Review Responses (both for Ch. 35 and the Author's Note):

The Sinful: Both are quite a feat in and of themselves.

Cjonwalrus: Glad to hear it. :)

BbK2442:

1. If they did, it certainly wouldn't be on Giovanni's orders.

2. Most people would need sleep to rejuvenate their body and mind. Drowzee's earlier comment that the mind can compensate for the body after a certain level implies that it's the same way for him too. For him, it's because he channels and manipulates dream energy, and Sabrina is simply at such a high level that the spare energy from her psychic powers can keep her running indefinitely. If she massively strained herself, then she would need sleep.

3. We'll see.

Fox McCloude:

1. Yeah, my story is a bit more of a serious take on the Pokémon anime.

2. I'd actually been looking forward to writing that battle between them for a long time. I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

Nathan Brown: Rest assured that I'll always come back to this story, and my other ones, so long as I live.

Engineer1869:

1. Send a note to his R&D head to try coming up with some counters to psychic powers.

2. He hadn't fully trained his Growlithe yet, having been focused on developing its offensive moves before his other pre-evolution exclusive moves.

3. He'd have had a better chance, yes. If Ash had gone full out, though, using every move at the disposal of his most powerful Pokémon, it's unlikely he would've won. And he didn't slack off; it's just that he has so many more Pokémon than Ash that it takes more time for him to train all of them.

Snoozing Lurker: Thanks, I'm glad the chapter met your standards. I consider it an achievement since you're pretty discerning about your fanfics from what I've noticed.

Guest (Feb 26): Hmm, that is pretty interesting, I admit, and could come in handy if Ash needs some protection against something, but he'd probably see having Muk battle himself as the more effective move. It works better for Koga and Janine since they're ninja, but he's just a novice brawler.

13stars: Thanks, always happy to welcome a new reader.

TheShadowOfZama: Yeah, Sabrina's just too OP to have around now. Thanks for the review, as usual, and the wait is over.

Barley (Guest): That is indeed how it went in the anime, which makes one assume that the foreman (or maybe he's a super) is the highest authority in the construction crew.

Cj (Guest): While an amusing thought, that's not exactly what I'm going for. The walking stick is purely a practical tool, not any mystic item. Thanks for the chuckles you gave me over that theory, though. If you want, you could even make a picture of Ash as Poké'Moses.

BrightNova169: Thanks for the thorough review, and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.

Col (Guest): Funnily enough, a lot of people in the Pokémon universe seem to consider Pokémon just animals as you described, treating them as less than intelligent beings. And in the games, maybe they are, considering they need to be ordered which attacks to use.

But in the anime, Pokémon are shown to be far more intelligent than given credit for. But they understand human speech; there's never been any indication that they can't, even wild Pokémon. With a translator (like Meowth was to Team Rocket in canon), even wild Pokémon can be understood. Ash can't understand them, but Drowzee can and will relay their meaning to him. They have wants and fears of their own, too.

Guest (Chapter 5; March 18th): That was my mistake, but there's no need to get snippy. I changed Misty's goal to trying to knock Butterfree out of his flight pattern by hitting one of the wings with Water Gun. While they wouldn't get wet, he could still get knocked into the pool.

Re Fenrir: I'm glad you like my story.

Skylar Brook (Guest; Chapter 25): Like mentioned in my author's note, I have other obligations and cannot write 24/7. But I've got a new chapter now.

guest: That's fine. Thank you for apologizing; that's something that not a lot of people on the internet would do. The new chapter's here if you're still waiting around with my story bookmarked on your browser.

zanpaktospirit0: Some people do for me on this one; it's more common on the supremely popular works while mine is more of a cult classic.

demon-lvr: I'm glad you feel that way, and I know. I just figured it better to make a statement against people like that instead of doing nothing. Seemed to stop it in any case. And sorry about the username. For some reason, the site didn't want to show it.

darkstel: Thanks. There was actually one guy that I blocked for excessive rudeness. Haven't heard from him since I had to file a claim against him for trying to copy my story on his own profile.

philly cheese dude (Chapter 6): Koffing's Smog is poisonous and flammable, not just obscuring like Smokescreen (though that makes them cough too). The faculty are probably similar, if not the same as the students: they know battle theory very well, but have zero actual experience. They would be the embodiment of "[T]hose who can't, teach."

Snakespur: Thanks, and I'm back for this chapter, at least.

philly cheese dude (Chapter 24): I suppose that's one way to look at it, but I'm not going to go into the whole Ash vs. Red debate.

philly cheese dude (Chapter 26): Team Rocket knows of Johto, but Giovanni needs to keep Kanto's isolationist policy in mind and make sure that any Johto agents are discreet. That means that they can't catch a Dark-type to use against Sabrina, and Charlie knew this. On that note, she gets a pass since she's a disguise/infiltration specialist. If anybody sees her Pokémon, then she's failed in her duty.

Babyuknowme13: Thanks for the high praise. I haven't had a chance to look into Saylee of Kanto, but it's on my list.

Guest (June 17th): Nah, it's cool. And that is a likely outcome, if Magnemite doesn't grow out of her crush. Nothing wrong with sharing ideas.

Lordsunshine64: You're welcome! :D

Guest (July 9th): The wait is over.

tanithlipsky: Thanks.

AlmineGoneWild: Thank you for such glowing praise and for understanding. I'm glad that I was able to help inspire you.

