Jason Creight awoke abruptly from a daydream he was having and focused his eyes on the Dragonite that had appeared before him.

Drake was smiling slightly... apparently, he was very proud of his Dragonite.

*As he should be... Dratinis are rare, Dragonairs even more so... but Dragonites take the cake. Best be on my guard.*

Gyarados was staring Dragonite down. It had risen up high, standing nearly on the end of its tail, a show of intimidation. It didn't seem to be working; Dragonite simply stood patiently, battle-ready, waiting for Drake to dispense orders.

*Heh. One dragon Pokemon to another. This should prove interesting.*

Jason knew he had to take the offensive before Drake made his first order and forced him to the defense. "Gyarados, Hydro Pump!"

"Dragonite, Thunder!"

Dragonite's entire pale orange body crackled with electricity as Gyarados emitted another devastating stream of water.

The Thunder attack was loosed, directly from Dragonite rather than the sky. Jason saw the advantage in this when it was hit with the Hydro Pump attack; the electricity traveled through the current of water and gave a significant charge to Gyarados. Gyarados roared, but more in defiance than pain. It wasn't weak to electricity, even with a Water type attack.

"Dragonite, Fly!"

Dragonite took to flight and soared high above the stadium amidst the "oohs" and "aahs" of the crowd.

Jason grinned. This gave him a chance to defend himself long before the attack took place. "Gyarados, Mirror Coat!"

Gyarados conjured the protective screen and waited for Dragonite to attack.

Attack it did, but the Mirror Coat reflected the power of its attack right back at it, knocking it backward and to the ground. It moaned, but quickly got to its feet.

"Gyarados, Crunch!"

"Dragonite, Tri Attack!"

Gyarados snaked forward and clamped its jaws around Dragonite's midsection, an admirable feat when one stopped to consider how wide Dragonites could be.

Dragonite bellowed and called the Tri Attack, unleashing the power of the three elements of fire, water, and lightning, in that order, on Gyarados. The water conducted the lightning portion of the attack and caused slightly more damage.

Gyarados finally released Dragonite, and the two dragon Pokemon glowered fiercely at each other. Jason chose to let Drake make his next move first. Drake obliged by ordering, "Dragonite, Ancientpower!"

*Uh-oh.* Jason knew that Gyarados was resistant to Ground type attacks, but that wouldn't stop this one from doing damage, and Gyarados was tired. "Gyarados, Hyper Beam!"

Dragonite turned sideways, tapped its psychic potential, and waved its arm almost casually in Gyarados's direction. A row of boulders appeared from nowhere, perfectly aligned, jumping like someone was shaking a carpet straight at Gyarados. Gyarados took the hit without protest, knowing what its master expected of it. Then a point of light appeared in its mouth, expanding to huge proportions, and a beam of that light struck out at Dragonite. The Hyper Beam took its full intended effect on Dragonite, and Dragonite cried out in its strange voice.

Gyarados now needed to regain its strength, and Drake took the opportunity to its fullest advantage. "Dragonite, another Tri Attack!"

Again, the elements of fire, water, and lightning fell upon Gyarados, and its roar was now of pain. It was very tired, and Jason feared that another hit would do it in.

*But I still have five other Pokemon to choose from, and two of them haven't even hit the field yet.* "Don't stop 'til you drop, Gyarados! Another Hyper Beam!"

Gyarados complied, using what remaining strength it had to call another ball of energy. The red-orange beam lanced out and slammed into Dragonite with the force of a hundred sledgehammers.

Dragonite took the hit and didn't miss a beat; it had been ready for it this time.

"Dragonite, Thunder!"

Dragonite obliged, blasting another devastating bolt of lightning at its opponent. Gyarados roared once more as the electricity wrapped around it, sending it into convulsions...

It fell to the ground, and twitched.

"Gyarados is unable to battle!"

Jason was quick to exchange his Pokemon. "Gyarados, return! Go, Gengar!"

The grinning ghost Pokemon took its place on the field, looking mismatched; it stood nearly a meter shorter than its opponent.

*But does it matter how tall it is?* "Gengar, Hypnosis!"

