Hello, everybody. I'm back. And, to be honest, I'm very relieved to be bringing this chapter to you on time. It was a little touch-and-go when I had the panic attack of losing my memory stick, and nearly losing everything I've worked so hard on. But, the stick is back in my possesion, and here we are today.

Now, I'd like to pay tribute to the late author SSJ04 Mewtwo, who tragically died on the 15th of March this year. He was an AbilityShipper, mostly, in this line of pastime. I'm told by Swagnilla-Ice-1985 that he feels SSJ04 Mewtwo's best works are Elemental Battles, Black and Purple, and Empathic Advenures (the latest now being on hiatus, until eclipse2025 - his beta - decides what to do with it). He wrote a total of 35 stories, and I'd like each and every one of you to please read, at least, one of them. I'm sure it'd mean a lot to him. A quote from his sister, Jennifer Dawson: "Jeffrey died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm. there was nothing anyone could do and he died peacefully in his sleep." His burial service was hosted on Monday 19th of March. Rest In Peace, SSJ04 Mewtwo. Keep writing up there in Heaven for us to read when we join you.

My shout out today goes to Lightningblade49 for my 75th review, thank you. And thank you to everyone who's, so far, submitted your OC suggestions. All ideas are being considered, and I'll use as many of them as I can, so please keep those coming in. So... on with the next chapter.

Challenge From A Samurai

A trill screech echoed through the thick forest. The culprit was a… oh, you know who it is. She was up in a tree clinging on for dear life onto a branch.

"What's the matter, now?" An exasperated Ash asked the redhead.

"I think I just saw another bug. GROSS!" She wailed. Ash, Gary and Pikachu all sighed at Misty's, now very annoying, habit of overreacting whenever the slightest bit of movement went on in the bushes. Sure enough, however, a caterpillar Pokémon with a large horn on its head came crawling out of the bushes. Misty leapt from her perch from the tree and hid behind Ash in fear.

"Wow. A Weedle!" Ash exclaimed, pulling Dexter out of his pocket.

"Meh. I caught one of those on my first day." Gary stated, running a hand through his thick chestnut locks. "They're not very hard to catch, Ashy-boy." Ash scanned the hairy bug Pokémon with the pokédex.

"Weedle. The stinger on this Pokémon's head guarantees that any attacker will 'get the point' right where it hurts." The Dex stated, making a bad emphasis on the 'get the point' pun.

"A stinger, huh? Now there's a challenge." Ash contemplated, much to Misty's chagrin.

"Why are you so excited about a bug with a stinger! MAKE IT GO AWAY!" She squealed.

"You've gotta be kidding." Ash protested. "As a water type trainer, I doubt you'd pass up the opportunity to catch a Pokémon like Horsea just because I think it looks derpy. The same thing applies to me, but with all Pokémon. So I'm gonna catch Weedle, no matter what. Let's go Pikachu." However, Pikachu was tucked up in a little duvet, making Ash Misty and Gary stumble. Ash rubbed the back of his head. "More in the mood for sleep are ya?" He asked. "Well, I guess the past two days have been a little overexerting." Which was true. Ash had been making Pidgeotto, Spearow and Pikachu train a lot lately. But, in this case Pikachu was just being lazy, and Ash knew it. "Well, never mind. I still have Pidgeotto, Spearow and Metapod and they give me the respect I deserve, rather than being lazy like you."

"You deserve to have your head examined." Misty huffed. But a slightly tickly sensation on her leg drew her attention. She glanced down at her foot and found that the Weedle was trying to climb up her leg, affectionately. But, affectionate or not, it was unwanted contact from the slimy insect. And it creeped her out to no end. She ran off, screaming. "Don't just stand there!" She shouted at Ash, not attempting to look back. "Catch it!"

"Right. Go, Spearow!" Ash called, throwing the pokéball of choice into battle. The bird that popped out cawed in obedience, awaiting orders.

The redhead was storming and stropping through the trees of the forest, pounding her feet as hard as she could into the dirt road.

