"I have a great idea!" Trace said. "Poliwhirl, use Substitute!"

Poliwhirl closed his eyes, and his body glowed white. Then, he jumped away, leaving behind what appeared to be a doll in the spot he was just standing.

"Whoa! What just happened?" Brayden asked, astounded.

"Heh heh! Substitute is a cool move that creates one of those dolls in exchange for a little bit of Poliwhirl's HP! Normally, you'd use that to catch an opponent off guard before counter attacking, but in this case we've got a viable target for Butterfree to practice Silver Wind on!" Trace explained.

"All right! Let's give it a try, Butterfree! Silver Wind!"

Butterfree flapped his wings mightily, but he created a Gust instead.

"Hmmm… how do we recreate the silvery powder?" Brayden wondered.

"Maybe the Pokédex can give us a clue," Trace suggested as he brought his out.

"Butterfree. The Butterfly Pokémon. A Bug- and Flying-dtype. Its wings are covered in a toxic, water-repellent dust, which enables it to fly and collect honey even in rain. It can also release the dust into the air to protect itself and others."

"Butterfree?" Butterfree said, full of curiosity. It seemed that he had never known he could do that.

"I see. You'll need to learn how to scatter the powder before you can learn Silver Wind, then," Brayden said thoughtfully.

Butterfree pondered this for a moment, then nodded. Moving closer to the Substitute doll, he began to flap his wings, not rapidly as he usually did, but slowly and gracefully. As he did so, the powder drifted off the wings and sprinkled around the doll.

"Ah! You figured it out! Good job, Butterfree!" Brayden exclaimed.

"Freeeeee!"

"Okay, now you just need to combine the powder with the gust of wind, so let's keep trying!"

As the practice resumed, Pidgeotto returned his gaze to the surrounding trees. He was certain that someone or something was watching them. The question was, were they friend or foe?

"You've nearly done it!" Brayden shouted to Butterfree. "One more try! Silver Wind!"

"FREEEEEE!"

By rhythmically flapping his wings just right, Butterfree released some powder and struck the doll with a now silvery wind current, causing it to disappear.

"ALL RIGHT! You did it, Butterfree! You mastered Silver Wind!" Brayden exclaimed joyously.

The rest of the Pokémon, save the vigilant Pidgeotto, all voiced their congratulations to the Butterfly Pokémon.

"War, tortle!"

"Oddish!"

"Electrode!"

"Char, Char!"

"Poliwhirl whirl!"

Joyful tears welled up in Butterfree's large eyes as he joined in the celebration.

Then…

"PIDGEO!"

Pidgeotto shot into a nearby bush, startling everyone.

"EKANS!" Something cried out with fright.

Moments later, Pidgeotto emerged with a purple serpentine Pokémon that looked quite frightened.

"An… Ekans?" Trace said.

"Why'd you attack it, Pidgeotto?" Brayden asked, dumbfounded. "It's not like it's spying on us for…"

It dawned on the boys that there was something suspicious on Ekans' head. As they drew closer, the Poison-type made a desperate attempt to escape, but was swiftly pinned down by Pidgeotto and Poliwhirl.

When Brayden and Trace finally saw what had piqued their interest, their hearts skipped a beat.

Attached to the Ekans' head was a small metal plate with the red letter "R" on it.

"TEAM ROCKET?!"

Brayden couldn't believe what he was seeing. Had this Ekans been following them? If so, for how long?

To add onto the group's collective shock, a horribly familiar voice came shouting out from the metal plate.

"WHAT?! They found you?! Worthless Pokémon! What were you thinking?!"

"Ek…Ekans..!" Ekans hissed pathetically.

"Is that… Ariana?!" Brayden shouted.

"It must be her. I've never heard any other voice that sounds dignified yet screechy," Trace groaned.

Everything went quiet for a few seconds.

Then, a scream of outrage shot out of the speaker, causing Ekans, Electrode and Oddish to writhe in pain while everyone else clapped their hands to their ears.

"I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU LITTLE BRATS!" Ariana shrieked. "Time to put an end to your meddling once and for all! Destroy them, my little spy!"

Brayden and Trace were unsure of what she was talking about, but all of a sudden, Ekans began thrashing around violently, as if it was in even greater pain than before. Then, it was enveloped in a bright light.

"Oh no…" Brayden muttered.

"It's evolving!" Trace shouted in dismay.

When the light subsided, Ekans had transformed into a much larger serpentine. One our heroes had battled before on the S.S. Anne. An Arbok!

The metal plate had shattered due to the sudden change in size, but a single chip was still attached to Arbok's head.

"ARBOK!" It hissed savagely, before spitting out several Sludge Bombs at our heroes.

Brayden and Trace shut their eyes, but they were not struck by the venom. Electrode, Pidgeotto, Oddish, Wartortle and Poliwhirl had taken the attacks for them, and they each collapsed to the ground.

