Onboard the Shining Pearl, the situation was not going the way Nessa would have hoped. While the crew could usually handle a threat such as Team Rocket, they had been caught by surprise, which meant that several of their Pokémon had been taken out of commission before they could do anything.

"Ahaha!" one of the grunts yelled. "And here I thought the Shining Pearl was going to be hard to take down!"

"You filthy landlubbers!" she yelled as her Drednaw took a hit. "You'll regret attacking us!"

"I sure doubt it," said another Grunt. "We're taking this ship for Team Rocket!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" said Nessa. "Drednaw! Use Liquidation!"

"Dreeed!" the bite Pokémon cried out as he lunged towards his opponent. As he did, the horn on his head was coated with water, which extended outwards into a deadly blade. His opponents, a Nidorino and Nidorina, snarled and jumped forwards with a pair of Horn Attacks. The two clashed with the large water type for a moment, though it was clear that the pair were struggling against Drednaw's powerful move.

Then an Ekans and a Koffing began to attack Drednaw.

"Oi!" Nessa yelled as her partner cried out in pain. "How dare you gang up on us?! That's not fair!"

"We're Team Rocket," Jessie pointed out. "We don't play fair!"

"And besides," said James, "we all know that your captain is much stronger than any of us, so it's only fair for us to even out the odds!"

"Fairyyyy!" Clefairy declared as she fired off a Disarming Voice. The sound wave slammed into the large water type, knocking him backwards. To Nessa's horror, he didn't seem to be able to get back up.

"Drednaw!" she cried. "Are you okay?"

The bite Pokémon could only groan in response. The blue haired girl could only grit her teeth as she returned him to his Pokeball. And to make matters worse, one of the other sailors arrived with some grim news.

"Miss Nessa! There are too many Rocket grunts for us to handle! Our Pokémon are being overwhelmed, and at this point I doubt we can last much longer!"

"Well we have to try!" Nessa declared as she tossed out a Pokeball and sent out a Poliwhirl. "As long as we can hold out until Captain Misty arrives, we'll be fine!"

"Poli!" Poliwhirl said as it let out a Bubble Beam attack.

"I don't know if we'll be able to last that long!" the other sailor replied. "We don't have a lot of Pokémon left!"

"Well, you're right about that," said Jessie. "Honestly, you should just give up now while you have the chance!"

"Ekaaaa!" Ekans said as it bit down on Poliwhirl.

"And don't think that captain of yours will be able to help," James said as his Koffing blasted the water type with Smog. "Because, there is no way she'll be able to help you in time!"

Then, as if to prove James wrong, a huge blast of water hit him and the other rockets, knocking them backwards. Amazed, Nessa looked up and saw a Starmie land in front of her and Poliwhirl.

"The Captain's Stamie!" she said as the mysterious Pokémon gave out a battle cry. "If you're here, then-!"

Before she could complete the sentence, another figure landed on board the ship, which caused the entire crew to cheer excitedly.

"The Captain!"

"We're saved!"

"Go kick their asses!"

Captain Misty scanned the area, taking note of the Pokémon that had been knocked out, as well as the ones who were still standing. She then turned to her first mate.

"Care to explain why you're being beaten by these idiots?"

"I-" Nessa tried to complain, but she quickly stopped herself.

Misty wasn't the type who listened to excuses.

"I was caught off guard," she said quickly. "They snuck on board very quietly, and we didn't notice until they were already attacking us. Several of our Pokémon were taken out before we realized what was happening!"

Misty shrugged, then turned to look at the Rocket members who had been knocked away by Starmie. They were struggling to get back up after the intensity of the powerful water move, but they clearly weren't going to give up yet.

"Well, the captain has finally arrived," one of the grunts said.

"That's gonna complicate things," said the other grunt.

"Oh don't tell me you're giving up now," said Jessie. "We might not be as strong as her, but there are enough of us to take her!"

"Of course!" said James. "And besides, if we manage to defeat her, the boss will be sure to promote us!"

"Fairy, fairy!"

Misty raised an eyebrow at the eagerness of the group that stood in front of her.

"Is that so?" she said. "Well, I would hope that you're prepared for disappointment. I know that I certainly am, although maybe the five of you can at least give me a half-decent training experience."

