Poke-Odyssey 2001 chapter 2

Return of the Rockets

Cameron, Ash, and Misty were outside of Officer Jenny's police station
home getting their Pokemon ready for the journey to Ryooku. "Are you
guys all set?" Ash asked his team that consisted of Pikachu, Pidgeot,
Venusaur, Charizard, Blastoise, and Espeon. "Pika, Cooo, Saur, Char,
Blast, Pi!" replied all his Pokemon.

"Well let's go then", smiled Ash as he sucked his Pokemon back into
their balls while Pikachu climbed onto his favorite spot in the whole
wide world. Ash's head.

"How about you guys?" Misty asked her team that consisted of Starmie,
Seaking, Seadra, Golduck, Poliwag, and her favorite Togepi. "Hah,
Seaking, Sea, Gol, Wag, Pi", said all her Pokemon. Misty then called
her Pokemon back in their balls except Togepi who preferred being
carried around in its mother's arms.

Cameron had checked out all his Pokmeon too and pulled them back into
their balls except for Aerodactyl, who was going to be flying them all
to Ryooku and Sandy who was standing by his master's feet. When Sandy
had learned that Pikachu always stayed out of his Pokeball when
traveling, he begged Cameron for the same treatment too. Cameron
agreed for he liked seeing his best friend by his side all the time.

"Are you all ready to go?" Cameron asked his friends as he and Sandy
got on Aero's back.

"I am", smiled Misty as she got on with Cameron. "How about you
Ashy-poo?"

Ash just stood there silently staring at that huge toothy beast and
flashbacked to the time a wild Aerodactyl grabbed him with its scary
talons wanting to have him for lunch.

"Ash, what's wrong?" called out Misty. Ash still just stood there
silently.

"Pika, pi!" said Pikachu as he gave his master a shock waking him up.
"YIPE! Oh, uh. Yeah, I guess I'm ready." Said Ash coming to his
senses.

"You're still not having flashbacks from that Aerodactyl incident, are
you?" asked Misty.

"Like I said, you don't have to fear Aero", said Cameron. "I've known
her since she was a friendly little Zubat. Right Aero?"

"Aero", said Aero in a quiet smiley voice showing she wanted to be
Ash's friend.

"Okay Aero. I'll make you happy and get on your back", smiled Ash.
Aero smiled as she drooped her wing and let Ash and Pikachu climb on.

"Sit in front of me, Ashy-poo!" smiled Misty. Ash did what Misty said
and sat in between her and Cameron. That's when Ash felt two, soft as
silk, arms wrap around his body. "Just something to give you a little
security", smiled Misty as she kissed him on the neck.

"Thanks Mist", smiled Ash as he held onto her arms. "And in case we
fall off, you'll be there to break my fall."

"WHAT?!!!" grumbled Misty as she tightened her grip on Ash's waist
making his eyes bulge out.

"You're making me taste my liver!" said Ash in a tiny voice. "And I
hate liver!"

Cameron and Sandy giggled at the bickering couple seated behind them.
They knew Ash and Misty loved each other dearly. Bickering was just
sometimes the way they showed their affection.

"Good luck on your journey Honey", called out Jenny. "And remember that
badge I gave you."

"I will Jenny", smiled Cameron. "It'll be like you're there protecting
me!"

"And say hi to Prof. Bonsai for me too", said Seymour.

"I will Seymour", called out Cameron. "And you two have a great time
on your honeymoon!"

Then Aero flew off into the east taking our friends to the country of
Ryooku while Seymour and Jenny waved them off.

"Shall we start on our little adventure in Seafoam my little babe in
blue?" asked Seymour as he took Jenny into his arms.

"Does this answer your question my big Bunsen burner?" smiled Jenny as
she threw off her uniform revealing a blue bathing suit. Seymour stood
there speechless and tried to bring out his inhaler.

"No need for that", smiled Jenny as she snatched it from Seymour and
started kissing him giving him her own sweet breath of life.

* * * * * *

On an island prison located between Kanto and Ryooku, we see a prison
guard sitting at his desk eating a donut while plopping jelly on his
round stomach. Just then a shadow covered him. He looked up and saw
a strange looking lady holding a cake. She was wearing a long flowered
dress with baggy sleeves. On her head was a sunhat that covered one of
her cat-like eyes.

