This is my latest addition to the Pokemon section of FanFiction.Net, a story of love, hope and adjustment named 'Everything Changes' I hope you all enjoy it, and if you read it please leave your comments and as this prologue ends on a cliff hanger it would also be nice if you had a guess as to who the person is in the last section – you will find out in chapter one the answer so you won't have to wait long!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or any of its characters, or is that obvious?

Prologue

The main headquarters of the famous organisation, Team Rocket, loomed above three human silhouettes; reaching so high it almost touched the pure white cotton clouds of a warm summers day. It was the image of a fairytale castle, where a prince might arrive to spend the rest of his life with the princess he loved. However, this 'castle' was different. This place had no happy ending, only the suffering and probable death of countless innocent Pokemon, who had been unfortunate enough to be captured by Giovanni's team of thieves. Giovanni was the brains behind Team Rocket, and ordered many experiments to be carried out, the 'guinea pigs' being the Pokemon they had stolen. Unbeknownst to Ash, Misty and Brock, they were about to proceed with their biggest experiment yet, one liable to be a disaster from the start.

There was a reason for the three trainers to be outside this place on a day normally spent relaxing. Several of the Pokemon inside belonged to them. It had happened only a day before, the group had been walking all day in the blazing heat, and had decided to take a break from their journey. While resting beside a cold and flowing river, they had been sprung by Jessie and James, two of Giovanni's followers. Usually they went away with their tails between their legs, literally for their Pokemon friend Meowth, but this time had been different. For once, they were organised and unbeatable, and Ash, Misty and Brock had been powerless to stop them, simply having to watch while their Pokeballs were placed into a huge sack, and Pikachu was held securely in a steel wire cage. The only Pokemon they had spared had been the tiny spike ball Pokemon, Togepi, who they discarded immediately, telling them she was too pathetic to be any use to Team Rocket. Leaving her safe at home, where there was no chance of the happy Pokemon being either captured or harmed, the three had begun the mission to get their best friends and companions back where they belonged.

And that was why they were standing in the shadows, overlooking the monstrous eyesore that was Team Rocket's headquarters. It was going to be tough, none of them denied that horrible fact, they had no Pokemon with them and no idea where they were being held. But friends were forever, and after all, what sort of trainers would they be if they left their companions to be tortured by the organisation they had managed to avoid for two years?

"I don't even know where to start," Ash commented in dismay, his eyes searching ahead. What it all came down to was that it was hopeless, and he was already giving up.

"I don't like that talk," Misty replied indignantly, turning towards her best friend. "Your Pokemon are trapped in there, being tortured even, and you're talking about giving up before we've even begun! Get a grip and get your brain in gear!"

"I don't suppose you've come up with any brilliant ideas," he said solemnly, although he was still pleased at having wound her up further, as he could see plainly from her face that she was about to explode.

"Why do I always have to do everything?!" she shouted, confirming Ash's previous prediction.

"Fighting isn't going to do anyone any good, least of all our Pokemon," Brock interrupted, his thin eyes narrowing in annoyance. "And neither is standing here all day. If we want to get them back, then we have to get inside." His apparent authority took effect, as both Misty and Ash halted their glares at each other and turned their attention to their 'leader'.

"The doors are heavily guarded, and they're the only way in. What do you suggest?" All eyes turned to Brock, waiting for some kind of indication that he had an answer to a seemingly impossible question. However, Brock's narrow eyes showed no sign of doing so, and this caused optimism to fluctuate even further. An eerie silence befell the group, and the clouds in the sky seemed to become dull in protest. The silence only made the headquarters more and more intimidating, and all three felt a cold shiver run up their spines as they turned their attentions back to the building they were planning on entering.

"Can we just get going?" Ash murmured. "I'd feel better knowing I was closer to Pikachu, even if we still didn't know how we were going to get him back." There was no other explanation needed. Brock and Misty, knowing that they would feel exactly the same, their Pokemon unintentionally drawing them towards danger, stared once more at the building they were heading for, and, remaining in silence, began to pick their feet across the dark, rocky and damp ground.