Jason could see Drake raising an eyebrow at this maneuver, which had been performed on Jason's Dragonair, and had failed. Jason smiled grimly. *Dragonites are more resistant to Ground type attacks and less resistant to Psychics.*

Gengar opened its mouth wide and screeched on the "Pokemon" frequency.

Dragonite's eyes abruptly closed, and it toppled to the side.

"Gengar, Dream Eater!"

Gengar floated up, took the entirety of Dragonite's head into its mouth, and crunched down. Jason wondered what kind of feast ghosts could have on dreams... he was glad that Gengar had never tried such a thing on its master. Or, at least, not that Jason knew of...

Finding the thought unsettling, Jason returned his attention to the field. Gengar had moved away from Dragonite, now that its attack was finished. Dragonite was shuddering.

Drake reached into his vest and pulled out what looked like a flute with a Poke ball attached to it. Jason recognized it as a Poke flute. *I should've gotten myself one of those while I was training.*

Drake played a few notes, which somehow made themselves heard above the roar of the crowd, and Dragonite awoke and stumbled to its feet.

"Dragonite, Tri Attack!"

"Gengar, Psybeam!"

Dragonite released its triple element attack on Gengar, but the fire and water were the only two that seemed to do much of anything. Lightning attacks, for the most part, were ineffective against ghost Pokemon, as were Ground attacks.

Gengar unleashed a beam of multicolored energy. The beam lanced across the field and caught Dragonite in the chest. It cried out, and Jason could see that it was beginning to tire.

*Let Gengar tire it a bit more... then...* "Gengar, Night Shade!"

A curtain of darkness again covered the stadium, and Gengar's body flashed brightly in the darkness. It was a Psychic attack that no one knew the precise mechanics of, but one thing was for sure... it was powerful.

Dragonite stumbled back from the assault.

"Dragonite, Fly!"

Dragonite once again took to its small but powerful wings, flying high over the crowd.

Jason didn't want to waste an attack. "Gengar, save your strength!"

Gengar nodded and landed on the ground, meditating and waiting patiently for its opponent to come within striking distance.

Dragonite blasted downward and smashed into Gengar full force. Gengar was knocked over and it growled at Dragonite for disrupting its meditation.

Dragonite was breathing heavily now; it was losing power points as much as it was losing hit points. It didn't have a lot left to give.

"Gengar, return!"

Drake looked surprised. Perhaps he'd expected Jason to use Gengar to its final HP, or Dragonite's... but that wasn't what Jason had in mind.

Instead, he wanted to help fulfill a dream that one of his Pokemon had had ever since he'd first met it.

And he wanted to realize that dream here and now.

Jason tossed the ball of his choice, and it sparkled as it flew through the air.

"Come back out, Dragonair!"

Jason could hear the crowd collectively gasping and the announcer shouting, "Unbelievable!"

When Dragonair solidified, it realized what Jason wanted to do for it. It turned to Jason for a moment, speaking to its master's mind.

[Thank you.]

"Do your best, and it'll happen," Jason assured it.

Dragonair nodded once and moved through the air, the wings on either side of its head flapping gracefully, to meet its opponent.

Drake got over his initial surprise and his focus returned. "Dragonite, Thunder!"

"Dragonair, Extremespeed!"

The wings on Dragonair's head extended even further outward, growing twice their original size, and Dragonair streaked across the stadium, slamming into Dragonite for all it was worth.

Dragonite blasted out another Thunder attack, and the lightning wrapped around Dragonair, damaging it but not causing serious harm.

"Dragonite, Fly!"

"Dragonair, another Extremespeed!"

Dragonair caught Dragonite before it could take to the sky, bashing Dragonite's midsection again. Dragonite protested, but then rose out of Dragonair's range on its small wings.

"Dragonair, wait for it to complete its attack, then use Slam!"

Dragonite powered through the air as Dragonair acknowledged the order; Dragonair managed to brace itself slightly against Dragonite's attack, but couldn't brace itself from the full ferocity of it, and was pushed violently backward.

