Ok, guys, here is chapter 25 in all its glory! I finally managed to get it done, even with the recent diagnosis of a spinal injury which means I shouldn't be slouching over a computer for hours during a day, but I'll explain that in an Author's note tomorrow.
Anyway, until then, enjoy!
Chapter 25 – The Breeding Centre Secret
"Thanks, Nurse Joy," Ash smiled, handing over all his Pokémon, bar Pikachu. "We had a really hard training session today and they all need some good rest.
"No worries, Ash," Nurse Joy cheerfully replied, accepting the tray. "They'll be good as new in no time."
"So, what should we do now?" Ash asked, turning away from the front desk as Nurse Joy disappeared.
"Well, I've sent all my photos off," Todd answered. "So I don't really have anything important to do."
"Now, a Pokémon weather update," the weather person on the television in the Pokémon Centre said, drawing the attention of the group of Pokémon trainers. "Our area will remain clear and sunny today with highs in the upper seventies."
"Sounds like good weather," Ash stated.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.
"Yeah, great for taking pictures," Todd agreed as the weather lady disappeared from screen.
"Pokémon love power!" a gold haired woman with two ponytails exclaimed as she appeared on screen. "Find it at our five star breeding centre! Where every Pokémon is treated like a loved one."
The woman did a twirl, her white lab coat barely moving as she span backwards to allow room for a Pokémon that appeared on screen. "This guest evolved into a Charmeleon, and then into a Charizard in just a few short days," the woman pointed to the Pokémon as it changed and evolved through its cycle. "At the five star breeding centre a little pampering goes along way. Let our experts provide your Pokémon with our love and care."
The camera zoomed in on her face, completely blocking off the image of the Charizard. "So why go through all the fuss when you can bring your Pokémon to us, ha," she laughed at the end, winking.
"What's that?" Ash questioned.
"Looks like someone just opened up a new breeding centre," Brock explained.
"Breeding centre?"
"Breeding centres raise Pokémon for kids who can't themselves," Todd clarified. "It's like a Pokémon spa."
"A really excellent breeding centre can even help your Pokémon evolve," Misty added.
"Yeah," Brock agreed. "My dream is to eventually open up one like that."
"Wow," Ash marvelled. "Let's check it out."
"There is no need to push and shove!" the same woman from the ad yelled, trying to calm the crowed of young Pokémon Trainers. "We have plenty of rooms left in our luxury suite. We guarantee your Pokémon will soon be like new, and some may even evolve!"
"She seems really nice," Misty stated, walking along the path that led to the line of trainers.
"I don't know," Ash mused, staring sceptically at the female breeder. "They seem familiar but I can't put my finger on where we've seen them."
"Don't worry, Ash," Misty reassured. "She looks to be a very lovable and caring person, I'm sure there is nothing to worry about."
"If you say so," Ash shrugged, still watching her cynically while scanning her with his aura. I know I've felt that aura somewhere before.
"And do you know why we're so popular? It's because we believe in love," the woman added, gracefully accepting a kids Sandshrew. "We feel that every Pokémon is lovable, we believe in Pokémon Love Power!"
"Love Power!" a male breeder, who had green hair, exclaimed, appearing from behind the female breeder, wearing a similar white lab coat.
"Wow, she sure knows how to attract customers!" Todd acknowledged, watching as the line of kids entered the centre.
"Yeah," Misty agreed, deep in thought as she cupped her chin with her left hand while holding Togepi with the other.
"Our next guest," the female breeder cheerfully said, filling out paperwork about the Pokémon as it sat on the front desk for admission. Dozens of young trainers lined up, all desperate to have their Pokémon raised by the breeding centre.
"Right this way please," the male breeder said, picking up the young Charmander and placing it on a conveyor-belt that led to the back of the centre.
"I have a Pokémon to," Misty interrupted, cutting in front of the line, ignoring the obvious disgruntled kids that she had pushed in front of.
"Well, you're in the right place," the female breeder nervously replied, shocked by Misty's abrasiveness.
"So what do I have to do to check my Pokémon in here?" Misty asked.
"Misty, you're leaving one here?" Ash asked, surprised Misty would trust a complete stranger with one of her Pokémon.
"Yep, I'll give it a try," Misty replied.
"So am I," Brock interrupted, placing Cubone on the desk.
"You too, Brock, but why?" Ash asked.
"I want to see how they can raise a Pokémon I have already been raising myself," Brock explained. "I want to see what they have done differently and see if I'm on the right track."
"So which Pokémon are you going to leave here?" Todd asked. "Not your Staryu."
"Togepi's too young," Brock added.
"My Psyduck," Misty answered, pulling out her Poké Ball and releasing the dull Pokémon onto the desk. "I want to leave my Psyduck here with you."
"It's so cute, don't you just adore those eyes," the female breeder adored. "They're bright and bouncy as ping pong balls!"
"Yeah, and I wish I hand a paddle," Misty sullenly stated.
"So then, is there anything special you'd like us to do?" the female breeder asked.
"For starters you might try knocking some sense into its big empty head," Misty stated. "There's an awful lot of unused space in here," she added, squashing and massaging Psyduck's head.