"How dare you?!" said Jessie. "You'll regret saying that once we've beaten you!"

"Assuming we can beat her," one of the grunts muttered.

The redhead Gym Leader sighed, then turned to Starmie. The mysterious Pokémon nodded in affirmation, then the two prepared to attack.

"Not so fast, Team Rocket!"

Misty blinked, then looked towards the boarding ramp as a quartet of familiar trainers climbed on board.

"We won't let you take this ship!" said Ash.

"Yeah," said Mikaela. "If you want this ship, you're going to have to defeat us all!"

Misty looked at the group in surprise. But before she could comment, Team Rocket spoke.

"It's the twerps!" said James. "What are they doing here?!"

"Who cares?!" said Jessie, "this is a perfect opportunity to catch that Meowth!"

Deciding that it wasn't worth questioning, Misty turned to Ash and his friends.

"Change of plans," she declared. "I'm going to see if the rest of the crew needs help. You stay here and help my first mate beat these ones. Savvy?"

She then rushed off before Ash could answer. The brown eyed trainer watched her in bemusement before he turned back to his friends, as well as Nessa.

"I mean, I guess we were already going to do that," he said. "But let's save the ship!"

"Yeah!" his friends said in unison.

"Well," said Nessa, "I didn't expect someone like you to be helping us out. But still, I appreciate the help."

By then, Jessie, James, and the two grunts had gotten back up, and their Pokémon seemed ready to battle.

"So, you want to battle, huh twerp?" said Jessie. "Well prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

""To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples 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!"

"Clefairy!"

The group stared blankly at Team Rocket.

"Do you always have to do that stupid intro?" said Ash.

"Stupid?!" Jessie yelled. "How dare you?! This motto is one of the finest works of Team Rocket!"

"And we'll see just how stupid it is when we take that precious Meowth of yours!" James declared. "Koffing! Use Sludge!"

"Ekans! Use Bite!"

Ekans slid towards the gang with its fangs extended, while Koffing spat out a blob of poison. Fortunately, Meowth managed to block the Sludge with a quick Iron Tail, while Poliwhirl shot out a Bubble Beam that hit Ekans before it could attack.

"Ekanssss!" the snake Pokémon snarled as it lunged towards Poliwhirl with wide jaws. Poliwhirl responded by shooting another spray of bubbles at his opponent. Ekans cried out in pain as it was hit by the move, but it still managed to bite down on the tadpole Pokémon.

Meanwhile, Meowth was slashing at Koffing with a fierce Fury Swipes attack. In response, the poison gas Pokémon unleashed a large cloud of smog, which forced Meowth to jump away.

"Any other ideas?" he yelled to Ash.

"I'm thinking about it!" said Ash.

At the same time, Mikaela and Maria were locked in battle against the two grunts. Eevee was battling against Nidorina, while Ratty was being chased by Nidorino.

"Nidorino!" the grunt called out. "Trap that rat and show it what you're made of!"

Nidorino grunted and jumped in front of Ratty, causing the mouse Pokémon to stop in his tracks.

"Go beneath him, Ratty!" said Maria.

"Rattata!" Ratty said as he shot towards the larger Pokémon and slid between its legs. Nidorino was confused by this, and stumbled as it tried to locate the little dark type.

"Stop fooling around and get that rat!"

The poison pin Pokémon growled as it got back up. It then looked around, searching for its opponent, until it noticed Ratty standing in front of the mast.

"Ratta!" said Ratty. In response, Nidorino roared and charged with a powerful Horn Attack. However, before he could score a hit, the little dark type jumped out of the way, causing Nidorino to crash into the mast.

"Nidorino!" the Rocket grunt yelled. "Get out of there!"

The poison pin Pokémon grunted as it tried to move. However, it quickly realized that its horn had been buried into the mast, leaving it unable to move.

"Oh come on!" the grunt yelled.

Captain Misty watched in amusement as the grunts tried to fight against her Starmie. Despite the fact that she was facing off against a Rattata, a Drowzee, a Grimer, and a Zubat, she hardly seemed concerned.

"Starmie, let's wash these fools away. Surf."

