::Anybody getting a sense of déjà vu?:: Bumblebee

::Why would that be the case? We have new Pokémon now.:: Soundwave

"But it won't have changed since we were last here. Screamer needs to have another battle with Megatron."

"Skywarp, DON'T CALL ME THAT!" The robots were on the route towards Viridian City and they somehow didn't seem as nervous as before.

:: Hey Sunstreaker; do you think we should bother one of those Seekers again?::

:: Why not Sideswipe? Which one?::

:: Starscream is always fun to annoy!::

:: Jet Judo?::

:: Jet Judo.:: The twins didn't waste any time.

"JET JUDO!" The twins jumped up into the air and took careful aim at their target.

"Not again!" That made them move!

"Don't run on ahead again Starscream; you know it tires us all out!"

"Do you suppose that we should run after them?"

"Why do that boss? They'll get bored of waiting for us and it'll drive them crazy!"

:: Aw. We missed.:: Sideswipe

:: Don't worry we'll get them next time…:: Sunstreaker

Viridian City…

"You…ran…on…ahead…again…" Thundercracker didn't seem happy.

"Did you want to be Jet Judoed again?" Starscream already knew the answer.

"No."

"So don't mention this again ok."

"It was you that got Jet Judoed last time Starscream" Skywarp was trying Starscream's patience

"I said don't mention this again." Luckily the three of them heard shouting before Skywarp could argue anymore about it.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Aw come on! I only want a cuddle! Please!"

"Is it just me or is our fearless leader scared of something?" Starscream's question was quickly answered. Megatron was desperately running away from Chromia.

"Why is he running? Some of us would pay for a girl to be that crazy about us!"

"By that you mean you don't you?"

"I'm not answering that!" Starscream however did answer the question.

"You wish Elita was that crazy about you; after all you are that crazy about her!"

"Skywarp shut up!"

The others eventually caught up with the ones that had run on ahead. This now meant that the whole group was eagerly awaiting the gym challenge.

"Are we going to stand here all day?" Ash seemed to wonder why they were waiting around.

"Naw. Come on guys let's get moving!" Ironhide began to move towards the door and the others followed.

:: This gym kinda has an ominous feel don't ya think?:: Jazz

:: Could be worse.:: Soundwave

The robots seemed to realise that this gym was different.

"Where is the gym leader?" Bumblebee asked

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

:: They must have rigged this gym!:: Shockwave

:: I hope they don't try and steal my Pokémon!:: Ratchet

Jessie and James strode out onto the gym leader's area.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

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

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

"What are you guys doing here? I thought this was a Pokémon gym, not some place for one of your evil schemes!" Optimus didn't like this.

"Our boss put us in charge of this gym!" Jessie sounded smug

"And in order to get your eighth badge; you'll have to beat us!" James seemed to be in control.

"Giovanni is your boss?" Megatron didn't seem to believe that either.

"Which of you inferior beings is going to challenge us first?" Meowth sounded too cocky.

"There is no need to be rude! I'll beat you!" Shockwave stepped up to the challenger's side.

"You'll need a partner in this battle!" James seemed amused that this robot thought he could win on his own.

"Overconfidence shall be your downfall. I shall battle." Soundwave also moved towards the challenger's area.

"Cassidy, could give the challengers their special challengers bands?" Cassidy didn't like taking orders from Jessie but if it meant she stayed in the boss' good books then she'd do it.

"What are these for?" Shockwave thought it might be a bad idea to ask questions.

"Stupid robot! You put them on your wrist and ankle!" Meowth seemed to be enjoying this. Jessie and James showed the robots that they had wrist and ankle straps on too.

"If you don't wear them you can't battle!" Meowth seemed to give them no other choice. So Soundwave and Shockwave did as they were told.

"Butch can you referee?" Butch didn't like taking orders from James but to keep the boss happy he'd do what he was told.

"This will be a four on four battle. Each Trainer will use two Pokémon. This battle will be over when all Pokémon of one side can no longer battle. Let the battle begin!"

:: Jessie and James only have two Pokémon between them:: Soundwave

:: This battle should be easy!:: Shockwave

"Challengers summon your Pokémon!"

"Go Shellder!" Shockwave called out his Pokémon first. "Go Kadabra." A Pokémon that looked like a bigger cat than Abra appeared. Shockwave and Soundwave didn't understand why a light shone onto their Pokémon.

"Explain the light."

"Do you dumb robots not understand anything? The colour of the light corresponds to the colour of your wrist band." Meowth seemed to like making them look stupid.

"Go Nidoqueen!" Jessie summoned what looked like a blue rhino standing on its back legs. "Go Nidoking!" James' Pokémon looked similar to Jessie's only it was purple instead of blue.