"Hmm, that's strange, it looks intelligent to me," the female breeder mused as Ash and the others fell over in shock at her statement.
"And you have to change this clueless looking face," Misty added, pulling at Psyduck's face and eyes.
"That would take a miracle," Ash responded, standing back up.
"Funny you should say that," the female breeder said. "The motto here at our breeding centre is; a little Pokémon love power works miracles!" she exclaimed, winking, as she took the two Pokémon and placed them on the conveyor-belt.
"Have fun, Psyduck!" Ash farewelled.
"Bye, Psyduck!" Misty followed. "Good luck!"
"Psy?" Psyduck questioned as he disappeared.
"Yeah, you too, Cubone!" Brock waved as his Pokémon disappeared after Psyduck.
Leaving the breeding centre, Ash wondered if Misty and Brock had made the right decision by leaving their Pokémon there. While Brock was using the centre as a chance to see if he was raising his Pokémon the right way, Misty was using it for an entirely different reason. Her problem wasn't that she couldn't raise her Pokémon, it was that she didn't know what to do with Psyduck.
She had tried everything to help the dopey duck, including training the duck Pokémon solely for an entire day, but nothing seemed to work. She had tried everything and she had no idea what she could do, which is where the breeding centre came in. Perhaps they had special techniques to help Pokémon like Psyduck, or they knew of something that would do the trick, but one thing Misty knew for sure; they had a better chance than she did, or so she thought.
But Ash couldn't bring his head around the whole issue; why would someone leave their Pokémon in the hands of another in the hopes that they could raise their Pokémon for them. Wasn't that taking away the meaning of being a Pokémon trainer? If you could just whisk away a problem to another person when the going got tough then how could you ever succeed in any form of life?
Granted, Ash realised, that most of those trainers that handed over their Pokémon were just kids, some possibly even younger than he was, and that some of those Pokémon may have had problems that only the breeding centre specialists could fix. But he would never just hand one of his Pokémon to some stranger in the hope that they would be able to make it stronger, he was, however, no ordinary Pokémon trainer.
But he still didn't understand the point of capturing Pokémon and becoming a trainer if you could just send your Pokémon to someone else to train the Pokémon for you. Weren't they missing out on all the fun of raising them?
Ash could never had pictured himself handing over Charmander to some stranger and missing out on all the excitement of watching it evolve like he did. He couldn't even fathom the idea of one of his Pokémon evolving without him there, let alone all the training that they would miss out on.
But Ash understood Misty's reasoning, and on a lesser part; Brock's, but he knew that this was their decision and not his, even with all the doubt he felt towards the two breeders that ran the centre.
"I'm sure Psyduck will be fine," Misty reassured as if reading Ash's thoughts, walking down the sidewalk.
"Me to," Brock agreed.
"Yeah, if you guys say so," Ash conceded, sighing in a vain attempt to remove his doubts.
"What's wrong, Ash?" Todd asked.
"I don't know," Ash simply replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I couldn't get the bad feeling I had about the breeding centre to disappear. I just have this feeling that we have met those two before, you know what I mean?"
"Like a sense of Déjà vu?" Todd questioned.
"Yeah, like that," Ash lied. Even though he knew he could trust Todd, he didn't want many people to know about his aura abilities, so he never told the Pokémon Photographer.
"Well, don't worry about it," Tod reassured, sounding similar to Misty and Brock earlier. "I'm sure if there was anything bad going on inside that breeding centre than it would have already come out by now."
"If you say so," Ash sighed, knowing full well that his sense of doubt wouldn't disappear.
"Hey, look at this," Misty said, pointing to a sign that had food on it.
"Hey, it's a restaurant!" Brock excitedly exclaimed.
"Yeah," Misty agreed. "And I'm really starving."
"Look at this," Ash advised, pointing to the small wording on the sign.
"All you can eat, for free," Misty read out loud. "Alright! I'm heading straight for the desert bar!"
"It can't really be free, can it?" Ash asked.
"There's gotta be a catch," Todd mused. "Like you've gotta order ten dinners to get one free."
"Well, I'd eat ten dinners if they came with ten deserts," Misty said.
"Wah!" Ash exclaimed in surprise. And she thought my eating habits were bad!
"Whoa!" the chef of the restaurant said, opening the door. "No need to eat that much, unless you all really want to! The buffet is free on one condition," he added, pointing his index finger up to emphasize his point.
"What's the condition?" Ash and his friends asked.
"Well, just show me my favourite Pokémon and I'll treat you to all the food you can eat," the chef explained. "Plus all the deserts you can eat too!"
"Yeah!" Ash exclaimed, excited about the prospect of free food.
"I'm sure one of us has your favourite!" Misty assured.
"Perhaps it's Pikachu?" Ash asked, holding up the only Pokémon he had with him.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu excitedly squealed.
"Hmm," the chef pondered as Ash, Misty, Brock, and Todd watched on expectantly. "Nope."
Attempt after attempt they tried, showing off Pokémon after Pokémon that the others had. But it was no use, none of the Pokémon they had were the one the chef wanted. Sighing, they gave up when finally the chef informed them of his favourite Pokémon.