Getting closer to the headquarters did nothing to make it look any less intimidating, only made it look more dangerous. Standing immediately below the building, it appeared to tower up to the heavens, the top wasn't visible, only the clouds, which had become even duller and threatened to pour sparkling rain across the land. Ash, Misty and Brock cowered behind a wall that jutted out from the rest of the building, watching in deathly silence as two men with black Team Rocket uniforms paced backwards and forwards as if robotic in front of a huge metal door that marked the entrance to Giovanni's palace.

"So, 'leader'," Misty whispered to Brock. "Where do we go from here?"

"Well we can't get in that way, that much is obvious," Brock replied, his eyes viewing Team Rocket's soldiers.

"I didn't need telling that!" Misty narrowed her eyes in annoyance, struggling to keep her voice low.

"I think our best option is to sneak around the back and see if we can find another way in."

"You really do have a knack for stating the obvious don't you?" Misty rolled her eyes, and Brock's face creased in impatience.

"Do you really have to keep arguing?" Ash sighed. "I'm never going to get Pikachu back at this rate."

Five minutes later, the trio had managed to make their way around the hard stone walls of the headquarters, and had managed to pass unseen past three heavily guarded doors, which had led them to come to the conclusion that Giovanni put the least intelligent Team Rocket members in charge of security.

The rear end of the building was much the same as the front, ivy ran from floor to ceiling, a lot of it brown and dead, giving it a haunted look, one which matched entirely the experiments that were carried out inside.  It was awe-inspiring despite it's appearance, and even though they hated the place and everything about it, even Ash, Brock and Misty couldn't help but stare up at it.

"I never realised it was so big," Misty exclaimed. "I've only ever seen pictures of it."

"OK so it's big, but come on guys, we're not here to admire the place, we're here to get our Pokémon back." Ash stepped back from the huge building and glanced around desperately for some means of getting inside the building. Finding nothing, he turned to Brock, who was gazing at something.

"I wonder what's in that building over there?" he asked, pointing down a small grassy slope to a new looking brick building. It was extremely small compared to the giant that was the main headquarters, only about ten Metres Square and only one storey. There were dark windows all the way around the outside walls, and the metal bars covering them would make it all the more hard to enter.

"I don't know," Ash replied, following his friends gaze to the building. "But if there's any chance that our Pokémon are in there then we have to try."

"You're right," Misty agreed, immediately leaping down the small slope to the building, a look of enthusiasm crossing her face.  Ash and Brock soon followed, but as they approached the door their enthusiasm waned slightly as they viewed the huge padlock holding the door shut.

"They sure don't want anyone getting in here," Ash commented, his tone of voice showing dismay. "I wonder if that's because our Pokemon are in there."

"Could be," Brock replied. "But there's only one way to find out."

After circling the entire building they came to the conclusion that the locked door was the only way of entering; heavy steel bars protected the windows, and there was no way that any of them could break them, not without the help of Pokemon.

"There's no use even trying," Ash said, sitting down on the grass beside the building. "We won't be able to get in."

"You're right," Misty agreed, seating herself next to him. "We'll just have to accept it, we'll never see our Pokemon again."

"What happened to the fighting talk I heard earlier?" Brock asked, still standing. "What happened to not giving up until we got our Pokemon back?"

"That was before I saw that great big padlock." Ash put his head down between his legs, attempting to hide the tears he was shedding to the world.

"What kind of Pokemon trainers would we be if we gave up? If we stopped attempting to save them all because things got a little tough?" Brock knelt down beside the pair, and looked at them intently, almost begging them to reconsider. Brock had always taken a dim view to people who gave up without fighting, and therefore he had vowed to never give up even when things looked hopeless. Seeing his two best friends surrendering their Pokemon to Giovanni almost broke his heart, and he knew that he had to make them continue, because if he didn't, both him and them would regret it sometime in the future.

Ash was the first to raise his head, and although his cheeks were streaked with sparkling tears, his eyes glinted, as if they had just awakened from a deep sleep. He glanced over at Misty, who was visibly shaking, due to grief rather than the cold, and he smiled at her softly, placing one hand on her shoulder, and beckoning for her to look over at him. Eventually, her shaking subsided slightly and she turned to face her friend, who nodded his head and smiled reassuringly, As she noticed the new hope in his eyes, she echoed his nod, and smiled back at him.

