Stage One: Reshiram
Arc One: Team Rocket versus Team Plasma
Chapter Three: The Search for Pikachu
Location: Viridian City, Region: Kanto
"Pikachu," Ash's voice shook. Professor Oak saw the shock in Ash's face when he heard the news. It was as if his own brother was kidnapped. Of course it wasn't far from the truth that Ash considered Pikachu as a brother. He was there when Ash first received Pikachu. Pikachu was untamed, not used to humans and somewhat brash. From there on, they grew up into the deepest of the friends. The bond they share, it was things like these that intrigue him the most.
"I'm sorry Ash," his mother placed a hand on Ash's arm. The Professor felt sorry for Delia. She was in a tight position. Losing Pikachu was painful news, but the more painful fact for a mother was revealing the news to him. She was scared, knowing that Ash would definitely go after Team Rocket to get back Pikachu. It was something she couldn't afford, after nearly losing her only son and her only family.
Ash was in shock, but not for a long time. He could see the fierce resolution returning back to the young man's eyes. It was predictable considering Ash would do anything for his Pokémon. He didn't know if he was to be happy as a Pokémon Professor, or be worried as a family friend.
"I will bring back Pikachu," he said clutching onto the white sheets. "And I'm going to save Pignite and the others as well."
"Ash," his mother attempted to calm the boy. It was perhaps time for him to step up. Ash wouldn't listen unless he had an authoritative voice explain him.
"The G-Men are tracking for Team Rocket as we speak," he said, gathering the boy's attention. "They will be brought to justice in no time. I'm pretty sure they will save Pikachu and all other Pokémon they have stolen. You just recovered from poisoning, you need to give your body some rest."
"But Professor," the boy protested weakly. "How can I rest when Pikachu is danger?" He clenched his fists in anger, not at Team Rocket but probably at himself for losing his Pokémon. "I will help the G-Men search for Team Rocket and—"
"Ash," he interrupted the boy. "How many times was Pikachu stolen by Team Rocket?" The boy replied it with silence. Taking it as an answer, the Professor answered. "Pikachu will be back. Forget about it and lie down for a while. You must be still feeling drowsy from the medication."
The boy remained silent. He looked down, staring at the white sheets blankly. The expression on his restless brown eyes, the frown on his face suggested the Professor that the boy was far from convinced. But he had at least refrained himself from getting up from the bed. It was a positive indication.
Delia gave him a thankful smile. She couldn't have been able to convince Ash, so she was grateful for it. The professor acknowledged her smile with a nod.
"Professor," the boy spoke again after a brief silence. "How is Charizard?"
"Charizard is fine," the Professor assured. The Pokémon was severely injured, but it had the raw strength, resolve to survive them. "He's resting in the Pokémon Center right now."
It was amazing how the fire-dragon travelled somewhere from Johto just so that it could save its trainer. Maybe it could be the same for his other Pokémon had they been informed of the same. Fortunately or unfortunately, they were all left in the dark.
"He saved me when it counted," Ash said, apparently having a similar line of thought. "This is the second time."
"Pokémon can do amazing things when they are by our side," the Professor said, going into his philosophical mode. Studying Pokémon's relation with humans was his main field of study, and there couldn't be better examples than Ash and Charizard when it comes to the bond between humans and Pokémon. "That's why we need to respect Pokémon and be grateful for their existence."
"You need to thank Lance too," Brock said. "He's the one who actually saved you in the end."
Ash took the information in silence. "Where is he now?" He asked, somewhat eager to meet the person who saved his life.
"He's right here in the hospital," Misty replied. "He was injured in the process of saving you," she said, a wry smile on her lips. When Misty arrived in Viridian, he could see that she was almost on the verge of breaking. Ash must be lucky—or rather he deserved such wonderful friends who care for him so deeply.
"It's not anything life threatening though," the Professor added. He noticed that Delia was silent throughout the conversation. Maybe she didn't want Ash stressing his brain over other things right now. "Well, in any case. I think it's better if we leave Ash with his mother. We can always talk later, right?" The Professor said, asking the other two to follow him.
Misty threw one final glance towards Ash, before following Brock outside. Delia nodded to the Professor in acknowledgment. "Well, take care of yourself Ash. And don't worry your mother too much." After that he left the fifteen year old with his mother.
Location: Unknown, Region: Unova.