"My favourite Pokémon, is this one," the chef informed, holding up the photograph.
"Huh?!" The kids exclaimed in disbelief; they couldn't believe it was the Pokémon they were looking at. "Psyduck!" Indeed it was a Psyduck. The duck Pokémon was posing on its side as it faced towards the camera.
"You're a Psyduck fan?" Brock asked in shock.
"Hey, that looks like a picture I took," Todd realised.
"I think Psyduck is the best thing since the invention of the microwave oven," the chef explained. "I'm such a big fan that when a customer brings one in I let them eat for free."
"Uh, sir?" Misty questioned, desperately jumping in front of the chef. "If we come back in a couple of minutes, will you be here?"
"Sure, I've got to wait here for a delivery of fifty gallons of ice cream," the chef replied.
"Yay! Yay! Yay! Ice CREAM!" Misty excitedly screamed, jumping up and down like a kid high on sugar. "Ha, ha, back in a flash!" And with that; Misty took off running, not even waiting for the others to follow.
"That's typical," Misty annoyingly said as the others caught up. "It figures Psyduck isn't around the one time I really need him."
"You're the one the left him at that centre," Ash pointed out.
"Whatever," Misty muttered, increasing her speed.
"Ah!" Misty panicked, noticing that the Breeding Centre was closed. "It's already closed!"
"Ugh," Brock groaned as he stopped. "I guess we'll have to come back tomorrow," he suggested, visibly annoying Misty.
"We won't get that free buffet today," Todd added, annoying Misty further.
"No WAY!" Misty exploded. "I'm getting into that desert bar now! There might not be any ice cream left tomorrow!"
Yeah, because you'll have eaten it all, Ash mused.
"Let's go see if there's a back way," Misty suggested, storming off.
"Note to self; never get between Misty and desert," Brock noted.
"Hello, anybody there?" Misty yelled, smashing her fist into the back door of the centre as the day mysteriously became night in only a few seconds as they walked to the back entrance of the centre.
"I need to get the Pokémon I left here!" she added. "Please open the door so I can get back to that desert buffet!" She continued to hit the door, hoping that someone would come and help her.
But when there was no response she decided to try the door knob. "Huh," she mumbled as the door opened. "It's open."
"Hello, is there anybody who can get my Pokémon?" she continued, softening her voice as she entered the centre. "Is there anyone who can help me?"
They continued walking further into the building, but as they entered the main corridor they realised that no one was there.
"There's nobody here," Ash stated, searching the nearby area with his aura. "But I believe that the Pokémon are in some of these rooms," he added, pointing at the nearby doors.
"Then we might as well check it out," Misty suggested, drawing closer to one of the closed doors. "If there's no one who can help us, we can at least try to find our Pokémon in the meantime."
"Yeah," Brock uneasily agreed. "But I don't like this."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"For the amount of Pokémon that would be in this centre you would think that this place would be bubbling with life," Brock explained. "I would have thought that there would have been at least a few more staff around here."
"Yeah, you're right," Todd agreed. "For the amount of Pokémon we saw being handed over, I would have thought there would be a few more staff. No way could those two look after all the Pokémon by themselves."
"I knew I felt something wrong about this place," Ash said, the feeling he had earlier returning. "I knew I had felt those two somewhere before, but where?"
"Well, until we find out what is going on, I suggest we just find our Pokémon and get out of here," Brock proposed.
"Agreed," Ash, Misty, and Todd responded.
"Is there anyone here who can help us?!" Misty yelled, opening the door. The room was dark, they couldn't see anything. Compared the luscious warmth the hallway held, the room was cold and dreary, as if void of life.
The steel plated walls and tiled floor differed from the velvet carpet and painted walls of the hallway, it didn't feel right at all.
But even with the dull feeling the room gave off, Ash could still feel the presence of dozens of Pokémon. They were all lined up, stuck in place, unable to move, some Pokémon on top of each other. Their auras were weak, very weak, and Ash didn't like it at all.
"It's so dark, I can't see," Misty stated, trying to look further into the room.
"Hey, I got a light," Brock said, pulling out a torch. The light from the torch only lit part of the horror that appeared before them. Row after row of cages were stacked on top of each other, each one holding a single Pokémon.
But it wasn't like the Pokémon had plenty of room; they were all cramped up in cages so small that they could barely move, most not even budging as the light from the torch passed over them.
"Ah, what is this?!" Misty exclaimed, worriedly running into the room.
"It's the Pokémon!" Brock explained.
"This doesn't look like a luxury hotel to me," Ash said, finally understanding the bad feeling he had; it was the weakness of all the aura the Pokémon were giving off.
"This is cruel," Todd said, leaning down to look at one of the Pokémon. "They're cramped into cages."
"Pika," Pikachu sadly agreed, dejectedly sympathising with a weak Sandshrew.
"These Pokémon don't look like they want to smile for the camera," Todd added, pulling out his camera to take photos of the atrocities that were befalling the Pokémon around them.
"Huh," Brock mumbled, stopping by a cage with a Pokémon he knew. "Hey, here's your Psyduck!" he called out, looking for his Pokémon.
