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Chapter TWO, BEGINNINGS BRIGHT

The Falcon

Thank you, everyone who reviewed! Remember, a happy Falcon is a much, much more pleasant Falcon.

To:

Marshmellow13dragon: It's done, I completely forgot about the crossover section! -smacks self- Random stupid moments, you know, I'm prone to them. Also, the rating was supposed to be PG-13... Oops. I'm just lucky that that chapter was a nice one.. Hehehehe..

Wrathofheaven: Thanks so much for reviewing, I will definitely be keeping this up. See, thing is, I wrote this a long time ago, so now I'm doing editing on it, and what not. Basically, I have the entire story in it's raw form, but I update as I edit. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at editing my own stuff, I can get super-critical.

TheShadowPanther: Panther-chan, Panther-chan!!! -shrieks like a schoolgirl (Actually, I AM a schoolgirl!) and dances in a circle- You're here, you're here, Fal-chan is so happy!! I take it that you like what I've done with this dusty little thing? -tilts head-

Tobi: You'd better, after all the inspiring I had to do.

Falcon: -hugs chibi-muse tight- Aw, you know I love you, Tobi-chan! I love you very, very much. -glances at Panther's smirk- What?!! -giggles- He's so cute! My fiend Toad always asks me how I came up with such a cute character, and I only grin at her. By the way, how's my little Kyo-chan? Is he being good?

Suuki-Aldrea: Thank you! Keep reading, I'm sure you'll like it! -beams and waves-

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By the way, when I changed this to Anime x-overs, so if you reviewed and I lost your review, please tell me so I can put you on the thank you list! -puppy eyes-

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Later, Ash was grinning broadly as he hooked his newest pokemon onto his belt. He had just caught a level eight Poocheyena and had promptly named her Chibi, due to her small size. Pikachu was still walking on air from the battle. Suddenly, a trainer burst out of the bush. He was a bug catcher, judging by the net and shorts, and he pointed at Ash.

"I challenge you to a battle!" The kid yelled, whipping out a pokeball. Though none of his pokemon had a direct advantage over bug types Ash didn't balk in the least. He needed to train his pokemon anyway.

"I accept your challenge!" Ash declared in the traditional, formal acceptation, fingering Chibi's pokeball. Tossing it, the little dog burst out to face nasty looking Dustox. Chibi wasn't full strength, Ash only had a potion on him and when she caught sight of the huge moth she yelped and ducked behind Ash's legs. The ebony haired boy sighed. That was one of Dustox's special techniques, Scare. The ten year old reached around him and placed Chibi in front of him. Quietly, he patted her head and said, "It's going to be okay, don't be scared."

::Yeah, don't let that ugly thing psych you out!:: Pikachu encouraged. It was obviously too late, as the puppy was shaking from fear.

Ash's opponent began to laugh and point.

"Hahaha! What a wuss! Why would you have a weakling like that?! Where'd you get that thing anyway, a Goodwill? The Salvation Army?" Ash's eyes blazed and flashed turquoise a few times, it went unnoticed by all except his pokemon. His hands clenched and unclenched, as if wanting to strangulate someone, which in this case he did. No one insulted his pokemon!! "Shut up!! Bet you think you're some kind of big shot, huh? Well let me tell you something right now, no one gets away with calling my pokemon weaklings!"

As she heard this, Chibi's crimson eyes widened as she listened to what her master was saying. He really cared that much for her? All wild pokemon said that humans were horrible, but this one didn't seem so bad! Suddenly, the short human Ash was facing called him a loser and Chibi's eyes flashed angrily. With a brand new change of heart Chibi shot forward like a black fireball, staring defiantly up at the moth.

Ash grinned at the display and yelled, "Darkness Blast!!"

::You got it master!:: With a short nod Chibi was engulfed in a shimmering black aura, and with a sharp howl of pure rage a black beam shot out and was brought down the Dustox. It was promptly recalled and, after grudgingly tossing Ash some money, the permanently unnamed trainer left.

