Finally, Ash had arrived at Cerulean City. With all of his Pokémon lined up in a row and out of their Pokéballs, he did some thinking as he held the Rare Candy and Moon Stone in his hands. "Hm, I guess I'll save the Moon Stone for when I can evolve someone with it," Ash muttered to himself, oblivious to his Nidoran jumping up and down, and it becoming disappointed once Ash put the Moon Stone away. "I don't think I've leveled you in a while, Metapod, how about a boost?"

Gently handing the Rare Candy over to Metapod, Ash wasn't sure if Metapod would even eat it. There didn't appear to be any mouth opening, and it always remained rather still. At least, that's what Ash thought, until his Metapod leaned over into his hand, suddenly devouring the Rare Candy without a trace.

"Huh!? But how?" Ash wondered. "I guess I shouldn't think about it too hard, but geez." That was when the shell of Metapod was now glowing and cracking, almost hatching like an egg of some kind. It shook, and Ash began to panic. Was something wrong with the Rare Candy? Why was Metapod reacting this way?

The question was answered by a pair of wings coming out of the Metapod's backside, slowly unfolding themselves. A purple body was attached to it, and the cocoon of Metapod soon began to disappear as Butterfree stood in its place. "Free!" Butterfree chimed, amazing Ash's other Pokémon.

"Wow, Metapod you evolved into a Butterfree! That's awesome!" Ash said in excitement as he ran over to Butterfree who in turn flew over to him and embraced him. Once Ash was finished hugging the newly evolved Butterfree, he put it back into its Pokéball for now. Same with just about all of his other Pokémon, sans Pikachu, then he left the Pokémon Center with everyone fully revitalized. "That's right," Ash said to himself, looking at the building close to the Pokémon Center. It was the Cerulean Gym, and reading the sign out loud gave him a little bit of information about the Gym Leader that awaited him.

"Misty, the Tomboyish Mermaid?" Ash muttered. "I guess she's a Water-type Gym Leader. That's not going to be any good for Charmander. But you could take her, right Pikachu?"

"Pika pi!"

"Yeah, I thought so!" Ash cheerfully said. "Still though, you can never be too prepared. If I remember, Grass was strong against Water too, right? Maybe we should find a Grass-type." As Ash was talking to Pikachu, something was rustling in the bushes close by, keeping an eye on him. "I don't think we can go back to Mt. Moon and grab a Paras though. We'll have to find something else!"

"Pika," Pikachu nodded in agreement. As Ash put his backpack on and was getting ready to head out Pikachu suddenly sensed something. "Pi!" Pikachu then turned around, getting into a defensive stance, staring down at what was in the bushes.

"Pikachu, what's the problem?" Ash asked, looking at the rustling bushes. "What do you think something behind that bush?" He asked. Pikachu just nodded. Ash then approached the bush with caution not knowing what could be behind it most likely it was a Pokémon but whether it was dangerous was still unknown it could also be a Team Rocket member who had followed him from Mt. Moon.

However, when Ash pushes the bush leaves aside, all he saw were a clump of leaves stuck in the ground, looking like a weed. "Looks like nothing is here- huh?" Ash then saw Pikachu try to yank the weed out of the ground, which confused him. "Pikachu, what are you doing now?"

"Piiiii!" Pikachu grunted, finally pulling up what was underneath.

"A Pokémon!?" Ash exclaimed as he saw the dark blue body that was connected to the leaves. However, just before he could take out his Pokédex to scan it, the Pokémon let out a loud shriek, causing pain to Ash and Pikachu's ears as it ran away. "Ow! That thing wasn't happy to be pulled out." Ash groaned. "Still, it looked like that was a Grass-type, and we could use one for the team. Maybe we should pursue it."

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed as the two then ran in pursuit of the Pokémon. In the Pokémon's hurry, it ran towards the bridge north of Cerulean City. Ash ended up halting from all the people that were present, most of them standing around with Pokémon. "What's going on?" Ash said to himself, as he stepped forward, a girl approaching him.

"Welcome to the Nugget Bridge!" She cheerfully exclaimed. "We're holding a competition here! If you beat five trainers, you with a fabulous, golden prize, and an equally golden opportunity! How about it? Would you like to participate, trainer?"

"Um, not really," Ash replied, "I was just chasing after that Oddish over there."
"Oh come on now, don't be shy! I'm sure that little Oddish can wait!" The girl said.

"Well, okay, I guess I need to raise my Pokémon anyway." Ash gave in.
"Good!" The girl then stepped back. "Face three trainers, and you'll be victorious! First up!"