The copter landed cautiously on the helipad, as the rotor blades on the vehicle continued to spin with a characteristic whirring noise. The blond woman covered as the wind blasted on her face, along with a good amount of dust that rose from the ground. She was definitely not a fan of standing in such a position, but the person inside the copter was important enough for her to ignore the mild discomfort.
The rest of the grunts behind her stood like trained soldiers, their muscles tensed from the fact that the boss of the entire organization called Team Rocket was about to land.
The whirring noise came to an end, as the chopper finally secured itself on the ground. The door was opened by a grunt, wearing similar black uniform like the men behind her. He jumped down, giving way for the man who was behind him.
The man wearing an orange suit finally took a step out, a firm confident smile on his face. He looked at the blue sky rather than the men who came to receive him, not acknowledging their presence as anything noteworthy. "Unova huh," he muttered, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Team Rocket's new home."
Domino couldn't help but roll her eyes at this. She was not a fan of the transfer much like many other Team Rocket members, although her reasons were rather different. What she didn't comprehend was that why Giovanni had sacrificed the integrity of the organization for this transfer? He practically left all of his members to the air in the process of the transfer.
She deserved an answer for that. "Giovanni," she spoke in a formal tone. She was chummy with him when they were alone, but that's because of her well rather hidden motives. But when they were with other grunts, she would try to be better-behaved. "I'd like to know why we had to undertake this transfer from Kanto to Unova, especially at the cost of sixty percent of our grunt force." Yes, in the process of stealing the cargo from Viridian City, Team Rocket had to go all out and send each and every of its grunt against the G-Men. Right after they acquired the database, Giovanni ordered them to abandon their positions and escape to the harbor. Around 125 Team Rocket grunts were arrested in this process, leaving the already weakened organization with less than eighty members. She could act like she was being the voice of all the grunts, and demand more information out of Giovanni's head. He's been rather secretive lately.
Giovanni's secretary Matori, who followed right after him now stood beside the Rocket Boss. "Lord Giovanni has no need to explain anything to anyone," she said with a tone that was devoid of emotions. "You are required to brief on the situation in Kanto first."
"Ah, let it be," Giovanni's face lightened, a stark contrast to his usual dark expression. "Domino," he said, looking down at the blond. "While on their mission to conquer Unova," he said. "My loyal agents Jessie, James and Meowth have recently discovered about the possibility of the greatest Pokémon that could rival even Mew."
A Pokémon that could rival Mew? Mew was the essence of Team Rocket's existence. Team Rocket was built on the single mission to capture the strongest Pokémon Mew many years ago. So, they have decided to move onto another Pokémon?
"Lately, I have been of the opinion that we have a spy inside Team Rocket," he said, scanning Domino with his dangerous looks, as if to check her reaction when he used the words 'spy'. "Why do the G-Men always know about our operations beforehand? Why do they always come right when plan something?"
"And that's why I have decided that Kanto is no longer feasible for us. It is time to start things afresh. Yes, the spy will be a problem but I have made a few amendments in my policy."
No wonder she was getting no information about the missions.
"So, the spy will no longer be a problem," he said, confidently. "Besides, once we have our hands on that treasure, even the G-Men won't be able to take us head on. Team Rocket will become a superpower that no other can reach. As for the grunts who have been arrested—" he said, looking at the grunts behind her. "Those who have been caught by the police are incompetent in my eyes. And because no one including my secretary knows anything about this transfer to Unova, I am sure the police won't be able to find anything from them."
So, that's how it was planned to be. After repeated humiliations at the hands of G-Men, he had finally changed his policy. He didn't tell what was in the cargo until it was needed. No one except the pilot of the chopper knew where they were headed. He was just one single person, but he moved many more people to where he wanted without letting them know it.
Amazing, Giovanni.
"So now that we have finished talking trivia," he said, the expression on his face turning serious again. "How is the cargo doing?"
"Just as planned," Domino said. "The cargo will be taking the ship route through the Decorola Archipelago to reach Unova. We've arranged three decoy ships with Arianna, Archer and Proton on it. Petrel has the cargo, their ship is under the fake name Royal Unova. The ships will start tonight in Kanto. They'll be here by next week."
"Good," he muttered. "The G-Men don't have any men in these islands. So, if the spy in our organization will try to disrupt us, they will do it today."
Because once these ships leave Viridian port, they'll never be able to find them. And even Team Rocket members don't know which way the ships were headed.