"Brace yourselves!" one of the grunts yelled. Immediately, Drowzee set up a psychic barrier, and the other Pokémon got behind it just before a huge wave slammed into them. Even so, they were barely able to withstand the force of the attack.

"Psychic power, eh?" said Misty. "I do like that a lot. Do you mind if we do it too?"

Starmie's core began to glow, and the Rocket Pokémon were suddenly hit by a huge blast of Psychic energy.

"This is impossible!" one of the grunts said. "There's no way we can beat her!"

"Shut up!" another grunt said quietly. "There's always a way!"

He then pointed at Drowzee.

"If we can get Drowzee to distract her, we can get the rest of our Pokémon to attack Starmie together!"

"I like that idea," a third grunt said. "Maybe we won't get our asses kicked like that!"

They then turned back to Drowzee.

"So you think you're good with psychic Pokémon, huh?" one of the grunts said.

"I won't say I'm as good as someone like Sabrina with psychic Pokémon," Misty replied. "Though I'll say I'm far better with you fools. And Starmie's primarily a water type, so-"

"Whatever!" the grunt snapped. "Let's see how good you are against a real psychic Pokémon! Drowzee, use Psywave!"

"Drowzeee!" the yellow psychic type said as it unleashed a burst of psychic power. In response, Starmie fired its Psychic attack, which collided with Drowzee's move. For a moment, it seemed that both were evenly matched. But as the struggle went on, it quickly became apparent that the mysterious Pokémon had far more power than its opponent.

As this went on, the other Rocket Pokémon snuck around Starmie, doing their best to avoid attracting attention as they got into position for their attack. As they did, their teammate continued to fight against its stronger opponent, even as it became clear that it was greatly outmatched.

"Drooow!" Drowzee groaned as it struggled to keep firing its attack.

"Well, I certainly hope that's not the best you have to show me, mates," said Misty. "Because it seems that Drowzee here is no match for me and Starmie."

"Maybe," the grunt said with a smirk. "But even if you're stronger, we're sneakier!"

He then lifted a finger and pointed at Stamie.

"Get them!"

Misty lifted an eyebrow, then looked around at the Grimer, Zubat, and Rattata that were now lunging towards Starmie. But before they could reach it, the water type began to spin at blinding speed, which flung the three would-be attackers into Drowzee with great force. The psychic type cried out in pain as its psychic power vanished, leaving it exhausted on the floor.

"Really, mate?" Misty said in an unimpressed tone. "I know you people love sneak attacks, but that was absolutely pathetic."

The rocket grunt grit his teeth as he looked down at his team's Pokémon, who were all struggling to get back to their feet.

"W-well," he said as he struggled to keep his nervousness from showing, "that was h-hardly the only plan we had! We s-still plan to take over this-"

Before he could say another word, the grunts and their Pokémon were hit with a blast of frigid air. They barely had time to react before the ice swept over them, encasing their entire bodies in ice. Misty and Starmie watched in amazement, being genuinely surprised for the first time since she boarded the Shining Pearl.

"What? Where did that come from?"

"Misty!"

The redhead captain turned around, and then groaned as she saw the speaker.

"Hello Georgio," she deadpanned as her gaze met that of the brown haired boy who was constantly trying to get her attention.

"Misty!" he said as he walked up to her. "I know that you could probably have handled it on your own-"

"I was handling it just fine before you showed up."

"Well, yeah, but I still wanted to help! I rushed here to help you, and when I got here I saw that you were fighting four different Pokémon at the same time. So I had Delcatty freeze them while you were distracted!"

As Georgio finished his explanation, Misty looked down to see the cream colored feline with purple fur on its head and neck.

"Delcatty!" the cat Pokémon said proudly, causing Misty to smirk.

"So you thought that the best way to impress me was to take down the Pokémon that I was beating, thus depriving me and Starmie of the victory we were about to claim?"

Georgio felt a drop of sweat roll down his forehead. He then turned to Delcatty, who also seemed nervous.

"I mean, I just wanted to help!" Georgio said defensively. "I wasn't just going to start there and let you and your Starmie get beaten!"

"Well, we weren't," Misty said as she glared at the brown haired boy, sending a shiver up his spine. "So all you really did was get in my way."

Then, to Georgio's surprise, she smiled.

