Chapter 25

A Lot of Catching Up to Do

I slowly opened my eyes. My glasses were gone, and everything was blurry. I could barely stand to keep them open with how bright everything was. I winced, closing my eyes and turning my head, pulling a muscle in my back. Suddenly a strong pain shot through me from head to toe. "Arrggg…" I groaned, rolling over and reaching for my back. Ga-, that hurts! I then heard footsteps coming over to me and a familiar voice rang through my ears.

"Kyle?" Bill said. "Kyle, are you awake?"

"Bill?" I asked opening my eyes to see a blurry brown fro over me. "But, how … how did you get …" My eyes then shot open as I jumped up out of the bed I was in. I jumped up, losing my balance and slipping on the cold tile floor. I reached my hand out for something to grab, but for some reason I found my arm was in a sling.

"Whoa!" Bill said as he caught me mid-fall. "Watch it Kyle, we don't want you hurting yourself any more."

"Where's Conner?" I screamed looking around at all the white tables, beds, and sheets in the hospital room I was in.

"Kyle, calm down." Bill said, putting his hands on my shoulder. "Don't worry, you're not at Mount Silver, or in a Team Rocket base. You're right here in Blackthorn City's hospital."

"But…" I said looking around the room. "How did I get here?"

"Well," Bill said, letting go of me as I sat back on the bed. He walked over to a table, picking up my glasses which were laying right next to my clothes and pokeballs. My clothes? I looked down at myself. My right arm was in a sling and I could feel my chest was wrapped up in bandages under my hospital gown. I looked back up to Bill as he placed the glasses on my face, making everything come into focus. "Here's the story. After you left the PC in Mahogany town I already knew where you would go."

"Mount Silver." I said, looking down to the ground.

"Almost immediately after you hung up I got a call from the Scientific Research Lab on Cinnabar Island."

"You mean my mother's lab?" I asked, making eye contact with him.

"Yes." He nodded. "It was her on the phone, surprisingly. Turns out a certain pokemon that they were housing in that facility decided to plow its way through a multi-million-dollar piece of equipment called the Artificial Simulation Environmental Chamber. Turns out that certain pokemon was headed straight for Mount Silver." Bill then leaned back in his seat as I glanced around the room. "I called all the Officer Jennys in both Kanto and Johto, Professor Oak and Professor Elm. When we all got to the mountain, we couldn't find a way in. That is, until we heard a loud explosion, as well as seeing part of the mountain cave in. We then circled back around, and found an entrance with hundreds of Team Rocket members piling out. As the Jennys and other police members started rounding up the Rockets I heard someone call out to me from a boulder by the mountain." Bill then stopped, as he looked up to me. "Do you know who that was?"

I closed my eyes, thinking back to when Ricky stabbed me in the back. I remember a lot of things about it, but the last thing I remember is seeing Richard's face. "Was… Was he in a white lab coat?" I asked.

"Yes he was." Bill nodded.

"Well… Did Jenny get Richard and Rachel too?"

"No." Bill then stood up, walking over to the window. "No, they managed to avoid the police. That is, with a little help." He then looked over to the pile of pokeballs on the table beside my clothes. "Richard, the man in the white lab coat was the one that handed me your battered body from Arcanine's back. He also gave me all of your pokeballs, your book bag, Pichu, and all your other pokemon that trotted along behind him." He then sighed. "After that, your pokemon started attacking the Team Rocket members, pinning them in and creating a distraction so Richard and Rachel could escape in their Jeep that was hidden in some greenery. But…" Bill said as he turned to walk over to me. "That was four days ago. You have been out like a light ever since. At first the doctors said that they didn't think you would make it, but look at you now!" He then gave me a light nudge on the left shoulder. "Same ol' Kyle, stubborn as a Tauros that wouldn't be outdone."

"Bill." I said, looking at him with a shocked expression. "You said I got all my pokemon back, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "They're here."

"What about…" I then glanced over to Articuno's pokeball. "You know…"

"Oh, you mean the certain pokemon?" Bill laughed. "Yeah, she has been chilling out on Dragon Mountain, where the peak could hide the snow she gives off."

"So," I stood up, struggling to stand as I walked over to the table. A few times I stumbled, but I was able to grab onto some beds or railings to keep me up. I grabbed Arcanine's pokeball in my hand. "Well, come on out boy." I pushed the button, throwing the pokeball, but nothing happened. The ball hit the ground, opening up and sliding across the floor.

"Umm yeah… I kinda forgot to tell you." Bill said as he picked up the pokeball and placed it back on the table. "Your pokemon refuse to listen to anyone, or go back in their pokeballs."

