Joe stood before the leader of Team Rocket, being the only person to stand in their way. Their leader, Archer as Joe had now realised his name was, wore a large metal glove on the one hand which was glowing with multiple colours. He continued to cackle away as the power from the glove surged through his body and gave him unimaginable abilities.
"You, child!" He roared. "Joseph Glende. You have stood in Team Rockets way for too long, halting our glorious path. But no more!" He raised his fist into the air. "Now that my Pokémon Move Emulation Device is complete there is nothing left in this universe that could stop me. Not even the great Giovanni could stop me!" He howled. The two other commanders looked at each other.
"I thought our job was to get Giovanni's attention and bring him back to power?" Cheng asked. Archer didn't seem to respond. Then finally he spoke.
"It was our plan." He started. He then spun around suddenly to face the two kneeling commanders. "But where is he? Do you see him anywhere?" he panned his hand out before the crowd of rockets behind him. He then dropped it back to his side. "No, I don't see him." He spoke again. "Where is our illustrious leader when we call? Where is our champion when we have shown Team Rockets true potential?" He flicked his cape back, swiping a hand to the side. "He deserted us all, commander. He does not care for Team Rocket any longer. We are his unwanted children who he has dumped in the street gutter to die." He growled. "Well I for one refuse to die. I will not give up like he did. I will push Team Rocket into a new glorious age!" He shouted, raising his arms to the stars. A cheer came up from the crowd of grunts.
"Hail Archer!" They cried. "Hail Archer! Hail Archer!" Their leader bathed in their admiration. His hands slowly dropped back to his side.
"We are done here." He commanded suddenly. The chanting died away. "We have what we came for. Now we have no reason to be here. Our next objective is ours for the taking. Now all that needs taking care of is this young trainer before us." He pointed at Joe who had not moved since his talk started. His Pokémon stood by his side, ready to defend him when necessary. Joe growled.
"I will never back down." He said simple. Archer sighed.
"Suit yourself." He told him, simply. Winter shouted to Joe from behind.
"Be careful." She warned. "There's something not right about this. I wouldn't trust that weapon of his. Don't let him hit you with it." Joe nodded, gratefully.
"Uh, thanks." He called back. Tom shouted to him now.
"Go get 'em, lad!" he cheered. Joe gulped and turned back to the commanders. Archer sent his dog Pokémon out to fight first. As the black and grey Pokémon stepped forwards it left Ralph free to fly past and return to his friend. He glided past the commander and his pet and stopped at Joe's side. Archer chuckled.
"Your Pokémon are truly loyal to you." He laughed. "It is a pity. They look so strong yet you yourself are so weak. Why should they follow a leader who cannot fight for himself?" Joe snarled at him.
"You wanted a fight so you've got one." He snapped at him. "Now get ready for me to thrash you the same way I did with your commander." Archer chuckled.
"On the contrary." He laughed. "It is I that shall thrash you."
"Cinders, Slash!" Joe instructed. Cinders rushed forwards, claw raised and sharpened to cut at the opponent.
"Houndoom, Flamethrower!" Archer commanded. His Pokémon, Houndoom, jumped forwards, sailing agilely through the air and over Cinders' reptilian head. Cinders watched it sail overhead and turned to fight when he suddenly got a face full of hot, burning orange fire. He raised his arms and found himself being pushed backwards. It wasn't the heat of the attack that was hurting so much as was the sheer force that the flames created.
"Push it back with your own Flamethrower" Joe instructed. Cinders gathered heat inside his maw and smoke began to drift from his nostrils. He released a plume of red fire to combat Houndoom's orange fire. The attack pushed the opposing plume back till the two were combating at the centre. Houndoom pushed closer, causing his attack to create more force, causing Cinders more pain. Quickly the young Charmeleon was getting weaker. The fire he was creating was beginning to dwindle. Finally he pushed away, gulping in the charred air desperately, unable to keep up his attack. Houndoom had the perfect opportunity.
"Shadow ball!" Archer demanded. Houndoom pulled back it's head and brought it back up in a swift movement. A small ball of sinister blue-black energy was forming at the tip of its snout, growing larger by the second. Finally, when the ball was almost the same size as its body, it released it, sending the spinning ball of ghostly energy sailing through the air at almost invisible speed towards the exhausted Charmeleon. Before Cinders could even blink the ball hit him in the chest and evaporated into thin air, leaving a small shock wave of dark energy behind it. Cinders was sent flying backwards where he landed unconscious at his trainer's feet. Joe sighed, annoyed. Archer seemed to laugh quietly.
"Good try, Cinders." Joe whispered as he looked down at his injured friend.. He turned back to Archer and his men.
"Having second thoughts?" He mocked. Joe snarled.
"I still have four more Pokémon to fight." He growled at him. Archer his his hands back under his cloak.
"Not for long." he said quietly. Chansey rushed from Winters side to help Cinders. She stopped at his side and checked he was okay. The red lizard Pokémon coughed and kicked out. Chansey sighed with relief. At least he was still breathing. She grabbed him by the arms and slowly dragged him to the side of the battle where she could heal him up safely. Meanwhile Joe was readying to continue the fight.
"Nami your up." he told the young Vaporeon beside him. His reasoning was that this Houndoom Pokémon must be a fire type, so if he sent Nami out to fight it there would be little it could do to fight back. Nami nodded in understanding and took her place on the field, staring straight at Archer's Pokémon. Archer chuckled for some reason.
"Faint Attack!" he instructed. His Pokémon rushed forwards and suddenly dispersed into shadow. Nami stood, unsure what to do. Suddenly Houndoom reappeared in front of her, still charging. She yelped and jumped back in surprise but she didn't move far enough. Houndoom head butted her in the stomach, knocking her over and onto her side. It ran past and turned around, coming in for another attack.
