Two thieves were floating in a Meowth balloon, approaching the Pokémon Centre.
"A wanted poster, how flattering!" exclaimed Jessie.
"This picture makes me look terrible", added James, holding a poster about the two humans.
"Terrible? You should be happy the photographer captured the real you," said the red-haired woman.
"Exactly!" exclaimed the blue-haired man.
"We will show these punkies!"
"The people of Viridian City will be sorry they ever saw this face."
"We are all sorry to see your face. Stay focused, we are here to capture rare Pokémon, Meowth!" said a talking cat.
Meanwhile, an alarm sound started ringing in the city's Pokémon Centre, alerting people of the approach of the thieves.
"How dare they act like we're criminals? They should welcome Team Rocket!" exclaimed James.
"We will teach them to respect that name," said Jessie.
At the same moment that Ash and Leaf entered the Pokémon Centre, two Poké Balls landed on the floor. A spherical Pokémon burst out of its Poké Ball and started using Smokescreen, blurring everyone's vision, while a snake Pokémon started destroying the computers.
"Prepare for trouble!" a sudden voice said.
"Make it double!" added another.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples without our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light."
"Surrender now or prepare to fight."
"Meowth! That's right!"
"Team Rocket?" exclaimed Leaf.
"Yes, we are Team Rocket," said Meowth.
"Team Rocket, are these…?" started Ash, getting bad memories.
"Yes, they are the same criminal organization that took me as a child," said Leaf.
"How dare you accuse us of kidnapping children?" asked James.
"Da Boss would never order such a thing," added Meowth.
"Plus, we have no use for little twerps," said Jessie.
"What are you criminals here for?" asked Ash.
"We are after the Pokémon here, obviously, and I see that you and your friend have some rare one on your shoulders," said Jessie.
"I am not going to let you steal them!" exclaimed an angry Leaf.
"Calm down little twerpette, it's not like you can stop us," replied the woman.
"And what can little kids like you do against Team Rocket?" added James.
"Ekans, attack!"
"Koffing, you too!"
"Charmander, go!"
"You too Bulbasaur!"
"Ekans, use Poison Sting on Charmander."
"Koffing, use Sludge on Bulbasaur!"
"Charmander, use Scratch!"
"Bulbasaur, use Tackle!"
The lizard quickly went to Scratch the snake, but the attack didn't do much, after getting Intimidated by Ekans. The Poison-type responded with Poison Sting, heavily damaging the Fire-type. While the Grass-type was trying to Tackle the opponent, she received heavy damage.
"Charmander!"
"Bulbasaur!"
"Muwahahaha! You two think you stand a chance?" said Jessie.
"We are not Team Rocket for nothing!" added James.
"And I am going to be the top cat for da Boss!"
"Charmander, use Scratch again!"
"Bulbasaur, use Growl"
"Ekans, Poison Sting!"
"Koffing, Sludge!"
Charmander, however, used a new move; Ember, before getting Poison Sting. Bulbasaur Growled on the enemies, then surprised everyone by Vine Whipping Koffing, before getting Sludged. Charmander's Blaze activated, but since he was Poisoned, he collapsed and was rendered unable to battle.
"Charmander!" exclaimed Ash, before returning him to his Poké Ball.
Bulbasaur too was in a bad position, and she simultaneously got hit by both of Ekans' Poison Sting and Koffing's Sludge, rendering her unconscious.
"Bulbasaur!" exclaimed Leaf, before returning her to her Poké Ball.
"Hahaha! You twerps really thought you could defeat us?" said Meowth.
Suddenly, they heard a police siren from the outside.
"Oh crap! We were so focused on the Pokémon of the twerps that we didn't go after the other Pokémon in this Centre", said James, before dropping a Smoke Ball.
As the smoke cleared, the two criminals were no longer there.
"They got away!" exclaimed Ash.
"If only our Pokémon were stronger…" said Leaf.
The two Trainers gave their injured Pokémon to Nurse Joy and sat to wait.
"One must be really low to try to steal injured Pokémon!" exclaimed Ash.
"Yes, but it's not like Team Rocket cares about morals. If you saw how they handle their stolen Pokémon you would be horrified," replied Leaf.
"I remember you telling me about that."
Flashback…
"Here are the Pokémon you will work with," said a Rocket, presenting the creatures to the kidnapped children. Leaf was assigned a frightened Cleffa.
