." said Officer Jenny.

"I don't know, he was in the hotel. He was in his Pokeball. I don't understand how he got out here. Please don't be angry with his behaviour. He was frightened and those ropes (she pointed with her chin) have frightened him even further."

"You will need to come with us to explain what happened. Someone could have been hurt and you could have hurt yourself in the process…"

The officer was cut short as the Hotel manager came forward, "This girl and her friends are staying at my hotel. The Rapidash was in their room when they left as far as I know but it came out suddenly, it was chasing two people. I think they had broken into the room because my key is missing. They were accompanied by a talking Meowth"

"Right! Can you please come as well? We will get this on the record and you can go home." The officer walked to her bike and climbed on. She held out a helmet for Sarah. A second officer handed one to the hotel manager. Sarah walked Dante over to where Brock and the other's were waiting, "Brock are you able to take him while I'm gone?"

"Will he let me?"

"He had better." She replied angrily as she took Brock's hand and placed it on the halter before releasing her own grip. She walked over to the motor bike and climbed on. She watched as Dante shifted his weight nervously and started to flick his tail again. He watched her go with the officer. As she was leaving he called to her. He tried to follow but Brock held firm. Dante eventually resided to the pressure on the halter but wouldn't relax. Brock watched his face and in particular his eyes, "She is leaving because of what you did. She has to go and explain why you were out of your pokeball and in the street. I understand you want to protect her but if you won't obey her instructions then she won't be able to keep you with her. How will you protect her then?"

"That was nice Brock. But what are we going to do with him?" Asked Misty.

"Can you go and get his pokeball from your room please. He's too hard to handle as long as he's out."

"Can you get him in the pokeball?" Said Ash as Misty went back to the hotel.

"Something tells me we won't have any trouble."

Ash left it that. He had no idea how Brock could have known or felt that. The two waited in silence while Misty left. Presently a woman walked up to them, "Having trouble are we?"

"You might say that." said Ash

"I thought that you might need this." The woman said as she held out a bridle.

"That's very kind of you, ma'am, but I wouldn't know how to put it on him and he's tense as it is without more strange hands."

"Oh, I see. He's not yours then."

"No he belongs to our friend. She's with Officer Jenny at the moment trying to explain what happened this evening."

"I know how to handle Rapidash, young man; why else would I have a bridle on hand. I can help you get him back to where you are staying."

"Look I just don't think..."

"Ease up Brock; she's only trying to help. Admit it, you don't really know how to handle him and it's quite dark now. We must get him back to the hotel." Ash said. He didn't realise how right he was. It was getting very dark very quickly. Soon they'd hardly be able to see at all. That's not going to be smart when you're holding the halter of a highly strung Rapidash Stallion. They resolved to lead him over to where there were some street lights and wait for Misty there. It was a good move as Dante started to shy at the unfamiliar noises of a town at night. In the end they removed the reins from the bridle and used them as lead ropes to save Brocks arm from the involuntary jerking of Dante's head as he walked. It wasn't much longer till Misty came with his Poke ball. Brock was able to get him in without fuss first try. (The other two shook their heads in disbelief).

Sarah was back at the hotel waiting for them when they arrived. She was as white as ivory from worry. Brock threw her the ball containing Dante. She held him close to her chest and whispered something they didn't quite catch. They walked inside together back to their rooms. They didn't say anything but goodnight before getting an early night. As a result they woke early the next morning. Sarah was nowhere to be found. Her things were gone too which was not a good sign.

It was an hour before they were supposed to meet professor oak and they were getting anxious. Eventually they left the town to look around in the forest. Ash released Charizard so that Charizard could look from the sky (the que taken from Sarah's previous comment). There wasn't a sign so they figured she'd left for good. They returned to the town and went to meet professor Oak.

"I don't understand why she'd do this." said Brock. "She would have left a note at least. I would have hoped she would have at least said goodbye." In his heart Brock started to understand that he really cared for her, deeper than his usual infatuations. He realised that he actually loved Sarah.

His heart was spared the shattering as the pokemon mart came into view. There was professor Oak waiting patiently out the front with Sarah standing beside him. Brock raced forward with tears in his eyes. He grabbed her hand and mumbled away incoherently for a few seconds. Sarah looked shocked before a smile spread across her face. "You thought I wasn't coming back, didn't you?" She smiled through her eyes into Brock's, "I was riding Dante just south of town when I saw Professor Oak here. I got distracted talking to him and lost track of the time, sorry."

"That's fine but next time leave a note so that we wouldn't spend a whole morning looking for you."

Together they headed to a nearby Café for some morning tea. Oak sat down with them. "So what have you three been up to, it's been a while?"

"We're heading back to try for the pokemon league again."

"Oh, really? That's where I am going myself. I hope to put some more pages to the pokedex with the help of the other trainers."

"Is that the only reason?" Said Brock

Professor Oak blushed slightly, "Well no actually. It's a very good opportunity to see how the trainers and pokemon that I know have grown and improved over the past two years. I go every time it's held."

"I know." said Ash. "That's where the very best trainers go to compete."

"Who are you taking this time Ash?"

"I'm taking Charizard, Lapras, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto and Pikachu of course."

"What about you Sarah?"

"Oh, I'm not competing. Not quite there yet."

"Sarah, lass you were ready years ago. You were entered last time and that was one or two years ago."

"But my pokemon got on back then. They don't any more. How will I stand a chance if my pokemon can't come out of their balls without arguing?"

"Sarah I am a scientist. I have spent my whole life researching pokemon and I know every third trainer by name. I know what I'm looking at."

"but.."

"None of that, I'm entering you okay."

"But…"

"None of that either. Have you ever thought that your pokemon are having trouble seeing eye to eye because they are bored?"

There was stunned silence from all of them. Even Brock was lost for words especially since he understood exactly what the professor had meant.

"Bored?"

"Yes, Bored. Your Pokemon are used to battling. You keep them in peak fitness all of the time and are always training but you haven't been giving them a challenge. Not like you used to do. Pokemon are very intelligent creatures and need to be challenged just like we do. It's no good spending two years in viridian Forest, beautiful as it is. There are low level pokemon and only beginner trainers so what have you achieved. You need to go to the pokemon league to give yourself and your pokemon a challenge. Have you forgotten your dreams?"

"Never," Said Sarah quietly with a heavy firmness. Professor Oak was being extremely firm with her in return and she couldn't ignore what he was saying. He was right. They finished their morning tea in silence and headed out. Professor Oak mostly talked with Brock. Ash and Sarah were silently thinking tactics for the coming league and Misty was cooing and playing with Togepi. They headed back into Viridian Forest and Sarah led them from Dante's back. He was quieter than usual and very well behaved as though her were showing the professor how good he could be, not to mention impressive, with his tail raised and neck arched..

They stopped for lunch at the same table as they had the day before. Sarah cooked for the pokemon this time. She and Brock took the opportunity to share tips and ideas and teaching each other what things go with which pokemon. Brock learned from Sarah all about nutrient additions that are based on pokemon type, such as Electrolytes for the Electric pokemon and active carbon for fire pokemon, and Sarah learned how different flavours are preferred by different personalities.

The friends didn't realise they were being watched by Team Rocket again although Dante certainly did. He disappeared suddenly and watched them in return. Sarah figured that he had gone for another long gallop. Team Rocket waited until the group had all released their pokemon for feeding before they made their move. They put on some gas masks and fired some sleeping gas into the middle of the group. There were a few moments of confusion with Ash's Pidgeotto and Ambient trying to blow away the gas with their wings. By the time they had just about done it all of the pokemon and their trainers were fast asleep. The birds had also accidentally blown the gas over Dante, where he had been hiding. Meowth and Jesse fired net guns and caught the birds.

By the time the four trainers woke up they were all tied up together at the base of a tree. All of their gear had been thrown around the camp and the pokemon were gone. Sarah whistled for Dante but there was no response; Team Rocket had found him while backing the truck up. He had been taken as well. None of them knew what had happened. They walked around calling their pokemon before they called for Officer Jenny.

"Are you the trainers who called me?"

"Yes, our pokemon have been stolen."

"Did you see who took them?"

"No, we were hit with sleeping gas."

"I'm sorry, but without anything to go by there won't be much I can do for…." She was broken off by a crackle over her Radio. She answered it, "Officer Jenny," more crackles and static with a few discernable words. "Stay where you are and try and locate the truck then get back to me. Send someone to search the viridian forest first." She turned to the friends, "It seems a truck had passed through a ranger gate about an hour ago. It might be related so my people are looking into it. I'm afraid that is about all I can do for you."

"Thank you, officer." said Sarah as she sat down hard on the bench near the table. She was very pale except from red teary eyes and wet nose. She had never felt so alone before. She'd had those pokemon since she was a little girl. And Dante, his loss hurt the most. Brock sat down beside her and encouraged her head towards his shoulder so he could cuddle her. He nearly got lucky but as soon as her face touched his shoulder she pulled away from him as though she was bitten by something unpleasant. She got to her feet and bolted like Dante would (into the bushes).

"Should we go after? It's getting late" Asked Misty.

"No, she knows this forest too well, I doubt we'll find her." replied Brock.

Ash came back over, "I've given our numbers to Officer Jenny so she can call us when they find our pokemon. We'd better go with her back to town and pull out some fresh pokemon to help us look for the lost ones."

"Good idea. But we should wait for Sarah."

It was nearly dark when she returned. She silently walked in looking very withdrawn and tired. She recovered her laptop and tried to get it working well enough for her to withdraw her tent and some food. She withdrew her pokemon's blankets and just as tears started to flow again she handed them out to the others. Their tents had been ripped up. It was far too late to turn back to the town.

Meanwhile in a Team Rocket hideout the pokemon had woken up in cages. They looked out of the bars at each other as they watched three Rockets trying to restrain Dante. They finally got him (with a lot of hitting and whipping) into a cage of his own just as Giovanni himself entered the warehouse.

His faithful Persian walked proudly beside him as he advanced on Jesse, James, Meowth and the stolen Pokemon. He walked past the cages, "There are many good strong Pokemon here, you two." he said casually as he continued to walk the line of cages, "However I had given strict instructions for you to bring in rare pokemon not strong ones. There is nothing rare about a pikachu or the Pidgeots however I …." Giovanni stopped outside Togepi's cage, "getting warmer…" He then looked over to Dante who had taken to rushing around his cage and screaming at the Rockets that had begun to gather around, taunting him.

Giovanni walked over to where they were, "Get back you lot! You'd think you've never seen a Rapidash before!" Giovanni stopped mid stride as he saw Dante. He watched in awe for a few moments before a smile crept across his lips. "Admin! Write a check to these Rockets. They have finally done it. This was a great haul, one of the best we've had yet. A handful of strong pokemon and this... gem." Giovanni turned to face Jesse, James and Meowth. "I commend you for your work."

"Thank you, Sir" Said Jesse. "Any chance of a raise?" She continued brightly and stupidly.

Giovanni was less than impressed, "Raise! I said I commend you for your work I did not say all is Forgiven! Are you mad, it has taken you far too long to fill your orders? You have spent considerable amount of my money without making a single haul until now. Yes this is a spectacular haul but it does not make up for your lack of effort until now. If you don't start pulling your weight I will fire you."

Jesse, James and Meowth didn't need telling twice. They scampered out of the door.

Giovanni turned to his second hand man, "Get that Rapidash in the arena and let us see what he is made of."

Using a pallet jack they wheeled the cage into the arena. The Arena was pitch black apart from a spotlight that poured light on the cage. Dante did a half rear inside the cage and tried to hit the men around the cage. Giovanni smiled and gave the signal for the lights. The arena was instantly bathed in brilliant white lights. Two men courageously stood by the cage door and slid it open before dashing for the fence.

Dante threw himself out of the cage and galloped around the arena; blue mane and tail flapping out behind him like a magnificent flag. He was already very tired and his white coat was dark from his sweat but he continued to tear up the earth of the arena. Casually Giovanni came up to the fence. He released his Rhydon into the arena, Dante ignored it. "Rhydon, Use earthquake to get his attention. It's time to train this pokemon."