"Use your tail to trip it!" Joe called. Nami did so. She lay where she was and when Houndoom came in to attack again lashed out with her tail and caught its front feet, tripping it up and onto its belly. It growled at her, mud covering its muzzle. "Now use Water Gun!" Joe instructed. Nami did so, firing a small blob of water from her mouth at Houndoom. Houndoom however was not helpless. It sat up and opened its jaws, spewing a fountain of fire out. To Nami and Joe's surprise her attack simply evaporated in the heat of the flame, failing to do anything to hurt it. Houndoom snapped its jaws shut again and grinned at her, evilly.
"Now, Houndoom, Use Solarbeam!" Archer shouted, his voice not faulting. Alarm bells rang inside Joe's head. He looked at Houndoom to see green light gathering in its mouth.
"Nami!" He shouted. "Look out!" to late. Nami turned to see a huge beam of bright green light shooting straight towards her. There was nothing Joe could do but watch as the beam struck Nami in the side and she disappeared into the green light. A few seconds later the light faded and...
"Oh no." Joe sighed. Nami lay on the ground, injured but breathing. The attack had knocked all of the energy out of her. Chansey immediately rushed to her side and helped her off the field. She sat the injured Vaporeon next to Cinders who was sitting; now awake again, at the side of the field. Both Pokémon would no longer be able to fight for the day. Now only Pitt, Pippy and Ralph were left to fight. Archer gestured with his gloveless hand.
"Dear me, boy." He tutted. "I thought that because my commanders had been bested by you you'd be a challenge. Now I can see you're no stronger than the rest of your friends." This comment made Joe angry. His brow narrowed and his ears began to flush red.
"I can still beat you!" He warned him. Archer shook his head.
"Don't get too confident." He mocked. Joe turned back to his remaining Pokémon. Pitt was next. He trundled forwards and stomped defiantly before his opponent. Houndoom released a flamethrower at him but Pitt blocked it with protect. Houndoom however found a way though the shield using a move called feint and caused a lot of damage to him. Pitt tried to push him back with Vine Whip and Earthquake but Houndoom dodged the attacks and jumped on him, bringing his jaws crunching down on Pitt's leg. Finally Houndoom finished him off with flamethrower and Pitt slid to the floor, unconscious. Chansey got Cinders and Chopper to help pull Pitt to safety as Joe kicked the ground and Archer rubbed his hands. Pippy tried his best but Houndoom finished him of in seconds, knocking him aside with shadow claw, burning him with flamethrower and crushing him with Crunch before Pippy could even make one attack. Now only Ralph was left. Archer clapped his hands, mocking applause and began to walk closer
"Well Well, what is this situation we have here?" he laughed. "Down to our last Pokémon. Whatever shall our valiant hero do?" he stopped, suddenly looking more sternly. "Surrender now and I may spare him." he told him. Joe shook his head. Not for one second did he believe that this man would show him kindness.
"No." He said simply, gritting his teeth. "I will not back down to you, no matter how bad the situation may be. Me and my Pokémon shall keep fighting till you are behind bars or I am no more." he announced, heroically. Archer sighed, disappointed.
"So be it." he hissed. He waved a hand in the air, commandingly. "Finish them." he said, calmly. Houndoom nodded and rushed forwards. For several seconds Ralph did not move. He just hovered in front of his trainer, watching Houndoom rushing towards him, Jaw open wide like a clamp. As Houndoom was about to strike Ralph shot upwards, dodging the attack. Houndoom glanced up at him, surprised to see Ralph diving back down. He struck Houndoom in the back, knocking it to the ground in pain. Ralph came back in for the attack.
"Use Poison Fang!" Joe called. Ralph readied the attack and shot forwards, biting down on Houndoom's neck and sinking his long fangs into its neck. Houndoom shook him of but already the attack was taking effect, poison seeping through the wound. It winced and scratched at the now reddening punctures on its neck, trying to remove the pain.
"Flamethrower it!" Archer roared.
"Wing Attack its legs!" Joe instructed. Houndoom let out a plume of fire and suddenly found itself flying forwards as Ralph flew in so fast he was almost invisible and struck out Houndoom's legs. He passed by with ease as Houndoom thudded to the ground. "Now take it out!" Joe instructed. Ralph shot upwards into the air and spun around, conning back down at incredible speed towards his opponent. Before Houndoom could get back into its feet Ralph crashed into its spine and knocked him unconscious. Joe exclaimed in disbelief. He had won after suck a gruelling battle. His friends clapped and cheered for him to. Archer however didn't react. He didn't even act like he had lost.
"So young." he muttered. "So arrogant!" He laughed. Joe looked surprised.
"I won, Commander!" he told him. "I won fare and square. Now hand back that memory chip and any Pokémon you may have stolen." For some reason Archer started to laughed.
"Since when did I say I would hand back the stuff if you won?" he chuckled. Joe blinked in disbelief. "No. I think I'll hold on to them for now." he turned and raised a hand, clenching his fist. Immediately the grunts began to disband, turning tail and heading for the trees. Cheng, Wharton, get the men back to HQ and set them up for the final phase." he spoke to his commanders. Joe was flabbergasted.
"You can't just take off with that stuff!" Joe called in disbelief. Archer looked back at him, seemingly smiling.
"Actually I can." he mocked. "Just watch me." He turned and started to walk away. In a desperate attempt to stop him Joe decided to attack while his back was turned.
"Ralph, stop him!" He commanded, desperately. Ralph shot forwards, wings outstretched. Archer kept walking, not paying any attention to the speeding Crobat. Ralph got ready to strike. Suddenly Archer spun back around, swinging his metal PMED glove out. The device was rippling with electrostatic and a bright yellow aura surrounded its outline. The clenched fist struck out and hit Ralph square in the face. Time stopped at the point that the glove impacted into Ralph's body. The next second he was flying backwards at incredible speeds, electricity crackling over his body and his wings crumpled in. A loud, ear piercing scream came from his spawning jaws. The poor Pokémon sailed through the air and lands din Joe's arms in immense pain. Joe held him under the wings for several second before looking stunned back at Archer. The Rocket Leaders head was turned, glaring back at the two of them.
