Pokémon – The Quest's End
A fanfiction by BenRG
Disclaimer
Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters, their human friends and enemies and all the technologies of the Pokémon universe are the property of Nintendo., Creatures Inc. and Game Freak Software. This is a non-profit work for free distribution through the Internet. No breach of copyright intended.
Author's Notes
This is an Alternate Universe story, closely linked to my Original Character story, 'The Journey'. Most of the events of Ash Ketchum's past have occurred as in the canon timeline. However, I have added one or two Pokémon to Ash's team that I feel he needs. I have also taken some liberties with some of the newer Pokémon, due to my unfamiliarity with the Ruby- and Sapphire-version Pokémon.
I don't know what they are going to call May's little brother Masato in the English-language dub of the animé. I have selected the name 'Matt' as being as good as any other.
Censor: PG-13
Continuity: Takes place eight years after Ash began his Journey.
The Story
Chapter 2 – Manoeuvres
It took Ash a few minutes to fight his way through the press to his locker room in the depths of the Indigo Plateau stadium. However, after throwing several quotes to the news-men and news-women, he was able to close the door and enjoy a little hard-won privacy.
For a short time, the young man from Pallet Town sat on the bench in the small locker room, stroking his Pikachu and chuckling to himself in a self-deprecating way. "Why ever did I want fame and fortune, huh Pika-pal? The reality is never as good as the dream." Pikachu, who had made himself a very comfortable nest on his Pikapi's lap, looked up in confusion. Ash smiled and tickled the electric-type Pokémon between the ears. "Don't worry about it, pal," the black-haired man continued. "I'm just getting a little philosophical in my 'old age'."
After gently moving Pikachu onto his folded jacket, Ash got up and, pulling off his tee-shirt as he went, strode over to the shower cubicle. Pikachu watched thoughtfully as water began to rain down on his Trainer. He would never understand human behaviour. Why get all wet to clean yourself when you could do it so much more easily yourself? With that, he began to lick his paws clean.
About twenty minutes later, Ash, now washed and refreshed, ventured out of the locker room. He was glad to see that the press had left, but there were some more-welcome faces waiting for him. "Ash! Oh, I'm so proud of you, my baby!" Ash's mother collided with her son and hugged him tightly. "I knew that you could do it, my precious," she murmured.
Ash blushed brightly. "Mom…" he protested. In some ways it was strange for his mother to still call him her 'baby'. After all, he was a head taller than her now. But mothers never changed, at least their behaviour didn't. Ash couldn't help but notice the first few lines of long hard labour on his mother's face and a few streaks of silver in her auburn hair. "Thanks Mom," he said at last. "I couldn't have done it without you."
"And what about me, Ash Ketchum?" called a younger and most familiar voice. Ash laughed as he released his mother and hugged his younger sister, Bonnie. The auburn-haired girl was his mother in miniature, apart from her distinctive Ketchum family brown eyes.
"I couldn't have done it without you either, Sis," he said with a laugh.
Pikachu clambered onto Bonnie's shoulder and hugged the side of her face. "Chupi," he said happily, his version of her name.
Misty grinned at the unspoken joy in the meeting between brother and sister. Although she had stayed at Ash's house many times, it had usually been during the school term, so she hadn't had the chance to get to know Ash's little sister as well as she would have liked. The girl was much like her brother in many ways; Excitable, impulsive, kind to a fault, determined and completely fearless. She was also skilled in the ways of Pokémon training. Although she had not chosen to follow Ash into the Leagues, she was quite skilled in directing her Butterfree and Rattata. Of course, being a girl, she had inherited Delia's understated strength and open-hearted generosity.
While Ash listened to Bonnie's excited critique of his most recent battle, Misty drifted away, looking for a restroom. Suddenly a vaguely familiar voice spoke out of the shadows. "Hello, Ms. Waterflower," the man said.
Misty whirled, her hand jerking towards Starmie's Pokéball on the belt that May bought her for her birthday four long years ago. Leaning against a doorframe was no less a figure than The Pokémon Master himself, Lance Knight. "Master Lance," Misty said, feeling uncomfortable for no reason she could name. "What can I do for you?"
