A/N: OKAY! Here's the last chapter I'm going to be writing for a while until school gets under control! I've also deleted "The Case of James Morgan" since the new plot changes that story quite a bit. And the review was right, I should finish this one first.

Pokémon (C) 1996-2014 Nintendo, Pokémon, GAME FREAK, Creatures.

Chapter 2: A Rocket Blasts Off for Good

(Author's Note: The events described in this chapter took place one month before Jeremy and Aelita arrived in Sinnoh.)

A few miles away from Hearthome City, and outside of a city called Solaceon Town, a young lavender-haired man in his early twenties sat on a hill, feeling dejected. He was not alone, though; he was joined by two of his closest travelling companions: a huge flytrap Pokémon named Carnivine and a smaller pink clown-like Pokémon named Mime Jr. The man's name was James, and he was a member of the same Team Rocket that Frank James was a part of. However, while Frank James willingly joined up with the crime syndicate, James had little choice in the matter.

His parents only wanted to use him as a tool to 'become a proper gentleman' in order for him to make more money for themselves. They forced him to take numerous lessons in subject that he had no desire to learn when he was a small child, and paid no mind to how he felt or what he though. They even forced him into an engagement at the age of eight to a girl named Jessebelle, who would torture and force him to obey here every command with a gleeful stroke of her whip. He ran away from home to avoid his fate, leaving behind a Growlithe named Growlie which was his closest friend as a little kid, and ever since his life had been one bad instance after another. He flunked out of the school he spent his only scrap of money on, he joined a bike gang, and eventually joined Team Rocket.

It was not only him that suffered pain and sorrow, but his Pokémon as well. His Koffing, which evolved into a Weezing, was like a brother to him, and it was extremely painful for him to let it go. But it had to be dome so that it, along with Jessie's Arbok, could protect a group of Ekans and Koffing, which were Arbok and Weezing's respective pre-evolved forms, from the grip of a ruthless Pokémon Hunter named Rico. His Chimecho, which was with him in his Hoenn region travels, also grew frail and sick, and had to be left with his kindly grandparents until it recovered. And just the other day, he left his Cacnea, which he caught after he let his Weezing go, to a Gym Leader named Gardenia so that it could master a move called Drain Punch, which James felt he could not help it to do.

It wasn't bad luck all the time for him, though. He met Jessie in his school and met a talking Pokémon named Meowth when he joined Team Rocket. These two had been the best friends he could ever have. He stuck his neck out for them, and they stuck their necks out for him. They were more than just teammates, they were true friends. He also had friends in the other Pokémon he caught. The day he and his teammates arrived in Sinnoh, he found one of his parent's summer homes, and a Pokémon he had, which was Carnivine. Mime Jr. also came with him once he left his Chimecho behind.

But when he gave his Cacnea away, he felt all of his painful memories come crashing down on him like a ton of bricks. Needless to say, it would take him a long time for him to feel like his old cheerful self again. Even his partners could tell that he would take quite a long time to recover from his sadness. They knew that this was not the kind of feeling that one gets over easily enough.

As he sat there, accompanied only by his two faithful Pokémon, he thought long and hard about what he had done with his life up until now. He and his teammates were almost considered to be completely worthless in Team Rocket, due to the fact that they were constantly being outwitted by a mere child when they tried countless times to capture his Pikachu or any Pokémon within ten feet of him. As a matter of fact, he wouldn't be surprised if they got a notice any second that said that they were all fired. It happened once before, but it only lasted for a second because Team Rocket became short-staffed after many of its members got caught and arrested.

He began to wonder why they were even chasing that Pikachu in the first place. Sure it was powerful for its level, but couldn't they just find another one just as powerful and give it to their leader instead? Sure, Pikachu are pretty rare in most other regions, but they are very common in the forests in the Kanto region, specifically those around the small and quiet hamlet of Pallet Town. In fact, why was he even in Team Rocket in the first place? Sure, he couldn't go to a loving home, but he had plenty of options available to him. He could get a normal job, become a normal Pokémon Trainer, and lead a normal life. He did have a license to carry Pokémon, but perhaps it would be revoked if he was caught by the police.

So many of these thoughts weight so heavily on his mind that he didn't even notice the sound of a can opening behind him. His teammates had opened a can of sliced pineapples, knowing that they were James' favorite fruit, in the hopes that it would help him alleviate his gloominess. However, when he made no response, they saw that their efforts were in vain.