"This whole forest is crawling with slimy, disgusting Pokémon." She complained. "I wish they'd all just bug off!" Not far away, a mysterious figure pulled a rather gruesome looking katana from its sheath. The blade glinted as it was greeted by the dappled sunlight from the forest canopy. Misty heard the metal twang as the sword was unsheathed, but reacted a little too late, as she found herself forcibly grabbed, and spun around so her back was pressed up against a tree, with a cold, sharp, metal edge resting even so lightly on her neck. She scrunched her eyes up as tightly as she could and tried desperately – although she failed – to suppress her terrified whimpers. "Please don't hurt me." She cowered, too scared to open her eyes, lest she found her captor to be a rapist. She was given a cause for relief, however, when the blade was brought down from her throat. She opened her eyes, ever so cautiously, only to find a kid in a stupid looking samurai costume standing before her, holding his katana that was once threatening her life in a defensive position as if it were now Misty who could endanger a life.

"Greetings fair shrieking maiden." The samurai welcomed her. "Are you, by any chance, the Pokémon trainer from the town of Pallet?" All Misty could do was shake her head in frantic panic.

"No. That's not me." She stammered, nervously.

"A pity." The samurai stated, disappointedly re-sheathing his blade. "Then it appears my search continues." He turned his back on Misty, before giving her a parting piece of advice. "I would advise you to decease with your continual shrieking, maiden. That is… unless your aim is to attract an angry horde of Beedrill." And with that, he departed, fading off into the woods. Misty, relieved that her neck was still in one piece, sank to her knees as she watched the weirdo kid stalk away.

"What a weird kid." She muttered. "I wonder why he'd be looking for a Pokémon trainer from…" She gasped in horror as the realisation sank in. "THAT'S ASH!" She shouted, fearing that this kid was aiming to do serious harm to him.

Back with Ash, and he was just about finishing his work with weakening Weedle before attempting a capture. Gary, meanwhile, was waiting for him to finish his capture attempt by reading a book he packed for his travels.

"Alright Spearow. Let's see how your Brave Bird's coming along!" He ordered. The Spearow flew, without hesitation, towards the small bug Pokémon, tucking its wings beside its body, and shrouding itself in flames at the atmospheric fiction on its feathers heated up. Soon, the flames were replaced by a blue aura, which fully coated Spearow's body. The bird, fearlessly, plummeted towards Weedle, and slammed its beak slap bang on the bug's head, knocking the poisonous caterpillar out stone cold. "Right. That should be enough to have weakened Weedle enough for capture." Ash said pulling a pokéball from his belt, and prepared to throw.

Just as he was about to capture the dizzy Weedle, a voice spoke from behind him.

"Greetings. Am I addressing the trainer who comes from Pallet?" Ash kept his eyes facing Weedle, not wanting the bug to try escaping should his back be turned.

"You are. However, I'm a little busy. So can I please be allowed a couple of seconds to catch this Weedle, and then I'll address you properly?" He requested, politely.

"Very well." The voice replied. "But don't delay me." Ash nodded his understanding, and threw his pokéball. The ball gathered the conked-out Weedle in a red light, and began to rock from side to side. After a matter of seconds, Weedle was sealed inside.

"Yes!" Ash exclaimed, as he plucked the ball from the ground. "Not a hard catch, but a catch none the less. And Spearow, that Brave Bird was almost perfect. You just wavered a little a second before impact. I know that move hurts you, but it's a small sacrifice worth paying. Agreed?" The bird nodded its agreeance and began preening it's now slightly ruffled feathers. "OK. Now, you need a rest. Return." He instructed, returning Spearow to its pokéball."

The samurai unsheathed his sword, a glint in his eye.

"So, you admitted to being the trainer from Pallet?" He inquired. Ash clipped his new Weedle's pokéball onto his belt and nodded.

"I did." He confessed. Again the samurai's eye glinted.

"I found you at last." He seethed, readying his blade.