Rhydon slowly went towards Dante (who continued to ignore it and look for the way out) and threw itself into the ground with a very powerful earth quake attack. Dante stumbled to the ground mid stride and slid a couple of metres on his chest. Dante pushed himself to his feet and looked at the Rhydon. "Attack it, Rapidash!" called Giovanni from the sidelines. "Rhydon use crunch!" He yelled out. Dante turned away from Giovanni and trotted down the side of the arena with his tail held high as an added taunt. Dante was still paying no attention to the Rhydon who was trying to attack him and found himself caught unawares as he came passed the Rhydon. He was hit very hard by crunch with a critical hit. Dante was slowing down. He no longer had the HP or the energy to keep avoiding the Rhydon. Giovanni smiled as he repeated his orders to the Rapidash.

This time Dante shook his head and neck as if shaking off Giovanni's instructions. He just stood there watching the Rhydon. Sweat streamed down his shoulders and his sides were heaving as he tried to catch his breath. From beside Giovanni a small woman ventured an idea, "Maybe he can't attack, he would have done it now."

"Quiet! Every pokemon has attacks even if they are the most basic. Even a Magikarp can learn an attack. I just need to find it." Giovanni watched on as the pokemon battle before him continued, "Rhydon finish him off with another crunch attack. He'll learn to listen to me."

The Rhydon moved forward, Dante dived to the left to evade the attack but the Rhydon was far too experienced for Dante to get far before Crunch caught him on his back hip. Dante neighed in surprise and, turning his head around, fireblasted the Rhydon. But instead of fire a blue flame of ice winds came instead. The Rhydon caught it full in the face and was frozen solid. Dante could hardly stand and ended up falling to his knees as he lowered himself, absolutely exhausted into the soft arena dirt. Giovanni came down. He gave a freeze heal to his Rhydon and a potion to Dante. Dante was too tired to care. He just lay there panting as Giovanni lent forward and gave him the potion. Giovanni then clipped a lead rope to Dante's head stall and, standing back, told him to get up. Dante was only just strong enough to do it. He forced his legs beneath himself and dragged himself onto them. He let Giovanni lead him back to his cage. "See, I told you that every pokemon has attacks. Although I'm not sure what attack that was it was effective none the less. Don't ever question me again."

The small woman cowered in Giovanni's wake as he came past with Dante. There was no doubt that Giovanni was an excellent trainer. He knew how to get the pokemon working for him.

Dante's cage was wheeled back into the warehouse in line with the other pokemon. They all stopped what they were doing as they watched Dante. He lowered himself down again, sleeping the ordeal off. (If these trainers could do that to Dante what could they do to them?) Amplitude and Pikachu had tried to thunder their way out to no avail, Charizard and Maniac were living up to their reputations but all of the pokemon now stopped trying to get out. They were wasting their energy. They would need to work together to get out of there. They would need to work together to get Dante out of there. He was now too exhausted to help himself.

Giovanni came passed again and started to talk to another rocket trainer, "I want these pokemon split up. Take them to Warehouse B and the trainers there can take their pick. The Rapidash stays here with me, and the Togepi."

Back in the forest the friends woke up early after a practically sleepless night. They packed up in silence and ate little before slowly walking back to Viridian accompanied by Officer Jenny; they all felt very vulnerable. They had always had pokemon there and had never feared any wild pokemon that would come along. Now even a low level Caterpie was a danger. Officer Jenny informed them that the truck had been seen heading for Saffron city and it was believed that team Rocket was behind the theft. Once at the centre they were forced to withdraw their not-so-regular pokemon, having to resort to their basically untrained extras. Ash was the better off having fully trained Chikorita, Totadile, Cyndaqil and a couple of others. Sarah had little choice but withdrew her almost trained prime ape, a venomoth and a weepinbell. Any pokemon were better than none at all. Professor oak gave them some bus passes to get them to Celadon city which was only half a days walk from Saffron.

They were going after their pokemon.

End of part One

Part Two: Dante's Rescue

Ash, Brock, Misty and their new friend Sarah arrived outside the pokemon centre of Celadon. They congregated together at a restaurant to eat lunch and formulate a plan.

"Firstly we need to locate them." Said Sarah to get things started.

"If we can find the truck then chances are that we will find our pokemon," Continued Ash.

"But where do we start? I suppose we could just wonder around until we can hear some sort of confusion. None of our pokemon will give up too easily."

"Knowing Rocket they'll be under ground." said Brock. They lowered their eyes to the table in front of them. They all agreed. It would not be easy finding their pokemon. Assuming they were here at all.

Inside the Team Rocket hideout Giovanni had pulled Dante out again. Dante's Cage was positioned just inside the great indoor arena. This time Giovanni had brought some team Rocket personnel to watch from up in the stands. The magnificent white and blue Rapidash knew he was about to be let out of his cage. He was about to get a second chance at freedom. As the 'volunteered' came and took a grip on the cage gate Dante brought his weight back onto his hind quarters. As the gate opened he sprang forward and started to canter around, studying the fence, as he looked for holes and weaknesses. Giovanni came down to the fence line. He released a stolen Chancy into the arena. Dante eyed the Chancy suspiciously then continued his mission. "Chancy use Metronome!" called Giovanni. The Chancy glared at him angrily before conjuring up a psychic blast. It shot over to Dante and knocked him sideways into the fence near Giovanni. "Rapidash! You must attack the Chancy." He yelled out as Dante steadied himself. Dante spun on his hind quarters and sprang away from him, galloping down the long side of the arena. The audience agreed that he was truly stunning.

Giovanni payed no attention to Dante's disobedience and told Chancy to keep using metronome until he attacked her. Chancy obliged with Dig. She dug herself into the ground and came up underneath Dante's feet. He was tossed off guard but recovered his feet without really loosing stride. "Rapidash attack, like you did before!" Now he had Dante's attention. Giovanni saw his ears flick back as he listened. Giovanni continued, "That's right you already have done an attack for me. You gave me exactly what I asked for and you were rewarded weren't you. I didn't have to give you that potion. Do this for me and you get rewarded again?" Dante planted his feet deep into the soil and stopped. He looked directly at Giovanni. This had now become a game. Chancy tried to land a karate chop on his shoulder but with a flick of his tail he danced aside. He turned his back on her and reared. He put his weight on his back legs and taunted her with a rudimentary tail whip. He sprang forward again and galloped off. Giovanni roared at him, "Rapidash! This is no time for games, just do your job." Dante shook his mane and walked away.

The four friends Left the restaurant and headed for the Celadon department store for some supplies.

"What are those for?" Ash asked Sarah

"They are for my pokemon. Call it 'a training boost'. Pathetique is going to need it and it won't harm the others either. I don't like using them but if it means I can get my pokemon back then it will be worth it won't it."

They stocked up on healing items. Sarah brought a new back pack, Ash and Misty brought new tents and sleeping bags. This time they only carried the essentials in their bags and Sarah put the remainder in storage through her laptop. They wondered off towards Saffron city with the intention of doing some serious training along the way. Sarah had withdrawn a young Spearow from her PC and had sent her off to look for the truck in the picture that Officer Jenny had given them.

"Sarah do these pokemon have nicknames?" asked Brock out of curiosity.

"The Primeape is called Pathetique for reasons I won't discuss. The little Spearow is Ambients daughter, Melody. The Vonomoth and Weepinbell don't have names but by the time this is over they probably will."

"Where should we do some training?" came Ash's voice.

"There's a small patch near Saffron which has many pokemon," Said Sarah as she pulled out her notebook. "There are Lots of Spearow and Rattata as usual … we may see some Snubble and I've heard that you can find Abra here...or was it Jigglypuff. Apparently night pokemon are what trainers come here for. There are Houndor and Murkrow as well as Meowth, Persian will probably be here to."

"One of these days I'm going to read that notebook of yours." Said Brock as he tried to see over Sarah's shoulder but she snapped it shut before he saw anything in particular.

"I probably should pick up a new Fire pokemon. It could come in handy." she continued flicking through her notebook again now that Brock had gone. "Actually a Houndor would be good….I'm game."

"All right we'll head there then." accompanied Brock. It was all the same to him and Misty who had no pokemon. The other two needed to train but at the same time they knew that they must be quick before Team Rocket moved on, then their pokemon would be gone for good

Dante hit the ground hard. That last metronome attack had hit him critically. Giovanni was yelling for him to attack and chancy was running out of metronome PP. Dante was no longer looking for the way out. He didn't have energy left and he was beginning to realise that there was no way out. Giovanni would have to get him to listen soon or else Dante's fire would go out. "Fire Spin! Trap her so she can't attack!"

Dante looked at him solemnly. Giovanni was unsure himself now. Was Dante ignoring him or was it that he actually didn't understand what he was being asked to do? Suddenly Dante fired up again but the flames were pale. He was starting to get angry, pawing the sand under his feet. He called for Sarah...Nothing...He called again. When no reply came he leapt forward towards the Chancy. He was just about to attack her when Maniac blasted his way in. He soared low and gave a deafening roar. Dante forgot the Chancy and galloped as hard as he could directly below the Charizard. Giovanni glared at the Rocket that was running after him. The man was running with an Ultraball in hand trying to get the Charizard back into it, the ball was clearly broken.

Maniac used 'Flame thrower' at the wall which fractured badly but didn't come down. "Stupid pokemon, doesn't he know we're underground!" roared Giovanni as he came towards them. Dante skidded to a halt along the fence that faced the wall. Maniac turned around for another shot but as he flew over Giovanni's head Giovanni threw a master ball. There was no escape for Maniac. Giovanni threw the ball at the Rocket man, "If you can't handle him give him to someone who can. I don't want any of those pokemon going to amateurs, you dumb grunt?" Giovanni watched the man out of sight before turning back to Dante. Dante was on the ground; he had used up his remaining energy. He was grey from his own sweat, his mane barely a flicker and his sides were heaving. Giovanni fed him a berry so that he could at least get him back into the cage.

"How was he today?" Asked the little woman who hung around like an unpleasant smell.

"He was about to attack when that Charizard came in. He was battling against me for nearly an hour. This pokemon is a hard nut to crack but they all crack in the end. Get one of the scientists to profile his attacks for me but it will have to wait till this afternoon. I won't give him any potions or anything. He did not do what I asked him to. He ran himself into the ground I had nothing to do with it. He has to learn to do what I tell him exactly when I tell him to do it.

The sun was nearing the horizon as the trainers left their hotel; fresh Pokemon in hand and pockets full of pokeballs. The gate man wasn't too surprised to see trainers this time of day. He told them they were welcome to hot chocolate and biscuits should they come back that way late at night. They thanked him kindly and headed out to begin their search.

The main clearing was larger than they remembered. The path ran down one side leaving an open expanse of grass. The moon was already above their heads and as the last bit of sunlight faded, the clearing fell into the sweet serenity of twilight. For the expedition Sarah and Ash loaned pokemon to Misty and Brock; in the hope that they could catch some new pokemon for themselves. The group split up and went their separate ways.

Ash wasn't trying overly hard. He had all the pokemon he would need. He enjoyed the quite of night and knew Totodile was enjoying himself as every so often a yell from Brock was followed by the sound of rushing water. Chikorita , as usual, was at his heels threatening to trip him over. Slowly he returned to the road to find Misty already there. She was sitting on one of the benches that were nestled in alongside the path. Curled up beside her was a Snubble, fast asleep. Ash smiled.

'What did you catch, Ash?'

'Nothing'

Misty smiled as she returned Ash's pokemon, 'I found this sleeping by a rock I don't think it's realised that I've caught it, talk about a heavy sleeper.'

Elsewhere in the field Brock had just managed to capture a Houndor pup. Totodile seemed more excited about it than he was as he ran circles around him as he walked through the grass. Brock released the newly captured Houndor. It seemed very uncertain about the situation. Brock knelt down (putting an arm out to catch and restrain the Totodile with a squish, the Totodile fell to a sitting position looking dazed) and offered the little Houndor a potion and a pokecandy. The Houndor licked at the spicy candy and went for the potion instead. Brock stood again and returned the Totodile to its ball,

'Com'on then, pup. Let's find the others.' The tail wagged a little as it followed after Brock.

