You won't expect much feedback from me for the most part for a little while. I have a lot of free time to work on chapters, but I receive just as much homework and assignments to make up for them. I guess I do not have much to say except thank you for reading my chapters and for staying up to date with me. Well, like I have said before, please enjoy…
Staying in the grand resort of the Pokémon Village to prepare for the upcoming Kanto battles against Agatha and Gary, Ash stayed in the calming, yet busy ambience of the main lobby of his assigned hotel. Ash's Pokémon along with Pikachu were outside their Poké Balls, enjoying their playful exercise in the warm radiance of the sun while the more serious tended to relax near trees and their branches. Fresh from the victory over Lorelei, he saw his friends, his mother, Professor Oak, and Anabel walk in the front door one by one in separate times. They all exchanged greetings to each other and kudos to Ash for his impressive victory over the Elite Four Ice mistress.
"Anabel! It's great to see you," May said and hugged the Salon Maiden, who returned the friendly hug.
"It's only been two months, May," Anabel said. "You seem to be quite chipper since our previous encounter."
"Well, I'm just dandy that you remained faithful to Ash. Ash told me about your little conflict. How he became nearly obsessed on pushing his Pokémon to become stronger… How you kept getting on his case about it and resorted to comparing him to you-know-who…"
"The Dark Lord?"
"Not him! I mean P—!"
"Yeah, I think she gets it, May," Ash said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Anyway, I just glad to have a close friend and dear lover back. I never knew how strong true romantic love can be."
"Well, you have been sort of dense about these situations since I've traveled with you," Brock said.
"And how many girls you've met tried to make their advances on you, but you were too oblivious to learn that it can go beyond just friendship," Dawn said.
"Not helping, Dawn," Ash said.
"You know what? I kinda remember that tomboyish girl from Solaceon Town and the Solaceon Daycare. I think she might have had a thing for you when we all met in Professor Rowan's Summer School."
"Nah… She looked a little crazy and out of control at first, but we became pretty good friends."
"No… I know these things. What was her name again? A—?"
"So, Anabel," Ash interrupted quickly. "What took you so long in coming here? You said that you and Staraptor would meet up with me before I left Pallet Town."
"We had a bit of trouble along the way," Anabel said, dusting her arm.
"How so?"
"It normally takes Staraptor around thirty minutes or so to get from Pallet Town to Tohjo Falls. However I was attacked a week ago when I went to reunite with you in Pallet Town."
"Who would dare try to attack you?"
"… Team Rocket."
"Staraptor, hurry! We should get to Ash so we can support him and to tell him that I'm all better."
"Star-raptor?"
"I know it was only a few days I recovered from our argument, but my house was so unattended! It needed like two years worth of spring cleaning! It's a good thing you and my Pokémon were able to help out."
"Starr!"
As Anabel and Ash's Staraptor flew past the large waterfall that made up Tohjo Falls, a small mysterious missile flew behind the pair, accelerating closer and closer from each passing second. Staraptor keenly sensed that they were being followed so the Predator Pokémon increased flying speed and flew up an altitude. Anabel almost lost her grip on Staraptor's back when he sped up.
"Hey! Can you warn me the next time you fly faster and higher?"
"Starr! Starr!"
"Something following us?" Anabel asked before looked behind her and spotted the gray, persistent rocket following them. "I see… Please speed up."
Staraptor increased his acceleration even more, but unfortunately so did the missile. Upon closer look on the troublesome missile, Anabel found a familiar red R imprinted on its side. Only one thought came to mind; something she wished that did not happen to her right now.
"Oh, please… Now right now…"
"Star-raptor!"
"Huh?"
From the blind, desperate attempt of outmaneuvering the accursed missile, Staraptor inadvertently flew in the direction of a small Starly flock. If they continued flying in that direction, the Starly would wind up hurt from the predicted collision of both Staraptor and the Flying-type-seeking missile. Staraptor could not do that to his own kin and he was sure Ash would not allow such an action on innocent Pokémon anyway.
"Starr…"
"Staraptor, wha—?"
The moment Staraptor slowed down in order to prevent a crash with the Starly flock, the Rocket missile somehow accelerated and blasted Staraptor and Anabel out of the sky. Staraptor injured his right wing from the missile while Anabel fell off his back. She screamed out of fear and despair, terrified that her life was now at stake. If she continued falling from the high elevation that they were from, it would be the end of her. She would wind up cursing the insignificant fools who prevented her from reuniting with her loved one. And she knew that Ash would avenge her demise at whatever cost, even at the cost of his credibility as a Pokémon Trainer. His love grew as quickly as his maturity. Anabel thought that it would all be downhill from here. There would be no hope.