"ASH!" Misty screamed, as she hurried back as quickly as she could towards him. Ash turned to face her, only to be met by the sight of a samurai swinging his katana down towards his head. Without thinking, Ash ducked the sword's blade, and manoeuvred himself behind the samurai, wrestling the katana away from him as he did. With the warrior no longer armed, Ash drew his own weapon – a katara knife – from his waistcoat pocket threatening it at the now terrified fighter's throat.

"ALRIGHT! Who sent ya!" He demanded, furiously. "Was it Team Rocket? Did they hire you to murder me? Are they trying to finish the job they failed half my lifetime ago?"

"Ash, stop. Put that kid down." Gary hurried over to Ash, grasping his shoulders carefully, for fear of provoking Ash with his blade. When Misty reached them, she was astonished to find Ash threatening the samurai's life. "Ash, this kid isn't an assassin, you're safe." Gary promised. Carefully, and reluctantly, Ash relinquished his hold on the samurai, who bolted away from him, trying to recompose himself from the shock.

"Dear sweet Mew, kid, you actually terrified me, there." The samurai moaned.

"Who are you?" Misty demanded.

"I am Samurai. Fearless warrior, and complete invincible in combat." Ash scoffed. "In fair combat." Samurai clarified, to prevent Ash from gloating at how easily he was caught off guard.

"He's a Pokémon trainer who likes to test Pokémon the strength and ability of Pokémon trainers that pass through Viridian Forest." Gary added in. "I battled him three days ago. And creamed him, if I remember correctly." He smirked the last line.

"You were an excellent trainer in our match." Samurai confessed. "And you, oh raven headed one…" He addressed Ash."…you seem to know a good many techniques in self-defence. I'm very impressed. What dojo did you train at?"

"Well, I didn't train at a dojo, per say. I was trained by Professor Oak back in Pallet Town."

"Professor Oak, you say?" Samurai asked, sounding quite impressed. "Well, well. I never knew a man of his age could teach such technique. I must say, I'm impressed. But back to business. Let us engage in a Pokémon match. Let us see who triumphs."

Ash accepted the challenge, and the two trainers prepared for battle.

"You have the honour of picking you Pokémon first." Ash offered.

"Very well." Samurai accepted. "Pinsir! Assume battle mode!" He threw a pokéball into the air, releasing a large, bipedal stag beetle with a light brown body and three claws on each toe. Ash flipped out his pokédex.

"Pinsir. This fearsome Pokémon uses its powerful claws to put the squeeze on its opponents." The electronic encyclopaedia informed, still using horrible puns.

"Ooh, dear. That's going to be a struggle." Ash confessed. However, he wouldn't allow himself to get defeatist. 'How can I win against this guy's Pinsir?' He schemed in his head. 'I can't use Spearow, it needs to rest. Weedle's a new addition to my team, and it'll be pretty Ronnied after fighting Spearow. Metapod can't move a lot at his current evolutionary stage. That leaves Pikachu and Pidgeotto.' "OK, Pikachu. Let's go." Pikachu nodded, and bounded into battle. Pinsir glared at Pikachu in such a way that, if looks could kill, Pikachu would be on Death's doorstep. The mouse gulped nervously, but stood his ground.

"You have the first move." Samurai offered, generously.

"Fine. Pikachu, Thundershock attack!" Ash commanded. Pikachu charged up his electrical energy, and released a stream of electricity for his stag beetle foe. However, the Pokémon calmly side-stepped the attack, much to Ash and Pikachu's horror.

"Child's play." Samurai smirked. "Pinsir, Tackle attack!" He commanded. The giant bug charged brazenly towards the stunned rodent. So paralysed was Pikachu that he didn't know, until too late, how close Pinsir had gotten to him. The giant beetle slammed full force into him, sending him flying through the air in clumsy back flips. Ash held his arms out to catch the soaring mouse, catching him softly and carefully.