"Oh no! They've been poisoned!" Trace shouted.

"Oddish hasn't, since she's a Poison-type like Arbok. But the attack was too much for her…" Brayden said regretfully.

Arbok had resumed thrashing about in intense pain, but it was only a matter of time before it started attacking again. And now, the only Pokémon Brayden and Trace had to fight it with were Charmeleon and Butterfree.

"I feel bad for Arbok, but we don't have a choice. We have to stop it before it's too late!" Brayden said.

"Okay, Brayden! Charmeleon, Butterfree, we're counting on you!" Trace said.

"Free!"

"Char!"

"Let's go! Use Silver Wind!"

"Use Flamethrower!"

Butterfree scattered powder into the air and sent it hurling towards Arbok with a gust of wind, while Charmeleon breathed intensely hot flames onto the Poison-type.

Both attacks landed successfully, but Arbok was in too much pain already to care. Instead, it burrowed into the ground.

"It's using Dig! Fly higher, Butterfree!" Brayden instructed.

Butterfree did so, but it was not Arbok's target.

The ground broke beneath Charmeleon's feet, and Arbok struck the unfortunate Fire-type as it emerged, knocking him away.

"Charmeleon!" Trace cried as Charmeleon fell back to earth. The Flame Pokémon had suffered lot of damage, but he got back to his feet and ran back to Trace.

"Let's attack Arbok's weakness, Butterfree!" Brayden shouted. "Use Confusion!"

The Butterfly Pokémon's eyes glowed, then psychic energy shot out of them and bombarded Arbok. However, the Poison-type showed no signs of tiring, and lunged for Butterfree, fangs glistening with ice.

"No! That's Ice Fang! Watch out, Butterfree!"

But it was too late. Arbok had already chomped down on Butterfree's foot, resulting in super-effective damage once again.

"We have to shake Arbok loose before Butterfree gets frozen! Do something, guys!" Brayden said to Trace and Charmeleon.

"Right! Charmeleon, jump above Arbok and use Brick Break!"

Without hesitation, Charmeleon leaped through the air and slashed down his claws onto Arbok's head. The Cobra Pokémon's jaws snapped open, releasing Butterfree from them.

As they broke away from the serpentine threat, they noticed the chip embedded in Arbok's head glowed, and Arbok began thrashing around in crippling agony once more.

"You see that, Brayden?" Trace asked inquisitively.

Brayden nodded in ascertainment.

"That chip's the source of Arbok's aggression and suffering! It's got to be Team Rocket's fault! We have to remove it."

"Yeah, but how? Even in pain, Arbok's so fast. If we try to get close it'll snap at us with Ice Fang, spit a Sludge Bomb at us, or escape with Dig!"

Brayden searched his mind for answers. If they couldn't catch Arbok, how could they pin it down? Even if they could, how would they remove the chip?

Butterfree couldn't do either thing. He didn't have the physical strength.

Charmeleon could probably remove the chip with Metal Claw, but not while holding Arbok down.

That meant that Butterfree had to somehow hold Arbok down so Charmeleon could pry off the chip.

But how could Butterfree do that…?

As Brayden pondered this problem, he suddenly remembered his Gym Battle with Misty, months ago…

"Wait for the right moment to strike, Oddish!"

"No chance of that happening! Psyduck, Confusion!"

Psyduck held its head in pain, and with the power of headache, struck Oddish with psychic energy and…

"Confusion made Oddish levitate…" Brayden realized.

"That's it! Butterfree, use Confusion again, but this time, hold Arbok in the air!"

Butterfree was surprised. He had never tried to do that before, and was uncertain if he could. But as Arbok got back up and reared back its head to unleash another Sludge Bomb, Butterfree knew he had to try.

Butterfree generated psychic energy from his eyes and enveloped Arbok in it. He concentrated intensely, and then Arbok began floating just slightly off the ground, still thrashing.

"Yes! It worked!" Brayden shouted in satisfaction. "Now's your chance, guys! And hurry, I don't think Butterfree can hold Arbok for much longer!"

Butterfree showed mental strain, verifying Brayden's words.

"You heard the man, Charmeleon! Use Metal Claw and get the chip off of Arbok's head!" Trace said.

Clutching Arbok's head with one claw, Charmeleon placed his other claw over the chip and pulled with all his might.

"Char…MELEON!" Charmeleon cried as the chip came loose, shattering in the process.

"ARRRRRR!" Arbok screamed.

Utterly exhausted, Butterfree stopped using Confusion, and Arbok and Charmeleon both fell to the ground.

The Cobra Pokémon's head was bleeding a little, and it was breathing hard, but other than that it seemed to be alright. Whatever effect the chip had been having on it had disappeared.

"We did it," Trace said as he sighed with relief.