The first trainer that came forth was a girl, a Lass to be specific, anticipating the fight. "I hope you're ready! Go, Nidoran!"

"Butterfree!" Ash shouted, sending out his newly evolved Pokémon.

"Nidoran, use Double Kick!" The Lass said as her Nidoran jumped at Butterfree, with its feet ready to kick.

"Butterfree use Gust!" Butterfree then flapped its wings, creating a brief but strong gust of wind. The Nidoran's Double Kick proved to not do as much as hoped, especially when Butterfree blew it away. "Now follow it up with Confusion!" Ash commanded, which Butterfree did. It didn't last a second, as the Lass returned her fainted Nidoran. "Wow, that was really easy."

"Well of course! She's only your first opponent! Don't let your guard down just yet, kid!" The girl said. After the Lass was done, a Bug Catcher came forward. "Things are going to get hotter from here on out, do your best!" The girl giggled, while from afar, the Oddish from earlier was watching.

"Paras! You can do it!" The Bug Catcher yelled, sending out a small, crab-like Pokémon with mushrooms on its back.

"Alright, I'll heat things up a little! Charmander, I choose you!" He then brought out his Charmander and as usual, it seemed glad to get out and be ready to battle.

"Paras, use Flash!" The big catcher said.

The blinding light ended up messing up Charmander's vision, making him miss his Ember attack not once, but twice. "Oh no, what do I do!? Charmander's accuracy keeps being whittled down!" Ash said to himself.

"Now, use Stun Spore!" The Bug Catcher yelled.

"Charmander, get up close and personal! Use Bite!" Instead though, as Charmander got close to the Paras, a new move was used. Charmander's teeth were ablaze, and as it chomped down on the Paras, burning it. The Bug-type Pokémon screeched from the surprise attack, which shocked both Ash and the Bug Catcher. "A new move!?" Ash exclaimed.

Immediately after that, Paras went down, but Charmander was still afflicted by the spores. "Great work, Charmander! Return for now, so you can rest!" Ash then sent out Pidgey, while the Bug Catcher released his Kakuna. "Pidgey, use Quick Attack!"

"Kakuna, use Harden!" Pidgey rammed straight into the Kakuna. However, the cocoon Pokémon didn't even flinch and Pidgey seemed to be shaking its head as if it were in pain. "Great work, Kakuna! Retaliate with a Poison Sting!"

"Sand Attack to make its aim less accurate, Pidgey!" Blowing some sand over towards the Kakuna, that made the Poison Sting miss, giving Ash enough time to plan his next move. "Try Gust this time, Pidgey!" Doing as it was told, Pidgey kicked up a small gust of wind, which was able to pierce the Kakuna's rock hard defenses, sending it down for the count.

"Darn it!" The Bug Catcher complained, making his Pokémon return.

"Wonderful! Just one more to go, challenger, and he's the hardest of the Nugget Bridge trio!" The girl explained, as this time, a Camper trainer came forward.

"Hope you're ready!" The Camper said. "Go, Mankey!"

"A Mankey huh?" Ash said as he returned his Pidgey. "Nidoran, I choose you!" He yelled as he sent out the poison pin Pokémon.

"Mankey, use Scratch!"

"Brace yourself, Nidoran! Then use Horn Attack!" Ash ordered. The Nidoran gladly defended itself, poisoning the Mankey with its Poison Point, and then striking it with a Horn Attack.

The Camper gritted his teeth. "Mankey, this time use Karate Chop! Try to do some critical damage!" The Mankey did exactly that, chipping away at Nidoran's health a bit, but not enough as the Camper had hoped. Not helping was the fact that Mankey was poisoned.

"Finish him off with Peck, Nidoran!" One last jab from the horn was enough to do Mankey in. That strike combined with succumbing to poison, it didn't stand a chance.

"Shoot!" The Camper then sent out a Spearow next.

"You up for another Round Nidoran?" Ash asked it, and Nidoran just nodded. "Alright, let's start out with Poison Sting!"

"Spearow, dodge it and use Peck!" As soon as Ash's Nidoran shot a poison cart at the bird-like Pokemon, the Camper's Spearow quickly moved out of the way before swooping down and pecking Nidoran multiple times in the head. The Spearow made sure to be careful, avoiding each poisonous spine on the Nidoran while pecking at it, before finally drawing back. The Nidoran was none too happy about being jabbed at so much.

"Focus Energy, Nidoran!" Ash ordered, as the Nidoran prepared to get pent up.
"Spearow, this time, finish him off with Fury Attack!"
"Horn Attack him critically!"

This time Spearow wasn't able to dodge in time, since it thought the Nidoran was laying low, but was gravely mistaken once Nidoran dealt critical damage to the small bird.

