Chapter 36: The Rocky Road to Vermillion

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE ROADS CLOSED?"

The guard didn't even bat an eye at the very angry Mew hybrid, instead shrugging his shoulders in response. "Sorry, but the road is currently off limits to the public."

"But we have to get to Vermillion City!" Ken explained, ears twitching in annoyance. "You're telling me that we came all this way and-"

"Look, calm down, will you?" the man sighed, rubbing his temples. "If you're headed to Vermillion, you can just take the underground path; it'll take you strait there."

Ken's ears immediately perked up. "Really?"

The guard nodded. "The entrance is up a little ways ahead, you can't miss it."

"Ok thanks," Ken replied, heading in the other direction towards the underground path, followed by Chris.

The man calmly watched them go, then when he was sure that Ken was out of earshot, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"The Mew Boy is headed your way, be sure that he gets a ticket for the SS Anne."

"Not a problem," the voice at the other end replied, sounding confident. "I've already dispatched two of our less important Team Rocket members to handle the task."

The man frowned, looking uncertain. "Which two?"

"Oh, just a couple of idiots who are long due for a success. Don't worry, they can't possibly screw this one up. Besides, they don't really fit the typical Team Rocket mold, which is precisely what we need: someone who doesn't broadcast 'I'm from Team Rocket.' Trust me, this mission will be a complete success."

"It had better be. The boss would be furious if this operation were to fail."

"Don't worry, one of our best agents is already stationed in Vermillion City. Everything is going according to plan."

"Good. Keep it that way," the man growled, hanging up the walkie-talkie. He chuckled to himself, an evil grin spreading its way across his face. Nowhere to run now, Mew Boy. We have you right where we want you.

"Are you sure this is an actual path?" Ken asked, reluctantly climbing down the stairs and into the sewer-like tunnel. "It doesn't look very...sanitary."

"Well, the map says it is," Chris replied, squinting at the map before shoving it into his backpack. Still, he had to admit, Ken was right. The long and winding tunnel was dimly lit and had every characteristic of a sewer.

"This place smells funny!" Sora complained, staring at their surroundings in disgust.

Ken took a cautious sniff, then immediately wished he hadn't. "I know Sora, let's just try to get through here as quickly as possible, ok?"

Sora nodded, and the group headed deeper into the tunnel…

"Life is a highway! I wanna ride it all night long!"

"Chris, cut it out," Ken sighed, reaching up and covering his sensitive ears.

"Just trying to lighten the mood," Chris replied with a shrug. "Is my singing really that bad?"

"It's not really your singing that I have a problem with," Ken groaned, as the Larvitar on Chris's shoulder continued to sing horribly out of tune.

"I told you," Arch sighed, already putting up a soundproof psychic barrier around himself.

Jerry, who was walking ahead to provide them with some extra light, suddenly stopped and stood stock-still. "S-something's out their!" he stammered, backing up nervously.

The group stopped and strained their hearing, and found that they could make out the sound of something moving, accompanied by an odd squishing sound. Ken, whose hearing was a bit better than the others, was able to make out something more.

"Get out…Get out…"

"M-maybe we should leave," Ken stammered, slowly backing away in the direction he had come, only to realize that whatever it was, was coming from that direction too.

As whatever it was continued to approach, the sound got louder, and one could just make out the outline of many blob-like shapes.

"GHOSTS!" Jerry cried, latching onto Chris's leg, flames igniting.

Arch rolled his eyes. "Please. What would ghosts be doing in a sewer?"

"Haunting…" Jerry muttered, scuffing the floor with his foot and not meeting the Ralts's gaze.

Arch was about to make a comment when the shapes stepped into the light, revealing themselves to be Grimer. Hundreds of them.

Cautiously, Ken took a step forward, trying very hard not to breathe in their scent; the stench was overpowering. "Um…hi, we're just passing through. Could you let us pass please?"

"Intruders…" the Grimer growled, inching closer to them, leaving a trail of toxic sludge in their wake.

