**************************

Misty sat on a couch in the Pokemon Centre with Lee and Hound at her feet: Nurse Joy knew of Ash's predicament the instant she saw them with him: it had been her that found him and her that set him off with his Pokemon to discover who he was.  Seeing Nurse Joy take Ash into a back room, Misty followed

"I've told him, never to do that, it drains him too easily" she muttered and hooked him up to a simple heart monitor

"You know about this?" Misty asked

"Yes, I found Ash after what ever gave him these powers and no doubt his amnesia" she said and went to tend the Pokemon

Misty went back outside to find Umbreon: she needed to talk to her

"Lee; is Umbreon okay?" she asked

Lee nodded and pointed to the sleeping Pokemon: Umbreon was snoozing on a bench and any attempts to remove it we met with a snarl and the flashing of its rings

"Umbreon, is that what you meant when you said 'all of him', that thing Ash did?" she asked

Umbreon nodded and looked the young woman in the eye

{Not put off are we?}, she asked

"Hardly; how can I be: that was the coolest thing I've ever seen" Misty said

Umbreon raised an eyebrow at Misty in genuine surprise

"That's a first; someone actually liking his power" the Pokemon said dryly

Misty would have said more but Gary grabbed her wrist and yanked her up

"Come, we're out of here" he said and pulled her along

He didn't get far: Hound, Lee and Umbreon barred his way, Lee feel into a martial arts stance, Hound growled and Umbreon made her body rings glow brightly

{I think it would be in your best interests to let her go} Umbreon said

Gary eyed the three Pokemon at his feet: Machoke and Espeon would be able to take care of them easily.  So in his arrogance, he called them out for battle.  Espeon did make quick work of Lee, but Hound saw that a Faint Attack was administered to stop it.  But the well trained Machoke took care of him and Umbreon

"Feraligator, go" Misty called her most powerful Pokemon forth

Gary countered with a Magneton.  It was at this time that Ash stumbled obscurely out of the medical area, and seeing a brawl was about to take place, took action

"Tyranitar, stop them" he commanded

A flash of white light between Feraligator and Magneton signalled the arrival of the highly rare and powerful Tyranitar; so rare that few trainers had one.  The creature was as tall as the building it stood in and was literally built like a mountain: its skin was almost a foot thick of solid rock.  With ease it stood between the smaller Magneton and held back the Feraligator with little difficulty

"Stop fighting, it doesn't become you, Misty" Ash said

"You!" Gary yelled and ran at Ash, not realising his mistake in time

Tyranitar picked him up and held him in his jaws by the shirt: it was fiercely loyal to Ash

"Stay away from my friends, freak" Gary snapped, while wriggling in the mouth of Tyranitar

The word 'freak' his Ash like freight train and his eyes went watery: Misty half hopped that Tyranitar got very hungry in the next thirty seconds.

"Tyranitar, drop him" Ash commanded

{But-} the big Pokemon protested

"Just put him down.  He isn't worth it" Ash said and hobbled towards his fainted Pokemon to return them to their Pokeballs

Gary dusted himself off and shot Tyranitar a dirty look: one the Pokemon returned with equal if not greater vehemence and growled before Ash called it back to avoid more fights.  He then went to a computer and began exchanging some Pokemon.  Lee, Umbreon and Hound and the others were placed in the PC.  Ash then withdrew his best team of Pokemon:

Hariyama:  Level 52

Flygon:  Level 55

Sceptile:  Level 53

Pelipper:  Level 52

Groudon:  Level 53

Manectric:  Level 51

(A/N: this is actually my best team of Pokemon in Ruby Version)

He smiled as he received his best trained and highest level Pokemon: how he even caught one of the legendaries of Hoenn was still like 19 years of his life, a mystery but it respected him and battle hard for him.  As did the rest of these highly battle seasoned Pokemon

"Misty; can I talk to you please?" Ash asked

"Sure" she said and went over to him, glaring at Gary as she walked

Once they were in a private corner, Ash spoke

"I'm sorry if I scared you back there.  I don't where I got that power from.  I just woke up, age 19 in a forest with a Nurse Joy being held at bay by one of my Pokemon" he said

Misty couldn't help but smile at him: he was apologising for scaring her while saving her life; he was so odd

"That's okay.  I think it's kind of neat.  Maybe now Team Rocket will leave us alone forever" she said and brushed a lock of his hair from his face