"You shouldn't have done that!" He said, a sinister tone in his voice. He slowly turned around to face them, his PMED glove raised out. Bright white light was gathering at the knuckles. The light grew into the start of a bright beam. Joe gasped. Ralph Gasped. Their friends gasped. Even the commanders gasped. Before any of the could react Archer's hyper beam shot from his gauntlet and struck both Joe and Ralph. They disappeared into the bright light as the attack struck. The others simply watched, amazed. When the attack finally finished the light faded to reveal the ground around where Joe had been charred and burned to a crisp. Joe and Ralph lay on the burned ground, unable to move from the pain and strength of the attack. The attack had winded both of the completely. Joe couldn't feel his body and Ralph was barely conscious. Both of them lay gasping on the ground, unable to do anything but hold each other. Archer walked closer till he stood over them, tapping his metal glove with his free hand.
"JOE!" Winter screamed. She ran to help her friend but was stopped by Houndoom now standing back on its feet and keeping everyone else back. Joe coughed, painfully.
"Damn!" He gasped, exhausted and injured. His vision had gone double. Both Archers tutted and shook their heads.
"I warned you I'd win!" He mocked, his voice distorting slightly. "I said I would not spare either of you. Now look where you are! Beaten and lying at the feet of the leader of Team Rocket!" he raised his hand into the air. A glowing claw appeared in the light around it. "Now neither you nor your Pokémon shall trouble us anymore!" he raised the claw up, ready to stab.
"NO!" Winter cried but there was nothing she could do. There was nothing anyone could do but watch as the Leader of Team Rocket brought his fist down towards Joe and Ralph's chests.
Joe closed his eyes, waiting for the killing blow... But it never came. He opened one eye. A figure was holding Archer's attack back, blocking his PMED with a large square blue shield. The figure pushed Archer back, breaking his attack and knocking him away. The figure stood in front of Joe, defending him. He growled in a voice that Joe recognised.
"Get away from my Nephew!" he growled. Joe's eyes shot open. He saw the figure for who he was. Standing in front of him, defending him from Team Rocket, was his old Uncle, still looking the same as ever.
"Un..." Joe tried to pronounce, shocked. "Uncle?" His uncle turned around and held out a hand.
"It's good to see you, too, my lad" he smiled, warmly. Joe took his hand and lifted himself back onto his feet. "We'll talk more later. Right now I need to deal with this lot." his Uncle continued. He then let out a long and sharp whistle. Seconds later a large, red and orange striped wolf like Pokémon landed in front of him, facing the commanders, fire burning across his mane. Arcanine growled at its opponent. More Pokémon joined it on the field. A large Blastoise, an elderly female Venusaur, a Butterfree, a Dugtrio, A Kangaskhan, a Pidgeot and even Joe's old pet Growlithe, Blitz. Every one of his uncles Pokémon had turned up to fight. Archer growled annoyed.
"Out of my way!" he snapped viciously. "Or you shall face the wrath of Team Rocket!" Joe's uncle glared at him.
"Just try it." he egged on. He then raised a hand out. "Arco, use Fire Blast!" He instructed. Arcanine fired a star of burning fire at the commander who dowsed it with a water gun. "Cannon, Hydro Pump!" He continued. The Blastoise fired two large cannons of water at the commander who turned his back to it and covered himself from the attack. "Petal, Solarbeam! Bagu, Silver Wing! Tunnels, Magnitude! Sonic, Aerial Ace! Thumper, Mega Punch!" Joe's uncle commanded all his Pokémon at once. Venusaur released a flurry of cutting petals which fell down around Archer and burned where they touched. Butterfree created a glistening gust of wing which slashed and ripped at his clothes. Dugtrio shook the ground beneath him, causing him to lose his balance. Pidgeot struck out with a wing and slashed his cloak in half, opening up his back at the same time. Finally Kangaskhan threw a powerful punch into his chest knocking him backwards. Archer coughed in pain. He then stood up and backed away, withdrawing Houndoom as he did so.
"You one this one, Glende!" he snarled, glancing at Joe and Ralph. "But do not threat. You will see us again. And next time your uncle will not be there to guard you" and with that he spun around and promptly vanished in a puff of smoke. The other two Commanders were left standing where they had been. One by one they too disappeared but not before Joe's Uncle could notice them.
"Walker?" Commander Cheng asked. Joe's uncle glanced confused in his direction.
"Enlai?" he asked, just as stunned. Commander Cheng then brought his hand down on a device around his wrist and he too disappeared, leaving only the exhausted trainers standing around in the now fading darkness.
When morning came the fires had been extinguished and any damage done to the buildings had been looked at and sorted out. The people however were not recovering as quickly. The battle they had witnessed that night had been gruelling and had cost some of them their pets, their homes and even their lives. Joe and his friends had done their best to lend a helping hand with sorting out the town but there were just so much destroyed. Professor Oak had been found beaten in his lab. Tom had helped get the professor seen to but the fact remained that his pokedex had been destroyed. He had almost completed it, too. Joe had gone back to Suroway farm to get a new set of clothes. The ones he had been wearing were nothing but rags now, even his hat was singed. He slid a jacket on and looked in the mirror. The clothes he had found were pretty much the same as the ones he had worn before. The only major difference now was that the jacket and hood he wore was opposite colours to the last one, being black with a blue chest. He sighed. It had felt like so long since he last set foot in his room. He remembered how he used to look out of the window and wander what it would be like to travel with Pokémon. He used to run around in the fields and have pretend battles with his friends. He never imagined it would be like what it was. It was fun and was a genuine adventure. It was amazing being able to raze such incredible, such powerful, and such beautiful creatures. It had also been very tough, not just with catching them, teaching them and battling alongside them. The hardest part for him had been coming to turns with the fact that, no matter how strong they got, they were still mortal creatures. They could be killed just as easily as he could. It had been hard getting over the loss of Sting and the memory still haunted him. Once he was done changing Joe headed back downstairs to join his uncle and friends outside. Currently they were getting introduced to each other.
