The reek of gasoline pervaded the room like corruption. Jessica flicked the lighter off and on and off again. Across the crimson shag carpet floors to the other side of the room, the blue-haired boy and his large companion drew their Poké Balls and threw all of them. The dark-skinned blubber boy had a Dragonair, a Charizard, a Rhyhorn, a Magneton, a Lapras, and a Kadabra. The blue haired boy - Ryan was his name, she recalled - had only three Pokémon: a Dragonite, a Charizard, and a Cloyster. Where his others were, she did not know.

It doesn't matter. Mew can beat them all. The three men behind her cowered and trembled, their Pokémon already defeated. The best the Painted Dragons had to offer. Soon, they'll burn like all the rest.

"I'm warning you," the boy named Ryan said darkly, "stop this right now, or we'll make you! You're outnumbered."

He's so dumb. How has such a stupid boy managed to trouble me this much?! "No one in the world can hurt my Mew," she said. "Look behind me, fools. Those are the leaders of the Painted Dragons. They could not stand against me! What hope could you - two dumb boys - possibly have?"

"I beat you before," the pale boy countered. "You don't scare me!"

That made Jessica smirk. "That was luck. Besides, I didn't have my legendary Mew with me back then. Now that I do, I'm invincible. You cannot touch me!"

"We'll see about that!" said Ryan's companion.

"Mew, Psychic attack!" Jessica commanded.

The poor blue-furred beast groaned and gave her a look, but it began charging up its purple energy attack anyways. At once, all nine of the other Pokémon rushed forward. Jessica clicked the lighter on and off again and made her way over to the three Painted Dragons.

"Ganglord Tajira," she said pleasantly as Pokémon fought behind her, "sorry for the delay."

"What are you doing?!" he asked through his gold teeth.

"I'm making sure the Painted Dragons never return to Kanto." She walked up to the man's safe, which lay open, and started pulling money out of it. Laying the fat stacks on their poker table, sweeping away glasses of orange juice and worn playing cards, she produced the lighter once again.

"N-no…!" Lieutenant Sugimori pleaded. "Please!"

Jessica didn't listen to that ingrate. "Shut your fat mouth. I already won. I decide what happens now." And so she brought the lonely flame to the edge of the piles of Poké Dollars and felt the heat take the paper. A burst of warmness rippled against her face and she stepped back, watching the fire spread across the table. I have to be careful, she reminded herself, I already poured gasoline around the entire room. It's not yet time to burn this place down.

The men cried like Pidgeys for her to stay her madness, but she didn't listen. Reaching into the safe, which she had forced Tajira to open not long ago, she took the Poké Balls from inside. "I wonder what's in these?" she asked playfully. "These Pokémon were locked up… so they must be pretty dangerous… or powerful." Her eyes met Sugimori's. The man looked away, scowling. I won't need these ones, not now that I have Mew. Maybe I'll give them to Gilly or the others, or send them back to the boss. Giovanni would be so proud. Her heart began to flutter thinking of Giovanni. She still felt something for the man. He's dying, but he was like a father to me, for all his faults. She had been raised by that man, for better or worse. But now it's my turn to lead us… to restore the legacy of Team Rocket. The boss is too weak, too old. If we are to survive, it will be through me, and me alone.

Turning back to the fight going on between her Mew and those other Pokémon, Jessica noticed that the Rhyhorn, Lapras, Cloyster, and both Charizards had already fainted. Mew flew about, dodging attacks or absorbing them, not taking much damage. "Soft-boiled, now!" she ordered her Pokémon, and it obeyed, restoring half of its health. These stupid boys. They have no chance… and no idea that they've already lost. Every time Mew takes a little bit of damage, all I need to do is make it use Soft-boiled, and its health will be restored. Suddenly, Jessica burst out laughing. She felt the adrenaline coursing through her veins. I've waited so long for this moment…

"Finish them, Mew!" And usher in the new era of Team Rocket. In one fell swoop, she would take out her two most annoying foes and stand at the threshold of utter domination of Kanto. It was so perfect. Ahead, the Dragonite flew at Mew, charging up a Hyper Beam, but Mew's Blizzard attack quickly silenced that beast. Dragons are not so fearsome in the cold. Even so, Jessica was growing impatient. She wanted to warm things up, to burn away all that the Painted Dragons held dear. Their computers, their paperwork, their secret information was all in this base. One click would be all that was required to wipe the Painted Dragons out of existence.

