"Ariel! Lauren! Jace!" Leaf yells up the stairs. She just got off the pokenav with Ash.
"Yeah, mom?" Jace calls back.
"Everyone come down right now. It's important!"
The kids were upstairs playing videogames in Jace's room. Giving each other confused looks, they make their way downstairs with Pikachu. The adults are in the living room, and the atmosphere seems tense. "What's going on?" Ariel whispers to her friends. Are they in trouble? What did they do? They haven't broken anything yet.
"Sit down." Brock gives the kids reassuring smiles.
With everyone now seated, Gary says, "Ariel, your parents called us."
Oh no. Did they argue again? Ariel knows her parents are currently off saving the world or something. Uncle Brock had told her this yesterday. Or did they get hurt? No. Ariel doesn't want that to happen! It's why she gets nervous every time her father leaves for a mission. He tries to avoid her finding out for her peace of mind, but he had to tell her the other day. "What happened? Are they okay?"
"They're fine." Brock tells her.
"But you're not." Gary remarks, earning him a smack from Leaf.
"She's a kid, Gary! Watch how to say things!" Leaf scolds her husband.
"Wait. Arie's in trouble?" Lauren worriedly looks at her friend.
"Is it Team Rocket again?" Jace angrily stands up. He won't let his best friend get hurt again.
Brock nods. "Yes. They're on their way, but so are Ariel's parents. We just need to fight off Team Rocket once they arrive."
"Everyone needs to stay together." Leaf informs them. She looks at Pikachu. "We're gonna need your help again, Pikachu."
"Pika!" He salutes her. Pikachu will protect Ariel as many times as it takes, even if he was heavily injured last time.
"So how much time do we have until they get here?" Ariel asks.
Gary pulls out a pokeball. "I'm not letting them destroy my house. We're going to the lab." There are more pokemon there to help them out too.
"Yes! This is awesome!" Lauren is excited about this huge battle. She would normally be scared, but they're not alone. Her parents, Mr. Brock, and Ariel's parents will be there.
Lauren and Gary ride on Aerodactyl, Jace and Leaf are on her Pidgeot, and Ariel and Brock ride on his Crobat. Everyone takes to the sky while warily looking at the ground for Team Rocket. Gary believes they can handle the Rockets, so he isn't scared. Like Lauren, he's excited for some battling in this small town.
Leaf dodges a fireball at the last moment. She's glad she noticed it in time. "Ah!" Jace cries out, but Leaf holds him tightly.
"You're okay, baby." she soothes him. He's sitting in front of her so she can hold onto him.
"Guess we got company!" Gary grins as he turns Aerodactyl around. "Rock slide!" Aerodactyl sends a bunch of rocks to block the black jeeps below. How the Rockets managed to sneak into small Pallet Town, Gary has no idea, but he's happy for a battle.
"Go to the lab, Brock!" Leaf yells at the Pokemon doctor. Brock has Ariel, and the Pokemon at the lab will be an army for her.
"Got it!" The older man nods. He and Crobat then hurry off to the lab with a few Rocket jeeps following. Leaf and Gary are trying their best to keep the Rockets back. They're all still going to the lab, but Brock's focus is to get there while Leaf and Gary are to battle back the Rockets on the way there.
"Watch out, Uncle Brock!" Ariel exclaims as she sees a Fearow flying towards them.
"Piiii!" Pikachu jumps in the air to deliver a powerful thunderbolt attack on Fearow, sending it to the ground. Crobat effortlessly catches the mouse.
"Thanks, Pikachu." Brock grins at his reliable friend.
"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu smiles.
"I see the lab!" Ariel points in the distance.
"Let's go, Crobat!" Brock encourages his Pokemon. The man turns around to check on the Oaks.
Pidgeot gets hit by a rockthrow on her wing, causing her to stumble in the air. Jace yelps while holding onto his mother tightly. Leaf looks over at Gary to see he's also struggling. They can't do this. Not with the kids. "Gary!"