Just then, however, an oncoming sound did register in his mind.

"Li, deli, li, deli…"

James looked up, and saw the outline of a bird flying while holding its tail, which was made like a sack, in its beak. Its body was red in color, and so were its wings, but it had a white plumage resembling an old man's beard, and its sack-like tail was also white.

"Is that…?" he asked himself, and then the bird came closer and James' thoughts were confirmed. "It is!"

"What's what, James?" Jessie asked, noticing her companion was showing some emotion.

"Look up there!" he pointed, and the two Team Rocket agents saw what James had seen.

"It's Team Rocket's Deliboid!" Meowth cheered, and approached the landing Pokémon.

"Maybe it' got a promotion for us, straight from the Boss himself!" Jessie cheered, and joined Meowth.

"Given our track record, I highly doubt it," James mentioned.

"Stop being so glum!" Jessie groaned. "You need to get over Cacnea for your sake and our sake as well!"

James sighed, but went with Jessie and Meowth to greet Delibird as it landed in a clearing near the forest they were camping out in. It bowed and handed Meowth a letter from its sack. Meowth opened it, and pulled out a small video card with a digitally printed signature from their leader, Giovanni, on the reverse side of the card. Delibird also handed a small video screen with a slot to insert the video card in.

"Well, dis is sure fancy," Meowth commented in his strange accent.

"I'll say," Jessie nodded. "Now hurry up and try to play it!"

Meowth inserted the card, pressed a button on the top of the screen, and a video message began playing on the screen. The message showed a woman in a fine scarlet-and-black business suit, a long bowl-cut of fuchsia hair, and large thin-framed glasses. She stood in front of a Team Rocket emblem on a wall, and a painting of Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, hung on the wall next to the emblem.

"Greetings, Team Rocket agents," she said. "My name is Matori, and I am Mr. Giovanni's newly appointed secretary in Team Rocket. I am calling on behalf of Mr. Giovanni to address the current situation of Team Rocket agents Jessie Mathews, James Morgan, and Meowth."

"Here it comes!" Jessie and Meowth squealed with delight.

"As you may be aware," Matori's recording continued, "we have been short-staffed for the past year due to numerous agents being arrested by the Police, but we have recently received a number of returning agents whom we have liberated from their confinement, along with fresh new recruits. As such, newer leadership is required for those who have proven themselves, while those who have only proven how inept they are must be eliminated."

At this, James gulped, since he thought about this situation mere moments before.

"By the power vested in me by Mr. Giovanni himself," Matori said, "I hereby promote Jessie Mathews and Meowth to the rank of A-Class Admin of Team Rocket and confer upon them full responsibilities and rewards that come with said title."

Jessie and Meowth jumped around for joy at this news. "YAY! We got a promotion~! We got a promotion~!"

"However," Matori continued, "I hereby declare that James Morgan be stripped completely of title, rank, and position as a Team Rocket agent, and is hereby expelled from Team Rocket."

James was so shocked that he almost collapsed on the spot, and he barely registered the last details of the message.

"We will send agents to retrieve you and your Pokémon within 24 hours of receiving this message," Matori said. "If you try to escape, we will find you and capture you. Your Pokémon will be taken as payment for your teams' bills, and you will be handed over to the Police as punishment for your ineptitude as a Team Rocket agent."

She finished the message with a salute and a recitation of the Team Rocket oath.

"Steal Pokémon for profit!

Exploit Pokémon for profit!

All Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket!"

With that, the video message ended. As soon as Matori announced James' fate, Jessie and Meowth's joy almost instantly went away, and they looked at their friend with an expression of shock and horror. His facial expression seemed like he was going to laugh, cry, and yell all at the same time, and his mouth and eyes were twitching at random intervals. They also noticed that his hands were shaking very quickly, like when he was zapped by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, only worse.

"J-James?" Jessie asked, unsure of what to do.

"Are… are youse gonna… be ok?" Meowth asked, his voice shaking as well.

"I… I…" James stuttered, but said nothing.

Suddenly, he gave an ear-splitting scream of agony, which almost woke up every Pokémon in the forest and forced Jessie and Meowth to cover their ears. It was then followed by a loud and long fit of wailing and crying, with James' face turning red-hot with grief and anger as hot salty tears flowed from his eyes. Never before in all their time of knowing him have Jessie or Meowth seen James so completely broken and devastated.