It spun all the way around and lashed its tail out, whipping into Dragonite with near-equal force. It might be hurt, but it was determined to fulfill its dream.

And so was Jason. "Dragonbreath!"

Dragonair's mouth filled with blue fire that flew across the stadium in an instant, catching Dragonite off-guard with its blistering heat.

"Dragonite, Tri Attack!"

The triple element attack had Dragonair in its entirety, each segment of the three-part attack taking its full effect.

But Dragonair remained tall and proud after the attack, such was its determination.

"Dragonair, another Extremespeed!"

"Dragonite, Fly!"

But no matter how hard Drake tried, Dragonair had Dragonite pegged when it came to speed... it flew forward once again and struck Dragonite before it could carry out Drake's order. Dragonite cried out more loudly... it was losing it.

When it began to fly, it took a moment or two to hit the altitude it had reached in an instant when it had first emerged form its capture ball.

Jason wasn't sure whether one more hit would take Dragonite out, and he wanted to be sure. "Dragonair, use Dragonbreath when it comes back down!"

Dragonite soared down and crashed headlong into Dragonair, sweeping it off the field for an instant. Dragonair flailed through the air and landed on its side. It made a small, whimpering sound, as if that was the only protest it would offer after all the damage it had taken.

It rose again, struggling to get up, and blasted another Dragonbreath attack at its foe. Dragonite cringed at the attack, the blue fire sweeping over its entire body.

Dragonair seemed to gain strength from the damage taken to Dragonite.

"Dragonite, Ancientpower!"

Dragonite turned sideways again, and the "carpet row" of boulders jumped up to strike Dragonair hard. Dragonair slumped to the side and struggled to get back up.

"Come on, Dragonair," Jason muttered. "You can do it. You can beat Dragonite. Believe in yourself... get up..."

The sparkles on its body seemed to be shining especially bright now. Jason registered this somewhere in the back of his mind, and wondered if that was an effect of the strobes.

But there was something wrong with this theory.

*No, wait a minute... the sparkles are getting brighter... the strobes wouldn't be increasing in intensity... it's got to be--*

Beams of blinding light shot out of Dragonair, spearing in all directions.

Dragonair began to glow, the entire length of its body turning white.

*It's evolving!*

The crowd, Jason, Drake, and even Dragonite were mesmerized by the transformation Dragonair was undergoing. It slithered effortlessly upright and floated in midair for all to see. The energy beam it had become began to change shape, growing thicker... getting taller... gaining four new extensions... the tail growing amazingly long... two more extensions growing out the back, growing to extreme proportions...

The glowing faded, allowing the occupants of the stadium to finally see what Dragonair had become.

In Dragonair's place stood a huge, sparkling red Dragonite, its scales shining in the light of the strobes. At the tip of its tail and at the base of its neck were the blue orbs it had had as a Dragonair, glowing shockingly vibrant, making it hurt to look at them, though they were the most beautiful lights anyone in the stadium had ever seen... their eyes were simply attracted to them. Its blue eyes glowed as the orbs did, providing more targets for the crowd's pained, hungry eyes. Its tail was longer than that of the Dragonite it faced, and the "antennae" atop its head were jagged, like lightning bolts, as opposed to the slight curl of the other's. Its wings were what had Jason hypnotized... they were larger than even those belonging to his Charizard, and absolutely colossal compared to the ones the other Dragonite possessed. And finally, its new, muscled arms and legs were bulging, filled with power beyond anyone's ability to understand.

It looked up, staring at its surroundings with new eyes.

The entire stadium had gone silent, in awe of what they had just witnessed. Even the announcer could find no words.

It was a once in a lifetime event... and they had all been there to witness it.

Drake was gaping in shock.

The orange Dragonite stared at its suddenly transformed opponent, and began to wonder if it stood a chance now.

A smile began to creep across Jason's face.

Dragonair had finally fulfilled its dream.

And now its newfound, immeasurable power could bring victory.

The sparkling Dragonite turned around, getting used to its new legs, though it had somehow gained the knowledge of how to use them. It looked at Jason, its brilliant, electric blue eyes burning into his.

[I don't know how to thank you...]