BrightNova169:

1. Thanks for understanding.

3. That could be one way to go, if he didn't decide to become a daycare runner or Gym Leader instead.

4. I would think that a criminal organization like Team Rocket would be used to foul smells. Jessie and James didn't have too much of a problem with Gringey City in this story, after all. Granted, they did in canon, but that doesn't speak for the rest of the organization. Still, a Muk's stench is extra potent, so while they probably wouldn't throw up, they'd be repulsed by it and their concentration would be shot for a few moments.

On with the story! Also, I hit 100,000 views! W00t! \(*3*)/

Chapter 36: Unknown Factors

Gary had turned around in surprise from the sudden burst while Ash grabbed Drowzee's hand before cursing as the Psychic Pokémon's eyes widened in surprise and relayed something to him. He then returned Drowzee to his Poké Ball before exchanging it with another while taking out his Pokédex. Doduo materialized a moment later from the thrown sphere a short distance away before it returned to Ash's hand.

"Sir, you might want to stay here; without Pokémon it's too dangerous," he warned the foreman. As he switched his Pokémon as quick as his thumbs could move, he turned to his fellow Pallet Trainer, "Gary!"

At the urgent call, the brunet glanced at him and found himself pinned under an authoritative gaze from the shorter boy. The look caught him off guard and he didn't speak as Ash continued.

"If that special medicine healed up Arcanine enough, take him and ride in a curve around to where that explosion was." He caught two Poké Balls that materialized, "Doduo will go with you and bring help; I'll fly through the air. There's probably somebody set up to intercept us on the straight path if they waited until now to spring their attack; I'll draw their attention."

"Attack?" Gary questioned before his eyes widened and he took out his own Poké Ball. "My girls!"

"And everyone else; get back there as fast as you can!" Ash urged while calling out another Pokémon that landed before him. Squirtle looked up and accepted a Poké Ball from his Trainer with the instructions his Trainer gave, "Call him out once you get there, he'll be good for crowd control. Bad Breath, Mega Punch and Lasso in Octopus Form. Tell him to use those moves and be careful of any counterattacks. If they have those vacuum backpacks, capture as many as you can and give them to him so that he can hold them inside his body."

Squirtle nodded and stored the shrunken ball in his shell before hopping on Doduo's back. The Twin Bird Pokémon took off in a curving path through the trees. By this time, Gary had called out Arcanine and climbed aboard before the other portion of Ash's plan caught up with his mind.

"Wait, you said you're going to fly-"

The black-haired Trainer didn't answer and interrupted his question by calling out another Pokémon from his belt, Gary's jaw dropping slightly when the energy formed into a Pidgeot. Ash mounted the bird in a practiced motion and moved his goggles from his neck up to his eyes with the stretchy band of cloth before coaxing Pikachu into his jacket for safety.

The Bird Pokémon spread his wings and took off with a burst of Agility. With his Trainer's added weight, it looked like a semi-swift jump into the air that served to get him off the ground so he could fly freely with his wing beats and gliding alone while focusing on speeding up all the while.

Gary couldn't help but stare until Arcanine barked urgently, bringing him back to the situation at hand so that he could ready himself to ride, "Let's go, Arcanine! Follow that Doduo's scent trail!"

Taking a deep whiff of the air to get a feel for the Twin Bird Pokémon's course, he took off in a loping gait, needing to go at around half his speed to navigate the trees since he wasn't entirely used to his new form yet.

The explosion had gotten everybody's attention, having happened a short distance beyond the buses. A feminine voice familiar to Brock and Misty rang out in an arrogant laugh as a cloud of Sleep Powder began descending into the area flanked by the two cliffs.

The Cerulean Leader hurriedly released one of her Pokémon, "Goldeen, Aqua Barrier, quickly!"

The Goldfish Pokémon didn't waste time with making a Water Veil and sprayed a fount of water that quickly spread out into the sky as her eyes glowed, making a dome around all of the Trainers and rendering the Sleep Powder useless. While she could control water easier now, her eyes still tended to gain a slight radiance when she pushed her water manipulation harder.

A burst of electricity came down afterward, but it dispersed into the water, traveling the path of least resistance with sparks and steam going outward until it reached the bottom of the round structure and grounded.

Misty's eyes widened at the sight. She'd always known that water conducted electricity, but she'd never thought that shaped water would redirect it because of that. She shook it off and turned to Goldeen, who had managed to take the time to make her personal bubble of water. Some of the other Trainers were already releasing their Pokémon, the few that started motivating others to stand and fight as well.

Ash flew through the air, both him and Pidgeot on guard for a surprise attack. Their vigilance proved to be justified as a bolt of electricity shot for them from the ground. The Bird Pokémon dodged it relatively easily, but another blur shot by from above while he was distracted and snatched Ash right off his back with a keening cry, the sheer speed ripping the Trainer's grip off of his mount.

Pidgeot turned in time to see some sort of metal-clad bird carrying Ash in its talons, taking him to the ground. Trilling angrily, he dove down after it, intent on helping to wrap up the situation quickly so that they could continue.

Meanwhile, the Pallet Trainer winced in pain as the talons dug painfully into his shoulders, the Pokémon being none too gentle about holding him. Deciding to get free, since he trusted Pidgeot to catch him, he ordered, "Pikachu, Thunder Shock!"

Pikachu was about to do it, too, since his Trainer wouldn't even feel such comparatively low voltage, but the metal bird released him to fall to the ground. He didn't scream, since Pidgeot used a burst of Agility before lining up with him during his drop. Once the Flying Pokémon got under him, he beat his wings to slow their descent gradually as they came to a hover a few yards above the ground.

He looked towards the path forward and saw a pair of Rocket agents in the same silver uniforms as Jessie and James.

One was a tall and muscular man with blond spiked hair that formed a slight fringe over one side of his forehead and a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. His uniform was the vest and pants combo that Jessie favored, and he held a Zap Sapper in his hand.

