Celadon City

After his loss to Grey back in Dark City, Ritchie had spent all this time training in the woods to further strengthen his team. While that was successful, the Orange Islands native had hoped the next city he saw wouldn't be quite this packed.

Don't get him wrong. Ritchie most certainly planned on staying here to recuperate, but the last time he came through, Celadon hadn't been this packed. Beyond the abundance of trainers, there were G-Men and police force members everywhere he looked.

"Just what is going on here?" Ritchie asked.

"What, you haven't heard?" a familiar voice asked.

Ritchie turned to see that it had been Calem who spoke, and he was accompanied by Verity. The three trainers had crossed paths a couple of times and became good friends. Perhaps not on the level he considered Ash, but good friends none the less.

"Hey." Ritchie smiled at them. "Good to see you guys again." He then realized their question with confusion. "Wait, heard what?"

"Huh, seems like he almost missed this just like we missed out on Dark City." Verity commented.

"Ritchie, Wes attempted to contact everyone Ash or Serena gave him in hopes of bringing them here along with all these other trainers." Calem informed. "Team Rocket has taken over Saffron City, and we're out to take it back. In fact, we move out tomorrow."

Various trainers began moving towards the gym.

"Speaking of which, the meeting is being held right now to go over the plan." Verity informed. "Looks like you arrived just in time… that is if you want to battle Team Rocket."

While Ritchie had been in the wilderness, he had run into the couple and informed them of his loss. It was roughly at the start of his training when he'd felt rather down. Even if he still were down, Ritchie had no intention of missing out.

"You kidding?" Ritchie declared with a grin. "After all the hard work my pokemon put in, there's no way we'd miss out on an opportunity like this." He walked off. "Come on you two. We should hurry before we miss it."

Verity and Calem just shared an amused expression as that was most certainly the Ritchie they remembered. A far cry from the Ritchie they'd seen out in the wild. As he took off running, they gave chase.

Celadon Gym

Ash was running ahead of Cross, Gary, James, and Serena. Given Genesis, Jessie, Meowth, and Mondo's current situation, they had to arrive earlier than the rest.

"Well, one thing is for certain." Gary shrugged. "Ash is still far too excitable."

"Agreed." Cross commented. "Even for something like this."

Serena sighed lovingly. "That's part of his charm."

"It certainly has led to plenty of excitement." James gave an amused smile.

"Come on guys, we're going to miss…" Ash began.

He ended up running into someone who was running just like him resulting in the two of them crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

"Ow, that hurt." Ritchie and Ash declared at the same time before standing to look at each other. "Ritchie/Ash?" The two boys were overjoyed to have run into each other, even if literally, to the point that they ended up laughing. "It's great to see you again."

"Oh…" Cross and Gary thought with sweat drops. "It's another Ash."

Sure, these boys came to terms with who Ash was, but that didn't mean they wanted another Ash. One was more than enough, but it's not like they could change this fact now.

At that moment, Calem and Verity finally caught up.

"Cousin!" Calem declared happily. "I was beginning to think you weren't around."

"Hey Calem." Serena smiled. "It's so good to see that you're here." She then locked eyes with Verity and the two glared at each other. "Verity."

"Serena." Verity's glare turned into a smirk. "Still mad about my victory the last time we met? Speaking of which, are you a Duchess yet?"

"No, but only because I decided to take a break to focus on my team." Serena crossed her arms. "Rest assured; I'll be ready for the next time we meet."

"Good. Do hurry along to the next rank." Verity smiled genuinely. "Earning the tittle of Grand Duchess just wouldn't be all that satisfying with Calem as my only, worthy competition."

"What?" Calem feigned being hurt. "I thought I was enough for you."

"See, that was actually a good attempt." Verity patted his shoulder. "You're learning quite well."

"Hey, don't corrupt my cousin." Serena declared.

"Don't go blaming me." Verity crossed her arm. "Calem asked me to train him in confidence around me. I just taught him what I knew about being confident rather than him having to teach me."

"I'll have you know there is nothing wrong with how I gained my confidence." Serena argued.

Now, all the guys of the group ended up staring at this confrontation. Anyone who knew even one of these two most certainly wasn't expecting their rivalry to have grown this strong.

Eventually, James spoke up deciding to be the voice of reason. "I think we'll miss out on the meeting at this rate."

That got everyone, even Verity and Serena, moving. All of them entered the gym and moved into the main room which was packed with all the forces willing to fight for Saffron City. Seems they arrived just in time as Wes walked out to stand before them with a microphone.