"Yeah, babe?" calls the man with his attention still on the Victreebel shooting sludgebombs up at him.
"We need to get rid of the kids!"
"No!" Jace worriedly looks up at his mother as his hold tightens on her. He's scared. There's a lot more Rockets than there were last time. And the fact that his parents are struggling with them just adds to Jace's concern.
"Aerodactyl's the fastest!" Gary yells at his wife and son. "Jace needs to jump!" Gary then throws out a pokeball releasing his Dragonite.
"Dad!" Lauren's large scared eyes meet his matching warm ones. "Don't leave me."
Gary kisses the girl's head. "I'm not. Someone needs to lead the Pokemon at the lab. Can you do that for me?" He asks while standing up.
Lauren hugs his legs with a weak nod. "Okay, dad. Come back quick."
Ruffling her hair, he knows he will. He'll do anything for his family. "I'll see you there!" The man then jumps off Aerodactyl to be caught by Dragonite.
"You have to jump, Jace." Leaf encourages her son.
"I don't wanna lose you and dad!" He almost lost Ariel. These Rockets are ruthless. He can't bear to see his parents in that condition.
"You won't. But dad and I can't fight with you and Lauren." Leaf soothingly tells him while gently prying his hands off of her. She lifts his chin up to meet his anxious deep green eyes. "I need you to protect your sister and Ariel. You're the oldest, so help Mr. Brock."
"Let me help you and dad!" insists the boy.
Leaf kisses his head. "Jace, I need you to help Mr. Brock. The Rockets are after Ariel. You need to protect her."
"But I don't wanna leave you! Why can't we all go together?"
Leaf sighs. Giving her son an apologetic look, she shoves him off of Pidgeot. Fortunately, Aerodactyl catches him. "Because Ariel needs more protecting than us." Leaf grins down at her children. "Dad and I will meet you at the lab soon." She then has Pidgeot fly back towards Gary to help him battle.
"Mom!" Jace cries out at Pidgeot while Aerodactyl flies them towards the lab.
"Stop it, Jace!" Lauren shakes her brother's shoulders. "Mom and dad are right! We need to help Ariel!"
"But what about mom and dad?" Jace worriedly asks his sister.
"Ariel's parents will be here soon! They'll be fine!" Lauren needs her brother to get it together. She's scared too, but they need to protect Ariel, who the Rockets are after.
Jace looks down at Aerodactyl's back. Clenching his fists together, the boy sniffles back his tears. He doesn't want to feel this fear again. These Rockets will finally go down and leave them alone. Gazing up, he gives his sister a newfound determined look that surprises her. "Okay. We're gonna stop these Rockets!"
The siblings look ahead where they see Crobat flying near the lab. They then notice an Electrode send a powerful thunder attack towards the unsuspecting Crobat. "Ariel!" Lauren and Jace shout, but it's too late.
Crobat falls to the ground with his body cushions his riders enough. Brock groans in pain until a thunderbolt attack hits near him. Remembering what's going on, the man quickly recovers from his crash landing. He returns his fainted Crobat. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Pi!" Pikachu nods and blocks Electrode's attacks with his own.
Brock then picks up his goddaughter who is fine. She just had to catch her breath after the hard fall. "We need to hide!"
Ariel shakes her head as she watches Aerodactyl land with the Oak siblings. She's tired of running. She's tired of hiding. She's tired of having to hold back for others. No. Ariel Delia Ketchum is going to be selfish now. "No, Uncle Brock." She flips her father's old cap on her head backwards. The girl is glad she wore it today because she feels like it's giving her his courage when he wore it on his journeys. "I'm not running anymore!"
Lauren and Jace are now beside her. "We aren't either!" Jace affirms.
"Yeah! Screw those Rockets!" Lauren exclaims.
Sighing, Brock knows they're right. There are a few jeeps crashing through the lab fence now, and he sees Leaf and Gary are still fighting in the sky. As much as Brock would like to hide with Ariel until Ash and Misty come, the man knows they're better off fighting than hiding. In the corner of his eye, he spots the lab's protector running over to check on the commotion. "I'll hold them back!" Brock yells at the kids. "You guys get the rest of the pokemon!" He then runs off towards the jeeps and calls out his Steelix, Marshstomp, and Crogrunk.