The other was far slimmer, bordering on effeminate with his shoulder-length hair and the hakama bottom of his outfit. His coif also framed his face with two lengths and covered a majority of his forehead in a spiky widow's peak, also rising in small tufts at the sides of his crown like vulpine ears.

Ash dismounted Pidgeot since he knew he wouldn't be able to leave until they were defeated or at least distracted, "I was expecting someone else."

"You may not know us, but we know you, Ash Ketchum," the bulky agent said with a cocky grin as the metal bird landed beside him. "You're quite infamous among Team Rocket's ranks by now—a thorn in our side."

"Good," the Pallet Trainer retorted while taking his remaining occupied Poké Ball from his belt and expanding it. "Now, I have places to be, so I'm giving you one chance to get out of my way."

"There's about as much chance of you surrendering to us," the effeminate criminal stated. "Don't waste our time with such idle talk."

'Even if it's covered in metal, it's still a bird,' Ash analyzed during the conversation. 'It should be weak to electricity.'

Passing Pikachu onto Pidgeot's back, he shrugged, "Nobody can say that I didn't try. Kingler!"

A small army of Pokémon had materialized as the water dome dissolved into the ground. But before anybody could attack, a sinister tune started playing from around them.

"My phone, the call isn't getting through!" a male voice noted in shock.

"Mine neither!"

"Something must be blocking the lines!"

The dust cloud from the explosion had subsided by now, revealing Jessie and James standing on the opposing cliffs framing the clearing they stood in, teams of grunts equipped with Vacuum-Packs standing behind them with their own force of battle-ready Pokémon. A small chasm had been blown up in the entire road, cutting off escape with the buses.

"Got that right," the female Officer replied. "No calls in or out. The police won't be coming anytime soon, what with all the blasting this helpful little construction crew has already been doing all day."

James chuckled, "We didn't even have to bring our own explosives, just swipe some of the TNT they had, and they blamed it on the Dig-"

A powerful jet of water shot from somewhere in the crowd and he sidestepped while raising an eyebrow.

People and Pokémon alike made way as a large blue Pokémon stomped its way through with its Trainer walking along. It seemed mainly reptilian with a long muzzle, the lower pale yellow along with a V-shaped accent on its lower belly. Callous-like squares of armored flesh stuck out from its already tough looking skin along the arms, sides, knees and tail while three trios of red, triangular plates stood on its head, upper back and tail end as well. With tough claws on its five-fingered hands and feet, ferocious teeth in its large mouth and feral yellow eyes, it made for a very intimidating Pokémon.

Noah stood next to the unknown reptilian Pokémon, glaring coldly at James. "You and I have a score to settle, Princey. Feraligatr, get him!"

"All agents, attack!" Jessie ordered in kind as Noah's initiated assault prompted the rest of the Trainers to burst into action.

"Goldeen, Starmie, take out any powder users!" Misty commanded as her two Pokémon flew forward, the former already in a bubble of water. She gestured to two more behind her, "Vaporeon, Staryu, go for the operatives and steal as many of those packs as you can!"

Brock sent out his own Pokémon, "Geodude, cover Goldeen and Starmie! Zubat, watch out for Misty and Mimic any attacks coming her way to counter! Onix, take out any enemy Pokémon you can!" With his orders given, he pulled his entrenching tool out from a side pocket of his backpack and fully extended it.

James had signaled Gyarados to contend with Feraligatr, expecting the size difference to ensure him a quick victory so that he could help the rest of the agents. But the reptilian Pokémon grappled with the tail that tried to slam it away and lit up with the aura of Strength to yank the sea monster and throw it into a bundle of Rocket Pokémon since they hadn't dispersed into the throng of battle yet.

The Pokémon then charged after his with a snarl and leaped hard enough to arc through the air over several dozen heads. The agent then ordered out his other Pokémon to assist the greater portion of Team Rocket and chased after Gyarados to help by himself since it was clearly too strong to beat it by traditional means.

A moving figure in his peripheral vision made him stop and dodge to avoid a swipe from a pair of long claws belonging to a shrew-like Pokémon with spiked quills. A Sandslash, he identified. Noah was standing behind it, saying, "Let the big kids play while we talk things out."

Cursing, James whistled sharply to signal his Pokémon back to him. Gyarados was still held up by Feraligatr, but Mankey, Vileplume and Weezing retreated from the growing cluster of battles and rejoined their Trainer. He also called out Zubat for good measure since the battle had become one on one and her confounding moves could make the difference since it was apparent he hadn't robbed just any Trainer.

"You're an illegal immigrant," the Officer deduced. "How else could you have a Pokémon like that one?"

"Hey, pot, name's kettle, have we met?" Noah dryly replied while taking out two more Poké Balls. "Anyway, I can take you on. Aipom, Girafarig!"

Further in the growing chaos, Pokémon clashed against each other, only the shouts of the various Trainers and Rocket agents distinguishing which side they belonged to. One particularly fierce battle took place between a large Rocket agent wearing a ski mask along with a Kangaskhan possessing three scratches over its eyelid and a small trio of Pokémon that had temporarily banded together, a Poliwhirl, Butterfree and Graveler.

But none of them had enough firepower to do more than slow the Parent Pokémon down. Physical blows were shrugged off before they were knocked aside each time, spores and powders were washed away with its Water Gun. The Graveler itself was nearly taken out of the fight by that move, but managed to keep ahead of its spray.

"[Water Gun 'em in the face!]" a new voice called.

Poliwhirl realized that it was directed at him, and he did so right as an Ice Beam collided at the same time, surprising Kangaskhan and leading to her face being covered by a layer of frost.