"Zippo, catch her!"
A Charizard flew and caught the Salon Maiden in its arms while managing Ash's Staraptor on its back. It flew down next to its Trainer, an optimistic young man in green and blue attire accompanied by a Pikachu with scruffy hair on its head.
"Great job, Zippo."
"Pika-chu!"
"Rrrrrd!" the Charizard roared in gratitude.
Anabel slowly opened her eyes, thinking that the next thing she sees is a golden gate above the clouds, revealed by celestial light with an omnipotent figure with Arceus beyond the gate.
"Hmm… Wha?" Anabel stirred, seeing the blue sky above her and feeling the crackling sensations of the green grass under her back. She quickly sat up, noticing a familiar Trainer with his Pikachu, Charizard, and Ash's Staraptor on the ground next to her.
"You okay, Anabel?" the boy asked. "You're pretty lucky I came by when you fell from Staraptor."
"R-Ritchie, is that you?" Anabel mumbled, recalling the Ash look-alike battling her a year ago for the Ability Symbol. To her question, Ritchie nodded.
"Is this your Staraptor, Anabel?" he asked.
"No, the Staraptor belongs to Ash," she said. Upon hearing the name, Ritchie chuckled to himself about his longtime friend and rival.
"And yet another Pokémon we seem to both have," Ritchie chuckled. He then grabbed a Poké Ball from his belt and threw it in the air. "Ringo, come out!" Out from its Poké Ball in a flash of white, a Staravia flew up in the air and onto its Trainer's shoulder.
"You have a Staravia," Anabel said. "Interesting…"
"Ash and I have eerily similar tastes in Pokémon, which I find to be cool yet ironically creepy," Ritchie said. "Anyway, how you been?"
"I would have been fine if it weren't for… Team Rocket!"
As if on cue, the trio came out of hiding from the bushes near the forest; Jessie jumped out with exaggerated flair, James walked out with a red rose in hand, and Meowth popped out with a control box. Preceding them was their annoying cackle.
"Prepare for trouble…"
"… And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within out nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend out reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!"
"Team Rocket, why did you blast me out of the sky?" Anabel asked impatiently.
"And I thought you guys had a newer motto than that," Ritchie added.
"We're here for you, psychic twerpette," Jessie said and pointed at Anabel.
"And in my opinion, it was the best motto we've had that made us feel so sharp and cool," James said.
"Since when?" Ritchie asked.
"Since before ya became a Trainer, twoip," Meowth said, throwing the control box away since their objective was completed.
"Why do you need me, Team Rocket?" Anabel asked warily.
"Fa two reasons, twoipette" Meowth said. "Da first reason is fa ya Pokémon understandin' abilities. Da second is to barter ya fa da main twoip's Pikachu once we're done wit ya."
"And such a brilliant plan can only come from this brilliant elegance," Jessie said, pointing to herself.
"Give me a break," Ritchie said in a deadpan tone.
"Hopefully dis would be our ticket back to da Boss and the plans he refuses ta share wit us," Meowth said.
"You know Ash will never give us his Pikachu," Anabel said, gritting her teeth.
"So I guess you'll be staying with us longer," James said. "Carnivine, grab her!" James brought out his Carnivine, who took a chomp on its Trainer's blue-haired head and hugged him. "Grab her! Not me!"
"Alakazam, come out my—!"
"Ringo, use Aerial Ace!" Ritchie commanded before Anabel sent out her Pokémon to battle. The Staravia flew in mach speed towards Carnivine, who was still hugging and chomping on James.
"Carnivine, use Bullet Seed!"
"Caaarnivine!" Carnivine released its Trainer from its affectionate grip and sprayed luminescent yellow seeds from its large mouth. Ringo swiftly dodged the seeds and slammed right into the Bug Catcher Pokémon. The move was highly effective enough to send Carnivine down for the count.
"Carnivine!" James cried.
"My turn," Jessie said, a Poké Ball in her hand. "Yanmega, go defeat the twerps with Steel Wing!" She sent out Yanmega; its large wings glowing as white as steel.
"Zippo, use Flamethrower!"
"Arrrrd!" Zippo quickly unleashed a powerful Flamethrower attack from its jaws, which quickly engulfed Yanmega in flames.
"My dear Yanmegy!" Jessie cried.
"Sparky, now use Thunderbolt!"