"I need everyone's attention." Wes declared immediately silencing all conversation. "You are gathered here today because tomorrow we storm Saffron and take it back for all of Kanto while finally putting an end to Team Rocket."

The crowd cheered and Wes waited till they were done. "In the coming days, select trainers, handpicked by me, will receive their targets one way or another. These trainers will be responsible for defeating the Team Rocket members of note.

The rest of you will receive lists detailing who these trainers are. Your goal will be to escort the selected trainers to where the targets will be and keep all other grunts off their back. Quite a few of you will specifically be on clean up duty with the express purpose of taking out the grunts.

In addition, everyone will be assigned psychic specialists to help them get into Saffron. We shall enter through every tunnel before striking fast and hard. Once we're in, the police force from the other surrounding cities will set up a rock-solid perimeter around the city.

Come tomorrow, Saffron will be reclaimed, Team Rocket will be defeated, and we will be victorious!" The crowd cheered once more exuberantly. "Make sure you are ready because tomorrow we take back Saffron!"

That only got people more amped as the cheering reached an all-time high. After the assembly, Ash and his group decided to split off with plans to meet early tomorrow before everyone set off for Saffron. They each had their places to be that night and respected it.

Restaurant, Evening…

James sat up at the counter on a bar stool as many other trainers ate dinners free of charge. Honestly, Celadon had been most accommodating to the efforts. On James' part, he was eating a light meal of some rice balls and juice. Then, Wes came over and took a seat next to him.

"James." Wes nodded.

James nodded back. "Wes."

"With the way I've distributed the assignments, there's no way you can watch out for Serena and Ash." Wes stated. "Still, I feel like a thank you is in order for being there for them all this time."

"Eh, I really haven't done much." James stated. "In fact, those two have done far more for me. More than I could ever thank them for."

"Still, our world is an unfortunate one." Wes stated. "To many children loose one or more parents, but it's the bonds one forms on their journey that gives me hope in this world of ours. Life isn't perfect, but it's that imperfection that makes the bonds we form more important."

"Truer words have never been spoken." James smiled. "Still, I think it's people like you that can work to make this world a little better for the next generation. There will always be danger, but someone in your position has a lot of power to see that danger minimized."

"True." Wes shook his head. "When I took up this position from Red, I continued his work. The world becomes a little more tolerable." He nodded. "That's exactly why we can't let Team Rocket go any further. An organization like that will undo all this hard work."

"Then, let's not let them win." James held up his glass with a smile. "To stopping Team Rocket."

Wes smiled as he grabbed a recently set down glass of water. "To stopping Team Rocket."

They clinked glasses before having dinner together.

Pokemon Center

Turns out there would have been time to make sure their teams were good, but the group hadn't known that at the time. Still, Serena thought it was a good idea to have her pokemon checked up on for tomorrow. Calem walked away from the vending machine and noticed her.

"Hey cousin." He smiled as he walked over. "How are you doing?"

"Oh, hey Calem." Serena smiled back at him. "I'm doing fine. Say, where's Verity?"

"She's back at our hotel room resting." Calem replied. "By the way, you don't hate Verity, right?" He blushed. "I mean, I'd really like for my girlfriend and family to get along."

"What?" Serena smiled. "My cousin got himself a girlfriend. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Well, yeah." Calem replied. "It just sort of happened after we left Saffron."

"You have nothing to worry about." Serena informed. "I honestly have nothing against Verity. We just seem to know how to push each other. Honestly, I think she's been able to push me into being a better trainer."

"That's good." Calem nodded. "For what it's worth, from what I've seen, you've become a trainer above how you started."

"Well, I'm not sure where I'd have been without your advice after my first loss." Serena stated. "So, it means a lot that you think that."

Calem walked on by her before thinning to add something. "Oh, don't tell Verity I said this, but she sees you the same way you see her."

Serena turned to watch her cousin's retreating back and smiled fondly. She hadn't been certain Verity really saw her as a genuine rival like she came to see her. To hear that was the case really brightened the Pallet girl's mood.

Former Rocket's Room

Sabrina was still unconscious and had been put in her own room near theirs with Arcana never leaving her bedside. This left Genesis, Jessie, Mondo, and Meowth in the room next door.

"Tomorrow, you three will be coming with me the furthest." Genesis declared. "It'll be up to you to keep Butch and Cassidy out of the president's room."

"I think we understand." Mondo stated uncertainly.

"The question is, why did you request us to come with you?" Jessie asked.

"It is kind of weird." Meowth commented.

"There's nothing weird about it when you're the ones I trust most." Genesis declared.

The three of them shared a look.

"You trust us?" Jessie asked.