The same voice added, "[Now the two of you gut punch 'em!]"

A brown blur sped through as the Tadpole and Rock Pokémon both surged forward with their fists at the same time as said blur leaped and kicked Kangaskhan in the neck at the same time as their blows landed, revealing it to be a Doduo with a triangular sunglasses-wearing Squirtle riding atop him. The combined blows managed to tip Kangaskhan to fall back, but she was clearly not out yet since she was already moving to get up and smashed the ice over her face.

"[Clear out!]" the Tiny Turtle Pokémon ordered. "[Stun Spore, quickly!]"

The masked agent tried to recall Kangaskhan out of the way, but a precise Water Gun knocked the Poké Ball out of his hand and the dust descended from Butterfree's wings once the allied Pokémon jumped aside, rendering the Parent Pokémon paralyzed. He tsked since the rest of his Pokémon were already dispersed, so he retreated after recalling Kangaskhan in her paralyzed state to find one of them and see where he could do the most for his side.

They turned to their timely ally, only to see him hop off the Twin Bird Pokémon, allowing him to charge into battle himself. Squirtle pulled a Poké Ball from within his shell and expanded it before releasing a Muk to materialize before him.

"[Ash says to use your Octopus Form and attack those guys in the black clothes with Mega Punch, Lasso and Bad Breath,]" he instructed. "[Any Pokémon that support them, too. Take their metal backpacks and hold them inside yourself; they'll have other peoples' Pokémon.]" He abruptly turned to the trio of Pokémon, "[You three; with me. We'll need to work together to take down these guys. Spread the word and try to get others to coordinate their attacks instead of just using them one after another.]"

As they nodded and ran after him into the thick of the battle, Muk concentrated, sucking his arms in as his waist narrowed, sludge building up at his lower half until eight tentacle limbs sprouted from his base. He slithered along, still rather slow, but his limbs extended and grabbed a trio of Rocket grunts, looping around before rejoining with the main limb to form a ring around each of them. Two more grew bulky, fist-like ends and he slammed them into the Pokémon that tried to attack his limbs.

The three tentacles combined into one thick one, two slim ones forming at his base to replace the sacrificed limbs and Muk opened his cavernous mouth to let out a slow breath that blew off their hats and caused tears to form in their eyes from the stench unleashed on them. A zapping sound caused one of his eyes to slide along his head to get a better view as an electric attack came towards him, and he threw one of the Rocket grunts into it, forcing them to take the attack as he stripped the other two retching crooks of their Vacuum-Packs, gulping the containers down to hold inside of him.

'Two down, a few dozen to go,' he mused while throwing the disarmed agents at the Pokémon targeting him and grabbing the one he'd used earlier to keep as a shield. 'Might wanna suck up some mud from these water attacks so that I can expand a bit for this battle.'

Further back towards the Digletts' forest, the two Rocket Officers were high in the air, away from a rushing deluge of water that wouldn't disperse. It simply stayed in the area around them, churning like a genuine ocean with waves going every which way.

The blond agent was holding onto his armored bird, the Flying Pokémon vibrating its metal wings filled with long red feathers so fast that they appeared as red and gray blurs to stay afloat. Meanwhile, the smaller of the two had called out one of his Pokémon, an Onix already trained to resist water, and currently stood upon its head staring dispassionately down at the raging waters.

"Son of a Houndour tried to wash us away with Surf," the burly Officer grumbled before taking his Zap Sapper from his belt. "I saw him slip on his mask; if he's trying to sneak past us through the water, he's got another thing coming."

As he fired at the water, another blast of electricity came from above. The steel-clad bird barely dodged, jostling his Trainer to avoid a narrow electric beam. Both bolts hit the water and electrified it.

The silver-haired agent narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "A double bluff—a smarter move than I thought. Onix, Earthquake."

The Rock Snake Pokémon lifted his tail and slammed it into the ground, shaking the earth and churning the water around him even further. After a moment of the water becoming more placid, the blond agent was dropped onto Onix's head as well while the armored bird actively engaged Pidgeot and Pikachu now.

"Think that might've been too much, Hun?" he asked. "The Boss said no fatalities, especially not on that kid."

"Kingler's potential moveset includes Harden and Strength, two essential moves in any close-ranged combatant. If the boy's connection is that strong with his Pokémon-"

The water parted over a patch of land and the ground burst a moment later, Kingler flying up with a shining carapace under the dirt and rubble, the aura of Strength around his legs as he cradled his Trainer, bubbles foaming from his mouth in rage. Ash appeared unconscious, looking like he'd been slightly bruised from the collapsing earth as well, with his rebreather still on.

"…then that crab took the brunt of the cave-in, making it far weaker," Hun finished.

Halfway laying Ash on the ground by taking his larger pincer out from under him, Kingler rasped angrily and charged a Hyper Beam within it, aiming at Onix's head.

"Hun…" the blond started in a warning tone.

"Of no consequence, Attila," the silver haired agent dismissed. "Onix, get ready to dodge."

But while his partner – admittedly the more strategic of the two – held on to his Pokémon and faced the threat in front of him, Attila's sharper eyes narrowed as he saw that Kingler's eyes were facing them, but seemed to be focused on something else.

Attila's eyes widened right as Kingler fired and Onix swayed to the side to dodge the fast-moving energy beam. He was already turning his head and confirmed his theory once they were safely out of the way, the shot having gone a little wide of the Rock Snake Pokémon.

"Skarmory, Protect!" he frantically called to his Pokémon still locked in battle with Pidgeot and Pikachu, who slipped away with Double Team since the Flying-type could see the attack.