"I have to say, he looks a little smarter than when I dropped it off," Misty noted, surveying the change in Psyduck's face. The eyes appeared to have been pulled back and had lost it usual dreary look.
"Take a closer look," Brock said, pointing to the side of Psyduck's eyes. "They just pulled his eyes back with tape."
"That's terrible," Misty said, reaching into the cage and pulling the tape off Psyduck's face, causing his eyes to drop back to their usual position.
"Psy, ei," Psyduck thanked, rubbing his head.
They continued to search the cages, desperate to find Brock's Pokémon and get out of there and inform the authorities. But their search was taking longer than they had hoped, realising if they didn't get out soon they could be caught.
"Where are you, Cub-" Brock paused as they heard a loud bang of a machine moving. Looking up, they watched as one of the cages was carried by a crane and dropped onto a conveyor-belt before being transported to another room adjacent to them.
"What's that?" Ash asked, watching as the cage disappeared.
"The next Pokémon's a Sandshrew," the male breeder said, watching as the cage stopped at the end of the conveyor-belt.
"Hmm, looks like this one is in pretty good shape," the female breeder surveyed. "It could be very useful, as long as we can teach it Fury Swipes."
Fury Swipes? No wonder, these people are idiots, there are way stronger attacks that Sandshrew can learn, Ash thought, eavesdropping on the conversation.
"We've got an awful lot of Pokémon piled up here," the male breeder noted, counting all the cages in the room.
"Yeah," the female breeder agreed. "Just goes to prove that a lot of Pokémon trainers are suckers."
Hey, what did she just call me! Misty fumed, barely able to hold herself back from storming into the other room right then. I'm going to teach these two a lesson, especially after what Ash said to me last week!
"Hey, what are you doing?" Brock whispered, pulling his focus from the conversation as Misty headed for the door.
"I'm going to teach them a lesson about Pokémon," she explained.
"No, don't," Brock warned. "It's better that we get the evidence and take it to the authorities. Let them handle it."
"Fine," Misty agreed, returning to the group.
"So tell me, how's the Breeding Centre scam going?" Giovanni asked, patting his Persian as his intimidating figure appeared on a large screen inside the room.
"Very well," the female informed, bowing her head to Giovanni as the other breeder did the same. "As planned, we've collected a lot of promising Pokémon."
"Good," Geovanni evilly smiled. "We need this scam to help recoup some of the losses we've recently made."
"According to these figures, with this scam we should be able to make up forty percent of the funding we've lost from our sponsor," the male breeder explained.
"Excellent," Giovanni said. "We need this money to go ahead with our operations in Johto… I want to congratulate you two on your splendid work on this project."
"We're just doing our job," the female thanked.
"Keep up the good work. Butch, Cassidy, you know I'm counting on you," Giovanni said, ending the video call.
"Yes, sir," Butch and Cassidy nodded. "We won't disappoint you."
Todd walked around, taking photo after photo of the trapped Pokémon. The sadness in the Pokémon's eyes were mimicked by the sadness in his eyes as he took each and every photo. Neither he, nor his friends, could understand why someone would do this to Pokémon. This wasn't the first time Ash, Misty and Brock had experienced the atrocious things people could do to Pokémon, but it always made them feel sick to their stomach.
"Snap, take a picture of that," Misty advised, pointing at the conveyor-belt.
"Sure," Todd agreed, aiming the lens of the camera. As he took the photo, he forgot about the camera's flash, realising only a second too late as the flash of the light travelled through the gap in the wall.
"Huh?" Cassidy questioned, noticing the flash of light.
"What, Butch? Something wrong?" Cassidy asked.
"I thought I saw something back there," Butch explained. "Like a flash of light. I better go check it out."
"Guys, we better hide," Ash suggested in a hushed voice.
"Yeah," the others agreed. "But where?"
"There isn't anywhere to hide," Todd explained, looking around.
"Then what do we do?" Misty asked.
"We'll have to try and jump him," Ash suggested. "If we can knock him out, perhaps we can get past him and get out of here."
"But what about Psyduck?" Misty asked.
"What about him?" Ash replied.
"I can't get the cage open," she explained. "It's locked," she added, trying to rip open the cage. "I can't just leave Psyduck trapped in this awful place."
"But we don't have a choice," Ash advised. "If we don't get out of here than none of the Pokémon will get out."
"But I can't leave Cubone here either," Brock rebutted. "I haven't found her yet."
"We'll come back for them," Ash reasoned. "When we bring the authorities we'll get your Pokémon back. But right now, we don't have any time to argue." He pointed towards the door.
Through the small glass window they could see the silhouette of Butch as he arrived at the door.
"Ash is right," Todd agreed. "We'll be back for your Pokémon. We're not abandoning them, we're leaving them here and we'll collect them later."
"I don't know," Misty contemplated.
"Not enough time," Ash decided. "Pikachu, use Quick Attack the second he comes through the door."
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded, getting into an attack stance.
"Now!" Ash yelled as the door slowly creaked open. Pikachu raced towards the door, streaks forming behind him as he increased his speed. Butch didn't even have time to react as Pikachu crashed into him, launching him into the wall on the other side of the hallway. His body slouched down to the floor, unconscious.