"It's nice to get to meet all of you." Joe's uncle said to the group of friends. They were all standing a small circle and shaking hands with the ones they hadn't met before.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Mr. Glende." Winter told him. He waved a hand.
"Call me Walker" he told her. She coughed embarrassed.
"Uncle, this is Winter." Joe told him, joining his friends' side. "The first human friend I made since my journey began." He chuckled slightly. "Though not when we first met" He admitted.
"Yeah." Winter agreed, joining in and laughing as well. "He kind of crashed into me and then we got into a fight... Then we got locked in a closet and here we are." She tried to stop laughing. Walker smiled at the two them.
"Sounds like you two are quite close." He remarked. The two of them chuckled and sheepishly stepped aside from each other. Joe coughed and turned to his next friend.
"These are the Pewter City Gym Leaders." He told his uncle, standing beside Rocky and Gordon and gesturing to them. "The Earth Duo. Me and Ralph took both of them on and won. Afterwards rocky decided to come with us."
"He didn't beat me straight away." Rocky interrupted. "No, my younger brother here had to lend him a hand, first." Joe's uncle laughed and Joe gave Rocky a slightly annoyed stare.
"Yes, thank you, Rocky." he said. Rocky smiled back at him. Joe continued on to his next friend. "Tom you should already know." He began. "Remember when we were younger and he'd come to play on the weekends."
"That's right." Tom joined in, slapping Joe on the shoulder. "Joe and I bumped into each other again in Viridian Forest. Since then we've been bumping into each other throughout Kanto." He smiled and patted Joe heavily on the shoulder again before backing away, a big grin on his face. Joe coughed.
"Well said." he told him. Tom nodded.
"Thank you." he smiled. Joe then moved to his next bunch of friends. He stopped in between Malcolm and Cheyenne, putting his arms around their shoulders. "And this is Draco-Knight and Silhouetta." he introduced. "And it's only just hit me how incredibly daft those titles are." He, Malcolm and Cheyenne chuckled slightly. "Seriously though. Malcolm and Cheyenne here were tricked into fighting each other by Team Rocket up in Cerulean City. But Me, Winter, Rocky and Ralph were able to sought out the problem and convinced them to work together. Now they're one of the best trainer duo's this side of the Kanto Sea." He smiled at the two of them. They both smiled back.
"Yeah, if your nephew and his friends hadn't turned up to help out then Team Rocket would probably be stronger than they are now." Cheyenne admitted.
"I don't know about 'best trainer duo' though" Malcolm argued. "I'm sure we're not that good."
"If you could take on team on your own then you must be pretty good." Tom told them. Both of them looked at each other and shrugged.
"I guess we are that good" Malcolm chuckled. Joe patted their shoulders lightly.
"Damn right you are." he smiled and stepped to his final friends. "And now I come to my last set of friends." He told his Uncle, stepping in front of his Pokémon. "My team." He announced. First he stood next to his Vaporeon. "This is Nami." he told him. "A trainer on route 8 gave her to me as a pet. The next day practically I evolved her into Vaporeon and now she's able to stand up to any opponent, not afraid." he scratched under her neck and Nami purred, lashing her tail against his side lightly. He let her go again and moved along, standing next to the fearsome Charmeleon. "And this is Cinders." He explained. "I met him at the day care centre on route 5 when he was a Charmander. The centre was under attack from Team Rocket and, with the help of our little friend here I was able to fight them off. Afterwards he decided to come along with me and then of course he evolved after an incident involving a cave-in in rock tunnel."
"A cave-in?" Walker gasped in surprise and concern. "Were you hurt?" He asked. Joe smiled and waved a dismissive hand.
"No." he said quickly. "No, no one was hurt, and thanks to Cinders here we were able to break our way out." he continued. Cinders smiled, cheekily and folded his red scaly arms, puffing a small cloud of smoke out from his nose. Joe rubbed his bald head kindly and moved onto his next team member. "Now here I have a Pokémon you may remember." He said, standing next to his large and proud Venusaur. "And if you don't this is Pitt, the Bulbasaur you sent me after beating Rocky and Gordon. Of course he's not a Bulbasaur anymore. Now he's a big lad." Joe laughed. Pitt chuckled and kicked him lightly with a front leg. Joe chuckled too and turned back to his uncle. He saw Flower stomping heavily up towards them slowly. She passed Joe and stood before Pitt, looking him up and down. Pitt smiled warmly. Flower smiled back, her smile more like that of a kind elderly grandmother. They both rubbed foreheads and their vines extended, wrapping around the others vines and holding each other above their heads. Joe's uncle chuckled.
"Well Flower definitely remembers him." he smiled. "She must have found it hard to recognise him. Last time she saw him he was much, much smaller." He laughed. Joe continued with announcing his team.
"Now we come to the smallest, cutest and most evasive of my team." Joe smiled and lowered his hand down. When he brought it back up he had the small yellow Pikachu sitting on it, scratching his ear. "This is Pippy. He likes apples." Joe told him simply. This got a laugh from the rest of his team and friends. Pippy looked back at them, not too sure what was supposed to be funny about it. "We met in Viridian forest and ever since he's been one of the most enduring friends I've had." he paused for breath. "And I wasn't lying about him being evasive. When I first met him he was stealing food from me and when I ran after him he disappeared, only to re-appear an hour later with another apple." Pippy nuzzled his small black nose on Joe's cheek and Joe stroked his furry back. His uncle smiled.
"Sounds like you've got a very solid team." he told him. Joe wasn't done yet.