"Wait!", Ash shouted, throwing out a hand, "You have an apology to make! You called me a pathetic trainer and Chibi a weakling!" The trainer made no response and Chibi growled. Ash sighed and shook his head. Some people just couldn't admit they were wrong. Not wanting to get himself down Ash thanked Chibi after giving her a red pokeblock as a reward. Pikachu flashed the thumbs up sign that she had learned from Ash, as well as the famous eye roll.

::You go! Girl, you got it goin' on!:: Chibi grinned as she was recalled. Using his ki to float up into a pine tree, Ash stared at his pokeballs. He had Pikachu, Stormeon, and Chibi, that really wasn't very many compared to other trainers, but he couldn't bring himself to be discouraged. Ash couldn't stand people who had so many pokemon that they couldn't remember what they had, people like that disgusted him. Sighing, he leaned back and Pikachu curled up on his lap. It was definitely time for a nap, he was beat...

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"Wahoo!!!" Ash whooped like some demented jock as his new Vulpix was transported into the star shaped blue pendant he wore around his neck. A few days ago, he caught his 7th pokemon and, not wanting to separate from him installed a mini P.C. in his pendant so that he could carry them all with him. The little P.C. was even more advanced than even the most high tech, it could hold an unlimited amount of anything, be it pokeballs or a lifetime supply of papayas. All it had taken him was the knowledge of Capsule Corps. technology and his own creativity and intelligence to create what he now wore about his neck.

Pikachu, from up in a tree, tossed him an apple and Ash let out the rest of his pokemon for a bit of R&R. He noted with great pride that they were all very happy to see him, and that they appeared to be in good health, showing off a lot of love and care. There was Pikachu, Stormeon, and Chibi, of course, but there was also Skit-chan, a Skitty; Amethyst, a Sableye; and Tai-tai, a Swellow.

"Oi Pikachu! Do you mind tossing down a few more?" Ash yelled to his electric pal. Pikachu nodded and threw down several more apples. Despite the fact that Tai-tai, Skit-chan, and Amethyst were carnivores they all dug in. Ash himself was a vegetarian, he couldn't stand meat ever since he, Oak, and Shigeru had gone to a restaurant and his rival/friend had ordered fried Pidgey. Ash had a Pidgeotto himself and he felt that if he ate a pokemon he would be betraying his own.

Strangely enough, all of his other pokemon followed his example and even though they weren't supposed to be able to digest fruits and veggies they did anyway despite Ash's protests. So now they all sat on the ground, crunching contentedly. Skit-chan and Pikachu were fighting over possession of Ash's lap and hissing angrily at each other. Sighing, Ash separated the two and sat them apart from each other, though the cat and mouse still shot dirty looks at the other. Stormy and Tai-tai, the calmer ones snickered and a triumphant Chibi stole Pikachu and Skit-chan's well fought over spot but backed off when the two snarled at her. Ash shook his head; those two would never quit.

A stamping suddenly caught Ash's attention and he quieted his pokemon, peering through a bush to see what was out there. A beautiful young Ponyta was on her hind legs with her fronts pressed against the trunk of an especially tall tree, stretching her neck out to reach one of the fruits. Unfortunately, seeing as how Ponyta are only about 4 feet at the shoulder her efforts were in vain. Ash teleported into a nearby tree, careful not to make any noise.

None of Ash's pokemon startled easily, they had long since gotten used to their master's oddities, or as he put it, quote, "My freakish traits," so they were more than a bit surprised when he made sure to be completely silent. Smiling slightly, Ash clicked his tongue loudly, getting the full attention of the flame horse. Ponyta were unknown in this region, and the thought of the only reason the pokemon could have gotten into Viridian Forest saddened the Saiyan when he realized it.

Abandonment.

Ash had met many pokemon who had been abandoned, they were always very jumpy and untrusting. Not that he could blame them. Come to think of it, Ash was very much the same way. Untrusting, fearful of being left, of being used, of being a toy for others to use. No, Ash couldn't blame those abandoned pokemon at all. But this Ponyta didn't look abandoned, it's coat was shiny, if not just a bit muddy -no doubt from some frolic in a mud puddle- and her flames were strong, proving that she was indeed healthy.

