(Music: fighting spirit)
(What a beautiful day, it is here that we find our heroes still on their path to Vermilion City)
"I've always wanted to go to vermilion city! It's supposed to have quite a bit of luxurious experiences"
Dawn sighed. She was in Pokemon form walking along next to Ashly who on the other hand was in her human form with Pikachu on her shoulder.
"I'm on a roll! I can't wait to get there and beat the next gym!" Gary laughed.
"Hey pellet brain, you didn't WIN a single badge yet. You got them because Brock was softer than limestone and the sensational sisters are sensational suckers!" Ashly yelled.
"Hey! I'd like to see how well you run a gym while dealing with a giant family" Brock told her.
"Eh…how soft is limestone?" Gary asked.
"It's weak to water types" Brock replied sadly.
Dawn laughed a bit then stopped when she saw something that looked interesting to her. "I see a tent up there…let's check it out!" She exclaimed.
She changed to her human form and ran off into the trees.
"Dawn, wait for us!" Yelled Gary.
(End music)
They soon came across a circus style tent with an arena out front.
"Hey, Brock, do you think…?" Ashly whispered.
Brock looked around and shrugged. "I don't know…he said he was going to go and take on the league."
"Welcome challengers! To A.J.'s Pokemon gym" shouted a male voice. A loud fanfare played as he said this.
Brock and Ashly looked to where it came from and saw A.J. And a Sandslash next to him.
Ashly ran over to him.
"Hey A.J. Long time no see!" She greeted.
"Sorry miss, I can't say I've seen you before" he said.
"Don't you remember, it's me, Ash" she protested.
A.J. Laughed. "Don't be silly, my buddy Ash is a guy…but on the other hand, you do look remarkably like him…down to the eyes and clothes and Pikachu too"
"Sorry to break it to you, A.J, but that's Ash" Brock told him while walking up.
"Well if Brock is with ya' I guess you really are him. What the heck happened to you?!" Asked A.J.
"Misty killed me and I got revived by a legendary and now I am one" she said
"So I take it you came to try my training methods?!" He asked.
She shook her head. "Heck no. I just followed Dawn here. We were on our way back to Vermilion City."
"Well I recon it's great Seeing you again. If it helps, I have something for you. Take this" he said. He walked to a cabinet and pulled out a TM.
"I'll take that. I'm her trainer" Gary said.
"Aww, Come on Gary!" She whined as he took and stored the disk away.
"It's a TM containing the move Shock Wave" A.J. Said.
They waved goodbye to A.J. Soon after And went on their way.
(Who's that Pokemon?!)
(It's…ok, yeah this joke has run its course hasn't it? We even forgot about it entirely until now)
"Gary, I want it" Ashly said bluntly.
"Sorry, I'm keeping track of this until I think it matters….but I'll probably just forget about it and this whole thing will be irrelevant in a matter of about five chapters or so" he chuckled.
She frowned at him for a bit then looked off in thought. "Hey, remember when I met Bulbasaur?"
"Yeah, and I especially remember…Melony" Brock said.
Ashly was not having it and pinched his shoulder making him fall over in a state of shock.
"S…s…sorry" he said while she was sitting on his back in Pokemon form.
"If Max, and Crogunk aren't here, someone has to step up the plate and keep girls safe from you" she relayed.
"Haven't you figured it out yet? As long as Brock is able to flirt, no girl is safe from his advances" Dawn sighed as she picked a struggling Ashly up off of him.
They walked a bit further and made it to a bridge.
(Music: scramble)
About halfway across, it snapped and they all began to plummet.
Gary screamed like a three year old girl who just saw her first murder."Serena, fly us up!" He yelled as he sent her out.
"Whah?! Where are we?! Why are we falling?!" She asked in shock as they continued to drop.
"Just fly us up!" He yelled.
Even if I could grab you all before you reach the bottom, I don't know Fly!" She said before they tumbled into the water.
"Ashly, Dawn, Serena, Return!" Gary coughed.
Ashly tried to protest but he was quick to recall her and her friends.
"Do you think Bulbasaur will be able to save us…..oh wait…" Brock gasped.
"You mean the one Ashly caught several years ago?!" Gary yelled.
"Brock, does this water seem to be vanishing up ahead?" He asked After grabbing on to one of the boards from the bridge.
"THAT'S A WATERFALL!" Brock shouted.
They were headed over the waterfall when a large mechanical hand grabbed them and pulled them out of the water.