Jason nodded. "It wasn't me. It was you."

Dragonite nodded, understanding.

Jason let out a shaky breath. "I still need to save Kelly. And that means we have to win this fight. I believe you can do it."

[And for the first time... so do I.]

It turned back around and stared its opponent in the face.

In the silence of the stadium, four words, shouted directly from the heart of a Pokemon master, could be heard.

"Dragonite, Hyper Beam attack!"

Jason's new Dragonite eagerly obeyed, its wide mouth opening to reveal a point of light within. The point turned into a ball of red-orange energy, more brilliant than Jason had seen in a Hyper Beam for any of his other Pokemon, save Gyarados...

The lancing energy beam streaked straight at Drake's Dragonite, who flinched at the last instant...

The noise was deafening, the light blinding.

Jason, Drake, and every occupant of the stadium's seats turned away from it, shielding their eyes and ears.

When the light and sound faded, everyone looked back at the field.

Drake's Dragonite was lying on the ground, not moving.

The referee stammered out his words, his hand shaking as he raised Jason's victory flag once more. "D-Drake's Dragonite i-is unable to battle! T-The match, and the Orange League trophy, go to Jason Creight!"

Drake seemed to be shaken from his reverie. His hand, like the referee's, trembled as he held up Dragonite's capture ball and issued the recall order.

He looked up at Jason, his eyes still glazed with awe and wonder.

Slowly, the crowd began to applaud.

Soon, it was on its feet, clapping, roaring, stomping.

Jason allowed himself a few moments to bathe in the victory.

***

Giovanni had a smug look on his face, looking perfectly at home in his dark suit and purple turtleneck. He gripped his sport coat's lapels in a very businessman-like manner.

Adam struggled to his feet, his jaw slack, breathing heavily, keeping wary eyes on the mad multi-billionaire. His Pokemon growled menacingly at the new arrival.

Giovanni grinned patronizingly.

"Mr. Sands, what an honor to finally meet you," he said. "It's not every day a renowned author comes to visit me in my lonely home. What an amusingly ignominious position you've put yourself in, I must say..."

"Well, unfortunately, putting ignominy to use for your enjoyment isn't what I came here for, and I'm sad to tell you that I really can't stay for long," Adam responded.

"Oh no, please do. I have so many things I'm sure you'd want to see," Giovanni replied in an insistent tone. "I see you've already made a plaything of my Misdreavus. No need to worry, I have plenty more, and stronger than that one."

"Perhaps another time," Adam said, taking a small step backward, towards the protecting of his Pokemon. They rose to the unspoken request, taking defensive stances around their master.

"Then what about my Rhydon? Or my Nidoqueen? Would they provide you with an adequate challenge?"

"One thing's for sure." Adam tossed his head in the unconscious Professor Oak's direction. "They didn't provide an adequate challenge for him."

Giovanni's face darkened. "Careful. One might think you mean to insult my Pokemon. And one might also think you're coming dangerously close to accusing one of the most powerful men on this planet of attacking some lowly Pokemon lab in the middle of nowhere."

"And how, exactly, did you catch wind of such an incident, I wonder?" It wasn't a question, though it was spoken as one.

"I watch the news, of course. An attack like that is a big story. It makes the headlines."

"Sure. And the fact that Oak didn't tell the police his suspicions that it was you leading that attack is the only thing that saved you from hitting the obituaries."

Giovanni's scowl deepened. Any completely false and transparent pretense of welcoming he'd put on before was gone now as he opened his sport coat and reached inside. "It'll be your obituary that hits the paper first! Rhydon, stomp that insolent!"

Even as Giovanni's Pokemon was solidifying, Adam was speaking again. "Oh, yes. Attack and allow all this equipment to be destroyed, all your delicate research lost. The files that your Misdreavus was writing, vanished forever."

Giovanni's eyes grew wide. "Rhydon, stop!"

Rhydon's foot had been rising, taking Giovanni's order literally. Now it put its foot back down.

Adam hadn't budged a millimeter.

For a moment, the Pokemon and their masters stood still, not moving a muscle.