"I will say this, though: that was a very clever sneak attack. You wouldn't happen to have any pirate blood in your veins, would you?"

Georgio turned to Delcatty, and the two stared at each other blankly.

"Uh, no?" he replied lamely. "At last, I don't think so."

Misty chuckled.

"Well, we need to fix that," she said in amusement. "How would you like to join the crew?"

Back with Ash and his friends, Sam and Pikachu were having trouble with Clefairy. Despite not having a trainer in the traditional sense, the pink fairy type was surprisingly powerful. And to make matters worse, it was nearly impossible to dodge the Disarming Voice attack it loved to use.

"Come on. Pikachu!" said Sam. "We need to take this puffball down!"

"Pika, pika," Pikachu muttered as he launched another Thunder Shock attack, which struck Clefairy before it could dodge. Despite being damaged, the fairy Pokémon only seemed more determined to win, as it started firing Disarming Voice attacks in every direction. Not only did Pikachu get knocked back, but so did all the other Pokémon who were currently in battle… regardless of whether they were friend or foe.

"Pikaaa..."

"Ekaaaa!"

"Polii!"

"Rattaaa!"

"Koooof!"

"Meee-ow!"

"Nidooo!"

"Veee! Veee!"

The two Rocket grunts watched in horror as their Pokémon were hit by the fairy type attack, then turned angrily to Jessie and James.

"What was that?!" one grunt yelled. "You're supposed to attack the twerps, not us!"

"Yeah!" the other grunt said. "You need to control your Pokémon better!"

"For your information," Jessie retorted, "Clefairy is her own Pokémon! Just because she works with us does not make either of us her trainer!"

"And besides," said James, "if your Pokémon are getting in her way, then that's your fault for not training them properly!"

As Team Rocket argued amongst themselves, their Pokémon struggled to get back up, as did their opponents.

"Man," Meowth groaned as she got up. "I'm really going to enjoy beating that Clefairy someday."

"You and me both, buddy," said Ash.

"Did that Meowth just talk?" said Nessa.

"Not now!" said Sam. "We need to beat Team Rocket!"

Ash thought for a moment as he looked over the deck of the ship. While most of Team Rocket's Pokémon had taken a lot of damage, Clefairy was still in good condition. And Meowth and his friend's Pokémon were all badly injured by the attack. And half of his team was still out of commission from his battle with Misty.

He then made a decision, and grabbed a Pokeball.

"Metapod! I choose you!"

With a flash, the green bug type appeared in front of Meowth.

"Oh, hey Metapod," said Meowth.

"Meeeet."

"Ooh!" said Mikaela as she grabbed a PokeBall of her own. "I know where this is going! Come on, Weedle!"

The brown bug and poison type burst out of his Pokeball, and landed next to Metapod.

"Weedle!"

The two grunts raised an eyebrow, as did Jessie and James.

"A pair of bugs?" said one. "That's stupid!"

"Yeah," the other one said. "What are they gonna do, anyway? Everyone knows bugs are useless!"

"Yeah, they are," said James. "Although this does give me a certain sense of deja vu, doesn't it?"

"Hmm, it does," said Jessie. "When have we seen this before?"

"Fairy?"

In response, Metapod and Weedle began to spray Team Rocket with string.

"Ah!" James yelled. "Now I remember!"

"No!" Jessie cried. "It'll ruin my perfect hair!"

"Clefaaaiiiryyy!"

Team Rocket tried to escape, but the two bug types had struck so quickly that they had no chance to defend themselves effectively. Clefairy fared no better, as it was quickly enveloped; the other Rocket Pokémon never stood a chance. Before long, the criminals were wrapped from head to toe in strings, and Ash and Mikaela were ready to strike.

"You ready, Mikaela?" said Ash.

"Heck yeah!" Mikaela replied. They then turned to their Pokémon and gave their command.

"Electroweb!"

The two bug type Pokémon began to send a huge electric current through their webs. Team Rocket screamed in pain as they were shocked by the attack, as did their Pokémon. Koffing in particular was in so much pain that it released a cloud of gas, which then came into contact with the electrified strings.

The cloud then exploded, launching the hapless group into the sky.

"In hindsight, we really should have remembered that," said Jessie as they flew into the sky.

