Sorry for the wait! Two more chapters to go. Drawing it to a close. The ending will be amusing. ;)
As you all should know, it is Autism Awareness Month. I dedicate this chapter to users online who have Autism. Have courage and believe in yourselves.
Also, I can't wait for the new Yu-Gi-Oh! movie to hit in theaters in the United States. :D
PEACE
Somewhere in the woodlands, Jessie, James, Rex, Weevil, and Meowth had parked their balloon in a meadow. They danced and celebrated their victory. The safe containing the Ball of the Underworld and the three god cards sat next to the boulder. "HA HA! We finally did it!" The red-haired girl exulted as she and her partner swung round and round. "We outwitted those twerps and got away with the Ball of the Underworld!"
"Did you see the look on their faces when we swiped the Egyptian god cards?" Rex laughed.
"It's like taking candy from a bunch of babies!" Weevil added.
"I bet they're feeling like real losers now!" James added.
"It was all thanks to you, boys." Jessie beamed down on the short boys.
"Told you we make a pretty good team." Rex said.
Everyone giggled as they danced more with each other.
Nearby, Ash, Yugi, and co. scoured through the woodland, hunting down for the enemies. "Team Rocket must have landed somewhere," Tristan said.
"They could anywhere," Max said.
"We should split up and comb the whole area," Ash suggested. "Then if we find anything, we'll hollered out."
"Good plan, Ash." Joey said.
"Pika, Pika."
The whole passel broke up into teams and dispersed in several parts of the woods.
"Now the question is: who gets all the credit?" James said.
"Well, it's obviously me, of course." Jessie smirked and brushed her red hair.
"What do you mean you?" Weevil demanded.
"Yeah, we did half of the work!" Rex argued.
"I used Haze to smog those twerps so we could get away!" Jessie retorted.
"But I stolen the Ball of the Underworld!" Meowth argued.
"I stole the Egyptian God Cards!" Rex snapped.
"I prepared the balloon and flew us out of there!" James added.
The four idiots quarreled over who gets the credit until Weevil put in a end to the bickering.
"Cool it!" He tweeted. "The important thing is that we got the Ball of the Underworld, end of story."
"Say, what is the Ball of the Underworld anyway?" Jessie asked.
"Um...I'm not really sure." Meowth said, puzzled. The four gazed at the safe in the center.
"Hold on. I've heard about the Ball of the Underworld." Weevil put in. "I read that it was found in Egypt and it's supposed to carry some kind of legendary monster."
"Legendary monster?" Jessie said.
"Is it Pokémon?" James asked.
"No one's really sure what it is," Weevil said. "Cerberus was probably just a monster that ancient duelists had trouble controlling."
"Either way, it sounds like a promising reward." Jessie grinned greedily. "The Boss will reward us so handsomely."
"That monster is the ticket to endless power." Weevil said, sharing his hunger for power.
"Why do I get the feeling of deja vu?" James asked.
"Mime, Mime."
"I got an idea," Rex said. "Why don't we open the safe, test the god card's power on the Ball of the Underworld, and see what happens?"
"That's a great idea!" Jessie conceded. "Let's found out how powerful these monsters really are!"
"Yeah!" Meowth smiled broadly.
"I'll get to summon this one right here, Slifer the Sky Dragon!" Rex held a card of a fearsome red dragon.
"And I'll summon Obelisk the Tormentor." Weevil held the other card containing a blue monster in his hand.
"And I'll also summon Winged Dragon of Ra," James held up the golden monster card.
"Hold on, who said you get to summon Ra?" Weevil demanded.
"You got the other cards your hand!" James retorted. "I think it's fair that I should hold one!"
"You don't even know how to summon a monster!" Rex retorted.
"How do you get this thing open?" Meowth grunted in effort as he tried to pry the safe open by biting and clawing. "Stupid thing!" He kicked it out of frustration which hurt his paw.
The boys bickered and quarreled once more.
Jessie was growing impatient. "For the love of Lugia, will you just get on with it?!" She exploded.