"And last of all we have Ralph, my closest friend throughout my entire journey. He's been there for me since the start and has never left my side. He's saved me from Team Rocket, from falling out of a tree, from a cave in, from a Golem, from being kidnapped, from being shot, from being traps, from ghosts, from falling to my death, from so very much... But most of all he's stopped me from alone when I needed a friend the most. He's never let me down. He's never given up on me. Even when he couldn't win a battle he's proven to be the strongest Pokémon a trainer could ever ask for. He's my closest friend... And he never let me down." the group were silent for a solid minute. Then Joe's uncle sniffed.
"You really have grown quite a lot, my child." he smiled. "You're so different to when you left over a month ago. You were so nervous. Looking at you now you've changed so much. You're hardly the same boy." Joe smiled and glanced at his friends who were smiling back at him. "Only five Pokémon?" Joe's uncle asked suddenly. "Why do you have only five. You have room for one more on your team." Joe gulped. He'd have to tell him.
"I did have another Pokémon." he admitted, taking a heavy breath of oxygen. "A Beedrill of all things. The first Pokémon I caught. I named him Sting. He was reliable and he could take on any enemy furiously. In Lavender town we tried to stop Team Rocket from taking a ghost from the Pokémon tower. We succeeded in doing so but at a cost. I... lost Sting." He gulped, sweat and tears appearing on his face. "He..." he choked. "He died protecting Ralph. Bullet hit him in the heart. He didn't stand a..." Joe stopped the memory and the pain quickly coming back. Joe's uncle hugged him tightly, calming him and trying to make him feel better.
"I'm sorry, my boy." he told him, kindly. "I really am." Joe sobbed slightly. His uncle patted him on the back. "I can remember when I first lost a Pokémon. Landslide got her. She was trying to protect me. She was a Persian which I had raised from a Meowth and I named her..."
"Malin" Joe finished for him. "You buried her in Pokémon Tower." he finished. The dreams he had had were beginning to come back to him now. His uncle released his grip around him and stepped back, looking stunned and confused.
"How did you know that?" He asked. Joe gulped. Now he was in for it.
"Uh..." He stumbled, unsure on how to explain. His uncle continued to stare at him.
"I never told you that story before." He realised, continuing to stare confused at his nephew. "So how did you know my old Pokémon's name?" Joe took a deep breath.
"This is probably going to sound really strange..." Joe began. "But... For the past few weeks or so I've been suffering from... these strange dreams. At first I thought that they were random but they've been changing and everyone has been related to me in some way." Joe gulped. There was a deafening silence in which no one even moved for several minutes. Joe's uncle gulped and stepped backwards. His face had changed from confusion to a state of unknowing how to react.
"Tom, could you take the others inside for a minute." He asked finally, speaking in a slow yet firm voice. "I need to speak with my nephew privately. Make everyone a drink from the kitchen and we'll be inside shortly. Take his Pokémon with you as well." Tom looked at Joe, unsure what was wrong. Then he waved a hand to himself and headed for the front door. One by one each of his friends walked in, glancing back at their friend worried. Last inside was Ralph who was reluctant to leave his master's side but Tom had managed to drag him in. Finally the door slammed closed and Joe and his uncle were left alone outside in the rising sun. Joe gulped. He wasn't sure what was going to happen next.
"Uncle, I..." He began. His uncle raised a hand up to stop him. He let out an exhausted sigh.
"Joe, before I even begin to ask you any real questions I need to know whether you're being honest. I just want to know that what you're going to tell me is the truth... The honest truth." His uncle said simply. Joe was silent. "If you were lying about the dreams then I won't be angry, but if it's the truth... then I need you to tell me everything." He paused. "So tell me. Start from the beginning. What were they about?" He calmly asked of him. Joe took a deep breath.
"Well..." He stumbled. "They started when I first entered Mount Moon, after getting the first gym badge. I was standing on the hilltop on the night when I rescued Ralph. A figure walked up to me and asked me to let him go."
"A figure?" Joe's uncle asked suddenly. "What did he look like? Did you see his face? Did he give you his name?" Joe shook his head.
"No." he said simply. "When I asked he just said I would find out soon. He was wearing a brown suit and hat and his face was covered in shadow. I didn't recognise him at all." His uncle glanced away, whispering something under his breath.
"Think, Joe. What else did you dream?" He continued to ask, pushing for more information out of him.
"The next dream after that was more like a memory." Joe explained. "I was looking through the eyes of myself as a baby when I first arrived at your house. I never saw who was carrying me but I recognised you." Joe explained. His mind then began to wonder. "Who was my father?" he asked. His uncle shrugged his shoulders.
"I've told you before." He said simply. "He was a Police Officer before he and your mother were killed in a car crash." Joe cut him off.
"That's not true, though, is it?" he said simply, looking his uncle in the eyes and spotting the faint hints of thought out lies. "He wasn't just a Police Officer, was he? He didn't really die in a crash, did he?" Joe questioned. His uncle coughed, trying to change the subject.
"Joe we'll talk about that later, but right now I need you to focus on these dreams you've been having. It's important."
"How can it be more important than who my parents are?" Joe asked, slightly distressed. His uncle looked him in the eyes.
"Please, Joe. I need to know. It's more important then you could possible imagine!" his uncle explained to him, hurrying the information out. Joe gulped, trying to remember.
"Alright." he sighed. "After that I had a dream about death, the night before Sting was killed." He gulped. "And then after that i saw a dream where you and another boy got your first Pokémon which then jumped to the day that yours died one year later... That's how I knew about Malin and the rockslide that killed her." Joe's uncle just continued to listen to him, noting down everything he was told inside his wise head. Joe continued to talk about what he had dreamt. "I remember seeing that same figure walking up behind you and leading you away from there. He called you by your name." He explained. Joe's uncle nodded.
"Is that all there is?" his uncle asked patiently. Joe shook his head.
"No." he gulped. "There was one more. It's probably not important." he added.
"It doesn't matter." his uncle told him. "Just tell me it anyway." Joe continued.