A pair of chocolate brown eyes stared at the saiyan perching on the branch and Ash stumbled for his sketchbook, beginning to draw a pic of the horse. Soon dismissing him as a non-threat, Ponyta began grazing, giving up on the tree. After a few minutes, Ash heard steps come into the clearing and a young girl walked up to the Ponyta, who nickered and rubbed up against her affectionately.

Smiling, knowing he couldn't be seen, Ash did a quick sketch of the person who was obviously the trainer scratching Ponyta behind the ears. Apart from simply drawing pokemon, Ash's favorite things to draw were of people and pokemon together. Apart from taking care of them in general, it was probably one of his favorite hobbies.

He had drawings of Shigeru and Eevee, he and Pikachu, even some of just random trainers he saw along the way. He figured it reminded him of what he didn't have, back where he came from. Back there was no peace and after living here Ash realized just what he had missed out on. After coming here, Ash had realized what an emotional train wreck he had been, he swore that even now he still had some problems.

It had been a good decision in his opinion, if not slightly cowardly, but it had been a good one to run. Deep in his mind, Ash wondered if anyone missed him. He felt a slight twang of regret when he thought about Piccolo but pushed it aside. For all he knew, his dimension had been destroyed by some insane bastard but he knew that he couldn't dwell. He couldn't more of a coward by feeling sorry for himself. Ash snapped himself out of his pity party as Pikachu sneezed. The girl looked up and saw Pikachu before walking over.

"Hi there." Her voice had a bit of a southern accent and Pikachu edged away, proving that she hadn't quite gotten over her little habit of being edgy of strangers. "Who do you belong to? Oh, there's a whole bunch of you! Were ya'll abandoned?" At the same time all of the pokemon protested angrily and loudly Ash spoke up, more than a little vexed off.

"No, they most certainly are not abandoned! No decent trainer leaves their pokemon."

The girl looked up and saw Ash sitting on a branch, ebony eyes slightly cold. She scowled. "Well I should hope not! Um, what are ya doing up in that tree anyway?"

Ash blushed slightly. He didn't like being caught doing anything, good or bad, so he automatically went on the defensive. "Just drawing." He said shortly. To his shock, the girl scrambled up and sat next to him, staring over his shoulder at the now closed book.

"Can I see it? Just a little peek?" She asked. Ash was hesitant, but his mother's initial training of being nice to girls stuck and he reluctantly handed it over. The girl smiled.

"My name's Lara."

"Ash."

"Do you have a last name to go with it?"

"Do you?"

"Point taken. Wow! These are really good!" Lara exclaimed, browsing over artwork. Ash's blush deepened and he scratched Pikachu's ears, the little rodent had come up to sit with him. Then Lara came to the last one and she gaped. It was the one he had done of Ponyta and her and, quite frankly, it was very good. "Say Ash, do you mind if I keep this one? I like it a lot! Wow, it's so cute!"

Ash shrugged. "Knock yourself out." The saiyan said in a dry tone of voice. He didn't believe that his art was that good, but if someone liked it he was happy to oblige. That boy needed to get out more, Lara decided, if he was that willing to give away art that good..

Lara placed her hands on her hips as she took the picture after it was carefully torn out. "Is that all you're gonna say? I mean, these are really good! How do you do it?"

Ash shrugged again. "I just draw what I see. There's not much to it. I just love to draw pokemon!"

Lara noticed that Ash's ebony eyes lit up just at the mention of pokemon, it was the most emotion she had seen from him and she smiled. "I love to draw pictures of Ponyta, she's the most important thing to me! Of course, they aren't as good as yours-"

"Don't say that! You shouldn't put yourself down like that."

"Well look at the Clefairy calling Jigglypuff pink!"

"Wrong! I didn't put myself down! I just don't draw attention to myself!" Ash was getting riled. That was another thing he hadn't had nearly enough of where he came from, someone to bicker with, and he found that he was quite good at it. Lara pointed her finger in a gun sign.