They too felt the tears rush to their eyes, and latched themselves onto their friend, crying over his soon-to-be fate. Carnivine and Mime Jr. also saw the recording, and they hugged James as well (Carnivine actually clamped its massive jaws on James' head), afraid for their master and for themselves.

"I don't wanna leave you guys!" James bawled. "I don't want my Pokémon to be taken away either!"

"We don't want you to go either!" Jessie cried. "You're our best friend!"

"I can't believe dis is happenin'!" Meowth wailed. "We're supposed to be a team forever!"

Meanwhile, Delibird looked at the trio with a look of contempt, clearly not interested in this emotional outburst, and then promptly flew away back to Team Rocket headquarters in Kanto.

(-o-)

After a few more minutes of crying, the three friends finally stopped, and wiped the water from their faces and the mucus from their running noses. The three were heartsick, almost traumatized, at this terrible news. Meowth was the first to speak up.

"Dere's somethin' I ain't gettin' here," he said, still sniffling. "I thought dat da Boss thought we all were complete failures. Why would he only fire Jimmy?"

"Oh, why not?" James sobbed, beginning to cry again. "First it was Jessebelle, then I flunked Pokémon Tech, then Weezing, then Chimecho, then Cacnea, now this!"

"What's with the memory jogging?" Jessie asked, still sad but now confused by James' words.

"Before we got the message," he replied, "I was thinking about how badly things have gone in my life up to now, and I thought about how we've gotten absolutely nowhere in Team Rocket for the past three years, ever since we met that twerp and his friends. Think about it for a minute: have we managed to steal one single Pokémon since we met them?"

Jessie was about to answer, but then paused, realizing what James meant.

"You see?" James said. "The answer is none! As to why the Boss would only fire me, I can only guess someone has it in for me."

"But the only ones we know like dat are Cassidy and Butch!" Meowth noted, "and de're out for both of youse!"

"Well, who else could want me out of Team Rocket this badly?" James asked. "What's more, does the Boss even remember who any of us are?"

Neither Meowth or Jessie could answer that. A million thoughts ran through James' mind, each one trying to form a solution on how to get out of this horrible mess. Suddenly, one thought became very apparent to him, but he almost dismissed the idea as being completely ludicrous. There's no way in a million years that the person James just thought of could or would help him. But as he thought of more choices, it seemed like the only decent and best option that he had.

"Well, putting that aside," Jessie said, "what are we going to do now? Matori said they were going to start send agents after you and your Pokémon!"

"Which is why I have to leave you guys," James stated.

"WHAT!?" the two gasped, clearly shocked.

"I have no choice, you guys," he said. "They're going to hurt you if you try and escape with me, and these A-Class agents don't mess around! I've seen them myself! Don't throw away your promotion for my sake, go on without me!"

"But we just said we're a team!" Jessie cried.

"Even more importantly, we're friends!" Meowth added. "Ain't friends supposed to stick together?"

"They are," James nodded, "but friends also do what's best for each other, even if they must leave for a while because of it. It's putting someone else's needs before your own. Just like what that kid in the hat always was doing. He valued his Pokémon more than his own life, and that's exactly what true and best friends are supposed to do for each other."

"What's wit' da sudden praise for dat twoip?" Meowth asked. "Are you da new president of his fan club or something?"

"I'm going apologize to him and asking to be one of his friends," James said, matter-of-factly.

"What are you, crazy!?" Jessie gawked. "Do you really think that he'd be that willing to forgive you after all we've done to him and his friends and their Pokémon?"

"It's a crazy idea, I know," he said, "but it's the only one I got right now. Besides, he's not completely heartless, and neither are we. Think about the times that we helped them and they helped us!"

"But being da good guy a few times ain't gonna make up for three years of being da bad guy!" Meowth said. "What if the twoip decides to turn you in?"

"Better to be jailed by him than being captured and possibly tortured by Team Rocket," James replied. "Besides, it's not like I know anyone else that I can turn to."

James' expression soon turned from very sad to very serious, and Jessie and Meowth knew that when James looked serious, he was really serious.

"They may even assign you to capture me," he said. "If they do, I want you to hit me with all you got and don't hold back. If you don't they'll get suspicious and think that you helped me escape."

"But James, we can't!" Jessie said.

"We can't toin ya in!" Meowth protested. "We're your friends!"

