Ch. 2 — To the Rescue!

(Atsune's house) —

Atsune had spent a good two whole days at her house. Her hair was trimmed and put into a long pony-tail. Wearing fresh and newly bought clothes, she finished packing the few supplies she had. "Besides more typical supplies I'll get in Littleroot, I couldn't be any readier!"

Absol stood by her side, "Absol!" She said, agreeing. Ever since Atsune came back, Absol utterly refused to go in her pokeball. It was clear Absol never wanted anything to happen to her trainer ever again.

"Well Absol, first we need to head to Littleroot town. Claude says that if I act like a new trainer, Professor Birch will give me some of the newest trainer stuff. I have been gone a while, and it's not good to have two-year-old equipment." She laughed, but her tone quickly turned serious. "Absol, I know you want to protect me, but once we enter that town, I need you in your Pokeball."

"Absol!" She cried out angrily.

"I know you want to watch out for me. But new trainers don't have rare pokemon like you. If he sees you, he'll instantly know I'm no rookie. It's only for that town, and once we're gone, you can stay out whenever you like. Please…just this one little bit…" Atsune kneeled in front of Absol, and they stared into each others' eyes.

Absol sighed and nodded, "Absol."

"Thanks so much! You won't know how much this'll help!" Atsune hugged her pokemon, and they both smiled. "C'mon, let's get going." Atsune pulled on her backpack, and she and Absol happily went downstairs. The whole family was standing there.

"Good luck on your journey Atsune!" Abby cheered.

"Stay safe, and call us once in a while." Susan said, holding back tears.

"Atsune, I never knew your father much, but I did know he was a great man. And this is from him." Claude placed a necklace over her head and let it fall onto her neck. On the end of it was a silver pokeball ring, the letters R.T. embedded on the side.

"Dad's old good-luck charm…thanks." Atsune fingered the necklace, and a warm sensation ran through her body.

"Go on now…your journey awaits you…" Claude said. Atsune hugged each one of them, and left out the front door with Absol. They waved until Atsune was too far to see.

In town, Atsune stopped by the pokemon center. There she brought out her Hitmonlee. "I have a small task I need you to do for me. I'm going to send you to the lab; there you'll tell all of our friends I'm back, all right?"

Hitmonlee nodded, "Hitmonlee!"

"Thanks." She returned him to his pokeball, calling up an old friend.

The phone rang, and the screen in front of her suddenly shown a young man, probably a few years older than her. He had black hair that hung at his shoulders, with deep green eyes. "Hello?" he asked.

"You've grown out your hair Jiminy Cricket." She said coolly. "Yes, before you say anything, it is me. I cannot tell you my whole story now, but I need to transfer a pokemon."

He stood there shocked, but relaxed again. "I can tell it's you. Only you would call Professor-in-training Jimmy something as silly as Jiminy Cricket. Which Pokemon would you like to transfer?"

"Heh, I knew you missed your nickname." She stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "I'm sending my Hitmonlee for my Dragonair."

"All right. Pokeballs in?" Atsune placed Hitmonlee on the transporter. "Good. Starting Transfer." After pressing a few buttons, Dragonair's pokeball replaced Hitmonlee's place.

"Thanks Jiminy Cricket. Make sure my Hitmonlee has a chance to speak with all my other pokemon, okay?" she asked.

"All right. I'll get right on it. Call me again soon okay? I want to hear what happened. And if you need help with anything, don't hesitate to ask." Jiminy told her with care.

"Okay, see ya later." Atsune said, and they hung up. Atsune grabbed Dragonair's pokeball and looked at Absol, who waited patiently at her side. "C'mon Absol, we can't say hi to Dragonair here, so let's hurry and get out of town. Once we're a safe distance, we'll have a quick reunion." Absol nodded and they took off out of the Pokemon Center.

Normally, an Absol could easily outrun a human, but Atsune managed to keep up the pace. People stared as they charged by, but that didn't matter to Atsune. With the town's small size, they already neared the south edge.

Once there was no one around, she threw the pokeball, "Go, Dragonair!" Out flew Dragonair, elegant and poised. "Dragonair! It's me Atsune, I'm back!"

"Dragonair!" Dragonair suddenly tackled Atsune, rather forcefully too. "Dragonair, gonair!" Dragonair looked saddened.

Atsune had fallen over with the attack, but sat up again. "Ow…You're right Dragonair, I deserved that. I shouldn't have been away so long. But I promise to make it up to you." Dragonair's eyes watered and she wrapped around Atsune in a hug. "I missed ya too."

(Just outside Oldale Town) —

"FLAMETHROWER" Ash yelled to his Charizard.

"CHARRRR!" Charizard released a mighty blast of flame at the opponent, Piloswine.

Ash currently battled a one-on-one match with a trainer named Sean. They fought near the edge of town where Ash trained while Brock stocked up on supplies. No one was around, but that didn't matter.