Ash smiled sadly

"Oh well, at least something good came out of it" he said and laid his head on her shoulder

Gary chose that time to come storming over and was about to grab Ash; when Brock and Erika grabbed him, gagged him and hog tied him and took him upstairs to their room where they sat him down to have a 'friendly talk'

"What the hell did you think you were pulling back there?" Erika hissed

"I was keeping Misty, our friend, away from that dangerous thing" he answered

"Oh so Ash is a 'thing' now is he?" Brock asked

"He sure isn't human" Gary retorted

"Neither are Pokemon, but you get along with them okay" Erika gave Gary the illogical reasoning behind his hatred

"I can control a Pokemon, or defeat or run away from it.  But tell me, do you think we could escape him if we tried.  Can we control him if he goes crazy?  Can we defeat him in a battle?  I think not" Gary made his small speech

Brock and Erika were still unconvinced at his argument: although what happened had scared them, not as much as Team Rocket by any means, but is still scared them none the less

"Listen Gary, if Ash chooses to walk with us, we won't stop him or be rude to him.  In fact I would feel safer with him around" Erika said and left the room

Brock watched his girlfriend go and thought about her words: she'd feel safer with Ash around

[Any safer and we'd be able taken for celebrity kids] he joked to himself and turned his attention to Gary again

"Okay Gary here's the deal: if Ash asks to travel with us, he can and you have no say in it.  Keep cool, quiet and focused on what you're supposed to do and we all going to be like 5 little Fonzies" Brock outlined the situation

Downstairs Erika came upon a very cute and sugary sweet scene: Misty was asleep on the couch; Ash's lap providing a pillow: Nurse Joy had given the pair blankets.  Then she noticed a large Dragonfly looking Pokemon sitting above them on the couch with big red eyes and a long tail; it was roughly the size of a man but seemed to be lighter than it looked

"Wow, I've never seen one of them before" she said and got her Pokedex out to check it

{Flygon.  The Mystic Pokemon.  Nicknamed the 'elemental spirit of the desert' this Pokemon is coveted by trainers and collectors alike for its interesting combination of Ground/Dragon types} the Pokedex read out

"Man, you are one awesome trainer Ash, and this is a cool Pokemon" Erika said quietly and crept past them

*****************************

Ash and Misty woke up at the sound of Bon Jovi blaring out of a nearby Poke Gear: the owner apologised and went away

"Well, where to now?" Ash asked, smiling at Misty

"I dunno" she answered and smiled back at him

Brock and Erika came down and ordered breakfast

"Okay, how about we go back to Misty's place and relax for a while?" Gary said, an smirk barely suppressed

Misty visibly paled at the thought of going home: she'd left for a good reason and was not yet mentally strong enough to handle returning there.  But she stole a look at Ash and she felt strength possess her that she never knew before

"Okay, off we go" she said

Erika and Brock were a little confused as to Misty's reaction to the mention of her home town but didn't give it much thought.

So the group set of for Cerulean City, the home town of the Sensational Sisters and the Cascade Gym Badge.  Ash began to feel a slight tightening in his stomach as the group approached the city, and he noticed that Misty began to get a little apprehensive and she was sweating

[Something about this visit just isn't cricket] he thought and looked at Gary

"And I'll bet you have something to do with it, cheese dick" Ash mumbled

Upon entering the city; they saw that the whole town was in a state of celebration: out of curiosity, Brock went and asked one of the dancing locals what was going on

"One of the mayor's daughters, also a Sensational Sister, has gotten married" he answered

Just as they were about to head for the Pokemon Centre; Officer Jenny came up to them

"Misty, is that you?" she asked, incredulously

"Yeah" Misty answered sheepishly

The policewoman suddenly enveloped Misty in a big hug and was nearly sobbing

"Oh, I missed you I missed you I missed you" she cried out and nearly swung the girl around

"Thank you, Jenny" Misty gasped and hugged the policewoman back

Ash blinked at this odd display of affection from the well known law enforcer towards Misty

"So, am I going to be introduced to your new friend?" she asked, pointing at Ash

"Oh, Jenny, this is Ash.  One very amazing and unique individual" she said, making Ash blush

"Well I must say Misty, he is a fine specimen of man if ever I saw one: lucky girl" Jenny said, casting a lecherous gaze in Ash's direction