By the time the armored bird saw the beam coming out of the corner of his eye, it was too late and it slammed into him, carrying him up into the sky before the energy detonated, sending his smoking form falling to the earth.

"Skarmory, return!" he called as the beam of light intercepted his downed Pokémon mid-drop. Attila glared down and grabbed the Zap Sapper at his belt, "Crab bastard…! I'll-"

He was cut off as Pidgeot zoomed by, dropping Pikachu as his wing tips started glowing. The small yellow Pokémon was already buzzing with electricity and released it at point blank range after he landed between the operatives.

Both of them screamed as the volts coursed through them, and Onix tried to do something only to have Pidgeot fly by again and shoot a Razor Wind at his eye, forcing him to close it or risk losing sight in it. The blade of air still carved a slight cut into his eyelid and around the socket, but he bore the pain with barely a grunt and opened it again to reveal the eye unharmed.

"Clear out!" Ash called through the mask's speaker from below as his eyes opened, the Trainer not as hurt as he'd let on.

Pikachu cut off his electricity and jumped off as Pidgeot swept by again. Kingler, his energy recovered, jumped forward and channeled Strength into his arm at the same time as he hardened the large claw, aiming for Onix's lower body. The Rock Snake tried to dodge again with the Rocket Officers still trying to cling in their electrified state, but Kingler's eyes glowed cyan and a wave of water swept him into the proper course before he swung forward and hit Onix dead center with King Crabhammer.

The colossal Pokémon roared in pain as cracks spread across his rock hide and he was sent skidding back through the waves before toppling over with a huge splash, throwing the duo from his head.

"Pidgeot, send 'em packing with Gust, now!" Ash commanded.

Pidgeot blew a mid-sized tornado from his wings that sucked up the two waterlogged agents along with a good portion of the rapids. A return beam shot from the cyclone to retrieve Onix, but there was no further resistance as the duo was blown away with the tornado carrying them over the horizon.

Once they were gone, Kingler released his control of the water save for keeping Ash dry as he scuttled over and rasped in a concerned tone over the still prone form of his Trainer. Pidgeot and Pikachu landed nearby as well, equally worried.

Ash grunted and pushed himself to a sitting position before he accepted Kingler's help up, leaning on the Pincer Pokémon for a moment, his arms and legs shaking slightly as he took off his rebreather.

"It wasn't as bad as Sabrina, but that still hurt," he groaned, the fresh, non-recycled air helping him recover. "We don't have time to rest, though; we need to get moving."

Gary had arrived at the scene of the battle a short while ago and instantly had Arcanine help cover the car full of his fangirls. Thankfully, Team Rocket was too preoccupied by the multiple battles to target noncombatants. Especially when the Trainers directed their Pokémon to keep the Rocket ones contained.

As he released the new team of Pokémon that he'd switched his injured one out for, he saw that a larger than average Muk with a blocky belly, streaks of mud and eight tendrils swiping through the ranks of grunts was sowing chaos while groups of Pokémon were teaming up to slowly push back the ranks. Ash's Squirtle also led a Vaporeon and Staryu as well in harassing the Rocket agents so they couldn't accurately order their Pokémon.

But what made him do a double take was seeing the teen he'd fought at Pewter Gym wielding a completely metal shovel-like instrument and either thwacking or chopping at Pokémon of various sizes while either blocking or dodging counterattacks.

The brunet gritted his teeth, feeling inadequate to both Ash and the Leader he'd beaten with ease using his starter, but concentrated on directing his own Pokémon.

Were James a less collected person, he would be cursing in frustration.

Sandslash had managed to block all of Mankey's fighting moves and cut Vileplume up with Fury Swipes to stun her before rolling into the Flower Pokémon as a spiked ball of pain, refocusing on the more resilient Fighting-type after she was knocked out.

Meanwhile Girafarig, a long-necked quadrupedal Pokémon with a yellow front half, a brown rear half, two white antennae and a curious, round and sharp-toothed second head on the end of its tail, knocked out Weezing with a blast of psychic energy. Zubat didn't last much longer, a widespread pulse of similar energy knocking her out in one shot.

Gyarados was still holding on, but he was clearly on the losing side of the battle with Feraligatr, the crocodilian Pokémon treating him like he was an oversized toy. It had even redirected his Hyper Beam with a Strength-enhanced Ice Punch, making the beam curve away with her backhand to blast into the cliff in the distance behind her.

And he couldn't even step in to help since that blasted purple monkey with the hand on its tail kept interfering. Aipom had already stolen his Zap Sapper and used Swift to intercept any and every projectile he threw, all with cheeky taunting.

Worse, he'd released the rest of his Pokémon, a dark feline Pokémon with two-clawed hands, and a big, brown bear-like Pokémon to assist the others, along with Girafarig leaving, so James couldn't even say that he was keeping a powerful Trainer occupied.

"You feel it, don't you?" Noah asked. "I want you to know who you made your enemy. I'm not just a punk immigrant; I was a finalist in the Silver Conference, here to see if I could find an edge. I know you don't have my Pokémon anymore, and I'll make you and yours pay for taking them from me."

A sharp and loud whistle blowing cut off any reply James might have made. He frowned, but recalled his Pokémon all the same as he ran past Noah.

Jessie was in the thick of battle, trying to get the captured Vacuum-Packs from Muk with Electabuzz, but the mud made it hard for electricity to conduct through the Sludge Pokémon. When she heard the whistle, the retreat signal, her eyes instantly snapped up and, sure enough, she saw the small flying figure in the distance and closing fast.