They hadn't gone far when they found Sarah. She had her Primeape out and was battling a Houndor of her own,

Pathetique! Just hit it!' She called

Brock looked at the Primeape. It was a little bigger than a Mankey but clearly had no clue as to how to use low kick. Brock noticed that it was at least five levels tougher than the Houndor,

"Sarah you're trying to catch it not kill it.'

Sarah looked over at him, 'What do you mean?'

'Fighting is super effective against Dark'

Brock!' Her tone portrayed how frustrated she was, 'I know he's super effective, that's the point. And, besides, the Houndor is only half dark'

The Houndor was running rings around the Primape when finally a low kick found its mark, more out of chance than skill. The Houndor was thrown off into the grass. It still had some HP left, just enough. Sarah threw a ball at it but the pokemon broke free– determined not o be captured. Sarah threw another one only for it to break as well. The Houndor was panting and had streaks of sweat darkened fur over his shoulders.

' You'll need a great ball." said Brock as has fumbled for one in his bag.

'No, I don't' Sarah said quietly as she sat in the grass. The Houndor growled in defence but didn't move. Sarah released her other pokemon and began petting them and gave out some berries. Houndor sat and gave an indignant whine. She smiled knowingly and held out a berry for him, inviting him to take it. The Houndor barked

'If you want it you'll have to come and get it. I've got potions as well. In fact I'm damn sure that I can teach you Flame thrower.'

The Houndor edged closer with his ears and weight back, wanting the berry. Sarah let him take it and quickly threw another pokeball. The Houndor fought in surprise but resided quickly. Sarah let him out again after returning her other pokemon to their balls. She gave him a gentle but re-assuring pat.

Brock laughed and indicated to his feet, 'I've got one too'

Sarah switched into breeder mode and instinctively sized up the other pup,' your female is a nice complement to my male. We're going to have to do business Brock.'

Brock grabbed her hand and pulled her up into a hug, 'Anything.'

Sarah pulled away a little too quickly, 'later perhaps.'

"Sir, I have that Rapidash's profile for you."

"Pass it here" Replied Giovanni as he looked up from his desk. He looked at the paper in front of him…

level 57, High stats for level, Moves ; Fire blast, Double kick, Thrash and Take down, The stats are too high for him to be a wild Pokemon. He carries the mark of a breeder along route 27. She specialises in Rapidash and Ponyta. This Rapidash has Cold glands instead of hot. Very Cold, nearly Frozen so treat him as an Ice pokemon instead.

He's from a breeder? This pokemon is getting better and better. Contact the breeder and find out what you can. She may have more of them." said Giovanni to the scientist. He then turned to his admin coordinator, "Move the Rapidash into the Arena we're going to have another go."

Giovanni entered the darkness of the arena. The only light at the moment was cast from the open door where they were bringing in Dante. Dante was not excited this time. He had come to accept that he was trapped here. He still detested the men around him and was just as viscous towards them. Once the cage was opened instead of leaping forward into a gallop he jumped out and turned on them, chasing them to the fence line. The last of them had just squeezed through when Dante's nose came through the wooden panels. Giovanni clapped his hands together and the lights came on.

Dante started at the sudden brightness and his eye's fell on Giovanni. Dante was still tired from the morning session; particularly with the Scientists doing those tests on him. He just stood there as though half asleep. Giovanni released a Raichu into the arena. For a moment Dante thought it was Amplitude and neighed in greeting. The Raichu responded with a thunder shock. Dante heard Giovanni yelling but ignored him. He was too tired to care.

Giovanni slowly came along the fence so he was closer to Dante, "I know you're tired, Rapidash. If you can double kick him I'll give you a gold berry. If you make him feint I'll give you a super potion. That's the deal."

Dante looked up at him with tired eyes and slowly walked over to the Raichu. Giovanni smiled. This Raichu was one of his fastest pokemon. Dante would have to work quite hard to earn his reward. He came back to where he was previously and sat himself down. "OK Raichu, Quick attack!" He yelled promptly.

The Raichu ran forward and tried to pounce on Dante. Dante side stepped him so that he missed and at the same time kicked out with his back legs. The Raichu was un prepared for such a quick counter attack and copped the hit quite hard. The Raichu was sent flying and Dante came over to Giovanni to receive the Gold berry. Giovanni held out the Gold berry. As Dante took the berry Giovanni tried to pat his neck. Dante instantly pulled away then took off with a few bucks (He would not let Giovanni touch him again if he could help it). Giovanni wasn't concerned and sat back down. "Raichu, Thunder-shock. Rapidash, Take down!"

Dante bounced from walk into a calm canter as he circled the Raichu. He kept an eye on the Raichu as he ducked around at random to prevent it from taking aim. To compensate for this the Raichu jumped up on Dante's back so that he didn't have to aim. He was on for a whole micro second before Dante started to thrash around. The Raichu was thrown off then copped another Double kick mid flight. The Raichu slowly pulled himself up. He was now quite low on HP. As Dante rounded on him the Raichu took aim and hit Dante with a thunder shock, Dante collided with the ground, twisting a heel in the process. He slid up quite close to where the Raichu was waiting. Dante had barely come to a stop when he fire blasted the Raichu as it jumped aside. The Raichu received a glancing hit but was out of it before he had hit the ground.

Giovanni came onto the grounds. He gave a revive to his Raichu and gave the super potion to Dante, "if you had done what I had told you to do, this would be a hyper potion. Think about that. I always reward those who follow my instructions. Now get back into your cage. When you start following my instructions on request I will give you a stall instead. How does that sound."

Dante slowly turned and limped his way back to his cage. It was now at the stage when he only felt safe in his cage. He climbed in without fuss and lay down in the dirty hay. His friends were no longer there waiting for him. They had been sent out to warehouse B (wherever that was). He was now here alone apart from Togepi.

Ash and Misty returned with a hot chocolate in each hand. Brock and Sarah had been busily getting used to their new pokemon. Brock came over and thanked them for the drink. The instant he sat on the bench with them he gave a very audible yawn. The Houndor curled up and slept with its head on Brock's foot. Together they watched Sarah finish her battle against the wild Murkrow. She then walked over to them. There had been an incredible change in her Houndor as it practically pranced at her heels. From being very nervous to start with it was already five levels stronger and had a cheeky twinkle in its eyes. Misty handed her a cup.

'Oh yes, just what the doctor ordered.' sighed Sarah after the first swig. 'Shadow is learning very fast and growing quickly. How's yours Brock?'

'She's quiet now but was going strong a moment ago.'

'What time is it?' Yawned Ash

'Very late.' said Misty as she pulled out her pokegear, 'Correction very early.'

'We'd better get back then.' Sarah finished her drink and returned Shadow to his pokeball.

The morning was a bit too bright for their tired eyes. They sat in a café as far away from the windows as they could get. Chikorita called out in welcome as a little Spearow fluttered through the open door to land on Sarah's shoulder,

'Good morning Melody, have you found any signs yet?' Sarah held up both hands. The Spearow landed on the left one (meaning no) and looked down as Sarah's plate. Sarah pulled some crust from her toast and gave it to her,

'We'll find them. Keep looking.'

'What should we do today?' Asked Brock as he pushed Houndor aside (she was curled up lazily on the bench and had been slowly progressing more and more onto Brock's lap) it yawned and rolled over so Brock could scratch her belly.

'Well.' Sarah looked up from the Spearow, 'I'm going to keep training Shadow. There's little else we can do until we know where our pokemon are. We've got just over a month before the league, I'm sure we'll get them back in time.

Dante awoke as his cage was being moved. They were moving him into the arena again. As they passed Togepi's cage Dante bobbed his head and nickered softly. He then climbed to his feet. This time the arena was different. It was already lit and the stands were full of rockets. The long tables at the end near where Giovanni usually sat were occupied by the Rocket commissioners and the heads of department. This was intended to be a spectacular display for them to illustrate Giovanni's power and confidence. At first the crowd scared Dante and he withdrew to the back of the cage and would not come out. A rocket used a hook on a long pole to snare Dante's halter and bring him forward. Dante was fighting as best he could but he found himself surrounded by Rocket grunts. They clipped a small speaker to his halter so that he could hear what Giovanni was saying. Then they backed off and left him standing just outside the cage. Dante was a nervous wreck and turned to climb back into the cage, but the door was shut. He then heard Giovanni's voice near his ear and he nearly leapt out of his skin in fright, "Rapidash, This is your first test. If you do what I ask then you won't have to go back to that cage. If you do what I say then I will give you a nice clean stall and proper feeding. That's right, I treat my pokemon well. All you need to do is show me and these other people that you do belong to me."

Dante tried to shake the voice from his head but the clip held firm. Dante resided and slowly walked away from the cage. A camera flashed somewhere to his right and he panicked. He jumped into a gallop and moved swiftly around the arena. He was terrified by all the people and their cheers and applause only made him run faster, and faster. Eventually he pulled away from the edge of the arena and slid to a halt in the middle of the arena with a mighty rear. He pawed the ground angrily as Giovanni released the Rhydon into the arena. Dante heard Giovanni again, "Fire blast him like you did to the others. Do it without getting hit in return."

Dante trotted forward nervously as the Rhydon lined up to attack. The Rhydon then threw himself into the ground with a powerful full strength earthquake. Dante broke into a canter and, adjusting his stride, he jumped cleanly over the pulse. He then pulled quickly to the left to avoid a rockslide attack. The Rhydon was pulling out all the stoppers but Dante really wanted that stall. The crowd was very much entertained by Dante as he kept moving and evading the Rhydon's attacks and waited for his opening. It came as Rhydon recoiled from a takedown attack. Dante Fire Blasted the Rhydon from behind. The blue flame licked around the Rhydon and the flame kept flowing until the Rhydon fainted.

Cheers erupted from the crowd of black and red. Dante reared again as though he was accepting their applause. This applause was his ticket out of the cage and he knew it. Dante pirouetted away from Giovanni and did a lovely half pass across the arena before pirouetting again in the middle of the arena as he waited for his next opponent. Giovanni was enjoying his display as much as the others in the arena and threw the Chansey into the fray. Dante tossed his mane and flashed his quieter blue eyes as he came forward.

"Double kick" came Giovanni's voice.

Dante moved from walk into canter as he waited for Chansey to attack. The problem was that Metronome was a highly random move, so he would have to be ready for anything. The Chansey taunted him with tail whip like he had done previously. Dante made his move and swept passed the Chansey. As she turned to keep her eyes on him she collided with his two back hooves. The Chansey nearly fainted at the super effective technique. She only had three HP left. She closed her eyes and conjured up another move. She used future sight but in doing that she had left herself wide open. Dante came passed her again; knocking her over with his shoulder. She was out of it.

Again the crowd cheered. Giovanni Smiled to himself. The Rapidash was not only listening and doing as told but was entertaining the crowd at the same time. The woman beside him gave a broad smile and thumbs up. Giovanni shrugged her off and threw the next pokeball into the Arena. A Charizard flew out. Again Dante thought it was either Ash's Charizard or maybe Maniac. He reared in salute and called to him. This Charizard was a female and took Dante's call as an invitation to attack. Dante however was convinced that he knew this Charizard and didn't attack; even when the Charizard had taken to chasing him around the arena. Dante forgot about the crowd and ignored Giovanni's voice as it purred into his ear. Eventually Dante felt the microphone clip starting to slip. He slid to a stop and gave a mighty toss of his head as he double kicked the Charizard coming up behind him. Giovanni had not noticed that the speaker had flown into the dirt of the arena. The Charizard had taken the double kick but Dante had underestimated how fast the Charizard had been moving. The Charizard collided with him as it crashed to the ground. The two pokemon got tangled up together as they rolled to a stop. Everyone held their breath as the two pokemon tried to untangle themselves. Dante was thrashing about in the dirt unable to get up. The Charizard had her wing torn and was licking it gently then to add insult to injury the future sight howled through hitting both of them.