"Uh, may I help you ma'am?" asked the guard.

"Why yes", said the lady in a cat-like voice. "I've come to visit my
dear son James. I brought him this cake I made with my own two paws,
I mean, hands to cheer him up. Won't you be a dear and please let me
see my darling boy?"

"Not so fast ma'am", said the guard as he took the cake from her. "I
gotta put this pastry through this x-ray machine just to make sure
there's no file, hacksaw, or bomb in here. It'll just take a minute."
And he slid it through the machine while the lady seemed to be shaking
nervously.

"Oh no", thought the lady. "I didn't expect this!" When the guard
looked at the monitor, he found what looked like two skulls attached
together in the cake.

"What's all this?" asked the guard.

"Uh, it's a new kind of dessert", said the lady. "You've heard of
boneless chicken? This is boneful cake. There are some people out
there who like gnawing on bones. And my little James won't eat
anything soft and mushy. He even chews on my expensive furniture."

"Well, okay", said the guard as he handed her the cake back. "Come with
me and I'll take you to your son." As they walked through the hallway,
the guard didn't notice that the lady had a purple snake's tail
sticking out from behind her dress.

* * * * * *

The former Rocket king known as James was busy sitting in his cell
trying to hold onto a bar of soap but kept slipping out of his hand.
"I believe the 99th time's the charm", said James. "I'm definitely not
gonna drop it in the shower tonight!" and he picked up the soap and
tried to hold onto it again, but it slipped out again. "I never had
this trouble with my royal soap bars", he whined. "Oh, how I long for
those days again!"

"Hey James, you got a visitor!" called out the guard.

"A visitor?" wondered James. "Who would be visiting me?"

"It's your mother", said the guard.

"MOTHER?!!" cried James in fear as he hid under his cot shaking.

"James, how could you?" asked the guard while dragging him out. "Your
dear sweet mother has come all this way just to see you and she's
brought you a delicious cake she made all by herself. You must be
breaking her heart even more."

"You don't understand!" cried James. "My mother's a monster! If I go
near her, she'll kidnap me and force me to marry a psychotic harmful
woman named Jessibelle! You gotta send her away!!!"

"Oh, I think you'll definitely want to come with me Jimbo!" said the
lady.

James suddenly stood up. "That doesn't sound like Mother's voice", he
said as he looked at the fuzzy face of the woman that was standing in
front of him. "Mother!" he gasped. "You're all furry! Have you
stopped shaving again?!"

"Oh, you're such a little rascal, aren't you my little bundle of joy?"
smiled the lady as she pinched his cheek with her clawed fingers.

"Ouch!" said James as he rubbed his cheek. "And you could also stand
to trim those nails."

"Why you!" grumbled the lady as she slashed James's face while the
guard stood there surprised.

"You know Mother", said James, "you're starting to remind me of someone
I know."

"Oh, that's silly my cute little brained son", smiled the lady. "Why
don't you enjoy this cake I made especially for you?" and she handed
James the cake.

"It does look kind of delicious", said James. "Wait a minute! How do I
know that this cake's not drugged so you'll get me to marry Jessibelle?"

"Aw, I don't have time for this!" growled the lady as she smashed the
entire cake into James's face while the guard stood there even more
surprised.

"Wow, like mother, like son", thought the guard wondering if she might
end up in a cell here one day.

"Hmmm, boysenberry. My favorite", said James as he tasted the cake on
his face. Then he saw two familiar faces covered with frosting
floating right in front of him. "WEEZING!" it said glad to see its
master once again.

"Or was that cake posionberry?" gasped James as he started to spit the
cake out of his mouth.

"Hey, what's the big idea bringing that dangerous Weezing in here?!"
shouted the guard.

"Mothers know best", said the lady in a Meowth's voice. "Weezing, give
'em your smokescreen!"

"WEEZING!" said Weezing as it sprayed black smoke into the cell making
everything dark. When the smoke cleared, the guard found everyone gone.
He quickly rushed over to his desk and whacked the alarm button.