And then, Adam nodded. "Fine. I'll do it. Espeon, Solarbeam on Rhydon! Jolteon, take out every last piece of equipment!"

"*NO!!*" Giovanni virtually screamed the word, but it didn't stop Adam's Pokemon as Espeon and Jolteon began their work. Espeon charged itself with what energy was provided by the light strips along the ceiling, while Jolteon's electricity danced from one computer to the next, scrambling each and every one of them.

"Stop that Jolteon!" Giovanni shouted. Rhydon's steps made the room shudder, computer consoles bouncing with each impact.

But Espeon had Jolteon's back, and its Solarbeam attack was fully charged. It blasted a gargantuan beam of yellow energy at Rhydon, and the Ground type Pokemon roared in pain, falling to the side and smashing several more consoles.

Giovanni's face was filled with cold fury as he turned to Adam. "You'll pay for all this."

Adam crossed his arms, cocked his head to one side, and smiled. "Sorry. Not in my budget."

Giovanni charged forward, his hands looking to grab Adam around the neck.

But before he could even get close, he was blasted backward through the doorway by a spray of pressurized water. He shouted as he flew through the air.

Adam's grin grew wider for a moment, but then disappeared as he turned to Vaporeon. "Go help Espeon."

It nodded and bounded after Rhydon, intent on keeping it away from Jolteon.

He pulled out another capture ball, enlarged it, and dropped it to the floor. "Eevee."

The small, power-packed Pokemon barked with delight at finally becoming part of the action. It jumped up and down playfully and looked up at Adam.

Adam grinned. "I need you to make sure Giovanni doesn't use any more Pokemon. Search him and keep any you find out of his reach. Bring them back to me if you want. When you're finished you can help the others wreak havoc on this place."

It jumped up again, glad to be of use, and trotted through the door to find Giovanni's capture balls.

Adam bent down and shook Amanda's shoulder. "Amanda! We've got to get going! Wake up!"

She groaned and rolled to one side.

"Amanda!"

Her eyes popped open. "Huh? What?"

"We've got to get out of here! This place is going down!"

She moaned again and tried to sit up. Adam assisted her in the endeavor. She looked up at him. "What about Professor Oak?"

"Of course we're going to get him out, too, but I need your help!"

She moaned as he helped her to her feet. "I don't know how much help I can be..."

"You're awake, which is more than either of us can say about the professor for a while!"

The sounds of destruction rang in their ears as Espeon unleashed another thunderous Solarbeam on Rhydon. Rhydon roared again and flew through the air, to smash through one of the tanks full of green liquid. The fluid rushed out quickly, and Rhydon remained on the wet floor it had landed on.

Adam and Amanda made their way to Oak's side. He had a shallow cut on his temple, but other than that, he looked relatively unhurt, and certainly none the worse for wear considering what Adam's Pokemon had put his body through. Adam hoped Oak didn't have any serious injuries.

He looked around at the destroyed equipment, saw an untouched row of computer terminals... and touched upon an idea.

"Jolteon!" Adam called.

Jolteon bounded to his side.

"I need you to leave that row of computers alone for the moment," he said.

It nodded, understading the request but not the logic behind it. But it didn't need to understand the logic, only the order.

It returned to its wanton destruction of the lab.

"Espeon!"

Espeon approached its master with the same vigor that Jolteon had.

"I want you and Eevee to knock Giovanni out, then bring him in here."

Espeon cocked its head to one side, wondering why Adam wanted it to do this, but it did as he asked and trotted through the door that Eevee has gone through moments before.

Adam moved to the undamaged row of computers and sat down at one. Amanda stayed at his side and looked over his shoulder as he accessed the material. There was no password protection... after all, who would access the computer, other than Giovanni's scientists?

"What are you doing?" Amanda asked.

"I'm accessing Giovanni's files for information," he responded.

"What kind of information?"

Adam didn't respond as he opened a search program. He typed in the word to use for the search: *Creight*

At that moment, Espeon and Eevee dragged in an unconscious Giovanni by his jacket, using their teeth. He slid across the floor easily, his ruined suit leaving a trail of water behind them.

