We don't own Pokémon or anything related to it; it belongs to Satoshi Tajiri.
The other characters however were created by us, Naoko & Miharu.
We hope you enjoy Johto Beginnings

---Outskirts of Azalea Town---

"Oro? What's that?" Kage questioned out loud as they neared what looked like a well and a cave with a man in front of it.

"Hm. . . I don't know. Wanna check it out?" Anemoné asked as she looked at the now-calm but curious tomboy.

"I guess so. Ne, Raikiri-chan do you want to check it out?" Kage said to the tiny mouse after shrugging at the berry girl.

"Pichu pichu, pi? (Sure! How about you, Lucifer?)" Raikiri said before turning and asking the fire mouse.

"Cydaquil quil. (As long as it isn't too wet then okay.)" Lucifer agreed while nodding.

"Yosh! Let's check it out!" Kage said grinning with her arms behind her head and walking towards the cave.

As the two girls got closer towards the cave, they could clearly see a man wearing a black uniform of some sort with a red "R" on the front.

". . ." Kage didn't say anything and blinked a bit but Raikiri, on the other hand, did. "Pichu pichu chu chu pichu chu! (What a weird get-up! Even Kage dresses better than that!)"

"Oi! What does that mean?!" Kage said scowling a bit before going quiet when the man turned to them with a glare.

"Hey! What are you twerps doing here?!"

Anemoné sweat dropped a bit, "Ahahaha. We're not doing anything. Honest! We just happen to be passing this way!"

The man's glare hardened, "Yeah? Well, get out of here then!"

"Yes'sir!" And with that, the two girls ran towards town with their Pokémon.

After about five minutes, they stopped just outside the town.

"Man, that was scary." Anemoné mumbled as Kage nodded in agreement.

"Pichu chu. . . (He's a big meanie. . .)" Raikiri mumbled making Kage nod again.

"Cyndaquil quil cynda cyndaquil quil. . . cyndaquil quil cyn cynda cyndaquil. . . (I wonder if he reincarnated from a Mankey. . . But then again, a Mankey's better looking then him.)" Lucifer mumbled making the other three laugh out loud.

"Hey! You two twer-I mean-kids over there!"

All of them tensed a bit thinking that it was the man in black again but to their surprise it was a teenage boy and girl in weird striped suits.

'Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh.' Kage repeated over in her head as her cat ears appeared again twitching.

"Erm. Hello?" Anemoné said with a rather large fake grin but it convinced the two.

"Would you two like to buy some Slowpoke Tail?" The female said smiling at them although her eyebrow seemed to twitch.

All of them blinked incredulous, "A what?!"

"A Slowpoke Tail, of course! It's nutritious and delicious!" The man replied smiling at them although he seemed to twitch a bit.

Kage's cat ears were pressed back onto her head as her eyes narrowed, "Nani?! Don't tell me that you're cut-!"

"Kage!" Anemoné scolded as Kage gritted her teeth and turned away.

"Pichu pichu! Pichu pichu chu! (Kage! That guy! He's-! Is he-!)" Raikiri questioned worried that someone might cut her tail off as she clinged onto Kage.

"I don't know. . ." Kage mumbled grumpily still glaring at the pair who didn't even seem phased by her outburst.

"Now, mister. Is the Slowpoke Tail. . . you know. . ." Anemoné asked cautiously while holding Lucifer who was also glaring at them.

"Of course! We sell the real things, you know?" The man replied cheerfully as the others soon turned pale.

Kage grabbed Anemoné's hand while holding Raikiri in her other and began running. "Yeah! Well, we aren't gonna buy anything from you creeps!"

But before they could fully run away, a Drowzee and a Delibird appeared in front of them.

"What the-!" Kage said surprised skidding to a stop before turning around to see a Shuckle and a Krabby. "Nngh."

"Kage. . ." Anemoné mumbled as the two now stood back-to-back. "What should we do?"

"I'll tell you what you're supposed to do."

However, it wasn't Kage who responded.

"Prepare for trouble!" The female started.

"And make it double!" The male continued.

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all people within every nation!"

"To denounce the evil of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Karin!"

"Kyle!"

"We're the Awesome Rocket Trio and fighting with all our might!"

"Surrender now or lose your Pokémon and the fight!"

"Kecleon, that's right!" The green Pokémon shouted as he, at last, showed up in between the two now-identified people.

"You guys again!" Kage shouted annoyed but secretly wanting to laugh along with Raikiri who was rolling on the floor her butt off laughing at the motto.