* * * * * *

James, Weezing, and the lady were now hiding in a broom closet with a
chair pressed against the doorknob. "Oh Weezing, it's wonderful to see
your disgusting faces again!" cried James as he was hugging his dear
Pokemon while heart shaped smoke came out of its holes.

"Quick Jim, where's Jessie being kept?" asked the lady. "We gotta get
you two out of this big house fast!"

"But Mother", wondered James, "Why do you want to take Jessie with
us? I thought you were gonna make me marry Jessibelle?"

"Maybe I should show you the truth", said the lady as she was about to
tear off her dress.

"MOTHER!" cried James as he quickly covered his eyes. "Have you no
dignity?!"

"Look at me you lame brain!" said a familiar voice. James opened his
eyes and was surprised to see Meowth sitting on top of Arbok's head.

"Meowth! Arbok!" cried James as he went over and hugged the two
Pokemon. "I can't believe you three Pokemon went to all this trouble
to break out little old me!"

"Hey, cut out the mush!" growled Meowth as he slashed James back a few
steps. "Right now, we gotta find Jessie. Do you by any chance know
where she's being kept?"

"Yes", said James. "She's being kept in cell 13. It's located right
next to this broom closet on the left."

"How coincidental!" smiled Meowth. "Okay Arbok. Do your thing!"

"ARBOK!" hissed the snake as it tore up a hole in the floor and started
to dig through.

* * * * * *

In her cell, Jessie was having an extreme fit. She was clanging her
mug against the bars shouting. "GUARD! GUARD! GET YOUR DONUT SMELLING
BUTT DOWN HERE!!!"

"What is it this time?!" grumbled a woman guard.

"I just broke a nail!" screamed Jessie as she held up her index finger.
"I demand you do something about this at once!"

"Listen exqueen", grumbled the guard. "When are you gonna realize that
you're not royalty anymore?! You're just a royal pain in the butt now!
And I'm gonna take away your mirror privileges if you don't stop
bugging me!"

"But what about my nail?!" cried Jessie with a teary eyed look.

"Write a letter to the warden and maybe, just maybe mind you, he'll ask
his wife for one of her old used nails he can send to you." Smiled the
guard. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go! I just got a report
that a prisoner has escaped!" and she left the hallway.

"I don't believe this!" growled Jessie as she sat down on her cot. "A
year ago, I used to sleep on a luxury queen sized bed and had my very
own golden throne. Now I'm sleeping on this Venomoth eaten old
mattress and my throne is now this yellow colored toilet! Oh, how I
hate the twerps known as Ketchum and Fusterman! They took away my
tyrannical dreams! If I had my Arbok with me right now, I'd...."
But before she could finish her hate-filled sentence. The floor in her
cell exploded and out popped Arbok.

"Arbok?" gasped Jessie with surprised, tear-filled eyes.

"ARBOK!" hissed Arbok as it went over and hugged its owner tightly in
its coils.

"Hey, how did you get that snake in there?!" shouted the girl guard as
she came into the room holding a gun while the guy guard joined her.
Arbok just glared at the guards causing them to stand there paralyzed
in fear.

"Nice work my long lost little Arbok", smiled Jessie as she patted its
head. "But how did you find your way back to me?"

"You can give all the credit to me", called out Meowth who just emerged
from the hole along with James and Weezing.

"WOW!" cried Jessie happily as she hugged all the familiar faces. "The
old team is finally reunited once again!"

"It's great to see you too Jessie", smiled James with joy in his green
eyes.

"And it's about time you knuckleheads came and broke me out!" said
Jessie in her trademark mean voice. "What were you all doing, sitting
around like a bunch of vegetables?"

"Hey, you can show us a little gratitude you know", grumbled Meowth as
he was about to slash her face but his claw was caught by Jessie.

"I don't have gratitude in me, I have attitude!" growled Jessie. "And
I'll turn you into hairball soup if you don't think of a way to get us
out of this jail and into that Rocket endangered world!"

"Weezing, maybe you can help", smiled James.

"Weezing?" asked Weezing.

"Yes", smiled James evily. "Get rid of that wall with your explosion
attack!"