Three hours later…
"…That's when I said, Ash Ketchum was my son," his mother smiled as she said. "My friend was shocked. She told her daughter has watched you on the television during the Sinnoh League and has a crush on you."
"Really?" Ash was petrified. How could people have crush on anything they see on the television was beyond him. Then again, the concept of love itself was foreign to him. "Is her daughter a Pokémon trainer too?" Ash asked, just to maintain the conversation.
"Well, she recently became one," his mother said, "She's fourteen, she should have started four years back but her mother didn't like parting with her. You know not all moms understand their children like me," she said, feeling a bit proud of her open-mindedness.
Ash chuckled at this. "Thanks Mom. I guess I should be grateful for that," he added jokingly as either of them laughed.
"Ah, it seems like the mother and son are having a good time," Professor Oak greeted them as he entered the room. "Are you feeling better now, Ash?"
"A lot," he said, pumping his fist. Truth be told, he was still exhausted when he last woke up. He wanted to join the search for Team Rocket, but the anti-biotic he was injected with, worked him into sleep. His mother sat by his side throughout, and engrossed him in a conversation right after he got up. "Professor, can I help the G-Men now?" He asked, eagerly. Yes, he was really tired a while back, but there was no reason stopping him now, right? "I can't just sit like this hoping for someone to find Pikachu."
For some reason, the Professor exchanged a glance with his mother. "Ash," his mother spoke, "It's true you are feeling better but I think it's better if you rest some more. These people seem like they are a lot more dangerous than your regular Team Rocket members."
"Mom, they have Pikachu," he couldn't comprehend behind her logic. His best friend was struck inside a Pokéball, waiting for him to save. How could he not go because it's dangerous? If Charizard thought the same way, he could have been dead by now. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to save Pikachu."
"Ash, stop thinking in a one-sided way," Professor Oak raised his voice. "Just think about your mother and how much she has suffered when you were taken by Team Rocket. Thinking about your Pokémon is a good quality, but you must understand your mother too. The G-Men will save Pikachu."
But...what if they couldn't. Would he be able to live with himself if they fail and he would lose Pikachu forever? But the Professor was right too. His mother was worried about him and besides the G-Men work with a motive to end Team Rocket's stupid crimes. They'll somehow save Pikachu.
What should he do? Follow his urge to save Pikachu or be responsible and think logically.
"When the truth is unclear follow the ideal."
That voice—!
Ash looked around, wondering where the voice came from. His sudden actions confused his already worried mother and the Professor. "What's wrong, Ash?"
Ash wondered if he should answer the question or not. The voice appeared only once in his head. He wasn't even sure if he heard the voice or not. It could be just his hallucination. His mom could get worried if she tells that for sure. "It's nothing," he said. "I just thought I heard something."
When the truth is unclear…follow the ideal?
What does it even mean? Why did these lines pop into his mind? Were they a fabrication of his imagination or was it someone secretly whispering into his mind. He wasn't sure.
What was the truth? Pikachu was in trouble. He was taken by a couple of Team Rocket members, most probably the dangerous woman who almost killed him. She's high up in Team Rocket, and the chances of the G-Men catching her…well it was not pretty. The truth was: Pikachu's in danger and completely helpless. But at the same time, his mother was too worried for him because his life could really fall in danger.
The ideal way to deal this? He should search for Pikachu, but if it gets life-threatening, he'll step back and take the G-Men's help and then save Pikachu.
Yes, his mother was worried but he could take care of himself if he was cautious, right? He was reckless when he tried to stop Ariana back in the plane and it almost cost him his life. He would have to plan properly this time and take on with caution. If things get really dangerous, he could always step back and ask the G-Men for help.
"Ash?" His mother shook him from his thoughts. "Are you still planning to search for Pikachu?"
He sighed and muttered, "No."
Yes.
Professor Oak frowned at Ash, making the raven-haired wonder if the old man has caught his intentions. He looked away towards the wall on the otherside, trying his best to hide his expression. "Anyway," the Professor finally budged. "Brock just received a call from Johto. Your friends May and Dawn are coming to Viridian."
May and Dawn? They must be participating in the Wallace Cup at this point. Did they ditch the cup just to visit him? Damn, he must have really worried all of them. Judging by things, even Iris and Cilan could come to Kanto to visit him.
