Chapter 3

"It can't be!" Ash said in a surprised tone. "Black Jack?"
"Ketchum," Black Jack replied back, as he turned round and showing a small smile.
"How's everyone?" Ash asked, also showing a small smile.

"Well…" Black Jack started as he gently stroked his beard. "Alice recently got a Teddiursa and Eevee as pets, John and Sandra have got a lot of jobs to do and Cassandra and Wally have also been busy, but they have been visiting each other on weekends so that their Gardevoirs can spend time together."

"I hope things go well with those two," Ash replied.

"Sorry, we're late," said a familiar girl's voice.

Ash and the others turned to the voice's attention and saw two familiar figures. One was just a few inches shorter than Ash, she had brown hair with both of her ears covered, she was also wearing a red jacket, a white mini skirt, black and white gloves, black tight shorts, and a red bandanna wrapped around her head. The other figure was shorter than the girl, he had black hair, he was also wearing a pair of glasses, a green shirt, brown short and blue trainers.

"May? Max?" Ash said in a surprised tone, while putting a happy face. "What are you guys doing here?"
"We heard that some pokemon contests are going to open around here soon," May replied. "Then we bumped into Black Jack while he was taking a break from his travelling and he said that he was going on a new adventure. So, how about if we join?"

Ash turned to Jenny. Knowing what he was going to ask, she gave a small smile and nodded. "Ash and Black Jack have a lot of good friends backing them up," she thought.

While they were talking, Black Jack's attention then turned to Pikachu and smiled in a welcoming fashion. "How are things, you little critter?"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu replied happily.

All of the pokemon were released from their pokeballs and greeted each other.

Stevens walked up to Black Jack and offered his hand. "Ah, the famous Black Jack," he said. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"Who's this freak show?" Black Jack asked in an uninterested tone.
"That's detective Stevens," Jenny replied. "The best detective in the world."

Black Jack gave a small "humph", as he turned his attention to two more important people in Ash's life, Brock and Misty.

"What's wrong with him?" Stevens asked in a puzzled tone.
"Didn't you know?" Jenny said. "Black Jack doesn't like people working for the law, since he used to work for Team Rocket. I even had a hard time convincing him to come with us."
"How did you get him to come?" Stevens asked curiously.
"I promised him that he would meet a lot of tough trainers."
"Ah! Then Black Jack is about to get what he wants."

"Brock," Black Jack said. "How are things with your family?"
"Everyone's fine," Brock replied. "My brother is still training to become the next Pewter City's gym leader. After my dad retires, he'll be taking over."
Black Jack smiled and spoke privately to him. "You're only here for Officer Jenny, right?"
"Oh yeah," Brock said as he blushed a pinkish colour.

Black Jack then turned his attention to Misty as he whispered to himself, "That Brock kid never quits."

"Long time, no see, Misty," he called out.
"Hi, Black Jack," Misty replied back.
"It's been a while."
"Yeah, since the Hoenn League."
"You're going on an adventure with Ketchum again?"
"Yeah, I got a bit bored staying at the Cerulean City Gym."

She turned her head to look at Ash, who was getting caught in a noogie by Black Jack's Nidoking. "Besides, someone's got to keep an eye on him," she continued with a smile.

Black Jack then set his eyes on the frightened Jesse, James and Meowth, giving them a nasty frown. "What are they doing here?" he asked in a nasty tone.

"Allow me to explain," Stevens replied, stepping in. "These three were former members of Team Rocket, they've explained that Team Rocket's been changed to Team Missile but they were put into community service anyway. I saw that they would be helpful in my detective work so I took them under my wing."
"Show-off!" Black Jack thought. "But at least we can keep those guys out of trouble for a while."

"This is great," Jenny said. "Now the introductions are done, we now must book our rooms so we could take a night's rest for tomorrow's trip."

They all entered the pokemon center with Officer Jenny leading the way. "Nurse Joy?" she called out.

"Yes? How can I help you?" Joy asked.

Suddenly, a small blur rushed up to her and grasped her hands in a quick but gentle manner. It turned out that it was Brock, running up to her. "You can help me out by going on a date with me tonight before I leave for the Orre region tomorrow," he said as he teeth sparkled. An anime sweat drop appeared on the back of Nurse Joy's head.

Misty immediately tugged Brock by the ear and pulled him away from Joy. "Let me help you out by getting you back to your senses," Misty said with a frown.

"All right, everybody," Jenny announced. "Everyone have a good night's rest. We will all leave early tomorrow morning. Once we get to the Orre region, we will all discuss the plan there. Any questions?"

Everyone shook their heads, meaning that they don't have any. "Good," Jenny replied as she gave person a key each. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

Elsewhere, a mysterious man, whose face that was hiding in the shadows, was sitting at his desk in a posh office room. Three men came into the room, looking quite battered and bruised. The mysterious man got up and checked the bruises on one of his men's faces.

"Where is he now?" he asked.
"With them," answered one of his men.
After some thought, the mysterious man said, "They're not taking us seriously, but he will soon enough. Come."

The mysterious man walked passed them out of his office while they followed.

Next episode: Black Jack and his teammates will arrive at their next destination for a new adventure, the Orre region. Will they find the missing people, Wes and Rui? Will they find and defeat the Team Dark Leader? These questions will be answered soon!
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More coming! Reviews please!