"WHAT?!!!" shouted both Jessie and Meowth. Weezing let out a huge
explosion taking out the entire jail cell causing the guards to get
thrown back into an empty room and causing Jessie, James, Meowth,
Arbok, and Weezing to fly out of the jail and into the sky.

"I never really missed your stupidy, Jim!" cried Meowth as he started
slashing him like crazy.

"At least I got us out of there!" cried James.

"Yeah, on a one way ticket to oblivion!" growled Jessie as she started
strangling James.

"Oblivion?" asked James. "Didn't that used to be part of the Soviet
Union?"

"Looks like Team Rocket's strangling James again!" called out Jessie
and Meowth as they all disappeared into the sky.

* * * * * *

Team Rocket had landed on a small island just a few miles away from
Ryooku. There were no trees at all to gather any food. Just lots of
huge boulders. "Maybe escaping wasn't such a hot idea", whined James.
"They were gonna serve Swill Ala Slop for dinner tonight."

"Quit whining!" grumbled Jessie. "At least there aren't any smug prison
guards on this island to boss us around! I'm glad we're out of that
ugly jailbird cage! A gray environment just brought out the worst in
my beauty!"

"And you both need to get out of those prison clothes too", said
Meowth. "Arbok?"

"AARRBOOK!" hissed Arbok as it started hacking and coughing like crazy
while a lump was crawling up its long body.

"Arbok, what's wrong with you?" asked Jessie concerned. Arbok only
complied by coughing out two sets of uniforms.

"Hey, it's our old Team Rocket suits!" cried Jessie picking up the
cute suit she used to wear when hunting down Ash and Pikachu.

"And they feel like they've been washed too", smiled James as he hugged
his old suit that was covered with Arbok saliva.

As Jessie and James went behind two boulders to change, James asked.
"Meowth. How did you, Weezing, and Arbok escape? We thought you and
all the other Rockets' Pokemon were gonna be transported to gyms all
over the world?"

"And why isn't my Lickitung with you?" demanded Jessie.

"Well, it all started out like this", said Meowth.

START OF FLASHBACK:

Meowth was locked in a small cage surrounded by piles of Pokeballs.
He was watching two Officer Jennies putting the balls into a
transporting device one by one. Meowth then saw Jenny 1 take a
Pokeball he recognized. "Hey, that's Lickitung's ball!" cried Meowth.
"What're ya gonna do with it!"

"Relax little Meowth", smiled Jenny 1. "We're just going to transport
it to a gym in Johto where they train normal-type Pokemon."

"Yes", said Jenny 2. "The gym leader there is sure to give Lickitung
all the love and guidance it never had when it was Jessie's Pokemon."
And they put Lickitung's ball into the transporter, pushed the button,
and it teleported away right in front of Meowth's single eye.

"Farewell Lickie", cried Meowth. "I hardly knew ye!"

"Oh, don't worry", smiled Jenny 1. "You'll be seeing it soon, because
you're about to be sent to that same gym."

"WHAT?!!" cried Meowth.

"That's right", smiled Jenny 2. "And you'll love the gym leader there.
She loves to take care of cute Pokemon and put dainty little ribbons in
their hair and give them pink, sweet smelling shampoos."

Meowth suddenly had an image of the fluffy, pink-ribboned, lipstick
wearing Pokemon he might become. "NOOOOOO!" cried Meowth.

"I'm sure you'll like it once you give it a chance", smiled Jenny 1 as
she took out her keys and unlocked Meowth's cage while Jenny 2 held out
a Pokeball. Just as Jenny 1 had opened the cage, Meowth let out a
screeching noise causing Jenny 1 to cover her ears. That gave Meowth
the opportunity to jump on top of her head and jump onto the floor.

"Hold it right there!" shouted Jenny 2 as she aimed the Pokeball's beam
at Meowth trying to pull him in. But Meowth had jumped into a pile of
Pokeballs missing the beam. "Don't think you can hide in there forever!"
shouted Jenny 2. "We Jennies have very long arms of the law!" and she
and Jenny 1 started digging through the pile of balls.

Meowth sat there in the pile's center nervously waiting for those
pretty hands to dig through and grab him. He then gazed at two more
familiar Pokeballs. "Hey, miracles do happen!" he said while smiling
sinisterly.