"What exactly are you three doing here! And did you steal these Pokémon as well?" Anemoné shouted angrily as Lucifer began poking the still-laughing Pichu in the background.

Karin gained an anime vein at that comment, "What? No way! These Pokémon are ours!"

"Yeah! We caught them like any other Pokémon when we were little!" Kyle added in as he glared at them.

"Kind of hard to believe." Kage mumbled under her breath as Raikiri finally stopped laughing but still held a grin on her face.

"What'd you say?" Karin growled under her breath about to tackle the tomboy but Kyle held her back.

"Calm down, Karin. We're here to beat them down for last time 'membered?" Kyle said calming the other girl down.

"Humph! Fine! Let's go!" Karin commanded as Delibird and Drowzee took their position.

Kage was about to take out her Pokéballs when another voice cut them off.

"Charmander! Use Ember on Delibird now!"

"Chaaaaaaar!!! (Embeeerrr!!!)"

A jet of hot flames scorched the delivery Pokémon causing her to faint.

"Huh? Who was that?" Anemoné mumbled before a boy with short and spiky ivory-silver hair appeared walking "coolly" towards them.

"Long time no see, Kuroi." The boy said smirking at Kage only to receive a blank but confused look from her.

"And you are. . . ?" Kage said blinking in confusion making the boy sweat drop before it turned into multiple anime veins.

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU DON'T REMEMBER ME?!?!" The boy shouted as his anime veins throbbed on his head.

"Ow. . ." Kage mumbled as she checked to see if her ears worked. "What do you mean by 'remember'? Did I meet you before?"

"Pichu pichu, pichu? (We battled with him, 'member?)" Raikiri said but the only thing she got was question marks around Kage.

"Pichu? (Charmander?)" Raikiri sighed while sweat dropping and pointing to the fire lizard.

Kage blinked and looked at the fire lizard before her eyes lit up in realization. "Oh yeah! I remember now! Hiya Charmander! How're you?"

The boy fell over anime style as the oblivious tomboy crouched down to pet the Pokémon on his head.

"Charmander char! Char! (You 'membered me! Yay!)" Charmander chirped happily as he hugged the silver-eyed girl.

"He. . . remembered. . . Charmander. . . but. . . not me. . . me, his rival. . ." The boy mumbled with a depressed aura around him while crouching near a tree.

"Pi. . . Pichu chu. (Aw. . . Don't worry.)" Raikiri mumbled patting the boy on the back.

Anemoné and Lucifer, who were watching all of this silently, sweat dropped a waterfall.

"Anno. . . I don't want to interrupt but who exactly are you?" The berry lover asked the golden-eyed boy while thinking. 'He? His? That guy thinks that Kage's a guy? Well, I wouldn't blame him since I thought Kage was a guy too...'

"Hm? Oh! My name's Shiroi Fuyu, Kuroi's rival, and you are?" Kage's rival said before looking at the berry girl confused.

"My name's Anemoné Phoenix from Cherrygrove City! Nice to meet you!" Anemoné said happily putting her hand out for a handshake. 'Better not say anything about it. . .'

"Likewise, Miss Phoenix." Shiroi said smiling a bit.

"Err. . . Just call me Anemoné. Miss sounds too weird." Anemoné said sweat dropping a bit. 'A bit polite, ne?'

"Sure. Now if only Kuroi can actually remember that I'm his rival. . ." The boy mumbled giving the still oblivious girl a look before sighing. "Oh well."

Anemoné sweat dropped a bit before laughing nervously, "Yeah. Well, that's Kage alright." 'If she did remember him after one brief meeting then I would think that she's an imposter.'

"Cyndaquil, quil? (Anemoné, what now?)" Lucifer asked tugging on Anemoné capris a bit making her snap out of her train of thoughts.

"Oh! Right! Um. Kage?" The berry lover called to her tomboy friend.

"Hm? Yeah? What's up?" Kage asked blinking a bit as she stood up and held Charmander in her arms.

Anemoné was about to reply but Karin was already fed up. "Hey twerps! We're battling here, remember? But it doesn't matter now! Drowzee! Use Hypnosis!"

Drowzee began to move his hands in a strange pattern as Raikiri, who was staring, started to sway.

"Eh? Nani?! Raikiri!" Kage shouted running towards the tiny mouse as Charmander jumped out of her arms.

"Etto. . . Raikiri?" Kage mumbled before sweat dropping as she noticed that the tiny mouse Pokémon had fallen asleep and sighed taking out Raikiri's Pokéball. "Return."

