This story was last updated November 15, 2022.
"Hand over the Dragonair, twerp!" a voice said to Ash with callous determination. He recognized that voice and saw a balloon hover over the bridge. It was...
"Team Rocket!" Ash and Erika both said as they put a brake on their bicycles. It had been a while since they had last encountered the trio. He honestly hoped this would be the last of them, but evidently, they escaped jail. Ash remembered someone mentioned they were the ones responsible for the bridge collapsing in Saffron City, so if they really were the ones who did it, they had the capability of ending life. Ash wanted to defeat them like he did in Viridian Forest, but a part of him was holding him back from that fear.
"I thought you were in jail," Ash stated. As Ash had begun to acknowledge the crooks, several of the other bikers who had been passing by had come to a stop to look at the balloon. It was virtually impossible to not want to know what was going on at the very moment, with a huge balloon stalking a 10 year old boy and a 15 year old girl.
"Turns out we'd been thrown under the bus by jealous rivals who wanna beat us at our game, and we were in Saffron for something unrelated, we got the heat of the blame!" Meowth explained. Ash was still amazed to this day that a Meowth could speak perfect English.
"It's been a while since we've last seen you, twerp, but we're gonna make things right and get on our boss's good graces by handing in that Dragonair!" Jesse said.
"Meowth! And once he sees how well we've worked, he'll kick that Persian off his lap and make me da king!" Meowth added as a bonus.
"We're back in business, baby!" James stated. "Now, do what's good for you and hand over that Dragonair."
"I have no plans on doing that!" Ash told the trio.
"Ash, be careful and think deeply before you act," Erika warned. Sure, she definitely did not want Ash to get hurt, but it was a no-win situation. Erika figured that she could use Gyarados since these three haven't chased them in quite a while and did not know she even had Gyarados.
Many of the other bike riders commented on the Dragonair, some of them were amazed that such a Pokemon even existed and some other voices expressing their envy. SOme of them were in full disbelief that someone even owned a Dragonair.
"We gotta make sure that they don't get away," said one of the bikers. There must have now been a crowd of about six others besides Ash and Erika and they were ready to defend Ash. Sure, they never met these two, but empathy pushed them to counterattack.
Erika nodded and figured it was time for them to counterattack. Team Rocket fired a metallic arm into the water, pursuing Dragonair and finally she got caught! Gyarados watched as his friend got snatched from the water but was surprisingly not aggressive to act as it was not in his nature unless he was ordered to. Ash gasped when he saw his Dragonair flailing in the air and he aimed his Pokeball but it was moving so fast he missed.
"Hey, that guy's got a Dragonair!" said a biker who was about fifteen years old as he pointed at Ash.
"Ash, help! Please don't let them take me away from you and Erika!" Dragonair pleaded via telepathy with quivering eyes.
Ash felt more that he had to act properly in order to get Dragonair back now that there was a small crowd around him.
"Try to use thunderbolt!" Ash ordered. Dragonair's body began to glow a faint yellow and she unleashed a thunderbolt, but the special insulating glove of the hand that grabbed her and the special coating of the arm rendered her move useless. Ash groaned at this and had to figure out another way.
"Hey, that kid's got a Dragonair," a biker goon said as they passed by. A part of him wanted to end the conflict with Team Rocket, but he didn't want to jeopardize his safety. While he lived on edge and was notorious for living an unruly lifestyle of recklessness and impulsivity, he was not devoid of a conscience. While a part of him wanted that Dragonair for himself, he figured this could give him more motivation to search for one and go for one in the Safari Zone once this was all over with. It wasn't very hard to feel motivated upon seeing the majestic body of Dragonair.
"If you think I'm just gonna let you have Dragonair without a fight, you are wrong!" Ash protested. He groaned and was about to take out a Pokeball. "Go, Scizor!" The bug and steel type came out to assist his trainer.
"Twerp wants to play, and I say go Arbok, Wheezing!" Jessie and James both said in unison as they took out their respected Pokeballs.
"Gyarados, if you can hear me, use your fla-" started Erika, but Weezing came over and knocked Erika off her bike. The bike didn't sustain any damage since it was so durable. Ash gasped as he saw his companion get hurt and he was even more prompted to act.
"You're not using your Gyarados, Ms. Goody Two Shoes," James Chuckled. "And to make sure it doesn't..." Jessie fired a button from the balloon and it shot an electric torpedo into the water, shocking the perimeter where Gyardos was. Considering the attack did four times more damage than normal, it knocked out Gyarados, unable to muster a counter attack.
