"Mother of all fucks!"Jay cursed, barely managing to get his shield in the way of the leaping persian. The cat hissed and spat, attempting to sink its claws into Jay's flesh. "Billy!" Jay shouted. "Fuck, get up." The persian knocked him back, pushing him to the ground. "I need you!"

Brock's brother didn't move, staring at the struggling pair. Jay's salvation came in the form of his growlithe. The dog tackled the persian, coated in flame. The cat hissed and abandoned Jay, focusing on his pokemon instead. The two leapt at each other, tangling in a mess of claws, teeth and flame. Jay returned to Billy's side, cursing under his breath.

The battle had started better than before. Carris had crushed the hypno with her massive tail, leaving a red smear and guts coating the rock. Sergei and Sawyer were keeping the arbok busy, dividing its attention. Jay saw the victreebell laying on its side, leaves torn apart and still smoking from his growlithe's attack. The rhydon was providing the most trouble for the group's pokemon. It was shielding the agents from Brock and Misty, while simultaneously fighting Carris, as well as Brock and Misty's pokemon. Pikachu was darting between battles, letting loose bolts of electricity while appearing as nothing more than a yellow blur.

"Come on, get up!" Jay pulled Billy to his feet, starting towards a tunnel opening. "We gotta get you under cover." Before he could make more than a few steps, Carris was thrown to the ground. The entire cavern shook with the impact. The ground beneath Jay's feet began to crumble into the pit. Billy lost his footing, nearly dragging Jay with him as he fell into the blackness.

Jay realized he had moments left before the ground swallowed him as well. He sprinted forward, watching his growlithe force the persian to retreat. He felt a jolt and watched the ground in front of him fall away. He jumped, good arm outstretched. He landed hard, scrabbling at the rock to gain any purchase he could. Ash's hand met his, steadying him. He looked up at Ash's terrified face before inhaling sharply. Behind Ash he could see the battle unfolding.

James fired a crossbow he produced from his belt at Brock. The Lord of Pewter stumbled and fell against a rock, blood leaking onto the rock. The rhydon roared and lifted Carris above its head. It tossed the rock snake into a wall, then turned and smashed its fist into both of Misty's staryu. They crashed to the ground, their central jewels shattered. Nidorino had been kicked into the wall by the rhydon, crashing through into another cavern. Growlithe leapt at the rhydon breathing a stream of fire. Sergei and pikachu joined in the assault, mixing their attacks. Time seemed to slow down. It was his vision. He hadn't changed it after all.

Jay looked to his right, hearing a desperate scream. Misty was hanging off the edge of the cliff, the ground having collapsed from underneath her. Jay looked back up at Ash, mustering his strength. He jammed his right arm into the wall, lodging the cast on it into a gap between rocks. "Save her!" He shouted while gesturing to Misty. "If we lose her, we lose everything." When Ash didn't make a move he shouted louder. "I can hold myself, go now." Ash let go, very nearly dislodging Jay from the wall. He held of for his life, determined to keep his vision from coming true.

Jay watched Ash reach Misty and pull her up, yanking her up away from danger. He pulled, reaching for the ledge. A hand met his. The hand's owner spoke. "I've got you." Gary Oak's eyes met his. Gary nodded then pulled him up. Jay didn't dare breathe in until he was standing on solid ground. Jay turned to see the rhydon topple over, finally overwhelmed by the sheer number of attacks it had withstood. The arbok and persian hastily retreated, followed quickly by the Rocket agents.

Jay breathed a sigh of relief, shared quickly by the others. Nidorino emerged from the wall, dazed and limping, but alive. Growlithe sat heavily beside Jay, panting and licking the blood from his paws. Jay absentmindedly brushed his hand through his pokemon's fur, smiling to himself.

Jay returned his pokemon to their balls, giving them a much needed rest. Ash had returned Carris, not knowing what else to do with her. Gary and Misty had returned their surviving pokemon, slowly joining Ash and Jay.

Without warning, the ground cracked open again. The rest of the cliff face was collapsing, falling into the pit. The group immediately leapt into action, sprinting towards an open tunnel with all the speed they could muster.

Misty faltered, tripping over a crack in the ground. She hit the ground, falling and struggling to get up. Jay turned, realizing that she had fallen. He dashed back, wordlessly pulling her foot out of the crack in the ground. He hauled her to her feet, then locked eyes with Ash. The ground fell out beneath him, dropping into the darkness with his and Misty's screams mixing over the crumbling rock.

They dropped into the dark, swallowed by the pit. Ash and Gary stood on the edge, staring into the pit that had taken their friends. Brock slumped against the wall, breathing heavily. He looked up at the remains of the group before freezing with a terrible look on his face. "Where's Billy?" He asked. All was silent for a moment, before the sound of Brock's heavy sobs broke the air.

They emerged from the caves under the mountain two days later. They were beaten and bloody, but the Rocket facility was shut down. The fortifications seemed to be facing towards Cerulean, as if they were expecting an attack from that direction. A network of rooms lead deeper into the mountain. Upon investigation by pikachu, they realized that the network of rooms were abandoned and devoid of human life.

It was another day and a half before they came within sight of Cerulean. Brock remained silent the entire journey, the jovial man that had led them into the tunnel was gone. He had been replaced by this more brooding and darker person. For the most part, the others hadn't addressed his brother's death, instead just leaving him to grieve by himself.