"Why is this shocking?" Genesis asked plainly. "Sure, I threatened you three, but I've never dealt with the people who betray me like Giovani does. In fact, I was the one who brought traitors to be dealt with by Giovani or Proton.

Considering that wasn't an option, you arguably had more to fear from them than me. At any time, you could have stabbed me in the back but didn't. You could claim this as fear, but then why did you go against Giovani in the first place?

There's also the fact that one of your defended me as a person before Wes. Arguably, you three are some of the only ones I can trust in the world as of now. So, why wouldn't I trust in you to deal with Butch and Cassidy while I take on Giovani?"

When you laid it out like that, the three of them couldn't deny his logic. Yeah, the group had been terrified of Genesis at the time, but there still had to be trust between them. Before they left Saffron together, no one there could have been certain he wouldn't turn them in.

"I will fight to allow you through to Giovani." Mondo declared. "Just take him down for me."

"Same for me." Jessie stated. "End Team Rocket."

"I'm in agreement." Meowth stated.

"I never had any intention of doing anything else." Genesis declared. "Tomorrow, Team Rocket's time comes to an end. That much, I assure you."

Jessie, Mondo, and Meowth found that they had faith in those words.

Surge & Janine's Room

Janine hadn't received a target and was instead chosen to escort Surge to his opponent. The gym leader hopeful looked at the man who'd essentially become her uncle as he studied his target's information.

"So, who exactly did you get?" Janine asked.

"A very dangerous man with the potential to be one of Giovani's strongest admins." Surge crossed his arms. "Vicious… A few people know him as Victor Reed within the organization, but that number is small."

"He's really that strong?" Janine asked. "Why has no one heard of him before now?"

"Vicious prefers field work and working alone." Surge declared. "He'll use weaker grunts for any work if he must, but he's more of the lone wolf variety. Just a month ago, I learned he's been attempting to perfect an invention of his known as the dark ball.

It's meant to capture any pokemon, even those owned by another trainer, and submit them to torture which elevates the pokemon to the highest level." Surge explained. "It also corrupts the pokemon through this process and is supposed to ensure obedience to him."

"That's awful." Janine declared angrily.

"As for why not many know of him…" Surge sighed. "As I said, he never sought the rank of an admin and preferred to work alone. That's along with the fact that he's efficient and powerful to the point that Vicious is nothing more than a rumor out here."

"Why are you worried about him?" Janine asked. "I mean, you own a Zapdos."

"Any trainer who becomes complacent over owning even one legendary, is no trainer at all." Surge declared. "Sure, they are strong pokemon, but there are trainers in this world with the potential to produce strong pokemon themselves.

Any champion or elite four member, for example, are quite capable of taking on legendaries. Out of the ones you'd find, I'd wager most of them could dispatch a legendary in a pokemon or two. A champion could very well dispatch a legendary with one pokemon.

There's also the fact that I still don't think I'm the top electric expert in the world. There is a reason Volker sits as the strongest gym leader in Sinnoh. Not to mention, the pokemon master is the trainer of every type. That girl could take down a legendary no problem."

"Alright, so you don't think you can beat him?" Janine asked.

"Confidence… the belief you will win… is not a bad thing." Surge eventually replied. "There is tactical thinking that can be applied should you doubt your own ability." He looked at Janine before smirking. "Just in case I can't win… how good would you say your ninja skills are?"

"I've been practicing while we were on the road." Janine admitted.

"Then, here's the plan in case I can't hold up my end in Wes' plan…" Surge declared.

Calem & Verity's Room

Verity was resting by sitting at her desk and going through her list of pokemon. She had eight solid pokemon, and even if not all of them would be needed tomorrow, she wanted to make certain she had the perfect team with her for what may come.

Park

Just like that week they spent at Saffron Dojo, Ash and Richie had decided to spend the night under the stars. They were currently sharing some sandwiches Ash had picked up from the local mart and drinking them down with some sodas Ritchie bought.

After the meal, Ritchie looked at Ash. "So, who did you get as your target?"

Both boys could guess they'd been given someone specific to battle tomorrow.

"Ariana." Ash looked at him. "Remember me telling you about her?"

"Yeah." Ritchie nodded. "She was the one that took your whole team to tie, right?"

"In the end, that's all I could manage." Ash smiled. "Still, my team and I have grown a lot since we last met her. This time, I'll even have six pokemon to boot. What about you?"

Ritchie sighed. "Wes sent me Grey as a target."

"Why do you seem so down about it?" Ash smiled. "This means both you and I have a chance to battle our them again."

"I just… don't know if I'm ready." Ritchie stated. "Sure, I've spent all this time since Dark City training, but I'm not certain if what I've done will be enough."

