And here we are again, gathered for another chapter. And yes, Dream Weaver hit it right on the head. It's not so much that Misty is completely dedicated to Kaine and his ideals, it's just that she doesn't want to admit Ash is right. It goes all the way back to their little fights as children when they began traveling with each other. Yes, she was sort of swayed by Kaine's words at first, but the incident with the knife had gotten Misty confused and suspicious. Now it's simply a matter of the both of them still being too damn stubborn towards each other after all these years. Can they overcome it? We'll just have to wait and see…

-Kouji Tamino

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Team Aqua and Team Magma have made the first move. Attacking Kin Island, Brock was injured, the 'Elemental Trio' from Pallet Town showed both sides the true meaning of defeat, while Ash and Misty were reunited for the first time since the horrifying incident before. Kaine, disappointed in how Ash turned out, accidentally showed the darker side of himself in his disgust. The would be lovers parted ways once again, but not before Ash finally revealed how he felt about Misty. With teary eyes and heavy hearts, they once again decided that they would rather fight each other and uphold their own pride.

-----

A Series of Events

Episode 11: The Calm Before the Storm

Ash screamed, punching the wall of the Pokémon Center and falling his knees. "Damn it! Now we're even more hopeless than before…" He closed his eyes tightly. "Brock's badly hurt, we're sorely outnumbered, and Misty is still on the other side. We might as well just give up."

"Ash…" Brendan said softly, walking over to him.

"What is it?" the slightly older man asked, slowly standing up. He grunted as his face met with the Hoenn trainer's fist, sending him falling back down from shock. He winced, holding his cheek. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?"

"Brendan!" May shouted, gasping.

"Stand up!" Brendan shouted, clenching his fist. "I said STAND UP!" He growled, glaring at him. "Where's the brave, hardheaded impulsive Ash I know? When did you become a weakling?"

"Stop it, that's enough…" Gary said with a scowl, stepping forward.

"No, it's not!" Brendan shouted. "Stand up, Ash Ketchum! Quit being so damn pathetic! You make me sick!"

"Stop it!" Nurse Joy shouted, a worried look on her face. "This is a hospital! There are lots of sick and injured Pokémon here!"

Pathetic. That's what Kaine had called him. Suddenly, something went off inside off Ash. He shouted, stood up, grabbed Brendan by the shoulder, and socked him right in the face. He then continued to pummel the boy furiously, taking out all of his frustrations on him. He couldn't think correctly at that moment. All he knew was that Kaine and Team Aqua had taken away Misty and he was going to get her back no matter what. He had been re-inspired. Now if only he could just calm down and use that anger effectively…

"Ash, stop it!" Gary screamed, grabbing and holding him back while May screamed and ran to her new boyfriend's side. "You're gonna kill him!"

After struggling for a few seconds, Ash came to his senses, sighing. "Geez… Sorry about that, Brendan. Guess I went a little too far…"

Brendan, nose bloodied and bruised, with a small trickle of blood rolling down his mouth as well, chuckled. "Don't be. I knew I was in for an ass beating if I pushed you far enough, but if it got you back to your old self then hey, it was worth it."

"Oh god…" May sighed, hugging the boy tightly. "Brendan, you big dummy…" she giggled, glad that he seemed to be all right.

"It appears that we have a arrived too late." a familiar, elderly sounding voice replied.

Everyone turned around to see Professor Oak, Tracey, and Max standing in the doorway. Max waved, smiling. "Hey, guys! Long time to see!" Glaring at his sister, he huffed and crossed his arms. "And you! You abandoned me in the middle of our journey!" He turned to the others. "I woke up one morning and she was gone without a trace!"

May chuckled nervously as everyone gave her a peculiar look. Annoyed, she put her hands at her hips. "Hey, I was in a hurry to meet up with you guys! And I tried to wake him! I even left a note!" She glared over at him. "He failed to mention those little details."

"Trying to make your sister out to be the bad guy?" Gary asked, raising an eyebrow. "Speaking of sisters, how is Daisy doing?"