"Pikachu! Are you OK?" He asked, earning a smile and a nod from his stricken pal. "I'm sorry for pitting you against Pinsir so soon, buddy." Ash apologised, getting an understanding lick on the cheek from Pikachu. He placed Pikachu down on the ground next to him, and stared down the opponent, who was now looking tougher than he thought. 'Right. Well, if Pikachu can't take him down, then I don't know if even Pidgeotto would stand a chance, despite the obvious type advantage. That Pinsir seems to be a pretty high level. And those claws could easily crack a few bones.' Ash calculated. Then, an idea came to him. 'But what about a hardened shell?' He reached for his pokéball of choice, released his green cocoon.

Samurai scoffed at Ash's incompetence. Sending in a Metapod to fight against his Pinsir? Metapod is notorious for being static and completely useless in combat. This would be too easy.

"Only a novice sends such a defenceless Pokémon into battle. Pinsir! Grab Metapod in your horns." The large stag beetle scooped up the helpless cocoon in its giant thorny antlers, and started to apply pressure. Misty, Gary and Pikachu watched in horror as the giant Pinsir threatened to crack Metapod in half like a hazelnut.

"Ash! Do something. Save Metapod. Not even a bug deserves that." Misty shouted, seeing Ash not even blinking as he watched Pinsir threaten his Pokémon's life. Ash just watched as Pinsir constricted the static chrysalis tighter and tighter.

"Harden!" He commanded. Metapod obeyed, and hardened its shell as hard as stone, adding a crystalline sheen to its exoskeleton. Pinsir, undeterred by this seemingly feeble attempt to fight back from the cocoon, squeezed its foe even tighter with it horns, but ended up snapping one of the mighty antlers, causing Pinsir to wail in agony. Samurai, hurriedly, retreated his stricken Pokémon, glowering at the trainer before him, who was smirking smugly. "Now who's the novice?" Ash gloated. Samurai snarled, and threw another pokéball, releasing his own Metapod into battle. Ash, Misty, Gary and Pikachu sweat dropped. Metapod? Really? And Samurai was calling Ash a novice? This was going to be a long fight, as Ash was sticking to the rule of two Pokémon only.

"Metapod. Harden." Samurai ordered.

"Well then, youharden as well, Metapod." Ash followed. And thus, the dullest and daftest Pokémon battle in history. The two cocoons stood still as statues, hardening their shells for no good reason.

Hours passed. Noon… lunchtime… four in the afternoon. By now, Gary had gone gallivanting around in the forest, looking for more Pokémon to catch, while Misty and Pikachu took to working on their tans in the summer Sun. Ash was now, officially, bored out of his skull. Suddenly, an idea came to him. He facepalmed, actually leaving a hand shaped mark on his face.

"Metapod, I've just remembered." He muttered into his palm. "Use Tackle." Metapod rolled his eyes, but flicked his foot, smacking against his opponent, which only succeeded in knocking the other over, not so much as making the Pokémon flinch. Ash sighed, but not as heavily as Misty, who was now off her sunbed and properly dressed.

"You're as hard headed as your Metapod!" She shouted. As soon as she'd spoken, the sound of an obnoxious buzzing was heard.

"A Beedrill swarm approaches. Our match must end." Samurai reported. "Metapod, return." He ordered. In the background of the forest, the swarm came into view, following a sprinting Gary angrily.

"Beedrill." Ash whipped out his pokédex.

"Beedrill. This Pokémon is an evolved form of Weedle, following its Kakuna stage. Its sting is highly poisonous."

"It looks like your friend there has aggravated te Beedrill. Good day." Samurai turned tail and ran, like the coward we all know is was.

Gary came charging past Ash and Misty, swiftly followed by several dozen Beedrill. One Beedrill, in blind fury, grabbed Ash's Metapod, and carried him away into the trees.

"Metapod!" Ash shouted. "No! Get back here with my Metapod you thieving cockroach!" He called, giving chase. Misty and Pikachu, however, grabbed him, and pulled him away in the direction Samurai went.

"Come on Ash. We need to get out of here. We'll have to worry about Metapod later." Misty panted as she dragged him away from the Beedrill that were following them close behind.