"Maybe it won't." Ash admitted as he looked to the sky above. "The truth I've learned is that there's always someone stronger than you out there, but you can't let that thought stop you from growing stronger yourself."

He looked at Ritchie with a grin. "If anything, I take that as my motivation. A reason to keep training and traveling. In every battle, my pokemon and I will give it our all. Then, no matter the conclusion, we'll at least have no regrets because we gave it our all."

"No regrets, huh?" Ritchie looked at Ash before smiling. "Yeah, that's how I want to battle to. Tomorrow, my pokemon and I will put our training to the test. No matter the result, we'll have no regrets."

The boys fist bumped before turning in.

Celadon Café

Gary and Gross had decided to have a meal together since they had been given the same room anyways. The youngest Oak noticed that his friend didn't seem like himself. Normally, Gary would have tried antagonizing him, but the truth is that he wasn't that person anymore.

Sure, he was still arrogant, but it had been mellowed quite a bit through this journey. First, he ended up helping Ash and Serena. Then, there was his experience in Fuchsia with Joe, Katrina, and Edna. Things like that couldn't help but change a guy.

"Alright, what's eating you Cross?" Gary asked.

"It's my opponent… Archer." Cross stated and Incineroar growled from behind him. "The last time we met, he essentially said we were alike. That I was who he used to be and tried to get me to join Team Rocket."

"Cross, I know you don't see your pokemon as friends, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing." Gary declared. "It doesn't have to make you Archer or weaker than people who have a closer bond with their pokemon. Even if you end up losing to them, it doesn't make you weak."

"I guess." Cross stated uncertainly.

"Cross, go you still care for your pokemon?" Gary asked. "Like, if they get to injured, do you force them to continue fighting? Do you belittle them if they end up losing?"

"No, I would never do that." Cross stated. "I know my pokemon are strong because I caught the strongest pokemon I could find or raised them into the strong pokemon they are now."

"Didn't you willing take in Litten and uphold your promise of making him into a strong Incineroar?" Gary asked.

"Of course, I did." Cross stated. "Only someone truly heartless would have stumbled upon what I did and not do something about it."

"Well then, there you go." Gary declared. "Hold true to your ideals, and you'll never be Archer. In fact, you can be the trainer Archer should have become rather than the trainer he turned into."

Silence passed between the two before Cross eventually spoke up. "Gary… thank you."

"Well, you are one of my more promising prospects for a good fight in the Indigo League." Gary smiled. "It wouldn't do to lose that over something like this."

Saffron City: Silph Co.

Giovani stared out at the window to his city, and while it was enough now, it would not satiate his ever-growing hunger to be recognized. He had tried to be recognized through the legal means, but even someone he considered a friend never saw him.

While restarting his mother's Team Rocket had been tedious, it quickly got him noticed. For once in his life, he had power. Now, after years in the making, no one would be able to ignore him now. Soon, all of Kanto would be forced to see him when he ruled everything.

Perhaps having all of Kanto under his boot would see the emptiness he'd felt all his life being satisfied. If it didn't… well there were always other regions out there. Team Rocket's conquest didn't have to end with Kanto.

"I'm not sure when, but my organization will soon be put to the test in defending what is ours." Giovani walked away from the window. "When the time comes, we will show the world why Team Rocket is an organization to be feared. Why everything belongs to us."

He had realized by now that both RK and Sabrina were gone. To where, he didn't know nor care. While those two were exceptionally useful pawns, Team Rocket was full of people he could use to meet his end goal, and deals could always be struck to acquire more resources.

Case in point, Hunter J who had arrived promptly and parked her battleship above Saffron. It currently hovered within the protective barrier. Her people and herself more than made up for any loss he had taken. With their deal in place, he could at least trust her not to break it.

Saffron City

Giovani stepped outside the building and stared out at the road as a memory was roused from three years ago on a very similar road…

Three Years Ago…

Giovani stood with his back to a kid who was six years old with short, red hair like mothers and silver-gray eyes. He wore a black, no-sleeved shirt and white pants. He was currently livid with Giovani who refused to even turn to look at him as they spoke.

"You and the others talk about how you're the strongest trainer in the world, but the real strongest trainer wouldn't have to hide like you do." The boy declared angrily. "Hiding is all you do which only proves how weak you and Team Rocket are."

"It's called strategy Silver." Giovani declared. "You can be the strongest trainer in the world, but not even the strongest can win with strong enough trainers on the other side outnumbering you. My men need time to grow into their roles."

"I don't understand that old man!" Silver declared. "You're not making any sense!"

