The First Awakening

Chapter 7

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"Very well, twerpette," Jessie said quietly, pulling a Pokéball out of nowhere. She was calm and cool as a cucumber, though she hadn't seen one in her life to know how cool to be. "Let's get things started. If you want to save your boyfriend so badly, Ho-oh forbid I should stop you from trying."

Misty tinged pink and muttered "He's not my boyfriend," although it seemed to be said mostly to herself.

"But first," the Rocket agent added, pointing downwards, "Would you be an absolute dear and take a look at the field for a moment, please?" Ignoring the sugary sweetness of Jessie's tone, Misty glanced down at the floor, which, to her amazement, began to shift and morph through the means of some mechanical device underneath, most likely similar to that of the Indigo Pokémon League. Half of the field became dusty and coated with dirt. The other side became a small pool, filled with water standard for a Water-type Gym. Some bright, multicolored floats appeared out of nowhere and began to glide across the water's surface. "The water side will be yours, of course. The ground side is mine. Are we all clear? Good. Now go, Cacnea!" With that, Jessie threw the grass-type's Pokéball. The white energy that came out of the red and white sphere swirled around and formed a green, spike-covered shape with a small yellow crown on top. The Pokémon cried its name as Misty frowned. Her Pokémon would be weak against a grass type like Cacnea, unless...the Gym Leader smiled. This cactus was toast, and it hadn't a clue.

"Misty calls on Gyarados!" The blue dragon type quickly appeared in the water, having learned to come fast when summoned after all the gym battles it had been used in. "Use Flamethrower!" Misty commanded. A burst of fire came from the atrocious Pokémon's mouth, and headed straight for Cacnea. Jessie hadn't ordered anything from the Cactus Pokémon, so it just stood there, waiting to be commanded. It was as James had told it before the battle: "Do what Jessie says, or we'll all suffer!"

Misty was already thinking up snide remarks to toss Jessie's way at not having her Pokémon even do anything as it was being fried to a crisp. Suddenly, Gyarados stopped the attack, thrashing around in the water and crying out in pain. "What?" Misty was stunned. Then she noticed sparks running along Gyarados' body. "It's an electric current. But how?" Jessie smirked, then laughed briefly, holding her head up high.

"Like the special features we added?" Jessie asked. "Any time your Pokémon don't use an attack specific to their type, they get shocked. So, good luck defeating Cacnea. You'll need it." Misty growled deep in her throat.

"I don't know why I'm surprised. I should have known you would pull a rotten trick like this." Then she chuckled. "Oh, well. Hydro Pump!" Gyarados struggled to an upright position, then unleashed a torrent of water at Cacnea. "Not even a grass type can entirely deflect an attack that powerful." Misty said proudly. "Gyarados'll knock it out for sure." As the spray from the attack cleared, it became clear that Cacnea was—unharmed. "What? That—that's impossible!"

"Oh, did I forget to mention the other special feature of this field?" Misty glared at Jessie as the Rocket agent continued. "Silly me; it must have slipped my mind. You see, my Pokémon are protected from all attacks capable of knocking them out with one blast. You'll have to stick to weak water attacks, if you want to have a chance of winning, before your Pokémon are knocked out, at least."

"Fine." Misty considered this for a minute or two. "Use rain dance, Gyarados." The blue Pokémon moved around, and the very top of the room became overcast with storm clouds. The rain clouds gushed water, and there was soon almost no difference between the sides of the field except for the few patches of mud to be seen through the puddles of water. Jessie moaned about her makeup and hair being ruined as Misty cried, "Now use Dragon Rage!" Jessie stopped complaining for a moment, if only to mock.

"Weren't you listening?" Jessie asked scornfully. "You won't be able to save your boyfriend if you slip up like—huh?" Surprisingly, Gyarados was performing the Dragon Rage successfully, and Cacnea was getting electrocuted and pounded against by the dragon-type attack. "How—"

"Gyarados is a flying type, remember? When it doesn't touch the water, it doesn't get shocked. The charge, however, continues along the path of the water until it shocks something else—and Cacnea is standing in a large puddle of water connected to the pool by a trickle coming from it." Jessie looked down, and it was fact; Cacnea was standing soaked in a large puddle directly connected to the pool. Misty turned to the side and added, "besides, he's not my boyfriend."