(Music: team rocket motto Kanto version)
"Prepare for trouble over the stream" said Jesse
"And make it double, it's your lucky day it would seem" added James.
"To protect the world from devestation"
"To unite all people within our nation"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love"
"To extend our reach to the stars above"
"Jessie"
"James"
"Team rocket fishes out twerps at the speed of light"
"Surender your answers now or prepare to fight"
"Meowth, that's right"
(music: creeping shadow)
The robotic arm dropped them on the side of the river and team rocket jumped out of their Balloon.
"Team rocket, if you are here to steal our Pokemon, you won't have them!" Brock yelled.
"Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu challenged.
"You know, it's rude to treat the ones who just rescued you like criminals" Jessie yelled.
"All we want today is some answers" added James.
"Fair enough. You each get one question" Gary sighed.
"First of all, where is the Twerp with the Pikachu?" Jessie asked.
"He died and came back as a female Dialga. She is in this pokeball right here" Gary said. He held up ashly's ball.
"Two, where's the red haired twerpette?" Meowth asked.
"We aren't traveling with her anymore after she killed ash" Brock explained.
"Last question, why did she kill him to begin with?" James quizzed.
"Because she thought he was bad luck" Gary and Brock said.
"And here's one fro us, why did you help us?" Gary asked.
"Because we needed answers. Now that we got them, prepare for us to follow and plague you for the next few regions. Toddles!" Sang Jessie. Team rocket then jumped back into their Balloon and flew away.
"Well that was weird…" Gary said.
"And we probably shouldn't have stopped to answer their questions. Now the sun is setting and we have to set up camp" Brock replied.
(End music)
Gary let Ashly, may, Serena, and dawn out to help set up.
"Hey, isn't there a Pokemon center around here Brock?" Ashly asked.
"Yeah, this way" Brock said.
They heard thunder and began to run.
"Oh man, how did we not notice the sky?!" Yelled Ashly.
"Everyone return" Gary called.
"Fuck you Gary. You return for once" Serena told him.
"Oh so you'd rather get rained on? Fine by me" he scoffed.
"It's not even…" She began before the sky quite literally began to pour on them.
She tapped her ball and it pulled her inside.
They arrived at the center and there was a huge fire lit in the middle, surrounded by some chairs.
"So dude, you think that pathetic charmander is still as weak as it used to be" laughed a voice as Ashly and co were in human form with some bowls of soup in front of them.
"Brock…look over there…" Ashly whispered.
"I know. It's him…Damian" Brock answered.
"Hah, that weak thing probably keeled over and died" Damian laughed.
Ashly stood up abruptly.
"Ashly, don't do anything rash" Brock warned.
"You know that doesn't mean jack to her" Serena told him.
"I know" he sighed.
Ashly stormed up to Damian and punched him in the face.
"Hey, what was that for?!" He asked.
"You are one if the most horrible trainers I have ever met" she said.
"You what mate?! My Pokemon collection is huge" he said.
"Your charmander is now a fully grown charizard for your information" she replied.
"How would you know?" He asked.
"You remember The boy with the Pikachu? I'm him many years later. And I have that charizard right here" she said as she held up a pokeball.
"Heh, I guess you raised it eh? How about you and I have a battle" he asked.
"I'll battle you myself" she said.
Your just a weak lil' girl. My Pokemon will beat the snot outa' you" he laughed.
"Am I?" She asked. She glowed and changed to her Pokemon form.
"I could use me a pokemon like you" he chuckled while throwing a pokeball at her.
It bounced away though.
"Nice try, but do you really think I would let you of all trainers catch me?" Her voice asked in his head.
"Fair enough, I'll just challenge your trainer and win you as a prize" he said.
"That's not gonna happen. You make me sick. Thinking of Pokemon as prizes to be won" Brock said as he picked Ashly up.
"So she belongs to you eh? I tell ya what mate, I got a set of eeveeloutions here. I'll trade you the lot of them for that Pokemon in your arms" Damian proposed.
"While I would love to train the evolved forms of eevee, she's my friend and she doesn't belong to me but to my other friend. If I handed her over to you, it would be a crime to both of them so I'll have to decline" Brock said before walking away.
The following morning, Gary and Brock left the center.
(After meeting a few familiar faces, our heroes are once again setting their sights on vermilion city where Gary plans to beat the gym leader. Will they make it there without any more detours? Find out next time)