Samurai, Gary, Misty, Ash and Pikachu ran as fast as they could, but the Beedrill were closing in fast. Eventually, Samurai turned a sharp left at a bush to hide, swiftly followed by the rest. Luckily, the Beedrill swarm flew past without realising they'd passed their targets. They sighed in relief… only to find themselves out of the frying pan and slap bang in the middle of the fire.

Before them were a good several dozen trees lined with Kakuna.

"A whole hive of Kakuna." Samurai mused. Ash pulled his pokédex out again.

"Kakuna. A transitional stage between Weedle and Beedrill. Kakuna remain inactive until evolving into deadly Beedrill and hatch." Ash scanned the trees from canopy to root. Each one had Kakuna stuck to the branches, the trunk, everything wooden. At the base of one particular tree, however, was a cocoon that looked nothing like a Kakuna. It looked more like…

"METAPOD!" Ash almost leapt for joy, if Misty and Gary didn't try to silence him for shouting.

Too late, however. One of the Kakuna had heard Ash, and was now eying them angrily. The four kids watched in horror as at least three dozen Kakuna started to split the skin on their backs, releasing a white light. Quickly emerging from the shells came some very angry looking Beedrill. The turned to the intruders who disturbed their peace, and who may be posing a threat, buzzing furiously.

"Uh oh." Gary gulped. "That's not very good." He was right. The Beedrill swarmed, and started towards them. Without thinking, Ash and company took off again, screaming for their lives. A saving grace, however, quickly came into view through the trees.

"MY CABIN!" Samurai shouted to be heard above the impending buzzing. "I think we can make it!" They zeroed in on the log cabin, and piled in, slamming the large oak door on their way in, to block the pissed bees outside.

Safe and sound… well, sort of… inside, Ash allowed himself to slump against the far wall from the door to the cabin, and sigh with relief. Samurai shrugged himself out of his armour, and allowed himself to ease up a little. However, he turned to Gary, looking a little angry.

"You! What did you do to anger those Beedrill!" He fumed. Gary, not one to take criticism sitting down, jumped straight onto the offense.

"Me! How can I have done anything? I was looking for more Pokémon to catch, wandered into territory a hive of Beedrill didn't like to share and they attacked. It wasn't my fault." He sneered.

"No one is at fault here." Ash stated, in a deadpan tone. "But the bottom line, for me at least, is that my Metapod is now trapped in a hive of Kakuna, numbers of which only Mew knows are ready to evolve, and I can't get to him without getting stung to death by those Beedrill."

"Well there's nothing we can do about that for now." Samurai told him. "We'll have to sleep for the night, and hope those Beedrill calm down tomorrow."

They all settled for the night. Well, all but one. Easy to guess which one, isn't it? Yes, it was Ash. He was wide awake, still fretting over his Metapod, and how the poor thing must be feeling.

"Metapod." Ash muttered, tearfully. "I swear… I swear to you I'll save you. I promise." He nestled further into his sleeping bag, but sleep never embraced him.

The next day dawned, and just as the Sun was peaking ever so slightly above the horizon, Ash – who had been up and dressed for an hour and a half, snuck out of the cabin, and made his way to the Beedrill hive. Luckily, all the Beedrill were fast asleep in the tree branches, but he still kept himself as low as he could squash himself into the dirt, performing a crawl very similar to the one used in military trainer for army soldiers.

His tactic was foiled, however, when something leapt out at him and scratched him across the face.

"What's wakes you up at the crack of Meowth scratch?" Came a cocky, and mocking, New Jersey accented voice. Ash snarled as he prepared to throttle the ballsy cat that stood before him. But, his actions were interrupted by a very annoyingly familiar chant.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double." Ash turned his attention to Jessie and James, snarling in displeasure at their reappearance.

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce…"

"I can't be bothered to pay attention to you pricks this morning!" Ash snarled, viciously. His interruption of the Team Rocket motto did not sit well with Jessie.

"Never interrupt the Team Rocket motto!" She hissed a warning at him.

"But the Beedrill…" Ash tried to reason, but was cut off by the duo continuing.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Keep your bloody voices down you'll disturb the Beedrill." Ash tried to hush them. This, however, only succeeded in them making themselves louder.