Cacnea would have been tired after facing either the Dragon Rage or the electric shock. So it seemed natural that, having faced their powers combined, it could barely stand up to the rain, let alone another attack. However, Jessie was determined to not let the twerpette win this time. Her eyes filled with a firey determination as she lifted an arm high and shouted, "Use Needle Arm, Cacnea!" One of Cacnea's arms glowed white. The Cactus Pokémon lifted off the ground and flew into the air, going up to Gyarados' eye level and punching the Atrocious Pokémon in the side of the head, causing serious damage to Misty's Pokémon.

"Gyarados!" Misty cried out to her Pokémon, getting as close to the edge of the trainer stand as she could and reaching out over the edge to her Pokémon.

"Another Needle Arm!" Jessie cried. The second punch made a direct hit, as Gyarados was too shocked to move out of the way. "Keep it up!" Cacnea continued to hit Gyarados until it was rendered unconscious.

"Return, Gyarados." Misty said quietly, her bangs covering her eyes as Gyarados morphed into a red colored energy and slipped back into it Pokéball.

"Meowth! All right Jessie! Ya took care o' her Gyarados! Dat's her best one! Keep it up, and da Boss'll be sure to hand out huge bonuses all around!" The talking Meowth shouted its overtly loud congratulations into the redhead's earphone. Jessie winced at the decibel levels, ignored them, and looked back at the twerpette.

"Well? Choose your next Pokémon." Misty stared angrily at the member of Team Rocket standing in front of her. Jessie was a no-good cheat...and she probably didn't even deserve to be called a name like that. Cheaters probably had morals higher than those of Team Rocket.

"Alright," she called out, enlarging a Pokéball as she spoke. "Let's go!"

---

"Please, Brock?" Max begged, down on his knees, head bent over and arms clasped together in front of his head. "Please please please please?" Brock sighed. He had run out of excuses to prolong the time Ash and Misty had together in any case.

"Fine," he announced, defeated. "Let's go."

"Alright! Did you hear that, May? We're going to the gym!" May looked up from the romance novel she had been reading. Erased her thoughts of a certain green-haired coordinator, she marked her page and stood up, stuffing the book into her fannypack.

"Great, Brock," the brunette cried out. With that, she picked up Togepi and began to walk out the door. "Let's go!" The trio of travelers walked out of the Pokémon Center immediately. Nurse Joy stood just outside the door and watched them go off, hoping the sinking feeling in her heart was nothing.

Soon enough, the group was standing in front of the Sootopolis Gym. Max walked up to the door and knocked three times. An almost scared-sounding voice called to them from inside, stuttering slightly.

"Who—who's there?" Brock stepped up to the door so whoever was inside would be able to hear him better.

"We're here looking for Ash Ketchum. Have you seen...?" Brock trailed off as the door opened partially. It revealed a man with sky blue hair and a white hat like a short chef's hat perched on his head. He looked over the three, and paused when he saw Brock.

"Squinted eyes…brown skin and naturally spiked hair…it couldn't be…are you Brock?" He asked incredulously. "Misty had said you went back to Pewter City..." He slapped a hand over his mouth. "I said too much, didn't I," he muttered, smacking his head. A few slaps later, the man looked up, as if only just remembering the others were there. At the moment, they were sweatdropping heavily, not knowing how to react to the man's slightly abusive actions. He joined them, apologizing for his odd behavior.

Brock wondered, "How do you know Misty?"

The blue haired man opened the door the whole way and laughed, saying, "Didn't I introduce myself? Well, maybe you'll recognize me now." Max's eyes widened at the man's appearance. And who could blame him? The man was a pretty strange sight.

He was decked out in deep blue bell-bottom pants. Over top of that was a purple shirt with wide, white sleeves, a overly large white collar, and white shirttails. He struck a pose and twirled a Pokéball on his finger like it was a basketball. Max gasped in shock and cried out, "It—it's you! You're Wallace, the Sootopolis Gym leader!" May and Brock recoiled in shock from the comment as Wallace nodded and tossed the Pokéball, revealing a Milotic. It fanned out its tail attractively and shimmered brilliantly, obviously well trained. May's jaw dropped at the beauty of such a Pokémon that she had only seen the likes of once from afar at a contest.

