The group did their best to protect themselves from the smoke as Nurse Joy and her Chansey jumped over the counter to protect them.

"Fantastic," Sam said in an irritated tone, "my first day on my journey and I'm already being attacked by bad guys."

"Pikachu, Pika."

"Don't worry," Nurse Joy said, standing in front of the young trainers with a determined gaze. "I won't let anything happen to you kids."

"Oh my," a female voice said, "what a brave lady. So willing to protect the young and vulnerable."

The group looked up towards the source of the smoke, seeing a pair of figures standing next to a pair of purple Pokemon.

"Who are you?" said Ash. "What do you want?"

"Oh? You really think you can make demands now?" a second, male voice replied. "Well, it would be rude not to introduce ourselves, I suppose."

The smoke then cleared from the immediate area, revealing a red haired woman and a blue haired man, both wearing white outfits with a bright pink "R" printed on.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

Then, to the surprise of the group, a Clefairy bounced out from behind them.

"Clefairy!"

"Team Rocket?" said Ash. "You mean the criminal organization that's always stealing Pokemon from people?"

"Come now," said James, "it's hardly fair to call us criminals. We're simply giving these Pokemon a chance to do something great by taking them away from unworthy owners who can hardly do anything good with their abilities."

"So basically, stealing Pokemon," said Mikaela. "That sounds like something criminals do."

"Eev-Eevee!" Eevee said in agreement.

"Yeah," Sam said as he held Pikachu close. "And there's no way we're letting you take our Pokemon!"

"Oh please," said Jessie, "why would we want to steal your Pokemon? They're clearly nothing worth taking."

"Hey!" Meowth yelled. "I'll let you know we're way stronger than anything you can throw at us!"

This caused the trio to stare in shock.

"Did that Meowth just talk?" said Jessie.

"That… is quite a rare sight," said James.

"And valuable!"

"Let's catch it!"

"Clefairy!"

"No way!" Ash said as he grabbed Meowth. "There's no way you're taking Meowth!"

"Oh really?" said Jessie. "And who's going to stop us?"

"I will!" said Nurse Joy. "I'll protect these young trainers from anything you try!"

"Chansey!"

"Why, how very noble," said James. "Too bad you won't have a chance!"

Before anyone could react, a pair of purple figures appeared and slammed against Chansey. The egg Pokemon cried out as she was sent flying into a wall.

"Chansey!" Nurse Joy cried as her partner slumped up against the wall unconscious. The rest of the group turned towards Team Rocket in anger.

"You jerks!" said Mikaela. "Chansey didn't get a chance to defend itself!"

"Well, you said we were criminals," said James. "So why shouldn't we act like it?"

"Well, we won't stand for that!" said Sam. "Pikachu! Attack!"

"You too, Eevee!"

"And you too, Meowth!"

"You got it!"

"Pika!"

"Eevee!"

"Fine, then we're doing this!" said Jessie. "Ekans, Wrap!"

"Koffing, Sludge!"

"Ekans!"

"Koffing!"

"Clefairy!"

The two groups rushed towards each other. Pikachu slammed into Ekans, shocking it with a Thunder Shock attack. Ekans yelped in pain, but it still managed to wrap its body around the electric rodent and squeeze it. While Pikachu cried out, it looked more annoyed than hurt, and it continued to zap the snake Pokemon.

Meanwhile, Eevee jumped up on top of Koffing, bouncing on top of it. The poison gas Pokemon tried to roll around to throw Eevee off, but it hung on tight, shaking around and causing Koffing to become more and more dizzy.

Finally, Meowth attempted to take on Clefairy. While he was slashing at her with a vicious Fury Swipes attack, the pink fairy type was surprisingly good at countering with her Double Slap attack. Each time he thought his claws would finally reach her, she managed to catch them in her paws. Thus Ash decided to change tactics.

"Meowth! Throw himself at Clefairy!"

"What?! Why?"

"I have an idea!"

Deciding to put his trust in Ash, Meowth did as he said and flung himself forwards. The fairy Pokemon had to cross both her arms to avoid getting hit, which caused her to lose sight of her opponent.

"Now hit it with your tail!"

Realizing what Ash was planning, Meowth flipped forwards and slammed his tail into Clefairy. The fairy Pokemon was stunned by the unexpected attack, which gave Meowth the opening he needed to unleash a flurry of Fury Swipes on her.

"Fairyyyy!"

"Haha!" Meowth laughed. "Take that, Pinkie!"

He then jumped back to catch his breath, keeping a wary eye on his opponent. Clefairy seemed to have taken some substantial damage, as her face and body were covered in scratches.