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

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

"Meowth! Dat's right!"

Coloured smoke flashes exploded behind Jessie and James, for dramatic effect. And it had a dramatic effect, alright. On the Beedrills' attitude. They awoke with a start, which didn't best please them. Infuriated, they emerged from their trees to find the perpetrators who disturbed their slumber. Ash, having feared this of happening, had already thrown himself face down into the dirt, and was keeping as low a profile as he could so the Beedrill wouldn't notice him. Luckily for him they didn't. Unluckily for Team Rocket, they didnotice them. The Beedrill locked their sights onto the meddlesome trio, and began to dive-bomb for them. Having no form of protection present Team Rocket were forced to retreat. They legged it as quickly as they could away from the pissed swarm.

Ash, meanwhile, had now gotten back to his Metapod, who was still rested against the tree just like yesterday. He smiled at his pokémon.

"There you are, Metapod. Here…" He offered Metapod its pokéball, enlarging it. "…get back into your pokéball where it's safe."

"Metapod. Metapod." The cocoon shook in disobedience. Ash clocked the look in Metapod's eyes. it looked saddened, betrayed and abandoned. He had lost Metapod's faith in him.

"Metapod." He whispered, saddened himself. A violent buzzing, however, drew his attention. He turned to find a Beedrill, who had seemed to have stayed behind as sentry to the hive, diving straight toward him. Ash grabbed Metapod from its spot against the tree, and ran.

He ran as fast as he could, leaving the Beedrill a good safe distance behind. "I didn't abandon you, Metapod. Honest, I didn't." He pleaded with his stoic Pokémon he held tightly in his arms. "Gary was the one who enraged the Beedrill, and Samurai's the one who diverted my attention. I had nothing to… WAH!" He tripped over himself in his haste, dropping to the dirt and sending his Metapod rolling along the grass. Metapod soon stopped rolling, ending up facing the trainer he assumed had left him behind. Ash lay on the ground, no bothering to move, as a realisation dawned upon him. "No." He declared. "I'm not the victim here. You are, Metapod. And it's all because of me." Ash raised himself to his knees, keeping his eyes shaded by his cap. "I should've gotten you out of harm's way sooner. I'm so sorry, Metapod. I really, truly am. I promise, if you'll forgive me, I'll be a better trainer to you." Hearing this made Metapod's eyes water. His trainer did care. The sincerity in his voice, the remorse in his face… no one could ever fake those emotions. And Ash, clearly, wasn't. Ash got up and crouched before his Metapod, looking truly apologetically at him. "I promise, I'll never leave you, or any Pokémon behind ever again."

A tender moment was shared between trainer and Pokémon, as they silently showed their apology and forgiveness to each other. The moment was shattered, however, by the angry buzzing of Ash's pursuer. The Beedrill homed in on his target, charging up its signature move; Twineedle. Samurai, Misty, Gary and Pikachu turned up, with Samurai holding a giant bug mesh over them."

"Ash!" Misty and Gary cried.

"Watch out for its Twineedle attack!" Samurai warned. But Ash had very little he could do now. All he could do was pray for a miracle.

That miracle was granted as Metapod, with renewed faith, leapt into the path of his trainer's assailant, taking a full-frontal collision with the bee's Twineedle attack. The force of the clash shattered one of the bug's arm stingers, sending it buzzing off in pain. But, there was another casualty as well. Ash's Metapod had taken a great gash down its front, leaving a crack in its shell. Ash caught the cocoon, and inspected the wound. Too deep. This, surely, could be fatal to Metapod, and there wasn't any form of treatment Ash could give.

"Metapod?" Ash tried to get a response from his stricken protector. "Metapod? Are you OK? Please say something, Metapod." He begged. The cocoon didn't speak. Instead, a white light erupted from the graze in Metapod's face, and an amazing sight unfurled in front of everybody. The crack widened, and out stretched a majestic looking Butterfree, about twice the size of Pikachu.

