Chapter 4
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"Ash. How're you going to go to Pewter? I heard in the news some idiot named Samurai got drunk and killed a whole lot of tourists. The Police closed off Viridian Forest for the time being."

"Huh? Well, it wasn't like I was going to catch a Pidgeotto and a Caterpie and make good friends with them and battle that Samurai guy with Pidgeotto verses his Pinsir and a Metapod against his Metapod."

"Don't be silly, how could that possibly happen?"

"I know, right?" Ash played with his new Pokéball. Professor Oak had sent it to him; apparently Ash cared for it so well it couldn't bear to be apart. "This is my friend Poli."

"Wow, that's a really powerful Poliwag!" Misty began petting Poli, who began to rub its cheek against her.

"I got it as a gift from my old teacher Gold."

"You've got to be kidding me. Gold?! You mean the Champion Gold?"

"Huh? I knew Gold was in the Pokémon League but I never knew he was the Champion."

"Ash, this Poliwag may have hidden powers. When Champions give you Pokémon, they don't give you any random weakling. They give you potential powerhouses."

"My mom gave me this rock too. She said it's a queer rock called a Charizardite Y. She says my dad gave it to her as an anniversary gift. She found it this morning while cleaning and gave it to me, hoping that I'd find some use for it."

"Your mom sounds like a cool person!" Misty looked envious. Ash noticed this and shrugged.

"I mean, she's ok, but she babys me too much." Misty laughed. "Misty, we're leaving tomorrow. I was just wondering, what did you talk with my mom about?" Ash grabbed her by her shoulders.

"I, I-" An explosion knocked Ash off his feet and slammed Misty into her bed frame. "What is this?"

"Prepare for trouble." A hot crimson haired chick walked into the room.

"Make it double." A purple haired man followed her inside.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"We overheard you talkin' about that rare Poliwag of yours, we couldn't wait to swipe it!" The crimson haired woman named Jessie smirked.

"Hand it over in the name of Team Rocket!" Ash stuck his tongue out.

"Hey, do you know I got an A on my Abstract Battle Tactics test?" Ash whispered orders to Pikachu and Poli. Poliwag sprayed Jessie with a Water Gun. Pikachu used its tail to spring itself on James' head. James fumbled for his own Pokémon while Jessie was chasing Poliwag. James released a Koffing and Jessie quickly released her Ekans.

"Ekans, Poison Sting on Pikachu!"

"Koffing, Explosion!" Ash's face paled and he quickly tackled Misty to the ground. Pikachu helped Poli get out of the way. Koffing was hit by Ekan's Poison Sting attack just as it exploded. The Poison and smoke filled the room. Jessie and James were knocked into a wall by the explosion. Ash helped Misty up and the two of them made a run for it, followed by Ash's Pokémon.

"Koffing was supposed to use Smog!" Ash complained.

"At least it worked, we better find an Officer Jenny." Ash nodded and the two of them split up. Ash raced to the front desk and narrowly missed a Scyther.

"Slow down please." Nurse Joy touched his shoulder.

"Nurse Joy. A pair of people who call themselves Team Rocket were invading our room. They should be unconscious because of an Explosion attack but they won't be out for long. The Pokémon Nurse nodded and grabbed a phone. She yelped and dropped the receiver.

"Oh dear! It seems the Explosion has damaged our energy supply!" Nurse Joy bit her lower lip and quickly downstairs. Ash followed her, curious about her plan. After examining a wall, Nurse Joy pressed a few buttons on a PC keyboard and a door appeared from the wall she was looking at.

"What is this, Nurse Joy?"

"This is our emergency power generator! We use it every time the power goes out."

"Does it go out a lot?"

"Not often. We don't use energy as much as Saffron City or Celadon. The Pokémon around here like the taste of the electric cords so it goes out about once a month."

(Meanwhile… Misty has her own adventure concerning a certain man.)

"Thanks Misty, we wouldn't have caught these crooks without your help."

"Credit goes to Ash. Without him, they would've robbed me of all my Pokémon."

"Officer…" A man wearing a giant waistcoat walked up to Officer Jenny. "The people you just caught… Were they Team Rocket?"

"Who are you to interfere? Only authorized members of the Pokémon League Association have access to this information. Misty here is a Gym Leader and one of the witnesses in this case." Misty eyed the figure. His face was covered by a Fedora and a ski mask. His waistcoat looked worn and dusty. The man seemed to flinch when she looked at him and she looked away.

"I believe I have enough authority. The man produced 40 Badges from one of his pockets which seemed to amaze the two women.

"I can't believe it. Who are you?"

"I'm nobody of importance."

"You beat the Cerulean Gym! I only issue Badges to qualified Trainers! Did you steal them?" Misty clenched her fists and would've lunged at the stranger had Officer Jenny not stopped her.

"I remember all of my Gym Battles fair enough. Brock, Misty, Lt. Surge, Erika, Sabrina, Koga, Blaine, and the previous Gym Leader Giovanni, Falkner, Bugsy, Whitney, Morty-"

"Wait, you defeated Giovanni?!" The man looked like he regretted saying that.

"No, I found his Badge in the Gym while it was abandoned."

"It's an illegal Badge!" She snatched it out of his hand and tossed it to Officer Jenny.

"If you want that Badge back, go to Leader Green and earn it!" Misty stormed off, leaving a confused Officer Jenny and a tired looking man behind. Misty opened the door to the Gym and narrowly missed a Fire Blast attack.

"Watch it girl! What're you doing here Misty?"

"Some guy has your Badge; he says he found it on the Gym floor. It's illegal so he's coming to challenge you." As if it were planned, the man walked in. Green looked puzzled but nodded.

"I see. We'll begin the battle right away." Green gently pushed Misty into the stands and walked up to the stranger. "Long time no see." The man nodded in recognition and pulled half a dozen Pokéballs out of his pocket. "I guess we should begin."

Guess who the stranger is? If you read my previous chapters and aren't completely stupid you should know.

And it isn't Gold.