"Yes," said James. "Although I don't recall those strings being so… shocking."

"Clef, Clefairy," said Clefairy.

"We're blasting off again!" they said as they vanished into the distance.

Ash and his friends watched as Team Rocket vanished, then turned towards Weedle and Metapod and grinned.

"That was awesome!" said Ash. "I knew you could do it, Metapod!"

"And you too, Weedle!" said Mikaela. "You're gonna be great one day!"

The two bug types chirped happily in response. Then, they both began to glow.

"Whoa!" said Meowth. "They're evolving!"

"Oh my gosh!" said Mikaela as she watched in awe. "That's so awesome!"

After a few seconds, the glow dissipated, and two new Pokémon stood in front of them. One was a purple Pokémon with large red eyes, white wings, a blue mouth and blue limbs. The other was a yellow cocoon with black eyes.

"Oh wow!" said Ash. "That's great, you guys!"

Excited to learn more, he pulled out his Pokedex and scanned his new Pokémon.

"Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon. Butterfree has a superior ability to search for delicious honey from flowers. It can even search out, extract, and carry honey from flowers that are blooming over six miles from its nest."

He then turned towards Kakuna and scanned him as well.

"Kakuna, the Cocoon Pokémon. Kakuna remains virtually immobile while it clings to a tree. However, on the inside, it busily prepares for evolution. This is evident from how hot its shell becomes."

"Cool!" Mikaela said as she grabbed Kakuna. "So you're getting ready to turn into a bug Beedrill, right?"

"Kaku-kuna!" Kakuna replied excitedly.

"I can't wait either!" said Mikaela as she hugged her newly evolved Pokémon.

"And I'm glad you finally evolved into your final form," Ash said as he approached Butterfree. "You look amazing!"

"Totally!" said Meowth. "You're gonna be the best teammate ever now!"

"Free! Butterfree!" said Butterfree.

"Wow, congratulations," said Maria. "You two look amazing!"

"Ratta!"

"Yeah," said Sam. "congrats on both of you for evolving!"

The two bug types chirped happily. Then, Butterfree floated upwards and landed on Ash's head.

"Looks like we're going to be seeing a lot more of this, huh?" he said as he patted the bug type.

"Well, you've done a fine job," Nessa said as she approached them. "Though if I were you I'd return those guys."

"What?" said Ash. "Why?"

"The captain doesn't like bug types."

Ash and the others stared at the dark skinned girl.

"She doesn't like bug types?" said Ash.

"Nope," said Nessa.

"Well, Ash was going to use Meta- I mean, Butterfree in his battle," said Mikaela. "So what was she going to do then?"

"I would have beaten your precious little bug, of course."

The group turned and spotted the ship's captain, closely followed by a Starmie and a Delcatty. To their surprise, the purple water type was carrying the brown haired boy who had warned them all about the attack.

"Now, I'm hardly trying to be ungrateful," said Misty, "but could you please get those things out of my sight?!"

The two bug types whimpered as they shrunk away. Ash and Mikaela scowled at Misty.

Just outside Cerulean harbor, Proton watched the Shining Pearl in the distance.

"Well, they did better than I thought they would," he said. "Not that it did them any good in the end, but still."

"Well, as long as we were able to retrieve the asset, it isn't important," a grunt said as she approached him. "We should report to the boss."

The green haired executive smirked as he looked down at his hand. His fingers tightened around the small sphere; it sparkled with several different colors, and he could see a symbol within that vaguely resembled a double helix.

"Yes, we should," he replied. "After all, he'd be very pleased to hear what we've done."

"A badge?" Ash said as he saw the small blue object that the captain was offering him.

"Well, while I may be certain that I could have handled the attack on my ship just fine on my own, I can't deny the fact that you played a rather important role in helping me save my crew. Thus, I feel that you have earned the Cascade Badge."

"Uh, thanks?" said Ash. "I mean, not that I'm ungrateful, but shouldn't I have to win a battle for this?"

"Mate, I'm the Gym Leader," said Misty. "So I get to decide if I want to give out a Gym Badge or not. Savvy?"

"Sweet," said Nessa. "I'm totally gonna be a Gym Leader one day."

Ash stared at the badge for a moment. Then, he grinned and took it.