Mew performed an Earthquake, shattering the ground and making the portraits of former Painted Dragons leaders fall from the walls and shatter on the splitting carpet. The Dragonair collapsed; then came the Kadabra to stand against Mew. A hopeless fight. Mew will wipe the floor with that lesser Psychic Pokémon. Jessica folded her arms, savoring the taste of victory. Just two more…

A breath of air, quiet as death, moved past Jessica, causing her pants to shake so slightly, it was almost imperceptible. What was that?! Turning around, she saw nothing, just the broken ground, carpet and concrete poking up from the floor like a shattered mouth of teeth. Must've been nothing.

Returning her gaze ahead, Jessica saw that Mew and Kadabra were locked in an eternal struggle of Psychics, two purple beams clashing in the air, causing sparks to fall and a huge white light to emanate from where the two attacks were pushing against one another. Jessica raised her hand to block the light from hitting her eyes. Squinting, blinking away tears, she tried to see who held the advantage, if her Mew was going to beat that mustached freak. "Psychic, Psychic, Psychic!" she was bellowing, urging her Mew to use all its power to dominate its much-weaker foe. With her other hand, Jessica raised the remote controller and prepared to give her legendary Pokémon a good shock.

That was when the explosion went off - so loud it caused Jessica's ears to ring, and so bright that, no matter how much she blinked, she could see nothing but endless white.

Kadabra was losing. He would not last another minute. "Rahul, do something!" Ryan whispered. His eyes stayed on Jessica, who stood behind her Mew. He kept looking for an opening, but saw none. "We have to distract her completely!"

"Don't worry Ryan, I have an idea!"

Ryan coughed the cigar smoke out of his lungs and shook his head. "I don't like the sound of that…"

"Haha, don't worry, I'm the doctor!"

Rahul jumped forward, his Sonic Screwdriver in his hand, and shouted, "Magneton, Thunderbolt!"

The electric charge went flying from the floating mass of magnets straight at the Mew. The legendary Pokémon was already engaged with the Kadabra, their Psychics forming a beam struggle of brightening purple light. And when the lightning attack was added to fray, snaking elegantly up Kadabra's beam towards the other Psychic…

Ryan was thrown back, as was Rahul. He never heard the explosion, just high-pitched ringing in his ears. They rolled across the broken carpet to the far wall, crashing with hard thuds. Opening his eyes, Ryan saw only white. He tasted iron and smelled smoke - this time not cigar smoke, but real smoke. Something's burning. Ryan's eyes widened in shock. Oh crap, the gas!

"Fluttershy is best pony…" Rahul murmured, sitting up. He was rubbing his head. That was when Ryan realized he could see again.

Whipping his head back around, Ryan saw the Mew still hovering, the Kadabra on the floor, fainted, and the Magneton crumpled up next to him, also rendered unconscious. We're all out of Pokémon… at least as far as she thinks. Around the room, the walls, carpet, desks, boxes, couches, and ceiling were aflame. There wasn't much time now.

Her teeth bared like a wolf's, Jessica stepped forward triumphantly. "That's it! Now finish them, Mew!"

"Mew!" Mew whined, giving its owner a distressed look.

"I wasn't asking, Mew!" Jessica yelled, raising her hand. But in her hand was nothing. Got you. "Huh?! Where's my remote?!" Jessica's eyes grew large with uncertainty and confusion.

Now it was Ryan's turn to smile. Getting to his feet, he said, "Destroy it, Skorge!"

Behind Jessica was Ryan's Sandslash, the Team Rocket girl's remote control in its claws. With a single snap, it ripped the little slab of metal in half.

"Noooooo!" Jessica screamed wildly. "You idiots! Do you realize what you've done?!"

"Not exactly," Ryan replied, "but I don't care. Skorge, capture her!"

Jessica seethed and bared her teeth again, but as soon as the Sandslash charged at her, she went running off, back towards the elevator. A coward to the end. "Go after her!" Ryan shouted at Rahul.

"But I don't have any Pokémon left!" Dang it all!

Ryan was about to run after her when he saw the Mew again, hovering amongst the smoke and ash as the room started to burn around it. From behind, the three Painted Dragons gathered their things and ran off in the other direction, towards a door leading further into the bunker. Though the fires were rising, Ryan felt suddenly at peace. His eyes met the Mew's in that burning world, and the smoke seemed to part.

"Go," he said to it, "leave, quick! Get out of here before she comes back! Go!" The Mew didn't move, instead cocking its head to study Ryan curiously. "Don't you get it?! You're free, so get out of here! Please, before she gets back!" Ryan raised his hands and unlocked the electric collar around the Pokémon's neck. The metal device fell from it and landed on the carpet with a dull clang. "You're free now, Mew. Go back to where you came from."