"Touché! Spoken like a true smartass. So, what are you doing out here?" Ash shot her a small smile.

"How about we get out of this tree?" Lara nodded.

"Yeah, that would probably help."

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"So that's about it, I'm taking the gym challenge." Ash finished after putting his pokemon away and absently stroking Lara's Ponyta's velvety nose. "What about you?" Lara smiled.

"Same, in a way. See, I'm kinda out to prove a point. My family has always trained Ponyta, but the problem is that they've done it so long that they don't think I can do anything else and get out of the family business. I love Ponyta, and I love my family," She added quickly, "But I want to get out and do what I want!"

"So, in a nutshell, you're out to prove them wrong." Ash interrupted.

Lara nodded. "Yeah, so I ran, saying I wouldn't come back until I'm a champion!"

::Hey Gohan, sounds like someone we know huh?:: Pikachu asked sneakily.

"Quiet you." Ash remarked. It was then that Lara got an idea.

"Hey Ash, since we're going the same place, why don't we travel together?"

Ash was tempted, he really was.... but, "I'm very sorry, but I have to decline. This is just something I have to do on my own."

Lara didn't seem put off by this though. "It's okay, no hard feelings. I completely understand. I'd better go anyway, I need to finish exercising Ponyta." The girl got up and hopped on her horse. "Oh, by the way, could you sign this?" Lara held out the picture and Ash signed it, making a minuscule and unreadable signature of Son Gohan along with Ash. "Arigatou!" With that, Lara rode off, waving as she did and sending up a large spray of dirt.

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"So, this is Pewter City." Ash said quietly after getting out of the forest. Pikachu sweatdropped.

::It's rather.... Grey::

Ash smirked and patted Pikachu's head. The little pokemon was notorious for loving color and he knew that the drab city would drive her positively mad. Ash wasn't too happy about this city, he got a bad feeling as he came in, like bad ki was about. But he scoped it out, there wasn't anything excruciatingly bad around; it was just a feeling. Despite that, Ash wanted to get out so he decided that it would be a quick trip to the gym then get out. He instantly found it, and not surprisingly, it was grey.

Ash sweatdropped, couldn't they pick another color? This place made him want to take out his magic marker and color the town red. Or blue. Or green. Whatever color he had on him, it didn't matter. Pushing the doors open, Ash walked into the gym, then got tackled by a bunch of little kids. The demi-saiyan yelped but didn't shove them off by force, he didn't want to hurt anyone....

"Get out!" A little boy yelled. "You can't battle our brother, it's his day off!!"

"Calm down, and get off the challenger."

Ash whirled to see an older boy standing behind them. His hair was kind of messy and his eyes were squinty, but he looked like a decent guy overall.

"Gomen, about my siblings. I just don't get many days off... But as a gym leader it's my duty to accept all challengers. Let's battle!" Suddenly, what the problem was became quite clear to the trainer and he blushed.

"Oh Kami, if it's your day off, I don't have to battle now..."

::Gohan!! What happened to wanting to get out of this place?:: Pikachu protested, and Brock waved his hand absently.

"Hey, I'm a gym leader, it's my duty to accept. Now let's battle!" Ash was a bit hesitant, but pulled out Stormeon's pokeball, she would be best against rock types. Brock tossed a ball into the arena and an Onix reared it's head in an effort to appear intimidating. Stormeon was not impressed.

::Hey! Is that all you got?! Durn it, I wanted a challenge!::

::Snotty little upstart!!!:: Onyx roared.

"Stormeon, Rain Wind attack!" Stormeon nodded. Rain Wind was a newly learned attack, but was very accurate and very powerful. It was basically an onslaught of rain along with lightning and wind. It was super effective against Onix, who instantly fainted. Stormeon trotted up to Ash with a very pleased look on her face.

::Gohan, how'd I do?:: Ash grinned and stroked her head.

"You did great Stormy." Brock blinked. He had never been defeated so easily before and his ego would hurt for quite awhile. Frowning slightly, he handed Ash the badge and asked,

"Hey kid, how long have you been training?" Ash quirked his eyebrow, not sure if this was a trick question.