"Pikaaaa-chu!" Sparky released the overwhelming electricity stored in its red cheeks, zapping Team Rocket out of their wits and sending them on their way to the sky.
"We're blasting off again!" the trio cried; their exit marked with a star. With Team Rocket gone, Ritchie recalled Ringo and Zippo.
"Thanks, you guys," he said to their Poké Balls.
"Pretty impressive, Ritchie," Anabel said. "That's quite a powerful team you have."
"Not strong enough to defeat Brandon and his Regis. I don't know how Ash triumphed over them with Pikachu, Charizard, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle, but he must have been that good to beat Brandon. I've heard he's now a Frontier Brain with his own Facility."
"That's right. And now he's in an ultimate challenge that I should be going to now!"
"Not with Staraptor and his right wing injured like that," Ritchie said, examining Staraptor. "It'll take a day or two for the wing to heal."
"Oh, man," Anabel pouted. "By the time I reach Pallet Town, he'll be long gone!"
"That's too bad," Ritchie said sympathetically. "Is there any way I can help you, Anabel?"
"Thanks, Ritchie, but no. I don't want to interrupt your training for a rematch against Brandon."
"No worries! Besides, there's this guy I met in the Battle Pyramid around six months ago called Reggie from Veilstone City who said to have come back to challenge Brandon for a rematch. He said this is his sixth match with Brandon in a row!"
"Reggie, huh? I know him from a long time ago when the Battle Frontier was opening up when he challenge me for the Ability Symbol. He's so caring to his Pokémon, unlike his younger brother."
"He has a brother?"
"Not exactly the type of person you would want to meet in a dark alley at night," Anabel said matter-of-factly.
"Hmm, I see ," Ritchie said. "Anyway, I think I'll stay with you and help Staraptor get better so that you can cheer for Ash… Just one more thing, Anabel."
"What is it?"
"You seem to really care about Ash if you have his Staraptor with you," he said. Anabel started to blush and fidget upon the discussion of her feelings.
"Well, you see… he and I are kinda boyfriend and girlfriend now," she said, twiddling her fingers. Upon that remark, Ritchie could not keep a straight face while Sparky was dying from its own laughter.
"No way! No freaking way! Ash has a girlfriend?!" Ritchie laughed; Anabel wasn't.
"How is it funny?" Anabel said calmly. Ritchie calmed down after a few passing seconds while Sparky continued to roll around on the ground laughing its static discharge out.
"Sorry about that," Ritchie said panting. "It's that Ash…"
"I know who you're talking about. What makes it funny? I want to know."
"Sorry, Anabel… I didn't mean to make fun of your emotions like that. It's just that during the time I've been with Ash, he never really showed any interest in romantic relationships. But I guess that doesn't mean that he has to be like Brock."
"Well, let's just say that I'm the only exception to this rule."
"So what did you do to make Ash like you back the way you wanted him to?" Ritchie asked. Anabel smiled, proud to say how they became closer through reading their strong feelings for the other.
"It started with me developing a crush on him when he was looking for the Battle Tower and its Frontier Brain. Then my crush evolved like a Pokémon into real love through various visions and dreams telling me that we were meant to be. Finally I waited for him to return from the Sinnoh League for him to know my true feelings for him."
"And how did he respond to your true feelings?"
"He was confused at first and went along with it. And after some quality time together, he finally realized his own feelings for me and we both promised to be together."
"Then why weren't you with him?" Ritchie asked. Anabel became hesitant to answer. She thought about telling him about the meaningless argument that temporarily separated them, but then realized that it was really none of his business.
"I, uh, needed to tend back to my home and the Battle Tower," she lied as convincingly as she could. She was never the greatest liar in the world.
"So you two had an argument and needed some time off, is that right?"
"Wait… what?!"
"Unlike Ash, I can quickly see these things as clear as day," Ritchie said. Anabel felt ashamed for having to lie and for lying to a person who resembled Ash in many ways. "It doesn't really matter. I will help you with Staraptor so you can be with him again."
"Thanks, Ritchie…"
"That's quite the story you got there, dear," Delia said.
"And you've met Ritchie, too," Ash said. "I'm glad to know he's doing fine. And I hope to battle him again some day."
"Mmm-hmm, he helped me out with Team Rocket and Staraptor," Anabel said. "He knows a lot about Pokémon. Staraptor healed within two days, but I did not want to overtax Staraptor so we took several rests along the way to Indigo Plateau since I believed you left Pallet Town. And I think Ritchie sent Team Rocket flying in the direction towards the Indigo Plateau."