"That's so nice of them," his mother seemed delighted. "See that, Ash? Your friends are coming for you. Should I prepare a special dinner for them?"
He knew his mother was asking for making him feel better but having a special dinner without Pikachu around sounded terrible to Ash. But at the same, he couldn't hurt her. "Anything's fine, mom."
"Alright then," she said, standing up. "I'm pretty sure Misty and Brock might be waiting to talk to you. I'll leave you to your friends."
"Professor," he asked as his mother left. "Can I get out of my bed now, it's really boring to sit around all day."
"Oh, you were discharged three hours ago actually," Professor Oak smiled. "Your mother brought you spare clothes. It's in my trunk, I'll have them delivered to you."
"Thanks," he nodded. The Professor left soon after, leaving the Pokémon trainer alone.
Good, once he gets his clothes back. It's time for the search for Pikachu to begin. But first, he should get out of this room.
Still in his hospital gown, Ash Ketchum walked out of the room that seemed more like a prison to him.
"Hey Ash where are you going?" A familiar voice greeted him as soon as he stepped out. It was Misty, accompanied by Brock. It actually had been a long time since he saw either of them. He didn't want to ignore them when they had come this far just for him.
"Hey Misty," he greeted with a sheepish grin. "I was—" What reason should he use? Bathroom was definitely not a valid reason. "Planning to visit Lance. He saved my life and all."
"I suppose it's a good thing," she said, tapping her lips with her forefinger in a thoughtful expression. "Wow, I am surprised. You can be considerate too."
"What's that supposed to mean," he narrowed his eyes, pretending to pout. "I was always a good guy."
"She's just teasing you," Brock added, cheerfully. "Well, in that case we'll accompany you."
So much for being a good guy.
"Ah, okay," he said. He had no reason to refuse. "I need to change my clothes first, though." He said, looking at his gown.
"Why you look pretty in that," Misty teased again. For some reason Ash didn't get mad by her taunts. He knew she was just kidding to lighten up the mood.
"Alright guys, let's go," he said, asking his two friends to follow him.
"Our spy has reported that that Team Rocket's ships will depart from here by tonight," a man in his twenties was speaking to Lance. The said man was wearing a red jacket over blue jeans, and sported the G-Men's logo, a Pokéball on his chest. "We need to make haste and move."
Lance himself was dressed in a similar green hospital gown. He was injured in many places thanks to the attack Proton did when he was on his way to save Ash. Luckily he retuned half the favor by defeating the Weavile with his Dragonite. Defeating a high level ice type was always a satisfaction to him, no matter how strong he became. Lance's injuries forced him to wear a bandage around his forehead, and a few small bits to cover the various bruises on his cheek, on his elbow and many other places. His body was a mess, and he could barely walk without one of his bone lashing him back with intense pain. It's funny how his Dragonite took more damage from the same fall and was now almost back to full health. Humans are fragile creatures, he mused.
"How many of our men are able to mobilize and search?" Lance asked. He knew for a fact that most of them were as badly as injured as he was or even worse.
"Three," the man admitted, rather hesitantly. "Including me."
"Three?" Lance was shocked. There were around twenty men in his command back when he attacked Team Rocket. He heard more people from Johto had joined to fight the overwhelming number of Rocket grunts. In the end, they managed to capture 125 grunts though. The situation was really bad then. "Did you ask support from Hoenn or Sinnoh?" The Johto and Kanto men were completely exhausted from the huge fight.
"I did, but they will be too late," Andrews said. "The ships start by midnight. Their grunts have scattered after fighting us. Team Rocket is waiting for them."
"Three might be enough to find the cargo in a ship, right?" Lance asked. Those three would have to use stealth though. There was no way they could fight a ship full of Rockets.
"Their approximate number is eighty according to the spy," he muttered. "And they're spread in four ships not one. Worse, Petrel is the one with the cargo."
Petrel, the master of disguises? He was the one who convinced Agatha that he was Lance. He was not only a master, but he was also smart enough to use the disguise to his advantage. He would obviously camouflage the Rocket ship and pass away as some passenger ship.
"At this rate—" Lance muttered. He was about to speak something else when his colleague signaled with his hand to silence him. The red-haired Champion's attention shifted to the entrance, where three familiar faces stood, staring at them awkwardly. It was a raven-haired boy, dressed in a white-blue jacket over blue jeans. A red-haired girl with a short pony tail, wearing a sleeveless top and a matching yellow short. and lastly a squint-eyed man, wearing a brown jacket over green t-shirt.