"Um Ken, something tells me that they're not going to listen," Chris remarked nervously, as the hoard of angry Grimer began to surround them.

"Get out…Get OUT!" the sludge-like Pokémon growled, closing in on the group.

In desperation, Ken pulled out Zoey's Pokeball, knowing that he would have to fight his way out of this. Tossing the red and white orb, Zoey appeared in flash of light, then immediately began to look sick.

"Ewww! It's stinky in here!" she cried, covering her mouth. "Zoey want's back in the magic ball!"

"I know Zoey, but could you please try and use Meteor Mash? We're kind of in trouble here!" Ken frantically explained, the hoard of Grimer mere inchers from them.

Zoey nodded, removed her hands from her mouth to ready a punch, then, looking green in the face, rushed over to her Pokeball and hit the button, returning herself.

"That went well," Arch snickered, blasting away several Grimer with his Confusion attack.

Ken stared at the Pokeball in his hand and sighed. Apparently, Zoey was too sensitive to foul odors to battle in those kinds of conditions. Well, she was still young. Maybe she just didn't know how to handle it yet. He glanced at Sora, who gave him a look that clearly asked if he had lost it, and sighed.

Well, Sora's attacks wouldn't be that effective anyway, he realized, as Arch blasted several more Grimer into a nearby wall. He fingered Shades Pokeball consideringly for a moment, then decided that Tackle and Flail weren't likely to do much damage either.

Jerry joined in the fight to help Arch, launching Swift at any Grimer that dared to get too close, but it was clear that they were fighting a losing battle.

"Now would be a good time to tap into those psychic powers Ken!" Chris cried out, as Jerry knocked a Grimer away from him with a Flame Wheel.

"I would if I could, but I don't know how!" Ken cried, ducking as a glob of Sludge went sailing over his head. Sora glanced at Ken worriedly for a moment, before reluctantly jumping down and hitting the nearest Grimer with her Vine Whip. Thank you Sora, Ken thought to himself gratefully as he watched his little Bulbasaur try to defend him, but it was clear that even with her help, it wasn't going to be enough.

Kyo watched his friends battling, feeling rather useless and wishing that he could do something to help. Finally, he could take it no more, and jumped off of Chris's shoulder.

"ROCK SLIDE!"

The whole tunnel fell silent.

"Chris, please tell me that Kyo did not just use Rock Slide inside of a building?"

The group watched in horror as chunks of the walls began to break off, crashing down onto the Grimer below. There was a low rumble as several cracks began to form on the walls and they began to break apart at an alarming rate.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Chris screamed, as the building began to literally fall to pieces around them.

Human and Grimer alike were in a panic, trying as hard as they could to get to the exit in time.

We're not gonna make it! Ken thought to himself, as the ceiling began to crumble. Then, just as their seemed to be no hope, Ken spotted light up ahead. Putting on a burst of speed, Ken dashed out of the tunnel, followed by hundreds of Grimer, just as the building came tumbling down.

"Sorry," Kyo muttered meekly, looking pretty shaken up by the whole thing.

Ken sat on the ground panting, his hair and clothing covered with slime. Slowly, he glanced over at Kyo, right ear twitching once. "Kyo, never do that again," he said at last. "Ever."

The little Larvitar nodded, then collapsed into the grass, grateful that everybody had made it out in one piece.

"Well, we're finally here!" Chris laughed, as he and Ken made their way into Vermillion City.

Ken nodded. They had almost died and were covered in Sludge, but they had made it.

Walking into the Pokémon Center, they were immediately met with several knowing looks and sympathetic frowns.

"Let me guess," Nurse Joy sighed, as she took their Pokémon to be healed. "You took the underground path?" Ken and Chris nodded, making a mental note to never go through an underground path again. Nurse Joy shook her head. "It was never the best means of getting to Vermillion City, but ever since the Grimer showed up, things have gotten much worse." She looked them over, crinkling her nose. "Why don't we get your clothes washed for you? We'll get them fixed up and I'm sure the two you will want to shower." Ken and Chris nodded eagerly. Nurse Joy laughed. "Ok, just put your things outside your door and we'll get right on it."