"One day, you will understand." Giovani replied before walking away.

"I don't want to understand you!" Silver shouted. "I will never become like you! I will become strong alone. I'll become the man you never could be, and I'll do it all by myself. You hear me?" Giovani never stopped. "ALL BY MYSELF!"

Silver ran the other way with every intention of leaving.

Present…

"Wherever you are now, my son, you will see what everything was for." Giovani thought as he walked on. "You will see the truth behind my words."

Even having Silver had not filled the hole that had always existed within him. He didn't love the woman who gave him a son, and the name he gave him only reminded Giovani of the first real chance he had at filling that hole. The first pokemon league.

He had already tried to forge those so-called bonds with people, but Agatha was always more infatuated with Samuel while Samuel never saw him. All his so call friend saw him as was another obstacle to overcome. Now, all of Kanto would be forced to see him or be crushed.

Celadon Hotel Lobby: Morning…

As they agreed, Ash, Serena, and James met up here before separating as they were assigned to different paths to enter Saffron. It wasn't anything special per say. They'd just be taking different entrances into the cave system which would deposit their groups into different areas.

"I guess this is it." Ash stated. "Today, we fight possibly our biggest battle against Team Rocket."

Serena looked from Ash to James. The girl had always been fond of Ash, and that only grew as they were together now. Then, there was James who had become a solid friend to both. Having traveled with them, and Brock, she couldn't imagine a better alternative.

"That does appear to be the case." Serena looked at the boys. "Do be careful with the coming battles. We've learned that Team Rocket isn't an organization to be taken lightly."

"Don't worry Serena." James smiled. "If anyone knows how dangerous some of these people can be, it's me. Having said that, it means you can take it from me when I say that you two are ready for the battles to come."

"I think that's only doubly so when we give it everything we got." Ash declared. "Let's get out there and stop Team Rocket!"

Saffron City

Rocket members were everywhere, every business and home had been looted, and the city was pretty much a mess by this point. Still, Giovani's men didn't seem to mind and reveled in having a whole city to themselves. Suddenly, the psychic barrier around the city started cracking.

"Huh, looks like the psychic pokemon might be getting tired."

"I don't think that's the case."

"Yeah, usually an admin calls in when they need to be rotated."

The barrier shattered completely, but more importantly; it paved the way in through the underground tunnels. Almost immediately after it shattered, G-Men, trainers, and police members seemed to stream in from everywhere launching a surprise attack.

It wasn't long before the city was once more a battleground, but this time, Team Rocket were the ones caught unaware, and the size of the forces were a lot more even. After a good ten minutes, a squad of Pidgeot were blurs in the air as they managed to fly into Hunter J's battleship.

Pidgeot were known as some of the fastest pokemon in the air. With J and her forces focused on the ground, it was a simple mater to slip in unnoticed. As the combat picked up, more trainers from both sides took to the streets turning the city into a warzone.

For those of you curious, here's every character who gets a battle in these coming chapters.

Heroes:

Cross

Serena

James

Ritchie

Calem

Verity

Gary

Genesis

Jessie

Mondo

Ash

Wes

Surge

Villains:

Archer

Petral

Proton

Grey

Hun

Attilia

Daimen

Giovani

Butch

Cassidy

Ariana

Hunter J

Viscious

Everyone listed here gets to battle, and there will be no surprise entries. Some characters have already revealed who their opponents will be in this or last chapter, but I deliberately left a rather large pool undefined to leave you guessing. Get ready folks because it's time for the Saffron War Arc!

Reader: Nah, no Sephiroth. I know you may be joking, but I do want you to know I didn't pick that name out of thin air. As far as I could see, it's a word which can mean origin. Genesis is trying to come to terms with his origin more as well as using this opportunity to start over. Essentially, he's starting to become the person he wants to be. His origin.

Ibrenneke: You were partially thinking along the same lines as I.

Elemental-Aura: Yeah, Ash has a lot of pent up emotions and frustrations with his old man, but at least he had his mother. Jessie, Meowth, and Mondo won't be seen to to much after this arc as they will be serving their community service under Wes. That's not to say they won't ever show up again in this story, but it is to say that they will become more recurring in Johto. As for their reunion... well, I couldn't leave anyone hanging.

Of course, I couldn't just ignore Ash's feeling nor the growth Cross and Gary have had throughout their journey. As for how many parts of this... Just two. I figured I wouldn't drag in out and simply use the first of these chapters to establish the reunions and meetings. Then, this chapter establishes more of the key players. I couldn't bring in everyone, so I aimed for a combination of friends/rivals to Ash, Serena, and James.