"Who are you?" His colleague asked, rather brusquely.
"It's fine Andrews," Lance smiled at the young people. "They're friends. You must know Ash, right?"
Andrews blinked for a second as he examined the raven-haired boy. It was indeed the boy in the news, the man's face expression told his realization.
"I'm sorry for overhearing the conversation," Ash scratched his hair sheepishly. "I didn't listen anything important, though."
"I trust you Ash," Lance chuckled. "Heck, I am planning to get you into my organization someday."
Lance's words earned a gasp from everyone else, including Andrews. "Lance," Andrews protested. "You know we have a procedure for recruitment."
"I was kidding Andrews," Lance smiled. "Though, I think he'll pass all of the tests with his eyes closed in two more years."
Andrews frowned at this. Lance remembered that Andrews came from a poor family and had worked pretty hard to become a good trainer and it took him five tries to get into the G-Men. So he'd obviously find him praising Ash a bit difficult. Lance made a mental note to hold his praises.
"I just wanted to give my thanks for yesterday," Ash said, bowing to him. "I know words aren't enough to repay you. If there's anything I can do—"
"You don't need to thank me Ash," Lance smiled at the boy's attitude. "If anything, I must thank you for letting me save you." Had he not fought the Rockets till the end, Ash could have wound up dead and he would have lived with that guilt forever because it was his decision to attack the Rockets instead of showing weakness. If it were anyone else…they would have died.
Of course, Ash who didn't understand Lance's line of thought looked befuddled.
"I hope you are not planning to go with him Ash," his girlfriend whose name slipped Lance's mind said. "You just came back from death," her face showed genuine concern.
"Just to make it clear young lady," Andrews cleared his throat. "Even if we're short on men, we won't take your friend to search for Team Rocket."
Lance didn't like Andrews' decision. Being stubborn with rules at times like this wasn't good. But then again, Lance didn't want Ash to go with Andrews either. If something were to happen to him…the injuries Lance was suffering now would be kinda pointless, right?
Ash looked down defeated. Apparently going with the G-Men was in his mind then. "Andrews," Ash said, finally raising his head. "My Pikachu and five other Pokémon are with Ariana. Could you save them for me?"
"All of Rocket's Pokémon will be confiscated when we capture them," Andrews replied proudly. "Your Pokémon will be perfectly fine too."
Ash nodded in agreement. But somehow….Lance felt he was lying.
"What next?" Misty asked, as the trio walked out of Lance's room. Ash was disappointed to say the least. He expected Lance to let him tag along but the Andrews guy literally shunned him.
Follow the ideal path….what the heck was he doing?
"I want to talk with Charizard," Ash said. If it weren't for his old buddy, he would have been dead meat. "Misty, could you go and tell my mom that we are going to the Pokémon Center? She could be worried."
The redhead hesitated for a second. "Only me?"
"I can't wait to see Charizard," Ash scratched his cheek. "I will be at the Pokémon Center, so just tell Mom and hurry back."
Misty gave Ash and odd look. Yes, his request was strange. He normally wouldn't request others to do his work unless he was in a pretty tired or feeling lazy that day. It was kinda weird, yes. He noticed that Brock was wearing a similar confused look. "It's alright, Misty. We'll be waiting for you in the Pokémon Center," Brock said.
"Okay," Misty said, giving Ash one final suspicious glance before walking back.
"Let's go Brock," Ash said, giving his friend his most innocent smile.
The Viridian Center was pretty close to the hospital. Ash has slowly raised his pace along the way, showing his eagerness to meet Charizard while Brock did the same for Nurse Joy. Within no time, they were inside the familiar building.
"Oh boy," Brock said as they walked through the automatic sliding doors. His face was obviously flushed. "I can't wait to see the Viridian Nurse Joy after all these days."
The duo walked towards the reception counter where the woman wearing the pink uniform stood, a smile on her face. "Oh hello Ash," the Nurse greeted the familiar face. "Your Charizard has been eagerly waiting for you."
"Thanks Nurse," Ash smiled back. "Is he ready to go?"
"Of course," the Nurse beamed. "I've heard he saved you from Team Rocket. He's really a brave Charizard."
