Pokemon Restart

Chapter 2

Team Rocket

Ash grinned as he watched his team of pokemon enjoying the day on a clearing just outside of Viridian City. Totodile swam through a lake happily while the rest of the pokemon where playing on the water's edge, with the exception of Quilava and Gible who preferred to play on the grass.

It was nice to take his mind off of things, especially when everyone in Viridian City was acting weird. The first thing he had noticed upon making it there was the lack of people on the streets, he had waved it off as him thinking too much but when some random person took a look at him and ran, he knew that there was something off. He had gone to the Pokemon Center afterwards but found it to be closed which made alarm bells go off in his head.

"I'd hate to leave like this…" he muttered to himself as he laid himself on the ground with his hands behind his head.

"Hey you kid!"

Ash figured that he must've dozed off as his eyes snapped open and he sat up at the sudden loud voice. He looked around and narrowed his eyes when seeing a man nearing him at a dangerously fast pace, his pokemon where aware of the fact and quickly moved to stand between him and the man dressed in a black Team Rocket uniform.

The Team Rocket member smirked as he fingered the pokeballs strapped to his belt. "You've got some fine looking pokemon there boy," he took a ball in hand before he pointed it at the young trainer, "It'd be a shame if someone took them from you."

"Totodile, go!" Ash exclaimed as he gave the man a glare.

The man chuckled in amusement as he threw his pokeball in the air. "Go, Golbat!"

Totodile stood off against the bigger flying pokemon while bouncing in place in excitement. "Totodile use Water Gun!" The blue pokemon obeyed the command and let loose a powerful torrent of water towards the flying bat pokemon.

"Dodge that and use Wing Attack!" The Team Rocket member ordered as his pokemon evaded the attack without trouble and shot towards the smaller opponent.

"Quick! Dodge Totodile!" The blue pokemon let out a cry as it jumped over the attack with ease, now with an open shot at the foe's back. "Great, now use Water Gun!" This time the attack hit it's mark, impacting against the Golbat's back and slamming it on the ground.

"Dammit!"

"Not over yet…" Ash muttered, "Totodile use Slash!"

The big jaw pokemon broke into a sprint just as soon as its feet touched the ground, its right paw held back as it slashed at the fallen Golbat that had just begun to get back up. The bat pokemon was pushed back a few feet but managed to get up once more and took to the skies.

The Team Rocket watched the battle with a growl. "Stupid Pokemon! Use Poison Fang already!"

"Quick Totodile, use Water Gun to push him back!" Ash commanded as Totodile let out a shot of water that did nothing to slow down the foe. "Come on Totodile, you can do it!"

Totodile grunted under the strain but put more force on the attack, not wanting to let Ash down. "Todo… Dile!" it cried as the shot of water grew in size and took more force, managing to knock the Golbat back and engulf it in water.

Ash smiled in relief as he saw the Golbat fall on the ground with swirls on its eyes, meaning that it had been defeated. He chuckled when seeing Totodile cheer loudly at his victory but turned his attention back at the Team Rocket member in case he tried anything.

"You useless pokemon…" the Team Rocket member growled as he took out another pokeball and threw it on the air, "Finish 'em off Machoke!" The big grey pokemon appeared before Ash and Totodile, standing threateningly with a snarl.

"Are you ok to keep going Totodile?"

"Totodile!" It responded with confidence.

Ash smiled, "Alright then, let's do it Totodile!"

"Machoke, hit that thing with a Brick Break!" The Team Rocket member ordered as the Machoke charged in at Totodile that stood its ground with a growl.

Ash frowned as the larger pokemon came close, outrunning it could work but he was afraid that its long reach would be able to catch Totodile. "Alright Totodile, use Water Gun on the ground!" He watched in fascination as his pokemon nodded and let out a more powerful torrent of water that launched it high in the air. A smile spread on his face when noticing just how much powerful the attack was, "You learned Hydro Pump, huh?"

The Team Rocket member smirked, "Alright, use Seismic Toss!"

"Totodile dodge!"

The warning came too late as the Machoke caught Totodile in its arms before spinning in place and slamming him on the ground. Dust and debris kicked up in the area as Ash watched in worry as the dust settled.

"Hang in there Totodile!" Ash gritted his teeth in worry as the dust cleared up to show Totodile standing up and glowing a light shade of blue. He recognized the glow as Totodile's Torrent ability and grinned, "Okay, let's end this. Totodile use Hydro Pump!"

"Totodile!" The pokemon shot out a powerful shot of water double the size of a normal Hydro Pump that struck the Machoke on the chest. It cried out in pain as the attack threw the pokemon back until it struck against a large boulder.