Giovanni returned the Charizard to her ball and handed it to a scientist for treatment before entering the Arena and moving up to the injured Rapidash. Dante's front leg was bleeding and his other one had seized up completely from a damaged tendon. Dante was rolling around in agony as he fought the pull of the cramped leg. Giovanni tried to reach over to calm him down but he saw the whites of Dante's eyes and knew that he was too terrified and hurt to let Giovanni anywhere near him. Giovanni released a Gastley who used hypnosis on Dante. Only then could they get close enough to him to help him. Once in the relaxed state of hypnosis his seized leg released and they were able to splint it as well as bandage the bleeding leg. By now most of the crowd had dispersed. The VIPs had remained in their seats. They did not blame Giovanni for what had happened but Giovanni was still furious with Dante for the mess up. He gave him an awakening and the grunts managed to get him back into the cage. Giovanni was slowly beating Dante. Dante had started to follow instructions given to him. Dante had even enjoyed the experience of working before a crowd and lapped up the applause that he received. Dante was adjusting to this new life. The trainers would have to work faster. The longer he remains here the harder it will be for him to leave.

Out at Warehouse B things were just as bad. The pokemon had been handed out among the rocket grunts that were of higher standing than most. They themselves were making use of the underground arena there to train the pokemon. Mostly though, the Pokemon slept in their Balls. They were all fighting with the rockets instead of each other. The Charizards were constantly flambéing the nearest person every time they were let out. The Birds were flying about freely doing droppings on the Rocket heads below them. Amplitude and Pikachu had become so highly charged with static that the Rockets were getting shocked by just brushing up against the pokeballs. Worse yet the other pokemon in the warehouse were starting to follow their lead. After a few weeks every pokemon in the warehouse was misbehaving in some way or other.

Suddenly, just as the Rockets didn't have anywhere to turn, the pokemon started to behave again as one morning the rockets woke up and the pokemon were quiet. The pokemon had come up with a plan to get themselves out. They did exactly what was asked and when. At first it was a bit suss and the rockets were weary of another sudden turn but a week went past without any further dramas. After around ten days of the change the Rockets started to relax and it was agreed that the pokemon were now ready to use.

One of the trainers left the hall one day with the bird pokemon. He went about his normal duties and Pidgeotto and Ambient continued to be well behaved. After a few days some of the other trainers were also taking their pokemon out with them. It was a beautiful morning when one of the rockets was battling using Ambient. He had just defeated the other trainer with ease and while the rocket was bullying more money from the boy they'd fought Ambient noticed a young Spearow in a nearby tree watching him. He recognised this little Spearow as his daughter and flew over to her. They conversed briefly before he returned to the Rocket so he wouldn't be missed. The little Spearow flew off as fast as she could to find Sarah and the others.

The two Houndor tumbled in the grass as they played. All of the pokemon were out of their balls as Brock and Sarah prepared lunch. Ash was playing a sort of fetching game using Sarah's ball and Misty was lying back on the bench watching heavy and gloomy looking clouds as they crossed the sky. Sarah growled in annoyance as Shadow pounced on her back; he'd surprised her enough that she'd spilled some of the food,

'Shadow! You're worse than cloud was at your age.'

Shadow responded by wagging his tail so much his whole body wagged with it.

'If you won't behave I'll put you back in your ball.' She warned as she carried the sauce pan over to where Brock was laying out some plates.

Together they'd just sat down when a familiar Spearow landed on the end of the table. With her left hand Sarah offered it a small piece of fruit. Ignoring the fruit Melody flew over to Sarah's right hand; it twittered a pretty little song.

'You found them?'

Melody took to wing and they thought she was going to land on Sarah other hand before she returned to Sarah's right.

'I see you've found some of them.' her face dimmed a little

Melody pulled the same manoeuvre.

'You found one of them?' Her face screwed up slightly as if she was bracing herself.

Melody took to wing briefly before landing on the same hand, 'yes'

They quickly finished their lunch and began to pack their things. Sarah stepped to one side and pulled out her phone,

Beep beep….beep beep

Saffron city police station, officer jenny speaking.

Hi officer it's Sarah here.

Yes Sarah? I am afraid we have no leads as yet.

That's alright I have one for you. One of our pokemon has been spotted near here. We're about to head out now and see for ourselves. We'll be heading east for the bicycle road.'

Thank you I'll head out shortly… keep me informed please.

Click!

Feeling better than she had in days Sarah returned her pokemon to their balls. She longed for Dante and wished he was here now so she could gallop off in pursuit. Melody first led the group to the boy who had been bullied by the rocket. This is where Officer Jenny met up with them.

'Where did you see you're pokemon?' she asked

Sarah had a hard time explaining. It was eventually Melody who kept flying over to a boy nearby who got their attention.

'Excuse me?' Brock asked the boy, 'Have you seen any high level pokemon recently?'

The boy looked shaken and Officer Jenny came over,

'We're tracking some stolen pokemon. They are league contenders so will be stronger than most.'

The boy nodded, 'I was challenged by a rocket this morning, he had a Pidgeot stronger than he had badges.'

'Did you see which way he went?'

The boy pointed back towards saffron city, he came from and went that way.'

'Thank you for your assistance.' Jenny nodded. She returned to her bike and put a call to dispatch.

That night Ambient told the other pokemon that their trainers knew where they were now and would be coming for them soon. The only problem was finding Dante and Togepi. Together the Charizards figured that if they were bad enough the Rocket that claimed them would eventually need to go to Giovanni or even better Giovanni would have to come here. Then psychotic could put a psychic tag on him.

The plan was executed the next morning. Maniac and Ash's Charizard looked at each other quickly, smiled and took off in opposite directions. The poor Rocket had not expected trouble and didn't know which pokemon to go after. Together Charizard and Maniac released a couple of other pokemon including Psychotic. They soared around starting some small fires. Some Rockets ran around frantically as they tried to put out the fires, others were trying to restrain the loose pokemon and a couple of more experienced trainers had taken to rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter. Suddenly, sooner than expected, Giovanni burst into the room.

He was wild with anger, "What is all this noise!" He took a brief look around and released a Gastley to put the other pokemon to sleep. "Get these pokemon back into their cages!" He pushed a nearby admin towards an open cage, "What did I tell you about the Charizards! These pokemon are too strong for amateurs and you losers couldn't keep a caterpie locked up. Now I am going back to my meeting and I don't want to hear another peep. Any questions?"

Not a single person was brave enough to say anything. They simply got to work putting the pokemon back in their cages and hoped they would stay asleep (at least until Giovanni's meeting was over). No such luck. Psychotic awoke just in time to place a tag on Giovanni before he was jumped by a couple of rockets and forced back into his cage.

Giovanni was not the only one who was disturbed by the outbreak; Dante woke from a restless dream to the familiar sound of a Charizard's roar. Dante had sensed the disturbance. He lifted his head as he listened. In a large stall across from him the female Charizard tenderly stretched out her almost healed wing. She half woke as the pain came down her shoulder. Dante sniffed at his own injuries and nibbled at the bandage on his foreleg. Presently the Chansey waddled down the aisle stopping between Dante and the Charizard. She smiled sweetly and winked to Dante as she slowly lifted a little bell from her pouch. She rang it gently and it filled the room with a beautiful, barely audible tune that filled Dante with a remarkable sense of pleasure. Without realising it he got up and started to sway ever so slightly. He felt as though he was being supported by the air itself, as though he was floating. He then felt great heat in his legs and back then it subsided, taking the stiffness and soreness with it. He was fully healed again.

Dante was now fully relaxed and nodded in thanks to the Chansey. She winked at him again then pointed to a Rattata that was at her feet. Dante looked curiously at the Rattata as it came forward to speak with him. The Rattata had just come from Warehouse B which it turns out was not all that far away at all, where the other stolen Pokemon were being kept. The Rattata told Dante about how the others were working to get him out as well as themselves. Dante stepped back in shock, he had not thought of Sarah for some time. Now her face came flooding into his mind as he remembered. Then Giovanni's Persian came in. He pounced at the Rattata and told him to keep his mouth to himself and stop talking about things he didn't understand. The Persian reminded Dante as to where he was and told him how much better off he was with Giovanni.

Sarah followed Melody through the forest and along a ridge. Ash, Brock and Misty could do little besides try and keep up. There were no trails through the wilderness and bush so the going was rough. Many pokemon were seen. Some fled in the wake of the trainers and others looked up with mild curiosity. Jenny had gone back to town to gather some reinforcements and would meet them later. Later had slowly become late afternoon as they finally trudged out of the forest and back onto the road. The first thing they did was head for the nearest pokemon centre.

They rested themselves and their pokemon as they waited for Officer Jenny to catch up. She'd managed to track down a handful of other trainers with complaints about the rocket wielding Ambient like a toy. She'd tracked him to a set of run down and shady looking buildings. As night fell once again things grew tense. Many officers had gathered in the town and it was becoming apparent that they had a plan.

Later that night while the other pokemon slept Dante broke out. He put his mouth around the rope to freeze it solid then pulled back sharply to break it. He then left the stables to look around. He started slightly as the Rattata came out of hiding. The Rattata climbed up Dante's Tail then ran across his back and up his neck till he was sitting between Dante's ears. He directed Dante to the other pokemon in Warehouse B and showed him how to open the large sliding door using a piece of rope. Dante then opened the cages to release the pokemon inside. He decided to release everybody, not just those he knew and he would take each of them to the door.

Needless to say the pokemon were more shocked than anything. There was Dante letting them out when they had been planning to get him out. They saw that he was in good health but his old friends also saw that he was in a bad way. The bright shine had gone from his eyes. His coat was white and clean but lacked the glamour that it once shone with, even his fire had changed to a calmer deeper blue compared to the pale ice blue of before. He was still beautiful but no longer stunning. The last pokemon he released from the cages was psychotic. He walked Psychotic silently to the door and turned to go back inside and return to his stall. Psychotic was angered by this and tried to convince Dante to escape with them.

Dante wouldn't have a bar of it. He would be better off here with Giovanni and nothing the others could say would convince him otherwise. A pale light seeped into the eastern sky as the dawn started to come closer. Out of desperation Psychotic took Dante psychically back to before Giovanni. He showed Dante how wild and free he was, he showed him how much Sarah loved him but before he could convince Dante completely a siren rang out marking the discovery of the now empty cages. There would be no more time for Dante to return to his stall now so he would have to go with them. He lowered his neck so that Psychotic could grab his mane and climb onto his back. Dante then sprang forward and galloped down the street to Saffron city. A few houselights were flickering on as the siren from the warehouse woke the surrounding neighbourhood.

A familiar roar roused the group from a light slumber. Recognising the charizard's call Ash and Sarah ran outside. They could see spotlights blaring and could hear the sound of a distant siren.

'Charizard, over here!'

'Maniac!'

Two Charizard soared over the roof tops. When they spotted their trainers they landed heavily. Sarah wasted no time in climbing onto maniac's back,

'Call officer Jenny and let her know what's happening.'

'Right!' said Brock as he walked away a few steps with his phone already out and waiting.

'What about me?' Said Ash, still not really willing to fly on Charizard.

'Well, are you coming?' Sarah had no time to be annoyed with him as maniac took off.

Charizard didn't wait for Ash to decide, putting his head low he forced Ash onto his back, albeit backwards

Dante heard a sound that struck fear into his bones; the sound of Rocket jeeps coming after them. They were just catching up with the other pokemon. Dante called for the pokemon to turn bush and a Fearow led them off to the south west and into the wild forest that grew there. Dante easily moved to the head of the group and showed them the way through the dense under growth that would help to slow down the Rocket jeeps that were catching up to them. Up ahead he saw a stream come into view. He steered the group in the direction and told them to follow it down stream. As his hooves met the fresh clear water he pirouetted around to face the oncoming jeeps. As he did the wildness came back to his eyes and the Rockets in the jeeps watched as Aqua highlights flowed into his mane as it grew paler and paler. Then his eyes went white and he seemed to glow slightly as he pawed the ground angrily.

The Rockets didn't know what to do but Giovanni started to come forward, 'Rapidash you know who I am. I am the one who gave you a stall. I'm the one who gave you good feed and an audience to entertain. Why did you break away from me? Why did you steal the pokemon of my colleagues?" His voice was silky smooth, his face purposefully blank.