She, along with all of the agents, returned their Pokémon as they all gathered up in a mass of bodies with a gap in the center as they locked hands, arms, anything they could do to be touching. The confusion generated by such a move bought precious seconds for another figure to warp in between them, obscured by all the gathered agents.

"Team Rocket blasts off once again!" she taunted.

The entire group turned to light and disappeared.

"No!" Ash cursed to himself as he saw every single Rocket agent teleported away en masse.

Bringing Pidgeot down for a landing, he quickly hid the lingering pain, even though his movement wasn't hindered too much as he dismounted and walked forward.

"Squirtle, Doduo, Muk!" he called.

The three Pokémon reported promptly, Muk taking a little longer with his higher weight and already low speed.

Ash checked them over, finding a slight burn on Doduo's side while Squirtle was largely uninjured and Muk didn't look like he'd taken much damage at all, though his unique body probably helped in that regard.

The Pallet Trainer nodded and said, "I'm glad you three are okay." Then he addressed the crowd, "Show of hands, who lost a Pokémon to the vacuum backpacks?"

He winced when a good portion of the crowd rose their hands, but recovered quickly.

"Sadly, it'll be luck of the draw, but I had Muk here capture any of them that he could, so if you'll come forward to help release the Pokémon inside, I'd appreciate it," he announced. "Muk?"

Muk made a rumbling sound from his insides and regurgitated a little over a dozen Vacuum-Packs from his mouth, the pile having purple residue on it and making the Trainers step back in disgust.

Ash did his best to ignore the smell from the lingering sludge on the containers and prompted, "Squirtle?"

The Water-type hosed the backpacks down and managed to wash off a majority of the filth, making them clean enough to start inspecting. Misty and Brock also added a few more packs that they were able to liberate from various Rocket agents.

Before he could move forward to help, though, a hand grabbed him by the arm, making fresh pain that he immediately masked shoot up the limb. Holding up his other hand for Pikachu not to attack, he looked to find Gary as the culprit, an angry look on the other boy's face.

"Squirtle, Pikachu, help out the others, will you?" Ash requested. "I think Gary wants to have a word with me alone."

Neither of them looked very happy about it, but did as they were asked. Pidgeot kept his distance as well while Gary dragged him away, but notably did not take his eyes off the pair.

Ash bit the inside of his lower lip as Gary's pulling aggravated the mending bruises and aches he had, but endured it in silence. He had an image to maintain to the other Trainers, a hope against Team Rocket—he couldn't look weak.

Still he let out an internal sigh of relief when his tentative rival let go and turned around furiously.

"Did you. Hold back. During our battle?" Gary asked angrily.

Ash frowned with a sigh before gesturing with his head at the people trying to find their Pokémon among the balls recovered from the captured Vacuum-Packs. Mainly by releasing the contained ones as soon as they pried the plastic containers open. A handful of Trainers were hugging their various Pokémon in relief while others started losing hope of getting their own back. A few were rarer in that they got one back, but apparently lost another.

"I had to. I knew they were coming, and winning or losing a battle wasn't nearly important enough to risk my best fighters getting hurt right before a raid. Besides, as far as everybody else knows, you weren't using your best either." He shook his head, "It's none of my business if you want to keep your pride, but if I had lost, it wouldn't have bothered me one bit. Like I said, I have more important things to worry about."

When Gary looked at him like he was a total stranger, he forced a tentative smile, "But I'll still look forward to battling you at the League. It was fun going up against you—just like old times, the two of us competing to see who could outdo the other."

"Love of Mew, Ash," the brunet muttered, actually seeming quite concerned now. "What happened to you? You're talking about last year like it was a lifetime ago."

Ash's smile fell, "It's a long story…" He sighed, "Look, I'll see you around. I really am looking forward to battling with you again, though. It was fun."

The Pallet Trainer walked past Gary, who was too stunned at Ash's complete change in demeanor before his eyes. For just an instant, his former friend and current rival had looked and acted several years older than he was, and so very tired.

But when he turned around to follow Ash with his eyes, the moment was gone and the shorter boy walked upright with both confidence and concern as he moved to help sort through the Vacuum-Packs, looking every bit as strong and reliable as when he'd commanded Gary back at the Diglett's forest.

The brunet Trainer hadn't even thought about it at the time, but Ash had exuded a presence of authority that made him quick to obey and circle around instead of trying to barrel through any distraction like he'd usually believe he could.

Gary saw his girls waiting where he'd asked them to and decided to think things over on the way to his next Gym.

A camera shutter flickered repeatedly as a hidden photographer snapped photos with a telescopic lens from a distance. While the dynamic shots of Pokémon fighting would usually appeal to him, all of the people and chaos ruined the chance for any good pictures. Plus, he managed to get some images of the rising star Ash Ketchum's Pokémon in action during the battle before Team Rocket came.

One thing that he could and did do was capture clear facial pictures of any noteworthy Rocket agents to anonymously turn in to the police later. The fully masked one only had his eyes exposed, but a full body image was captured for his picture.

But more importantly for his own career, he saw Pokémon that he'd never seen before and managed to snap a few pictures of two of them in action since they were separate from the greater part of the battle, along with some shots of all five of them milling about before their Trainer recalled them.

'With these photos, I'll be famous in no time as a Pokémon photographer,' he thought to himself. 'Following Ash Ketchum was the best decision I ever made!'

A small part of him felt guilty that he hadn't done anything to actually help during the fight, but he managed to push it down as he shook his head.

"This is way over my head; I don't even have any Pokémon to defend myself with," he muttered to himself. "I'd just be putting myself in danger."

