True to his word, Giovanni helped to transport the Aerodactyl, the Hitmonchan, and the Hypno to Pokémon Tower. He even stayed to pay respects, along with Kiyo from the Fighting Dojo. He was saddened to learn of Hammer's death, but Axel reassured him that the Hitmonchan successfully made amends for Battery's death, and then some. This seemed to make Kiyo feel better.

After all that was said and done, Axel withdrew more Pokémon from the PC, and started to train them. It took him a long while to get them trained up to the same level as Ragweed, Sewage, and Kraken, but once they were there, Axel was of the opinion that it was worth it. Finally, he made his way back to Viridian City, where he headed out west. Route 22- the path to the Pokémon League.

Axel sighed as he waded through the tall grass. He hadn't seen this place since... since Flutters... He had actually gone to visit the Metapod's grave near Viridian Forest. He was so new to training back then... So much had happened since then... but he knew one thing above all else- he couldn't let these losses get to him. He had to continue onward. Nobody had ever said that becoming a Pokémon Master was easy, and now, Axel knew there was a damn good reason for that. But his goal remained unchanged, and as long as he had faithful, loyal, determined Pokémon by his side, he knew he would succeed.

Axel left the patch of tall grass behind him and turned onto a brick walkway, and it was deja vu all over again, as he saw who was just ahead of him.

"What? Axel! Hey!" Zack greeted him. And this time, unlike the last time they met on this route, Axel was glad to see Zack. "What a surprise! I haven't seen you since the Silph Company!"

"Had a lot to do," Axel replied. "I, uh... got all the badges."

"That's cool," grinned Zack. "But... I heard some more of your Pokémon died," he added, said grin fading a little bit. "That sucks."

"Yeah," sighed Axel. "Sabrina's Alakazam accidentally killed my Ninetales. And then in Viridian Gym, I... I lost my Hitmonchan, my Hypno, and my Aerodactyl..."

"Ouch," groaned Zack. "That really does suck... but speaking of Viridian Gym, is it true that Boss Rocket was the Gym Leader?"

"Yeah," nodded Axel. "But... apparently our battle really changed something in him. Not only did he help me put Hammer, Remy, and Jet to rest, but he also-"

"-disbanded Team Rocket, I know," nodded Zack. "It was all over the news. He even found me and personally apologized for Fearow. I couldn't believe it. He even visited Fearow and Rattata's graves at Pokémon Tower!"

"Wow," grinned Axel. "So, I guess you're headed to the Pokémon League, too?"

"Damn straight," smirked Zack. "In fact, y'know what? What say you to a warm-up battle, right here, right now?"

"Sounds good to me," grinned Axel.

"OK, then!" exclaimed Zack, throwing a Poké Ball. "Sandslash!" he shouted as the Ground-type appeared in a flash of light.

"Sandslash, huh?" Axel said, readying a Great Ball. "Then I'll go with this!" he shouted, unleashing something tremendous from the ball.

"Snoooorlaaaaaax," rumbled Homer.

"Whoa, a Snorlax," murmured Zack. "Sandslash, Poison Sting!"

"Homer, Amnesia!" ordered Axel.

"Slash! Slash!" Sandslash exclaimed, firing off glowing purple needles. Most of them bounced off of Homer's large stomach, but one of them stuck. Homer's forehead started to turn purple and he started to sway back and forth- he was poisoned! Nevertheless, Homer remembered to forget. He forced himself to forget his troubles and clear his mind, boosting his Special by a large amount.

"Now use Blizzard!" commanded Axel.

"Slash!" called Zack.

Sandslash charged forward and took a vicious swipe with its claws, but the Snorlax took the hit quite well. In response, Homer unleashed a howling snowstorm from his mouth, and within seconds, a snowcapped Sandslash was lying on the ground.

"Come back, Sandslash!" called Zack, withdrawing the Ground-type as he threw a Safari Ball. "Exeggcute!" he shouted, as a cluster of half a dozen pink eggs materialized before him.

"Homer, use Blizzard!" said Axel.