"Come on, let's go," Ash instructed, leading the others towards the door.
"But-but…" Misty stammered.
"No 'buts,' we need to leave now, otherwise none of the Pokémon will be freed," Ash replied.
"Fine," Misty sighed, reluctantly following Ash as they exited the room.
"Hey!" Cassidy yelled. "What are you kids doing here?" Unfortunately, Cassidy had heard Butch's body slamming into the wall. "What did you do to Butch?!"
"Run!" Ash yelled. They immediately took off running, desperate to get as far away from Cassidy as possible. But in their haste they had forgotten the way they had entered. "Do any of you remember where the back door is?" Ash asked, coming to a stop to get his bearings.
"No," Misty replied. "But I believe I know the way to the front entrance. I think it's closer than the back entrance."
"Very well, Misty, lead the way," Ash gestured, stepping behind her as they sped up again.
"This way," Misty pointed, noticing as sign that said 'exit.'
"There's the exit!" Ash yelled as the front entrance came into view. They sped up again, desperate to escape. But before they could reach the door, a massive steel cage dropped right on top of them; trapping Ash, Brock, and Todd. "Oh, we're trapped."
"What do we do?" Misty asked, turning around to help the others. Luckily, she had been running slightly faster than the others and had managed to narrowly dodge the cage with Togepi and Pikachu.
"Misty, you betta hide," Ash suggested.
"Ok," Misty nodded. "Pikachu, come on," she added, heading for the exit.
"Pika," Pikachu agreed, hiding behind the door with Misty as they heard footsteps approaching.
"Looks like our rat trap worked," Cassidy said. She had just managed to catch up with the kids, Butch following groggily behind her.
"You crooks betta let us out of here," Ash warned.
"What's that?" Butch questioned, rubbing his eye and reaching for Todd's camera.
"That's mine!" Todd yelled, trying to snatch the camera back.
"Heh, you won't be needing this," Butch said, holding up the camera for the kids to view. "We can't have our little scheme here coming out."
"Burglars! Oh, I'm still shaking like a leaf, Officer!" Cassidy frantically acted, giving a convincing performance as Officer Jenny fell for every word. "Thank goodness our security system stopped them before they hurt the Pokémon!" She turned around and appeared to tear up at the mere thought of injuring the Pokémon.
"Don't worry, we'll make sure these thieves are punished," Officer Jenny saluted. "Thanks to you our city is a little safer."
"I'm telling you, you're arresting the wrong guys! We're innocent!" Ash yelled, trying in vain to convince the officers that they were innocent.
"Those guys are the crooks!" Todd added to no avail. "Not us!"
"Save your story for the station house," Officer Jenny said, throwing them into the back of the police van as Cassidy and Butch joyously waved on.
"Mam," another officer approached. "We found these three in the back of the facility," he added, pulling along Jesse, James, and Meowth.
"Do you two know these people," Jenny asked, pointing at the Rocket trio.
"No," Cassidy and Butch shook their heads.
"What!" Jesse screeched, barely having time as they were thrown into the police van with Ash, Brock, and Todd.
"Enjoy the trip," Jenny added, closing the door behind them.
"This is the low point," Meowth muttered. "Turned in, not by these brats, but our own team mates."
"Great, now we're going to jail," Ash dejectedly said.
Misty watched as the police vehicles sped off, racing towards their station with their sirens blaring. She had managed to hide from to whole ordeal by slipping into the alleyway next to the Breeding Centre.
"Oh no, now we've got to find some way to prove to Jenny that they're innocent," she said, watching as the vehicles disappeared.
"Pika," Pikachu agreed.
"Mmm, think, Misty, think," she muttered, strolling up and down the alleyway as she thought of an idea. "There's gotta be some way…"
"Ah! I've got it!" she suddenly exclaimed, a bright smile appearing on her face as she came up with an idea. "All we have to do is show Jenny some of the pictures that Snap took," she told Pikachu and Togepi.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
"Tuci pri!"
"But we're going to have to make sure that those two crooks don't realise that the camera is gone," Misty mused, realising a fault in her plan. "I know! We can use Mew as a distraction! If we can get her to keep those two busy while we print the photos and show them to Jenny, than they have no time to realise what's going on and escape before we can get there!"
"Pikachu!" the mouse Pokémon agreed, following Misty as they made their way towards the Pokémon Centre.
"Nurse Joy!" Misty called, entering the Pokémon Centre.
"Yes, Misty," Joy replied, appearing from the back room. "How may I help you?"
"I need to collect a Pokémon," Misty explained.
"Oh, sure," Joy said. "Which one would you like me to get for you, Starmie? Horsea?"
"Oh," Misty said. "I meant I needed to collect one of Ash's Pokémon."
"I'm sorry, Misty," Nurse Joy shook her head. "You can't collect a Pokémon that does not belong to you."
"What?" Misty questioned. "Why not? I'm his friend, you saw me with him earlier today!"
"I am truly sorry," Joy apologised. "But under the Pokémon League rules; only the local Officer Jenny, or the Pokémon G-Men can collect a Pokémon that doesn't belong to them."