"Remember how I had that really bad nightmare once when I was 9." Joe reminded him. His uncle nodded, remembering it well. "Well the most recent dream I had was about that. Except I was looking from a third person perspective. I watched a Gengar appear in my room and cause my nightmare. Then I saw another Pokémon, a scared, battle-worn Crobat fight it off. As it left I saw it join the side of the same figure from before. The same one who was standing on the hill and the same one who'd talked to you in the cemetery." He leaned back on his seat, finally done with explaining. "And that's it." he explained. His uncle looked him in the eyes for several seconds before falling back against his chair. The two of them had sat down at the garden table on the front patio to talk. He rubbed his hands against his face. A tired groan escaped from his mouth.
"I had hoped this wouldn't happen again." he sighed, clearly knowing something Joe didn't. "When I heard that Team Rocket was back I hoped they would just fall apart quickly but it's all playing out like the last two times. Even down to the visions." Joe stared at his uncle.
"What do you mean?" he asked, looking worried. "What do you mean 'Like the last two times'? Do you mean this has happened before?" His uncle put his hands back down on the table.
"Joe you've been honest with me so I'm going to be honest with you." he explained. "Now I need you to listen very closely. There's a reason people are referring to these incidents as 'Team Rocket's Return'. They've been around for a long time. Some may remember when they made their first public appearance nearly 8 years ago. They were stealing people's Pokémon from them but were stopped by a young trainer called Red here in Kanto and then another called Gold in Johto. After they both defeated Team rocked here in Kanto and in Johto they became the champions and the suddenly disappeared. No one has heard from either of them since. That is the story most people know. What most of them don't know about it was that both trainers suffered from the same visions as you. They would have 5 important visions of what had happened and then what would happen... But only ever five. In your case you got one extra to warn you about your Pokémon's death. That too has happened before. These visions would give them the strength and determination to win, making them the strongest champions. Most people don't know this because they never spoke of it to all but a few."
"Then how do you know about it?" Joe asked.
"I'll come to that in a minute." his uncle continued. "There's one more part to this story that no one else knows except me. Fifteen years before that I lost my Pokémon. On that same day a figure approached me, offering to help me become a better. He took me away and trained me, giving me new Pokémon to raise. I wasn't the only person he was teaching either. My brother... Your father... Was studying under him as well. The man teaching us was a young up and coming gym leader who wanted to create a group of superiorly powerful trainers. His name was Giovanni. Even though there were just the three of us to start off with we were strong, stronger than most trainers, even the elite for, and quickly our group began to grow. But as quickly as our group has grown I began to realise what our group was really planning." He paused. "Joe, I was the first to suffer from the dreams. The first one was about my Pokémon dying. I ignored the signs and she was killed because of it. Four years after I had visions showing me what Team Rocket would become. At first I discarded them as dreams as well. Then I found one of the younger students experimenting on Pokémon genetics, trying to splice them and create new, more powerful monstrosities. I stopped him but it turned out our leader, Giovanni, had told him to do so. He wanted to make Team Rocked a force to be reckoned with, a power that one day could overthrow an entire region. I wanted nothing to do with it. I had joined Team Rocket to discover my true power, not to experiment on the creatures I loved so much. So I did the only thing I could. I burned down the base, destroying all their work and setting them back years. I took as many captured Pokémon as I could and left. One of those Pokémon was my brother's Growlithe who later became my closest companion, Arco. At the time I was fifteen and had no family to return to. Everyone thought we were dead. I had to change my name to what it is now. I became Walker Glende." He took a deep breath. "So that's it." He finished. "That's my story. It's not going to be easy for you to understand straight away but it's all true." Joe just stared, taking in all his uncle had said.
"You're Ex-Team Rocket." Joe repeated, sounding like he was stuck in a dream. "That's why their commanders knew you." He paused. "My father was in Team Rocket."
"Both your parents were. His uncle added. "And as far as I know your father still is. I never really knew your mother and I don't know where she is now." Joe just stared at him.
"Why would you lie to me about this for so long?" He asked, sounding completely stunned. "How could you hide that from me? I had a right to know."
"If I had told you before would you have believed me?" His uncle asked simply. "If I had told you would you be sitting here talking to me now?" He leaned back. "No. You wouldn't. Instead you'd be stuck in your room washing your adolescent life away, listening to heavy metal and never standing in the light. You'd have become secluded, maybe even a vagabond if you took it really bad and who knows where you'd have ended up. I had to lie to you so you'd have hope for yourself. I wanted you to grow up being happy and strong, able to take on the challenges of life. I feared that if you knew the truth to early then that may never happen."
"But uncle look at me now." Joe told him, holding his arms out to show himself. "Just hearing this has destroyed me. I don't know who I am anymore. I don't know what reason I have to be here. Why did you even tell me this?" Joe's uncle looked at him sadly.
"I was going to tell you when I thought you were ready. Maybe when you were sixteen. I had to tell you now because it would help you understand just how drastic the situation really is."
"I fail to see how anything Team Rocket is up to should have any effect on me." Joe snorted, standing up to walk away.
"Joseph!" His uncle snapped suddenly. Joe froze, glaring at him. His uncle lowered his head. "Sorry." he said, quietly. "I didn't mean to snap at you, it's just... Look, I understand you're shocked and upset by what I've told you. And I know that you don't trust me right now but please listen to me. Team Rocket needs to be stopped. You saw their leader yourself; you witnessed the power his weapons and Pokémon wield. He needs to be stopped. They all do. If they aren't then they'll succeed in their plans. You and I are the only ones who can do so. We were chosen by the legendaries themselves to do so. Who else do you think the visions are from?" Joe sat back down.
"Who said the legendaries even exist?" Joe argued. "And if they do then why would the bother stopping Team Rocket controlling the world?"