Ash just took this whole thing in his stride, although the uncharacteristic behaviour from Officer Jenny was starting to worry him a little.  Other than that; all was well; or so he thought

"Well, well.  The prodigal bitch returns" a malicious voice drawled, its words directed at Misty

Ash made an unconscious grab for a Pokeball: Manetric's because most people in Cerulean were Water Pokemon trainers

"Get lost Wave, you over preened geek" Misty hissed

"And if I don't?" he asked

Jenny stepped in before a fight erupted

"Then I'll see you taken in on harassment, Wave" Jenny said

"Well, maybe my lovely young girlfriend here will invoke the challenge" he said, putting his arm around a blonde with a bra size larger than her IQ

"That is cowardly and unfair, Wave" Brock shouted: he'd heard of this

"Well, I invoke the challenge or what ever" the blonde said

Jenny sighed and turned to Misty

"Sorry" she said

Jenny then turned to the crowd

"Is anyone here going to nominate themselves as Misty's champion?" she shouted

Ash stepped forward in an instant

"Me" he said, staring Wave in the eye

Wave laughed at the young man; but he was secretly a little worried: he'd never met a man that looked as intense and as dangerous as this one in front of him

"Well, then I accept" Wave said and the crowd gathered

Ash looked around

"Is this to be a Pokemon battle?" he asked

"Yes, with a twist: you must fight me; we fight side by side in this challenge with our Pokemon" Wave crowed, feeling sure he'd won

But Ash simply smiled and allowed Wave to call his best Pokemon: a Golem

[No doubt he anticipated that I would chose an electric type for a battle in a city renowned for its water Pokemon] he thought

Ash simply drew Sceptile's Pokeball and threw it in, grinning coolly

"Sceptile, Leaf Blade attack" Ash said.

Sceptile grinned at its opponent, baring sharp needle like teeth as it shot a leaf covered vine from each hand at the Golem; the leaves whipped around the rock Pokemon for a few seconds, cutting into it's hide and making it faint.  Sceptile returned to behind his master and Ash stepped forward

"Your turn" he said and launched himself at Wave

The pair connected with a bang and the fight was on.  Punches, kicks, elbows and knees were thrown and some were blocked and others connected.  The fight lasted for almost an hour before Ash, deciding that the fight had gone on long enough, grabbed Wave's arm and twisted it behind his back

"Now listen to me, very carefully: if you come within a thousand miles of that girl; I'm gonna get nasty, understand me?" he asked

"Yeah" Wave grunted

Ash let him go and sent him sprawling into the dirt, making the crowd gasp in surprise: no one had ever taken on Wave and beaten him, until now.  After a second of silence, the crowd erupted in cheers and shouts to the victor.

"Well, that was amazing" Jenny said

Wave got up and shot a nasty scowl at Ash, and Misty

"I'll get you both for this, mark my words brats.  I will have the wench" he cried out

Ash sorely wanted to transform and just whoop the little son of a bitch into next week but it was a little unwise given everyone else at the square would be affected by it.  And besides, he had to find out what the aftermath of the challenge was.

"So, what happens now?" asked Officer Jenny and Misty

They were giggling at Ash's confusion, it irked the young trainer a little but he just stared at them rather than speak; and waited for them to explain what was going to be happening

"You generally are now considered Misty's lover" Jenny said, making both him and Misty blush

[Well, a positive outcome] he thought with mirth and smiled, a little slyly at Misty

She returned the sly gaze with one of her own: Jenny saw this and giggled more at the exchange

"Oh well, it seems as if you beat the challenge to the punch" she crowed

With that the pair were taken to a tavern and drinks were on the house: all night

****************************

Wave was not a man of conscience but he was a man of means and high connections: one of such connections was Archie of Team Aqua: a rogue group of Water Pokemon trainers who took joy in hurting others: like Team Rocket only much smarter and less well known

"Archie, brother, it's Wave" he said

"Ah hello Wave: what can I do for you?" Archie asked

"She's back" Wave said and hung up

Archie listened to dead line tone contemplating this new information: he had been waiting many months for the return of Misty Waterflower and now she was here: a feral smirk grew like a cancer across his drawn face

"Excellent: this time, we are ready" he said and looked out of a window at his newest investment: the Vanguard.