"The question, Ms. Waterflower," Lance said in his warm, baritone voice, "is 'what can I do for you?'" Misty cocked her head in polite confusion. "I know that you have claimed a Mastery in the training of water-type Pokémon," The Pokémon Master said. "I want you to know that you have a very good chance of succeeding in your application; assuming that you can beat Trinity and Lorelai in the ritual battle, of course."
Misty felt her heart leap in her chest in joy at that statement. "That's great news, sir!" she blurted.
Lance smiled in a way devoid of warmth. "Yes, isn't it?" he replied. "Of course, all such claims must be reviewed by The Pokémon Master before they are allowed." Misty nodded, wondering where this was going. "Consider how much more likely it will be that your claim passes that review if The Pokémon Master is in your debt in some way?" he mused.
"I'm… sorry?" Misty replied.
"It's quite simple, Misty," Lance said with a sigh. "If you ensure that your young… lover… withdraws his challenge to me, then I will make it my business to see that your claim to the title of Master Trainer passes its' review without question. I might even be able to convince Goodshow to drop the requirement for you to prove yourself in battle against the League's top Water-type Masters."
Misty's shocked expression turned into fury. "You… creep!" she hissed. "You're trying to blackmail me into convincing Ash to stop following his dreams! I would never do that!"
Lance smirked in an ugly way. He strode forwards, the simple weight of his presence was enough to back Misty against the wall of the corridor. "Think carefully, little mermaid," he murmured in a disturbingly intimate tone of voice. "Think about all the questions that could be raised about your Mastery if it came out that you got it only by sleeping with the new Pokémon Master…" Lance laughed.
"That's disgusting!" Misty snapped. "Ash and I haven't ever…"
"Who do you think the scandal sheets would believe?" Lance asked dangerously. "You know that the truth always comes second to a good story." The redheaded man reached out and began to stroke a finger along Misty's jaw-line making the young woman flinch away.
"Misty, Ash is looking for you!" Both man and woman jerked in surprise and turned to see Delia Ketchum standing in the corridor, glaring at them. Glad for the distraction, Misty fled down the corridor to safety. Delia moved slightly, hiding the fleeing young woman from The Pokémon Master's view. She stood there for a long moment, looking at Lance, who looked as if he had seen a ghost. "You must be far poorer a Trainer than I thought to need to use such tactics… Lance," Delia remarked, her usually-kind cinnamon eyes burning with uncharacteristic fury.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Lance scoffed unconvincingly.
"Don't I?" Delia asked, sounding slightly hoarse. "You should consider how well I know you, Master Trainer, before you dismiss my opinion of your skills. Stay away from that girl. I might not be a Master Trainer, but I assure you that your skill with your Pokémon won't save you if I hear about you molesting Misty ever again." Delia whirled and marched off down the corridor, her high heels clicking like gunshots on the tiled floor.
"Delia, wait…!" Lance called, reaching out for her. Then he fell silent and ducked back into the shadows. He thought that his past was buried, but seeing her, still so beautiful after fourteen years, had broken all the seals on his heart. Lance growled and began to march down the corridor towards his office. Delia Ketchum was part of the past of a dead man. Lance had to worry about his present… and his future.
~*~*~*~
Ash, Brock, Bonnie and a veritable storm of Pokémon walked out of the Indigo Plateau Stadium into the sunlight. Waiting for them were a large number of familiar faces. "Ash! Well done, lad! I always knew that you could do it!" Ash shook hands with his mentor, Professor Samuel Oak and smiled at the old man, who had known him all his life and had been such an inspiration.
"Hey there, Master Trainer! Didn't I say that you could beat that muscle-bound blowhard?" Ash turned to his former rival-in-chief, Gary Oak. The brown-haired boy slapped Ash on the shoulder and pulled him into a hug. "No one beats Trainers from Pallet Town, Ash. Didn't I tell you that before?"
Ash laughed. "Yeah, you did, Gary. Thanks." Behind Gary, Blastoise, his Starter, gave Ash a ponderous 'thumbs-up' and grinned in a good-natured way.
Several other Trainers, including Richie Yeager, Casey LaRoche and Duplica Simmons were waiting to offer their congratulations on Ash's victory.