"Is there any way I can collect one of Ash's Pokémon?"
"Only if you have authorisation from one of the people I just told you about," Joy explained.
Great! Misty groaned. Officer Jenny will take Ash's Pokémon as evidence, and I don't know how to contact anyone in the Pokémon G-Men. "Is there anyone else I can get authorisation from?"
"Well, yes," Joy explained. "If you could get one of the members of the P.L.B, Pokémon League Board, to talk to me and give you permission to take one of Ash's Pokémon, than I will be able to give you one of his Pokémon.
"Great," Misty muttered, she had no idea who was on the Pokémon League Board. "Who is on the P.L.B?"
"Well, let me think," Joy mused. "There's Red…"
I'm sure if I knew how to call him, I would, Misty thought. Little did she know that Red had been missing for several weeks; trapped in a Legion Prison.
"…Then there's Lance," Joy continued. "Mr. Goodshow… Oh! And Professor Oak!"
"Great!" Misty beamed, knowing she could at least reach him. "Thanks for your help!" she thanked, running off towards the video phones.
"You're welcome," Joy watched, perplexed, as Misty joyously ran off.
"Come on, pick up, pick," Misty muttered. The video phone had been ringing for ages, and Misty was starting to worry that she may have missed him for the evening, it was quite late after all.
Even if she could get permission from Professor Oak, she knew she would still have to wait until the next day to enact her plan. Poor Ash, Brock, and Todd would have to spend the night in the police station.
"Finally," Misty said as the video screen turned on. "Hello?"
"Yes," a groggily Professor Oak answered, rubbing his eyes as the screen activated. "Who's calling me at this time?"
"Hello, Professor Oak, its Misty," she waved.
"Why, hello, Misty," Oak replied. "Why are you calling me at this time of night?"
"I'm sorry about that," Misty apologised. "But I need your help. Ash is in trouble and he has no Pokémon with him. I was going to get Mew to help, but Nurse Joy says I can't take one of Ash's Pokémon without permission from you first."
"Oh, because I'm a member of the P.L.B," Oak realised. "Sure, I'll help, especially if Ash is in trouble. I'm sure I wouldn't here the end of it from Delia if I didn't."
"Thanks," Misty smiled.
"Just send Nurse Joy over here and I'll talk to her," Oak said.
"Ok," Misty nodded, standing up and walking towards the front desk. She informed Nurse Joy that Professor Oak was on the video phone and wanted to talk to her. Misty watched as Nurse Joy talked to Professor Oak for several minutes, waiting until the call ended and Nurse Joy returned to her front desk.
"Which one of Ash's Pokémon do you need?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Mew."
Now was the time. It was early morning and the Breeding Centre was open. Despite spending the whole night up with Mew and Pikachu, Misty was as awake as ever as she walked into the centre, her plan completely in motion.
She had changed out of her regular clothes, replacing her jeans shorts and yellow shirt with blue sweat shorts and a track suit jacket to conceal the Pokémon hidden within.
"E-excuse me," Misty said, hiding her face slightly with a red and black cap. "I left a Psyduck here yesterday."
"We have a two day holding policy," Cassidy replied, looking Misty up and down.
"Ah, but, ah, you see," Misty stuttered, pulling her cap down lower. "I have to take an emergency trip and I really need my Psyduck to come with me."
"I understand," Cassidy said, standing up and walking into the back of the centre. "Just a moment please."
"Ok, Pikachu," Misty said. Pikachu jumped out of her jacket. "Mew." Mew appeared alongside them. "Now you know what to do, oh, and Mew don't try to kill them, please."
"Mew," Mew dejectedly acknowledged; she really wanted to make any Team Rocket members suffer.
"Good luck," Misty said, watching as the two Pokémon disappeared into the back.
"Tuci," Togepi excitedly shrilled, appearing from inside Misty's jacket.
"Now you stay here," Misty said.
Pikachu searched room after room, hoping to find Todd's camera. The mouse Pokémon didn't know when Mew would begin her distraction, but he knew one thing; he certainly didn't want to be there when her plan began.
He realised the quicker he looked, the quicker each room could be searched, but there was a down side to that; he may miss the camera if he wasn't too careful. So as each room was searched, he wondered if the camera was there at all, of if Cassidy and Butch had already destroyed.
But luck was on his side as he opened one of the final rooms in the hallway he was in, and found the camera sitting atop one of the desks, completely intact. "Pika!" Pikachu celebrated, grabbing the camera and bounding out of the room.
"Pikachu is sure taking a long time," Misty worriedly muttered, pacing back and forth in the foyer of the Breeding Centre. "I wish he would hurry."
"Miss?" Cassidy asked.
"Y-yes?!" Misty froze, unable to think of anything to do.
"I'm afraid there wasn't time to give your Psyduck a proper facial," Cassidy informed, looking at Psyduck as she brought the dopy Pokémon into the room. "So there hasn't been much improvement."
Cassidy looked up, noticing the uncomfortable and frantic look on Misty's face. "Don't you have to leave?" Cassidy asked.