"Mew…!"

"I'm sorry she was mean to you," Ryan said, reaching up his hand to run it through the Mew's fur, past its scabs and mats. "I swear, not all of us are like that…"

"Mew." The Mew's eyes glimmered a light shade of blue. It moved back, and in a flash, the legendary Pokémon disappeared, leaving Ryan alone, his hand extended in surprise, in that burning room. Bye Mew. I hope you can return to your old life and find happiness again.

He found Rose at the elevator, leaning up against a wall, picking at her fingernails. "That girl you were looking for came by here," she said, not looking up. "Took the elevator back to ground level. I couldn't stop her. Rahul went after her."

"Let's go," Ryan said. "There's no time!"

And so they went, like glass onions floating down the Styx. When they reached the surface, Ryan immediately sprinted out of the elevator. Leaving Rose behind, he pushed his way past the people in the Pokémon food store and stumbled outside, where the Painted Dragons and Team Rocket members were still fighting. Skorge is my only Pokémon left. I have to be careful. I can't let Jessica get away.

He would have never found her in that dusty chaos if not for her hair. In the distance, he spotted her long purple hair, pulled back and wrapped up, bounding away. It didn't take him long to run her down. On down the far street of Viridian City, past most of the fighting, where the Viridian Forest crept up against civilization, Jessica raced.

"Yeaaaaaah Skorge, get 'em!"

Ryan's Sandslash appeared in a burst of light in front of Jessica, standing between her and the forest. The girl stopped running and spun around to face her pursuer.

Breathing hard and smiling, she panted, "I have to hand it to you, kid. You don't know when to give up. I like that. Why don't you join Team Rocket and become my new right hand man?"

"Thanks, but no way!" Ryan shouted. "I don't want anything to do with that crummy organization!"

Jessica's smile turned to a scowl. She grabbed a Poké Ball of her own and threw it, producing her Haunter. "Take that back, kid."

"Never."

Jessica took out another Poké Ball and threw it, this time bringing out her Slowbro. "Fool. You have made a serious mistake provoking my wrath! I'll hurt you for that."

Ryan gulped. Skorge has no chance against two Pokémon! Outwardly, he didn't let his fear show. "Your words mean nothing to me, Jessica! If this is how it's going to be, I'll just beat you again!" He unshouldered his backpack, knelt down, and pulled out a beige 24-faced polyhedron. "I hate you, you know that?! You're gonna make me use a really expensive potion!" Holding the Max Revive in his hand, Ryan wondered which Pokémon he should revive. Thurnax is my strongest Pokémon… but if she has an ice attack…

Ryan had settled on reviving NaVorro when, out of nowhere, a shadow fell across his face. Looking over his shoulder, the boy noticed Dylan standing there, coated in dirt and sweat. He was frowning at Jessica. "Recall your Pokémon, Ryan."

"But why-"

"Just do it!"

You don't have to yell, man. Ryan sighed and obeyed Dylan, and his Skorge returned to him.

"Two versus one? That doesn't seem fair," Jessica mused, eyeing the boys.

"You didn't seem to care about those odds before," Ryan pointed out.

Jessica gave him a hateful look. Yeah, do that all you want. It won't bring back Mew. You're never getting that Pokémon back.

"You're the one who caused all the problems in this town, aren't you?" Dylan asked her.

Jessica raised her chin and folded her arms. "That's none of your business, kid."

"All this fighting between Team Rocket and the Painted Dragons is because of you," Dylan continued. "You've brought chaos to Viridian."

"I don't care."

"I bet you don't." Dylan looked to the sky and whistled. A second later, a shadow appeared, stretching across the ground as large as a house. Pidgeot! Wow! Ryan's fingers were trembling. "Pidgeot" Dylan shouted at his flying Pokémon, "send this rotten girl as far away from here as you can!" Turning his focus back to Jessica, Dylan spoke calmly, "I don't want to ever see you in my town again. If I do, I'll have you arrested… for a very long time."

Jessica looked none too pleased. "Haunty, Hypnosis attack now!"

"Pidgeooooooooot!" Dylan's Pokémon screeched nobly. At once, it lowered to just in front of Jessica, her Haunter, and her Slowbro. Flapping its wings furiously, the Pidgeot conjured up a vortex of air, spinning it towards Jessica. At the last moment, the purple-haired girl screamed. And then, she was thrust into the air with her Pokémon, howling and cursing the boys below her, until she faded to a twinkle in the empty azure sky.