"Joe, you're not listening." his uncle said, speaking louder. "If Team Rocket get back into their full power then they'll start experimenting on Pokémon again. They'll hunt down the legendaries from their hiding places and experiment on them, steal their genes and splice them into more monstrosities. They've already done so with one of them before. Mew. Found its fossilised DNA and tried to replicate it, unwillingly creating Mewtwo. And if they have an army of Pokémon as powerful as him on their side then no one would be able to stop them. So do you see now? If we don't stop them our world is doomed." Joe sighed.
"Uncle I'm not a child anymore. You think that simply saying the world will end is a good enough reason for me alone to fight them? I'm tired of fighting them. As you said I saw their power. He was able to create a fully powered Hyper Beam with his hand. With that kind of power he doesn't need Pokémon. How am I meant to stop that alone?"
"You won't be alone!" his uncle argued. "You'll have your Pokémon, your friends by your side."
"Uncle, I'm no hero." Joe argued. "I'm no Legend of old. I'm no Red or Gold. I'm just a boy. I never wanted to be the one who had to fight for others. I don't even know what I want. That's part of the reason I've been travelling. I can't take them on. I'm just not strong enough and I never will be!" he fell silent. Both of them sat there looking down at the table for a while. Finally Joe's uncle gave in.
"Ok." he sighed. "Ok. You win. You don't have to go fight them. You just stay here till it's over. I'll head of to find out where they're hiding and try to stop them before it's too late." He stood up to leave. "Oh, by the way, you are strong enough to beat them. You just don't know it yet." He continued. "Trust yourself, Joe. You may feel weak but you're not. You are strong. Very strong. Maybe not physically but you have a steel determination. It's there in your eyes. Never doubt yourself. Legends are not born, after all." And with that he walked of and headed inside. Joe sat at the table, head in his hands, thinking deeply to himself. He felt awful for hating his uncle for lying to him but to be honest how was he supposed to react. He should have been told about his father. Maybe then he would have been more motivated to stop team rocket. A question had occurred to him. If his father was supposedly still in Team Rocket, had Joe seen him? This raised another question. If he had, who was it? His head began to feel heavy. His eyes began to droop as he felt himself falling asleep. His eyes slipped closed and his vision was shrouded by darkness. When they opened again he was back in the corridor.
"Oh no, no, no, No No No!" Joe shouted in annoyance and distress. "Not back here, please!" He kicked the wall only to find that his foot passed through it. He stepped back and surveyed the world. Again the five steel doors stood before him, this time the closest three were locked. Now only one on the right and the one at the end of the corridor were unlocked. He found himself being called towards the right side door. He shrugged, exhaustedly. "Well now that I'm here I may as well go through anyway." he announced as he pushed the heavy cold metal open. On the other side he could see the path way leading down from Pallet to Viridian. He himself was standing next to a small pond. A girl was sitting there, a Staryu bobbing around in the water. The girl was wearing a yellow short sleeve shirt and green summer shorts. Her long ginger hair rested behind her head, falling down her like a cascade of fire. "Winter?" Joe asked confused. Then he suddenly realised what he was watching. Instinctively he turned his gaze to the top of the hill. He saw two figures just appearing over the horizon. One was human and wearing blue jeans, a light grey jumper and black T-shirt as well as an open red hat on his short, brown hair. The other was a human sized four winged purple bat with piercing yellow eyes and sparkly white fang teeth. Joe looked at the two of them, surprised to see how different he had looked when he left on his journey. It had felt so long ago now. "Is that what my hear looks like?" Joe asked no one in particular. He then proceeded to lick a finger and sort out his own hair. As he watched he saw himself step forwards, trip and tumble down the path, picking up Ralph as he did so and rolling along with him. Joe knew where this was going next. He turned to Winter and wanted to shout 'Look out!' but he knew she wouldn't hear him. Unable to do anything he watch as his younger self rolled down the hill and into the then unknown young girl. He watched them role to the bottom of the hill and hit the stone wall outside Viridian city. He followed after them, even though he knew what was going to happen. He saw Winter stand up angrily and start shouting at him.
"Watch where you're going!" he heard her snap at him. Her voice sounded faint to him. Maybe it was something to do with the vision itself. The conversation continued on the way he remembered it. As he watch Joe found himself smiling. The memory of their meeting was making him happy. It made him laugh to see how dumb he had been. I mean not knowing which building was the Pokémon Centre. He laughed. As he watched the Staryu came rolling down and crashed into Ralph. Joe laughed, almost uncontrollably. His younger self didn't seem to be doing the same. He was standing angrily shouting at who would become his first true friend.
"This was great." he laughed. "Looking back that was such a funny introduction." He stopped laughing. "Why am I watching this, though?" he wondered. "Why is this important?" The world began to fade to whit suddenly. When it returned he was standing in the middle of a gym, specifically Pewter gym. He looked around to see Rocky standing to his left and himself to his right. "This must be when I battled Rocky." he deduced. "By the look of it this was the second attempt." Crash, Rocky's onyx came sliding by, trying to attack Ralph but he simply swooped aside and Crash hit a large rock head first. Younger Joe readied his hand and flung it out, shouting...
"Steel Wing!" Joe heard. "Aim for the head!" He saw Ralph strike Crash in the face with a solid metal wing and Crash recoiled. Joe found himself chuckling. That move had saved his neck on multiple occasions. This was the first of them. As he watch he saw Ralph constantly dive in to attack, wings first. He saw Crash throwing stones at him but his never hit him. Ralph was too fast. Finally Crash was able to grab him but Ralph broke free, using his sharp teeth. Finally he finished it off with a steel wing and Crash collapsed with a heavy thud that managed to make Joe's ethereal form shake and loose balance. Rocky sighed and held up his arms.