"And you always will be!" James said. "But for now, and probably for only a little while, you must be my enemies. If you see me with Ash, ignore his Pikachu and go straight for me. It's not your mission and it never should have been. It did bring us good things, yes, like your Seviper and Dustox and Wobbuffet and all of our other Pokémon that we've met so far, but it's also brought us to this. Please, for my sake, leave Pikachu alone and take me instead!"

"But… but…" Jessie stuttered, still trying to come to grips with the whole situation. "Why can't we go with you?"

"Because I'm putting your needs before my own," James said, calmly. "I'm being your friend and telling you that you can't come with me, at least not right now."

"Isn't there anything we can do to stop this madness!?" Jessie cried.

"There is only one option," James stated. "Team Rocket has got to go."

"Whaddya mean by dat?" Meowth asked.

James got up and clenched his fists. "I'm going to build my own Pokémon army to take Team Rocket down and out… for good."

"Ok, now I know you've lost it," Jessie said. "How in the world do you plan on destroying Team Rocket all by yourself? And do you think that by doing that you'll be free to live however you want?"

"It's worth a shot," James said. "If I just sit around and do nothing, they'll continue to bring pain and suffering not just to me, but to other Pokémon and Trainers across the world. I've now realized that what I've done up until now has been wrong. But now I'm going to do the right thing and keep doing it until I can do no more. I owe it to Cacnea, to Weezing, and to all of my Pokémon, and most of all, I owe it to me and you."

Before Jessie and Meowth could say anything in protest, he ripped his gloves off and ripped his Team Rocket uniform shirt off his back. He then threw them to the ground and, after taking one last pained look at him and Jessie, he spat on them.

"James!" Jessie gasped.

"Wait a sec!" Meowth pleaded.

"I have no time," James said. "They'll be coming for me any second, and I need to put as much distance between me and them as I possibly can. Remember my wish: if you find me, don't hesitate to capture me. But also know that I will not hesitate to attack you, even though it will hurt me. You're all the best friends I could ever have, but, at least for now, this is where we part ways." He recalled Carnivine and Mime Jr. to their Poké Balls, and turned away from his friends. A single tear fell from his eye as he took a single step forward. "Goodbye."

Without a moment's hesitation, he ran and ran as fast as he could away from the hill and away from his old life. He could hear Jessie and Meowth screaming his name and begging him to come back, but he made no motion to turn back, knowing in his heart that if he did, he would regret it. Once again, tears came to his eyes as he ran through the forest. He did not stop running until his friends' voices could no longer be heard, and then he stopped in the middle of a clearing. He realized that he had never ran so fast before, and was now out of breath. He looked up into the night sky, and saw that the moon was now hanging high up in the sky, and that there were thousands of thousands of stars twinkling around it. There were two constellations that he thought resembled his friends, and his heart grew even sadder.

"I can't think about that for much longer," he said to himself. "I've got to keep moving. Keep moving and don't look back."

With that said, he ran off into the night once more.

Little did he know that he was not heading to where Ash and friends were, but that road he was taking would provide him with something just as good for him, if not better.

(-o-)

James awoke early the next day on the bed of leaves that he built for himself under the nice shade and protection of a sturdy oak tree. He had made it from outside of Solaceon Town to right outside of Hearthome City in the space of a single day. Stretching, he reached into his backpack, grabbed an apple that he had picked last night, and began to eat it. He still had his equipment with him, but not anything that would connect him with Team Rocket. He made sure to leave all of it behind, along with his rather painful memories of his past life.

However, not all of the memories would be forgotten, particularly those connected with Jessie and Meowth. He hated having to leave them behind, but he knew deep in his heart that it had to be done. They didn't deserve to get themselves dragged into being chased around the Sinnoh region – and quite possibly the rest of the world – by the most experienced Team Rocket agents that they had to spare. He also thought about what Jessie said about Ash possibly not forgiving him and even turning him in to the police if James showed his face to him like he planned. But he had no time or place for second guessing himself, so he vowed to find Ash, no matter what the outcome may be.

He was just turning to leave when he got quite a surprise. He heard a high-pitched cry that sounded very familiar to him, and yet was also unfamiliar.

"PI-KAAAAA!"

"That sounded like… Pikachu!" he gasped.