Piloswine, hit by the powerful flame attack, instantly went down. It slowly got up again. "Way to go Piloswine!" Sean called. "Use Blizzard!"

Piloswine sent a rush of snow and wind out at Charizard, who didn't dodge it in time. Ash had to admit, Sean knew all the tricks from obvious long-term training. The match consistently went on and now took its toll on the pokemon. Both pokemons' breath heaved, and that Blizzard definitely didn't help Charizard at all.

"Charizard! Quick, use Dragon rage!" Ash ordered.

Charizard roared deeply, and then sent out a large, powerful, fire-ball at Piloswine, who fell to the ground in a fainted state.

"YEAH! WAY TO GO CHARIZARD!" Ash cheered.

"Pika! Pikachu!" Pikachu made a 'peace' sign with his fingers.

"Return Charizard!" Ash called, seeing Sean call back his Piloswine. "Hey, great battle. You're pretty good."

"Thanks," Sean replied, "you too. I hope we can battle again someday." Both trainers strode to each other and shook hands.

"Same here." Ash commented. Ash's opponent walked off toward town, and by this time the sun shone brightly overhead. Ash stared down at Pikachu, "What do ya say? How about a quick snack before we head back?"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed. They raced towards a nearby tree, resting in its cool shade.

"Good thing Brock packed us a couple rice balls! All that battling made me hungry." Ash handed a rice ball to Pikachu, and kept one for his own self. They raised the food just in front of their mouths when—

SNATCH!

"Hey! Our snack!" Ash exclaimed, looking around. He and Pikachu spotted a Meowth, literally holding both rice balls in its paws.

Though, you couldn't exactly call this Meowth ordinary. Meowth stood like a human! "Gee, these look delicious!" The Meowth exclaimed, also showing it could talk before devouring both rice balls.

"There's only one Meowth I know that can talk." Ash growled as Pikachu's cheeks sparked with electricity.

"Prepare for trouble…" a woman's voice called out.

"And make it double…" commented a man's voice.

"To protect the world from devastation,"

"To unite all people within our nation,"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love,"

"To extend our reach to the stars above,"

"Jessie!" A woman with long red hair in a white Rocket uniform sprang out.

"James!" A man with blue hair came out in a similar fashion.

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light,"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth that's right!" Meowth joined in.

"Wooobbuffet!" "Chimecho!" entered two pokemon who appeared out of their pokeballs. The whole group, with the exception of Meowth, rode in a hot air balloon with a strange device attached to the bottom.

Though none of them knew, a young trainer and her Absol watched everything from afar. "They can't be serious!" Atsune whispered to her pokemon. "Look how outdated everything is! The old version of the outfits, the hot air balloon, everything is just so...bad!"

Jessie sent down her Wobbuffet, "Go Wobbuffet!"

Ash just sighed. "You know it can't learn any offensive attacks. You guys just seem to get dumber and dumber! Go Pikachu! Take it out in one hit with a thundershock!"

"Pika...CHUUUU" Pikachu struck the Wobbuffet with his powerful attack.

Jessie, however, smirked. "Now Wobbuffet! Destiny Bond!"

Atsune's jaw dropped. She knew what would happen, but by the look on Ash's face, he didn't. Atsune smacked her head at the idiocy of the strange guy.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet shouted before falling to the ground in a fainted state.

"Pika…chu…" Pikachu glowed for a moment, and then also fell into a fainted state.

"No, Pikachu!" Ash yelled, running toward his friend.

"Not so fast!" James yelled. "Go Cacnea! Pin missile on the twerp!"

"Cacnea!" the pokemon cried as it appeared. "Cacneaaaaaaaaa!" Cacnea pointed its arms at Ash, sending the needles straight at him.

"AAAGH!" Ash yelled. Cacnea's needles weren't for hurting Ash, but they instead pinned him to a tree! The young trainer growled, struggling against his bounds with no avail.

Jessie laughed. "What's wrong twerp? Surprised?" She made a face at him before sending out, "Seviper! Grab that Pikachu!"

Seviper flew down at Pikachu, the speed increased from leaping off the balloon. Seviper swung its tail at the limp Pikachu, about to grasp the mouse when…it stopped!

Everyone now stared at Atsune, who stood in a defensive pose before Pikachu, pushing back Seviper.

Jessie recovered first from this sudden appearance. "Who's the brat! Ah! Who cares! Bite attack Seviper and show her whose boss!"

Seviper struck down at Atsune at an alarming rate when Atsune yelled, "Now Absol! Faint Attack!"

Seemingly from out of nowhere, Absol struck Seviper with enough force to send it back to the balloon!

"Dat's enough outta you!" A voice cried out. Atsune turned and blocked herself just in time, for Meowth attacked her from behind! He slashed at her with his claws, opening small gashes in her forearms.