"You want any more?" said Meowth? "Cause if you want to take me or my friends, you're gonna have to go through-"

Before Meowth could say any more, Clefairy cried out, sending a massive wave of fairy type energy at him. However, it didn't just hit him; it also struck Pikachu and Eevee. They were all sent flying right into their trainers, knocking them off their feet and into a pile on the floor.

"Ah!" Ash said as he fell with Meowth. He groaned as Sam and Mikaela landed next to him.

"Did someone get the number of that truck?" Mikaela groaned.

The group winced as they looked up and saw Team Rocket smirking as they looked down on them.

"What a shame," said Jessie. "Your Pokemon are no match for us."

"And now we'll be taking them," said James. "Don't worry, we'll make sure two take good care of them!"

"Ekans!"

"Koffing"

"Clefairy!"

"No way…" said Ash. "We won't… let you… take our friends!"

Meowth gritted his teeth as he looked around. Neither Pikachu or Eevee looked like they could carry on for much longer (though Eevee still had the exact same smile on his face.) He wasn't sure what they could do to get out of this predicament. He tried to think of something, but it was hard with the pain in his body. Not to mention the smoke surrounding them.

Wait… smoke! That was it!

"Hey guys," he whispered as he looked to his new friends, "I think I got an idea. You up for it?"

"Pika pika," Pikachu muttered in an affirmative voice.

"Eevee vee!" Eevee cheered.

"Yeah, good," said Meowth. "Now, you see the gassy one?"

The two Pokemon looked over towards Koffing and nodded.

"Good," said Meowth. "Eevee, when I say so, we slam into him. Then, when we get away, Pikachu zaps 'em. Got it?"

"Eevee!"

"Pika!"

"Okay, what's going on?" said James. "What are you Pokemon planning?"

"Now!"

In the blink of an eye, Meowth and Eevee rushed forwards and rammed their bodies into Koffing with all the force they could muster. Koffing yelled out as it expelled a huge burst of gas, knocking the two normal types away. Just as Meowth intended.

"Now, Pikachu!"

Pikachu unleashed the strongest Thunder Shock it could at Koffing. The electric charge made contact with the gas and instantly ignited it.

"Uh oh," said Jessie.

The gas cloud exploded, blowing a huge hole in the roof of the Pokemon Center and sending Team Rocket flying. Ash and the rest of the gang had to hold onto each other as the shockwave hit them, and they were just barely able to avoid the worst of the blast.

After a moment, however, they were able to relax. Slowly, they got back up, taking in the scene. The entire lobby had been destroyed, the roof was gone, and there were flames everywhere. Most notably, Nurse Joy and Chansey were starting in shock.

Realizing what they had just done, Meowth's face turned red.

"Uh… sorry?"

Fortunately, Nurse Joy had assured them that they would not be held accountable for the damage done to the building. Even so, it was clear that the Pokemon Center wouldn't be operable for some time.

"Well, that sucks," said Ash.

"Yes it does," the police officer, a blue haired woman named Jenny, said as she observed the damages. "Still, you should consider yourselves lucky that you managed to protect yourselves from a criminal organization like Team Rocket when you're no more than beginner level trainers."

"Are we really lucky?" said Sam. "We got attacked by Team Rocket."

"That is a fair point," said Officer Jenny. "Anyway, I'd advise you to try to stay as far away from them as possible. Team Rocket is not an organization that young trainers like you should be involved with."

"Don't worry, Officer," said Ash, "we don't plan on repeating that any time soon."

"Good," Officer Jenny said as she got back onto her motorcycle. "You kids stay out of trouble now."

As Jenny drove off, the gang turned back to the Pokemon Center.

"Well, there goes my plans for the night," said Ash.

"Oh yeah," said Sam. "I guess you don't have a place to stay now."

"Or eat," said Meowth as he clutched his belly. "Aw man, I'm so hungry."

Mikaela looked at the two, saddened by their sudden predicament. Then, her face lit up.

"Ooh! That means sleepover time!"

"Eevee!"

The boys turned towards her in surprise.

"Sleepover?"

"So Eevee ended up with Sam all day looking for me and Pikachu!"

Ash and Sam watched as Mikaela described the events that had led her to Ash and Sam. While they had all agreed that telling anyone about their encounter with Team Rocket would most likely not be a good idea, they didn't see the harm in talking about how they had met.

"So then Pikachu and I walked all around until we reached the gym. Then we saw Ash and Meowth talking to each other! And I was like whaaat? A talking Pokemon?!"

"A talking Pokemon?!" said Mikaela's sister, a little girl with messy red hair named Mairin. "For real?!"

"What can I say?" said Meowth. "I'm one of a kind."

Mikaela's family gasped in awe as they stared at Meowth.

"Yeah, I know," said Mikaela. "Anyway, Ash and Meowth met Sam first, so when they found us, Eevee and I finally found each other! Then we decided to all travel together!"