The two took their room keys from Nurse Joy and headed up to their rooms, stripping out of their dirty clothes almost as soon as they'd entered the door.

This is so gross! Ken sighed, applying a liberal amount of shampoo to his hair.

After spending what felt like an eternity cleaning off all the grime, Ken dried off, put on a bathrobe, and went out into the hallway to see if his clothes had been delivered yet. Glancing across the hall, he saw that Chris had had the same idea.

"So…when do you think our clothes will be here?" Ken asked, feeling more than a little awkward standing there in nothing but a bathrobe.

Chris shrugged. "Depends on how many Trainers are using the Pokémon Centers washing machine." Suddenly his eyes widened. "That coat is dry clean only!"

Ken face palmed as the Rigigigas hybrid took off running towards the front desk, then shook his head and went back to his room.

A few minutes later, he heard a knock on the door and opened it to find his clothes folded in a neat pile. Taking his clothes back inside, he got dressed and headed downstairs, Chris already waiting for him.

"Well, they didn't dry clean it, but I think it should be fine," Chris sighed, running a hand over the material of the heavy fur coat.

"Why do you wear that thing?" Ken asked, regarding his friend strangely. "It's spring. As in, it's warm out."

Chris shrugged, looking rather embarrassed. "Force of habit, I guess. It's always freezing cold in Snowpoint." The Mew hybrid nodded, though he still had a strange look on his face. "Uhh…wanna check out the sights?" Chris asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Sure, we've got a couple days to spare so we might as well," Ken replied with a shrug.

So the two decided to check out some of the city's major landmarks, the first stop on the agenda being the Pokémon Fan Club.

"I told you, Pikachu is the best!" a man insisted, the Pikachu on his shoulder nodding its head in agreement.

"My Seel is so much cuter!" the woman seated across from him snapped, pulling her Seel closer to her. "It squeals when I hug it!"

"Help!" the Seel cried, looking as it were being smothered.

Ken blinked, beginning to wonder if coming there was such a good idea. After all, here were a couple of grown adults arguing over how cute their Pokémon were, and the woman appeared to be strangling her Seel to death. He was just about to leave when a voice rose up loudly above the others.

"Hey everybody, it's the Mew Boy!"

In an instant all eyes were on him. Then there was a squeal, and before Ken had the chance to react he was pounced on by a mob of teenage girls.

"Sooo cuuute!" a girl squealed, wrapping Ken in a huge hug and causing him to blush heavily.

Holy crap, the fan girls are attacking! Ken thought to himself, letting out a yelp as one girl grabbed hold of his tail rather roughly. He was about to ask Chris to have Arch Teleport him out of there, preferring losing his lunch to losing an arm or leg, when a man called out, his voice stern.

"Now, now, ladies, let's let the poor boy breathe, shall we?" The girls let out cries of disappointment, but did as asked.

With a gasp of air, Ken took a moment to get over that terrifying experience, looking up when he heard someone chuckle.

A man stood before him dressed in fine clothes. His hair was beginning to grey, and he had an apologetic, though slightly amused, smile on his face.

"I'm terribly sorry young man. You see, Mew is a big favorite at this fan club."

"Really? Mew never would've guessed," Ken replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"I really am sorry you had to go through that," the man continued, ignoring the giggles of the fan girls as they muttered about how Ken's speech was so "kawaii." "As the chairman of this fan club, I simply must make it up to you somehow…Ah! Perhaps this will do?" he laughed, handing Ken what appeared to be some sort of coupon. "It's a bike voucher," the chairman explained, noticing Ken's confused expression. "You can turn it in to the Bike Shop in Cerulean City in exchange for a free bike!"

"Really?" Ken asked, surprised that the man was giving him something so valuable.