After a sound-off, Jessie turned to a monitor at the Rocket headquarters that showed Giovanni. There was one in the garage, air dock and the receiving rooms similar to the one they stood in so that he or Matori could receive any reports for ambush missions.

"All agents accounted for, Boss. No captured grunts on our end, though we lost a fair few amount of Vacuum-Packs, and a Zap Sapper."

James put away a walkie-talkie and reported, "Meowth says that the signal jamming all-terrain van was safely returned to the local outpost on east Kanto as well. He's making his way back with our airship and subordinates now to our rendezvous point."

"Well done," Giovanni replied. "While not as much as it could've been, it was far more successful than if the boy hadn't been separated. Brook proved his value in planning this merely from the information you provided him; these Pokémon will ensure that new squads have partner Pokémon once they're brought to heel."

The boy in question was standing apathetically in a black Rocket uniform with his hands in his pockets, having been kept out of the battle with a separate teleportation agent to ensure his safety.

"Ash Ketchum is a bleeding heart for Pokémon," he stated. "It was easy to predict that he'd side with them and investigate their reasons for halting the dam's construction. It was a prime opportunity to move everybody into position and strike."

The leader nodded, "Excellent. And Cortez, I'll contact Gregory with the information on how much this will take out of your debt. Well done, ferreting out the news of this dam's hardships before Squad 13 even arrived."

The masked agent slowly inclined his head and replied through grit teeth, "…Yes, sir."

"Right then," Giovanni said, ignoring the venomous tone of the bartender. "Everyone, as you were. Please leave the remaining Vacuum-Packs for my staff to collect and seek one of the three teleportation agents behind you. Cortez, you will of course be paired with Gregory for his final trip."

"Yes, Boss!" the agents chorused while standing at attention until the monitor turned off.

After the crowd dispersed and started being taken by the teleportation agents in pairs, Jessie and James waited their turn.

The former turned to her partner and said musingly, "I wonder how Squad 9 is doing. I know they've been around longer than we have, but not just anybody can take on that boy."

"They're probably fine; likely patching their Pokémon up so they can travel quickly again," James guessed.

"Damn brat, damn brat, damn brat, damn brat…!" Attila muttered venomously as he tended to his Skarmory with a Super Potion and a yellow, curvy fruit with two mismatched round portions that the armored bird bit into to reduce its fatigue.

Hun was doing the same with his Onix, sans the berry, and with a pink-accented potion bottle that caused the cracks to start filling with a paler composite of the Rock Pokémon's stone flesh, like scar tissue. He didn't even bother turning around to say, "Calm yourself."

"'Calm down'?!" the blond barked incredulously. "That kid made us look bad! We were going to be promoted, but the Boss denied it since we couldn't stop him! That brat made us fail him!"

"Clearly, we underestimated him, a bad trait to have among superior officers expected to lead others," Hun reminded. "Even with the new recruit's accurate prediction that he would split his forces, we miscalculated his ingenuity. I have a feeling the Boss knew, or at least heavily suspected, that we would fail to do more than stall the boy. There will be other chances for promotion."

Attila growled and recalled his Pokémon, "Whatever, let's get back to Johto! I want to get more Pokémon for ourselves so that something like this never happens again!"

"Well done—a more productive use of your rage."

After double checking each of the Vacuum-Packs to make sure that there were no more Poké Balls inside, Ash sighed and stood back up from his crouched position.

"That's the last Pokémon," he reported.

Several in the crowd were saddened by that news, but stood up straight again when Ash continued.

"I'll make Team Rocket pay for this. I don't know when, but their days as an organization are numbered, I promise."

A whistle caught his attention before he reflexively caught an item thrown at him. When he got a good look at it, the Pallet Trainer had to resist the urge to immediately drop it in disgust when he saw a Zap Sapper in his hand.

"This is one of Team Rocket's shock-absorbing guns," he noted before looking up at Noah, who had thrown it at him. "Why are you giving this to me?"

The navy-haired teen shrugged, "Hey, if anybody deserves a trophy from Team Rocket, it's you. It only has the one cartridge inside, but you never know when it might come in handy."

Ash's nose wrinkled slightly at the thought of using anything of Team Rocket's, but he pushed the revulsion down with the thought of using it against them as he slipped off his backpack to put it away inside.

"Thanks," he replied. Potential usefulness aside, he didn't want to be seen carrying around Rocket technology unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Catch you at the League, Ketchum," Noah said with a parting wave as he turned away and scaled up the sloped cliff with a quick dash up the incline. Privately, the Johto native thought, 'I'd better hustle if I want to get eight Kanto badges before it's time for the Indigo Plateau Conference. But Skarmory would draw too much attention around these parts by flying, no matter how much fun it is; better go with Slowbro's Teleport.'

Ash watched him go before bowing his head to the crowd, "My friends and I oughta get going ourselves. You all should clear out too, as soon as you can."

"I think I can help with that, Ash," Brock offered as he stepped forward with Geodude, who looked like he'd taken a beating with a few cracks on his stone skin but was holding strong. The breeder himself looked like he had some minor burns as well from some close calls and bruises from failed dodges, including a cut along the side of his vest.

"Brock…" Ash muttered while his brow furrowed in worry.

"Geodude, think you have the strength left to make a bridge over that pit Team Rocket blew up?" the Gym Leader asked.

The Rock Pokémon nodded with a gruff affirmation and clenched his hands over his head, floating over to the cliff to one side as he wound up for a double-fisted hammer blow. Slamming against the cliff, he triggered a small avalanche of rocks that filled the chasm on one side before repeating the action on the other cliff.

"Looks like Geodude learned Rock Slide at some point," Brock noted.