"Free, frrreeee!" The Pokémon chattered once free of its stuffy transitional state. Everybody was in awe. Metapod had just evolved up from Caterpie to Metapod and now to its final stage, Butterfree, in the fastest time ever recorded.

"Wow. How beautiful." Misty mused. Butterfree, hearing this, started tearing up at her words, and loop-de-looped in happiness through the sky. Ash drew out Dexter to record some data on his newly evolved bug.

"Butterfree. One week after Caterpie evolves into Metapod, it again evolves into Butterfree."

Everyone was watching Butterfree flit and flutter through the air gracefully, until an all-too familiar buzzing broke them out of it. Above the trees came the swarm of Beedrill again, looking furiously vengeful. Everyone watched as they made their approach.

Not them again! She thought to herself, tiresomely. I've had just about enough of them trying to harm him, as if he hasn't had enough of this.She decided to take action. And there was only one way to do it.

Ash and friends watched as the Beedrill zeroed in, looking for revenge. Suddenly, purple spheres started raining upwards into the swarm. Many of the mysterious orbs were evaded by the Beedrill but, one by one, each Beedrill was struck by at least one sphere and they started to waver and flop about in the air, dazed and disorientated. This was a lucky break Ash was going to take gratefully.

"They're confused! Butterfree, knock them out while they're dazed with your sleep powder!" He commanded. Butterfree started to flutter around, spreading blue spores into the air. Once again, one by one, each dazed and confused Beedrill dropped from the sky, falling asleep on the ground – some even falling quite close to a now sleeping group of Team Rocket, who were alsoaffected by the sleep spores. Soon, all the Beedrill were out cold, leaving Ash and Butterfree celebrating.

Evening was now setting in, and Ash, Misty, Gary, Pikachu and Samurai were standing on a path that lead out of Viridian Forest, and on to Pewter City. "Thank you Samurai." Ash said, with gratitude. "But, we still have our match to finish." He reminded his newfound friend.

"Compared to you, Ash, I'm the novice." Samurai responded. "I underestimated your abilities. I prejudged you, and I apologise." He bowed in respect. "I realise now that you know full well how to train and command your Pokémon. I will train my own Pokémon some more, and I hope to meet you again someday for a rematch."

"That'd be great." Ash confirmed, extending his hand. Samurai accepted it, and they shook hands, parting as friends.

"Just don't put Metapod versus Metapod again, OK?" Misty and Gary asked, making Samurai sweat drop, and Ash rub the back of his neck, embarrassedly. And, finally, Ash and friends were off on their way to Pewter City, with Ash looking to obtain his first gym badge of his journey.

She watched the three friends leave as Samurai made his way back to his cabin. She smiled to herself, and began to plan how she and Ash could meet… and how she could become his… and protect him.

The following day arose, and in a tree full of Kakuna, Team Rocket were trying to blend in to avoid being stung to death by any Beedrill that made be lurking about. Problem was, they were hanging from the tree branches in very uncomfortable papier-mâché Kakuna costumes looking like utter numpties.

"Great idea, Jess (!)" James insulted his colleague, feeling rather grumpy.

"At least I have ideas!" She bit back.

"Yeah, and all bad." Meowth chipped in, earning himself a kick in the face.

"Who asked you!" Jessie demanded. All her commotion, however, drew the attention of every Kakuna in the tree, and all the Beedrill, who were rudely awoken. The rest of the sleeping forest was awoken, shortly after, to the chorus of 'Ouch' and 'Eep' and 'Yelp' as Team Rocket faced their painful penalty.

And there we go. Episode 4 retold. Drop me a review, tell me what you think. Leave your ideas for Team Rocket OCs, and give me some ideas as to what Pokémon you'd like Ash to catch in the near future. Here's a question for you all;

Do you think I should have Ash release his Butterfree when the time comes around? Personally, I don't see why Ash had his Caterpie evolve up quite as fast as it did, only to be released again around a dozen episodes later. I think the series would make sense with or without this episode, but you guys can call the shots here.

So, until next Sunday, farewell and take care, all.