"Oh, no, Gyarados!" called out Erika in concern. She got up and withdrew her Pokemon and was now angered at them.
"That's no way to treat a lady or her Pokemon," the biker goon said as he could not just sit back and not act anymore.
"Scizor, hit the metallic arm with metal claw!" Ash ordered.
"Weezing, use flamethrower," James coolly ordered his Pokemon. Crimson hot flames were expelled on Scizor who could not handle the attack and fell over fainted.
The biker goon groaned. "I may not be the most respectful of the law, but I'm not just gonna sit on my ass and let you fiends push around some kids. And I'm definitely not gonna let you steal this kid's beautiful Dragonair. So, go...Skuntank!" The man threw out his Pokeball and out came a large Skunk Pokemon who was eager for battle.
"What is that?" Ash wondered as he took out his PokeDex.
"Skuntank, the skunk Pokemon. It releases a vile-smelling odor from the tip of its tail to attack. It can spray over 160 feet away."
"And that's just what we're going to do," the goon called. "Use Acid spray! Give them a wiff of your essence!" Skuntank fired a greenish fluid towards the balloon and it began to eat away at the metal arm. The acid broke throw and Dragonair escaped and dove back into the water for safety. Ash really did thought at first that letting his Pokemon out to exercise under the safety of the bridge was a good idea, but now he wished he had put a little more forethought into what he was doing. But he wondered if Team Rocket would have shown up either way.
"You punk, who do you think you're messing with?" Meowth questioned the biker.
"I'm the leader of a local bike gang and you thugs put us outlaws to shame," the man said with fierce determination. "We may get into Pokemon battles with kids, speed on highways, and other unruly acts, but we are never low enough to steal someone else's Pokemon. Pokemon are our best allies we have and can help us through anything, but to you, they mean nothing but just something to exploit for profit and power."
"We didn't come all this way just to get a lecture!" James shot back at the goon. "We're just doing what we can to satisfy our boss."
"You need to find a new boss and get some new principles about your life," the goon said. "Maybe then you'll be able to find happiness, but you know what I say? Give 'em a shot of your fireblast, Stuntank, and send them packing!"
Stuntank shot out a blast of fire in the Japanese Kanji for large at the balloon, but...
"Weezing, use Protect to block that fire blast!" James commanded his Pokemon. Weezing did as he was told and a force field surrounded the balloon, giving the balloon an extra life. Ash recalled Dragonair for the time being and was about to take out Rotom's Pokeball. "Now, use your own thunderbolt on that Stuntank."
Weezing fired a bolt of electricity at the skunk Pokemon as the crackling of the lightning zapped the mammal Pokemon, enough to cause it to faint.
"Ugh...I should've gone to the Pokemon Center," the biker goon sighed. "Sorry, kids, I really wanted to make sure that you got protected, but this is the only Pokemon that I had on me who still had some juice."
"Your efforts are greatly appreciated," Ash told the man. It made him feel good to see there were some good samaritans out there.
"Hehehe, you really are pathetic despite looking all macho!" Meowth said. "Now, here comes our secret weapon!" Meowth pressed a button and a huge vacuum came out and began to suck up the Pokeballs of the trainers! Pokeballs were flying from which way and that way, getting sucked up as well as some people's wallets. Ash gasped when all of his Pokeballs got sucked up, as well as Erika's! They had no way to fight back now...was this...the end? Ash felt like a failure...he failed to keep his starter, Dragonair safe and all the others and he felt tears coming into his eyes. Erika, too, had tears in her eyes for both Ash as well as her own Pokemon. There just had to be some way to stop them!
"What's the hold up ahead and...Team Rocket again?!" two trainers said to one another. "Hey, that's Ash and that girl Erika," the boy told his sister. They both made their way past the other cyclists who were still in fear of Team Rocket and were tightly holding onto their Pokeballs so they wouldn't get stolen, but to no success. Another man had tried to fight back with a Dodrio, but to no effect. Once Team Rocket couldn't get any more balls, the vacuum stopped and they began to giggle gleefully at the Pokemon they had stolen. They must have gotten around 40 or so as well as four people's wallets.
"Ash!" said a male voice as the boy came to a screeching halt. His Pokeballs were safely kept in his backpack that was on his back.