By evening, peace had been restored to Viridian City. Most of the Painted Dragons and Team Rocket members had been arrested by Officer Jennys (due to the crisis, Officer Jennys from miles around had come to help in the administration of justice) or had fled into the forest. Ryan watched Mr. Mimes patrolling the streets, sweeping up the dust and broken glass and other refuse that had spread across the streets and sidewalks during the battle. Glancing over his shoulder, he looked for Nurse Joy, but she was not there behind the counter. She'll return as soon as all of my Pokémon are healed. Then I can go back to the gym for another showdown with Dylan…

"You did really good today Skorge," Ryan said, patting his only remaining Pokémon on the head. "Nice work buddy."

"Slash, sand, sand!" Ryan thought it was good to see his Sandslash full of such vigor. He's so quiet all the time. Hopefully he starts trusting me more now that we've battled a few times together. I'm not like Jesse… but that should be a good thing.

Up ahead, in the corner of the Poké Center, on couches, Logan and Rahul had collapsed to watch some Doctor Who. Alex was in the food court in the far corner of the building, probably ordering another cucumber to go with his rice and dumplings.

"Hey Ryan." That voice sounds familiar.

Standing up, Ryan faced the Viridian City Gym Leader. "Dylan? What are you doing here?"

"Giving you this," the other boy said, holding out his hand, palm up. On it was a tiny green charm, shaped like a type of plant Ryan did not know. The badge seemed to shimmer and sparkle in the dwindling rust-red light of evening.

"B-but… I didn't beat you," Ryan replied, his eyes wide. "Our fight was interrupted, remember?"

"I know. But it was pretty clear you were going to win that battle," Dylan said. "So here, take it."

There were tears in Ryan's eyes when he did. "Thank you…! You don't know how much this means to me!"

Dylan turned to leave. A sly smile formed on his lips. "Trust me… I do. But you earned it, Ryan. And you helped us fight off Team Rocket and the Painted Dragons. We couldn't have done it without you. For that you have my thanks."

"I'll be back one day," Ryan assured the other boy. "I still wanna test my Pokémon against that Pidgeot of yours."

"Mmm. I'll be waiting, dude. Good luck in the tournament. You have seven days before it begins."

And with that, Dylan walked away, leaving Ryan there with his badge and his thoughts and his single Pokémon. This is what I set out to do, the boy thought. When I left home with nothing but an Abra, my goal was to get all eight Gym Badges to compete in the Indigo League like my father before me. Now he had the eight badges. But Abra's gone, and dad doesn't approve of me being a Pokémon trainer…

Ryan sighed, trying to clear his thoughts. In his chest, something was rising. Was it happiness or relief? He did not know. Either way, Ryan walked back over to the couches to watch some Doctor Who with the others. We'll have to stay long enough for Rahul to get his Earth Badge too. But otherwise, Ryan was now free to train for the Indigo League, to prepare for his stiffest opposition yet. I have seven days.

Kelly's been training her Pokémon for weeks… maybe months… just for this tournament. And I only have a week. The boy didn't like his prospects. Well, maybe I won't win it all, but hopefully I can at least win a match or two and then I can cheer Kelly on the rest of the way, he thought to himself.

I'll see her again soon, Ryan knew. Perhaps I'll find her somewhere on Victory Road, or if not, at the tournament itself. He looked down at his hands and saw that they were trembling again in his lap. I'm not ready. But when have I ever been?

Ryan spent the next morning training his Pokébuddies on wild Arboks, Fearows, and Pinsirs in the Viridian Forest. When it was time to go watch Rahul try his luck in the normal/flying gym, Ryan gathered up his balls and trekked back into the city. That was when he beheld a most curious sight.

There was a man, an old man, a crusty man, a hobo clutching a gherkin, lying in the road, collapsed like a sleeping Snorlax. He had a long brown beard braided into several ponytails, wore a black-and-grey fedora, and had a pair of cheap plastic sunglasses shielding his eyes. He was, unfortunately, blocking the path. Ryan just couldn't find a way around the man, be it by walking around him or jumping over him. Such mechanics don't exist in the Pokémon games, alas.

"Yo man, you're in the road!" Ryan said forcefully, waking the old wispy hobo.

"Ahhh… what?!"

"You're blocking my way!"

"Why don't we do it in the road?!" the man yelped suddenly, his voice like broken glass on a desolate highway in the desert. "Why don't we do it in the road?! Why don't we doooooooooooo iiiiiiiiiiit in the road?" he sang angrily. Sitting up, rubbing his eyes, he looked at Ryan and said, "Oh."

This man, like all other adults I've ever met, is insane. "Do what?"