"Heh heh heh. How'd you like that?" Karin bragged not noticing the dark aura starting to form around the tomboy now.

"How'd I like that?" Kage whispered coldly as she grasped Tsubasa's Pokéball. "I'll show you how I liked it!!! Go! Tsubasa! I choose you!"

---Battle: Start!---

A flash of white light before it revealed the brown-and-tan bird Pokémon Pidgey.

"Pidgey pidge! (A battle!)"

"Come on Tsubasa! Let's show these guys the 'gift' they receive for hurting one of our friends!!"

"Pidgey?! Pidgey pidge?! Pidgey! Pidgey pidge! (What? They hurt our friend? That's it! Payback time!)" Tsubasa cawed angrily.

"Alright Tsubasa! Use Quick Attack on Drowzee now!"

"Pidge! (Right!)"

From the sky, Tsubasa swooped downwards as a blur towards the surprised hypnosis Pokémon hitting him directly in the chest.

"Now! Use Gust! Blow 'em away!"

Tsubasa let out another angry caw before flapping her wings quickly and strongly as a gust of wind blew Drowzee towards a tree unconscious.

---Battle: End!---

"Heh. And that's what you get for messing with my Pokémon." Kage said smirking at them before grinning at Tsubasa, "And great job Tsubasa! You were awesome!"

"Pidgey, pidge! (Aw, thanks!)" Tsubasa chirped happily rubbing her cheek against Kage's before she was returned to her Pokéball.

"My Drowzee. . . I didn't even get a chance to attack. . ." Karin mumbled shocked as she fell to the ground wide-eyed.

Kyle glared at the group in front of him celebrating before gaining an anime vein, "We're not done yet! I still have my Pokémon! Let's go! Shuckle! Use Constrict now!"

"Shuckle shuck! (Take this!)"

One of the mold Pokémon's foreleg stretched towards the group and wrapped it around all of them immobilizing them.

"Ah! What the-!" Anemoné yelled slightly as it tightened.

"Grr! Damn it! I can't get out!" Shiroi shouted trying to break free.

"Nngh. What should we do now?" Kage mumbled as her cat ears appeared once more but this time it dropped down sadly.

"Cyndaquil quil! (You forgot about us!)" Lucifer piped up from besides Anemoné.

"Charmander char! (And me too!)" The fire lizard said from besides Shiroi.

"Oh! That's right! Lucifer use Ember on that Shuckle!" Anemoné said smiling.

"You too Charmander!" Shiroi commanded as the two fire Pokémon nodded.

"Cynda/Char! (Right!)"

With that, both took a deep breath and shot out a burst of flame engulfing the Shuckle.

"Alright!" The two trainers of the fire Pokémon cheered but they were cut off by Kage's shout. "It's not over yet, you guys!"

As the flames died away, it revealed Shuckle withdrawn into it's shell but everyone was still trapped.

"What?! No way!!" Shiroi shouted before glaring at them.

"Heh. Not so tough now, eh?" Kecleon piped up after watching the group's effort very amused.

"Cyn/Char. . . (Grr. . .)" The fire Pokémon growled whilst tensed.

"AHAHAHAHA!!!" Karin laughed from besides Kyle completely happy again. "Now what are you going to do, twerps?"

"I may not know what they're going to do but I'll tell you what I will!" A different voice said from above. "I'll beat all of your asses!"

"Huh?" Everyone said out loud with question marks around them before. . .

CRACK!

THUMP!

OOF!

"Ow. . . Note to self: Never climb that high again. . ." A boy with messy brown hair and grey eyes and around Anemoné's age, mumbled under his breath.

"What the-Ed?! What are you doing here?!" Anemoné shouted as she gained an anime vein.

Ed got up and brushed himself off, "Nice to see you again, Anemoné. Not."

Anemoné puffed out her cheeks in anger as she glared at the smirking boy in front of her.

Kage blinked a bit, "Anno. . . Who is he, Anemoné-Chan?"

Anemoné sighed a bit before explaining a bit cross, "His name is Ed Niigata and he's from Cherrygrove City as well."

"We're also rivals, as I'm pretty sure you can tell." The brown haired boy added in before smirking at the berry lover. "Although I am much better a trainer then her."

"IS NOT!" Anemoné shouted angrily.

"Ow. . . My ears. . ." Kage mumbled rubbing her ears with her hands.

". . ." Silence from the others.

"Huh? What's up you guys?" Kage asked giving them a confused look.