The group made camp in a clump of trees that obscured them from Cerulean's watchtowers. Their pokemon, with the exception of Carris, were lounging around the camp, resting and enjoying being out in the open air. Pikachu in particular was keeping his trainer company, with the others preferring to find their own place to sleep among the trees.

The mood in the camp was somber and silent. Not a word was spoken, except for short questions and curt answers. With Misty gone, the only hope they had of driving the Rockets out of Cerulean had vanished into the dark. With Jay gone, the two from Pallet town were in a funk staring into the fire and off into the night's sky.


Ethan Gold's brown eyes shot open, the sun piercing through his window and landing on his exposed face. He rolled over, hiding from the sun. A quiet yawn met his ears, telling him that his cyndaquil was awake. He felt the small fire type jump up on his bed, and curl up on top of his blanket. Smiling to himself, he let himself drift off again.

A huge crash at his door woke him up. He waited a moment, hoping the noise would go away, but a second crash drove any chance of that from his mind. He got up, unlatching and opening the door. In complete surprise to him, Lyra Kotone was standing there looking furious. Her girlish pigtails and denim overalls shattered her attempt to portray herself as intimidating. Before he could say a word, she had burst into his room and was berating him.

"You were supposed to be there two hours ago. The professor has been waiting and the new visitors are stressing him out. You're supposed to be training with the professor's pokemon by now . That's the reason he hired you right?" She was packing his bag herself, tossing his belongings into it from where he had tossed them the night before. She pushed it into his chest, driving the wind out of him. She locked eyes with him, then narrowed her eyes. "If you aren't in the lab in twenty minutes, the professor is going to fire your ass. Then who would I have to talk to? Get the fuck up and let's go." She stalked out, muttering to herself.

Ethan rolled his eyes at her as she walked away. While the girl could be sweet and kind to him at times, her temper rose at every perceived slight towards professor Elm. She revered him and constantly was at his side to act as one of his aides. He enjoyed talking to her too, mostly because there weren't any other people around that were even remotely interesting. Ethan smiled to himself, gathered his bag and motioned for cyndaquil to follow him. The little fire type happily followed him, sniffing at every interesting object.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked into the lab to a scene he hadn't expected. There was an elderly man in the middle of an animated conversation with professor Elm at the back of the lab. A trio of woman were sleeping on the couches that sat outside Elm's office. Lyra was seated in professor Elm's chair, a scowl clear on her face. Ethan gave her the widest grin he could, drawing out a small smirk. Despite her intensity about anything to do with professor Elm, she was usually mellow most of the time about everything else.

"Who's the old man?" Ethan asked, leaning on the desk in Elm's office. "And the three women asleep on the couches?"

Lyra sighed an put her feet up on Elm's desk, lounging back. "The old guy would be professor Samuel Oak." At Ethan's raised eyebrow she nodded. "The very same who betrayed our dear Emperor and raised a rebellion against him. Him and the woman are refugees from Kanto." She said matter of factly.

Ethan wore a shocked look, almost getting a smile out of Lyra. "I thought Kanto was cut off from Johto. They can't be." He said.

Lyra snorted and said. "Someone forgot to tell them that." She pulled her feet off the desk and pulled herself in. "Elm seems to know him; and trust him for that matter. That's good enough for me." She stood up and stretched, audibly cracking her back. "Come on, looks like they're done talking." She walked out of the office with Ethan in tow.

"Ah Ethan, I'd like to introduce you to an old co-worker of mine. This is Professor Samuel Oak." Professor Elm jabbered rapidly.

Professor Oak looked Ethan up and down, sizing him up. Ethan puffed up, determined to impress. Oak broke into a smile and stuck out a hand. "Hello there Ethan, Robert here tells me that you're very capable as a trainer. I might have use of your skills."

Ethan smiled at the flattery. "I'm more of a breeder, it's more profitable to sell pokemon to the highest bidder than it is to raise them. I've got a whole ranch just south of Goldenrod. Most of my stock are there. Right now I've only got Torch with me."

His cyndaquil puffed up at hearing its name. It flared the fire on its back and spat a jet of flame into the air, showing off. A disapproving glare from Ethan put a stop to his little show.

Oak smiled at him. "Well regardless, I have a job for you if you're willing."

Ethan smiled at the prospect of a new job. He was always excited for a chance to earn a bit more cash. "What's the pay?" He asked casually.

"Double your usual fee, plus a bonus if the job is done quietly." Elm said flatly.

Ethan couldn't help but let out a huge grin. "I'm in then. What am I doing and where am I going?" He said, almost gleefully.

Professor Oak took over the briefing, speaking in a calm manner. "All we need is for you to retrieve a pokemon egg for us. An old colleague of ours has been breeding this egg for years. We just received news that he's finally perfected his work. It should hatch within the month. However he is not capable of raising the pokemon at his lab. That task will fall to you, to be completed during your tenure here." He finished by adding another promise of more pay.

Ethan's grin grew even larger. "I'll take the job under one condition. On top of my pay, I want breeding pairs of totodile and chikorita, as well as a female cyndaquil. Elm, you're the only one who has any living specimens left." Ethan offered.

Without pause, Elm nodded his assent. "Our only condition is that you take Lyra with you to retrieve the egg."

Ethan accepted instantly, knowing how much money he could make off this deal. He immediately started his preparations, knowing the trip would last a few days. Lyra was a constant presence, wanting to ensure everything was perfect. The next day, at the crack of dawn, the pair walked out of the settlement and into the wilds.