Yawning, the man said, "Uh, can you get me a coffee, kid? I really need one." The hobo picked at something in his beard and ate it. "It's my coffee for the day, go get it!"

"Yeah, I'm not doing that. Even if I wanted to, you're blocking the way back into the city."

"Ah… that blows." He furrowed his brow, thinking for several moments. Without warning, the hobo grumbled, "Go to Pewter and get me some coffee from there, okay? And run all the way back. I want it nice and hot."

"No way man."

"If you do that, I'll teach you how to catch your first Pokémon, kid." The hobo's face was ruddy and dirty, but it lit up when he said that.

"Yeah… no thanks. I already have eight gym badges, so I think I'm good."

"Curse you and the Rapidash you rode in on!" the hobo complained. "I need my coffee!"

"Then go get it, man."

"Nah, I'm good…" The old man leaned back, putting his hands behind his head, and started nodding back off to sleep.

Unbelievable. Doesn't he understand the physics of this universe? "Hey?! Are you gonna move or what?"

"Are you gonna get me my coffee?" the man asked without opening his eyes.

"No."

"There's your answer."

"That's it, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle! NaVorro, get rid of this faker!" Ryan shouted, choosing his Tauros for this fight. NaVorro is a rock. He's cool, collected, and never gives up. He'll beat that hobo all the way back to Timbuktu.

The man yawned and pulled a Poké Ball out of his pants' pocket. The Pokémon that shot out of his ball was none other than a Lickitung.

"Huh, a Lickitung? That's random!" Ryan said, taking out his Poké Dex. "Yo Dex, tell me the goods on this one."

"Of course my man, my main man, Ryan the Great, a master who is way past cool and so forth. Lickitung, the Licking Pokémon. Its tongue spans almost 7 feet and moves more freely than its forelegs. Its licks can cause paralysis."

"Gross," Ryan said. "Okay, NaVorro, use Earthquake!"

NaVorro, ever the stoic, leal warrior, did just that. The ground shook, a nearby tree fell over, and the dirt road cracked and split. The hobo rolled like a cucumber a few feet down the path towards Viridian City to avoid the attack. Lickitung absorbed the blow poorly, shrieking and flailing its tongue all over the place (Ryan had to jump over the wild tongue as if it were a jump rope to avoid getting licked).

"Lick that bull, yeah!" The hobo's voice was cracked and old, but Ryan could detect some glee in it. I wonder if I'll get like that when I'm that old.

"Licki!" The tub of pink lard darted forward like a praying mantis, but stopped just short of NaVorro. Then, delicately, it opened its mouth and unraveled its tongue. The bull Pokémon stamped its foot impatiently. That won't hurt NaVorro, Ryan thought confidently. He's not so weak.

It came as a pink blur, reminding Ryan of Celadon City. The tongue unfurled like a banner and dragged itself across NaVorro's face. Then, NaVorro collapsed.

"NaVorro the Tauros has been paralyzed my most magnificent master!"

"Seriously?!" Ryan felt his face growing hot with rage. Just my luck.

"Tackle it, Lickitung, eh?" the hobo grunted, and his Pokémon was happy to obey.

One Tackle was all it took for NaVorro to go down. He's tired from fighting all those wild Pokémon, but that's no excuse to lose to some random old man like that… this is terrible! My worst loss ever!

"I challenge you to a rematch!" Ryan declared, returning his Tauros. "This time, you'll face my Dragonite!"

"Oh wow, no way man. That's not cool. I gotta split. I gotta fly. Catch ya later, cretin!"

And so the man ran off, the dust puffing up behind him, towards the rising sun.

"Wow… that was uncalled for." Ryan stood there, his mouth agape, unsure of what had just taken place.

"I agree master, he was a bad man, a horrible man, a no-good rotten human, and I hate him, etc." Dex said.

"That'll do, Dexy boy, that'll do."

Ryan was about to walk back towards the city when he saw a white canister rolling down the road. That hobo must've dropped it. He was about to call after the running man, but then he remembered the names that guy had called him. Plus, he only beat me with cheap tricks.

The boy leaned down, picking up the canister. Inspecting its cap, he read the words 'Body Slam' stamped on it in thick Arial font. Just what I need. Yeah. That's karma for you, man. Making sure no Officer Jenny was eavesdropping from behind a tree or something, Ryan grinned cheekily and pocketed the TM. Now I only need to find Explosion, and I'll have every TM for my Pokémon team, he thought with glee.

Feeling a sudden burst of energy and excitement, Ryan ran down the path, back towards Viridian City, where one of his best friends in the whole wide world was about get his eighth badge. Even if he wasn't there to watch me get mine, I'll be there for him.