"Kadabra use psybeam!" Rainbow waves shot out from Kadabra. "Nidoking dodge then use horn attack!" Nidoking managed to get out of the way of those waves and it managed to land a good hit on Kadabra. The robots heard ominous giggling coming from somewhere. Soundwave felt a sharp shock in his wrist when Kadabra was hit.

:: That hurt.::

:: You felt that?::

Jessie and James realised that they must be wondering why that happened.

"In this gym; the challengers fell all the pain that their Pokémon feel!" Jessie had a mean smirk across her face.

:: They will feel Pokémon's pain also.::

:: I haven't attacked yet; let's test that theory!::

"Shellder use clamp on Nidoqueen!" Shellder clamped around Nidoqueen's tail. She squeaked in pain; she didn't like that! Jessie didn't either she felt a shock flow through her too.

"EEEEEE! Cassidy! I told you to only shock the opponents!"

"Sorry Jessie; I thought it would be fairer if I shocked both sides." They could tell Cassidy was smirking.

"Nidoqueen shake it off!" Nidoqueen wagged her tail to try and shift Shellder but it didn't work.

"Kadabra use psychic." A blue aura surrounded Nidoqueen which then lifted it up into the air. Shellder quickly let go when it realised where Nidoqueen was going. Nidoqueen crashed into the ceiling then fell to the ground. She had swirls in her eyes. Another shock went through Jessie when Nidoqueen hit the ground. "Cassidy!" Jessie whined "Oh… Nidoqueen return. Go Machamp!" A strong looking Pokémon with four arms appeared. "Machamp use submission !" Machamp used one of its four arms to grab Shellder. It pushed down hard onto Shellder's shell. Shockwave felt a jolt go through him.

:: I wish we had something like that for pestering those seekers with!:: Sunstreaker

:: Especially if we could fix it so they felt the pain but we didn't…:: Sideswipe

" Shellder use aurora beam!" Cold rainbow waves erupted from Shellder's mouth and hurt Nidoking. This time James shouted out from the shock. "Nidoking use double kick!" Nidoking kicked Kadabra. Once! Twice! Soundwave got shocked both times too. "Kadabra use psybeam." A rainbow beam came out of Kadabra's eyes and knocked out Nidoking. James felt another jolt go through him after Nidoking fainted. "Cassidy, I thought we told you not to shock us!"

"I'll shock you if I want to, that blue one doesn't even scream when he gets shocked; so I'm not even sure if that is hurting him." James did not look pleased. "Please show a little emotion…"

"Not for you. Are you going to battle again or not?" James realised what Soundwave was getting at. "Nidoking return. Go Rhydon!" A Pokémon that looked like a strong rhino appeared. That is what a Rhydon looks like. Soundwave didn't seem to understand how it was so scary. "Rhydon use stomp!" Rhydon stomped its foot down on Shellder which collapsed from the damage it had taken. Shockwave didn't like how hard this shock was compared to the others. They must have increased the voltage to try and make Soundwave scream; but they'll have to do better than that! "Shellder return. Go Venusaur!" Venusaur growled angrily it didn't like that its master was in pain. "Venusaur use razor leaf!" Sharp leaves flew across the battle field at both Pokémon. Machamp didn't look as hurt as Rhydon. Both Jessie and James screamed when the shock went through them.

"I'm not sure who has the most girly scream; James, Jessie or Starscream."

"Sideswipe, do you really not know; Starscream would easily win that contest!"

"Sunstreaker you gotta admit James would run a close second."

"Not even close!"

"When I get my hands on you two…"

"Elita! Protect us!" The combatants couldn't help looking to see what was happening at the ringside and commenting.

"James they do have a point!" Meowth couldn't help sniggering.

"I'm sure we heard that jet's screaming just before we tried to steal their Pokémon…he definitely sounded more like a she."

"James stop getting distracted we have a battle to win!" Jessie realised what was happening and she didn't particularly want to be shocked any more. "Machamp use karate chop!" Machop realised that other two Trainers weren't paying attention and ran forward to attack Kadabra. Kadabra looked up to his master but his master seemed to be distracted. So Kadabra got hit by karate chop. That seemed to get the two challenger's attention! Soundwave cried out when this shock went through him, which also told Shockwave that they were still being attacked. "Kadabra use disable." Kadabra use the move and stopped Rhydon from using horn drill but the robots didn't know that. "Venusaur use vine whip on Rhydon!" Rhydon got lashed with vines and it fainted. James screamed again when that shock went through him. "Rhydon return. Go Weezing!" James' purple Pokémon appeared.

"You can't use new Pokémon now." Soundwave stated

"It's against the rules!" Shockwave protested

"You stupid robots! We make the rules for this gym!" Butch joined in the 'shouting at the robots' game.