A solid 200 tons of heavy metal machinery: a two leg combat suit for the army as a heavy assault and siege weapon with enough raw weaponry power to level a city block in a few volleys.  Archie picked up a phone and dialled an internal line

"Is the Vanguard ready?" he asked

"Aside from the extra sheet armour to go on; yes.  By 9 tomorrow morning this baby and its brothers are good to go" his engineer said

"Good.  We move out at noon tomorrow" he said and hung up

************************

Ash woke up on a bed: he could feel a soft warm lump beside him and he prayed to almighty god it wasn't who he thought it was.  Cringing he turned over and his fears were abated: although it was Misty beside him, a quick inspection revealed both of them were still fully clothed

[Much more relaxing] he thought and slipped an arm around the young woman

As he relaxed; Ash debated what to do if he ever had to transform to save her life in public: when push came to shove he'd be there in a heart beat no questions asked.  What concerned him were the repercussions in Cerulean City; this was Misty's home after all.

[I don't want to create disharmony in her home] he thought

The introspection lasted a few hours as both were as tired as all hell from an all night piss up and party with lots of dancing.  It was in fact nearly 11 when Misty and Ash finally emerged from the bedroom at the pub they stayed at and were greeted form a cadre of whistles and cheers from their friends, except Gary who had not joined in last evenings festivities and was at present nowhere to be found.

"Well, Misty you have bagged a good 'un" Jenny said, wincing from her monster hangover

Ash, smiling slyly, snaked an arm around Misty's waist with a look of pride

[And after his little display on the road the other day, so he should], Brock felt confident in the idea that Misty was now more safe from harm than she was with her Pokemon

The group simply relaxed and laid about for the most part near the lakes swimming and laughing.  It was at around 11 that Misty looked at her watch and felt really hungry so she decided to go into the city for lunch

"Guys, I'll be back in an hour or so, k?" she called

Ash was reluctant to let her go alone but he remembered, Wave was a weak trainer and if he attacked Misty she'd cream him anyway.  So Misty jogged back to the city to get her lunch.

************************

Archie was waiting in the mountains just outside Cerulean with his Vanguard unit: 15 strong, with that much firepower under his control, he could just launch an assault from his current position and level the city in a few minutes but that was not his style nor did he need the tag of mass murderer on top of thief and extorter.  Of course murder on its own wasn't too good either.

"Archie to advance team: target has entered the city.  Get her" he said

"Yes sir" a crackled voice replied from the radio

Archie then sat back and waited: his teams should be able to get her with minimal fuss.  Unfortunately he was wrong and he got a call back saying that her Pokemon had fought them off with ease, so, Archie decided it was time to test the Vanguard units

"Men, move out" he ordered and lowered himself into the lead Vanguard

The large machines roared to life and sped towards their quarry: Misty Waterflower

Misty was staring at the motley looking group of trainers before here: she had just delivered a fine thrashing and was curious to know why the attacked her in the first place; a policeman was jogging over to see what all the fuss was about when 15 large machines smashed through the city walls and surrounded Misty and her Blastoise

"Miss Waterflower, a pleasure to meet you again" Archie spoke through the loud speaker

"Archie of Team Aqua, a disgrace to all water Pokemon and water trainers" she retorted

Blastoise saw that his mistress was in trouble and took a position of defence, as did Misty's other loyal Pokemon.  Archie smiled in the cockpit of his Vanguard

"Unless you wish to see that Blastoise riddled with bullets, I suggest that you recall him now" he oozed

Misty gasped: would Archie really shoot a Pokemon: against small bands and other Pokemon, hers would be an excellent defence, but she was up against military combat units with high powered weapons.  Pokemon were used in sport, not warfare.

"All of you; return now" she commanded them

The Pokemon were a little shocked at her command as it would leave her defenceless against her assailants

"Do it now" she snapped

They agreed under protest and returned to their Pokeballs

"What do you want Archie?" Misty demanded

"Well, last I checked there was a certain score between you and I, one that will be settled now" he said and trained his main guns on Misty

Misty gulped as she stared down the barrels of a chain cannon

"Although originally I was to simply take you and then there would be a large and over complicated plot to this, I have decided to kill you instead" he said

*********************

Meanwhile, Ash was coming back to the city; he'd heard the roar of the Vanguard and was curious to know what made the noise so he followed it back to the city.  What he saw chilled him: Misty was surrounded by 15 large mechanoids with heavy weapons: one of which was trained on Misty.  Sirens alerted his other friends who joined him shortly afterwards.