"I think I got him now!" said Jenny 1. "I can feel his slimy circular
skin!"

"I think I got him too!" said Jenny 2. "I can feel his scaly tail!"

"Scaly tail?" asked Jenny 1.

"Slimy circular skin?" asked Jenny 2. They quickly pulled out the
things they felt and became surprised and fearful at what they found.

"WEEZING!" shouted Weezing as it spat some sludge into Jenny 1's eyes
causing her to get knocked down.

"ARBOK!" hissed Arbok as it glared at Jenny 2 making her completely
paralyzed.

"Nice work guys!" said Meowth as he jumped out of the ball pile. "Now
let's amscray from this place!" and the three Pokemon charged,
slithered, and floated out a nearby door and into the vast open world
off to find their masters.

END OF FLASHBACK:

"So that's how you 3 escaped", said Jessie who had just appeared in her
Rocket uniform. "But it's a shame I'm never gonna see Lickitung again!"

"At least it went to a place where it'll get lots of love and guidance",
said James appearing in his Rocket uniform as well. "All the things you
denied it!"

"What do you mean by that?!" growled Jessie as she started strangling
James. "I gave my little Lickie a warm bed in its little Pokeball, 10
square meals a day, and tongue massages every afternoon!"

"Hey, will you two cut it out?!" growled Meowth as he pushed their
faces back with his hind feet. "We've got bigger fish to fry! Do you
two remember the name Cameron Fusterman?"

"FUSTERMAN?!!" growled Jessie as veins started popping out of her head.
"Oh, how I hate that dreaded, but quite funny sounding, last name!"

"And I'm also not too fond of the name Ketchum either", said James in a
much calmer voice.

"Oh, how I'd love to eliminate those two names from this world and
prevent any more kin from appearing and ruining any more of our evil
dreams!" shouted Jessie.

"Well, you're in luck", smiled Meowth. "Because I've heard those two,
along with that twerp Misty, will be heading to Ryooku today. And it's
just a few miles away from this island."

"When will they be arriving?!" growled Jessie. "I can't wait to get my
pretty hands on them!"

"I'd say about now", said Meowth as he spotted something in the sky
with his one extra-keen eye. It was Ash, Misty, and Cameron flying
around on an Aerodactyl. "Three twerps at 10 o'clock", he shouted.

"We've got to bring them down here somehow!" said Jessie.

"Weezing, I got a plan", said James as he whispered into Weezing's waxy
covered ear.

"Weezing!" said Weezing as it started spitting out sludge onto the sand.

* * * * * *

"Hey, look down there!" called out Misty as she pointed to the small
island that was close to Ryooku. It had the letters, S.O.S. written in
the sand.

"S.O.S?" asked Ash. "Looks like someone needs help down there."

"But I don't see anyone on that island", said Cameron. "Just a bunch
of huge rocks."

"Maybe the castaways are underneath those rocks asleep", said Misty.
"We've gotta go down there and help them!"

"Are you sure that's a good idea Mist?" asked Ash.

"Of course it is!" shouted Misty. "We water Pokemon trainers live by a
code. Never ignore a cry for help on the open sea. Cameron, have Aero
take us down now!"

"You heard the lady Aero", said Cameron as he patted Aero's head.
"Aero!" she cawed as she came down for a landing. Ash, Misty, and
Cameron along with Pikachu, Togepi, and Sandshrew got off of Aero's
back and looked around the empty island.

"Hello?" called out Misty. "Is anyone out there?"

"Is anyone out there alive?" called out Ash.

"Ash you dope!" growled Misty as she pulled his hat down over his head.
"No one who's dead would call out to you!"

"Unless they were ghosts!" smiled Ash as he put on a white sheet with
holes cut out all over and started making ghost noises while dancing
around.

"Oh Ashy-poo", sighed Misty as she bopped him with her mallet making
him see tiny little ghosts. "Your brain is the only thing that's dead."

"Hey guys, come look at this!" called out Cameron as he pointed to the
huge letters written in the sand. Sandy sniffed them, then held his
nose and let out a loud. "SANDSHREW!" which meant. "P.U!"

"That almost looks like sludge", said Ash.