Her male comrades immediately cooled it, compromised, and each held one and two of the god cards in their hands, over their activated duel disk. (James gave the Winged Dragon of Ra to Rex.) Meowth placed the sealed safe in front of Rex and Weevil so they can try and crack it open.
"Here goes!" Team Rocket beamed anxiously as their allies were about to place the unspeakably rare and most powerful into the slots. But before they could do anything, a Crobat swooped in from out of nowhere and snatched all three of the Egyptian god cards out of the boys' hands.
"What?!" Team Rocket gawked with shock.
"The god cards!" Rex and Weevil shouted in horror.
"Crobat!" It held the god cards in its mouth as it fluttered away.
"You idiots! You can't even hold on to the Egyptian God cards!" Jessie shouted.
The safe was then snatched next by a Manetric by a Quick Attack. "The Ball of the Underworld!" Meowth exclaimed.
The Discharge Pokémon barked and ferried the stolen safe on its yellow back as it trotted uphill where the road was.
"What happened? Where did it go?!" James looked around frantically.
"Where did these Pokémon come from?" Rex asked.
"Duh, misplaced somethin'?" An unwelcome familiar voice occurred.
"Huh?!" Jessie, James, Weevil, Rex, and Meowth looked up to the source of that sound.
Standing on a road are two men, one big and other short in western uniforms with the "R" logos on their cowboys hats. Their Pokémon stood by their sides, giving them the stolen goods.
Jessie, James, and Meowth gawked at them in shock as they recognized their rivals. "IT'S YOU!" They shouted in unison.
Rex and Weevil looked with confusion.
Pop! "Wobbuffet!"
"It's Billy and Kidd!" Meowth exclaimed.
Yes, the notorious thieving duo of Pokémon and Duel Monsters are back again! "In the skin!" The blond large man sneered. "Or it's 'in the flesh'?" He thought dully.
"Great job obtaining the Ball of the Underworld and Egyptian god cards." The short man with short black hair and turquoise eyes smirked. "You saved us a lot of the trouble."
"How dare you steal what we had stolen!" Jessie growled.
"Just who do you think you are?" Rex asked.
"Funny you should ask that." Billy riposted.
"Hey, guys, are they members of the same organization you're working in?" Weevil asked his allies.
"Unfortunately yes." Meowth answered .
Kidd eyed on the two former regional champion. "You two look familiar," he addressed. "I recall your names are Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor?"
The smaller boys looked a tad surprised. "You heard about us?" Weevil asked.
"We've seen y'all on TV." Billy said. "Don't look like you got the skills no more."
The dueling boys' expressions morphed into pique. "Hey, I resent that!" Weevil snapped.
"It's a mere wonder why you teamed up with these desperate losers," Kidd added. "Unlike you, we didn't have to team up with any pathetic allies. Not when we have the power of both trainer and duelist."
The ridiculous group steamed up with rage. "Did he just call us losers!" James ejaculated.
"How dare they?" Meowth snarled.
"The Boss will be thrilled about what we done," Billy said, holding the safe in his plump arm. "As for you three, he ain't gonna be." He looked down at his lower-ranked rivals.
"That does it!" Meowth brought out his claws.
"Just because you're both of those, doesn't make you better than us!" James said, pulling out his Poké ball.
"We'll show you who's the better trainer and duelist!" Weevil growled, activating his duel disk.
Accepting the challenge, Kidd took out his Poké ball while Billy activated his duel disk.
"Seviper, use Poison Tail!" Jessie threw her Poké ball.
"SEE-VIPER!" The snake Pokémon immediately swung its glowing venomous tail at the short Pokémon duelist.
Kidd threw his Poké ball next. "Kadabra, use Confusion!"
"Ka-da-bra!" The psychic Pokémon used its mind-blowing ESP which froze Seviper and sent it crashing back to its trainer.
"Cacnea, Use Needle Arm!" James commanded.
"Meowth, use Fury Swipes!" The scratch cat ordered himself and lunged at the shrimpy duelist.
"Crobat, use Wing Attack!" Kidd commanded his other Pokémon.