"You can ask her yourself." Professor Oak replied, chuckling.

"Huh?" Gary replied, scratching his head in confusion. He yelped as he was suddenly grabbed in a tight hug from behind. He sighed, shaking his head. "Hello, Daisy…"

"Hello, baby brother!" she shouted happily, squeezing him tighter. She looked over to the others and waved. "Hi there, everyone!"

"Hey there, Daisy…" Ash replied, smiling. "What are you doing here, though?"

"Oh, you know: Just in case someone was injured or something…" she said in a casual tone. "I have some special herbs that may help."

May began to speak. "Well, Brock got…" Her eyes widened as the woman sped passed her, running towards the room that Brock was resting in. "…hurt. Wow, she's quick…"

"And there's a visitor for Ash, too…" Tracey moved out of the doorway to reveal Delia, standing there with a perplexed look on her face.

"Mom! You're back!" Ash shouted, running towards her with his arms wide, ready for a hug. He was quickly stop with a hand to the face. "Mom?"

Delia glared at him. "Look, I don't know why you keep calling me that…" She sighed, her expression softening. "But for some reason, I just can't stop worrying about you. You're all I've been thinking about, lately. And I keep getting these weird quick images of someone who looks just like you, but younger…" Smiling, she put a hand on his shoulder. "So I thought that maybe seeing you again would help refresh my memory."

"Well, is it?" Ash asked hopefully.

Delia smiled. "Perhaps… There's definitely something coming back to me."

-----

"Brock!" Daisy shouted, running over to his side. "Are you okay?"

The man had a few minor burns, but that was about it. Moaning in pain, he slowly turned over in his bed. Looking over to her, he smiled. "Are you… an angel?"

Giggling, Daisy poked him in the forehead, sticking out her tongue. "No, silly… I'm Daisy, Gary's older sister… Remember?"

"Close enough…" Brock replied with a smirk. "So, what brings you here?"

"When I found out about the attack, I rushed down here with my grandma and the others to help treat any possible injured people! Everyone is here on Kin Island now!"

Brock smiled, wincing in pain. "That's… great… Did we win the battle?"

The elder Oak grandchild nodded, smiling cheerfully. "Yes, they did. We arrived a little late, but from what I've heard, they all fought bravely." She giggled, giving him a gentle look. "And so did you…"

Brock rolled his eyes. Or, at least I think he rolled his eyes. It's kind of hard to tell. "Yeah, right. I screwed up big time." He groaned, turning around in his bed again. "Damn, how could I have made such a grave mistake?" He raised an eyebrow as Daisy put a comforting hand on his head. "Huh?"

"It's alright…" Daisy said softly, running her hand through his hair. "You don't have to be perfect. You're fine just the way you are."

"…Really?" He asked, turning back to her. "I don't see what's so great about a guy like me…"

"Don't say that!" Daisy shouted, glaring at him. "You're kind, and mature, and funny, and confident…" She smiled again, tilting her head. "What's not to like?"

Brock chuckled, sighing as he slowly at up. "Thanks… But I really don't deserve the praise… I'm just a lousy pervert posing as a Pokémon Breeder…"

Daisy frowned sadly. "Brock, please don't put yourself down like that… It makes me upset when people don't like themselves enough to say negative things about themselves." She ran her hand through his hair again. "You should focus more on the positive things about yourself. So you made one mistake… It's not the end of the world!"

Brock sighed, putting his head in his hands. "You know… You're right." Smiling at her, he held her hands gently. "Thank you."

"No problem!" The woman said happily.

-----

Brendan hissed in pain as May applied the hydrogen peroxide soaked cotton swab to his wounds. "Ow, ow, ow! Damn it, that stings!"

"Serves you right!" May scolded, tossing the used swab into a nearby trash bin. "Picking a fight with Ash like that! I know you were trying to help, but…" she sighed shaking her head. "It's partially my fault, too. I should have warned you about Ash's… aggressiveness at times."