"He's going to kill her" Jenny shrieked

"Oh no he isn't" he said and ran towards them: they had since been surrounded by the police and some form of National Guard

Jenny tried to stop Ash in what was to her clearly a suicide mission, but Brock and Erika stopped her and smiled

"Just watch this" they said

Jenny stared as Ash retrieved a green crystal and cried out 2 words Misty had heard once before

"TEKKAMAN BLADE"

A bright green glow now permeated the area and caused all to stare at it as it moved at high speed up into the air.  Soon the glow faded, leaving the figure identified as Tekkaman Blade in the air.  But not for long, his left eye went green and he shot down like an arrow and went straight for Misty.

"Gotcha" he said and whizzed towards their friends with her

Ash then put Misty on the ground and turned towards his adversaries.  Before Archie could speak Ash drew his lance and held it in a guard position

"That small flight suit may be fast, but it has nothing like this in its arsenal I bet" Archie boasted and shot Ash with a large 22 inch shell from the main gun

Ash smirked inside his helmet and caught the projectile easily in his free hand and held it up for Archie to see; then he crushed it, causing an explosion.  Any glee Archie saw had from seeing that vanished when the smoke cleared and he saw this suit wearer still standing with not a scratch on him

"I'll make this short and sweet, dickhead.  Leave now or face my wrath" Ash stated

"Even if you can catch those rounds, can you beat all of us?" Archie crowed

"Fuck off or you'll find out" Ash replied

Archie and all his men then let fly with all their weapons.  Ash dodged them all and flew onto an abandoned building

"You missed" he called out

"Did I?" Archie intoned and shot the building's supports out

This caused it logically to collapse and when a beam caught Ash on the shoulder; he too went down and was buried amongst the rubble.

[No, please no] Misty silently begged Ash would do something like last time to survive the attack

"Now, where were we?" Archie said and returned his attention to Misty

But then a deep rumbling sound started the shake the very city at its foundations: it was coming from the rubble: then the top area flung on all different directions to reveal Ash, but he was different: his armour was sharper and there were more spikes and a pair of long spires went down his back

"You were warned" he snarled

He then flew around the Vanguards and using his lance, cut the legs off each one, causing them to land in a huge heap.  Ash held one arm forward, opening a blast canopy and he sorely wanted to charge it up and fire, but he wasn't going to

"I'll let the authorities take care of you" he rasped and powered his weapon down but did not transform back to normal

He then began to walk back to his friends while the people of Cerulean parted like the red sea before him.  Jenny and Misty ran up to support him since it was evident that his heightened state of power caused him great fatigue from the way he was leaning on his lance as if it were a stick

"You okay?" he asked Misty

She smiled up at him, and even with his helmet on she could tell Ash was smiling.  Unbeknownst to them, Archie was aiming his main chain cannon at them; if he was going down he would at least complete his objective in the process

*WHIIIIIR*

The cannon made a whir noise as it fired.  The gun, being at an odd angle made targeting difficult, so much so that fortunately only one bullet actually hit Misty in the abdomen, going straight through her, the other bullets went into the sky and some ricocheted off Ash's armour.  When Misty was hit, Ash spun around in white fury and aimed his main weapons at Archie's suit

"VOL TEKKA" he screamed

The green energy weapon fired its deadly elemental payload, hitting the Vanguard robots and obliterating them.  A medic was summoned to Misty's side for treatment

"She's losing blood fast; we need to get her to a hospital" he said

Brock went pale; Cerulean Hospital was under heavy refurbishment and as result, its facilities were questionable.  The closest City was Pewter; his home town and the fastest way there was flight

"Ash, if the medic secures Misty, will you fly her to Pewter?" he asked

"Need you ask?" Ash replied

Jenny ordered the medic to do as much as he could to keep her alive; they needed at least twenty minutes for flight.  At least they thought they did: in his Teknoman Plus form, Ash could travel at 10 times the speed of sound: he would reach the city in less than five minutes

"Okay, she's set to go" the medic said and let Ash pick her up

With a mighty burst of his back thrusters, Ash took off into the sky, a man possessed to save the woman in his arms.

**************************

Vol Tekka = this really means the Teknobolts thing from chapter 1, but I saw Japanese ep of Tekkaman Blade and the Japanese words sound way cooler than their English equivalent