"It…it's beautiful." Wallace bowed, accepting the remark graciously. He called back his Milotic and turned to thank May when he noticed the Pokémon in May's arms. It was his turn to drop his jaw, as Togepi trilled happily and waved at the gym leader.

"Togepi? Bu—bu—bu—that's impo—impo—" Wallace found himself unable to finish the sentence due to shock, so he began anew. "Who are you, and why do you have Misty's Togepi? It had left to find the supreme Togetic and help it somehow…or something like that." May's eyes narrowed and the sky darkened behind her as she opened her mouth. Before thunder began to crackle and the coordinator could get a word out, Max pushed her in the middle of her back, causing her to move into the gym. Wallace realized his mistake and invited Brock in as well. When they were all settled, he began talking again.

"Misty was supposed to be my apprentice, but she was really more of a friend to me than anything else. Everyone in this town thinks I'm above them and don't care about them...did you have that happen to you, Brock?" The Pokémon Breeder nodded.

"Yeah. I acted cold enough without them alienating me, and I was treated almost like a superior being whenever one actually talked to me. It was a bit scary; people respect you too much, like you're on a different plane." Wallace nodded consolingly.

"Well, it was like that for me, only worse than yours was, I imagine. You had a family to treat you like a normal person, but I had no one. I was thrilled when I heard Misty wanted to come here; I would have someone to talk to. It actually ended up being that she told me about her life, her sisters, her friends, her crush...fudge it!" Wallace smacked himself across the head, knocking his poofy hat off as Brock leaned forward, suddenly five hundred times his normal attentiveness. "I'm not saying anymore about that topic," Wallace ended firmly, though whether it was to himself or to Brock remained unclear. "I'm in enough trouble without being malleted, ear-tugged, and punched to death because I told you she liked A—Nope! Not gonna say it! Not gonna say it!" The gym leader massaged his temples for a moment before continuing.

"We've gotten along pretty well, considering what she's told me about the bodily ham she's caused in her days to you and Ash. Around noontime yesterday, a Pikachu scampered in. Later, when Misty told me what happened, she said it was Ash's Pikachu. I've heard plenty about him, and was curious as to how his Pikachu could be here. Later, Pikachu came back, followed by a black-haired boy wearing a blue vest and a red and green hat. They went into this room, the main battle room," Wallace said as he showed them into the room. Max and Brock gasped at the giganticness of the room, then let the Gym leader continue his tale. "He stayed for only a few minutes, because as soon as he found out that Misty was around, he said, and I quote, 'She's here? I can't see her now! Not yet!' Then he took Pikachu into the hall, where they talked a bit longer, I guess. Shortly after those two left, Togepi had to leave to see the supreme Togetic, which I assume it never accomplished." After a glare from May, Wallace ended that topic.

"And I thought Misty was mean, sheesh...anyway, a little later, Pikachu came back and kept Misty company for a while. When Ash came back a few hours after that, we met face-to-face. Earlier, I had just heard him speak from another room; he certainly was loud enough. He went into Misty's room, and was in there for awhile. I peeked in and got a sweet picture of—I should stop talking about that," Wallace muttered quickly, noticing Brock's eyes light up. "Anyway, after he left, I talked to Misty for a bit. Then she went outside. She bent over and picked something up off the ground, then she gasped and sped off. When I went outside, all I found was this..." He held out a note folded up and labeled: 'To the Twerpette.'

May frowned.

"Why would Misty get a note addressed to me? I'm the twerpette, according to them, anyway." Brock shook his head, suddenly straying from his normal humorous nature.

"Misty was the original twerpette, May. Somehow, they must have known she was here." Wallace was in the dark during this conversation.

"Who's 'they'?" Brock turned to Wallace, and a deep, mysterious look came over his face.

"They are Team Rocket." Wallace gasped and stepped backwards instinctively, shocked at what he had heard. Having absorbed the information, he lifted a hand to his face and placed a finger against a cheek, cupping his chin with his hand.

"Um…who?" Brock, Max, and May facefaulted. Max muttered an answer into the ground. "A bunch of Pokémon thieves." Wallace smiled weakly.

"Okay, then...what do you make of this letter?" Brock sat up and crossed his eyes to see the creased piece of paper now in front of his nose. He pulled it out of Wallace's hands and took a better look at it. Max and May peeked over his shoulders to see the message. The three friends paled. This was not good.