"We need to find Bulbasaur!" Ariel knows Bulbasaur is the leader and protector at the lab.
"Looks like he found us." Jace breathes out in awe while looking past Ariel. The girls follow his gaze where they see Bulbasaur already calling for help. The moment he saw the jeeps and the broken fence, he knew something was wrong.
"Bulbasaur!" Ariel shouts, getting the grass type's attention. "We need help!"
"Bulba!" He runs over with Bayleef, Infernape, and Noivern. Fortunately, they arrive in time to battle off the hordes of Rocket Pokemon that had gotten past Brock.
"Dad!" Lauren exclaims in fear as she watches her father's Dragonite crash from the sky.
Gary returns the dragon type and Aerodactyl catches him to gently place him on the ground. Leaf soon lands with Pidgeot. Looking at the children, Gary tells them, "Protect each other!" He then sends Aerodactyl and Pidgeot back to the sky as he and Leaf call out Pokemon to fight on the ground. These Rockets are no joke, but they made the mistake of giving the Oaks the home field advantage.
"You heard dad!" Jace grabs the girls' hands. "We need to get somewhere safe!"
"We're safer here with everyone battling!" Lauren wants to stay near her parents.
However, Ariel notices a Houndoom charging at her. She tackles her friends out of the way, so they all avoid the dog. "Pikachu, quick attack!" the yellow mouse looks away from his battle with a Marowak to push Houndoom away from Ariel. Ariel and Pikachu recognize it as the same Houndoom as last time. The one that had crushed her arm.
"Pikaaaa…" Pikachu warily glares at the fire type.
"Give us the girl and we'll leave." Comes a deep voice from the jeeps.
"Over my dead body!" Brock yells.
"It's a shame we couldn't negotiate on this. You will all perish." the man walks out into the light, and Ariel sees it's the one who was giving out commands last time. In the daylight, she notices a deep scar along the right side of his face over his eye. "Kill them!" The man orders.
Houndoom charges at Pikachu again who easily dodges the fast dog. "Iron tail!" Pikachu lands an iron tail on Houndoom's nose, making the fire type howl.
Jace and Lauren are commanding their parents' pokemon too. Everyone is involved in multiple battles against the many Rockets and their Pokemon. Luckily, there are a lot of Pokemon at the lab wanting to protect their home, so they're helping with the fight. Else, Ariel's team would have lost awhile ago. "Flamethrower!" Lauren commands Arcanine.
"Sing!" Jace tells his mother's loyal Cleffable.
With the fighting going on, no one notices the group of Rockets that had gotten deep in the field. Their Pokemon soon surround Ariel and Pikachu. Once Pikachu defeats the Houndoom, that's when he and Ariel realize they're surrounded. "Help!" Cries out the girl.
"Kill the Pikachu!" the leader orders. The Camerupts and Magmars send powerful flamethrowers towards Ariel who holds onto Pikachu tightly.
He wants to fight them off, but Ariel doesn't want to risk him getting more hurt. These Rockets want her. They wouldn't hurt her, right? She shuts her eyes tightly in fear, and the Oaks and Brock look on in fear because they won't reach her in time.
"Ariel!" Jace runs to his friend only to be sent flying back by a watergun attack from an Octillery.
"Whirlpool!"
Ariel and Pikachu are quickly enveloped by a powerful whirlpool where they're completely safe on the inside. The whirlpool extinguishes the flames, and Ariel and Pikachu look up to see Gyarados circling around them in the whirlpool. "Gyarados!" Ariel gratefully smiles at her mother's most powerful Pokemon.
The whirlpool is now gone as the Rockets nearby glare at Gyarados whose body is protectively wrapped around Ariel and Pikachu. Soon, a Charizard lands and the two people on him jump off. "Pikapi! Pikachupi!" Pikachu exclaims.