Giovanni then saw that Dante was not listening. Dante was far to busy dancing in the stream as though determined to give one last show. He twirled and reared calling to the oncoming dawn. It was Giovanni who first noticed it; snow was forming on the banks of the stream. Every time Dante shook his beautiful blue mane Snowflakes would be tossed out of it. The stream at his feet slowly began to freeze as Dante grew colder and colder. Giovanni now panicked and grabbed a nearby net gun. Dante seemed to call up a wind as the net was swiped off target and into a nearby bush. Giovanni went to pull a master ball from his pocket but by the time he looked up Dante had Vanished with a swirl of snow and a flicker of blue.

The jeeps raced forward in all directions. They were near a long low cliff but the pokemon didn't realise that. Rocket broke into a long line and came up against the cliff slowly to cut off the escaping pokemon. It worked wonderfully as the pokemon ran along the top of the cliff to find the jeeps waiting for them. The Rockets now crept in as though tightening the noose. They had now formed a large coral using the jeeps and came in slowly, closing around Dante and the other pokemon. Dante moved forward to protect his friends and his friends now came up and stood beside him. There would be no more running. The other pokemon followed their lead and started to gather as well. The Rockets were needless to say getting quite unnerved by the sight.

Giovanni gathered himself up as if accepting the challenge He released his Persian into the front and called to Dante, "I challenge you, Rapidash as the leader of team Rocket. You are the leader of these pokemon are you not?"

As the Chrizards soared towards the run down buildings Sarah spotted a flash of white through the trees below her. She called out for Maniac to turn back just as the weather took a sudden turn for the worst. Thick black clouds poured out of thin air, cascading down and hiding the scene below from view. Sarah heard ash call out and when she looked back she wasn't prepared for the myriad of bird pokemon that were following them.

Dante glared at Giovanni and Dante's friends looked to him to see what he would do. Dante took a step towards Giovanni and then lifted his head and neighed angrily. Giovanni stood his ground, "Meowth!"

Quietly Meowth came to the front and took a deep breath, "Sir he says that this is no battle between pokemon. This is not a dual between you and him and the battle cannot be resolved by a dual. You are not their rightful trainer. He says…"

"Enough!" said Giovanni sternly and he had heard enough. He lifted his hand in signal and the Rocket grunts lifted their net guns. Dante stepped back into the group, lowering his head in acceptance of Giovanni's terms. The pokemon readied for the fight. The Rockets took their aim. Everyone held their breath, waiting for someone to make the first move. The first move was then made by the weather as lightning split the air and thunder rendered the silence. They had not noticed the clouds rolling in. The group of Rockets lost their focus as a second flash awoke their senses to this new danger. Giovanni watched Dante's eye flash with cunning through the rain that now plummeted in sleets on the icy wind. Rockets were running for cover but Giovanni's voice boomed over head like the thunder, ordering them to hold their ground despite the storm.

Then unseen among the clouds wafted familiar voices. The two Charizards had flown in with the storm, not that it was a real storm. The Charizards landed between the Pokemon and the Rockets and ash fell unceremoniously into the mud.. Giovanni dropped his hand and the few rockets that held fast fired their net guns. The Charizards melted the nets with flames as they flew forward and landed as smelly goo at their feet.

"HALT!" Yelled a voice from behind Giovanni. It was Officer Jenny. She had come with a full squadron of men to arrest the larger-than-expected group of Rocket members. Giovanni seemed amused more than anything and threw a smoke ball at his feet leaving everyone (Rockets included) bent over gasping for air. The officers moved in as many many bird pokemon managed to blow away the smoke. Then there was a fight. The remaining Rockets released their pokemon in defence only for most of them to turn on the rockets themselves. There was then a very messy scene with pokemon everywhere, Rockets struggling with other Rockets as well as the Officers.

It was not surprising that Giovanni and his two best men had managed to slip away in the confusion. Dante saw them go and went to follow them. He came upon Giovanni standing alone with his back to him. Dante called angrily to Giovanni. He didn't respond for a moment then turned slowly with a smile. Dante had just enough time to get really concerned before the two rockets jumped up throwing ropes around his neck. It was now Dante's turn to not respond. Giovanni's smile vanished as the rockets dropped the ropes moments before they shattered. Giovanni's smile returned, "I see you have mastered your skills now. You would not have been able to do this if it weren't for me. Hm hm hm I still win." He wasted a few seconds watching Dante's response to this before pitching another Smoke Ball and vanishing again.

Dante returned to where Sarah was waiting with the others. She leaped up and ran oven to him. She then remembered herself and stopped a few metres away from him and knelt down. The formality did not hide her overjoyed expression. Dante trotted the last few metres and rubbed his head all over her with such force that she over balanced. Out of instinct she had grabbed his head to keep her balance. She and the others instantly held their breath knowing that Dante would be frightened by the sudden restriction. Instead he nickered quietly and tossed her into the mud any way.

Sarah sat in the mud for a few minutes before exploding with laughter. Dante did shy at her outburst but remained where he was. The others joined in the laughter. They came over and helped Sarah up. Sarah tried to pull Ash into the mud beside her but Ash had been ready and let her hand slide away. "Nice try, but everyone was expecting that,"

"Maybe, but what about him?"

"Who?" Ash's question was answered as he turned around. Dante purposefully bumped him over and into the mud. Ash was now worse off than Sarah was because she had been kneeling not standing.

Together with Jenny and the Officers they returned to town where many people were waiting for the return of their stolen pokemon. There were many cheers and it was almost like a carnival atmosphere. Ash, Brock, Misty and Sarah didn't go far into the town. They quietly slipped off to the side and into the Pokemon Centre away from the crowd. Officer Jenny was there waiting for them with a smile and fresh shower sets. She nodded towards the spa baths.

End of Part Two

Part Three : Dante's Surprise

It had been hours. Ash and Brock waited patiently for Misty and Sarah outside the spa baths. They had been given special passes by Officer Jenny. Finally The girls came out, Smiling and clearly refreshed. Nothing was really said as the group headed out to get something to eat. It had stopped raining now and the clouds had all disappeared. They walked down the street towards a nice café. It seemed as though the whole of Saffron was smiling with them. There had never been such a large group of Rockets apprehended at once before so everyone was relaxed.

'They say that Giovanni is still at large.' said Misty to break the silence.

'What did you have to say that for? I was enjoying the peace.' Complained Brock, 'What do you reckon Sarah?' He said as he glanced in her direction.

'I'm not sure. I believe we have earned a rest for now. I mean the Officers got nearly everyone. I can't see Giovanni hanging around or even presenting himself until he has more goons to protect him'

'Who says I need protection?' came an evil, malevolent voice from behind them.

Before anyone knew what was happening Sarah had Gary on the ground. She had a fierce cold glare in her eye that took a moment to pass.

'Oh, no. What are you doing here?' Said Ash sarcastically as Sarah recovered her feet

'I heard they got Rocket stopped at last and I've come to personally thank those responsible.' said Gary as he picked himself up with a particularly evil glare at Sarah.

The four friends couldn't help themselves. They released their pokemon all at once and looked at Gary's stunned face. 'What's the matter Gary? I thought you said you were here to personally thank those responsible...Well, thank away.' said Brock.

'I didn't...no...you!' Gary sputtered.

'Yes, Gary 'us' so thank 'us' kindly and leave 'us' alone!' glared Misty.

Gary said nothing. He studied the pokemon in silence and stomped away, 'Thanks for showing me your pokemon.'

The four friends burst out laughing; the joke was on Gary because they hadn't got around to withdrawing their regular pokemon yet. In fact it reminded them to do it so they logged on to the PC at the Café in turn. Afterwards they ordered burgers and drinks 'to go' and left the Café quickly. Once outside of the town they headed to a nearby pond. They let their pokemon out of their pokeballs and sat in the grass to eat their lunch. The pokemon were overjoyed to be back into their normal lives and even happier to be back on the food made by Brock and Sarah. After lunch all of the pokemon were pampered to the extreme. They were each given a really thorough wash and groom. Afterwards the red ball came out and everyone got involved in a game of Volleyball in the soft river sand near the pond. It was a long time until they noticed that Sarah was nowhere to be seen. They didn't have to go to far to find her. She was sitting on a rock watching Dante.

'What's the matter, Sarah?' asked Brock.

'Just thinking,' she said softly. She gave a heartbreaking sniff.

Brock came forward and knelt in front of her with his hands on hers. 'Why are you crying? We have our pokemon back now, Team rocket is practically gone.'

'I know and I am happy about that. But please Brock, tell me what you see.' She said; pointing her chin to where Dante was grazing.

Brock looked over to Dante. He stood up and walked over to him. Dante raised his head with his ears forward as Brock approached. Presently Misty and Ash came up, 'Brock is that safe?' asked Misty not that it mattered. Brock was scratching Dante under the chin and Dante looked as though he could fall asleep then and there. Ash looked to Sarah as she sighed and pulled up her legs so she was balanced precariously on the rock with her chin resting on her knees and her arms hugging her shins. 'Is Dante sick?' asked Ash as he picked up on Sarah's mood.

'In a way, he certainly isn't himself' Ash heard Sarah mutter under her breath.

Brock came over and knelt down again where he had been before. 'I am so sorry Sarah.' He rubbed her hand sympathetically and got up. He walked back to Ash and Misty, 'I think she'll appreciate some time alone with Dante.'

'Why? What's the matter with him?' asked Ash, now starting to get worried and glancing over to Dante.

'That depends. But it looks like Giovanni has broken him.'

'What do you mean?'

'Look at him, Ash. He has no spark in his eye and his fire is burning low and soft. I don't know what Giovanni has done to him but he is a different Rapidash now and poor Sarah may never see the old one again.'

The three looked over to Dante then to Sarah and were forced to agree with Brock on this. They could not deny that Dante was no longer as wild as he had been.

They walked back to the other pokemon again. They lay out in the sand and started to think of their next move. It was only a few days until the pokemon league. They would have to take the bus again to get there in time. Misty Rolled over onto her stomach and reached for her bag.

'What'cha doin'' came Brocks sleepy voice.

'Checking the bus ticket to see if it's a return ticket or not.' Misty replied as she sifted through her bag for the tickets. There was a silent pause as she looked for the use by date. 'Um, Brock, I think we have a problem.'

'Not another one, what now.'

'This ticket expires in about fifteen minutes.'

'What?" Said Brock as he sat up and looked over at Ash's Poke gear. 'We'd better get moving….Look at this place!'

Brock had an excellent point. There were cooking and grooming supplies scattered hither and thither not to mention all of the pokemon toys.

They threw everything in to any one of the boxes and hurriedly transferred them into the PC on Sarah's Laptop. Sarah then released Ambient and Maniac and proceeded to climb onto maniacs back. 'We're going to have to fly there or we won't make it.'

'How? There's only two pokemon between four of us.' Proclaimed Misty who figured it would be a perfect excuse to avoid flying.

'Here,' Said Sarah as she tossed the HM to Ash. 'I had assumed your Pidgeotto and Charizard had already learned it.'

'But it will mess up Charizard's moves' Wined Ash.

Sarah was really annoyed by this, 'Look Ash. We don't have much option at the moment." Sarah then saw Ash's expression, 'Oh, Fine.' Sarah then climbed down from Maniac and pulled out her laptop. She deposited a number of pokemon and pulled out a Pair of Fearows. She quickly taught the Female Fly and prepared to leave. 'Come on Misty! Circe won't peck, I swear he has extremely smooth flight. We're almost out of time.'

Finally (with much squawking from Circe) Misty was settled on his back and they took off for Celadon which was mercifully close at hand. They landed in a flurry of feathers just as the bus was about to leave. The bus driver was nearly as annoyed as Sarah at their lateness and tried to charge them full fare. But it seemed that professor Oak was even later than they were as he came bustling across the street.

'I almost thought you weren't coming Oak said as he climbed onto the bus seat in front of them.

'If Misty hadn't checked our ticket when she did then we wouldn't have made it.'

'Misty, Why is there a feather in your hair?' asked Oak with a slight smile.

'Call it an undignified entrance to town' said Brock.

'Well if that bird had just flown properly it would have been fine.' snided Misty

'Well if you had stopped pulling on his neck as though it were a joystick he would have.' Retorted Sarah coldly.

'Well what was I supposed to do? I've never flown before remember.'