"Hey, you're Ben from Mt. Moon!" Ash said to the other. "And Stacy."
"Yep, good to see you again, although I wish it were under much better circumstances," Stacey told Ash. "Well, I guess we gotta show these Punks another lesson about what happens when they mess with us."
"Oh, drats, of all people who had to show up and help the twerps, it's those two again," Jessie said as she actually felt a little bit of fear. She remembered the humiliation she endured at Mt. Moon with her other two partners, Alice and Eddie and the whips Stacey and her brother, Ben, had.
"We gotta get the Pokeballs and wallets they stole with their vacuum!" Ash told Ben.
"Leave it to us; we'll take care of them," nodded Ben to his sister.
"Are you gonna use Blastoise and Machamp again?" asked Ash as he was eager to see those two again who really helped out in a tough situation.
"Mmm, maybe this time I'll use Pidgeot!" said Ben.
"And I'll use Alakazam!" Stacey called out as she sent out her psychic type.
"Oh ho ho, cool!" Ash said in amazement as he saw the two new Pokemon. He felt a lot more comfortable now that these two were here, but he had a lot of appreciation to all the other trainers who were protesting and not going down without a fight.
"First, Ben, let's take care of the Pokemon of these goons," Stacey told her brother.
"Right. Pidgeot, stop Weezing with your Aerial ace!" Ben commanded the large bird Pokemon. Pidgeot obeyed his trainer and sent forth a blinding slash of air at Weezing causing him to collide with the balloon.
"Ben, be careul; otherwise, the balloon will tip and the balls will fall into the water!" Stacey warned. "And Alakazam's powers can't work underwater that well."
"Oh, right, sorry..." Ben replied sheepishly. "Once their Pokemon are done for, why don't we both tag together and show them a little respect with our whips? You had a bit of fun when you made that two grunts trip by snaring their ankles and pulling them down."
"Ohhhh, you bet we can," Stacey smiled at her older brother. "Alakazam, use psybeam on Arbok!" Alakazam sent out a rainbow-colored beam of unusual energy that caused major damage to the snake and made swirls appear in his eyes.
"Excellent. They're out of the way. Take us up to that balloon, Pidgeot!" Ordered Ben as he and his sister both got on the bird's back and flew up to the crooks and got in their balloon. Jessie and James both sweat dropped.
"Meowth, go after them!" Ordered Jessie. Meowth started to extend his claws and lunged towards Ben's neck, but the teenager ducked down and Meowth fell overboard!
"Uh oh," Meowth said as he began flailing wildly as he fell into the ocean below. Several of the bikers saw this happen and began laughing, further making Meowth feel shame.
"You...Cretin!" James murmured as he hoped Meowth was okay. James had no experience with physical fighting, but Ben and Stacy sure did. They both cracked their whips around James arms and threw him overboard, too, followed by Jessie.
"Okay, Alakazam, bring us back in with psychic so we can give these trainers back their balls," Stacy told her Pokemon. Alakazam did just so and the balloon landed on the bridge. The people who lost their wallets recovered them and soon, the eight people who lost their Poke balls began to look through the pile, some of them having ease since there were a few great and ultra balls.
Ash and Erika found their balls and put them back on their hips where they belonged. Ash would give Dragonair one huge hug as soon as this was over with, as well as his other Pokemon.
Soon, everyone started clapping for Ben and Stacey. The two of them were not expecting to be greeted by such loud cheering, but they were doing what they were doing because they cared about the well-being of the people's Pokemon. That and coupled with the fact they hated Team Rocket.
"Thank you so much; you two were phenomenal!" praised a young lady.
"You two definitely should consider becoming Pokemon rangers once you become of age," a man suggested. "A lot of people would feel safe with having you two around."
Ben and Stacy looked at one another and that was a very strong possibility. "We're just doing what we can to help our fellow trainers, and it's no problem," Stacy said, as today quenched her desire to get into a fight. She felt a lot more rational after having dealt with Team Rocket and she said to her brother,
"What do you say? Should we look into it once we're 18?"
"I think so," Ben said to his sister. "But anyways," he approached Ash and Erika, "Are you two holding out okay?" He gave them a warm smile.
"Yes, things were doing just fine until they showed up," Erika told the other.
"I wanted Dragonair to get some fresh air while we were riding our bikes to Fuchsia City," Ash began, "but they grabbed her. There's no telling what could have happened if you two didn't show up."