"Dad! Mom!" Ariel stares in amazement at her parents in front of her. They're all still surrounded by the Rockets and fire Pokemon while the Oaks and Brock are in their own battles outside of the circle.
"I wanted to do this without you, but I guess I'll have the pleasure of watching your faces when I take your daughter away." cackles the man in the Rocket uniform.
"You must be Kleon." Ash hisses.
"I'm flattered the champion knows my name." Kleon smirks.
Misty cracks her knuckles. "We found him."
"Gya!" Gyarados roars at the man. He hated seeing Ariel have to heal up due to Team Rocket. He'll protect her, like the rest of Ash's and Misty's Pokemon would. Charizard snorts out smoke at the Rocket Admin, and Pikachu leaps onto his trainer's shoulder with his cheeks sparking.
Ariel runs up between her parents to hold their hands. Grinning mischievously at the Rockets now that her fear is replaced with courage, she confidently tells Kleon, "My parents are gonna kick your butt!"
"You don't needa say it twice, Champ." Ash puts his own cap backwards. "Pikachu, volt tackle! Charizard, Flamethrower!"
Misty gives Ariel's hand a squeeze. The woman is glad she and Ash made it back in time. Misty knew they wouldn't land in time to protect Ariel, but Gyarados would. They're not going to risk losing Ariel again. "Hydropump, Gyarados!"
Gary smirks at his wife. "I guess the cavalry's arrived."
"Thank Mew." Leaf mutters. She then grins at the new couple. "Took ya long enough!"
Misty rolls her eyes at their friends. "We thought you could handle a few Rockets!"
"C'mon, Red. This isn't a few." Gary snickers.
"Guys, we can argue later!" Brock yells, though he's grateful for his friends' climatic arrival.
"Charizard, Blastburn! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Waterpulse, my sweet blue friend!" The three attacks combine into a swirl to knock back the remaining Pokemon around them as well as many of the grunts. Kleon manages to have his Kangaskhan summon a protective barrier to protect them from the strong attack.
Ash gives his friends a knowing smirk. "Yeah, Gary! A few!" Gary exchanges a knowing look with his wife. Ash just backed up Misty. It's like back when all four of them used to hang out, and it was the battle of the couples.
"Ash, watch out!" Misty pushes the man who falls with Ariel still holding his hand. Ash wraps his arms protectively around his daughter, especially when the hyperbeam misses him. Misty then returns her attention to the furious Rocket Admin in front of her. "You will pay for what you've done!"
"I will get what I want!" Kleon throws out more pokeballs. "And you will all die as fools."
Ash stands up and pushes his daughter to Misty's side after the woman throws out her Pokeballs. "Stay with your mom, Ariel."
"Why?" the girl worriedly looks up at her father. "Where are you going?"
Ash's warm brown eyes meet hers to give her a reassuring smile. "I'm gonna make sure he eats his words." Patting her head which still has the old hat he gave her, Ash now meets his ex-wife's confused blue orbs. "I'll be back."
"When?" Misty narrows her eyes at him. If he thinks he can go off and play hero again, well he's wrong. He will not take all the credit!
Ash smirks at her. Running towards Kleon as Ash calls out more Pokemon, the father tells Misty, "Give me 20 minutes!"
Misty furrows her brows at his retreating figure. That's the first time he's ever given her an answer. It would always be 'I don't know?' or 'Can we not talk about this now?' She can't help but smile slightly. Maybe this little journey to protect Ariel has healed some patches between Misty and her ex.
"Mom?" The woman looks down at her worried daughter. "Will dad be okay?"
Misty rolls her eyes when she glances back at the battle where she spots Ash and Pikachu fighting their way to Kleon. "He always is." Just to be sure, she'll help him out. "Corsola, waterpulse!" Corsola's attack sends the Persian flying back away from Pikachu. Ash finds himself smirking at his ex wife saving him. This is ironic when they couldn't stand knowing the other existed months ago.