"Looks like it. But now all our Pokémon are hurt and tired. I don't think we have enough medicine left to treat all their wounds and poison. We have to get to Celadon City immediately!" Brayden said as he recalled Butterfree to his Poké Ball.

Trace nodded in agreement, and he recalled Charmeleon. But as Brayden turned to leave, he stopped him.

"What about Arbok? We can't just leave it here. Team Rocket abused it and forced it to attack us. We have to help it!"

Brayden stared at Arbok. It laid there, trembling from pain and fear, and looked up at Brayden and Trace with sorrowful eyes. They couldn't help but feel pity for the hapless snake.

"You're right. Do you have any Poké Balls?"

Trace responded by pulling one out of his bag, then kneeling down and gently pressing the button over the back of Arbok's hood, causing the Cobra Pokémon to vanish inside it. The Poké Ball clicked shut almost immediately.

"I guess… I caught an Arbok…" Trace mused as he and Brayden ran back out of the clearing and up the road towards the sprawling city lights in the distance.

Saffron City, Fighting Dojo…

"Enough!" Bruno shouted furiously. "Machamp, Seismic Toss!"

The Superpower Pokémon grabbed the rampaging Primeape, jumped high into the air, and flung the Pig Monkey back down to earth with incredible velocity.

"PRIME!"

Primeape awoke with a start.

He had dreamt that he used Outrage while fighting Bruno of the Elite Four, went on a rampage, and was brutally stopped by Bruno's Machamp.

"Are you well, furry one?"

Primeape turned his head to the right, and there was Koichi. Bruno and Bruce stood at his sides.

"Prime…ape…?"

"What troubles you?" Koichi asked, his face full of worry.

"I think he's wondering what happened. After all that, it's understandable that he wouldn't remember," Bruce said.

Primeape nodded, dreading what he would hear. Surely that hadn't happened, right?

Bruno looked down upon the simian with a solemn expression.

"You used Outrage and lost control. It was a miracle that Machamp and I could stop you before anyone got hurt."

Oh no…

In that moment, everything came back to Primeape. Unyielding panic and sorrow overtook him as he got up shot for the exit, tears streaming down his furry face.

"No! Stop!" Bruce shouted as he chased after Primeape.

"Lee!"

Bruce's Hitmonlee beat Primeape to the door and blocked it.

"Primeape?! Prime Prime ape ape!" Primeape bellowed at the Kicking Pokémon to stand aside, but Hitmonlee refused.

Bruce caught up to them and grabbed Primeape's arm.

"Listen to me! My brother and I learned something important from you. That you can't run away from your problems. You must face them head-on and conquer them!"

Primeape's eyes went wide. He hadn't expected Bruce to remember him.

"If you run off now, you will regret it for the rest of your life. I may not know what happened between you and your Trainer, but I am still your Master in the martial arts. I refuse to let you down. Stay here, and I promise we will help you overcome your weaknesses."

Upon hearing this, Primeape calmed down.

"So, this Primeape is known to you, Bruce?" Koichi asked.

"Yes, Master. I believe… no, I am CERTAIN that this Primeape used to be the Mankey I taught before."

"Yet here he stands, without his Trainer. How curious…"

Bruno walked over and folded his arms.

"I can only assume it had something to do with what we just witnessed. Perhaps a calamity caused them to separate. I definitely think we should let Primeape stay until we hear from his Trainer."

Overcome with relief, Primeape hugged all three of the martial artists in succession, tears of gratitude falling from his reddened eyes.

"Prime…ape…prime…!"

Koichi and Bruce smiled warmly. They knew in their hearts they were doing the right thing.

Primeape has found a new home at the Fighting Dojo! Meanwhile, our heroes, Brayden and Trace, race against time to reach Celadon City before their Pokémon succumb to their wounds and poison! Let's hope they're successful, because Team Rocket lurks in the shadows!

Brayden's Current Team:

Wartortle

Hardy Nature. Hates Losing.

Ability: Torrent

Moves: Water Pulse, Rapid Spin, Bite, Surf

Pidgeotto

Docile Nature. Good Perseverance.

Ability: Keen Eye

Moves: Twister, Aerial Ace, Quick Attack, Agility

Butterfree

Quiet Nature. Highly Curious.

Ability: Compound Eyes

Moves: Confusion, Silver Wind, Flash, Double Team

Oddish

Modest Nature. Alert to Sounds.

Ability: Chlorophyll

Moves: Mega Drain, Stun Spore, Acid, Razor Leaf

Electrode

Naughty Nature. Somewhat of a Clown.

Ability: Static

Moves: Thunderbolt, Screech, Rollout, Explosion

Trace's Current Team:

Charmeleon

Bashful Nature. Quick to Flee.

Ability: Blaze

Moves: Flamethrower, Brick Break, Metal Claw, Swords Dance

Poliwhirl

Gentle Nature. Nods off a lot.

Ability: Damp

Moves: Surf, Substitute, Double Slap, Mud Shot