Crobat obeyed and its four wings luminesced white. It then unleashed a gust of wind which carried Cacnea and Meowth in the whirlwind.
Nearby, Ash, and Yami were exploring the woodlands when Pikachu picked a slight commotion that was coming from the thick of trees. "Pika?"
"What is it, Pikachu?" His trainer asked.
"Pika!" It stretched its neck and pointed its head toward that direction, gazing its black eyes at the forest.
"It must have detected something," Yugi presumed.
"I can feel a battle going on." The pharaoh spirit presumed. "I believe it's coming from the road, on the other side of the woods."
"Let's go!" Ash and his friend hurried over to that location.
"I activate Laser Cannon Armor!" Weevil planted his spell card in the slot which equipped his oversized spider monster with a powerful laser cannon. "It'll give my Insect Queen 300 attack points!"
"I sacrificed my Gilasaurus and Kaitoptera to fusion summon Horned Saurus in attack mode!" Rex combined his two monster cards and created a large pterodactyl-like on the field. "Careful, my big lizard can bite off more than it can chew. Whaddaya say to that?" He smirjed overconfidently.
Billy grinned mischievously as he prepared a swerving comeback. "I would say 'you activated my trap card-" he pulled up a hidden facedown card. "Minefield Situation!"
Jessie and James looked at it with question. "Minefield Situation?"
"Trap card?" Meowth echoed.
"What does it do?" Rex asked.
The answer came to him when multiple explosive plates appeared around the intimidated group. "Hey, what's happening?" Meowth said out loud.
"Oh shutterbug!" Weevil muttered.
Yugi, Pikachu, and Ash ran through the thick trees and arrived at the battle scene on the road, just in time to see their regular enemies literally get blown away by the overheating metal plates.
KABOOM! BANG! BOOM!
"TEAM ROCKET AND REX AND WEEVIL ARE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" Jessie, James, Wobbuffet, Rex, Weevil, and Meowth screamed as they catapulted in the air and disappeared into the sky.
"Wobbuffet!"
The heroic boys blinked and ogled at what they have just witnessed. "Okay...I did not see that coming." Ash uttered.
"I kinda feel sorry for them," Yugi commented.
"Pika, Pika."
"Now that we got rid of those banjos and obtained all the required items, I reckon it's time we call up the big man and let him know we're succeeded." Billy said, punching in the numbers.
"Agreed." His short partner replied.
Ash, Yugi, and Pikachu jumped onto the road to confront the foes. "Hold it!"
"Pika!"
The Team Rocket duo noticed the heroes present. "Hmm? Oh well, howdy again, boys." The short man addressed them. "Never thought we'd see y'll again."
"You guys again? I thought we drove you out of town!" Ash said aghast.
"Pika, Pika!"
"Well, we couldn't leave until we finished what we started," Kidd answered smugly. "Show 'em, Bill."
Billy grinned devilishly, shuffled his hand in his pocket, and presented three cards of white dragons with cobalt eyes. "Ta-da!"
The boys gaped at them in dread. "How did you get the Blue Eyes White Dragon? Tell us!" Yugi demanded.
"It wasn't easy, but let's just say a second try was a charm!" Billy smirked haughtily.
"Seto Kaiba had made it so easy." Kidd added.
"But don't worry, we'll make sure that your precious cards and Blue Eyes are in good hands." Billy chortled.
The heroes gritted their teeth in anger. Enough was enough. Momently, they felt a wind brushing down on them. Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi looked up. Above them, Team Rocket's helicopter has arrived and hovered down over road, ready to pick up the recruits. Billy started up the engine as the cargo bay opened up and undocked a loading ramp for the motorcycle to roll in.
"Stop!" Ash opposed. "We're not going to let you get away!"
"Pika, Pika!"
Kidd smirked cockily. "On the contrary, it is you who won't be getting away."
"Huh?" The heroes looked up with confusion.
"We can't have any witnesses roamin' about and warnin' everyone." Billy put in. "Y'all be comin' along for the ride."
"And if we won't?" Yugi asked.