Bonnie smiled indulgently as her brother accepted his many friends' plaudits. Okay, so Ash could be dense sometimes, but he was her big brother and she loved him. Besides, she always knew that he was the best Trainer of his generation. Like all little sisters, she saw her brother as a hero, no matter how much they argued. Suddenly a shadow fell over the girl and she looked up in some surprise. "Hey! What's that?" she blurted.
Ash looked up and saw something that looked vaguely draconic cross the sun. It had a long neck and tail, stumpy dinosaurid legs and four wings that seemed to be made of giant leaves. Ash pulled out Dexter, his battered but faithful Pokédex, off his belt and scanned the Pokémon flying overhead. "Pokémon #357 – Tropius, the dino-plant Pokémon," Dexter announced.
Ash's expression transformed into a wide grin. "I think I know who this is," he announced, much to the confusion of his friends and kin.
The Tropius dropped out of the sky and landed just a few metres away from where Ash and Bonnie stood. A brown-haired girl jumped from its' back and pulled off her flying goggles before looking at Ash and waving. "Hiya, Ash!" she called out.
"May! You made it!" Ash laughed, rushing over to hug his friend. "Damn, but it has been a long time, May. Look at you! You've grown up!"
May blushed, running her hand through her waist-length hair nervously. It might have been three years since she last saw Ash Ketchum, but she still had a house-sized crush on the boy from Pallet Town. His frankly admiring gaze only made her embarrassment worse. Her mother insisted that she was beautiful, but May would always see herself as a plain girl.
Ash turned to the boy still sitting on Tropius' back. "And how are you, Matt?" he asked. The boy smiled, happy to see Ash again. "I'm fine, Ash," he said. "Or should I say 'Master Ash'? Everyone in Petalburg Town was cheering you on, you know!" Ash thanked the boy for his good wishes. Then May nudged her kid brother in the ribs, reminding him of something. "Oh! Hey, I got my starter Pokémon from Professor Birch this summer!"
Matt pulled out a Pokéball and activated it, releasing a 2-foot high bipedal green reptilian Pokémon with a red belly. "Treeko!" it hissed.
"I see that the Professor gave you the second best Pokémon of all time," Ash said with a wink to May, who always made her preference for the Torchic evolutionary chain quite plain.
"What's the best?" Matt asked, exchanging a confused look with Treeko.
"You have to ask?" Ash asked, stroking Pikachu's sensitive cheek pads where he sat on his shoulders. The two youngsters from Houen laughed at hearing that familiar boast.
A loud coughing sound interrupted the reunion. "So, are you going to introduce me or what?" Bonnie asked in an arch tone of voice that Ash swore that his sister had learnt from Misty.
"Oh!" Ash blushed slightly. "May Crosse, this is my little sister, Bonnie. Bonnie, this is May; We travelled together when I was in Houen."
May walked up to Bonnie and the two 14-year-old girls stared at each other incredulously. Ash's mouth dropped open. They were virtual mirror images. Now that May had started wearing her hair loose instead of in pigtails, her long, auburn hair looked exactly like Bonnie's. Only May's blue eyes, contrasting with Bonnie's brown eyes, set the two girls apart. "This… is freaky," Bonnie said quietly.
"Yeah, tell me about it," May murmured.
Matt's jaw had dropped open when he saw Bonnie. The lenses of his glasses were in danger of steaming up! Okay, she looked a lot like his sister but… but… but she wasn't his sister! And she was the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen! "Good day to you, fair maiden," the boy said. "I'm Matt Crosse, and I must say that meeting you is a great pleasure!" Bonnie blushed as Matt grabbed her hand in both his hands and started trying to compliment her.
"Oh boy, it had to start sometime," May said, grabbing her kid brother by the ear and towing him away from Bonnie. The boy started struggling against his sister's grip, not wanting to get too far away from the auburn-haired angel that he had just met.
At that point, Misty emerged from the arch and broke into a run when she saw the new arrivals. She collided with May, virtually knocking the younger girl off her feet before enveloping her with a powerful hug. "May-chan!" she cried out. "Oh, it is so good to see you again!"