The Machoke dropped down on the ground with swirls in its eyes, unconscious. Totodile cheered happily as the Team Rocket member recalled his pokemon and glared at Ash.

"You just won because my pokemon are weak," he scoffed before breaking into a smirk, "Just wait until the others hear of this. You might think beating me is the end but you've got no idea what you just got yourself into."

With that the man left, Ash looking after him with a worried frown. He didn't know what the Team Rocket member meant but he knew it would lead up to trouble.

"Swellow," he called out to his pokemon that had been standing with the others watching the battle, "Follow that guy and come back once you see where he came from. Don't get too close though, okay?"

"Swell!" Swellow nodded before flapping its wings and taking off.

It had been at least an hour since Swellow had returned and Ash wondered if he had messed up. Apparently, Swellow had followed the Team Rocket member to a large building guarded by even more Team Rocket members. He had only wanted to train in peace but had ended up stumbling upon one or the Team Rocket base. It might seem cowardly but he knew that he wouldn't be able to last long against every member one after the other, so he was forced to run.

Which is why he was currently running through the close-to-deserted streets of Viridian City without a goal in mind. All he knew was that he had to find a place to hide before Team Rocket caught sight of him. His legs burned but he knew he had to keep going, Pikachu was running next to him and could spring into action any time but he didn't want to risk getting any attention so resting was out of the question.

He continued to run for a few blocks before his eyes widened in recognition, seeing a woman with blue hair walking through the streets with a plastic bag on hand. "Officer Jenny!" he called out. Sure, she wasn't wearing her uniform and was instead wearing a plain white dress but he could still recognize her by the hair.

The officer turned to look at the trainer in shock before looking down in apparent sadness, "Don't call me that."

"Huh?" Ash let out dumbly, "But it's you, right?"

"Pika, pika," Pikachu agreed.

Officer Jenny looked around the area before letting out a sigh, "Fine, just walk with me for a bit. I'll explain everything on the way."

Ash nodded as he and Pikachu trailed after the officer, both wondering what was going on.

"It happened a few months ago… Rookie trainers coming here began to lose their pokemon one by one. It started out small but the numbers kept on growing every day until Team Rocket would walk through the streets as if they owned the place. I tried to stop them with the police force but we were outnumberd, I don't even know how."

She looked down sadly as she, Ash and Pikachu continued to walk through the deserted streets. "All of us had our pokemon taken away from us and forced to back down. They warned us that if we called for reinforcements they would murder all of our pokemon," she rubbed her eyes before any tears fell, "I'm sure they have them singled out in case we try something. That's why nobody even comes out anymore, they're too afraid to have Team Rocket attack them."

"You should leave too, or they'll take away your pokemon like the rest of us," she finished weakly.

Ash and Pikachu stopped on their tracks as Jenny continued to walk without stopping. The young trainer now knew he had to do something. He couldn't just stand there with his arms crossed, what kind of trainer, no, person would walk away from something like this?

"We have to do something Pikachu," he commented, receiving a nod from his pokemon. A small smile formed on his face, "Thanks to Swellow we know where they're coming from. All that's left is to save the pokemon and make sure that Team Rocket leaves this place."

"Chu Pika." Pikachu nodded and punched at the air.

Ash chuckled and ruffled his head, "We have to get reinforcements first." He turned on his heels to see the looming roof of the Pokemon Center standing over the nearby buildings, "Looks like we're going to be breaking in Pikachu."

Night fell on Viridian City, darkening its streets that were only lit by a few lamp posts. Team Rocket members could be seen in some of the streets, looking around for sight of a trainer with strong pokemon that had been spotted in the vicinity. With nowhere to run but to their base or the city, they had quickly moved to roam the many streets of Viridian and surrounding forests in case the trainer was planning on leaving.

A couple of Team Rocket members stood on the road leading to their base. One of them smirked when seeing a shadow in the distance and, expecting to see a trainer, he reached for a pokeball but froze when seeing dozens of smaller shadows moving towards them.

"W-What the hell is that?" He let out dumbly before being struck by a bolt of lightning.

The other Team Rocket member let out a surprised yelp after seeing his partner go down. He quickly reached for a pokeball but he didn't do much else as he was struck by another bolt of lightning that brought him to his knees before he lost consciousness. The small shadows approached the fallen Team Rocket members, the moonlight shining down on their yellow fur and lightning-like tails.