Atsune hardly winced, but grabbed Pikachu and dove to the side. "Double Team Absol!" she cried.

"Absol!" Absol seemed to multiply around Meowth. Meowth looked all around, a bit of fear on his face.

"Now Absol, Slash Attack!" Atsune yelled.

Gently she laid Pikachu by Ash, who still struggled against the needles pinning him to the tree. "Watch out!" Ash cried to Atsune, who just barely moved in time to avoid a poison tail from Seviper.

Atsune grabbed Seviper by the back of its neck. "Didn't we just send you OUT!" Atsune yelled as she spun and tossed Seviper back to the balloon, leaving them all agape. She looked up at Jessie and James. "What kind of Rocket members are you? You're outfits, transportation, and equipment is all out-dated! Plus your version of the motto sounds like you're good guys!" Something clicked in her head, and she chuckled, "Cassidy and Butch got it pretty down, so why don't you go learn it from them?"

At the sound of these names, both of them snarled. Jessie practically exploded, "DON'T YOU DARE SAY WE'RE LOWER THAN THEM!"

Atsune snickered, "Aww, I hit a nerve. Absol! Quick Attack them together, then send them flying with Razor Wind!"

Absol's speed increased and she knocked Meowth and Wobbuffet to the Balloon. "AaaaaaaaabSOL!" Absol created rapidly spinning whirlwinds that sent razor-sharp energy blasts straight at the Rocket group.

The balloon tore and they flew into the distance, "Look's like team Rocket's blasting off agaaaaaaaain!"

Atsune snickered again, and then began helping Ash out of his trap. "Thanks, and thanks for saving Pikachu." He told her.

Atsune nodded and smiled as she got him down. "No problem." She picked up Pikachu again and handed him to Ash.

"You're okay, right? You defended Pikachu from Seviper, stopping him dead in his tracks. And that Meowth…you're bleeding!" It was true. Meowths' attack struck her hard enough to cut small but pretty deep, and blood now trailed down her forearms.

She stepped back a little, "I'm fine," she stated sternly. "I've been through much worse." Atsune felt like hitting herself! She shouldn't have said that!

"Worse? What do you mean by worse? Who are you?" Ash pestered.

"I –" but the sound of someone coming cut her off.

"Ash! You okay?" Brock ran up to the scene.

Ash faced his friend, "Yeah. This girl helped me out." He turned back to Atsune, only to see she disappeared! Absol vanished too! "Wah! But she was just here!" Ash exclaimed.

As Ash searched among the bushes, Brock sighed. "Well, anyway, there's a surprise back at the pokemon center."

Atsune watched them walk off. "Phew! That was a bit too close for comfort, eh Absol?" she asked, chuckling.

"Absol!" she agreed.

They didn't come out until Ash and his friend were long gone. "Somehow, I don't think we'll see the last of them."

(Pokemon Center) —

Ash rushed inside to the woman behind the desk. "Nurse Joy, could you heal my pokemon?"

"Yes, of course!" Nurse Joy replied, taking his Pikachu and his pokeballs.

"Thanks." Ash replied.

Ash and Brock were about to go sit in the lobby when a voice called out, "Ash!"

Ash froze in his tracks, for he recognized that voice. Spinning around, he saw a redhead running toward him. "Misty!"

Misty gave him a small hug, and then looked at both him and Brock. "It's so nice to see you guys again!"

Ash stuttered, "M-Misty! But, what are you doing here?"

Brock turned to Ash, "See? This was the surprise I mentioned. I bumped into her earlier today."

Mistys' eyes widened, "Oh! That reminds me." She reached into her bag and pulled out two small devices on strings. "I met Professor Birch, and I told him I was looking for you two. He said to look around town and probably stop by here. Then he told me to give you these if I found you guys. They're Pokegears, so now we can communicate if we're separated."

Ash and Brock each put a pokegear around their necks. "Wow! Thanks." They both exclaimed.

"Hey, where's Pikachu? Is Nurse Joy taking care of him?" Misty asked.

Ash nodded. "C'mere." They all sat down at the side wall, as far as they could get from the other people in the Center. "We had a run-in with Team Rocket…" Ash told them exactly what happened while he trained.

"She threw Seviper all the way up to the balloon! That can't be. She'd have to be really strong to do that. I heard Seviper's can get up to 100 lbs!" Misty exclaimed.

"And you said she had an Absol?" Brock inquired. "Absols are known as Disaster pokemon, and they're really rare."

"I don't get any of it either you guys. I just wonder who she is and why she vanished like that." Ash told them. "I almost don't believe it at all myself…"

Whoo! Another chappy finished! Hands everyone a cookie! YAY COOKIES! This chappy may be just a wee bit shorter, but oh well, that's just too bad. XP anyways…yeah…not much to say except STAY TUNED! And review for me pa-lease! There's a nice little surprise in the next chapter!