Matt took the opportunity of a distraction to rush back to Bonnie. "Matt," Ash said, interposing himself between the boy and his sister. "That is my kid sister you are trying to seduce." Matt blushed at hearing Ash's definition of his actions. "Just remember that the next time that your hand touches her… my Pidgeot will be there to cut it off with a Steel Wing attack, got that?"
That example of fraternal over-protectiveness naturally started an argument between Ash and Bonnie. So, when Delia emerged from the entrance arch, the entire area was in a state of chaos. She had to smile at the sights before her. It was so good to be around so many people who were so vibrantly alive. Nonetheless, she couldn't shake the chill she had suffered at seeing Lance in the flesh after all these years.
Delia pressed her lips together in worry. Lance could throw around threats as much as he liked. Ash and Misty had faced far more dangerous foes than him. However, if he went beyond that… Well, perhaps she had waited long enough.
~*~*~*~
In the grasslands along Route 23, some five miles south of Indigo Plateau, a strange-looking encampment sat at the base of one of the huge Pokémon statues raised along the path towards the beginning of the Victory Road. The centre-piece of the camp was a blimp, whose envelope was shaped like a Meowth's head. Two tents and some crated supplies were set out around the parked aircraft.
At that moment, a loud tone blared out. A diverse group of individuals responded to that sound, a tall woman with fiery red hair (who was carrying a girl with a cap of dark hair), a man with lavender-grey hair and a cream-coloured Meowth. James Morgan was the first to reach the Blimp's communications console. "Team Rocket, James Morgan speaking, how can I help you?" he said in a pleasant tone when he pressed the 'answer' button.
"Well, you can look like a member of my organisation rather than a day tripper for a start," Giovanni diRocketti snapped in a sour tone of voice.
James jerked to attention upon hearing his employer's voice and automatically started to buckle his uniform tunic. Jessie instinctively drew her 3-year-old daughter, Roberta, closer to her body and backed away, making sure that the camera on the communications console couldn't see her. There was nothing in the regulations against agents having children (either together or with outsiders), but she was afraid, god she was afraid, that Giovanni would find some way to use her baby against her. "Mama, you're squishing me," Bobbi whispered. Jessie shushed her daughter as quietly as she could.
James spoke as loud as he could, drowning out his little girl's voice. "Aye-aye, sir," he said nervously.
Giovanni smirked. He knew that the lavender-haired fop and the redheaded minx had somehow managed to procreate, of course. However, it was only Jessie and James' arrogance that made them think he would be interested in any child luckless enough to have them as parents. "I have a job for you, James," he announced. "A most unusual… client… has contacted me and requested the Organisation's services. I am transmitting rendezvous co-ordinates to your blimp's navigation computer now. Once you have met with this individual, ensure that you carry out his request to the letter. I want this person in our debt. Do you understand?"
James nodded. "Certainly, Boss," he said in his nasal tone of voice. "We won't let you down." Giovanni's reply was a sceptical grunt before he cut off the communications link.
"A special client?" Jessie parroted in confusion. "What is this all about?"
"Meowth! It must be somet'in big," Meowth announced. The cat-like Pokémon had jumped up onto the pilot's console and was reading the co-ordinates that Giovanni had sent them. "Da rendezvous is in Indigo Plateau!"
~*~*~*~
Four beautiful women in bikinis that only increased their beauty were relaxing in the outdoor swimming pool of a hotel in Indigo Plateau reserved for guests of competitors in the League Games. "So, you are the young girl that Ash was raving about all the time during his first year in Houen," Delia said as she stretched out in the pool. Misty, May and Bonnie were also in the pool.
Misty, of course, was completely at home in the water, disappearing under the surface for alarmingly long periods before surfacing again in unexpected areas. She did so just as Delia made her comment and scowled. "And what did he have to say?" she asked.
Delia smiled gently, hearing the jealousy in the young woman's voice. "Nothing that you have any right or need to hear, Misty," she said in a reproving tone of voice.
Misty scowled at May, feeling annoyed that something might have been going on between the other girl and Ash. May was blissfully ignorant of this undercurrent. "Hey, I would like to know what he said about me too!"
"Mom thought that he was getting a crush on you," Bonnie called out. "But then Misty turned up again, and it was as if she hadn't ever been away! He started raving about her instead!"