The duelist duo grinned devilishly. "Then your friends will the same fate those idiots did." Billy said in a threatening tone.
Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi quailed. Infuriated, they realized that they must do what the enemies tell them, for the sake of their friends.
"The Boss will love meet y'll, especially you Yugi Muto." Billy said, eying on the spiky-haired duelist. "He'll definitely wanna meet ya! Heh heh heh!"
Yugi growled as he and Ash glared at the cowboy duo with ill will.
"Pika!"
Back in the woodlands, Téa, May, Tracey, Bakura, Joey, and Brock rejoined in the exact same spot. "Did you find anything?" Téa asked.
Joey shook his head no. "Not a clue." Brock answered bluntly. "Any sign of them?"
The girls shook their heads also. "We couldn't find Team Rocket, Rex, or Weevil anywhere." Tracey said. Bakura nodded.
Just then, Tristan and Max came out from the shrubs and ran up to them, panting. "Guys!" The smallest kid exclaimed.
"Did you find Team Rocket?" Bakura asked.
"More than that! We saw Billy and Kidd stealing the Ball of the Underworld from Team Rocket and taking the Egyptian god cards!" Tristan answered seriously.
"What? Billy and Kidd are back?!" The kids repeated synchronously in shock.
"Not only that, they got Ash and Yugi with them!" Max added.
"What?! Oh no!" The group hurried over to the meadow road. There, staying hidden, they witnessed Billy and Kidd boarding Team Rocket's helicopter, along with their new prisoners inside. "You were right, guys. Billy and Kidd are back." Brock said.
"And they got Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi hostage!" Téa said.
"That can't be good news." Joey said.
Bakura scowled and nodded to himself. He separated from the group and took off into the woods without saying a word.
The loading ramp closed up and Team Rocket's helicopter hovered higher above the road and over the trees, on its way to headquarters.
"Oh no! My poor Yugi!" May said worrisomely.
"We got to get back to the research lab and tell Professor Oak." Tracey said.
Just then, they heard a loud roar of a jet nearby. "Huh?" The group looked up. There, they saw a jet shaped like Blue Eyes White Dragon soaring down and landing down on the country road, stopping right in front of the group.
"A Blue Eyes?" Max asked.
"No, this is a jet," Téa corrected.
Tristan stared at the particularly designed aircraft. "It belongs to-"
The cockpits opened up and two boys, one older and one younger exited and jumped off from their jet.
"Hey, it's Kaiba!" Joey said.
"And Mokuba!" May added.
"Who were you expecting, the Barnaby Boys?" The company president responded.
"What brings you guys here?" Téa said.
"While you geeks were enjoying your holiday in Poké world, we had some trouble back in KaibaCorp." Kaiba responded.
"Trouble?" The group repeated.
"Do you remember those two crooks who invaded the virtual world?" Mokuba said. "They came back and stolen the Blue Eyes White Dragon."
"What?!" The friends gaped in shock.
"That can't be good!" Joey said.
"What the heck is going on in this world?" Tristan exclaimed.
"Billy and Kidd stole the Egyptian god cards too!" Max added.
"What?! No!" Kaiba looked upset. "Heck no! If anybody's getting the god cards, it's me!"
"We need to figure something out on how to save Ash and Yugi," Tracey said.
The group were about to head back when Téa then noticed somebody missing. "Hey, where did Bakura go?"
The group looked around. "Huh, he was with us a minute ago." Tracey scratched his head.
"I hope he's staying out of trouble," Joey said.
As Team Rocket's helicopter flew over the country, Yami Bakura somehow hitched a ride and was clinging on the tail cone. "Hmph! If those fools think that they have gotten away with my Ball of the Underworld, they're pitifully mistaken!" He said to himself as he rode on, his white hair flying in the atmospheric breeze. "One way or another, that ball will be mine and the world must be purged and cleansed of its disgusting Pokémon vermin and meddlesome mortals!" He looked down, viewing the world which were occupied with several other species of Pokémon which looked up and sensed that a great danger is coming.