'And he's never carried before remember'

'Oh, so now you tell me.. I thought you said she was a really smooth flyer'

'He …argh" Sarah didn't finish. Raichu had shocked her through the pokeball and some of it had reached Misty who was sitting next to her. Neither of them said anything more.

'What's gotten into them?' asked Oak as he leaned towards Brock and Ash.

'Let's just say Sarah's all upset about Dante and then Ash and Misty went and annoyed her further.' Brock whispered back.

'Oh, Why is Sarah upset about Dante?'

'It's not my place to say but then Ash here wouldn't teach Fly to any of his pokemon and then Misty caused problems with Sarah's Fearow. The pair was for breeding I would think.'

After that they all got talking about the pokemon league and even Misty and Sarah had eased up by the time they reached Pewter City where they would be spending the night. In the City people seemed to be in a similar mood to those in Saffron. They were all relaxed and happy. People were either talking about the Coming Pokemon league or the future of the Team Rocket gangs. It seemed that there were a number of people that would be catching the bus to the league in the morning. Many trainers were having practice battles down at the park and making final adjustments to their strategies. Others were watching and studying them. That's where Sarah was. She was to be found down at the park reviewing notes and making new ones. She wasn't the only one either. In fact she (well psychotic actually) caught one boy trying to steal her notes. Needless to say the battle was brief and the boy ran off crying, leaving the notebook behind. Sarah picked up the notebook and flicked through it. It was clear that the boy had no idea what he had written about and that the notes were stolen from other people. Sarah threw the notebook in the bin and got up to go.

'Stealing Ideas are we?' came a familiar voice.

'Drop dead, Gary' Said Sarah calmly as she turned and reached out her hand for her book.

'How can you read this?' Said Garry as he flicked through the pages and turning the notebook around to see if the coding made sense when it was upside down. He shook his head and dropped the book on the ground at his feet.

'That's how I avoid peeping toms like you Gary.' Sarah sighed as she picked up her book and wiped it off. 'One day you'll be in here to, not that I consider you worth remembering.'

'Ouch, be nice Sarah.' Laughed Gary as he walked over and tried to fish the boy's notebook out of the rubbish.

Sarah smiled herself and headed back to where Ash was doing some touch up training. Sarah released Dante and sat on the grass next to Misty with her laptop. She then spent the remaining daylight organising her Pokemon Boxes and the items in her pack. She would not be allowed to take the laptop into the stadium so she needed to get organised now.

Ash was having a ball. There were many trainers of varying experience levels in the park. There were some other trainers that posed serious challenges. Ash used up many supplies and didn't win all of them. It wasn't an issue to lose to league contenders at this stage. There was still 36 hours to work out their weaknesses. He tried again to get Sarah to battle but was yet again unsuccessful.

The first round disappeared in a whirl of pokemon and faces. The preliminaries did nothing but weed out those trainers who didn't really belong there. You didn't have to be a qualified judge to see who was using fake, stolen or borrowed badges. By the end of the first day half the trainers who'd signed up were already on their way home. Ash had an easy time, flogging the opposing youth using Pikachu. He was disappointed to have only used the one pokemon. Sarah had a much harder time; she'd drawn a proper trainer. She needed five out of six pokemon and lost two of them to claim victory. The group sat a few seats up from Professor oak and watched the proceedings. Sarah was sitting right up the top and away from the others, scribbling in her notebook. Ash directed Brock's attention,

'What is she writing now?'

'They're battle reports. As it turned out she's been here every year since she was a kid. You know how after the pokemon league you can purchase copies of certain battle reports, you know, the ones you fight in and those of the top three trainers. Well essentially she's the one that does it. She uses the money to fund her training. It's my understanding that she's got enough to purchase a farm near her home town.'

'Those battle books are very popular.' said Ash, 'I'll bet every trainer fighting will want one.'

'Yeh.'

'Do you think she'd give me a copy of Gary's?'

'Being Gary it couldn't hurt.'

Ash left his seat and climbed the stairs to where she sat. she didn't even look up as he sat down, '

'I'm kinda busy Ash.'

'I know. I was wondering if I could see Gary's battle reports?'

'Sorry but no,' Sarah paused for a moment, 'Gary?…'

'Yeh, he's been my rival for as long as I've been a trainer.'

'Ash. I'll talk to you later.' Sarah was looking impatient and Ash actually took a hint.

Feeling determined Ash re-approached the subject a little later, on their way to the Auditorium where they exchange challenger cards.

'Sarah, I was wondering if I could have a copy of Gary's battle reports?'

'I'm sorry Ash but that's not fair to Gary. I suppose I could let you see them for a little while but I can't give you a copy.'

'Tonight then?'

'Why not this afternoon? The next battles are tonight and I'll need my laptop.'

As they approached the battles counter Brock and Misty held back. Ash and Sarah handed over their challenge cards and received the opposition cards in return. Going to the computers they logged on and downloaded the who, when and where. Ash sighed,

'Looks like a night fight for me.'

'I'm going to be up before dawn myself'

'Sarah, who takes the notes when you're battling? Or when you can't be in two places as one time?'

'I know a couple of professors who help out.'

Ash suspected there was something left unsaid but didn't press for a more precise answer.

Brock and Misty led them away from the coliseum and down the street to a battle park. Sarah logged on and went into Gary's file before handing her laptop to Ash to read through. In the meantime she'd withdrawn Shadow and spent some time training him against some particularly tough opponents. Brock busied himself making some lunch and Misty played with Togepi. Misty also enjoyed fiddling with Sarah's Vapoureon, Cloud. The problem was that Cloud was too easily distracted and wouldn't sit still long enough to be groomed.

All too soon for Ash it was time to head back. He had to admit that Sarah's battle reports were not just informative but entertaining, using actual quotes from the trainers. Ash walked away a good deal less certain about battling Gary. He may have been a lousy human being but he was highly successful as a trainer and changed his pokemon regularly. Sarah had added the footnote that Gary was a 'flavour of the month' trainer and Ash had only a vague idea of what that meant. As Sarah reclaimed her laptop Ash went over the details he'd picked up. He said very little as they re-entered the coliseum. The friends then parted. Ash was competing so headed downstairs to the locker room. Brock and Misty found the professor and he accompanied them to a pretty good seating position. Sarah resumed her place at the very top.

The Announcer's voice was infuriatingly neutral as he introduced the trainers. Ash was battling a Hiker named Urong. It was a three battler challenge (meaning that they carried six pokemon but were only allowed to use three).

'Who do you think Ash will send out first, Brock?' Misty looked at him, watching his face.

'Well, Charizard won't be much use. Hikers like fighting, ground and rock pokemon. Perhaps his Pidgeotto– but it's weak against rock...I think he'll use either Bulbasaur or Squirtle– maybe Lapras.'

'Oh, I hope he uses Lapras.'

'You would' Brock smiled.

Misty hadn't heard him as the crowd burst into a cheer. A singsong call told them that Ash had put Lapras out and the responding screech sounded like an Onix. Brock patted the ball at his side without realising it and moved to the edge of his seat. For an Onix this one was pretty fast, it was safe underground by the time Surf came through. Lapras found it difficult to move without water around and was unable to avoid the attack from below. It was a critical hit but Lapras shook it off easily. Onix turned to attack her but faced right into another surf attack. Onix was returned to its ball and suddenly there was a Nidoqueen in the arena in its place. Everyone was surprised by this, it wasn't a usual choice by a hiker. She was very strong and it was fairly clear that she was this hiker's favourite pokemon.

Ash gave instructions and Lapras used Ice beam. It hit but was largely absorbed, the Nidoqueen still had three quarters of her HP and counter attacked with Thunder. Lapras was down and out and Ash looked worried. He couldn't bring out Squirtle or Pidgeotto as long as Nidoqueen could use Thunder. Ash tried to think about what was good for poison and realised that Sarah's Alakazam would be quite welcome here. He nearly put out Bulbasaur but at the last moment remembered that Bulbasaur would be weak against the poison attacks. With little other choice Pikachu ran out to face the Nidoqueen. Pikachu was somewhat faster than the Nidoqueen and managed to hit her with Thunder. The Nidoqueen was under half health. Nidoqueen was asked to use Earthquake but was unfortunately paralysed. She was wacked by another Thunder attack for her lack of effort. Pikachu had nearly done it but Ash wasn't confidant that Pikachu's luck would hold and sent Squirtle into the arena. Earthquake was too far along for the opposing trainer to change. Earthquake hit but it wasn't very effective. Squirtle used surf and it was enough to knock out the Nidoqueen.

A Graveller was next out but it didn't last very long against Squirtle. The Battle was Ash's. His friends met him in the winner's circle and accompanied him to the battle desk to pick up his prize money.

'Where's Sarah?'

'Don't be offended Ash.' said Misty kindly, 'She went to bed straight after you're battle. She has to be up pretty early tomorrow and needed to sleep.'

Ash yawned himself now that the adrenaline was wearing off and realised that he didn't blame her.

'Ash! Ash, wake-up!' Brock wasn't being gentle about the wake up call. In the end Brock put pikachu on the bed and gave him a thumbs up. The shock lifted Ash a foot off the mattress.

'Sarah's battling in ten minutes we need to go now.'

In his attempt to wake up, get out of bed and get out the door all in one movement Ash ended up face against the carpet in a tangle of blankets. There were tears in his eyes as he picked himself up. Brock was already outside as Ash pulled on some clothes, he caught up to Brock in the street and was handed a cup of hot chocolate.

'Thanks' Brock.'

'No problem. I figured that you'd want to watch Sarah battle. We're all pretty curious about it.'

'Where's Misty?'

'Gone on ahead to get us some good seats.'

Ash rubbed some sleep from his eyes and took a swig from the mug with a grunt of pleasure.

As it turned out it was pretty pointless for Misty to reserve some seats. A few other league contender's had braved the frost for a chance to size Sarah up but otherwise the stands were deserted. Professor oak was on the other side of the arena. His pokedex was raised and it seemed that he was using it to record the battle– probably for Sarah. It was a female announcer this morning and she introduced Sarah and Cool Trainer Vance.

This was a two on two, four pokemon maximum fight. Sarah didn't hesitate as she released Amplitude and Cloud into the fray. She'd beaten the other trainer out so the other trainer had tried to take a type advantage. Girafarig and a Tropius stood their ground against her. Cloud and Amplitude looked to Sarah as the announcer counted down,

'Three…. Two...One.. FIGHT!'

Sarah's left hand made a chopping motion while her right made a 'thumb to fingers' motion. It was quite bazaar to see and Vance looked sceptical as he gave his orders.

Amplitude was the quickest off the mark, using thunder against the Tropius. It was a good strike but not super effective. The responding razor leaf dealt serious damage to cloud. Cloud counter attacked using bite against the Girafarig. Girafarig was out cold and was replaced by a Nosepass.

Second turn came around and again Amplitude was quickest off the mark. The critical hit saw the Tropius nearly faint. The Tropius used another razor leaf. Cloud had little hope of surviving it. Sarah gave a quick apology before sending out Psychotic. Psychic made short work of the Nosepass and the trainer put out a Houndoom who made short work of psychotic. While Amplitude finished off the Tropius Sarah sent out Ecolos.

Vance sent out a Dugtrio, its level considerably higher than the other pokemon. Its first manoeuvre was dig and it disappeared underground. Sarah signalled her pokemon. Amplitude ran forward into a slam that knocked the Houndoom enough off balance that it flinched. Ecolos used earthquake. It was super effective against the Houndoom… It was super effective against Amplitude (who would have been taken out in the dig attack anyway) and because the Dugtrio was underground at the time, it was super effective against it as well. In one attack Ecolos had wiped the field of pokemon and landed Sarah as victor.

She was thrilled with the result and felt relieved. When the other's caught up with her she gave an over indulgent sigh, 'These trainers are so tough'

'That's why it's the pokemon league.' said the professor as he walked over to join them. 'You are both doing very well.'

'Yeh that was cool what you did with your Golem.' smiled Ash.

The professor left them after transferring the battle data to Sarah's Pokedex. They headed immediately to the battle counter. Sarah picked up her prize money at the same time as she and Ash handed in their competitor cards. Ash pulled his opponent card from the machine, As he turned it over his face went ghostly white. He looked over to where Sarah was getting her card. She was also just standing there looking across the room to him. Ash stuffed the card in his pocket and quickly walked out of the room leaving Brock and Misty looking a little lost and confused.