"Wah!" Misty panicked. "Ah, well, I'm not in that much of a hurry! Ha, ha-ha-ha, ha," she frantically laughed, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.
"Pika," Pikachu poked Misty's leg.
"Ah," Misty squealed, noticing the camera in Pikachu's hands.
"Is something wrong?" Cassidy sceptically asked.
"On second thought," Misty said, grabbing Psyduck. "I gotta run!" she added picking up Pikachu and running out of the Breeding Centre. "Bye!" She continued to run until she was out of hearing distance of the centre. "I hope Mew can keep them busy until I come back with the authorities."
Mew slowly floated down the hallway, gathering her bearings so she wouldn't get lost when she began her distraction. She knew what she had to do, she knew where all the Pokémon were, but she didn't know how long it would take Pikachu to find the camera.
So she had given her little friend tem minutes to find the camera, and sure enough, as she was about to enact her plan, she felt Misty run out of the Breeding Centre with Pikachu and Psyduck.
She continued to float around centre, ready to enact her plan, but something stopped her. A presence at the end of the hallway was calling for her, for anyone that could help it. She knew who the Pokémon was, but for it to be kept separate from the others felt very strange.
So, without hesitation, she raced towards the room, finding Cubone trapped inside a cage right next to the door. It didn't even take a second for her to smash the cage open, releasing Cubone.
"Hey, what's the commotion?" Butch asked, hearing the noise.
"Cubone," Cubone feared.
"Mew," Mew reassured, transforming into a Rattata before Butch arrived.
"Hey, what are you doing," Butch asked, bending over to pick up the little Rattata. But before his hands reached the mouse Pokémon, Rattata open her mouth and unleashed a bust of flames that ignited Butch's hair.
"My hair!" Butch screamed, running away. "My beautiful green hair!"
"Cubone!" Cubone clapped in excitement.
Mew smiled, watching the little Pokémon laugh made her happy. Perhaps this could be fun after all, Mew smirked.
"Let us out, we're not the crooks," Ash yelled, holding onto the cell bars.
"Those two at that Breeding Centre are the criminals!" Brock added.
"That's right, not us," Todd said.
"Just go there and see for yourself," Ash added.
"If you're trying to win sympathy, it won't work," Jenny said. "The Judge is going to throw the book at you Pokémon snatches."
"Ugh," Ash, Brock, and Todd groaned.
"You're making a mistake!" Misty yelled, entering the room.
"Misty, Pikachu," Ash excitedly said as Misty approached Officer Jenny.
"These guys have been telling the truth, Officer Jenny," Misty informed, pulling out photos from her bag. "And these Photographs prove it!"
"Oh, what a cute little Pikachu!" Jenny squealed.
"Huh?" Misty questioned, looking at the photos. "Ugh, wrong pictures!" she muttered, putting them back in her bag and pulling out another set of photographs. "Look at these."
"Huh!" Jenny gasped. "Oh, no, that's terrible!"
"That place isn't a real Breeding Centre," Misty explained. "They just steel the best Pokémon that are brought in."
"Those two told me that the centre was like a Pokémon spa," Jenny said, annoyed.
"That was a lie," Misty said.
"They cramped the Pokémon into cages," Todd explained.
"Pika, pika," Pikachu agreed.
"That's why they told you we were the crooks," Ash added. "Because we found out about their plan."
"They tricked me?" Jenny muttered, shocked.
"When we heard about what those crooks were up to, we went to stop them too," Meowth tried.
"It's true, honest," Jesse lied.
"Yeah, we're good guys," James added.
"Please, they broke into the Breeding Centre just to steal Pokémon," Misty said.
"Uhh," Jesse, James, and Meowth groaned, slumping to the floor in defeat.
"Huh?" Cassidy muttered, entering the hallway from the foyer. "That girl was acting really strange."
"My hair!" Butch screamed, running through the hallway.
"Butch, what's going on?" Cassidy asked.
"A Pokémon broke loose, and… And," he paused, pouring water onto his head. "And it used Flamethrower on my hair!"
"What are you talking about?"
"I-in there," Butch shakily pointed. He watched as Cassidy slowly walked towards the door. "What are you doing?" Butch asked.
"I'm showing you there is nothing to worry about," Cassidy explained, opening the door to reveal a little Weedle and Cubone. "See, it's only a Weedle," she added, picking up the Bug type Pokémon.
"Are you sure there isn't another Pokémon in there?" Butch asked.
"I'm sure," Cassidy affirmed. "I can't see any other Pokémon in here. Just this useless Weedle."
That took Mew over the edge, and before Cassidy or Butch could continue talking, she fired a String Shot attack directly into Cassidy's eyes.
"My eyes!" Cassidy yelled, trying to remove the sticky string as she dropped Mew to the floor. "Raticate! Stop them!" she added, releasing her Pokémon.
The mouse Pokémon landed on the ground, smashing into Mew with force before she could react. Mew groaned in slight pain as she slid across the ground, surprised by the force of the attack. She hadn't changed form from Weedle, meaning she was slower than usual.
"Cubone!" Cubone screamed in fear, her body glowing. She grew larger, her skull mask fusing with her head. Her tail grew longer, a spike appearing on the end of it. "Marowak!" the newly evolved Pokémon yelled, launching her bone at Raticate, knocking the mouse Pokémon out.