Inside the main cabin room, Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi, forced seated by Billy and Kidd, were surrounded by other Team Rocket members who peered unfriendly at them. A couple of them murmured when they recognized the exotic spiky-haired duelist in the seat.
"See that kid with a clownish haircut? That one is named Yugi Muto."
"THE Yugi Muto? The King of Games?"
"What's a duelist doing in the Pokémon World?"
"He must have lost his way to the dueling arena. Heh heh heh!"
"Ash, are those guys Team Rocket?" Yugi asked his friend. "The Pokémon crime-organization that were threatening your world?"
"Uh-huh. They hunt and steal rare Pokémon they could find." Ash replied. "They don't care who were in danger to get what they want."
"Pika!"
Yami's spirit appeared briefly from Millennium Puzzle. "I may not remember this, but I know Team Rocket was awful in the past. Stay sharp, they might try something." Ash and Yugi grimaced as the Billy and Kidd glanced at them with sinister smirks.
Just then, a Persian approached the heroic duo. A man in orange stepped down the aisle and approached the two boys and his achieved hired henchmen.
"Well, well, how nice of you to join me." He smiled. "Well done, Billy and Kidd. You were able to accomplish something our slacking idiots couldn't do." He paused and glared behind him at Cassidy and Butch after they returned from a failed mission, looking ashamed.
"It was all in a day's work, Boss." Billy said. "They didn't even put up a fight."
"The Ball of the Underworld is secured and the rare powerful monster cards are locked inside the container." Kidd added.
Giovanni eyed on the two prisoners. "I see you bought along some guests."
"These two are the ones who were giving us a hard time," Kidd said. "They were such a persistent bunch."
They may be linked to the Ball of the Underworld," Billy added.
"Is that right?" Giovanni first set his eyes on Ash. "You may not remember me but you intervened my plans back on Mount Quana."
Ash glared as he remember their encounter when they tried to capture Mewtwo at Mount Quana.
"Pika." It remembered too when Team Rocket tried to steal the cloned Pokémon.
Giovanni then turned his attention to the short King of Games. "Ah! And this must be the one and only Yugi Muto, King of Games."
Yugi austerely casted his round violet eyes upon the leader of the Pokémon poaching organization.
"From what I heard, you're the distinguished champion and winner of Duelist Kingdom and the Battle City Finals." Giovanni observed. "You overpowered the most notorious duelists such as Maximilian Pegasus, Marik Ishtar, and even Seto Kaiba. This is very rare treat indeed. I'm sure we'll get along great." He chuckled sinisterly.
Persian growled lusciously at Ash and Yugi who looked at the dark gelled-haired man with caution.
Back in Professor Oak's lab, the group were reunited in the research lab with Gary and Professor Oak. They all crowded around the computer while the famous researcher's grandson studied at the computer screen once more. Delia and Mimey were present also. "Okay, so let me get this straight: both Pokémon and Duel Monsters coexisted in the same world as we did, right?" The red-haired mother said.
"Yes, but it's weird. Although we live on the same planet, we're divided in two worlds," Gary said. "The dueling world and the Pokémon world. It has always been the same since 5,000 years ago."
"That's right. Duel Monsters were originated in Ancient Egypt while Pokémon came from the old world regions of Sinnoh and Hoenn." Max said.
"Pokémon trainers and duelists lived together as neighbors, right?" Tristan said.
"Yes, but their worlds collided when two of the worst villains in history attacked Ancient Egypt." Gary put in.
"Two villains?" Brock asked.
"I think there's a painting of him, see if I can find it." Gary clicked on another icon on the computer screen. It imaged a Roman painting of a familiar man wearing a laurel wreath and senator outfit.
"Hey, that one looks like Giovanni, the leader of the present Team Rocket." Brock pointed out.
"Who?" May asked.
"Giovanni, he's the leader of Team Rocket," Brock explained. "He tried to capture Mewtwo and the other Pokémon at Mount Quana."
"He must the descendant of the original Team Rocket." Max added. "I guess some things never die."