Once the chasm was about half full, Geodude descended to sit on top of the pile and put his hands on it. Growling in concentration, he shaped the rocks, compressing and repurposing them, making six pillars before grabbing armloads and welding them in the same manner to make plates before setting them on top and melding them to the pillars and each other. For good measure, he slammed the ground on each side to sprout two side supports from underneath for the ends, bonding them to the underside. The end result had a bridge appearing to be made of conglomerate, aside from the rocks being the same kind, they still appeared crushed and pressed together by pressure instead of being truly one solid structure.

Brock inspected the architecture and said, "One way to test it for buses. Onix?"

The Rock Snake grunted in confirmation and slithered across the bridge that was more than wide enough to accommodate him. The dense rock that Geodude had made bore the weight with little strain, and the Pokémon crossed his arms in pride.

"That should be good enough for now," Brock explained. "But it'll probably weather over time, even if it'll take a while without ice getting in."

Geodude nodded assuredly since it was his best rock construct to date. But his expression changed, becoming one of surprise before he flashed white.

"Geodude!" the breeder uttered in surprise.

Ash marveled at the sight himself, he and Misty saying, "He's evolving!"

The Rock-type swelled to over twice his size in diameter as he dropped to the ground with a thud and small ring of dust, his arms bulking up while his hands lost definition, his four fingers on each one fusing together while the thumbs thickened. A second, shorter pair of arms sprouted from underneath the original as his main body became craggier and a pair of legs sprouted from underneath him, allowing him to stand since he had apparently become too heavy to float. The light faded and revealed a rugged face still in the center of the body, the eyes more angular, and the mouth proportionally smaller.

"Graveler!" he greeted with a happy grin in an even deeper voice than he'd had before. Then he looked at the bridge and trudged over, extending his four arms to one end. His three-fingered limbs grasped the surface before he appeared to tense them, grinning eagerly. The entire bridge shuddered and groaned as the rocks that comprised it fused together even further, making the structure appear as one solid stone with only vague lines indicating it might've been made from multiple rocks.

Jumping up, the evolved Rock-type smashed down onto the bridge with both feet, laughing as he was stopped solidly by his creation without even any cracks from his 230 pound stomp.

"I think Geodude's been looking forward to evolution for a while now," Ash noted from the Rock Pokémon's exuberance.

Misty snorted, "Ash, that's like saying Vaporeon's a little mischievous."

"Well, I hate to be the wet blanket, but we really should get moving," the Pallet Trainer reminded Brock as he recalled his Pokémon from where they still milled around.

The breeder did the same while Misty nodded, "Guess you're right. Staryu, Goldeen, Vaporeon, Starmie!"

The Pokémon arrived, and the Cerulean Leader raised an eyebrow at the Bubble Jet Pokémon, who had a solid black puffed hat with a brim over his eyes atop his head—specifically, the kind worn by Team Rocket grunts. (1)

"Vaporeon, you know that won't go with you into the Poké Ball, right?" she asked.

He nodded with an impish grin, "[I know.]"

The redhead gave an exasperated sigh when Starmie translated as she palmed her forehead, "Then why?"

"[Because I could,]" Vaporeon answered simply, and unapologetically judging from his unchanged smile. "[You're the one who gave me free reign on messing with Team Rocket. Can I keep it?]"

Misty pinched the bridge of her nose and struggled to stay calm as she said, "No, you won't even be able to use it in battle since half of your fighting is dissolving into water and sneaking around."

"[Shame,]" he replied before taking it off with his tail, the item hanging on the fin at the end before he tossed it into the nearby chasm that wasn't totally covered by the bridge.

"Everyone, return," she commanded with the beams going out from the spheres in her hands. As she put them away, she muttered to herself about cheeky Pokémon and wondering if she'd actually made any headway with bringing Vaporeon into line.

Ash waved for them to follow, "All right, let's go. Fuchsia Gym isn't going to find us."

While he kept calm on the outside, he was worried that Team Rocket had already been here, and the force to stop him seemed to be hastily put together, as if he were just an extra obstacle that happened to arrive before the other Trainers. If he hadn't shown up when he did, they could've been completely robbed

'If they managed to get ahead of us, they could've set up something else.'

After being dropped off at the clearing they'd parked their airship in, Jessie and James met up with Meowth, who was waiting by the lowered ramp to the holding bay. The feline agent was tinkering with a metal apparatus on his paw, the back open as he twitched his claws inside the casing and various wires with incomplete casings spasmed before he adjusted the insides with a set of forceps.

"Welcome back," he absently greeted while squinting his feline eyes to focus on the delicate components.

"Home sweet home," Jessie replied in faux affection. "Did Burton find it while we were out?"

"A-yup," Meowth grinned while still focused on his task. "Charlie already moved out and is stakin' da place out. Ella got a kick outta drivin' da ATV, but Frank decided ta stick around ta cook while James was out. He makes a mean beef hotpot, by da way; there're leftovers in da kitchen."

"Excellent," James said with a grin. "Soon, Fuchsia Gym's Pokémon will be ours!"

And that's the end of the chapter. Sorry to leave on another cliffhanger, but I just couldn't find another stopping point in the next "episode."

Also, I know that Geodude didn't evolve in canon, not even under Forrest's training when Onix did. But he rarely battles in canon, if memory serves. Here, he's one of Brock's main battlers and the Pewter Leader fights a lot more often. I mean, in canon, it took till freakin' Johto for Zubat to finally evolve into Golbat. That just doesn't make sense.

Notes:

1. Specifically a Gatsby/newsboy hat, if you want a clearer image of what Vaporeon's wearing.

See you when I see you.

-AJ203