:: We'll just have to remember that we can use three Pokémon two:: Shockwave

::I'll keep that in mind.:: Soundwave

"Machamp use seismic toss!" This made rocks shoot up from nowhere and crash into Kadabra making it faint. Soundwave cried out again from the shock. "Kadabra return. Go Golduck!" Golduck didn't like the fact its master was being hurt either. "Golduck use confusion." Purple light lifted Machamp up into the air and when Machamp crashed into the ground it had swirls in its eyes. Jessie felt another painful shock go through her when Machamp fainted. "Machamp return. Go Arbok!" The cobra looked ready for battle. "Arbok use wrap on Venusaur!" Venusaur found itself quickly wrapped up in Arbok's coils. "Weezing use sludge on Venusaur!" Venusaur couldn't dodge it was wrapped up. Arbok unwound its coils from Venusaur just before the sludge covered the air where Venusaur was. Venusaur had swirls in its eyes. Shockwave got shocked again when Venusaur fainted. "Venusaur return. Go Pidgeot!"

"You can't use any new Pokémon; you've used two!"

"That never stopped either of you, so I think I am entitled by those rules to summon a third Pokémon!" Shockwave knew Jessie couldn't argue with that.

:: Soundwave use Golduck's confusion to knock Weezing into the air then Pidgeot will knock it into the ground with wing attack!::

::I like your think Shockwave.::

"Golduck use confusion." The purple glow lifted Weezing upwards more slowly than normally. James couldn't help wondering why. "Pidgeot use wing attack!" Just when Weezing no longer had the glow around it, it was knocked down by Pidgeot's wing attack. James felt a really strong shock as Weezing took damage from both attacks. When Weezing hit the ground James received another shock as Weezing had swirls in its eyes. "Weezing return. You'll have to beat them Jessie we only have six Pokémon between us!" Jessie seemed to understand, but she knew it wouldn't be easy… "Arbok use bite!" Arbok bit down on one of Pidgeot wings. This sent a nasty jolt through Shockwave. "Golduck use hydro pump." The water blast knocked Arbok off Pidgeot. Shockwave had a mean look in his eyes. "Pidgeot use mirror move!" A second torrent of water blasted off Arbok; giving Jessie a second electric shock. A third erupted through her when Cassidy noticed that Arbok had swirls in its eyes. Butch sighed. "Arbok is unable to battle. That means the winners are Shockwave and Soundwave."

"You don't deserve an Earth badge; you cheated!" Jessie sounded annoyed.

"You used three Pokémon in a two and two vs. three and three battle!" James pointed angrily at Shockwave.

"I think they need to be taught some manners! Pikachu use thunderbolt!" Ash's Pikachu seemed more than happy to oblige. PIKACHUUUU! The jolt caused the machine that was giving out the shocks to explode and send Team Rocket flying.

"This is your fault James!"

"How is it my fault?"

"You two quite arguing because…" Meowth went quiet for minute.

"IT LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" The three crooks shouted as they flew into the distance.

"One problem. Who will give us our gym badge?" Soundwave looked at Butch. Butch seemed slightly scared.

"Alright, I guess you earned it!" Butch handed both of them a badge. Cassidy walked down to the arena.

"Neither of us have any Pokémon. Do your friends need the Earth Badge too?"

"I'd imagine that Ash, Brock and Misty don't but the rest of us do." Shockwave then looked over and saw why he didn't hear the twins shrieking in pain; Elita had her arms wrapped around Starscream. She must have said she'd cuddle him if he left the twins alone.

:: Didn't think Starscream was that big a sap!::

:: He's not the only one…:: Soundwave pointed over towards a different pair doing the same thing! Which one it was wasn't a surprise. Chromia had arms wrapped around Megatron and he rather reluctantly had an arm wrapped around her. It seemed what Chromia wanted, Chromia generally got.

"Hey you two; if we give you enough badges to give to each of your friends will you not tell Jessie and James that we gave you the badges anyway?"

"You'll need thirteen badges then." Shockwave seemed to agree to this; he thought they probably wouldn't see Jessie and James again. Butch went and collected that many Earth badges for the two challengers.

"Butch and Cassidy seem nicer than Jessie and James even though they work for Team Rocket too."

"Maybe they are new recruits." Soundwave suggested.

"Butch and Cassidy gave us Earth Badges! One for each of us!" Shockwave seemed happy and so did the others when they heard they wouldn't have to work for this one.

"Since you all have eight badges there's one thing left to do!"

"What's that Ash?" Optimus asked

"Let's go to Indigo Plateau!"

AN: This is a bit like the battle in book 5: Team Rocket Blasts Off! If Hotrod was in this story I'm sure he'd say "Every place reminds you of some place else…"