"And I'm a brave Brock," Brock said in a low, flirtatious tone. He held her arms, "Now Nurse Joy, how long has it been?"
"I'll go check Charizard," Ash said, smiling at the infatuation crazed Brock.
"He's in the checkup room behind," Nurse Joy said, trying desperately to escape Brock in a polite manner. It was impossible without Misty or Croagunk around. "Chansey, help Ash out." She said to the Pokémon standing beside her.
The pseudo dragon wasn't so hard to find thanks to his immense presence. He was lying in a chamber surrounded by glass walls, sleeping peacefully as he had nothing else to do. Watching him brought many emotions back to Ash. He was the same Charizard who ruined his chances in the Indigo League. Their relationship was so terrible back then…and now it has grown to a point that Charizard was willing to travel miles of distance just to save him.
"Chansey," the Egg Pokémon hummed as it opened the doors for Ash.
Ash walked towards the Pokémon as silently as he could. He didn't want to disturb the Pokémon's sleep. At the same time…he didn't have much time. He placed his hand on the Pokémon's warm belly.
The Pokémon's tail moved, as it turned around, tickled by the new presence. The Pokémon lifted its head and gave a growl. "Sorry to wake you up," Ash smiled. The Pokémon growled back, perhaps saying that he wasn't really asleep.
"Thank you for yesterday, Charizard," he said, the gratitude showing on his face. The Pokémon's face turned into a frown as it growled something. Maybe it didn't like the idea of him thanking.
"Charizard," Ash said, his face turning serious. "Team Rocket got Pikachu."
The Pokémon was taken aback by this. The trainer continued, "We need to save him. I don't have much time though. The others will try stopping me, Misty especially." He paused to let his words sink. "I can count on you know, right?"
The Pokémon opened its jaws in response to this and let out a small blast of fire on his face. It wasn't a serious flamethrower, just a warning to Ash that he shouldn't ask that question again. Ash smiled at this. "I'll be waiting for you outside. I'll get your Pokéball somehow."
When Ash returned back to the main hall, he found Brock still flirting with Nurse Joy. Had it been Officer Jenny she would have cut him off, but the Nurse being the polite woman she was, had to bear with it.
That's what he wanted anyway.
He walked to the nearest videophone and dialed the number he was so familiar with. The phone rang for some time before a face appeared on the screen. "Hello," a boy in his late teens greeted Ash. "Oh, it's you Ash," Tracey's face beamed when he saw Ash. "How are you? You were all over the news."
"I'm fine now," Ash greeted back. He tried his best not to look as if he was in a hurry. "Tracey, I need you to do a favor."
"Oh," the Pokémon Sketcher looked surprised. "What is it?"
"I need a few Pokémon can you send them for me?" He asked. "I lost my other Pokémon to Team Rocket. So, I'm kinda low on them."
"What do you mean by lost to Team Rocket?" Tracey was only getting more and more surprises. It was understandable considering how he was left in the lab alone. He was dark to most things that were happening here.
"I'm kinda in an emergency," he said, turning back. Brock was still talking to Nurse Joy and Misty was out of the sight. A good thing Brock walked pretty fast to see Nurse Joy. He had to leave before Misty comes or she would really kill him. "I'll explain things later. I want Sceptile, Krookodile, Heracross, Buizel and send Charizard's Pokéball." The first three because they were the Pokémon that came first onto his mind and were strong enough to deal something like that Ariana's Honchkrow or Muk while the last was the water type he needed, in case he had to give a chase through water.
It was sensible because he heard something along the lines of the word 'ship' when they accidentally heard Lance's conversation. Team Rocket was probably going by the sea route. He made a mental note to take a look at the Viridian City's that was hanging by the entrance.
"All done," Tracey said, as Ash collected the five balls that came one after the other. "I'm not sure what's going on there but as long as the Professor is with you, I shouldn't worry much."
'You have a lot to worry now, Tracey. Because you are my escape ticket.' He thought to himself. "Well, I'll call you back later," Ash said, disconnecting the conversation.
He stared at the five Pokéball in his hand, a smile on his face. Yes, he had enough firepower to put up a fight.
The words Mrs. Ketchum said still rang in Misty's mind mind as she ran towards the Pokémon Center.
"Misty, I think he's trying to slip away. Don't leave his side no matter what.'