The letter was short and to the point:

Twerpette,

We have the twerp and Pikachu. If you ever want to see any of them ever again, you will come to one of our familiar places of residence. Hurry up, your—the paper here was furiously torn out, leaving a blank spot—is waiting.

Team Rocket

Brock looked the note over a second time, then cupped his chin with his hand. "A familiar place of residence..." he muttered. Max looked up at him worriedly, adjusting his glasses as he wondered aloud.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Brock remained silent for a few minutes more before snapping his fingers and jumping up.

"I think I know. Come on, guys!" Max and May jumped up and they ran out of the gym, calling a short farewell to Wallace. He watched them from where he stood for a moment, then slowly shook his head. 'If I ever want to get out of this alive, I'm gonna have to get a higher amount life insurance before Misty comes back.'

May, who had been skulking behind Brock and Max, finally sped up so she was next to Brock. "Are you sure we can trust Wallace, Brock," she whispered confidentially. "Even though he's a gym leader? There was a lot of stuff he wouldn't tell us…I don't think I trust him." Brock laughed.

"You just don't like him 'cause he said Togepi belonged to Misty, May." May turned red with slight embarrassment and frustration.

"That—that's ridiculous! It's just that...something about him doesn't feel right to me, that's all!"

"Yeah, that...and you just don't like him." May slowed down until she was at the back of the lineup again, silently fuming at Brock. Max took her place up front. "Brock?" The Pokémon Breeder in question looked down at his friend.

"What is it, Max?" Max scratched his head, as if trying to figure out a way to say something awkward in a way that wouldn't awkward.

"Are you sure we're not walking into a trap?" Brock looked mildly surprised for a moment, then smiled.

"Actually, Max, I have no idea. But, if it's either walk into a trap to save Ash, Pikachu, and Misty, or have us be safe and them doomed, there's no question in my mind which one I'd pick." Max seemed confused for a moment, but he smiled and nodded.

"That makes sense...I guess you care a lot about them, huh?"

"You have no idea...well, this is it." May, playing with Togepi, didn't notice they had stopped until she bumped into Brock. She poked her head around his back, and looked around bewilderedly.

"Where's here?" All she could see was a clearing in the middle of a forest they had started walking in a few minutes before. That, and a few fake looking bushes as well as a small log cabin. "Is that house 'here'?" One of the bushes suddenly rose into the air, revealing some kind of defense system. As Brock pushed Max and May to the ground, nets fired over their heads, crisscrossing and wrapping around a few trees behind the group. Brock nodded.

"Oh, yeah. This is definitely it."

---

For the last few minutes, Meowth had been busy enjoying the battle, what with the twerpette, who had bossed the Cat Pokémon around in a way almost reminiscent of Jessie, losing desperately to Jessie. Too busy, in fact, to pay attention to the other monitors surrounding it. A sudden alarm sounding off on one of the screens changed that. The cat Pokémon looked at the offending screen, and was shocked to see the 'odder twerps.' They were within 3 yards of the aboveground entrance.

"How did dose twoips get so close to da house?" The talking Pokémon wondered aloud. Looking around for something to blame, it noticed that the 'auto-defense system' had been switched to 'off' by the barrel of popcorn Meowth had placed on the control panel when the match started to keep hunger from making him miss a moment of this victory. Meowth sweatdropped. "Whad'ya know..." The cat Pokémon pushed the switch back into the 'on' position. He went back to watching the battle, ignorant of the fact that half of the defenses had already been neutralized, thanks to a Metronome by Togepi.

Misty grimaced as she returned yet another Pokémon. Things were definitely not looking good. After Gyarados had been taken down, Corsula had been a big help against the grass type Jessie had used. Cacnea had fallen, but not before Corsula was severely weakened. A Recover helped, but only to make sure Corsula got an extra shock before the next round.

Dustox had been next, and had taken care of Corsula with a well-aimed Psybeam.