"There, see," Brock smiled. "Now come on, lets get that padlock open. I heard Giovanni doesn't like spending his cash, so lets hope his padlocks are cheap and easy to break." He helped Misty to her feet, pulling her up by her arms, and she in turn pulled Ash to his feet.

By the time they joined him, Brock was already closely examining the lock, attempting to figure out the best way of getting it open. Peering into the huge keyhole in the centre, a smile appeared on his tanned face.

"I was right," he announced triumphantly. "It seems that in trying to save money, Giovanni has ordered his doors to be locked by padlocks capable of being opened with any key."

"Really?!" Misty replied, surprised. "I wouldn't have thought Giovanni was that stupid."

"Just because he's a leader doesn't mean he's intelligent. He uses force to get people to follow him, not his brains." Brock fished in his pocket for a few moments, before eventually revealing a shiny silver key in his hand. "I took it upon me to get us a place at a guesthouse in the city before we came, this is the key. It should do the trick." Nervously, he inserted the key into the centre of the padlock, and twisted it in a clockwise direction, his shaking hands struggling to keep a grip on the lock.

CLICK.

As the lock came open, it fell to the floor with a loud clatter, which seemed to echo all around the building. The trio froze, certain that one of the guards must have heard, and they only dared move once they heard silence. They wasted no time in pulling the heavy door open, and once they were all inside, they shut it behind them, afraid that one of Giovanni's guards might walk past and notice. Inside the room was dark; the blinds at the window were thick, not allowing much light to penetrate. The light that did manage to get through the sides was dull, showing that the weather had worsened since they had arrived. As the trios eyes grew accustomed to the dimness, they saw that the walls of the room they were in were covered from floor to ceiling with wire cages, and that in some of them, Pokemon could be seen clutching the fronts as if pleading to be let out.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted, stepping further into the room. "Are you in here?"

"Pika!" the reply came from the shadows in one corner of the room. Ash's heart leapt as he heard the sound of his companion, the voice he had been wishing to hear since they had parted. He wasted no time in racing across the room and gazing into the cage. Inside, Pikachu sat, a huge grin on his face. Pulling hard on the cage door, it finally gave way, causing him to fly backwards, with the door still in his hands, and land with a crash to the floor.

"Ash!" Misty shouted, running up to him and crouching down next to him. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Ash replied, although he didn't sound too sure, and as he picked himself up from the floor it was obvious the bang on the head had made him dizzy. Pikachu leapt out of the cage and jumped into his arms, almost knocking him over a second time. Ash held his companion close to his chest, and tears came to his eyes as he realised he had got his friend back.

"Psyduck! Goldeen! Staryu! Poliwhirl!" Misty exclaimed, turning her attention to a large cage in the corner containing a pool of water about half a metre deep and a metre square. Psyduck was seated on a rock in the centre of the pool, looking his usual confused self, and scared to move. The other three were swimming in circles in the cramped conditions, sad distant looks on their faces. As they heard Misty's voice, Psyduck promptly fell off the rock and into the water where Goldeen, Poliwhirl and Staryu struggled to hold him out of the water. Misty took four Pokeballs from her belt and pointed them one by one to the cage, where, on her command, the Pokemon retreated into them.

Brock was in another corner of the room, peering into cage by cage, until he finally stopped in front of one and grinned.

"Golbat!" he shouted, easily pulling the door off the cage – another one of Giovanni's money savers. Echoing Misty's previous actions, he retreated his Pokemon into the ball, and moving on from cage to cage, did the same with Onix, Geodude and Vulpix.

Ash had managed to tear himself away from his embrace with Pikachu, and had discovered Cyndaquil, Chikorita and Totodile squeezed into one tiny cage next to Pikachu. They were irritable and tired from lack of sleep, and it appeared as though they had been fighting, as all three of them were bruised and scratched.

"What have you been doing?" Ash asked, looking down at them. "You haven't been fighting have you?" The three gazed down at the ground, ashamed, confirming what Ash had suspected. "Never mind," he sympathised. "I'm just glad you're safe." He smiled, wiping another tear from his cheek, these tears, unlike the ones he had shed earlier, were caused by happiness, something which he had thought he'd never have again.