Now May and Misty were glaring at each other angrily. Both were, doubtless, silently wondering if they could get away with an accusation. Then they realised the other message in Bonnie's mischievous comments and started to blush in embarrassment at being 'raved' about.
"Bonnie, what have I always told you about gossip?" Delia asked gently, glaring at her daughter.
Bonnie looked downwards. "Sorry, Mom," she said quietly.
Delia decided that she should move the conversation onto safer and more neutral ground. "I can't get over how alike you and Bonnie are, May," she said cheerfully. "It is as if you were separated at birth!"
"Yeah, it is weird," May admitted, her eyes locking with her Doppelganger, who giggled self-consciously.
"They're not exactly alike," Misty said. "May has a different shade of eyes… And now I think about it, she is heavier around the hips and chest than Bonnie…" With her usual forthrightness, the girl grabbed Bonnie and dragged her over to May. Then she spent a few moments staring at them, as if trying to tell them apart.
"Do you want to check my teeth as well?" May asked sarcastically.
"Will there be an internal exam too?" Bonnie snapped resentfully.
"Still, I do know why Ash was so fascinated with you now," Misty said, acting as if the two girls hadn't said a word.
"Hey! Er… You do?" May seemed nervous and eager at the same time.
"Yeah," Misty said with an infernal smile. "You reminded him of his sister and that is why he wanted you around!"
"That… That is wrong on so many levels," May blurted, much to Misty's amusement.
Bonnie shook her head and swam off, not wanting to be around for the inevitable May verses Misty argument. What is worst, it looked as though her Mom was about to get involved! She swam towards the far end of the pool, screened from the rest of the hotel's grounds by a line of bushes. As she swum closer, she definitely heard a quiet voice say: "Gary! Get your knee off of my hand!"
Bonnie's swallowed nervously. Trying to stay casual, she continued to swim until she returned to the other three ladies. Delia had, by now, given Misty a dressing down and had her apologise to May. "Hey!" Bonnie whispered urgently. "Did you hear something? Don't look, but I think someone is in those bushes!"
Long used to this problem, Misty didn't turn or in any way acknowledge Ash's little sister's words. She worked a Pokéball off of its' clip on the back of her bikini briefs. "Out you come, Wingull," she said quietly, releasing her seagull Pokémon. "Now! Use Water Gun on that bush!" Wingull took to the skies, arced around and directed a pressurised water jet at the bushes screening the pool from the rest of the hotel grounds. There were several masculine cries of pain and surprise and four bodies fell into the swimming pool.
"Matt!" May gasped.
"Ash!" Bonnie cried out.
"Samuel!" Delia squeaked.
"Gary!" Misty bellowed.
"Er, hi ladies," Gary offered with a lame smile after he surfaced. "Er… Fancy meeting you here?" The four males exchanged embarrassed looks and quailed at the furious looks being shot their way by the objects of their respective obsessions. The resulting water-fight lasted for at least half an hour.
~*~*~*~
"Did anyone see you three arrive?" the voice asked out of the deep shadows cast by the barely-risen sun.
Jessie and James, their white TR uniforms covered by two-tone grey smocks, nearly jumped out of their skins. Meowth smothered a cry of surprise, instinctively baring his claws. Jessie, as always, was the first to recover her wits enough to argue. "We landed our transport outside of the walls during the night and came in through the storm drains," she replied. "Now who are you?"
"Who am I?" The man laughed and stepped forwards into the light. The three Rockets' mouths dropped open in surprise. "Why, I'm the man who is going to be the best friend that your Boss has ever had!" Lance Knight said with an evil smirk.
Jessie and James exchanged suspicious looks and checked around them for any sign of the police or others of the League's Elite trainers. Meowth glared at the red-headed human suspiciously. "Meowth! What would youse want wid Team Rocket?" he hissed.
Lance raised an eyebrow in interest. "A talking Meowth?" he said in surprise. "Fascinating. I must ask Giovanni how he managed that, one day." Then he turned back to Jessie and James, an act of contempt that left Meowth fuming. "What I want is simple enough. Ash Ketchum has challenged me for the title of The Pokémon Master. I want that challenge stopped. I don't care how and I don't care who might be hurt in the process, so long as it can never be traced back to me, do you understand?"