"Laaaaaaaax!" bellowed Homer as he unleashed another snowstorm from his mouth. Zack opened his mouth, but before he could even give a command to Exeggcute, it too had fainted.

"Not bad at all," Zack grinned as he withdrew Exeggcute. "Now get a load of this!" he shouted, throwing a Poké Ball which unleashed his Ninetales. Axel sized up the Fire-type- he figured Homer could take it, but he didn't want to take too big a risk- the poison was steadily taking its toll.

"Come back, Homer!" Axel said, holding out the Great Ball. Once Homer was withdrawn, Axel threw a Safari Ball. "Go! Angus!" he shouted, the Tauros already stamping the ground and snorting as he emerged from his ball.

"Whoo! A Tauros!" grinned Zack. "I tried to catch one of those myself in the Safari Zone, but it ran off. Ninetales, Quick Attack!"

"Angus, Earthquake!" Axel ordered. The Tauros bellowed in response as he reared up and slammed his hooves into the ground. Immediately, the ground began to shake violently. Ninetales had managed to land a quick blow before this, but was now struggling to stand up.

"Ninetales!" exclaimed Zack.

"Now! Use Strength!" called Axel. Angus bellowed again, this time charging forward and ramming into Ninetales. And this time, Ninetales did not stand up.

"Ninetales, come back!" Zack called, withdrawing his Fire-type as he threw another ball. "Cloyster!"

"Angus, come back!" added Axel, withdrawing his Tauros. "Go, Ragweed! Razor Leaf!"

As the two combatants appeared, the Venusaur fired a number of sharp-edged leaves at the Cloyster. Even with its solid shell, the leaves flew in and struck weak points, causing the Water/Ice-type to fall over with a loud clanging noise.

"Come back now, Cloyster!" Zack said, withdrawing his fallen Pokémon as he threw another Poké Ball. "Kadabra!"

"Eesh," murmured Axel, eyeing the Psychic-type. Ragweed was, after all, a Poison-type... "Come back, Ragweed!" he stated, holding out the Venusaur's ball to withdraw him. Once that was done, he threw another ball. "Let's go!" he shouted, unleashing a formidable orange dragon, who roared loudly, spewing fire into the air.

"Whoa!" Zack exclaimed.

"Norbert, use Slash!" ordered Axel. The Charizard roared loudly, and with a great flap of his wings, had zoomed forward. Neither Zack nor Kadabra had time to react as the Fire/Flying-type took a great swipe at the latter with his claws, striking a weak point. Kadabra collapsed to the ground immediately.

"Come back, Kadabra!" said Zack as he withdrew his Psychic-type. With only one shot left, he threw the final ball. "Jolteon!" he exclaimed as the spiky Electric-type appeared.

Axel gritted his teeth- Jolteon had a clear type advantage, and he wasn't going to allow it. "Norbert, come back!" he said, withdrawing the Charizard as he threw the Safari Ball yet again. "Angus! Earthquake!" he ordered as the Tauros reappeared.

"Jolteon, Agility!" called Zack. Jolteon began to run around, becoming progressively faster as it did so, while Angus struck the ground with his hooves again. Immediately, the shaking shook up Jolteon, but to Axel's astonishment, it was able to get right back up.

"Now! Use Strength!" ordered Axel.

"Thunder!" called Zack.

"Jolteooooooooon!" howled Jolteon as it unleashed a powerful electric blast. However, Angus was able to deftly sidestep the attack as he charged forward. Jolteon had just barely finished the attack before the Tauros rammed into it, knocking it out.

"Hmm," smiled Zack as he withdrew Jolteon. "Well, that loosened me up, for sure. I'm ready for the Pokémon League now! You, too, Axel, but still, get in all the practice you can, huh?"

"Will do," nodded Axel.

"Great," grinned Zack. "Well, I'm outta here. Smell ya later!" And with that, he headed back down Route 22. Axel was eager to do the same thing... but first he wanted to hit the Pokémon Center, and then shop for some more supplies- he was running a little low on Hyper Potions for his liking.