"That's wonderful," said Mikaela's mother. "It's great to travel with friends."

"That's true," said Mikaela's father. "That way you'll always have someone to have your back when you need them, and you can share all the fun you're having with others!"

"Yeah!" Mairin said as she grabbed Meowth and began to hug him. "And you get to travel with a talking Pokemon! That's so cool!"

"Thanks!" Meowth gasped as the redhead squeezed him. "Now lemme go! I need air!"

"She sure is a handful, isn't she?" Ash commented as he watched his starter struggle.

"Sometimes," Mikaela admitted. "But I'll bet you she'll make an awesome trainer one day."

"As long as she doesn't strangle them," said Sam.

Fortunately, Mairin soon let go of Meowth, who gasped as he rushed away. In his place, Eevee jumped in, eagerly letting his trainer's sister hug him.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," she said, now somewhat teary-eyed.

"Don't worry," Mikaela said as she walked over and hugged her. "I'll call you, and I'll come to visit whenever I get the chance!"

"Promise?" said Mairin.

"Promise."

"Ev-eevee!"

"Okay!" said Mairin. "But I still want to go with you on a journey one day!"

"Of course! We'll all go together!"

"Eevee!"

Meowth crawled up to Ash's shoulder and groaned.

"I hope not, I think that girl busted one of my ribs when she hugged me."

"Don't worry," said Ash, "Mairin won't be a trainer for at least a couple of years."

Fortunately, any further discussion was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Oh, would you look at that?" said Mikaela's mother. "The pizza arrived."

The entire group cheered.

After dinner, the gang huddled together in Mikaela's room. They were sharing their thoughts and hopes for their journey together.

"I want to be the very best, like no one ever was," said Ash. "So I decided that I was going to travel to every Gym and collect all the badges in Kanto. Then I'll take part in the Pokemon League, then challenge the Elite Four and become a Champion!"

"That's a pretty ambitious goal," said Sam. "Still, I think you'll be pretty good at it."

"You'd better believe it," said Meowth, "Ash here is gonna beat every challenge!"

"Cool!" said Mikaela. "I can't wait to see that!"

Ash grinned at the encouragement his new friends were giving him.

"So what about you guys?" he said, his voice full of curiosity. "I mean, you probably have some kind of dream you want to follow, right?"

"Oh yeah!" said Mikaela. "I want to become a Pokemon Breeder!"

The rest of the group looked at her in surprise.

"A Pokemon Breeder?" said Meowth. "I sure didn't think that looking at you."

"Yeah," said Sam. "You look like you want to do something more… fun."

"Pika-Pikachu."

"But breeding is fun!" said Mikaela. "You get to find out everything Pokemon like, experience what they feel and how they think, and truly understand them as beings!"

"Eve-Eevee!"

"I guess so," said Ash. "That kind of sounds fun, now that I think about it!"

"Yeah," said Meowth. "Though you won't need a breeder to figure out what I want!"

The gang laughed at this, imagining the reaction any Pokemon Breeder would have to seeing a talking Pokemon. As it died down, the rest of the group looked at Sam.

"What about you, Sam?" said Mikaela. "What are you trying to do?"

Sam blinked, then looked down at Pikachu.

"Pika?" Pikachu said, as if telling him to answer.

"Well," said Sam, "I really didn't expect to start my journey so soon, but I always wanted to join the G-Men."

"The G-Men?" said Ash. "Like, the guys who go around helping Pokemon and stopping bad guys?"

"That sounds really cool," said Mikaela. "Also, you could help out next time Team Rocket attacks us!"

"Why do you think we're going to be attacked again?" said Sam.

"I sure hope they don't," said Meowth. "I don't want them to capture me and sell me on the black market!"

"Me neither," Ash said as he hugged his starter. "Don't worry. I won't let them go anywhere near you, buddy."

"Aw, thanks Ash!"

"Anyway," said Sam, "I want to be able to make a difference in the lives of other people and Pokemon. And I feel that joining the G-Men would help me do that."

"Pika, Pikachu," Pikachu said in his typically unenthusiastic voice, though he also raised a thumb in approval.

"That sounds really," said Ash. "I think you'll be great!"

"Me too!" said Meowth.

"Yeah," said Mikaela, "you'll be awesome!"

"Eevee!"

"Thanks guys," said Sam. "We'll all work together to make our dreams come true, right?"

"Yeah!"

With a newfound level of determination, the group continued to chat with each other, talking about what they wanted to do and see on their journey.

A/N: I wasn't sure what Pokemon partner to give to Jessie and James. I could have given Pikachu to them, but since I was including the Gotcha! trainers, it would have been redundant to have two of them. I eventually settled on Clefairy since it was originally going to be Ash's partner before they chose Pikachu.

Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to get some more chapters written soon!