"That was great guys," Ash emerged from the shadows with a smile on his face, Pikachu perched on his shoulders as dozens of his own kind were gathered around them. The young trainer had instantly thought of the large group of Pikachu that lived in the Pokemon Center when thinking of reinforcements. He had, of course, gotten permission from Nurse Joy though that had been difficult itself since she wasn't at the Pokemon Center and he had to get the help of one of the Pikachu in order to find her.

"Alright guys, we don't have a lot of time to spare so just listen carefully," he began with a serious expression on his face. The group of Pikachu looked at the trainer expectedly, exited at the idea of helping out a trainer since they had never done so before. "I need a group of you guys to go through the air vents or any sort of opening you can find. I had a friend of mine give me a good layout of the building from the skies so I know for sure that there's an air vent in the roof. Only go if you can get there, otherwise find another place to enter."

"Pika!" Was his chorused replied as he set his attention on another group of Pikachu.

"The rest of you are going to come with me and Pikachu here –"

"Pikachu!" His pokemon cheered from its place on his shoulder.

" – and help us take out any Team Rocket members sent our way," he nodded at himself, drawing in a breath in order to prevent any nervousness from showing on his voice. That was the last thing he needed, to make the others nervous. "Anyway, those of you that are going to be sneaking in go now, the others follow me."

"Pika! Chu! Pika! Chu!" The group of Pikachu cried together as some ran towards the direction of Team Rocket's base that could be seen in the distance, while the others stayed behind Ash as he began to move forward, his eyes set in determination in contradiction to his shaking hands and the lump in his throat.

"What the hell is going on?" A Team Rocket member yelled out in panic as he and many other members ran through the dark hallways of the base.

The power had been cut off not too long ago, and several flashes of light could be seen every now and then. None of them doubted that they were being attacked but they had no idea who. The idea of some other team deciding to wage war at this point was preposterous, none of them were strong enough to stand after what ended up happening to them. Being beaten by kids had ended up crippling them. But then, who would be stupid enough to attack like this?

The Team Rocket members didn't have to wait long for the answers as they saw a pokemon trainer running through one of the hallways with a Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Wait there you little shit!" A Team Rocket member called out as he and the others followed after him, turning the corner he had just turned only to be met by dozens of Pikachu, "Oh, shit!"

He and the others were struck by a collective Thunderbolt and knocked out immediately. Ash managed a grin as he and Pikachu continued to run, leaving the group of Pikachu behind as there were more Team Rocket members chasing after them. Looking over his shoulder, he made sure to give the pokemon an appreciative nod before carrying on.

"We have to find the captured pokemon before Team Rocket tries to do anything with them," he told his faithful companion as they continued to run, passing by a long hallway and making it to a set of stairs. The building itself wasn't that impressive in the inside, at least he thought so, it was nothing but long hallways with a few large rooms. But then again, the power was out thanks to one of the Pikachu thinking it was a good idea. He wasn't ungrateful or anything, but things would've been easier if he could see where he was going.

He made it to the top of the stairs and stopped dead on his tracks, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to regain his breath. This time he was standing on a railway overlooking a spacious room that was mainly composed of rows and rows of pokeballs. His expression hardened as he and Pikachu approached a steel latter and made their way down, it wasn't until he made it down that he realized that something was very wrong.

The room was lit, unlike the rest of the building.

"What do we have here?"

Ash turned at the sound of the voice and saw a man with blue hair emerging from a glass sliding door, his black Team Rocket uniform different than the normal ones. This particular Team Rocket member had large grey gloves that reached his upper arm, and had the collar of his uniform popped up.

"I am often labeled as the scariest and cruelest guy in Team Rocket… I strongly urge you not to interfere with our business!" He spoke in a cocky voice as he emerged a pokeball from his grey belt.

Ash scowled and reached for a pokeball as well, "If that business is stealing pokemon and threatening a whole city, then of course I'm interfering!"

"Very well then," the Team Rocket member smirked. "My name is Proton and, since you seem to wish it, I'll show you the full extent of a Team Rocket Executive's wrath!" With that he threw his pokeball in the air, a Weezing emerging from it with a cry.

"Quilava, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed as he sent out his fire type pokemon.

"Quilava!" The pokemon cried, waiting for his trainer's instructions.

Proton smirked as he brought a hand to his black beret, "Wheezing, use Smoke Screen."

The pokemon complied as it let loose a layer of smoke that shielded it from Quilava. "Don't worry, just concentrate and wait until you hear it move," Ash instructed with a frown, "Then use Flame Wheel."

Quilava nodded, closing his eyes in an attempt to concentrate but was brought out of concentration as he was suddenly struck by a large amount of sludge. The fire pokemon growled and concentrated once more, this time hearing what sounded like Wheezing preparing to attack. Red eyes snapped open as Quilava rolled himself into a ball of fire and launched at the source of the noise, making a clean hit on the Wheezing's face.