"I could tell he was the aggressive type when I first met him." Brendan replied, smirking. "You have nothing to apologize about. I knew what I was getting myself into from the start." He yelped as she bopped him on top of his head. "Hey!"

May glared at him, then huffed and closed her eyes. "Idiot…" Her angry look slowly softened, and she began to giggle. "You're just too much…"

"I hope this doesn't put a damper between the two of us… I'm sick of being Ash's rival. I'd like to maybe become friends with him."

"Awww…" May squealed, hugging her new boyfriend. "You're such a sweetie, Brendan…"

-----

"So…" Professor Oak began, taking a sip of his tea. "Team Aqua and Team Magma plan to use the plates and their special machines to fulfill their goals?" The eldest Oak, his grandson, Tracey, Max, Lostelle, and Celio were gathered in the lobby of the Kin Island Pokémon Center.

"Well, that's the gist of things." Gary replied, a stern look on his face. "I have no idea what's going to happen next, but we have to find a way to stop them, and fast. We can't let them go through with this insane stunt."

"I agree." Tracey replied, nodding. "But what can we do? We have no idea where they're hiding."

"We know where they are." Jessie said plainly, standing in the doorway along with James and Meowth. She waved, smiling. "Hi there!"

"Team Rocket!" Max shouted, bringing out a Pokéball. "Torkoal, attack!"

"BWAH!" the trio screamed.

"Wait!" Meowth yelped, raising his arms and standing on one foot.

"We're good guys now!" James shouted, going into an odd pose as well.

"Honest!" Jessie squealed, following suit.

"Hold it!" Tracey shouted, a stern look on his face. He quickly pulled out his sketchpad and pencil, going to work. "I've got to sketch this!" Everyone else, the former Team Rocket members included, face faulted.

After recovering, Gary came to the trio's defense. "They're telling the truth, Max. They've actually been a big help to us as of late." Chuckling scratched the back of his head. "So please, don't fry our new friends."

"Okay, if you say so…" Max said uneasily, slowly putting the Pokéball away.

"Well, well…" Professor Oak replied with a smirk, walking up to them. "I never thought I'd see the day when Team Rocket became good guys."

"There wasn't really anywhere else for us to go after Team Rocket was permanently disbanded." Jessie began, looking wistful.

"So we packed up our bags and began traveling the world, protecting Pokémon from poachers and criminals posing as activists like Team Magma and Team Aqua."

"Yeah!" Meowth added. "If yas gonna be crooks, don't make excuses for yourself!"

The others sweat dropped. "Anyway", Celio began, quickly changing the subject, "Did the announcement say anything else?"

"Oh, right!" Gary shouted, pounding his fist into his hand. "I almost forgot! They're moving the machines and installing them into Mt. Ember!"

"WHAT?" everyone screamed, standing up.

"That's insane!" Celio screamed at the top of his lungs. "Who knows what will happen if they try a stunt like that?"

"Thousands of people will be killed the volcano erupts!" Tracey shouted, his eyes widening. "We have to warn everyone somehow!"

"But how?" Gary asked, glaring. "Seven islands, countless inhabitants."

"If only we could disrupt the television waves and get a message to the people to warn them!" James said frantically.

"We might just be able to do that…" Professor Oak said quietly, rubbing his chin. "Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of television on these islands."

Lostelle nodded, frowning. "Yeah… We just started getting TV signals about a year ago."

"Just as I thought." The professor said in a slightly shaky voice. "We'll have to try and depend on word of mouth, then…"

"Tracey, gather everyone up." Gary said in a dark tone. "We've got a lot of work to do."

-----

Ash stared out at the ocean as he sat next to his mother. "So…"

"No, I haven't gained all of my memories back, if that's what you're wondering." Delia replied plainly, petting Pikachu. She glared at him. "Anyone ever told you that you're annoying? Leave me alone."

"Waahh…" Ash cried, tears flowing like waterfalls. "My own mother thinks I'm annoying…"

"Pikaa…" the yellow rodent sighed.

To Be Continued…