"This guy is called Brutus." Gary depicted. "He was a senator in Pokémon Roman Republic. He was also a tyrannical and power-hungry trainer who uses his Pokémon for power and his desire was to take over the world. He led his army to the land of Egypt and tried to steal every rare Pokémon they could find."
"There were rare Pokémon in Ancient Egypt?" Tristan asked.
Just then, a sound of a couple doorbells filled up the whole laboratory. "Hey, not to interrupt, but I think there's someone at the door." Mokuba pointed it.
The party looked with dismay. "Splendid, I wonder who could it be this time?" Professor Oak said.
"Who would visit at a time like this?" May asked.
The ringing continued. "Might as well answer it." Tracey said.
"I'll go with ya, Trace." Joey volunteered and accompanied.
The two boys scurried downstairs to answer the door. "Coming!" Tracey hollered as the bell kept ringing. He opened the door at last. "Yes?"
"Huh?" Joey's eyed widened as he gazed upon the visitor.
Standing at the doorstep was an short elderly man wearing overralls and a bandanna over his gray spiky hair. "Hello, does Professor Oak live in?" He asked in a deep voice
"When you'd get here, Mr. Muto?" Joey asked.
"I took a bus here." Solomon Muto answered. "I had a curdling feeling something 'eventful' may be happening in the Poké world and it won't be pleasant."
"Come on in then." Tracey ushered and the old man entered.
"But what if history was written all wrong?" Max said. "I mean, can archaeologists make mistakes?"
"Archaeologists can't be wrong, Max," Tristan said. "Can they?"
"Well, sometimes they are and sometimes they do get the history all wrong." Professor Oak said. "After all, the past is all a mystery."
"Maybe if we could call this Hawkins guy and ask him about the Ball of the Underworld," May suggested. "He's the one who found that object in Egypt."
"Professor Hawkins is on vacation to the Atlantic, but perhaps I could be of assistance to your research, Professor," Solomon announced as he, Tracey, and Joey returned upstairs.
Professor Oak looked as if he recognized the old shop owner and knew him. "Solomon? Is that you, old friend?"
"It has been a while, Samuel." The veteran duelist smiled.
"Wait, you two know each other?" All the kids said all at once.
"When Solomon and I were young, we had different points of view of Pokémon and Duel Monsters," Professor Oak explained. "We even used to spar our monsters just to see whose was best. Of course we've always ended up in stalemates and in the end we realized that we were on the same page."
"I may be just a gameshop owner, but I do know plenty of the pharaoh's history through my experiences." Solomon added. "In my youth, I traveled to Egypt, hoping to find a lost tomb of the pharaoh. I was exploring the Valley of the King when I came upon to a secret temple that was hidden within the scree."
The group listened with interest.
In the flashback, young Solomon entered a solitary temple deep in the dry vale. "I went inside and learned that the pharaoh was also acquainted with Pokémon when he was in diapers."
He examined the hieratic paintings on the wall which revealed to be Pokémon, the early hundred species such as Ponyta, Charmander, and Blastoise.
"It turned out to be a shrine for a brave young man who fought alongside with the pharaoh and saved the world from a demonic tyrant."
"I bet he's talking about that traveler," Max commented to May and Joey. "Ash's ancestor."
"But that wasn't all," Solomon continued. "I also encountered three legendary Pokémon; Suicune, Raikou, and Entei."
"You actually met Suicune, Raikou, and Entei?" Max asked in surprise.
"Actually..." Solomon answered as he had a flashback of himself seeing three statues in the Pokémon temple.
"I only saw the statues...but I could feel their energy presence around me, like they're in the room with me."
The statues glowed mystically in different colors.
"They presented me a vision, taking me back 5,000 years in time from today. I saw the vision of the pharaoh and traveler battling against the enemies in Egypt. One of them looked familiar. The thief bandit that the pharaoh was battling looked a lot like Bakura."
"Bakura?!" The group repeated.