"Here in Team Rocket, we see Pokémon as nothing but tools. Here's a whip, if your Pokémon doesn't obey your commands, whip it. You can even whip it if it obeys your commands, just for fun," added the criminal, which made Leaf's blood boil.
"Now, take your Pokémon, and order them to fight," the grunt ordered.
Leaf and Cleffa were paired against an opponent having an Eevee.
"Begin!" shouted the thug.
The children could all see the assigned Pokémon were all frightened.
"So, what if they are frightened? Order them to fight or you will all get whipped with no mercy!"
"The way you treat Pokémon is disgusting!" exclaimed Leaf.
"What did you say brat?", said the thug, running with a whip towards the girl. The girl was running, but as the criminal was about to overtake her, she disappeared.
"Team Rocket is really bad, and I won't allow them to get away next time", said Ash.
"Me neither. We will train our Pokémon. I will make it my mission to take down Team Rocket," added his friend.
Ash went to call his mother. While he had his Pokégear, he preferred to call by videophone.
"Hello! This is the Ketchum residence!" said the voice at the other end.
"Hello, Mom!"
"Hi, honey! Is everything OK? Plus, how comes you're not calling from your Pokégear?"
"I prefer being able to see you."
"Where are you?"
"At the Pokémon Centre of Viridian City."
"Already at Viridian City? It took your late dad three days to reach that city."
"We were getting chased by a flock of Spearow so Leaf teleported us."
"You were getting chased by Spearow?"
"Yes, I don't know why."
"But don't let that discourage you, your Pokémon are here for you."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Bye, honey!
"Bye, mom!"
Five minutes later, one of the videophones rang.
"Hello, Ash!"
"Hello, Professor Oak!
"Your mom told me you're already reached Viridian City."
Yes, I did."
"And you and Leaf were chased by a flock of Spearow, right?"
"Yes."
"Glad you made it. I should tell the authorities about that. Where's Leaf?"
"She's talking with her dad."
"OK. So how's your Pokédex going? Gary bets a million yen you wouldn't have caught a single Pokémon by now."
A grin formed on Ash's face.
"I caught a Pichu and a Pidgey," he said, with a chuckle.
"Good! And what did Leaf catch?"
"I caught a Rattata.", said the girl, catching Ash by surprise.
"Well, good.
"Professor, I have another thing to say."
"Yes, Ash."
"I saw a rare Pokémon."
"You did?"
"Yes, the Pokédex says it's called Ho-Oh."
The old man was about to fall from his chair.
"You said you saw Ho-Oh, and the Pokédex recorded it?"
"Yes."
"That's splendid Ash. It brings me back some fond memories."
"Yes, I remember when you told us about meeting Suicune and Celebi." Said the girl.
"And how you saved Celebi from a poacher, and later caught it."
"That's right! I have to go, if you two need anything from me, you know where to call."
"Bye, Professor!"
"Bye, Professor!"
"Bye Ash, bye Leaf!"
After an hour of waiting, the nurse came back with the now-healed Pokémon.
"Ash, Leaf, your Pokémon are now fully healed."
The two children went to the counter to pick up their delighted Pokémon.
"Will you stay here for the night?" asked the health professional.
"What do you think, Leaf?"
"Would be good."
"Well, here are the keys." The nurse gave each one a key to a different room since they were from opposite genders.
Ash's stomach rumbled, making Leaf and Nurse Joy laugh.
"Sorry!" he said, embarrassed.
"If you two are hungry, there's a restaurant downstairs."
"Nice!" exclaimed Ash.
"What about our sandwiches, Ash?"
"True!"
"You can also buy food that you can eat on the road," said the nurse.
The two Trainers took the stairs and went down. The lower floor had much useful stuff for Trainers, like a restaurant that sells both foods for humans and Pokémon, a Poké Mart, and plenty of big tables. Ash and Leaf took the central table and started unpacking their stuff.
"Come on out, everyone!" said Ash, releasing Charmander, Pidgey, and Pichu. Leaf released Bulbasaur and Rattata. Upon coming out of its Poké Ball, Pichu delivered an electric shock to his Trainer.
"What was that for?"
The little mouse said nothing and went to eat with the other Pokémon, Ash and Leaf made sure he won't see the bottle of ketchup. After everyone was full, the two humans went to sleep. The next day would be a long one.
Author Notes:
1. Yes, Jessie and James are that oblivious to the true nature of their criminal organization. Remember their boss fantasies.
2. Professor Oak didn't tell anyone that Celebi took him through time. He wanted to preserve the timeline.