"You won." he sighed. "Congratulations"
"That really was a great battle." Joe remembered. "The first of many." He stopped. But I still don't understand why I'm being shown this. Suddenly the world faded again into whiteness. When it came back he was standing in a place he didn't recognise. A cave. On the wall before him were many different carvings and drawing, etched into the stone and left to fix over time. Each depicted different events and people, some even showed Pokémon. Most were of a great battle that seemed to take place millennia ago, before poke-balls and Pokémon Centres. Others were of great cities in the skies, underground and on the sea bed. Some were of heroes, others of villains, others of teachers, others of pets and family. One drawing stood out the most however. It sat at the centre of the wall, covered in stone dust. It appeared to be the oldest drawing. It was of an ancient Pokémon which had a long thin tail ending with a fat bulge and a small chubby body with rabbitesk legs and small hands. Its head was similar to a cats but is had no fur and its skin was bright pink. The most obvious part of its body was its eyes which took up at least one third of its head. The drawing was old so any detail it had had was no longer there but it was clearly a Pokémon. Joe looked at it all and took it in. "Where am I?" was the thirst thing he thought. The second thing was "What Pokémon is that and why am I here looking at a wall painting of it?" he reached out to touch the stone. Suddenly he felt a presence behind him. He turned around and jumped in surprise. "I thought I was alone here." he whispered to himself. Floating about six feet above the air behind him was a small pink, long tailed Cat/Mouse looking Pokémon, the same one from the carvings. It looked straight at him.
"I see you." A child's voice laughed inside his own head in a jolly, upbeat tone. Joe looked around.
"Who's there!" he asked, spinning around wildly.
"It's me!" the voice laughed again. "I'm standing right in front of you. Over here." the pink floating Pokémon waived a small hand at him. Joe stared at it.
"That's you talking?" Joe asked, sounding very surprised. "In my head?" The Pokémon nodded and did a small summersault.
"Yeah, that was me. Sorry for surprising you." It apologised. "I needed to speak with you. You were beginning to doubt yourself and your friends so I'm here to give you... Encouragement." it laughed, sweetly.
"Have you been giving me these visions?" Joe asked. The Pokémon nodded.
"I am Mew." it told him, giggling madly. "I was only trying to help." it apologised. "The visions have helped others before you so I thought they would help you too."
"Well it hasn't really." Joe told it. He turned back around to the carvings. "Thanks to them my uncle seems to think I'm some kind of chosen one"
"You are, Joe." Mew explained. "Your uncle was chosen once long ago. Now you are chosen. Is it so tough to believe?" It asked. Joe shrugged.
"I don't know?" Joe told it, honestly. "I don't see how I could stop what's happening."
"That is why I'm speaking to you now." Mew explained. "You can do it. You're not alone. You have your friends. They will always stand beside you, no matter what."
"But what could any of us do?" Joe argued, all hint of hope washed away. "What could any of us do that could stop them? They have a weapon that can recreate any Pokémon move."
"Weapons are just tools." Mew explained. "It's the mind of the one wielding them that matters. You can beat Team Rocket. You just need to believe that you can beat them. Once you do that you will find the strength to do so. Just believe, not only in yourself but also in your friends." Joe just sighed and leaned his head against the wall. Mew looked sadly at his back. "Think about how many you've helped on your journey." Mew said suddenly. "How many people did you save from Team Rocket? How many friends have you made? Count them up now. You'll surprise yourself." Joe looked up suddenly. Mew smiled. "You have helped so many on your short journey." He continued. He then glanced around the room. "And if you need to see it for yourself then just looks here." Joe turned back around. What he saw changed his mindset completely. All around him stood the faded images of his friends, his family and everyone good he had met on his journey. Tom, Rocky, Gordon, Malcolm, Cheyenne, Jade, Both Mr. Fuji's, Mina, Marowak, Ruby, Ross, Frank, Misty, Lt. Surge, Erika, Janine, His Uncle, Sting, Pitt, Cinders, Nami, Pippy, Winter... And finally Ralph. All of them were standing there, visible before his eyes. He walked forwards and looked between each. Something awoke inside his mind. He began to realise something that he had never known before then. Mew chuckled. "There." it smiled. "Now you realise. Now you can see for yourself what you have achieved. You've helped so many people in so many ways. You've learned so much and felt so much. You have friends, hero. Friends who will stand by your side to the bitter end. You are ready to take on Team Rocket. It doesn't matter if your father and uncle were once a part of it. You just needed to believe in yourself. Now you do." Joe reached out to touch Ralph's head only to find his hand going though the image before him. Mew laughed. "He will stand by you." it explained. "They will all stand by you. Just believe you can do it! Believe! Believe!" Mew chanted. The cave shook with the echoed chants. Joe looked back up at it and smiled. He had finally realised his true potential.
"I believe!" He shouted, a wide grin playing upon his face. Mew nodded, happily somersaulting and started flying left and right.
"Fantastic!" it shouted, overjoyed. It stopped before his face. "Now all you need to do is wake up!"
"Wake up." Joe awoke with a jolt. He was still sitting at the garden table on the front patio outside of his house. Someone had been pulling on his hair. He looked up and saw the large yellow sharp eyes of Ralph, his Crobat friend. He was sitting on the table, propping himself up with his wings and staring in Joe's face. A concerned smile was sitting on his face. Joe smiled back. Then he realised that his Uncle was standing next to him.
"I'm going to find someone." He explained. "Someone specific. He may be the only one who the Rocket's may listen to. So I'm going to be away for a couple of days." He lowered down to Joe's level and put his hands on his shoulders. "Listen, I know you're unsure about all this but I need you to confront Team Rocket again. Try and find out what their plan is and if you can, stop them. Hopefully the help I'll be getting will be enough to stop them."
"You don't need to worry about me anymore." Joe told him, pushing his hands off. "I know what I need to do and I'm prepared to do so." His uncle stood up tall again, a smile on his face.
"Really?" He asked, surprised. "You changed your mind quick. Are you sure you can confront them on your own?"
"I can take them on any day of the week." Joe told him. "Someone needs to stop them, after all. And besides I won't be alone. My friends will be with me. Ralph will be with me."