She and Mrs. Ketchum had a brief talk about Ash. She told Misty that it was suspicious how Ash agreed so easily to let rescuing Pikachu to the G-Men. And that's precisely why she was running rather than walking to the Pokémon Center.
'You better not run away, Ash Ketchum!' She thought to herself.
The Pokémon Center was slowly coming to her view, as she raced towards the dome-shaped building that stood in the middle of the main road that connected to it. However, the scene that happened after that left the girl completely stunned and motionless.
"Chaaaaa!"
Letting out a deep roar like none another, she saw a Charizard rocketing into the sky. Her hopes dashed into the imaginary gutter when she saw a raven-haired boy, sitting on top of the Pokémon, an apologetic expression on his face when he saw her from the distance.
"ASH KETCHUM!" She yelled at the top of her voice, expecting her yell to stop them. But neither the Pokémon nor the trainer paid any heed to her. Her attention immediately shifted to the Pokémon Center. "Brock, if you are flirting with Nurse Joy, you are so dead!"
"Achoo!" Brock sneezed for some reason.
"Do you have a cold?" Nurse Joy asked, hoping she could get rid of him. She wanted to suggest him to go to the clinic nearby.
"As long as I am standing by your warm heart," Brock smiled, brushing his hair. "No."
The Viridian Docks
The Viridian City in fact doesn't have a direct sea route as the heart of the city was surrounded by land. However one could say that it was connected to the sea if one were to go to the far east of the outskirts of the city, where the road diverged towards the Indigo Plateau,
Most people would rather take a flight or a train from Viridian City to travel long distances like Unova. However, that didn't make the Viridian docks any less usable. Although strict prohibitions were thrown, and the Kanto's Navy department had deployed a couple of people for patrolling purposes, the wrong people always used the sea route to export illegal stuff to outside. Most importantly, Team Rocket had a huge grip around the region as Viridian was the former location of their secret base.
"I can't believe the boss ditched us in that hell-hole," the blond Cassidy said, her hair blowing from the wind blasting on her face. They stole an open top convertible from some random Joe to make their way towards the Viridian Docks. They wouldn't have even known that Team Rocket was migrating to some other region had they not called a few of their friends who have succeeded in not getting caught.
Cassidy and Butch, two of the well-known Team Rocket members were currently racing through the said route right now, after successfully pulling a prison break. They were normally used to Giovanni getting them out of the jails. It was perhaps the first time they had to pull a Prison Break.
"Yeah, it sucks to be us, you know?" Butch who was on the wheel said. "I mean, James and the others have suddenly become popular, and we are dropping in terms of being bad-ass. Judging by our luck these days, I am thinking some random twerp will stop us next."
"Hey you guys!"
No sooner did Butch utter the words, the Rocket grunts realized something huge was hovering over their heads.
Butch and Cassidy looked, and found a familiar looking twerp riding an oversized Charizard that was strong enough to carry its trainer for some reason. "What the flip!" He exclaimed, slamming the brakes. The vehicles' wheels screeched to a halt on the highway road, turning a good 90 degrees in the process.
"Why the hell do you have to jinx everything?" Cassidy yelled at the green-haired as the Charizard landed a few feet away from the car.
"Team Rocket," the raven-haired boy yelled as he jumped off his overgrown lizard. "Return my Pikachu back!"
"What?" Butch looked annoyed. He pulled that stunt just to hear this? "Why the flip would we want your Pikachu?" He was frustrated already, and on top that this twerp stopped them to ask about a puny Pikachu? Of course he was mad.
"Then why did you guys always try to steal my Pikachu," he asked, glaring with his fierce brown eyes.
"It's because that flipping cat is flipping obsessed about your flipping rat," he said, venting his frustration. "So, you should flipping get off our faces, because we have a flipping boat to catch and have no flipping time!" He turned to his partner, "Say something, Cassidy!"
"Wow, it's a good thing you censor the f-word," she said, wide-eyed. She turned to the twerp, who seemed to be short of patient too. "We don't have your Pikachu, okay? So, if you kindly remove that overrated dragon from the view, we can drive our way to the port."
"I won't let you," the boy clenched his fists. "I don't care if you have stolen my Pikachu or not. Just tell me where Ariana is."
"What the flip?" Butch stomped his foot against the ground. "I understand that flipping James may have ruined our reputation, but do we look like a bunch of cowards to you?!"