"Way to go Quilava!" Ash cheered as the Wheezing was knocked out of the cloud of smoke. "Now follow up with Eruption!"

"Protect!"

Quilava launched a powerful fire attack that increased the temperature in the room drastically but it was blocked by a wall of energy that protected the Wheezing from harm. Ash frowned from his spot, strategies running through his head as the foe pokemon let loose a Sludge Bomb in Quilava's direction.

"Dodge it!" he tried to warn his pokemon but to no avail, the attack hit its mark and Quilava was knocked back several feet. But the pokemon wasn't down yet, it shook its head and gave a low cry, signifying it was okay.

Ash frowned, not liking the way things were going. He had to think harder, there had to be a way to take that Wheezing down. His eyes scanned the area and widened in realization when remembering that Protect wasn't a move that could be used for long.

"Quilava use Flame Wheel!"

His friend obeyed the command and encased itself in fire before launching at the enemy pokemon. "Protect once more," Proton smirked as the Wheezing became encased in a green glow.

"Good, now aim at the ground!" Ash ordered, much to Proton's confusion. Quilava moved towards the ground, the fade from Wheezing's attack disappearing as the young trainer smiled, "Now use the ground as leverage to bounce yourself straight at the Wheezing, don't hold back!"

"Qui…la…va!" The pokemon cried out as it shot towards the Wheezing at a breathtaking speed, Proton tried to get his pokemon to move, but it wasn't enough as the attack hit the foe dead on, instantly knocking it out.

Ash looked at his pokemon with pride, "That was amazing Quilava." He took out a pokeball and returned his pokemon, not before giving it a few last words of praise, "Take a good rest, you did really well."

"Ugh… Why the hell is a kid so strong?" Proton muttered to himself before taking out another pokeball, "Don't think this is over brat… Golbat, get out here!" The bat pokemon emerged from the pokeball, glaring at Ash as he looked at the pokemon on his shoulder.

"Alright buddy, you ready?"

"Pika…" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder, sparks emitting from his cheeks as he lowered to all fours.

Proton smirked, "Let's see if you're little rat can get the job done… Golbat use Sludge Bomb!"

"Pikachu, dodge and use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu easily evaded the attack and prepared a Thunderbolt in an instant, shooting towards the flying pokemon which managed to dodge by flapping wildly.

"That thing's no ordinary Pikachu…" Proton muttered with a frown, "Golbat! Don't get too close and keep on using Sludge Bomb!"

Ash grinned, confident in his partner's strength, "Pikachu, use Quick Attack to dodge and get in close."

"Pika!" The yellow pokemon nodded as he broke into a fast dash, easily evading the incoming Sludge Bombs and growing closer to the flying pokemon.

"Good. Now use Thunderbolt!"

Proton growled, "Dodge it!"

The Golbat began to flap its wings rapidly, but Ash and Pikachu were ready.

"Spin it!"

Proton's eyes widened as the Pikachu began to spin on the ground, increasing the reach and width of the attack and making full contact with his Golbat that could do nothing more than cry out in pain before falling unconscious on the ground.

"You did great Pikachu!" Ash smiled at his pokemon before turning back to the Team Rocket Executive that did nothing but return the Golbat with anger in his eyes.

"You may have won this time… But all you did was make Team Rocket's wrath grow…" he placed the pokeball on his belt and turned on his heels, "I won't call anyone over here though, most of them were knocked out by your rodents and we don't need this base anymore. Consider yourself lucky that you caught us at a time when our numbers were hilariously low."

Ash watched as the Team Rocket Executive left without saying another word. He turned to Pikachu and smiled once more, "We did it buddy. Now let's get all these pokemon back home."

The air was cool as Ash stood on a hill overlooking Viridian Forest, Pikachu on his shoulder as always. He was glad that the whole thing with Team Rocket was over, at least momentarily. He knew that they would be showing up again but he would be ready. For now he planned on visiting a few Gym Leaders to tell them to watch out for Team Rocket so that something like what happened in Viridian City wouldn't happen again. Officer Jenny had already told the police force to watch out for Team Rocket, but the extra hand of a Gym Leader wouldn't hurt.

"Alright Pikachu, let's get going," he smiled to himself as he and Pikachu began to move through the familiar outskirts of Viridian City, "It'll be great seeing Brock again."

"Pika," the electric pokemon agreed happily.

Current Team:

Pikachu

Quilava

Totodile

Bayleef

Gible

Swellow