Adam looked down at them. "Good job. Eevee, you can go ahead and help Jolteon and Vaporeon now."

There was still plenty of equipment to destroy, such were the proportions of the laboratory and the amounts of technology it held. Eevee raced off to assist its comrades. Espeon looked at Adam questioningly.

"Espeon, I'll need you in a moment," said Adam, the search engine still working through Giovanni's files. It had at least three dozen matches so far. The search finally finished a few moments later, revealing forty-six matches.

He clicked on one of the matches, but password protection flashed across the screen. He cancelled the action, then tried opening each of the others. All of them had password protection on them.

*Probably to make sure he's the one that profits from the information, and not anyone looking to get rich off a reward for the one who destroyed the marina,* Adam thought. He turned to Espeon. "Espeon, I need you to take me into Giovanni's mind and find out what the password is for these files."

It nodded and touched Giovanni with one of its paws. The jewel on its head burned bright.

Adam softly touched Espeon's back.

They entered the madman's mind. It was a dark jumble of scheme after scheme, designed to make him rich and powerful... all leading to making him the most powerful man on the planet.

*What is it with these maniacs and their plans for world domination?* Adam wondered, as he and Espeon pressed ahead. They pushed through all the lies and the pretenses, and past memories that would have made even Gym Leader Sabrina cringe in disgust... and they found the passwords he kept memorized.

*We only need one,* Adam thought. *Where is it?*

He tried a different tack, going through the thoughts Giovanni had had about Jason and his family in general. Sadly, the man didn't know anything about Daniel's current whereabouts, providing no help there.

But he did know that Daniel had been planning to force Jason's hand for a while.

And tripping over that thought led to another, and yet another...

And Adam found the password.

He shook his head in disgust. The man gave no respect to anyone.

He pulled away from Espeon, and Espeon began to pull out of Giovanni's head, but Adam said, "No, wait. I need you to stay there. Find all of his memories of Jason and his family, every single one of them. Then wait."

Adam turned back to the computer and typed in the password he had found: "Crippled."

*Access Granted*

One by one, Adam quickly scanned through them, their timestamps ranging from before Jason was born up to the time the marina was destroyed, and beyond. They had all been arraged neatly into a sub-file named "Creight" within the file "Sellers - Orange."

Adam took a deep breath...

And deleted the file in its entirety.

He blew out half his breath and turned back to Espeon. "Okay, Espeon, I need to know... did Giovanni ever release his information on Jason to the police?"

Espeon searched through the clutter for a moment, then shook its head.

"Good." Adam took another depe breath. "Espeon, I want you to wipe out any and every memory Giovanni has of Jason and his family. Everything, professional and personal, take it all out. And every memory of what happened here, too."

It looked at him questioningly, as if to ask, "Do you really want this?"

Adam nodded. "Do it. It's for Jason's benefit; if Giovanni doesn't know about him, he can't antagonize him anymore. Jason can finally live his own life."

*...if he survives the Orange League and his own brother,* he thought. Tactfully, he didn't include it out loud.

Espeon nodded once, then concentrated on Giovanni.

He was the only one who had ever kept information on Jason's secret, the only one who had ever threatened to make it public.

For a few moments, Espeon's red jewel's glow seemed to drown out everything else as it put its power to the test.

And, after those tense moments...

Giovanni's threat was eliminated.

For good.

Espeon looked up at Adam, and nodded.

Adam sighed. "Good."

He glanced around the lab. The destruction had stopped. His released Pokemon had gathered around him, waiting.

Everything was wrecked, save for these computers.

He got to his artificial feet and stepped away from the computers. "Take them out."

The work was done in a matter of seconds.

He sighed again. Five of his Pokemon were out, and to make it out of thie place, he would probably need all six. He pulled Flareon's capture ball from his belt and tossed it. Flareon popped out, showing no malice or contempt for having been chosen last; it understood perfectly why it had been kept inactive until now.

Adam turned to his fiancée. "Let's get Professor Oak and get out of here."

Amanda pulled out a capture ball of her own. "Dodrio, come on out."

The three-headed bird was released from the ball and waited for instruction.