At this, the Charizard stepped forward and let out a burst form flames out of its mouth, aimed at the convertible, sending the occupants scurrying in fear. Luckily for them, the flamethrower barely avoided the vehicle and hit the part of the road to the Convertible's right. The Rocket grunts watched comprehensively in fear as the part of the road where the flamethrower hit melted into a mass of grey.
"Yikes!" Butch exclaimed, shaking in fear.
"Be careful with cars," the boy warned the Pokémon. He turned to the grunts, and glared at the duo. "Well, sorry my Charizard isn't just as polite, he wants to save his friend badly."
Cassidy rolled her eyes at Butch's reaction. "Well boy, since you have been so convincing," she winced as she noticed Butch still shivering, looking at the molten tar. "We will give you a clue that Team Rocket has a ship anchored far away from the port just outside the patrolling zone. You will need to travel quite a distance using that overgrown dragon of yours. So it's better if you start now. The ship starts as soon as night falls."
"Good," the boy smirked, turning around. "Let's go, Charizard." The Pokémon lowered itself as the boy mounted. Judging by the way he mounted it, the boy seems to be unfamiliar with mounting his Pokémon. The Pokémon let out a growl before rocketing into the sky.
The sky was slowly turning dim, and the distant sun was slowly settling down to sleep, a lone hero drifted off into the darkness searching for his lost friend.
"Hey Cassidy," Butch asked, noticing that Cassidy was lost in her own world. "Why the flip did you tell him about the ship?"
Cassidy laughed, albeit haughtily. "We have four ships," she said, settling down. "And I just gave him the location of the farthest one. He won't know the difference between a Rocket ship and a cargo ship anyway. We'll sneak into the one that is disguised as Royal Unova though."
"Just like good ol' S.S Anne," Butch snickered. "Yeah, we can pretend to be rich people, eat good food and what not. I feel really sorry for the twerp though, he's running into Proton."
Poor naïve boy, Cassidy thought. The ship they led him to was the bait ship for G-Men. He will land in the face of the strongest and the cruelest Team Rocket Admin, Proton. He's going to lose the rest of his Pokémon too.
Thanks to his naivety, Ash is moving in the wrong direction. Instead of heading towards the ship where Ariana is, he is travelling towards the most dangerous Rocket Admin, Proton. Proton is wounded from the fact that he lost to Lance (Weavile vs. Dragonite in the previous chapter) in such a terrible fashion as he always assumed him to be Lance's equal. Will Ash suffer the consequences of this or will he escape the clutches of the Rocket Admin?
Meanwhile, what will Misty, Brock and the others do after having discovered that Ash was running into trouble? Will May and Dawn join these two in an attempt to aid Ash?
What are the three G-Men who are assigned to search for Petrel doing? Will any of them save Ash?
What is Pikachu's fate? Will it be a prisoner forever along with Ash's other Pokémon?
Who is this mysterious spy inside Team Rocket who is leaking almost every of Giovanni's plan to the G-Men?
What is the mysterious voice that is guiding Ash?
Most of these questions will be answered in the next chapter:
Chapter Four: Proton's Challenge! Ash's gamble!
Now for a bit of rambling about the poll. What do you guys think I should do?
I don't know if people like Hilda or people like Hilda with Ash. But right now Hilda is in the lead. Maybe people are sick of seeing the same shippings again?
Voting Results:
Hilda-21
Dawn-17
Misty-16
May-13(will be removed if it doesn't go up)
Annabel-10(will mostly be removed in round 2)
Iris-6(will be removed in round 2)
Now, this is a survey question.
1) Do you think most people voted Hilda because they are sick of the standard three shippings, or do people have like Hilda as a character...in that case I would make her couple with N, while still having some mild crush on Ash at the beginning.
2) Iris has 6 votes, Annabel has 10 and May has 13 votes. These are very low numbers and these three would most likely not win unless Advanceshippers come up with people to vote. So should I remove May from round 2? That way the votes won't split up and I'll have a better idea.
Note that this isn't a popularity contest. People who read this fic don't represent the community, but I'd rather give the pairing people want than force them with the pairing I like.
Plus, shipping will only have minor role in this fic. Not as minor as Road to be a Pokémon Master, but still minor. The main conflict is between Ash and N.
One thing is for certain: Hilda will be in this fic. I just don't know what to do with her. Your opinions will let me decide what I should do with the second round of voting.
So do review!
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