"Now who would write a message for help in sludge?" wondered Misty.

"Uh, oh!" thought Cameron for he had a pretty good idea.

"Weezing, sludge bomb!" called out a familiar voice. Suddenly, a
Weezing popped right out from the sand and fired a sludgeball that was
as big as a medicine ball right at our heroes and Pokemon. It exploded
covering them all up in sticky sludge making them unable to move.

"Just as I thought!" cried Cameron who couldn't move his arms to reach
his Pokebelt and neither could Ash and Misty. "We're all in trouble and
make that double!"

"Hey twerp!" called out Jessie who just leapt out from behind a boulder.
"Only we're allowed to say our old Rocketville anthem!"

"Yes", said James who came from another boulder. "You all lost that
wonderful privilege when you destroyed our beloved kingdom!"

Jessie: "To protect the world from devastation!"
James: "To unite all peoples within our nation!"
Jessie: "To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
James: "To extend our reach to the stars above!"
Jessie: "Jessie!"
James: James!"
Jessie: "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
James: "Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" said Meowth who just popped out from the sand
along with Arbok.

"Team Rocket!" growled Ash.

"Oh, how I've missed the way you always say that whenever we appear!"
smiled James.

"It sure brings back tender memories", sighed Jessie.

"Only we were the ones that kept getting tenderized", groaned Meowth.

"We thought you three were in jail for life!" shouted Misty.

"But we really do like life!" said James. "But we couldn't experience
life when locked away from it."

"That's why we escaped so we could enjoy life" smiled Jessie. "We like
it so much that we're now gonna take all of yours! HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
she laughed while daggers appeared in her eyes.

Cameron gulped for those daggers looked scary to him when inside
someone's eyeballs. "Sandy!" he cried. "Blow them away with a
sandstorm!"

"MGMGLS!" groaned Sandy for his body was completely covered with sludge
for him to produce any sand.

"Quick, Pikachu!" cried Ash. "Stop them with your thunder!"

"CHUUU!" cried Pikachu for his electric cheeks were too covered with
sludge to produce any power.

"Sorry kiddies", giggled James. "It looks like you can't budge in my
sludge!"

"Oh Togepi", cried Misty as she saw her egg Pokemon stuck to her chest.
"If only you knew some attacks to defend us."

"Pi, Togepi!" smiled Togepi as it was making little sludge pies with
its cute little hands.

"Here, let Arbok put you all out of your mucky misery", cackled Jessie.
"Arbok, you may now play with them!"

"AAARRRBBBOOOK!" hissed Arbok as it was about to put the bite on all
our heroes. Everyone quickly shut their eyes waiting for it to be over.
Just then, they heard a loud, "AERO!" They opened their eyes and saw
Aerodactyl standing right in front of a knocked back Arbok and our
villains.

"Uh, oh!" said Meowth nervously. "It looks like they sent for the air
force!"

"Nice work Aero!" called out Cameron. "Now blow them away with a
whirlwind!"

"Quick Weezing", cried James. "Use your sludge bomb again!"

The two Pokemon launched their attacks, but unfortunately, Weezing's
sludge bomb hit Aero first causing her to get stuck up like the rest of
our heroes. "AERO!" she cawed not being able to move her large wings.

"Looks like this bird's grounded for life!" laughed Meowth.

"Quick Aero!" called out Cameron. "You can still use your hyper beam
on them!"

"Aero!" cawed Aero as she opened up her mouth and started charging
herself up.

"Arbok!" shouted Jessie. "Shut that bird's beak up before we all get
hypered to death!"

"Arbok!" hissed Arbok as it leapt like a spring and coiled itself
around Aero's snout sealing it up tight.

"Oh no!" cried Cameron.

"How do you like them apples twerp?" laughed Jessie. Just then, they
saw Aero puffing up like a balloon while her rocky skin started
cracking. There was just no stopping that hyper beam from coming out of
Aero. But Arbok tightened its grip on Aero's snout trying desperately
hard to keep it from escaping.

Then, there came a loud "BOOOOOOOM!" and we see Team Rocket along with
their Pokemon flying off into the sky. "Looks like Team Rocket's
blasting off again!" they all cried as they disappeared into the skies
over Ryooku.