Meanwhile, Yami Bakura climbed his way around the helicopter, seeking to infiltrate inside. He clung to the metallic side like a squirrel glider on a tree. His feet finally touched on the fuel tank covering and carefully inched his way to a circle opening that leads inside the helicopter. He finally reached an emergency escape hatch and used his Millennium Ring to pry it open. "The things I do for one lousy mystic artifact..." He said to himself as he slowly slipped inside the hatch.
"Tell me, something, Giovanni, why do you seek the Ball of the Underworld?" Yugi asked. "What do you planning on doing with it?"
"And why do you need Yugi's god cards and Blue Eyes White Dragon anyway?" Ash added. "I thought you guys only steal rare Pokémon."
"Pikachu."
"You boys are a curious bunch," the middle-aged man responded. "But I suppose there's no harm in telling you. You're both fully familiar of the story about the battle between both worlds, are you not? The one when trainers and duelists used to battle each other before, a certain disaster came upon them?"
The boys looked with silence in reply. Of course they are completely aware of the legend.
"Well, there's sort of a secret twist in this story." Giovanni put in with a gleam in his eye.
Ash, Yugi, and the rest of the Team Rocket members opened ears with complete interest. Billy and Kidd just stood with arms folded, not caring about some silly fairy tale involving monsters or twists.
"Pika." Pikachu, sitting on Ash's lap murmured. The pharaoh's spirit briefly emerged from the puzzle and entered its mind.
Pikachu, while everyone's abstracted, now's your chance to sneak and retrieve the god cards so we can help our friends. He indicated to the small container sitting on the opposite seats, next to one grunt.
Pikachu? It thought back.
Don't worry, I'll create illusions so that no one suspects anything. The pharaoh assured and went to work on his magic. Now go.
"Pika." It frowned in consent and slowly slid off of Ash's lap and bounced on the floor.
"As you should know, Team Rocket was originated in Rome. It was also where the most powerful trainers came from." As Giovanni recited the story, Pikachu stealthily crawled underneath the seats, making his way towards god cards.
"The most powerful trainer of all history was the great senator and trainer of Pokémon Roman Republic, Brutus."
"Brutus." Ash repeated.
"Hang on," Yugi spoke up. "I think we heard that name before." He had a flashback of him, Pikachu, and Ash entering the virtual temple where it contained a cella full of Pokémon, almost like the one young Solomon visited. "We learned Brutus and his army invaded Egypt and tried to steal all the rare Pokémon in Egypt. They also tried to take the pharaoh's Millennium Puzzle so they can gain more power. They also wanted the other Millennium Items to resuscitate their worshipped monster, Cerberus."
"That part is true. But they weren't just after power or rare Pokémon," Giovanni continued. "There's more to that than just reviving Cerberus."
"Oh?"
"I should know all this; I'm the descendant of Brutus." Giovanni smirked deviously.
"Descendant?" The boys repeated.
Pikachu was at the seat, setting his black eyes on the small container containing the powerful cards. He lifted himself and reached its tiny paws. Persian sensed something wrong and turned its head. But luckily, the pharaoh from the Millennium Puzzle helped by using Millennium magic to keep Persian from being on Pikachu's back.
Little did they know, Yami Bakura was hiding in the shadows, listening to every word.
"What's the difference between Pokémon and Duel Monsters anyway?" Max asked.
"There were two kinds of monsters actually; the one living and breathing creatures that existed in this world were Pokémon and the other were spiritual creatures that dwell in the Duel Monsters spirit world. There's a difference between them." Professor Oak said.
"They also dwelt inside of people's hearts as part of their Ba, which is soul." Solomon added. "Ancient Egyptians can summon their monsters to life by combining their Ka (life energy) and Ba and bring them to the field, just like you put your card in a duel disk."
"And like trainers release their Pokémon from Poké balls," May added.
"Right." Solomon and Professor Oak said together.
Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Are we taking history lessons about monsters or are we discussing about some imaginary creature that doesn't exist?"
"Hey, Kaiba, don't interrupt." Gary put in. "I don't believe in this mumbo-jumbo either, but we got no choice if we want to get back to our normal perfect lives."
"What does that got to with everything?" Téa asked.