"Yes, that's right!" the chairman laughed. Noticing Ken's guilty expression, he added, "Don't worry, my beloved Fearow will carry me anywhere I need to go!"

Ken smiled and thanked the man, hurrying out of the Pokémon Fan Club before someone could take his spleen.

After a brief stop at the post office, which Ken refused to discuss the reason behind, the duo decided to check out Vermillion Harbor, the spot the town was most famous for.

"I thought the SS Anne wasn't due for a couple of days?" Ken asked, as the harbor swarmed with people.

"It isn't; Vermillion Harbor gets visited by ships from all over the world," Chris explained, gesturing towards the name printed on the side of the ship, The SS Kyogre. "I think that ships' from the Hoenn Region."

"Hoenn?" Ken asked, confused. "What would someone from Hoenn be doing in Kanto?"

"On vacation most likely," Chris explained, motioning to all the people with cameras. "They're just here to see the sights."

"I'M FINALLY HERE!"

Ken and Chris looked up to see a boy of around fifteen making his way down the dock, green eyes dancing with excitement. He wore a pair of jeans along with a red T-shirt over a white undershirt, and a pair of plain white tennis shoes. His long blue hair went down to about his waist, although Ken was sure that there was something funny about it.

He took a brief glance around, spotted Ken and Chris, and hurriedly began to make his way over.

"It's so good to finally meet you!" he cried, green eyes sparkling with excitement. He then took Ken's hand and began to shake it, catching the Mew hybrid completely by surprise. "My name is Marik and I was hoping to ask you a few things if you would Mew Boy."

"For the last time, my name is Ken and I'm not…" Ken began, trailing off as he noticed the pair of antenna sticking up from the other boy's head. They were rather long and the exact same color as his hair. Honestly, Ken wouldn't have even noticed them if they hadn't decided to stand up, waving about excitedly.

Marik followed Ken's gaze, glancing up at his antenna and sighing before smoothing them back into place. "Well, was wondering how I was going to tell you that, but ok, that works! Marik the Manaphy hybrid, that's me!" he laughed, running a hand through his long blue hair.

Ken stared in disbelief at the teen as information on Manaphy began to fill his head, much as it had when he'd met Chris and Celebi. Discovering that as long as he didn't fight it, it didn't bother him, he asked the one question that was most on his mind. "How in the world did that happen?"

"Well, to make a long and weird story short, I died."

"What?" Ken and Chris asked, confused.

Marik nodded. "Yep, I died almost immediately after birth. Fortunately for me, Manaphy showed up and used Heart Swap, transferring a tiny bit of his soul into me, saving my life." He paused, running a hand over one of his antenna. "Of course, such a procedure was not without its side effects." He stared off into space, a thoughtful look on his face. "I was human once, but it was far too long ago for me to remember. I suppose I'm not technically a natural born hybrid, but this is all I've ever known, I can't remember what it was like before." He looked a little depressed for a moment, before his expression quickly brightened. "So that's my story, how 'bout you? Did your mom, you know, do the deed with Mew?"

Ken's face flushed red with anger at the fact that this stranger would refer to something like that so casually, and he grabbed hold of Marik's antenna, giving them a hard yank.

"Don't you dare talk about my mother that way!" Ken growled, pulling on the Manaphy hybrid's antenna as hard as he could.

"Yow! Hey that hurts!" Marik protested, attempting to pull away from Ken, but to no avail. "Seriously, let go! I didn't mean it that way!"

Suddenly, the ends of his antenna began to glow pink, bright pink tendrils of energy snaking their way over to Ken and Chris. Ken felt very strange for a moment, before he found himself no longer standing in front of Marik. He glanced over to where he had been, only to see himself holding onto Marik's antenna, also looking extremely confused.

"What the…?" Chris asked, his voice coming out of Ken's body. He slowly released his hold on Marik's antenna, looking lost.

Seeing this, Ken glanced down at himself to find that he was most definitely in Chris's body. "What did you do?" he demanded, walking over to the Manaphy hybrid and nearly falling flat on his face. He was having a bit of difficulty balancing without a tail.