"Yeah!" he said. "I just got the Cascade Badge!"

"Heck yeah, we did!" said Meowth.

Misty watched with interest, her gaze focused on Meowth.

"That's an interesting Meowth. You don't see a lot of talking Pokémon, you know."

"Oh yeah," said Ash. "Meowth is pretty cool like that."

"Aren't I?"

"Well, there could be space on this ship for a Pokémon with your unique talents," said Misty. "What say you to joining my crew?"

Ash blinked, then turned to his friends. They then laughed together.

"Yeah, I don't think so," said Ash. "But thanks anyway."

The red haired girl sighed, then smiled at him.

"Well, you can't blame me for trying," she said. "Though I did just get a new crew member today, so I'm not lacking in numbers."

"No you're not!" Georgio said as he approached her. "And I can promise you that I'll do everything I can to be useful on board!"

"That's good," said Misty. "I like a hard working lackey."

Georgio grinned and opened his mouth to speak. However, Misty lifted her hand before he could say anything.

"But don't even think about asking me out. It would never work out between us. Savvy?"

Georgio groaned, and Delcatty patted his leg to console him. Misty rolled her eyes at the sight, then pulled out an object.

"If it makes you feel better, you can keep this," she said as she handed him a familiar looking object. "It's a TM for Shadow Ball. I don't have any ghost type Pokémon, so it's not much use to me. Maybe that cat of yours can learn it?"

"Oh," said Georgio. "Thanks, I guess. I mean, it's not-"

Whatever else he was about to say was interrupted by a sudden loud gasping sound. Everyone then turned to the source, and were met by the sight of Mikaela shaking with anger. The brown haired girl then pointed a finger at Misty.

"Jacuzzi!"

Everyone else stared at her blankly.

"Uh, come again?" said Misty.

"Jacuzzi!" said Mikaela. "It means I know what you did!"

"Eevee!" Eevee said, pointing his paw at Misty in the same manner as his trainer. Unlike his trainer, however, his face still had the same smile it always did.

"Uh, Mikaela?" Sam said as he turned to her. "I think you mean j'accuse."

"J'accuse?" said Ash.

"I think that's Kalosian," said Maria.

"Well, whatever it is, it's clearly spelled jacuzzi," said Mikaela. "So that's what I'm saying, because she stole my TM!"

"Oh, that was yours?" said Misty with a nonchalant voice. "Well, I hardly noticed. It looked so lonely, and I just had to take it."

Mikaela lunged towards the water type specialist, but Sam and Maria stepped in and caught her by the arms before she could do anything. As the brown haired girl kept screaming in rage, Georgio slowly moved up to Ash.

"Your friends are… a bit weird."

Ash shrugged as he watched the drama unfolding before him.

"I mean, it's not as bad once you get used to it. Right Meowth?"

To his surprise, Meowth didn't answer. He then looked down and saw that the scratch cat Pokémon was staring intently at Delcatty.

"So pretty…"

The raven haired boy sighed.

"Well," said Georgio, "I wouldn't know. But then again, a lot of people tell me that Misty's not really normal either, but I think she's really great."

He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a few pieces of paper. Ash looked down at it, and was surprised when Georgio handed them to him.

"What's this?" said Ash.

"Oh, I had a couple of VIP season passes to this year's Kanto Baseball league," Georgio explained. "I was going to invite Misty, but she's not interested. So, maybe you'd want them? I don't know."

Ash looked up at the brown haired boy, then down at the tickets. He then smiled as a thought came to him.

"Well," he said, "I'm pretty sure I can find some use for these."

"Cool," said Georgio. "It would be a real shame if they went to waste."

The two of them smiled, then turned back to watch as Sam and Maria struggled to restrain an irate Mikaela.

A/N: Holy crap, I actually managed to post another chapter before the end of the year!

Man, it's been one year since I started posting this story. I honestly can barely believe it's been a whole year. So far Ash and Meowth have had some pretty crazy adventures in this year of me writing this story. And believe me, their adventures are going to get even crazier.

Next up, we should be heading towards Vermillion. It should be pretty interesting to see how Ash deals with Surge without Pikachu. But before that, we've got quite a few Pokémon to meet on the way!

Anyway, I hope all you people reading this story have a great 2022!