Ben sighed, "That's such a relief. I wasn't expecting there to be any action today, and they would've gotten away before the police showed up."
"So did I hear correctly that you have a Dragonair?" asked Stacy as she was beyond interested. "Is it okay if we see her once we're off Cycling Road? We're going to the Safari Zone in Fuchsia, and I'd like to see her."
"Same, if you don't mind," Ben said with a smile. He could understand if the other said no considering what happened, but he was still blessed to have seen a Dratini when they were in Mt. Moon.
"You know what? Sure; I feel like I can trust you guys considering how we teamed up in Mt. Moon," Ash told them. And the two teens did have pure intentions; they could never see themselves using Pokemon for nefarious purposes. Ash would make sure to let Dragonair sleep on the bed in the Pokemon Center once they were rested to make sure she felt loved and wanted.
"Thank you," both siblings said as they felt honored. "Let's ride together, everybody," Stacy said to Ash and Erika, as well as a few others who were still trying to get their bearings sorted out. "Nobody will wanna mess with us if they got a crowd to deal with."
The others cheered and they were on their way down Route 17, nothing between them but the road and the lovely sun in the background on this warm early autumn day. Ash could feel his bond increase with the two siblings and Ash said,
"So, one of them back there said you should consider being a Pokemon Ranger. What exactly is that?"
Ben smiled and said, "Well, in order to become one, you have to become at least 18 years old or, under extreme circumstances, at least 15, but it's monumentally harder to become one under 18. Rangers are entasked with protecting a specific area, usually over an area of 25 sq km and they are to make sure the wild Pokemon are protected as well as the environment. They are also trained to help people to not get lost or injured in the wilderness, too, and know basic first aid."
"That sounds like a very important and hard job!" Ash answered with a smile on his face.
"I feel that you two would most certainly handle the job with ease, considering your resolve we've borne witness to twice," Erika said. "You two are remarkably ruthless with those criminals, and many people would feel safe knowing one of you is around."
"I still feel like sometimes these acts of heroism are just pure luck from being impulsive," Stacy explained. "One of the biggest drawbacks about me, not being able to control myself and act on a whim. But I'm hoping I can grow out of it and put more thought into what I can do for the betterment of society since I really do love my Pokemon and think it's wonderful for people to get along so well with them."
"You couldn't be any more right," Ash agreed, though he had a bit of a harder time understanding what she meant by "impulsive". The bike ride went on for a while and in about an extra hour, they finally got off cicyling road. Ash and Erika folded up their bicycles and put them on their backs and soon were at a nearby lake.
"Well, as promised, here's Dragonair," Ash said as they were a fair distance from other people. Ash tossed out his ball and the beautiful blue snake-like dragon came out with a happy squeal.
"Ash, I'm so glad to see you!" Ash picked up in his mind and she nuzzled against him. "Are you and Erika okay?"
Ash did not want to carry out a conversation with his Pokemon since he has told nobody that she knew telepathy, but he said instead to answer the question to Dragonair, "Hey, girl, Im glad to see you're doing okay. I'm fine, too, I promise." He rubbed her cool smooth head and he said, "Dragonair, this is Ben and Stacy from Mt. Moon. They helped us defeat Team Rocket today."
Dragonair wagged the tip of her tail as she immediately recognized them and went over and pressed her nose against each of them really quick as a form of affection and gratitude for stopping the criminals. She allowed them to pat her head and it was like good fortune was passed onto them.
"She's so healthy looking," Stacy commented as she felt inspired after touching the dragon. Dragonair made a delighted squeal in response to that. Ash cautiously looked around as he did not want to have Dragonair exposed whenever she wasn't in battle. He wanted her to eventually become a Dragonite, but she needed lots more experience and time before that happened.
"I'll say!" Ben commented. "I hope to find a Dratini in the Safari Zone myself."
"Maybe you will," Ash said with a bit of optimism. He patted his own Pokemon on the head and said, "It's time for you to get back into your ball for now."
"Okay, Ash," Dragonair said with a somewhat sad tone. She understood that it was the best for both of their safety. Ash called her back and put the ball on his hip.
"Well. We're still about 8 km from Fuchsia City," Ash told the other. They were on an elevated area and they could see one of Fuchsia's largest buildings in the distance as it was about 55 meters tall. The city was to be about the same size as one like Pewter City or Cerulean and it also had a good mixture of ancient Japanese culture and architecture. Ash was looking forward to taking on the gym leader of this new town and just see a new place in general. He would phone his mother once he got there, too.