Chris, on the other hand, appeared to be having troubles of his own controlling Ken's tail, and the furry pink appendage was whipping about wildly, leaving Chris at a loss on what he was supposed to do.

"Ken, how do you get it to stop moving?" Chris demanded, clearly trying to gain control of the tail, but having no such luck.

"You don't," Ken replied with a sigh. "Just stop trying and let it move on its own."

The tail suddenly halted in its wild dance and began to gently sway from side to side in its usual manner, causing Chris to sigh in relief.

The two then turned to Marik, neither of them looking very happy.

"Um…oops?" Marik muttered, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oops? I swap bodies with my best friend and all you have to say is 'oops'?" Ken demanded, fists clenched.

"Um…yes?" Marik replied with a shrug, clearly not understanding just how angry Ken was at that moment. Chris could tell just by looking at him that, were he in his own body, Ken's right ear would be twitching out of control by now.

"I'm sure it was an accident," Chris offered, hoping to avoid a fight. After all, he knew for a fact that with Ken's temper and his body, the Manaphy hybrid was more than likely going to be beaten to a pulp.

"It's a defense mechanism," Marik explained, taking a nervous step back as ken continued to glare daggers at him. "It's not my fault you decided to pull on my antenna like an idiot!"

"THAT'S IT!"

Chris face palmed as Ken began to chase the very freaked out Manaphy hybrid, only to fall flat on his face seconds later.

"It might take a while to get used to the other person's body," Marik explained, not even bothering to try to contain his laughter.

Ken lifted himself up off the ground, an angry glare on his face. "Chris! Your body doesn't work right!"

"Excuse me? My body works just fine!" Chris snapped, tail twitching in irritation. He glanced back at the furry appendage and sighed. "How in the world can you stand this thing? It never. Stops. Moving!"

"Well duh," Ken sighed, rolling his eyes. "It's a tail. What, did you expect it just to hang there and not move?"

"No," Chris snapped, irritated that his friend wasn't getting what he was trying to say, "but I didn't expect to be able to feel it moving!"

Ken simply stared at Chris, unable to believe what he had just said. "Chris, that's like saying you didn't think you'd be able to feel your arm move!"

"What? That's not even remotely the same thing!" Chris countered, growing irritated.

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't!"

"How would you know?" Ken demanded, glaring hard at Chris. "You don't even have a tail!"

"I do now!"

Both teens paused, the subject they were arguing about apparently finally having registered. Slowly, they turned towards Marik, who had been watching their argument with interest and more than a little amusement. The Manaphy hybrid flinched as he came under their gaze, and began to back away, laughing nervously.

"Fix this," Ken finally said, as calmly as he could, though his voice still radiated anger.

"Um…well, about that," Marik began, beginning to nervously fiddle with one of his antenna. "I, uh, can't."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T?" Ken and Chris demanded, eyes wide with shock.

"Hey, relax! It'll wear off on its own after a while, though I can't say when exactly," Marik explained, waving his hand dismissively as he proceeded to smooth his antenna back into place amongst his hair. "Just think of it as a unique experience!"

"I've already been several Pokémon!" Ken protested, quickly losing his patience. "I don't need to turn into my best friend too!"

Marik merely shrugged. "Sorry, not my problem. Maybe next time you'll learn not to pull on my antenna, huh?" And with that, he turned to head towards the Pokémon Center, only to be grabbed by Ken.

"Oh no you don't! You're staying right here until we're back to normal!" Ken growled, holding the Manaphy hybrid firmly by the shoulders.

"If that's what you want," Marik replied with a shrug, a small grin visible on his face.

Chris sighed, unable to shake the feeling that Marik had never really wanted to leave in the first place.

"So, you're sure that this is just going to wear off on its own?" Ken asked the Manaphy hybrid, who was currently staring out at the ocean.