All of a sudden, the aforementioned Pokémon dashed right past him, followed quickly by a group of three very angry Primeape, snarling and growling and ready to pound the poor Mouse Pokémon into a pulp. At first, he thought it was Ash's Pikachu, but then saw that it was actually quite different. The black marks on the tips of its ears were not rounded as with normal Pikachu, but were spiked. Other than that, there were no differences between this new Pikachu and Ash's Pikachu.

"Ugh, enough thinking about color schemes!" James groaned. "I've got to save that Pikachu!" With that, he threw out one of his Poké Balls. "Carnivine, stop those Primeape with Bullet Seed!"

Carnivine popped out of its Poké Ball and fired seeds like bullets at the Primeape, who all stopped pursuing Pikachu, and turned their fury to James.

"Ulp," he gulped, but then clenched his fists. "Get in there, Carnivine, and tie them up with Wrap!"

Carnivine's vine-like legs grew out and entangled the terrible trio. Just then, James took out Mime Jr.'s Poké Ball and summoned him as well. "Mime Jr., use Tickle!" Mime Jr. began tickling the Primeape, making them laugh while lowering the power of their physical moves.

Unfortunately, one of the Primeape broke free from its bindings and attacked Carnivine with a Karate Chop attack, freeing its two partners.

"So you like to play dirty, eh?" James grinned. "This sounds fun. Mime Jr., use Mimic!"

Mime Jr. copied Primeape's Karate Chop, and knocked the three Pig Monkey Pokémon back. James knew, however, that Mime Jr.'s attack did not do much, considering it didn't have a high Attack power like the Primeape did. But it did have a relatively high Special Attack power, and James would put good use to that.

"Carnivine, use Bullet Seed!" James cried. "Mime Jr., use Mimic!"

Both Carnivine and Mime Jr. shot out tons of seeds, and they hit the Primeape with high power and speed. But the Primeape would not give up, as was part of their nature. Just then, the Pikachu from before shot out a Thunderbolt attack at the three Pokémon that were chasing it. It was then that James had another idea.

"Mime Jr., use Mimic to copy that Thunderbolt!"

Mime Jr. obeyed, and a bolt of lightning, slightly less powerful than the one Pikachu had launched, knocked the Pig Monkey Pokémon off of their feet. At this, all three of the Primeape decided to abandon their fight, and scattered off into the woods.

"Whew, what a relief," James sighed, and then walked slowly over to the Pikachu so not to scare it. As he approached it, he also got down on his knees to show that he meant no harm. "Are you okay, little guy?" he asked. "It's okay, I won't hurt you. I want to help you."

At first, the Pikachu shrugged it off, but then collapsed when it took one measly step forward.

"You're hurt!" James gasped, and began to reach for the Pikachu. However, it shot off a few sparks to keep James at bay. Carnivine and Mime Jr. tried to explain to the Pikachu that James was not going to hurt it, but it tried to shock them instead. However, its sparks soon faded away, and it fainted.

"The poor thing must be exhausted," James frowned, picking up the unconscious yellow rodent. "We have to get it to a Pokémon Center, and fast!"

With that, he recalled his own Pokémon and dashed to Hearthome City to find the Pokémon Center.

(-o-)

Fortunately for him and the Pikachu, he made it to Hearthome City in under ten minutes, and found the Pokémon Center in under one minute of arriving in the city. He explained the situation to Nurse Joy that he found it attacked in the forest and chased off the Pokémon attacking it. She accepted his story and took the Pikachu into treatment. He waited outside the emergency room for at least twelve minutes while he waited anxiously for news about the Pikachu. Before too long, however, Nurse Joy reappeared.

"Well, the good news is that you got to this poor thing at just the right time," Nurse Joy stated, "and Pikachu is going to be just fine."

"Well, that's great news," James sighed. "But what's the bad news?"

"It's taken major damage from the stress of running really far and really fast, and those Primeape's attacks were very powerful against it," she replied. "It's going to have to stay until tomorrow morning to fully recover."

"Uh, ok," James said. "Do you mind if I stay here and watch it?"

"That's perfectly fine," she nodded. "I could use some help around here. In fact, I could hire you for a while to help out with the Pokémon. What do you say?"

"Well…" James began, but stopped. He would only have until the end of the day before Team Rocket would be after him, but he felt more worried about Pikachu than about himself. "Okay, I'll do it. Is it okay if I only work for today? I've got to get to Solaceon Town to meet a friend of mine soon."