Our heroes were much luckier. Being stuck in that sludge caused them
to get thrown back only a few feet and the explosion seemed to dissolve
all the sludge too. "Hey, we're all free!" cried Ash happily.

"Yeah!" cried Misty. "And there's not one speck of sludge on my new
outfit either. Now I won't have to force you to buy me a new one
Ashy-poo!"

"Yeah, thank goodness for that!" Ash sighed of relief. Then Ash and
Misty hugged each other and were about to kiss until they saw a sad
sight. Cameron, Sandy, Pikachu, and Togepi were gathered around a huge
pile of rocks crying.

"Oh my gosh!" cried Ash. "That pile of rocks was once Aerodactyl!" and
he and Misty ran over to Cameron and put their hands on his shoulders.

"Oh Aero!" cried Cameron as he held a pile of pebbles in his arms. "I
thought we were free from those evil Rockets for good. How could they
do this to you?!" and he started to cry some more at the loss of his
friend.

"Cameron, I'm sorry", cried a tear-filled Misty. "Aero was a brave and
true friend to all of us."

"She made the ultimate sacrifice!" said a sad Ash. "If it weren't for
her, we would've been killed by Arbok. I'm sorry that I was ever so
nervous around her."

"Aero!" cried Cameron. Just then, he heard some muffled cries coming
from the rubble. "What's that?" gasped Cameron. Sandy started digging
through the rocks and they suddenly found who was making the cries.
Cameron picked it up and found a small blue bat calling out a mournful,
"ZUUUU!"

"Zubat?!" cried Cameron as he stared into the hard-to-find eyes of one
of his original Pokemon. "Zubat, you're back!" cried Cameron happily
as he reached into his backpack, pulled out a bottle of full restore
potion and gave it to his Zubat. Zubat started to fly around the group
happily as it sang a happy melody of Zus.

"So that huge Aerodactyl really was once a small Zubat!" smiled Ash who
had a hard time believing the story Cameron told him about Zubat
touching a Medusa Stone and evolving.

"I'm so happy that Aero, I mean, Zubat's still alive", sighed Misty.
"But what'll we do now? Zubat's no longer big enough to fly us all to
Ryooku."

"You're right Misty", said Cameron concerned. "Sorry Aero, I mean,
Zubat. I'm glad you're okay, but I am gonna miss the rides you love to
give us."

"Zubat!" cried Zubat as she perched herself onto Cameron's shoulder and
hugged his face with her wings.

"Actually, I did kind of miss that", smiled Cameron as he wiggled
Zubat's pointy ear. Which he could no longer have done when she was
an Aerodactyl.

"Don't worry", smiled Ash. "We'll all just travel there by Blastoise
Express!" and he released his huge tortoise into the water. "BLAST!"
said Blastoise as it got on all fours letting our heroes get onboard
its huge shell.

* * * * * *

As our heroes were enjoying the nice refreshing ride on Blastoise's
back, a huge land suddenly appeared over the horizon. "There it is
guys", said Misty. "The country of Ryooku!"

"Where we'll be meeting new gym leaders and probably some new Pokemon!"
said Cameron.

"And probably more appearances by Team Rocket no doubt", sighed Ash.
"Maybe we should call Jenny and tell her about this."

"No!" said Cameron. "Jenny and Seymour are on their honeymoon. I don't
want to ruin it for them."

"Cameron's right", said Misty. "A honeymoon is a once in a lifetime
moment you should enjoy without any worries or distractions. It
wouldn't be right to burden Jenny with that."

"I guess you're right", said Ash. "After all, we always seemed to be
good at blasting Team Rocket into the sky ourselves everywhere we
traveled. And what just happened back at that island proves that we
can still do it."

"Also Jenny told me that she has relatives all over Ryooku", said
Cameron. "Maybe we can tell them so they can go after those Rockets and
not have to worry my mother Jenny at all."

"Then that's settled", smiled Ash. "Full speed ahead Blastoise! We're
off to Ryooku!"

"BLAST!" shouted Blastoise as it started paddling faster taking our
heroes off to new, fun, interesting, and now probably dangerous
adventures now that Team Rocket's on the loose.

TO BE CONTINUED!