Jessie exchanged a mocking smirk with James. "Yes, we understand," she replied with malicious good humour. "You are afraid of the Little Twerp, so you want us to deal with him for you! This is so deliciously funny!"
Lance scowled. "If this is your Boss's concept of professional courtesy, I'm not impressed," he commented. "If this is below you, I'm sure that I can find someone else…"
James sneered. "Oh don't worry," he said in a mocking tone. "We'll do the job. Team Rocket is a business after all. Just don't expect to have our respect for not having the guts to fight this battle yourself."
"I wouldn't worry, James," Jessie replied. "I don't think he has respect for himself. Why should anyone else matter?"
"Spare me your patronising comments," Lance spat. "You just do the job that I hired your boss to do for me. I have better things to do with my time than get my Pokémon hurt fighting every talentless non-entity that gets past Bruno."
Jessie and James rolled their eyes and turned to leave. The parting comment was left to Meowth. "Youse just keep telling yerself dat is the reason," he advised. "Meowth! Maybe youse will even be able to look ya reflection in da eye!"
Lance watched the three terrorists walk away with a sick sensation in his gut. Was he afraid? Certainly, Ash was a brilliant Trainer, perhaps as good as he himself. Perhaps he did doubt his ability to win. With a silent curse, he turned and began to walk back to his palatial offices. He had to keep his thoughts focussed. All that mattered was keeping the rank and position that was his by right. If he had to sell his integrity, his self respect and even his soul to that end, then it was a bargain that he was willing to make.
~*~*~*~
Later that day, Ash, Misty and May were out walking along a path in the woods to the west of Indigo Plateau. Ash wanted to exercise some of the Pokémon that weren't in his current fighting team. He wasn't sure why May and Misty had insisted in coming along. However, he had the strangest feeling that there was some kind of tension between the two young women. He had hoped that Matt would have been willing to come along, but the boy had insisted in staying with Brock today. May had said something about him wanting to discuss 'technique' with the former Pewter City Gym Leader. Ash suspected that this meant that the boy hadn't given up on Bonnie just yet.
As Misty made a point to May by linking an arm through Ash's and leaning against his shoulder, the ground collapsed beneath them. The three humans and Pikachu looked around themselves in surprise. "Well, it's been a long time since this last happened to us," Ash admitted with some surprise.
Very familiar superior laughter echoed down from above the pitfall trap. "Prepare for trouble, for we have some words for the wise!" an upper-class feminine voice declared.
"And make it double, because you're in trouble otherwise!" added a nasal masculine voice.
"To protect the world from devastation,"
"To unite all peoples of our nation!"
"To denounce the lies of truth and love,"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket! Blasting off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
"Waaahhh-buffett!" said a third voice
There was a loud thud from above and then a fourth voice added: "Meowth! Dat's right!"
"Team Rocket!" Ash snapped.
"What do you losers want this time?" Misty added acidically.
"Now, is that any way to talk to people who are trying to do you a favour?" Jessie sneered as she looked down from the lip of the pitfall.
"Yes! For once we aren't even after your Pikachu, and yet still you insult us!" James reeled back, putting a hand over his heart. "Such suspicion and anger… It's simply heart-breaking" he murmured in a tone of mock regret. Meowth and Jessie's Wobbuffet looked at each other smugly.
"Look, will you two drop the vaudeville routine and tell us what you want?" May asked in a waspish tone of voice.
"It's really quite simple," James replied. "We are the bearers of a request from a… client of ours. Twerp, you are going to withdraw your challenge to the Pokémon Master."
The three humans in the pit looked at each other in confusion. Why should Team Rocket care about such a thing? And what did they mean by saying that it was a request from a client? "And if I refuse?" Ash asked.
Jessie snorted. "You don't get a choice, Twerp," she replied. "If you don't appear for the battle tomorrow, you will forfeit the right to challenge him ever again." Jessie turned to the third member of their group. "Meowth, get the blimp. We've got to take some cargo a long way from here." Meowth nodded and darted off into the forest.
"It won't take us two days to get out of here, Jessie!" Ash snapped from below.