"Well, I haven't seen Team Rocket or any other attempts of Pikachu-napping."
"And the thing is that Ash left Pallet Town two days ago," May said. "He spent the first night in Viridian City before flying on Charizard at noon and rushing himself to register when he found out he had to battle today."
"Gee, thanks, May," Ash said dryly.
"But the thing was that I arrived here today also," Anabel said. "Earlier before you did, apparently."
"So you didn't bother finding us then since we stayed here for about a few days now?" Dawn asked.
"I did not know where anyone was, so Staraptor and I decided to wait in the Indigo Stadium for Ash when I heard about the match being bumped to today," Anabel said and shrugged.
"Give the girl a break for everything she's been through," Drew said. "You shouldn't pester a girl this much, especially if they're rumored to have such fragile, dainty hearts."
"Hey! You pretty much pestered me when we first met, Drew, so don't try to act all high and mighty on us!" May yelled.
"Whoa… Slow down, little girl. Otherwise your bandanna would burn away from that hot head of yours…"
"You're so funny, Drew," May said sarcastically.
"Easy, people," Brock said, attempting to calm everyone down. "Do I have to continue babysitting you kids?"
"They're not kids, you know," Gary said. "They should be responsible enough to decide for themselves… At least, that's what I think."
"Good thinking, Gary," Professor Oak said. "This calls for a poem." Everyone, especially Dawn, then gave their attention to the Kanto professor and poet. "When angry as a Tauros, you use Rage on the one who irks… When you're with more of your kind, you find common ground and Take Down alongside each other…"
"Beautiful," Dawn sighed. "I got to hear a poem up close from THE poet himself."
"But it didn't even rhyme," Kenny said.
"What do you know?!" Dawn said.
"So much for the poem keeping the peace," Ash said. "It's great to have my friends back again."
Ash smiled upon seeing his friends' humorous interactions with each other. He was especially glad to have Anabel back by his side to support him along with his friends. That was one of the perks he saw from having many friends. They make him laugh. They make him enjoy life as he should and wanted to. And they make him feel confident and brave enough to face the upcoming portentous challenge against Agatha.
"If Paul had friends such as mine, he'd have a reason to smile other than beating the tar out of his opponents. I wonder how he's doing since his defeat…"
They were growing impatient. It has been weeks since they received the call. That day they received the call, they felt the most triumphant they have ever felt. That day their men traversed in the recently opened portal to the Ruined World and successfully captured it; they had a reason to behave as they have done. They walked down the halls, silent but smug. However, they wanted to see it as soon as possible in order to not look like self-righteous fools.
"Where the hell are they?!" Giovanni barked. "How hard can it be to haul that thing here?"
"Haul that thing WITHOUT being noticed?" Ardos said sardonically. "I wonder how they can accomplish it."
"We've discussed the plan over and over before commencing with the operation. They capture it in the Ruined World. Then they 'gently' pull it out of there and back on top of Mt. Coronet. And finally they place it in the large aircraft we built to contain it and they fly it back to Kanto and our headquarters with it still unconscious so that is doesn't run amuck in the real world."
"And you think it's that easy, Giovanni?"
"No, but they should have been here a week the moment they captured it… Wait! You don't think they actually failed the capture and now they refuse to show their faces?!" Giovanni snarled, pounding his fist on the wall.
"Easy over there," a creepy, calculating voice said. "You wouldn't want your blood pressure to sky rocket before you've seen our soon-to-be ultimate creation, would you?"
"What is it, Stein?" Ardos asked.
"Well, I've just come to inform you two that our aircraft containing the creature has now entered Kanto," he said, receiving shocked looks from the two criminal leaders. "They'll be here momentarily." Stein then vanished back into the shadows, on his way back to the laboratory.
"So it has arrived," Giovanni said.
"And shall be reborn as the ultimate creature, accompanied by the ultimate Pokémon army!" Ardos proclaimed.
While the two leaders laughed about their next step to world domination, a Honchkrow and a Fearow were hovering outside while watching and listening on the entire conversation. The Honchkrow felt that it received enough information it needed, but the Fearow wanted to see painful, agonizing revenge upon the two of them for transforming it to the way it was: a berserk, deranged creature with an insatiable bloodlust, by which its own appetite quickly spread towards its own flock like a virus. The Honchkrow managed to calm its partner down and insisted they fly off. The Fearow grudgingly agreed.
I hope you all enjoyed this small chapter. I hope you all will please review this chapter. It will be much appreciated as usual.
Ciao!