It was ten minutes later when all the Pokemon were safely back in their Pokeballs, apart from Pikachu who instead seated on his trainers right shoulder. It seemed like an eternity since they had arrived at the headquarters earlier that day, and the room was now darker than ever, the sky outside showing the first signs that dusk was coming. The weather had also taken a turn for the worse, half an hour earlier the heavens had opened and rain had begun to fall in torrents, clearly audible on the windows of the building.

"Just our luck," Misty commented, tapping her foot on the ground in frustration. "And it was such a nice day as well."

"We'll take the day off tomorrow, we deserve it after our trek today," Brock replied.

"I'll hold you to that," Misty smiled at him.

As Brock lifted the heavy latch on the door and pulled it open, a huge gust of wind entered the building, almost blowing him off his feet and circling the building before exiting again. He struggled to hold the door open while Ash and Misty went out of it, and when he was sure they were out, he let go and raced out himself, watching the door crash shut behind him.

They were soaking wet immediately on entering the outside world. Rain dripped from their hair and down their clothes, and they shivered from the cold as Brock re-attached the padlock on the door in order to avoid immediate suspicion.

"Can you hear that?" Ash asked, becoming silent and listening intently. From the direction of the main building of the headquarters a quiet crashing sound could be heard, but even as they listened it began to get louder. It was followed by an alarm bell, a shrill sound that echoed inside the building before escaping out of the windows and to the trio's ears.

"Do you think they've realised we're here?" Misty asked, a panicked expression crossing her face as her eyes darted from side to side, expecting to see guards appearing at any minute.

"If they have then we'd better get out of here quickly," Brock replied.

Misty needed no more encouragement. Without telling the others she was going, she broke into a run, making her way towards the huge entrance to the headquarters. When Brock and Ash realised she had gone, they began to follow, easily catching up to the girl, who was struggling to run against the force of the wind blowing the other way. The alarm was getting louder and louder as they navigated the side of the building, but the biggest shock was about to come.

They were about half way past the building, Brock in front with Ash and Misty lagging behind, already showing signs of exhaustion, when the crashing they had heard earlier started up again. This time, however, it was different. This time, the sky was suddenly alight with a glowing red, and as the three of them dived as far away from the building as they could, the whole building exploded, a giant fireball rising from within and throwing glass and bricks to the ground like a rainstorm. It was followed by dust, rising from the ground like it had risen from the dead, and settling a few metres above the ground, thick and choking. The noise died down slightly. All that could be heard was the roaring of the flames of hundreds of fires littered around the remains of the headquarters, and the last pieces of brick hitting the ground with a loud thud.

On the ground beside a smaller fire lay two human figures, unconscious with blood on the sides of their heads, slowly dripping to the ground. Protruding from a pile of bricks that had fallen just seconds earlier, was a bright yellow tail, like a stroke of lightning, bent slightly and lying of the ground, the only part of the electric Pokemon visible. The other human, however, was nowhere in sight.

oo00O00oo

White… so much white. That was the first thought that entered the drowsy figures head as they opened their eyes to the world for the first time in two days. The second thought was confusion. Was this heaven? Were they dead? They remembered the horror of the explosion that had devastated Team Rocket's Headquarters, and remembered flying through the air due to the force of the blast. They didn't feel dead, but then again what did it feel like to be dead? The eyes opened a second time, and this time the person saw a figure overlooking the bed. An angel? Then they realised, they were in a hospital and the person looking at them was a concerned nurse. They yawned, and realised their head was in pain, and closed their eyes to try and blank it out. Not succeeding, they opened their eyes again.

"Where… where am I?" The fact was, the person knew where they were, and so had no idea why they had said it. Maybe they needed some kind of reassurance that they weren't dead.

"You're in the Viridian City Hospital," the nurse replied.

That was all the reassurance they needed, and a smile came to their face as they realised they were alright, and that apart from the pain in the head there seemed to be little else wrong. Or so they thought. As they did a mental check in their head to ensure that they were fine, they suddenly realised something.

"Why… why can't I feel my legs?" they asked with a quivering voice.