"Under normal circumstances, yes," Jessie agreed. "But these aren't normal circumstances." With that, the woman pulled out a spherical object, pressed a button on its' side and dropped it into the trap. There was a loud 'pop' and a cloud of blue-white spores puffed out of the pit. "They'll be out for at least an hour," Jessie told James. "Now we just take them to an isolated island, say in the Orange Archipelago, and leave them there. By the time they get back it will be too late!"
"All the best plans are the simple ones," James said and the two Rockets exchanged self-satisfied smirks. Suddenly James looked down at the ground underneath his feet. "Is the ground moving?" he asked. At that moment, the ground under the two Rockets' feet exploded upwards and an unusual black-and-white Raticate emerged, sending Jessie and James (and Wobbuffet) flying into the air. The three hapless beings dropped into their own pitfall, and into the cloud of Sleep Powder.
"But everything was going so well!" Jessie moaned, trying to cover her nose and mouth with her tunic.
"Doesn't it always?" James asked, "But now it's backfired as usual…" His eyes began to droop.
"Now… Team Rocket is… dropping off… again…!" The two humans were snoring before they finished collapsing on top of each other.
"Waaah-baaa-feet!" Wobbuffet moaned and then collapsed on top of the other two.
Ash, Misty and May stayed well away from the pit's edge and the sleep-inducing grass-type spores still billowing out of it. "That should keep them out of our hair for a while," May said with grim satisfaction.
"What were they talking about, though?" Misty asked, concern in her voice. She hadn't told Ash about Lance's odd 'offer' yesterday. Now she was wishing that she had.
Ash, thanks to seven years experience, was able to read Misty's expression and body posture. "We'll find out," he declared. He turned to the black-and-white Raticate and gave it a pat on the head. "I've never regretted teaching you Dig, have I?" he asked, giving the normal-type a Poké-Treat candy.
"Raticate!" Ash's Raticate replied, sounding smug.
~*~*~*~
Delia Ketchum opened the door of her hotel room with a distracted scowl. "What is it?" she asked angrily. When she saw her son, she blushed and her voice softened. "Oh! Ash! I'm sorry, I thought you would still be out in the woods!" The woman pulled her printed silk dressing gown tighter over her scandalously skimpy negligée, blushing a little in embarrassment.
Ash, bless him, was too focussed to realise the cause of his mother's embarrassment. "Mom, I have to talk to you," he said. "Can we come in?" Delia looked nervously over her shoulder before finally nodding, a little reluctantly.
Ash, Misty and May entered the room's living area and noted, with some surprise, that Professor Oak was present, dressed in a quite unusually casual manner for the usually-formal scientist. The man swallowed nervously and put down his glass of champagne before pulling his half-open shirt closed across his chest. "So, what can we do for you, Ash?" Delia asked.
"Professor, Mom," Ash said. "Today, Team Rocket attacked us."
The two older people exchanged alarmed looks. "So close to Indigo Plateau?" Oak said in alarm. "That's worrying news! The Rockets must be getting confident if they think that they can operate so close to the League Headquarters!"
"That isn't the worst of it," May said, sounding pleased that she had unprecedented news.
"They said that they were working on behalf of a 'client'," Ash announced. "They weren't interested in stealing Pikachu or any of our other Pokémon. They wanted to stop me from battling for the title of Pokémon Master!"
There was a long pause. Delia, wearing an expression of deep fear, walked over to Professor Oak and sat on the arm of his chair. Perhaps only May, with the benefit of a little detachment, noticed the way the woman's hand twined with the scientist's hand in a way that communicated reliance and comfort. After a thoughtful moment, Delia spoke up. "Misty, dear, do you think that this has anything to do with that offer that Lance made you yesterday?"
"I… didn't want to think about it," Misty admitted, looking down with a little shame. "But it might be connected, yes."
Ash looked between his girlfriend and his mother in a perplexed manner. "What offer? What is she talking about, Misty?"
Before Misty could speak, Delia interrupted. "Ash, it is time for me to tell you something. Perhaps I should have told you before, but I told myself it wasn't necessary. Now, I can no longer avoid it. Ash, the time has come for me to tell you about your father."
To be continued…