"I've been on the road for about two weeks. What's it to ya?" He asked suspiciously.

"Nothing really, you're just a lot better than most of the brats that come through here. Actually, I only recently got beaten a few days ago by another kid. He looked about your age, brown hair and eyes; came from Pallet. Y'know him?" Suddenly, it came to Ash.

"Oh! So Shigeru's already been by here. Hm, I must be really behind."

::Hey! Don't worry about it, we'll get him!:: Pikachu declared. Ash grinned and petted Pikachu on the head before leaving the gym with a goodbye. As soon as the saiyan stepped out onto the street he tied to locate Shigeru's ki. The boy wasn't too far, just in the pokemon center on the other side of town. No worries.

Suddenly Ash spotted a candy store and Pikachu tugged on his headband.

::Gohan, can we go? Plleeeaaaasee?:: Instantly Pikachu turned on the puppy stare and Ash nodded. Huge shiawase bubbles filled the street, attacking bystanders and Pikachu's eyes got all shimmery as they walked into the store. When they left the bubbles popped, splattering everyone in the street with bubble goo. When they got inside, Ash let out Stormy, Amethyst, Skit-chan, Tai-tai, and Chibi before instructing them to stay put until he got back and handing each of them some money.

"Tai-tai, don't let them eat anything before they buy it." Ash said as an afterthought. Tai-tai was the responsible one and Ash knew how prone his pokemon were to be tempted. Skit-chan mewed in protest at him.

::Hey, don't you trust us?:: Ash grinned and wagged a finger at the little cat.

"I trust you guys with my life, just not with the candy." Several protests were heard but were soon silenced by Pikachu's affirmative of the order. Before he left though Ash leaned onto the counter and whispered to the kind looking lady who ran the store,

"If they get too rowdy feel free to use a cattle prod." She grinned at him and glanced at the group of six who had heard him and were now playing innocent. Ash could just see the little devil horns popping out of their heads.

When he left, sufficiently sure his pals would be good, Ash headed straight over to the and bought potions, pokeballs and more pokefood for his little friends. When he got back however, all of his pokemon were clutching bags of candy.

Well, all but one. Tai-tai. Slightly concerned, Ash knelt down and asked,

"Tai, are you okay? I've never known you to refuse the prospect of sweets." Smiling, if that was possible for a bird, which it was, Tai-tai rubbed her head against Ash's shoulder, cooing reassuringly.

::I'm fine, don't worry about me. I just want to buy something different though.:: Ash raised and eyebrow but asked,

"What did you have in mind Tai?"

::I wanna stuffed animal.:: Ash's eyebrow disappeared into his hairline but he didn't question his pokemon. Maybe she just wanted something to cuddle once in a while. It wasn't that unusual, Hell, even Ash had a plushy; a Charizard. Though Ash would never admit it. He smiled and nodded.

"Okay, we can do that. Just let me get some Gummy Gators." Pikachu grinned and held up a second bag that was full of the said candy. Ash took it, thanking her. Pikachu always seemed to know what he wanted or needed, sometimes it was a curse when he just wanted to be left alone, other times it was a convenience, like now.

"Okay then. There's a toy store down the street. " When they got to the store Tai-tai began inspecting every plushy there. She didn't want something too hard, or anything she would sink into. Finally, found the perfect one. It was a medium sized clown fish and when she squeezed it was very huggable but not floppy. Just perfect.

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"Oh man, I'm tired." Ash said as collapsed into a chair at the pokemon center by the Pewter gym. As it turned out, they had missed Shigeru by an hour and though Ash was a bit bummed out he didn't worry too much. With luck they would be able to reach Mt. Moon by tomorrow but there was no sense in traveling in the dark so Ash decided he would wait. Besides, pokecenters had good food and as everyone knows, saiyans like their food. Ash grinned as he patted Pikachu who was sitting on his lap and browsed through his pokedex when the video phone rang.