"Of course! I've done this sort of thing many times before!" Marik replied with a wave of his hand, turning back to the ocean with a dreamy look on his face. "Isn't the ocean wonderful?"

Ken and Chris simply stared, not really sure what the big deal was, although Ken had to admit, the ocean did make him feel…something. What that something was exactly though, he wasn't entirely sure.

Maybe it's a Mew thing, he considered, turning his gaze towards the vast expanse of water. Wait, if I'm in Chris's body, wouldn't that make it a Regigigas thing? No, that doesn't make sense! Maybe Chris has a thing for the ocean and he never told me about it? But even though I'm in Chris's body I'm still me, right? Does that mean that the Mew part of me is still here too? Man, this is so confusing! Ken let out a groan, ready to tear his, er, Chris's hair out.

"Try to relax Ken," Chris sighed, attempting to ignore the ever moving appendage that was Ken's tail. "Getting all worked up about it isn't going to solve anything."

"Yeah, Ken. Besides, it really isn't that different from all those times that you used Transform!" Sora pointed out, causing Ken to groan once more.

"I really didn't like that either."

Chris, Sora, and Marik began to laugh, their laughter ending abruptly seconds later by three words that Ken wished desperately that he hadn't just heard.

"Hello, Mew Boy."

Ken's breath caught in his throat, and he turned slowly towards the sound of the voice, only to see that the person in question was talking to Chris.

Oh yeah, I'm in Chris's body, Ken realized, face palming. Of course everybody is going to think that he's-uh oh. Ken quickly turned back to his friend, fearing that Team Rocket had found them yet again, and was relieved to see that Chris was currently conversing with a pair of teenage girls.

"Like, I'm so glad we caught up to you! See, we work for a travel agency and, like, accidentally booked too many tickets for the SS Anne! So we were wondering if you would, like, take them off our hands?"

"Um…" Chris muttered, apparently not having registered that he was the Mew Boy they were talking about.

"Like, it'll be fun! They're hosting a big party!"

"Cool!" the second girl chimed in.

"And they'll be snacks!"

"Cool!"

"And lots of Trainers and Pokémon!"

"Cool!"

"And all kinds of old junk left over from past voyages!"

"Cool!"

"So, like, here you go!" the first girl laughed, handing the ticket to a very confused looking Chris.

"Cool!" the second girl said again, only to be dragged off by the first, more than a little roughly.

"Like, we gotta go! Have fun!"

"Coo—I mean, uhh, bye!"

The two then hurried off, leaving Chris staring at the ticket in surprise. "Ok…that was easy…"

Ken nodded, though he couldn't shake the feeling that there had been something strangely familiar about the two girls…

In the bushes nearby, the two teenage girls watched the scene with interest, evil grins on their faces.

"This plan is going to be a complete success!" Jessie laughed, pulling off her wig. "He didn't even recognize us!"

"About that," James muttered, as he too, removed his wig. "Why is it that I had to dress up like a girl?"

"Cause you already got the looks for it!" Meowth offered, making his way over to his teammates.

"Oh, thank you!" James laughed. Seconds later his smile faded. "Hey! Wait a minute—"

"Oh, be quiet James!" Jessie snapped, waving her hand to silence him. "The important thing is that he fell for it!"

"Da Boss is gonna be so happy! We might finally get a promotion!" Meowth exclaimed, eyes gleaming excitedly.

Elsewhere, a certain Team Rocket Supervisor was watching Ken and the others carefully, an evil smirk on his face.

Don't think that you can get away with all the trouble you've caused me, Mew Boy! he sneered, grip tightening on his Sandslash's Pokeball. The Boss has big plans for you. Yes, big plans indeed! "Hahahahahahahaha!"

"Mommy," a little boy asked, tugging on the sleeve of his mother's shirt, "why is that man in a bush?"

"Just keep walking sweetheart and don't make eye contact!" the woman instructed, taking her son firmly by the hand and leading him away from where the Team Rocket Supervisor sat laughing like a maniac.