She looked back at Adam. "Let's have Dodrio carry the professor out of here. We can't go down the hallways in a row... they're too narrow."

He nodded. "Fine. Let's just go."

She agreed.

***

Jason was more than happy to get away from the pressing crowds looking to see his new showcase in the Orange League Hall of Fame. He'd noticed, with particular pleasure, that Ash Ketchum had a showcase there as well.

*That kid is growing up on me. He'll be a Pokemon master, I'm sure of it.*

Jason left the Hall, and saw that Drake was standing at the nearby shoreline. He approached the Orange League champion, knowing that despite the money and the Orange League trophy, he still had one more item to collect.

Drake was gazing out at the sea when Jason's wheelchair halted next to him. Twilight had given way to darkness, and the stars were bright tonight.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Drake asked.

Jason nodded. "It is."

"I sometimes wish I could just lie here on the beach, watching all of them for weeks on end. I love the stars."

"And the sea is calm, too. The stars reflect off the water clearly. Makes it look as if there are two skies to look at instead of just one."

Drake smiled. "It does, doesn't it?" He turned to face Jason. "I imagine you're here for the computer disk I was given."

"Yes." Jaon frowned. "You knew it was for me?"

"The man who gave it to me was specific about who to give it to, and he knew that you would be searching for it. I don't pry into such matters, I simply let them be." Drake reached into his pocket and pulled out a disk identical to the other four Jason had already received. "I hope it helps you in your endeavors."

Jason took the disk and nodded. "It will, believe me."

He turned his wheelchair around and left the waterfront. He moved to a quiet area, where there were no people to distract him.

He pulled out his Pokedex and activated it...

It flew out of his hand.

Adrenaline rushed through him as he watched it fly through the air. There seemed to be no explanation for what was happening--

Three meters in front of him, the Pokedex stopped moving abruptly and hung there in midair.

A moment later, the area surrounding the Pokedex seemed to simply melt away...

Revealing the hatless, trenchcoat-wearing Travis Johnson.

Jason frowned. *How did he do that?*

Johnson grinned. "No doubt you're wondering how I did that. Thanks to my good ol' Ditto, I can disguise myself just about any way I please. See?"

The trenchcoat and clothing he wore melted away in the same fashion as had just been displayed, revealing a pink blob with a menacing, determined look on its face.

Johnson's Ditto had disguised itself as his clothes, but he was far from naked... he wore a black uniform, and it had a jagged purple R across the front.

Jason's frown deepened. *A purple R?*

"Yes, that's right, Jason," Johnson sneered. "A purple R. I'm one of the very few distinguished members of Team Rocket who possesses psychic abilities. Such as the one I just used to take your Pokedex."

"You work for Giovanni, don't you?" Jason demanded.

"You're finally piecing it together. Good for you."

"Then why didn't you...?"

"Why didn't I tell Giovanni that Daniel was going to double-cross him?" Johnson chuckled. "I never said I didn't."

"Then... Giovanni *knew* Adam was going after Oak?"

"Absolutely."

Jason's eyes grew wide and furious. "You set us up."

"I sure did. And you went for it." Johnson's smile faltered only a little bit. "Fortunately for your friend, he brought some company, and they managed to retrieve the good professor from the gym's basement. He was indeed there, in case you wanted to know. He wouldn't have been, had your friends arrived any later."

"They're safe?"

"All three of them."

Jason breathed a sigh of relief. "One down, one to go."

"Wrong. Two to go."

Jason looked back up and glared. "What do you mean?"

"Well, since you now have the cipher, there's really no more use for me or my compatriots. They've all departed, and that's all well and good, but there's a bit of a problem... Giovanni wanted revenge on you, and your friends wiped his memories of you and your family. I am now the only member of Team Rocket who knows your secret, so it falls to me to take that revenge.

"Also, your brother seems to think that he can double-cross me. He didn't tell me, but he didn't need to; he has included in this code that you may do with me as you wish. And I want to do with you as Giovanni wished. So that means you and I will have to battle for our lives, and I can guarantee you that this is a battle you won't win."

Jason Creight glowered on.



To Be Concluded