The trainer ignored it until a Nurse Joy stuck her head out and said, "There's a phone call for someone named Ashura, from Pallet. Is there anyone named Ashura here?" Ash blushed and picked up the phone. Professor Oak's face appeared on the screen and he waved.

"Hi Oak-sama! What's up?" Oak smiled at the childish gesture and replied,

"I just wanted to know how you were doing. I already talked to Shigeru but I was afraid I had missed you. Also, I was wondering why you were slacking off on catching pokemon, you haven't sent me any." Ash choked. He really didn't want to reveal the little device he had made yet, if he did Oak would want to see it and Ash didn't want any attention over it. So he did the only thing he could. Pretended he was a slacker. "Um, well, I've already got a full team and I don't really want to separate any of them." Not a full lie, but either way, Ash cursed his lack of ability to do it.

Oak waggled his finger at him. "Now Ashura, you know I'm counting on you and Shigeru to-"

"Complete the pokedex, I know Oak-sama, I know." Ash interrupted, absently rubbing Pikachu's ears.

"By the way Ash, did you read the paper this morning?" Oak asked. Ash blinked.

"No, I didn't have time. Why? Did something happen?"

"Oh yes, I would say so!" Oak exclaimed, standing up. "The police have closed off Mt. Moon for maybe forever! Something happened to the Clefairy in there and now they're metrenoming everyone who sets foot in there! Shigeru already set off to try and help but I don't know how much luck he'll have. Clefairy are stubborn creatures, do you think you can go over and check it out? I haven't had word from my grandson yet!" Ash nodded and stood, making to hang up. But before he did, he said enthusiastically,

"Yep, I'll try my best, how good that is I don't know but I'll try. As soon as I get back I'll call you, Bye!" Grabbing his pokeballs Ash placed Pikachu onto his shoulder and dashed out the door to make his way to Mt. Moon. It wasn't difficult to find, the sirens and police cars that blocked it off, yellow tape, and explosions every few minutes were a little hard to miss. Vaguely, Ash wondered how he was going to get in, it was completely blocked, he would have to find a back way, but he couldn't be seen doing it. then, he was reminded of a training game he and Vegeta had played while they were training for the androids.

Vegeta had called it, Sneak In: Get Caught And You Die, Brat of Kakkorat. Yep, that would work.

Making sure to keep low to the ground, Ash slunk through the bushes, ignoring the thorns that tried to tear at him, after seeing the officer Jenny's crowded around. With a light growl, Ash continued until he was in back of the cave, where there was no protection. Apparently, there was a reason for that, as there didn't seem to be an entrance. But Ash didn't see how that could be, he didn't see Shigeru lurking around outside and he couldn't have gotten through, then a small indentation crossed his vision.

Then he remembered an old Indiana Jones movie he had seen once, Something- Lost Temple of Doom, or as Vegeta called it, That Guy is A Baka, Just Blast the Damn Door!! Ash sighed and, figuring it wouldn't hurt to try, placed his hand on the indentation and pushed. Silently a section of the cave turned, creating a space just big enough for a child, or perhaps a small adult to pass through. Ash grinned, now he knew how Shigeru had gotten through and stepped into the cave.

It was pitch black and with a slight whimper Pikachu crept onto his head and stayed there. Shaking his head, Ash took off his pendant and called out softly,

"Quilava." With a soft flash, the fire pokemon stood in front of him before affectionately rubbing his leg. "Okay, okay Quilava. I need you to flare up your flames." Nodding, the pokemon obeyed, sending red light dancing on the walls. There didn't seem to be a single sign of life, until an explosion rocked the entire cave, sending Ash and Quilava against the wall. Slightly illuminated by the flames, Ash could see a very angry looking Clefairy standing there.

::Hey, human, get out of our cave!:: At the insulting tone Pikachu leapt forward and growled at the pink powderpuff, thoroughly furious.

::Oi, Gohan has a name!! Don't you lump him in with the rest!:: Before an all out brawl could occur, Ash stepped between the hissing Pikachu and held out his hands in sort of a Peace gesture.

"Clefairy, what's happening here? Why are you hurting people who just want to help you?!"