"Spearow!" The small Bird Pokemon fainted, winning this round for Nidoran.
"Alright! Way to go, Nidoran!" Ash cheered as Nidoran held a proud posture.

The Camper grunted, having one last Pokémon left. "Zubat! Finish this once and for all!" The Camper's next Pokemon made Ash flinch a bit, remembering what happened in Mt. Moon, but he didn't let that get to him and was able to focus on the battle.

"Hey, Nidoran what do you say you take a break for a bit?" Ash asked his Pokemon. The Nidoran nodded, as Ash began to switch out Nidoran for Pikachu jumping forward. "Pikachu! Go for it!"

"Zubat use Supersonic!" The bat-like Pokemon then let out a high-frequency shriek that caused Pikachu to become dizzy. "Great! Now use Wing Attack!"

"Brace yourself for that Wing Attack, Pikachu!" Ash yelled, but was uncertain if Pikachu had heard him, with how he was stumbling around. "Pikachu?"

"When a Pokémon is confused, they can't think straight!" The Camper pointed out to Ash. "And what's more, they can hurt themselves in the confusion!" This was made evident when Pikachu tried to attack, but only found itself ramming into the side of the bridge instead, giving Zubat a chance to use Wing Attack.

Ash tried to think of something how could he get Pikachu to break its confusion. He tried calling out to Pikachu, but appeared to do nothing. Snapping his fingers didn't seem to do much either. "Zubat, use Leech Life!" The Camper ordered, as Zubat dived down and latched onto Pikachu's head.

The Bat like Pokemon then sunk its teeth into Pikachu and began to drain its health. Distressed by this Ash began calling out to Pikachu more loudly. "Pikachu, come on! Snap out of it!"

In Pikachu's mind, everything was a haze, it was unable to grasp what exactly was going on but it could make out a faint sound that seem to get louder. At first, Pikachu didn't know what to think of it as he was still trying to grasp what was going on in his own head, but soon the sound started to sound familiar and the Pikachu recognized it has his trainer calling out to him.

He couldn't fail Ash, not now!

Finally snapping out of it, while Zubat was latched onto Pikachu, a Thundershock was unleashed. The direct contact only made the damage against the Zubat heftier, as it went down with a single shock. The Camper's mouth was hanging wide open, he then grumbled to himself, making the Zubat return while the others began to cheer.

"Great work, Pikachu! I was worried there for a second!"

"Pika pi!" Pikachu squeaked, jumping back into Ash's arms.

"Trainer! You did it!" The girl in charge exclaimed. "You beat the Nugget Bridge Triad! And for that, here is your prize!" She then presented him a golden ball, as well as a black tulip. "This is a gold Nugget! You can sell that for a lot of money, which I'm sure you'll need!"

"Whoa, cool," Ash then looked at the flower given to him. "What's this though?"

"I'm making you an offer you can't refuse, trainer! With your strength, you would be perfect… for Team Rocket!"

"Huh!?" Ash shouted, Pikachu even looking shocked.

"How about it? We at Team Rocket are doing research on the Nugget Bridge, to find sightings of the legendary Pokémon, Mew!" The girl explained. "With your skill, you could rank amongst the highest elites in Team Rocket, like me!"

"No way!" Ash snapped, throwing the tulip down, which shocked not only the girl, but the other three trainers. "I've already put up with you guys in Mt. Moon, and now you're causing trouble here too? Get real! I'd never join a bunch of crooks!"

"Mt. Moon?" The girl then came to a grim realization. "Wait, you're the brat who took down Capone!? I thought he was just making that up as an excuse!" She finally removed her disguise. The girl had blonde hair that resembled drills, a pink hat, and a black Rocket uniform. The other trainers did the same, revealing themselves to be lower grunts.

"Who are you!?" Ash demanded to know.

"Domino, I'm an elite Rocket officer." She introduced herself. "Looks like I'm going to have to chase you out after all! Go, Drowzee!" The Pokemon that came out resembled a bipedal tapir, with a dark yellow upper half, and a dark brown lower half.

"If it's a battle you want then, it's a battle you'll get! Go, Butterfree!" Ash then threw the Pokeball, releasing his chosen Pokemon.

"Drowzee! Hypnosis!" Domino started, which led to the tapir Pokémon lulling the butterfly Pokémon to sleep. Butterfree, unable to resist it, found itself drifting into a short slumber.

"Butterfree, wake up!" Ash called out to it.