Now, after Corsula, Misty had chosen Politoed, which did pretty well with a few Double Slaps and a jump in the air to avoid being shocked. Dustox was quickly knocked out, but Politoed was very weak when Seviper was revealed. Misty, though she would have rather not done it, commanded Politoed to use Perish Song. It was a sacrifice, but it had to be made in order to save Ash. Politoed was uneasy about using an attack it had only learned recently, but understood Misty's reasoning. Jessie, unaware as to what Perish Song did, commanded Seviper to use Poison Tail. Politoed dodged it by less than an inch. Infuriated that such a weakened Pokémon could still avoid an attack, Jessie commanded another Poison Tail, then a Wrap. Immediately after the snake Pokémon's tail curled around Politoed, Politoed and Seviper was knocked unconscious. Jessie, needless to say, was shocked.

"Bu—bu—how?" Misty smirked.

"What's wrong, Jessie? Didn't you know what Perish Song does?" Misty took Jessie's poker face as a 'no.' "Perish Song causes all Pokémon in a battle to be knocked out three turns after the song is sung." Jessie growled in the pit of her throat and returned her Pokémon. She whispered into her headphones to Meowth. "The secret weapon—NOW!"

"But–" Jessie was quickly annoyed by her team member's hesitation, and thoughts of keeping quiet flew out of her mind.

"—I don't care why you don't want to! Just do it!"

Meowth shrugged. "Okay...if ya say so, Jessie." A beep was heard, and Jessie stood strong, confident that this would work.

"Now, twerpette: Prepare to experience a humiliation like no other, as I reveal an e-mail message Team Rocket received earlier today, in triplicate." Behind her, a large screen rolled down. Upon it appeared a picture of Jessie sunbathing.

Misty sweatdropped and asked, "You got an e-mail of yourself?" Jessie turned around, saw the picture, and yelled into her microphone, "That isn't the photo I meant!" Meowth laughed nervously, rubbing the back of its head.

"Sorry. I always mess up when I do pictures." A different beep was heard, and Jessie looked at the screen momentarily before boldly stating, "Now look upon the e-mail of humiliation!" On the screen was a picture of Ash sitting next to Misty on a bed, and stroking her cheek with a finger. A short message was underneath it, and it was signed—

"Wallace." Misty muttered, her face turning red with embarrassment and anger. But mostly anger. Then, two shouts echoed through the building.

"I'm going to kill Wallace!"

---

Wallace winced. "More. Definitely more." He picked up his phone and speed-dialed the people he needed to talk to. "Hello…is this Chancy Life and Injury Insurance?"

---

Brock paused. Since he was in the middle of a battle with James of Team Rocket, it was not a very good time to pause. But he didn't care. He ran past James, pushing him side in a very rude way, unlike his usual behavior. He had just heard Ash and Misty calling out. He had always been responsible for them. And they were in trouble. He had to help. Forretress floated after its master.

Max was confused. Togepi had finished off the net-throwers with a Metronome. The other bushes had been revealed to be lasers, which Forretress had taken out with an Explosion. James had come out of the cabin after the attack, and had challenged Brock to a one-on-one battle, Forretress versus a Cacnea weak from battle. Then he had heard a shout from inside the cabin, at which time Brock had run into the little wooden house. Right now, James was speaking angrily into a microphone, and May was poking him.

"Come on, Max. We should follow Brock. He might need our help." Max nodded, and they raced inside...

...only to run smack into Brock. They looked around and soon saw why. They were standing in front of an elevator door, which took up the whole room. Right now, the arrow pointing up was lit, and the floor lit up was 4. Max looked at the number on the door. 20. He sighed. This could take awhile.

---

James, outside, was speaking to his feline companion. "They're at the elevator, Meowth! You have to do something, or they'll go help the twerpette!"

"I already told youse, I can't! I only control the projector, screen, and outer defenses—"

"—which didn't work very well, let me tell you!" James shouted angrily. "What'll we do?"

"What's a Meowth ta do? I'm not purr-fect, ya, know." Meowth sighed. "We just pretend we know notin'

about dis, Jimmy boy. Then Jessie can find somethin' else to blame when this whole project goes south."

---

Well, Pikachu was puzzled. The way things had been sounding, Pikachupi wasn't doing very well against Pipikachu. She might need Pikachu's help. The electric Pokémon looked around its room. No one seemed to be watching, so it performed an Iron Tail. The glass container wasn't sturdy enough to hold together after all the electric attacks combined with the new pressure of the Iron Tail, and it shattered, setting Pikachu free.