'What happened?. Why did he do that?' asked Misty, 'I haven't seen that look for a long time."

'Yeh, I wonder who his next opponent is? Do you think it's Gary?'

'Maybe. But Ash would be a little more excited about facing Gary...Sarah. He must have drawn Sarah.'

As Brock followed Misty's gaze and it was confirmed. Sarah was coming towards them with a similar look of both apprehension and surprise. She said nothing so neither did they? They left the bustling auditorium in silence and headed for the centre. Ash was there. He was being particularly childish about this and was stubbornly trying not to make eye contact with his friends. Sarah was as quiet as usual but there was a different expression on her face. Instead of her usual curious light, and happy face it was now withdrawn and considerably blank.

'Are you okay?' Asked Brock, 'You're very quiet at the moment, well quieter than usual.'

'I don't know, really.' replied Sarah with a sigh, 'Why don't you ask Ash?'

'Did you draw Ash as your next opponent?' Asked Misty.

'Yes.' Sarah looked at her feet. 'This is the part I hate. Having to battle against my friends like this. I mean Ash already seems to hate me and we haven't even battled yet. How's he going to act if I defeat him, what will happen to my dream if I don't. Both of us really want this; both of us have worked very hard to simply be here. Now it comes to the crunch and which way do I turn.'

'You shouldn't feel that way' Came Ash's voice from behind them, "I feel the same way as you do but isn't it more important to simply try our hardest. I don't want you to let me win and I'm not about to just let you win either. Let's just give it everything we've got and let it happen as it will. You're right. I shouldn't be acting this way after all you are my friend."

'And as far as I'm concerned Your both my friends and I'd be happy to see one of my friends standing at the top; anyone but Gary or team Rocket.'

Together the four of them headed to a café for some breakfast.

Apprehension weighed the air down enough for someone to cut it. Ash stood on one end of the grounds with a look of sheer determination, Sarah at the other. The two trainers had put friendship aside for the moment, both focusing on the task ahead. The announcer made things worse as he riled up the crowd and did what he could to build the suspense even further. Time warped for a moment and both of them were surprised by the ringing of the start bell.

'GO Pidgeotto!'

Pidgeotto soared quickly to the centre of the arena and made to move high into a fly attack

Pidgeotto was struck mid flight, super effective...and again

As Pidgeotto pulled out of a failed attack he was struck out by rock tomb

'Go Lapras!'

'Ice beam!'

Lapras was saved by a high special defence but was paralysed

'Earthquake!'

Thunder shock hit Lapras hard and she was nearly out of HP

'Ice beam! Hang in there Lapras!'

As soon as she'd finished her attack Lapras braced but it failed. Ash had to think hard about countering Psychotic… 'Bulbasaur!'

Ash was suddenly unsure what Sarah was doing?

His hesitation cost him as Blizzard roared across the arena for a super effective blow.

Bulbasaur was down but at last Ash felt he had the upper hand, now he could select a type to counter hers. He nodded to pikachu

'Pika! '

Brock rocked in his seat, not liking the look of the low signal.

'Thunder!'

'...Choo!' called pikachu in response as he ran forward and aimed.

Pikachu looked around, confused.

Pikachu tried, but couldn't get up after being thrown so far.

Ash was beginning to act rashly now as he ran to Pikachu's aid.

'Squirtle!'

Squirtle used Water blast but Maniac was high out of reach

Squirtle tried but was forced to recharge

Squirtle was struck hard and found its defence being lowered but used water blast again

Ash gave a child like sound as Charizard replaced Squirtle.

Fire Blast!

'GO Ecolos!'

Sarah made a slugging motion

Ecolos used Rock throw

Sarah made a downwards motion with both palms

Ecolos couldn't do a thing to save himself.

'Go amplitude!'

Sarah made the chopping motion; signaling a Thunder attack.

Sarah gave naught but a nod. Amplitude was saved as Lapras was too paralyzed to make the attack that would otherwise have been fatal. Amplitude moved in very quickly to take the advantage.

Amplitude wasn't so lucky the second time as earthquake rocked him into fainting

'Psychotic!'

Sarah's fist rose in the air.

Ice beam hit and left Psychotic with little over a third of his HP. He regained his composure quickly enough to use Psychic

Bulbasaur made a good but not critical hit. Knowing Psychotic wouldn't survive the next hit Sarah decided to take a gamble

With a smile she sent out her next pokemon

Cloud looked for his first instructions and launched his attack just before the Bulbasaur.

Fortunately the solar beam attack missed its mark as Cloud swung to one side. He counter attacked with another blizzard.

Sarah Knew that Ash's Charizard was still to come and felt that she may still need her water pokemon.

'Maniac!'

Charizard flew in an arc only to dive down in a very fast spin.

If you'd ever wondered how a Charizard can use dig- thousands of people now found out.

Maniac Burst up under Pikachu's feet, critical hit!

Sarah threw her fist in the air.

Maniac had already obliged his mistress.

Maniacs Fly attack found its mark and did about a third damage

Sarah made a swinging motion and Maniac used an iron Tail attack.

Squirtle's attack missed as maniac swung to the left mid flight. Maniac landed heavily and swung around in a second iron tail attack, sending Squirtle to the ground

Sarah Knew that Ash was waiting for her to switch pokemon and gave him an all too knowing smile.

Alright, let's go

It had become a battle of two dragons.

Brock nodded and Misty looked at him sideways,

'What exactly are you agreeing with?'

Sarah could have pulled out her Vapoureon again, or her Golem. The battle would be over quickly. Instead she chose to draw Maniac. It seems she'd like to see the Charizards pitted against each other. The match is clearly hers but she wanted to give Ash this luxury.

'She's so good.'

Brock nodded again.

The two Charizard were pulling all stoppers and providing an excellent performance. Sarah whistled a move. Maniac flew away from Charizard and goaded him to follow. Ash's Charizard was too arrogant to be out flown and accepted the challenge with a roar. Maniac flew around and around faster and faster then allowed Ash's Charizard to almost catch up. Mid flight his tail came crashing down. Iron tail took out a quarter of Charizard's remaining HP. It was not an effective hit but it was amazingly pulled off. What it did do however was make Charizard even angrier. Charizard was no longer taking the time to aim and his accuracy bottomed out. Another whistle pierced the noises and Maniac moved into a spinning dive, disappearing beneath the earth once more.

Charizard was low to the ground, hovering.

'Get higher yelled ash, knowing full well that if Charizard landed he'd be hit. Charizard didn't go higher, and didn't land either. Dig came up harmlessly beneath him as maniac burst from the earth, narrowly missing a fire blast attack.

Both of the Charizards had less than 40% HP. Maniac was the one that was wearing down. He was used to strike hard, strike fast and wasn't really fit enough to cope with such a long battle. Charizard wasn't fit either, from lack of use, but had a more resilient nature. Sarah gave another signal for dig and Brock wondered what she was doing. Charizard didn't have the strength required to hover as he'd done before and he landed off to one side and remained vigilant. By the time he knew that Maniac was below him it was too late. The ground attack was super effective against the fire and Charizard hit the ground with a boom. Maniac was exhausted but pleased as he returned to his pokeball.

After a brief moment for the pokemon to be revived Sarah and Ash re-entered the arena to shake hands. Both were trembling,

'That was a good battle Sarah.'

'Thank you, I have not faced a challenge like that for a long time. It is I who should be thanking you.'

As the two friends left the arena to find Brock and Misty they found Professor Oak waiting with them. He congratulated both trainers,

'Ash you are much better than you were last time.'

'With plenty learned for next time,' Ash smiled

'Sarah, if I could have a word please.'

'Of course professor,' she let Oak walk her away from the others.

'About the Charizard fight.'

'I know what you're going to say– I would have been better off sending out…'

Oak had raised a hand to silence her, 'I am extremely proud of what you did in there. You taught an awful lot of people about battling just now. There is more to it than matching types and trying to keep the upper hand of super effective moves. I know it was important to you for your Charizard to defeat his but what you actually demonstrated was an understanding of battle know by few but the very best.'

'Thank you professor but I'm here to earn my breeding ticket. I'm not interested in being the champion trainer.' Sarah gave him some more gratitude for his comment and returned to her friends.

Ash was torn between despair and ecstasy. Another Pokemon league down without getting past the third round. But he had to yield to Sarah, there was nothing for it. He had been willing to blame her advantage from types but the Charizard battle had silenced that thought. His Charizard was an easy ten levels maniac's superior but he still lost. Deciding it was for the better that Sarah went forward he felt better, even happy for her. He gave her a warm smile as she returned to them. She didn't know what to say to Ash and Brock could feel the tension rising so he decided to initiate conversation,

'Come on let's go back to pallet town for a few hours and relax.'

'If you don't mind I'd like to get to the competitors auditorium.'

'You'd like to know who you'll be battling next right?' Brock guessed.

Sarah nodded.

Ash led the way, ' I hope you do well.' he paused. 'Some day I'd like to battle you again.'

Of all the reactions Sarah could have had… she laughed (because beating her head against the nearest light pole would have left a mark).

They reached the auditorium in good time and Sarah went ahead to the counter where she collected some prize money and her challenge card. She then went to the computers. She came back outside looking relieved.

'Who is it?' Asked Ash

'Some lass from Cerulean City.'

As they walked to a nearby park Sarah pulled out her notebook, 'She has a vast range of pokemon… a lot of electric… some very strong grass. She didn't see Cloud but she knows I carry him, I would be better off leaving him behind this time.' Closing her book again Sarah read the challenger card, 'Oh, she's asked for a three pokemon battle. Good. I'd like to keep it brief.'

It was nearly time. Sarah waited patiently in the change rooms. She paced nervously along the isle between the rows of lockers. She kept glancing at the pokeballs on the shelf and thinking about the coming match. Suddenly there was a noise over on the other side of the change rooms. It was the semi finals there should be no one else down here. Sarah walked around to investigate the noise, "Is anyone here?"

While she wasn't there a dark figure crept up to the Pokeballs on the shelf. He reached up and swapped the labels around and quietly left before Sarah got back. Sarah didn't see him as she returned to her locker. Suddenly a buzzer went off and the light near the door went on signalling that it was time to start. She picked up the first three pokeballs without paying much attention. She didn't notice that a switch had been made. She grabbed her cardigan and ran to the door.

Sarah walked out into the Arena. She was shaking with a lethal mixture of Anxiety and anticipation. She waved quietly to where Ash, Brock and Misty were waiting in the stands. They waved back with a cheer. Sarah glanced over to where the other trainer was standing. She then glanced to the board where the blank spaces were soon to be filled by the pokemon she'd selected. As a change she had brought the little Houndor instead of Cloud.

There was a crackle over the loudspeaker as the commentator introduced the trainers and rambled on for a bit. The two trainers stared at each other from across the arena waiting for the buzzer. They stood at the ready with pokeballs in hand.

"Trainers at the ready...okay...Fight!" yelled the commentator.

The other trainer was just a fraction quicker and released an Exeggutor into the Arena. The commentator's voice rang out...An excellent choice of pokemon, One used by the Elite four… Sarah smiled as Houndor came out of his pokeball. The opposing trainer had been expected Charizard and was curiously unnerved by the little Houndor before her. As a result she was a touch slow in giving her instructions.

"Houndor! Fire Spin!" called Sarah

"Aah," Came her opponent's voice as she recovered her senses enough to realise what had just happened. There were now coils of flame preventing her from withdrawing her pokemon, and all of her attacks would be next to useless against the Houndor. "Exeggutor, Psychic!"

The Exeggutor responded quickly and sent out a pulse of psychic power. It hit Houndor but he merely lost his balance a little. He didn't have much HP left because he was fairly low level still. Sarah called to him, "Crunch Him!" Houndor was happy to oblige and ran around behind the Exeggutor and pounced onto him the Crunch was not only super effective but it was powered up by the Dark Glasses that Sarah had given Houndor to hold. The Exeggutor had only just survived it but the fire spin came around again and sapped his remaining HP.