::Humans hurt us first! They come in and destroy our cave, steal our stones, and hurt the other pokemon!::

"Who?" Ash asked, confused.

::How should I know? They wear black and white uniforms with a weird human 'R' symbol on the front!:: Ash blinked.

"An 'R' symbol? You mean Team Rocket?!" Clefairy nodded.

::How would I know what you humans refer to them as?:: This was spat out in contempt, and the saiyan winced.

"Are there any other people in here?" Clefairy nodded again.

::Yes, my comrades are fending them off, just like I'll do to you, human!:: Clefairy made to create a metronome but before it could let loose the cave rocked and bits of ceiling fell, but luckily landed on Ash's hard saiyan head. Wincing, he rubbed it. Suddenly, Ash heard what was supposed to be sinister laughter and whirled around to face two Team Rocket agents, in blood red uniforms with white Rs on them.

"What do you want?" Ash snarled and Pikachu 'pika'd' in agreement. The pair smirked at him.

"We want your pokemon, and your life. Stupid kid." Ash growled and threw his arms out to the sides in front of Clefairy and Pikachu, who was on the ground hissing. "Never, temae!!" Vaguely in the back of his mind, Ash knew that his mother would have a fit if she heard his language these days.

"Oooh, so that baby brat knows some cuss words."

"I know more than cuss words. Pikachu, get ready." Pikachu nodded an affirmative and ducked between Ash's legs, cheeks already sparking in the prospect of battle. One of the Rockets threw a pokeball and a Flareon appeared. Ash blanched, there had been several Flareon at Oak's lab, they were tough and Pikachu had nearly been taken down. This one looked no different, it was well conditioned and trained, but there was none of the trust and friendship that were in the others. Glaring, Pikachu leapt forward and hissed again, apparently ready for battle.

"Okay Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Pikachu nodded an affirmative and sent out the large jolt of electricity, but missed as the Flareon dodged.

"Flareon, use extreme speed!" Within seconds of the order Flareon had used extreme speed, nearly taking out all of Pikachu's HP. Gritting her teeth, Pikachu stood shakily and looked to Ash, who was having a bit of a panic attack.

"Pikachu, um, use Shock Wave!" With a flash of light the attack hit right on, not making a large dent in HP but paralyzing Flareon fully. "Great Pikachu, we can turn this battle around! Now, use Thunder!" The thunder hit the paralyzed pokemon and took it out and with an anguished howl it collapsed before being returned. The Rockets then ran away, yelling about how they were going to get stronger members. Pikachu pika'd in triumph and leapt to Ash's shoulder. The saiyan turned to the Clefairy.

"Are you okay?"

::Why did you help me?:: Ash sighed.

"I told you, I don't mean any harm. I don't like Team Rocket in this cave any more than you do." Clefairy stared at him.

::Well, you don't seem too bad. I suppose if you want to help I can take you to the leader, she might appreciate it.:: Ash nodded.

"Great! Lead the way!"

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Meanwhile, Shigeru was making his own progress, though in a different way. Eevee and the rest of his pokemon were fighting tooth and nail against at least 10 rockets, and though they were plowing through the pack it wasn't easy going. Eevee was faced off against a nasty looking Exploud and wasn't faring too well. His HP was nearly at zero but he continued to stand.

A rocket shouted, "Exploud, body slam that little runt!!" Shigeru was about to scream for Eevee to avoid it when a little streak shot in front of the weakened pokemon and slammed against Exploud, forcing it back. The streak stopped, and Shigeru could make out a slender outline and blue coloring. He could have recognized that pokemon anywhere!

"Stormeon....?" Then the boy heard footsteps coming down the tunnel and a voice called out.

"Oi, Shigeru! You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks!"

"No prob!" Ash skidded to a stop beside Shigeru and Stormeon trotted back to him, fringed tail held high. "Let's take these guys out!" Shigeru nodded.

"Right! We have to work as a team! Eevee, go, use quick attack!"