"According to the book, the thief king also attacked Egypt during the raid by Team Rocket," Solomon poured in more details.
"You mean Bakura's evil spirit, right?" Joey said. "The one that tried to take down the pharaoh and steal his Millennium Puzzle and stuff?"
"When the pharaoh confronted the thief in the pharaoh's chambers, the strife built up much entire tension in the chambers of spirits that it attracted demons from the depths of the Shadow Realm." Solomon added.
"Meanwhile, the traveler helped by driving off the Team Rocket gladiators out of the Egyptian kingdom." Professor Oak put in. "As it turns out the Team Rocket raid was only a mere diversion so the thief can ensure the succession of gaining of both the Items and the powers of rare Pokémon through contract."
"You mean, it was just foul play?" Joey said
"Even though they were hunting for the different reasons, their goals were on the same thing," Solomon said.
"What's that?" The kids asked.
"Cerberus." Professor Oak and Solomon answered.
"Cerberus?"
"Cerberus was three-headed monster developed out of the Ba of the thief king and the pieces of the dark Pokémon, designed to exterminate all humankind," Professor Oak put in the last piece. "It turns out that the war between duelists and trainers was only a ritual for the arrival of Cerberus and Team Rocket was the offerings."
Everyone expressed in amazement at what they learned.
"After your ancestors banished their enemies to the Shadow Realm, Cerberus emerged from the depths underground, fully empowered and ready to kill." Giovanni continued the story. "It was all part of their plan."
"Plan?" The boys looked up with confusion.
"Why of course. They couldn't do it alone. So Brutus allied with a rogue duelist from the dueling world. He helped give Team Rocket access to Egypt so they can take everything in sight for the exchange of the pharaoh's Millennium Item." Giovanni paced as he spoke.
"They actually teamed up with a thief duelist?" The boys said in a mixture of confusion and amazement.
"That's right. So with the combination of their dark souls and power, they bought forth the three-headed guardian of the Shadow Realm to the real world. It was the monster of all monsters. It was majestic."
"Of course, Cerberus raged out of control and nearly destroyed half of the world. That is until the meddlesome friends the three legendary Pokémon butted in and helped the three Egyptian god monsters seal the beast into the Ball of the Underworld and ensconced in the lowest part of the pyramid.
"That's why we needed the Ball of the Underworld so we can finish what our forefathers couldn't!" Giovanni finished, clenching his fist in vow.
The pharaoh who heard from the Millennium Puzzle was astounded by the secret behind the story, he nearly omitted to create an illusion to distort the grunt's eyes, just when Pikachu was opening the case.
Hidden in the shadows behind the equipment, Yami Bakura was slightly surprised d. He learned that the Team Rocket leader was the descendant of his evil ally, Brutus. In his ancient past, back when he had his own body, he indeed teamed up with the villain of old Poké world, just for the power of Cerberus they could harness together. That changes everything.
"So Cerberus the three-headed dog of the Shadow Realm was begotten by Giovanni's malevolent ancestor and the evil bandit incarnate of Bakura," Brock climaxed. "It wasn't conceived by war, greed, or abuse over Pokémon. Cerberus was just a monster designed to destroy everything that moves. If that thing gets loose, the world will be great danger."
"Those ancient psychopath sickos!" May said. "How could they create a monster like that?"
"Ash, Pikachu, and Yugi are in Team Rocket's helicopter," Téa said.
"Oh no!" The friends exclaimed in fear.
"They may be in grave danger!" Tracey said. "We may have solve the mystery too late!"
Everyone expressed in great worry, not just for their friends but for the fate of their two worlds.
Outside, the sun was setting. In the shadows of the trees, a sinister shadowy shape lurked in the darkness, revealing revengeful eyes, belonging to a human-shaped head with a laurel head. Next to him are fierce feline eyes, sharing its lust for revenge as several eyes appeared next.
Somewhere deep in the lake, the legendary water Pokémon Suicune sensed the planet in the brink of doom. It can feel immense evil growing upon the globe and thought it was time that it and the other two take action.