The opposing trainer had expected it to be a quick round and was not disappointed. She withdrew her feinted Exeggutor and threw her next pokeball. Out came a Lanturn pokemon. It jumped into the pond in the centre of the arena and waited for his orders. As soon as she recognised the Lanturn Sarah had withdrawn Houndor and threw out a fresh pokemon as well. She had chosen to use Psychotic. He ran over to where the Lanturn was waiting for him.

"Reflect!" came Sarah's voice from over the din of the crowd. Psychotic stopped instantly and using his spoons wove a shield that quickly wrapped around him and wove itself so that it was skin tight.

The Opposing trainer yelled for her pokemon to use surf. It struck with some force but Psychotic was well protected from the brunt of it. Sarah waved her hand to signal her next order. Psychotics arms rose up and he conjured a future sight attack. The opposing trainer didn't know this. She thought that the Alakazam was strengthening his shield. She compensated for this by ordering a thunder instead. The Lanturn was overjoyed and seemed a little over keen to do a thunder attack. In his excitement it hadn't taken enough time to aim properly and the thunder attack missed. The other trainer called out to it,

"Will you calm down a little! Take your time and do the job properly!"

Sarah raised her hand, the signal for psychic. Psychotic raised the spoons to his head with his arms crossed across his chest and psychic blasted the Lanturn. The Lanturn was thrown out of the little pond but recovered itself enough to climb back into it. While the Lanturn returned to the pool Psychotic used the gold berry to restore health.

The Lanturn tried again to use thunder. This time he remained calm enough to deliver it. It drained a third of Psychotics HP but Psychotic didn't seem to notice it. He simply looked to Sarah quickly for the next signal. It was the signal to repeat. Psychotic came forward again and raised his hands to deliver another Psychic attack. The Lanturn was hit again but the opposing trainer was not concerned. He still had HP left to deliver another thunder attack. However before she could give the command the sky went dark. It was as though the sun had been turned down like a light with a dimmer switch. Then came the rush of wind that signalled the arrival of the future sight attack. The Lanturn barely had a chance. The attack swooped into the arena and struck the Lanturn on the side. The Lanturn fainted.

The trainer cursed as she realised her mistake and returned the Lanturn. She released an Ampharos into the arena. It was a stunning Ampharos. She was big and of a very high level. Sarah giggled to herself as she returned Psychotic to his ball and pulled out the ball that she thought was containing Ecolos. As her hand grasped the ball she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Ecolos was in a regular pokeball not a friendship ball. She looked at the ball in her hand. She strained her memory trying to think of who had the Friendship ball. Surly she hadn't grabbed Dante by mistake. She called for a time out. And the opposing trainer looked like she had been hit on the face, this was highly irregular.

"There seems to be a problem, Sarah has called a time out, mid battle." blared the speakers over head as a spokesman for the judges panel came over to where Sarah was waiting.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"Sir, this is the wrong pokemon. Someone has switched or something, there is no way I would have brought this pokemon with me."

"This is a likely story, you should have checked before entering the arena, You may definitely not change pokemon now. The match is not over and anyway, you seem to be winning." The man said roughly. "Continue the match!" He called to the commentator and the crowd.

Sarah put the poke ball away and re withdrew Psychotic. She told him to watch for a Bite attack as he moved forward. This time there would be no time wasted. Sarah called for a psychic attack. She would have to cope with what she had now and pray for a little bit of luck. The problem was that Psychotic was not in full HP, he was no longer protected by reflect and this was a very strong Ampharos. The Ampharos also came forward. The opposing trainer whistled loudly. The Ampharos Instantly thundered Psychotic. Psychotic survived the hit but was now paralysed. Psychotic could not move and was directly hit by a second Thunder attack. There was no way he could have survived it. Sarah returned him.

Ash, Brock and Misty watched on as Sarah's face went pale. Why was she not using her last pokemon? Who was her last pokemon? They didn't understand. Brock came down to the edge of the arena behind Sarah and called to her while she was looking at the ball in her hand. "What's wrong!"

"Wrong pokemon!"

"What?" Brock called back straining to hear over the crowd that was starting to grow restless.

"DANTE!" Sarah yelled.

Brock almost went as white as she was as the word hit him between the eyes. He returned to his seat as Sarah threw the pokeball. She had no choice; Houndor would be of no use. Dante came out of his pokeball. He heard the crowd around him and reared in salute. The whole arena was suddenly striped for noise. The only sound was from Dante's hooves as he pounded around the arena. Sarah swallowed hard as she watched him.

The other trainer was definitely impressed but refused to let her guard down. She called to her Ampharos to thunder him as well. The Ampharos tried to thunder Dante but he was moving too fast for the Ampharos to get proper aim. The Ampharos tried again as Dante turned to face her. Sarah's voice was then heard calling him over. Dante spun on his haunches and sprang into a gallop as he came back down towards Sarah.

"Dante, I don't know what you can do, You'll need to show me. I need you to fight now. I am sorry."

Dante lifted his head and half reared. He turned again to face the Ampharos. Again the Ampharos used Thunder. This time Dante half passed out of the way and the thunder missed. The other trainer now changed her command. Dante was too fast for thunder so she'd have to use a less powerful attack. Dante was running rings around her Ampharos and she was starting to get dizzy. Then Dante pulled away sharply with a few bucks before coming around into a full charge. He just missed the Ampharos but got her in the face with double kick the same way he had for the Chansey. Ampharos was more angry than anything else.

Ampharos hit Dante with thunderbolt. Dante froze as the shock travelled through his body but recovered quickly. He now came forward as though doing an agility attack. He passed by the Ampharos so close and so fast that it spun out of balance. Dante slid to a stop still facing the pokemon and Fire blasted it as it spun. The Ampharos was critically hurt and now frozen solid.

"Megan's Ampharos is unable to Battle, Sarah wins!" came the commentator's voice over the loud speaker. Sarah's face was unreadable. She was just as shocked as Megan with regards to Dante's attack. Sarah whistled and raised her hand as Dante came to meet her. She leaned into a great big bear hug around Dante's neck. "Thank you Dante. Thank you." She whispered into his chest. Presently the other trainer, Megan came over to shake Sarah's hand.

"Congratulations, well won match. He is a stunning Pokemon." She said. Her smile did not hide her disappointment.

Suddenly Sarah was surrounded by her friends and even Professor oak came down to congratulate her. Sarah remained silent and let her friends lead her back to the locker room. The shock of what had happened was still in Sarah's system. The chatter and laughter of her friends was then cut short as a runner from upstairs entered the room.

"The panel requests that Sarah join them in the appeal room."

"Appeal? What do you mean," Complained Misty.

"It's alright, Misty I'll be back soon. I imagine I'm now in some trouble regarding Dante."

"I'll escort you Sarah," Came Professor oak's voice as he came up beside her.

"Thanks," said Sarah as her eye's fell to the floor.

Sarah, Professor Oak and the runner boy walked into the Appeal room. Megan was sitting calmly in a chair. She got up and came over to Sarah, "I am sorry, but my boyfriend insisted that I appeal."

"It's okay, I'm probably in trouble anyway." said Sarah with a comforting smile to Megan.

"You certainly are." said an older man off to the left of the panel. "there are rules that say quite clearly that legendary pokemon are illegal in the Pokemon league competition,"

"Sir, if I could…" came the professor's voice from the door.

"No you can't." The man said to him angrily, "Further it is our belief that this pokemon was registered as unable to battle, you had been given special permission to carry it."

"Sir, I thought he was. He's never made an attack before."

"Well you thought wrong didn't you and now we are in this jam." yelled the official sitting next to the previous one.

Suddenly the small man burst forward, "Sir, She called a time out remember, She had told me she'd brought the wrong pokemon and I didn't believe her. I had given her instructions to battle anyway."

"A Rapidash is hardly rare." came professor oak's voice. The others stoped arguing and admired his calmness. "This Pokemon's official title is Fire Fox Dante. I believe you are familiar with him, Dorothy."

A woman sitting towards the middle of the Panel looked up. "I am. Fire Fox is the name of my Vulpix stud. I have not had a Rapidash foal for many years" She now got up and walked around the table to Sarah. "May I see him.?"

Sarah obliged by letting Dante out of his Pokeball. Dante was a bit unnerved at first, not being used to the inside of small rooms like this. Sarah grabbed his head stall and kept him calm as the woman had a good look at him.

Dorothy was more than satisfied. She smiled back to the panel, "Well I can assure you this is a Rapidash that I bred. He is from above average lines and his mother was very dear to me. I do recall that he was a very pale Foal. I didn't realise that he'd mature to this or I would have kept him. This must be a throwback of some description; I believe that his Mothers father was a Flareon. He must have had some Vapoureon in his background."

"He is still a rare Pokemon! I demand a rematch!" yelled the boy that must have been Megan's boyfriend.

"Rematch, Denied," Said the woman.

"But the appeal stands. There is no excuse for carrying seven fighting pokemon around with you, It is against the rules and the Law. Even if you are correct in saying that you didn't know. It was your responsibility to ensure this pokemon stayed out of battles in the first place. I don't care if it was an accident; this is a very serious issue. Megan goes through to the next round and you forfeit." said the old man again.

Sarah looked for further support from the other council members. None came. Sarah was asked to leave the room. She returned Dante to his ball and left in silence. Professor Oak was to stay behind so she walked along by herself. She didn't go to the Change rooms. Instead she walked out of the stadium and deep into the Forest nearby. She released Dante. "Well, Dante, I'm now stuck. I can't put you in the PC and I can't really put any of the others in either. I love you all far too much for that. I am giving you the choice. If you want it I will release you right here, right now. You can return to the forests of viridian and be free to do what you want. I promise I'll come and visit you often. The other option is to stay with me, knowing that you will have to spend much more time in the PC if i can work out how. "

"Another option…" came professor oaks voice from behind Sarah. He had seen her enter the forest and come after her, "Is to follow me back to the Stadium where there are some people who want to talk to you."

Sarah sighed and followed professor oak back to the stadium. Dante followed as well. They walked onto the green where there were a number of people there waiting for them. Ash, Brock and Misty were there. So were the familiar faces of Lt Surge, Blain and Erika. Dorothy was also there.

They welcomed Sarah with smiles and hugs. They congratulated her on her victory despite Sarah's attempts to wave them off. Eventually they settled down. Brock came forward and took Sarah's hands once more and gave an affectionate smile, "Sarah I want you to answer some questions for me and for them to hear."

"Um." said Sarah uncertainly.

"Why did you want to face the pokemon league in the first place? Was it for the title of Champion Trainer?" Brock asked. He knew the answer but wanted the other people to hear it.

"No, I just wanted my Breeder's Ticket and a stud of my own."

"That's good. Why were you crying that day after the fight outside Saffron City?"

Sarah was confused as to the relevance but decided to stick with honesty. "Because Dante was not himself. He had been broken after weeks of Rocket handling; I was too late to save him"

"What are you going to do now?

"I don't know. Probably return to Viridian forest. I don't know if I could face another pokemon League."

Brock paused in thought for a minute. "What stoped you from competing late year?"

Sarah looked at him then looked away, face pink with embarrassment, "Amplitude caught the pokemon virus and it was spreading through my party quickly. I didn't want to give it to other trainer's pokemon."

Brock now let go of Sarah's hands and Dorothy came forward. Dorothy had a strange look on her face which Sarah read as bordering on both disappointment and delight at the same time. Dorothy stood before Sarah and wiped all expression from her face, "Sarah, Professor Oak and the others have been talking with me about you. We have taken a careful look at your skills and with the help of your friends here have come to the conclusion that you do not need to prove yourself in this stadium. You have proven yourself out in the field which is far more important to us. So we give to you the application form for your breeders ticket. It has already been signed by three gym leaders (Lt Surge, Blain and Erika), a League official (the spokesman from before) and a legitimate Breeder (me). All you need to do it fill in your details and send it off."

Sarah was delighted. She danced and squealed with joy. She even leaned over and gave Brock a massive proper kiss. She then blushed and gave a childish giggle.

"One more question." Said Dorothy, "What are you going to call your Pokemon Stud?"

'Very Lucky!' She laughed.

THE END