"Stormeon, Rain Wind!" As the little brown pokemon made his assault, Stormeon's Rain Wind swirled around him, forming an offensive attack and a defensive barrier to knock out the Exploud. At the loss of their leader, the rockets fled. Ash sighed.

"Well, that takes care of that little problem." Shigeru nodded.

"Yeah. By the by, I figured I'd be seeing you here sooner or later, you couldn't possibly have been too far behind so I told Gramps to call the pokemon center." Ash grinned and patted Stormeon's head affectionately.

"Yeah, well..." Shigeru jumped as he caught sight of the Clefairy hanging off of Ash's shoulder. The saiyan child waved his arms frantically.

"Chill!! It's okay, Clefairy won't metronome us." Shigeru raised an eyebrow but took the demi saiyan's word for it.

"If you say so." He commented skeptically, then turned to the pink one. "So, what do we do?" Clefairy leapt off of Ash's shoulder to bound off down the hallway. The two boys followed silently, until they came to a large cavern, different from all the others. Silvery moon stones stuck out all over the walls, and many other gems of all kinds also were there. The dim light reflected off of the facets, creating a beautiful almost luminous kind of hue. In the corner, a Clefable sat, looking deep in thought.

She looked up when they entered, but before she could attack, the Clefairy with Ash stepped in front of the two boys.

::It's okay! They won't hurt us, and they want to help!:: Clefairy soothed. The Clefable stood and came over, sniffing at both the saiyan and the human.

::You don't smell threatening, so I guess you're okay-:: Just then, a wall broke and through the hole came two Team Rocket officers, holding up pokeballs. Ash and Shigeru's faces twisted into glares, Ash's into one he hadn't worn since the Cell Games. Pikachu, Eevee, Stormeon, Clefairy, and Clefable jumped forward, the two pink ones shielding the moon stones.

::Don't let them get near the moon stones, I think that's what they want!::

Ash nodded, battle face on.

"Stormeon, Pikachu, Hurricane Gale and Thunderbolt!" Both attacks struck, before the Rockets could blink, and Shigeru took that as his cue.

"Eevee, Body Slam!" The little one nodded and commenced the attack, sending his enemies flying. The ningen grinned. "Good job, Eevee, that's the way!" Ash meanwhile was also handing out praise. "Sugoi, that was great you two! Way to show 'em!" Ash whooped as the two pokemon trotted back to him, Pikachu leaping to his shoulder, and Stormeon leaning up against his leg. Shigeru had scooped up Eevee and was doing a small spin in a circle while congratulating his starter. After all, that battle had put Eevee up one more level.

Suddenly, the furry brown one began to glow, and with a flash of white evolutionary light an Umbreon now rested in Shigeru's arms. The boy stared for a bit before letting out a joyful holler and in a spurt of immaturity began dancing in a circle again. A strange smile grew across Ash's features, it looked rather sad, but happy at the same time. Stormeon nudged him.

::What's wrong?:: The saiyan child looked away, so not to let his two starters see the worry in his eyes.

"Nothing." Was all he said. And then there was a calm silence, as Stormeon rubbed up gently against his hand.

-End CHAPTER!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!-

Falcon: A little bit longer, but not quite as long as I'd like. Just so you know, this chapter is the result of listening to way too much Utada, BoA, and Gackt. Gackt, Gackt, beauteous Gackt! -snuggles picture of Gackt holding a puppy- I was heartbroken when I found out he was 31. Of course, the guy tells people he was born in year 1462, so you never know. -beams-

Tobi: She really was heartbroken, it was rather amusing. -smirk- Cried for days, she did.

FALCON'S REVIEW POLICY

Personally, I believe that it is an honor to get reviews, at least for me it is. I don't think there's anything better than having people who don't know you take time to comment and say your story is good. But along with compliments, I would like criticisms to go with it. All my friends say my writing is good, but it's not perfect, and I can't get any better without people like you guys helping me out and telling me what I can do to help. If people have a genuine concern about it or want to point out grammatical errors, tell me, because I do like to know what people think when they read my writings and I do want to be able to pick up and edit what my computer doesn't. -bows- Thank you.