In yet another location, a Persian sat curled up in its master's lap, the man gently patting its head, causing it to purr.

"Soon," the man chuckled, "I will control the most powerful Pokémon on earth! Then all will tremble beneath the might of Team Rocket!" Turning his head, he regarded the man tied to a chair nearby, a look of amusement on his face. "What do you think of that Professor?"

"Ken isn't a Pokémon!" Professor Oak snapped, struggling to break free of the ropes that bound him, but to no avail.

The man smiled, though it was a cruel smile. "We have ways of fixing that. Still, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get an idea of what my future pet is capable of." Turning his chair around, he picked up a nearby phone and began dialing. Seconds later, there was the sound of someone picking up, but Professor Oak was unable to distinguish any more than that. "Yes, it's me. You recall me telling you about the Mew Boy, correct?"

A pause.

"Yes, well I would like a proper assessment done on his powers."

Another pause.

"Yes, it wouldn't do if they weren't up to speed, but judging by what he did to Persian, that shouldn't be a problem," the man continued, running a hand over Persian's head, who growled at the memory. Unknown to his master, it had actually been a group of Pikachu that had injured him back in Viridian Forest, but he certainly wasn't going to admit to that. "Still, there is always room for…improvement, and I would like to know what I'm up against."

A long pause.

"Yes, see that it is done." There was a click and the man hung up the phone, turning to Professor Oak with an evil grin on his face. "Well Professor, let's discuss why you are here. We no longer need to know his location, so you are no use to us there." The Persian let out a growl and unsheathed its claws, causing Professor Oak to flinch. "However, it is my understanding that you know what is causing the Mew Boy to become more like a Pokémon." The man stood up, and looked Professor Oak straight in the eye, his expression deathly serious. "I would like you to share that information with us, if you'd be so kind."

"Never!" Professor Oak growled, staring back at his kidnapper defiantly.

The man frowned and walked over to Professor Oak, his gaze as cold as ice. "Perhaps you did not understand me," the man growled, taking Professor Oak firmly by the shoulders and giving them a painful squeeze, causing him to wince. "That was not a request; it was an order. Now, you will tell me what I want to know, or else, I will personally make your stay here a very painful one!"

Professor Oak stared right back, as defiant as ever. "I'll never tell a dirty crook like you anything about Ken!"

The man looked outraged for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. "If that is how you want it." He turned to leave, followed by his Persian. "Just so you know, if you won't tell us, we will find a way to make him into a Pokémon ourselves and I can't guarantee that his sanity will remain intact."

And with that, he left Professor Oak alone in the room, his cruel laughter echoing into the halls.

Author's notes: Ok, so Ken is finally in Vermillion City! *pulls string and balloons and confetti fall from the ceiling* Yaaay! And it only took…thirty-six chapters… ^_^; Ok, well now that he's actually in Vermillion City, things should start to get good! :)

Ken: That's what you said last chapter!

Me: And it did, didn't it?

Ken: Depends on your idea of good. Personally, this was not my favorite chapter: I get attacked by Grimer, have a roof dropped on me, get Heart Swapped with my best friend, and now Team Rocket has plans for me that can't possibly end well! Does nothing good ever happen to me?

Me: We've been over this Ken; I can't just give you a happy ending right away, that's boring! Besides, you made a friend!

Marik: Hi Ken! Looks like I might be joining you in the authors notes section soon! ^_^

Ken: Why do all of my so called "friends" only seem to drive me nuts?

Marik: Because that's what friends are for!

Ok Trainers, for those of you who guessed Manaphy, you were right! :) Yes, Marik is a Manaphy hybrid. I really think I'm going to have a lot of fun writing his character.

Marik: I'm very charismatic. I'm also single. *winks*

Me: No flirting with the audience!

Marik: But—

Me: No!

Marik: *pouts*

Anyway, thanks for reading everybody! Sorry it took so long, but hopefully it was worth the wait. As usual, comments and questions are welcome! :)