Ash and Erika resumed talking to the others. They said that they were going to head back to Lavender town from the southwest and go along the routes to get there and battle more trainers.
A few bird catchers decided to battle Ash and he managed to defeat them with relative ease thanks to Rotom and Dragonair's electric moves. Ash looked at his PokeGear's clock and saw that it was around 5:41 pm and it was starting to get dark. Once they were through with Route 18, they made their way into Fuchsia City. Ash laughed as he saw the sign and the population of Fuchsia City, being 322,000 as of the latest census. The City had a lot of modern buildings that looked like they were built in the last 30 or so years with some buildings that resembled Japanese pagodas. There were Pokemon temples and a well-known train station in the town center with the clock on it.
"This place is nice; it's sure a lot different from Celadon," Ash told Erika.
"I agree; I'm so used to the hustle and bustle of Celadon that I almost forgot there are other towns of considerably smaller size."
"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm starving," Ash resumed as he felt his stomach rumble. "I'm going to store my bike into the PC and get something to eat while our Pokemon get rested."
Erika agreed and they arrived to the Pokemon Center.
"Good evening, young man. May I heal your Pokemon?" Asked Nurse Joy.
"Yes, please; we've had a very busy day as we came from Celadon," Ash explained as he took out his Pokeballs.
"Indeed, that must have been quite the journey!" Nurse Joy responded with a nod. Erika handed hers as well and soon, Ash, Erika, Stacy, and Ben were in the downstairs cafeteria.
Ash was eager to take on the challenge at the Pokemon gym tomorrow, but he was also eager to see what the Safari Zone had to offer. Once they were finished with dinner, Ash went to his room and closed the curtain so nobody could see him. He took out Dragonair's ball and let her out.
"Ash, I'm so happy to see you!" she transmitted to his mind.
Ash had small tears in his eyes and said, "I am, too. I hope you're not too scared after what happened earlier today."
"I was so afraid I would never see you again," she admitted as she, too, had tears in her eyes. Ash gently began to rub her head and he said,
"I'll be a lot more careful with you. I wish we could go back to the days where you were a Dratini and were able to wrap yourself around my neck because you were so light and smaller. But those days are gone and now we just gotta look forward to your dream of becoming a Dragonite so you can fly."
"I can take you wherever you want once I can fly, but I'm scared someone may hurt us," she admitted. "I wish I was common like a Pidgeot since I wouldn't have a target on my back or yours or Erika. It isn't fair."
"Indeed it isn't, but please don't beat yourself up because of something you have no control over," Ash said. "You didn't choose to be a rare Pokemon. And I wouldn't think of you any less even if Dragonairs were common Pokemon."
Dragonair felt so validated and appreciated when she heard that and she said, "Thank you so much, Ash. I'm ready to go to sleep soon."
"No problem, and okay, let's let the whole gang out!" Ash said as he wanted to see his other Pokemon. Scizor, Marowak, Zorua, and Riolu came out. He picked up Riolu and hugged him, followed by Zorua, and then Marowak and patted Scizor's head. "So good to see you guys are okay!"
"You're being more affectionate than usual, Ash; what's going on?" asked Riolu as his wet nose touched Ash's cheek.
"Team Rocket, that's what. You guys almost got stolen along with the Pokemon of other trainers!"
The Pokemon all were shocked by this, but they all seemed to let a collective sigh of relief that they were okay.
"Why won't those crooks just give up?" Riolu asked Ash via telepathy.
"I don't know, but I'll do everything to keep you safe," the human reassured the others. "Now, we need to think of a plan against the gym leader in this city. I heard he uses poison Pokemon, so that gives you an advantage, Marowak."
"Maro!" said the Pokemon.
Ash chuckled. "We'll just see. If I lose at the gym, I may train some more with some of the trainers east of Fuchsia or catch a Pokemon in the Safari Zone."
While it's only been five days since I last updated, my reasonable long-term goal is to try to update at least once every month or two since I can't guarantee how l. It'll be considerably easier if each chapter is to be 3-5k compared to 12 k like a few of the chapters I had written back in 2014. As far as I can tell, I don't see any chapters being that long until I get the creative energy like before, but it wasn't fair to be gone for six long years.