"That's perfectly fine," Nurse Joy said. "Any help at all is welcome."

He then looked down at himself and saw the state he was in. His clothes were torn and dirty, and what remained of his uniform were barely recognizable at all. Either this was during the Primeape encounter or all his time of travelling finally caught up to his clothes. Then again, he did fall into a pit after climbing out of a thorn bush he tripped and fell into last night.

"Well, I guess I could use a new set of clothes," he said to himself. "Do you have any spare sets of clothes? I don't have a lot of money, but I could work even harder for those if that's what you want."

"It's no problem if you need some new clothes," Nurse Joy replied, "and we've got plenty here. Please don't feel like you have to pay, we get plenty of clothes donated here every day. Pokémon Centers like this one pride themselves on offering free services to all Pokémon Trainers." She then pointed to the hallway. "There's a closet at the end of the hallway on the left side right before you get to the restroom. The men's clothes are in a box on the top shelf."

"Thanks a bunch," he said, very relieved. "I'll just get a simple set and be right back."

With that, James went down the hallway and arrived at the closet. He looked in the box and found something just right for him: a new pair of faded jeans and a simple pair of running shoes. He took the clothes from the box, and then his nose started twitching.

"Phew," he snorted. "Something smells terrible in here."

As if on instinct, he lifted up his arm and sniffed his armpit. He almost fainted on the spot and dropped the clothes as he grabbed his nose, whimpering like a dog who had just tasted something awful.

"Yikes!" he whined. "I need a shower something bad!"

(-o-)

After a few minutes of cleaning himself up, and trying on his new clothes, which fit him perfectly, he was ready for helping Nurse Joy. She first assigned him to restocking the vending machines in the front lobby, and then to assisting in the recovery of the injured Pokémon that were brought in that day by various Trainers. He also was assigned to assist in the mysterious Pikachu's recovery, at which he felt a mysterious sense of purpose.

"I've never seen anything quite like this," Nurse Joy said as she observed the machine that Pikachu was hooked up to.

"What do you mean?" James asked.

"Its power level is far beyond that of any ordinary Pikachu," she explained, and pointed to the screen. "Look here. The readings show that it had a massive buildup of electricity charged up in its sacs, and yet did not suffer any ill effects from it. I took a charge sample while you were restocking the vending machines, and I discovered that the charge was just as powerful as a normal Raichu, which is normally impossible for a Pikachu. What's more bizarre is that this Pikachu has no Trainer identification."

"Wait, this Pikachu is wild?" James gasped.

"I was quite surprised as well," Nurse Joy nodded. "This is nothing like anything I've ever experienced before in all my years here."

"I've seen one Pikachu exactly like this once before," James said, "but it was owned by someone else."

Just then, a faint memory seemed to echo through the deepest recesses of James' mind. He felt that he had seen this exact Pikachu somewhere before, but could not remember exactly where. All that he could remember on the spot was that Ash and his Pikachu were there as well, and so were Jessie and Meowth. He took another look at the Pikachu, which was sleeping peacefully, and it all fell into place.

He could see a vast mountain in the Johto region, a lake of the purest water he ever saw, and a tall pink Pokémon that looked somewhat similar to drawings of a Pokémon long thought to be only a myth. He also saw scores of Team Rocket agents defiling the place with their waste and evil desires to use the Pokémon that lived there in their experiments. He also saw an image of a blond-haired girl in pig-tails standing next to a familiar orange-suited figure who had an evil-looking Persian on the other side of him.

He realized then and there that this Pikachu was in fact…

"James?" Nurse Joy asked, bringing James back to the present. "Are you all right?"

"Huh?" James blinked. "What happened?"

"You spaced out for a second there," she replied. "Your eyes got all glassy and you stopped moving, so I snapped my fingers trying to get you back here."

"Sorry, I got caught up in some memories," he said. "You wouldn't happen to know of a Trainer named Ask Ketchum, would you?"

"The one who won the Hearthome City Tag Battle Competition three days ago?" Nurse Joy asked. "Yes, I know him. Are you a friend?"

"Well, sort of, yeah," James said, stretching the truth. "Do you know where he said he was heading off to?"

"He looked like he was heading for the Pokémon Gym in Veilstone City," she replied, "and his friend Dawn was going to stop at Solaceon Town along the way to compete in the Pokémon Contest there."