"Kage. . . You're hands are free now. . ." Shiroi pointed out making the tomboy blink.

"Huh?" Kage looked at herself and sure enough her hands weren't bounded to her sides anymore and rejoiced. "Alright! I'm free! Err. . . Sort of anyways."

"Kage! Send out a Pokémon now!" Anemoné said making the other girl nod.

"Usu!" Kage said grabbing Zensoku's Pokéball and throwing it into the air. "I choose you! Zensoku!"

"Sentret sen! (My turn!)" The scout Pokémon said as he stood on his tail in front of the group.

"Zensoku! Use Tackle on that Shuckle now!" Kage commanded.

"Sen! (Right!)"

The brown scout Pokémon jumped onto all fours and ran towards the still withdrawn Pokémon before doing a full-body tackle on it and a direct hit!

The foreleg that had constricted the group was released as everyone got into a position.

"Ah! What should we do Karin?" Kyle panicked as Karin sweat dropped a bit. "Um. I-I don't know."

"Why don't we just battle 'em?" Kecleon shouted as he joined the Shuckle and the Krabby.

"Hey Ed! Mind giving a hand?" Kage said smirking a bit. The evil trio stepped back a bit nervous.

"Heh. No problem." The brown haired boy said before throwing a Pokéball into the air. "I choose you! Chikorita!"

The light green leaf Pokémon appeared with a determined look on her face. "Chika! (Let's go!)"

"Don't forget about us, Kage." Anemoné said as Cyndaquil jumped in front of her.

"And us." Shiroi said smirking a bit as Charmander stood in front of him.

Karin seemed to have gotten her courage back and stepped up, "Hey! Four against three isn't fair!"

"Yeah! That it isn't!" Kyle said backing her up.

The group gave them an "evil" smirk making the trio sweat drop again.

"Why not?" Kage taunted.

"After all, you did the same with us." Anemoné added in.

"So we should-" Shiroi continued.

"-do the same!" Ed finished.

"Zensoku! Use Fury Swipes!" Kage ordered as Zensoku nodded.

"Sentret! (Take this!)" Slashes from the scout's claws appeared multiple times on the Krabby.

"Now! Chikorita!" Ed called out. "Use Razor Leaf and finish it!"

"Chika! (Right!)" The grass Pokémon swished the leaf on her head once as razor-sharp leaves hit a direct hit and knocked the Pokémon out.

Anemoné grinned a bit as Shiroi smirked, "It's our turn now! Lucifer/Charmander! Use double Ember now!"

"Char/Cynda!! (Right!)" Two streams of hot red flames intertwined and engulfed Shuckle knocking the mold Pokémon onto the unconscious crab Pokémon.

"Eeeek! What now Karin?" Kyle shouted, worried as the two hugged each other for dear life.

"I don't know! Kecleon do something!" Karin shouted back.

"Hold ya horses, will ya?" The green chameleon said annoyed but before he could do anything a flash of white light came from one of Kage's Pokéball to reveal. . .

One.

Pissed.

Off.

Raikiri.

Sparks crackled from her cheeks as the tiny mouse Pokémon stared at the trio coldly.

"Heh." Kage smirked a bit. "Glad that you woke up, Raikiri."

"Pichu pichu pi chu. (Glad I did too.)" Raikiri said smirking a bit as well.

"Uh-oh." The trio said out loud as they froze in terror.

"Raikiri! Finish them off!!"

"Pi pichu! Pi. . . chuuu!!! (Gladly! Thunder. . . shooock!!!)"

A burst of golden electricity.

BOOM!

"THE ROCKET TRIO'S SIGNING OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT!!!" -Ding.-

"They changed the ending." Anemoné mused.

"That they did." Kage agreed before picking up Raikiri and twirling her around happily. "And glad you're awake now! I was getting worried!"

"Chaaa! Pi pichu chu pichu! Pichu pichu chu chu pi pichu! (Ahaha! I'm glad too! Plus, I feel even better now that I've gotten my revenge!)" Raikiri said happily rubbing cheeks with Kage.

". . . I'm starting to think that Kuroi's a girl. . ." Shiroi mumbled under his breath as Ed blinked.

Anemoné, who had heard that, sweat dropped a waterfall. 'He really does think that Kage's a guy! Man, I wonder how he'd react when he finds out otherwise. . .'

A/N: Yay, another chapter! We hope you liked this chapter, and stay tuned! The next chapter is underway! Until then, Happy Readings :)