Pikachu looked around the room. It looked like there was no way out, but then how could Pipikachu have put it in? Pikachu leaned back against one wall. This situation was becoming very baffling. Suddenly, the wall behind Pikachu opened up, and the electric mouse fell on its back. Pikachu jumped up and cocked an ear. "Pikachupi, pi pika..." It whispered. Finally, it picked up the sound of a Staryu. "Pikachupi!" The yellow mouse shouted happily, scampering down the hall to Pikachupi.

---

Misty had chosen Staryu to battle Jessie's Chimecho, but she couldn't concentrate. Wallace—her friend, advisor, and teacher, Wallace—had taken a picture of her and Ash. He had known how important Ash was to her, and yet treated it like some big joke that Ash had been so close to her. She was in shock, and that left Staryu on its own in the battle. Which wasn't a good thing. For Chimecho, that is. When Staryu battled on its own, it knew no limits. It would battle long after it would normally have passed out, and knew of no rules. Staryu started off by camouflaging itself, then attacking with a Bubblebeam. An electric shock jumped off the water's surface and struck Staryu down. Moments later, it was up and shooting golden stars from its mouth. Chimecho instinctively responded with a Safeguard, which did nothing to prevent it's being hit. Jessie watched perplexed, as Chimecho seemed to battle an invisible opponent.

"Where is it?" Jessie angrily wondered aloud. Staryu might as well have been in its Pokéball, as Jessie couldn't see it any better at the moment. "Oh, well. Chimecho, use Psywave!" The blue beam of light that shot out of Chimecho's mouth spread around the field. Staryu ended the Camouflage and switched to using a Light Screen. Most of the Psywave was deflected, but it had been very powerful. Even one fifth of the power was enough to leave Staryu dazed. Chimecho used a Psychic on the water type, and Staryu avoided it by sheer luck. Still dazed, Staryu couldn't evade the Yawn the wind chime Pokémon aimed at it. The starfish Pokémon was fortunately able to reflect the attack back at Chimecho thanks to it's jewel, and the reflection made a direct hit. Both Pokémon were exhausted, and Staryu couldn't help but feel pain. The electric current from all the non-water attacks Staryu had used were finally causing an effect. Misty snapped out of her daze as soon as she realized her Pokémon was in pain.

"Staryu! Quick, use Recover!" Although Staryu's hit points were brought back to normal, Staryu and Chimecho fell asleep. Misty and Jessie returned them, as Misty thought on the hopeless situation she was in. Her Pokémon were going to be taken from her because she had been too concerned with her love life and the friends she could trust to care about their well being. Staryu had been her last hope; Goldeen only had two water attacks, and it couldn't move out of the water to avoid the electric current. Horsea was too weak to survive a Thunder Spark most days, and had never been a good battler, no offense to it. Starmie had been acting strange lately, and Misty didn't want to complicate matters anymore by having it battle. And Psyduck, was...well...Psyduck.

She pulled out a Pokéball and began to throw it, when suddenly, the double doors burst open. Misty broke into a wide grin and shouted to the newcomer happily, while Jessie frowned and shouted angrily.

"It's you!"

---

RoseRosa: I'm glad you liked it so much. Hilarious? I never really thought of that moment as hilarious, but if you say so…

That's slightly insulting, but true most of the time. Their plans would work if they had enough money to get good ropes and nets…and stopped using balloons; they blow up too easily.

Ri2: Hmm…define 'soon.' I suppose my OC for the sequels is almost like that…and there's the PPT team of Pokémon 'shippers who don't necessarily "hate" those three, but they do put them in humiliating situations. I know for sure Wallace is shouted at once or twice after this one ends.

That's true, though he keeps trying. His insurance agency might consider Misty insurance. I know of a few people who would be interested in buying some of that. -smirks-

I don't suppose she'll be thrilled…and she doesn't really have a choice. She's too kind-hearted to keep something when there's proof right in front of her face. I really have to delve into her character more this time around, as I made her much too flat the first time. Of course, now I know a bit more about May, it's much easier.

You don't say? Well, that should be an interesting chapter, no?

Soft Flame Matthias: Yay, a new reviewer!