"Got it," James smiled. "Thanks for the info."

Just then, a scream was heard from the front lobby, and James and Nurse Joy quickly rushed to the scene of the potential disaster. What they did not know was that the Pikachu awoke from its slumber as well and watched the two leave. It managed to climb out of the machine, and ran towards where James and Nurse Joy ran off to. When James arrived at the scene, he was shocked at what he saw.

A Mightyena had a little girl pinned down to the ground and was barring its fangs at her as she screamed in sheer fright. He parents, who were equally horrified, were tied up with what looked like a Pokémon's String Shot and pushed against the wall by a tall man, about James' age, with an Ariados. The man was dressed in a black uniform with white boots and gloves. His hair was red and stuck out in many spikes, and his eyes were a stone-cold dark gray. There were a few other people in the lobby, but they were scared by the man and by his intimidating, and quite possibly very powerful, Pokémon.

"I'll ask you one more time, girlie," the man said, with a venomous tone. "Have you seen this man?"

"No!" the girl squealed. "I never saw him!"

"Leave our daughter alone!" her father hollered. "She has done nothing wrong!"

"Stay out of this, old man!" the man growled, and his Ariados clicked angrily at the man. "Who here has seen a man named James? He's about as tall as me, has lavender hair, and acts like a weirdo! I have orders to bring him back to my boss, so stay out of my way and do as I say!"

James gasped. This guy was one of the agents that Team Rocket sent to find him, and now he was hurting all of these innocent people and Pokémon to get to him. His fear and shock left him, and now he burned hot with anger. He began to walk forward, but then Nurse Joy stopped him.

"What are you doing!?" she gasped. "Do you want to get yourself seriously hurt?"

"You don't get it, ma'am," James said, with sorrow permeating his voice. "He's after me. I'm the James he's looking for. If he has me, then he'll leave these people alone."

Nurse Joy was shocked, and James turned away, not wanting to see her face as he went to meet the Team Rocket agent. The Pikachu looked out from behind the door, and saw that while James looked afraid of the man, he was not afraid to meet him, if it meant saving those innocent people.

"Hey, you!" James said, and the agent turned to face him. "Leave these people alone. It's me you want, I'm James of Team Rocket, so leave then out of it."

"Gladly," he chuckled.

The man grinned and snapped his fingers. Mightyena released the girl from its grip and cut the strings holding her parents. The girl ran to her parents, who hugged her and cried.

"May I ask who you are?" James asked. "I know you're from Team Rocket, but I've never seen you before."

"My name is Goddard," the man replied. "I'm an A-Class admin sent by Team Rocket for the sole purpose of capturing you to be delivered to our leader, Giovanni, for punishment for your ineptitude at our organization."

"Then do it outside," James said. "We go outside, and I won't run away. But I don't want you to hurt these people any more than you already have."

Goddard nodded, and the two stepped out of the Pokémon Center, along with Goddard's Pokémon. However, as soon as they left the building, Mightyena tackled James while his back was turned, causing him to fly into a wall, severely injuring him. The onlookers, including Nurse Joy, gasped in shock.

"I said I wouldn't hurt them," Goddard smiled wickedly. "I never said anything about not hurting you."

James struggled to get up, but then Mightyena bit his leg, causing him to cry out in pain and sink to the ground again. This caused the crowd to become even more shocked and appalled, and Nurse Joy almost ran out to help him, but a bright flash of yellow stopped her.

"I'd be going against orders," Goddard said, "but I don't see the purpose in taking you with me and let Giovanni hand you over to the police." He then kicked James hard in the gut with his boot, and James gagged and coughed up some saliva that had just a hint of red in it.

"Traitors like you need a nap…" Goddard grinned, and then raised his boot again. "A DIRT NAP!"

James looked down and waited for the end to come.

But it never came.

Just then, Goddard lit up with the force of a thousand volts of electricity, causing him to fall to the ground. James looked through his battered and watery eyes and saw that the Pikachu from before had used its electric attacks to save James.

"Thank you, Pikachu," he said weakly.

Just then, he heard a voice ring out.

"Chansey, try to use Soft-Boiled on James!"

James looked up and saw Nurse Joy with her Chansey, and the latter flung a yellowish copy of the egg in its pouch at James. When it reached him, James' body absorbed the egg, and the yellow glow enveloped him. Instantly, he felt every pain in his body fade completely away, and he sprung to his feet, revitalized by Nurse Joy's generosity.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy!" James called out. "Now allow me to take care of things here!"