"Not a chance! Follow it up with Confusion, Drowzee!" Soon Drowzee eye's began to glow and seen Butterfree was caught in a trance. "I see, you thought your Butterfree could get you a quick win because of its type advantage, but as you can see my Drowzee is a much higher level!" Domino taunted. "Drowzee use Psybeam!"

The Drowzee shot a beam from its hand, blasting Butterfree and knocking it out in an instant. "No! Butterfree!" Ash cried out. There went Ash's chance to use Bug Bite on the Drowzee. This Pokémon clearly wasn't going to mess around, and Ash had to think of a plan. "Charmander! Go and use Bite!" Out came the fiery lizard, which immediately jumped at Drowzee, clamping down on its arm. The Drowzee flinched, unable to fight back at the moment.

"No!" Domino yelled in anger. " Drowzee, use Confusion again!" She tried to tell her Pokemon but it was too busy trying to shake off Charmander. Thankfully, Ash learned his lesson from Butterfree fainting.

"Finish him with Fire Fang, Charmander!" Ash ordered. Doing exactly that, Charmander rolled away from the psychic waves that could've grabbed him, and then chomped down with fangs that were ablaze. This time, Drowzee was burned, and succumbed to it, finally collapsing.

"Shoot!" Domino yelled. "Drowzee, return! Go, Ditto!"

"Ditto?" Ash questioned.

What came out was a pink, blob-like Pokemon. Having never seen one before Ash pulled out his Pokedex to scan it

Species: Ditto

Type: Normal

Weakness: Fighting

Bio: Ditto the morphing Pokemon. Capable of copying an enemy's genetic code to instantly transform itself into a duplicate of the enemy.

"It can what!?" Ash exclaimed in both shock and confusion "How was that even possible?" He thought, then as if on cue, the pink blob Pokemon began to change shape until it shifted into an almost perfect replica of a Charmander. The only exception being its face still, which had the blank experience that it had as a Ditto.

"Ditto, now it's time to turn the tables! Use Bite!" Domino laughed. The Ditto Charmander lunged forward and then clamped its teeth around Charmander's neck.

There was no way that Ash could fight this mimicking Pokémon, not when it had all the same moves as his Charmander. It looked like the most he could do was switch out to something else, but it was a difficult decision as to who should be sent out. "Charmander, return for now! Pidgey, get rid of this doppelganger! Use Quick Attack!"

"Ditto, Fire Fang!" Pidgey managed to hit first, but was then struck by the fiery chomp. In retaliation, Pidgey used Sand Attack to blind the Ditto slightly. "Now Pidgeym Quick Attack one more time!" Ash ordered as the tiny bird Pokémon flew at the fake Charmander.

"Ditto, shake it off and use Metal Claw!" Domino yelled.

"No way! Not happening!" Ash then pointed at the fake Charmander. "Blow the fake away with Gust!"

The small gust of wind did more against Ditto than one anticipated. It flung Ditto up into the air, transforming back to its original form, before being stuck on Domino's face as it came back down. "What the heck!? Ditto, get off of me!" Domino yelled, unable to see as she tried to pull the pink slime off.

Instead, however, she tripped over the rail of the Nugget Bridge, falling into the water with a shout. The other three Rocket Grunts, panicking, made a run for it. "Where are you all going!? Help me out of here!" Domino yelled at them, before Ditto transformed into a flotation device. "Whew, that's better! At least someone cares." She looked up at Ash one last time, infuriated. "You won't get away with this, you punk!"

"I already have though," Ash replied.

"Well, you- Mew!" Domino gasped, seeing a pink, cat-like Pokémon fly around Ash.

"Huh?" Ash asked. "What are you talking about?" The strange Pokémon looked at Ash with curiosity, angering Domino even more as Mew began to zip away once Ash turned around. "Anyway, it looks like Team Rocket is causing problems in Cerulean. I guess I'll end up bumping into them more than I had anticipated."

While walking away and leaving Domino behind, Mew giggled, watching Ash from afar before flying away. Oddish, taking notice to the Mew, finally revealed itself, in awe over what it had witnessed. "Oh yeah! Now I remember why I really came here." Ash then took out a Pokéball.

He then threw the Pokeball, which hit the Oddish before opening up and sucking it in. After a few shakes, the ball let out a ring, showing that the weed Pokemon was caught. "Yes!" Ash cheered. "Our first Grass-type Pokémon!" Pidgey then cheered with Ash, as did Pikachu, glad to have a new member on the team. After Ash picked up the Pokeball, he returned Pidgey and then turned to Pikachu. "Cerulean Gym here we come!" He cheered with great enthusiasm.

While he and Pikachu left to their next destination, the strange, pink cat-like Pokemon kept watching over them. For some reason felt the need to follow them.