Double yay! You're one of those people who reviews every chapter, even if it's at chapter 6 when you start reading. I gots lots of reviews from you! -all smiles-

I'll go most recent review to the earliest, though it's hardly logical…

Chapter 6: I hurried…a little bit. -sweatdrops- Yeah…well, it's posted now, isn't it? 'Fraid there aren't any others to blast TR out of the sky…though Elvis would be pretty funny…-ponders- Well, Luvdisc for all his love songs, I suppose…Jigglypuff/Igglybuff/Wigglytuff, though more of the Jiggly than the others. Loudred? -shrugs- Meh, I should've added more characters to blast them off, but 'tis too late. At least, too late in this story…-ponders more- Honored? You sound like me…the honor is mine, really. I took a look at your bio page when you first reviewed, and the moment I get some time, I'll take a looksie at the stories you've got.

Chapter 5: No problem; study halls end fast like that at times. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter!

Chapter 4: -bows to 'thunderous applause'- You're too kind, really. I don't think I see all that many of your kind nowadays…is that a good thing?

Chapter 3: Thank you. I'm glad you like the pace, though I feel disappointed with it myself; far too short a story, and with very few subplots, not to mention the shortness of the chapters. Nowadays, my chapters go below 10 pages and I'm disappointed. Back when I first wrote this, 6 or 7 was a large amount. And it's been less than a year since I wrote this. -sighs- Odd how much one can change that fast when you write a lot and read even more. You think my grammar is good? Well, I did edit the chapter about…3 times. First chapter was five times…Pikachu is a bit shock-happy, no? Well, shock-happy worked for Pikachu this time. In the sequel it goes all plotting and evil in a cute kind of way. -smiles- Will do!

Thanks once more for all the reviewing! I really appreciate it!

faithstar: Wow! Thanks for the enthusiasm. I try to update as often as I can, but lately…anyway, thanks for reviewing!

WeirdDutchGuy: The name says it all, no? Well, this was the longest review this chapter, so there's a lot to respond to. Shall we get it started?

Thanks a lot, but it's not all that great. I thought the attacking of Team Rocket was slightly ingenious on my part when I first wrote it…now, it's a bit corny. -smirks- Well, some of the mystery behind that list will be explained…though I haven't written the explanation yet! -sticks out tongue at self-

Thanks…though the ending I've planned is almost bittersweet. Mainly because I can't write the aftermath of the confession (which must, of course always come before the getting together). As I said once before to another reviewer somewhere else: I hate to copy other people's ideas. I don't write new trainer stories, I refuse to write fluff argument fics (though I did once, to my own embarrassment), and I refuse to do ideas the rest of the world has done more than ten times. Yes, he certainly does, doesn't he? Team Rocket sort of tries, but only to embarrass and humiliate the duo.

Of course, I have some answers:

Misty was just walking outside. You know, a breath of fresh air to clear the mind of upsetting thoughts and memories. Togepi leaving hurt much more than Misty revealed, though you wouldn't know it at first sight, would you?

It wasn't all that fast, really. There was a time lapse in there that I didn't mention, and the hiding place wasn't really that far away (still on the island Sootopolis is found on, actually). With it being an island, and Misty traveling by air on her Gyarados, it's pretty easy to search for a something, especially when you have a general idea of what you're looking for.

You really want the answer to that? Well…yes and no. Like I said above, the ending for the trilogy is bittersweet. I won't reveal more so early on, so give me an e-mail if you want to know more.

That's something to happen in a chapter or three's time, so I wouldn't say it. However, May is too kind hearted to keep something that doesn't belong to her, once another person has proof it isn't hers.

I think you answered that yourself, mate.

Now.

wolf-girl87: Sort of wondered when you'd review. Well, I'm glad you liked it, and hope you like this one too.

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This is an announcement for all readers, reviewers and otherwise!

Because of a combination of upcoming tasks (Silver Award work Girl Scouts, essays for finals, finals themselves, extra review h/w in preparation for finals, college classes, etc.) I will have to take a break from updating tFA for a time.

Hopefully, I will be able to update again within the next few months. June, August at latest.

Ja, mata!

EDIT: -sweatdrops- Oops! In my hurry to post this, it seems I have forgotten to put in scene dividers in some spots. -sweatdrops more- I have reposted now, and this replacement should have all the necessary dividers. Sorry for any confusion I might have caused.