Nurse Joy smiled and nodded, and the crowd cheered. James smiled for a while, but then his smile faded. He then stepped up to Goddard, who was lying on the ground, paralyzed by Pikachu.

"I said I wouldn't run away," he said darkly. "I didn't say I wouldn't fight back."

"You… can't… hide forever," he said, struggling to get the words out. "Others… will… follow…"

"Let them come," James said, letting his voice be heard by all who were there. "But know this: I'm not going down without a fight, and I'll give Team Rocket a fight they'll never forget. Know why? Because I'm going to take Team Rocket down with my own hands and my own Pokémon!"

"Pika-pika!" the Pikachu cried, and ran up to James. "Pika-pi-pika-chu!"

"You want to help me waste this guy?" James asked, and Pikachu nodded. "Well, that's nice of you. By the way, thanks for saving me back there. Looks like we're even now, huh?"

Pikachu nodded, and James grinned at the fallen and frozen Goddard. "Have a nice flight."

Pikachu got the message, and shot another Thunder attack, blasting Goddard into the sky. He screamed as loud as he could until he flew off to the horizon and could be heard no more. James whistled as he saw the agent fly off.

"Well, I always wondered what a blast-off looked like from down here!" he chuckled.

Just then, he heard the sound of people cheering. He turned around, and saw the people from the Pokémon Center applauding him and the Pikachu for driving Goddard away. Even the little girl ran up to him and gave his legs a big hug.

"Thanks a lot, mister!" the girl said, and ran back to her parents. "My name is Sue, and I think you're really strong!"

"Huh!?" James was now very confused.

"We thank you for saving our daughter," her father said, shaking James' hand. "We are in your debt."

"HUH!?" James could barely contain his bewilderment.

"Allow me to explain, James," Nurse Joy said, coming out. "It's true that they know you're from Team Rocket, but they thanked you for saving them from one who was worse than he claimed you to be. The truth is I knew you were in Team Rocket when you came in, since I had seen your wanted poster outside the Pokémon Center, but you asked for help for this Pikachu."

"What does that have to do with anything?" James asked.

"Well, the way I see it," Nurse Joy replied, "anyone who puts the safety of Pokémon above themselves isn't truly evil. You may be labeled as a villain, but I don't think you're a bad person."

"You don't?" James gasped.

"You were sure brave standing up to Goddard," she noted, "and you did help out around here, and you didn't complain or get frustrated when things went wrong. I think that makes you a very good person."

"It does?" James grinned.

"It does," she nodded. "Now you'd better leave before more agents come for you, or even the police. I won't tell anyone your secret, and neither will these people."

"Thank you," James bowed.

Just then, Pikachu tugged at James' leg.

"Oh yes," James said. "Thank you for your help as well. I remember you now, you're that Pikachu clone who was with Mewtwo in the Johto region two years ago, aren't you?"

The Pikachu nodded, and then said something in its language.

"I take it that you remember me," he said, and Pikachu nodded. It also jumped on his shoulder, akin to what Ash's Pikachu did with him.

"I think Pikachu wants to go with you, James," Nurse Joy said, smiling.

"Are you sure?" James gasped. He never thought he'd live to see the day he'd add a real Pikachu to his team, much less the clone of Ash's Pikachu that he met two years ago. But Pikachu nodded, confirming his thoughts. James was surprised, but then he smiled widely, pulling out a Poké Ball form his pocket.

"Then welcome to the team, Pikachutwo!" he said, and lightly tapped Pikachu's forehead with the Poké Ball, which sucked the Mouse Pokémon inside. After it clocked three time and dinged, he let it out. "Ready to hit the road?"

Pikachutwo nodded, and the two took off, but this time, James looked back and saw the people waving him goodbye. He gave a thumbs-up, and continued, not daring to look back anymore. But no tears of shame fell from his face this time. He was now crying tears of pure joy. For once, he was a hero, and it felt better than anything he'd ever done.

And if he had his way, he'd be doing it a lot more often with the help of a red-capped kid and his own Pikachu.

A/N: OVER 7000 WORDS!? THIS IS EPIC FOR ME BEYOND WORDS!

Hope I did good, and I can't wait to write more! And more is to come soon, so stay tuned!

-JeremyX signing off!