"So, you thought you could frame these kids," Jenny said, slamming the door open. But what she was greeted with surprised her; both Butch and Cassidy were tied up and think layers of silky string.
"Looks like Mew did her part of the job," Misty said. "She certainly did keep them distracted."
"Cu-Cubone?" Brock questioned, noticing the newly evolved Pokémon.
"Marowak!" Marowak excitedly yelled, jumping into Brock's arms.
"Congratulations on evolving!" Brock laughed. "I'm so happy you're safe," he added, holding his Pokémon tightly.
"Well, it looks like you kids did a great job for the community," Jenny appraised, watching as the police van with Cassidy and Butch sped away. "Anybody hungry?"
"More Ice-cream!" Misty yelled, hurriedly finishing off her unknown number of deserts.
"Take it easy," Ash said.
"Yeah, leave some for the other customers," Brock agreed.
"Pikachupi," Pikachu muttered.
"Don't worry, there's plenty of ice-cream left, Misty," Jenny informed.
"And all of it's free since you brought this cute Psyduck to my restaurant," the chef added.
"You have good tastes," Misty said, chowing down another bowl of ice-cream.
Ash was about to say something when he felt a sudden surge of aura coming from his bag. Opening it up, Ash was shocked as he pulled out his Pokémon egg. The egg was flashing, indicating that it was ready to hatch, but it wouldn't.
He had no idea what to do, until Mew floated over to him. "Use your aura," Mew said.
"Huh?" Ash questioned. "What do you mean?"
"Pulse your Aura into the egg," Mew explained. "Trust me."
"Ok," Ash shrugged, holding his hand up to the side of the egg and pulsing a small amount of aura into it. Sure enough, Mew was right. The egg started flashing more rapidly before the glow consumed it entirely.
Ash watched as the egg in his hands changed shape, Todd taking pictures as the transformation occurred. The egg changed into a bipedal dog-like Pokémon with black legs and torso, a blue tail, and a yellow collar. It also formed round bumps on the back of its forepaws. A black mask formed around its red eyes. "Riolu?"
"Wow!" Todd gasped. "Thanks for that amazing photo, guys." He smiled.
"I guess this is where we split up," Todd said, pausing at a fork in the road
"Really? Now?" Misty asked.
"Yes, I have to be up in the mountains by tomorrow and I can't be late," Todd explained.
"Very well," Ash said, holding Riolu in his arms. "We'll see you again, someday."
"You can count on it," Todd agreed, walking down one road while the others walked down the other. "Bye!" he waved.
"Bye!" Ash, Misty, and Brock waved. Ash paused for a second, watching as Todd disappeared into the distance as the others continued their trek.
"Ash, you coming?" Brock asked.
"Yeah!" Ash replied, walking down the road. I need to talk to Misty about what I said, he thought. After all, she was the one who saved us, she deserves that much. "Hey, Misty!"
"Yes," Misty asked, dropping behind Brock. "What is it?"
"I have something to say-"
"No, Ash," Misty interjected. "I do."
How will Ash go at trying to get his next Gym Badge? What did Ash and Misty say to each other? And how will Ash deal with Riolu? Find Out Next Time!
Finally done, only 5 weeks later then I had planned. I hope you guys enjoyed it, it was really hard to re-write. In fact, the original was only 4000 words long, this one is well over 7000, so I ended up adding more in than the original.
Any questions, Pokémon suggestions, ideas for the story, or OC's you have that you would like to see in the story, just PM me or send it in a review! All are welcome!
Ash's Pokémon:
Pikachu (Male)
Raticate (Female)
Gyarados (Male)
Butterfree (Male)
Pidgeotto (Male)
Umbreon (Male) (Shiny)
Sandslash (Male)
Ivysaur (Male)
Charizard (Male)
Squirtle (Male)
Krabby (Female)
Absol (Male)
Haunter (Male)
Primeape (Female)
Muk (Male)
Tauros (Male) (x26)
Rhyhorn (Female)
Growlithe (Male)
Nidoran (Male) (Shiny)
Dratini (Female)
Mew
Riolu (Male)
Misty's Pokémon:
Seaking (Female)
Staryu
Starmie
Tentacruel (Male)
Horsea (Female)
Vaporeon (Female)
Pelipper (Female)
Psyduck (Male)
Feebas (Female)
Seel (Male)
Kabutops (Male) (Shiny)
Togepi (Male)
Brock's Pokémon:
Geodude (Female)
Onix (Male)
Zubat (Female)
Marowak (Female) (Shiny)
Gengar (Male)
Honchkrow (Male)
Vulpix (Female)
Magnemite
Tauros (Male) (Shiny)
Doduo (Female)
Kangaskhan (Female)
Exeggutor (Female)
Aerodactyl (Male)
After this Arc is done I will be putting the Pokémon Ash has on my Profile Page and will only put Pokémon that Ash, Misty and Brock gain in each Arc in the story Arc.
Please Follow, Favourite and Review!
Until Next Time, AshleyH30 Out!