"What?" I asked, shocked. "Then, where are they?"

"Hmm… well…" Bill put a finger to his chin. "Right now I would say Gyarados is about to scare some tourists who are out taking pictures of the waterfall, and Kabutops has been helping the local PokeCenter by… well, wanting to hug everyone."

"Oh no." I slapped my head. "Did anyone get hurt?"

"No, not yet." Bill laughed. "But that's not half as bad as what Raticate and Primeape are doing."

"Oh… don't tell me…Raticate is acting like he has rabies and Primeape is stealing food from somewhere."

"Wow! You're good!"

"Ahhh…" I groaned. "What else?"

"Well, your Scizors, Beedrill and Typholsion have been training nonstop since you got here. However, you do have some pokemon that haven't been doing anything. In fact, they all have been sitting outside of the hospital waiting this whole time, mostly because the nurses wouldn't let them in, that is except for Pichu."

"Really?" I asked. "Why?"

"I don't know. Some kind of girl thing. They say 'Pichu is sooooo cute!'" Bill said as he did a girly impression. "And for some reason they fight over who gets to come and check on you."

"Heh?" I asked, then shook my head. "No, why won't they let my other pokemon in?"

"Oh, right. They said that Arcanine, Dragonite, Umbreon and Pidgeot are too big to come into a human hospital."

Tap! Tap! Tap! Zap! We heard coming from the hall. "Pi, pi!" Zap! The little mouse said, zapping out little sparks as he walked passed the door in his little leather jacket. He was holding half of a cupcake that was almost as big as he was, and most of the half that was gone was on his face. He stopped midstride as he looked in the room. His face changed from a shocked looked to a look of complete happiness. "Pi! Pi! Chu!" He screamed, dropping his cupcake and jumping into my chest.

"Oh! Hi bud." I said, stumbling and catching myself on the table.

"Pi! Pichu!" He squealed happily as he buried his face into my chest, rubbing the cupcake all over my hospital gown.

"I missed you too." I said, patting him on the head. "I guess it has been a long time." My eyes then shot open again. "Time!"

"Time?" Bill asked.

"What day is it?" I asked scared to death.

"Tuesday." Bill said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Why?"

"No! The date!" I said. "The date! What day is it?"

"Oh…" Bill pulled out his phone from his pocket, sliding it open. "It's the 27th of July."

"Oh no." I said, closing my eyes. "The league starts to the 14th of August. Crap! That means that I have like two weeks to get this last gym badge and make it to the league." I then sat down on the bed as Pichu ran up on my head playing in my hair. "How the heck am I going to get there now?"

"Why don't you let me take you?" Bill asked.

"Phft." I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, but it takes about 15 hours to drive from here to the league, and that's if you're going back-road short cuts. It's going to take me about a month to hike it. And besides that," I ran one hand through my hair, making Pichu jump to my shoulder. "I have to be registered and signed in a week. That means I only have one week to get up there."

"Come on, just hear me out." Bill said. "The gym is about thirty minutes away from here, and the league, I can get you there in a day."

"Ha!" I laughed, causing the stitches in my back to open up a little. "Ahh!" I groaned. "Hey, don't make me laugh, okay?" I chuckled.

"It's not a joke." He said.

"Then how?" I asked. "How in the world could you do that?"

"Well, lets just say that I am really good friends with someone that has a flying airship."

"A flying what?" I asked.

"A flying airship." He said. "Turns out that when the police and I came to rescue you we found the Team Rocket main base, and inside were tons of airships." He then paused. "A few were damaged, and one was missing, but they were all airships, and top grade ones too."

"Did you say one was missing?" I asked.

"Yeah, but that could have been for any reason." Bill said. "I mean, that could have been a place for one that was coming in, no one ever said that it was suppose to have an airship in it. It was just an empty launch pad."

"So, you know someone that would be willing to fly us there?" I asked.

"Yes. That is, if you don't mind a 16 year-old flying."

There was a long silence as I looked at him blankly. "No way in heck am I going to let you fly me 700 miles, in a Team Rocket airship, that probably doesn't even work. Did I mention that you don't even have a license to drive that?"

"Do you think that the Rockets that flew them had licenses?"

"You're missing the point!" I said.

"Listen." Bill said in a stern voice. "How else are you going to get up there?" There was a pause as I looked away, and he continued to talk. "According to you, your bike is trashed, and it's a seven day trip even if you ride on your fastest pokemon. Kyle, I am trying to help you."

"Well…" I spoke, standing up and bracing myself. "I'll think about it, Bill."

I walked over to my clothes, stumbling as I fell into the table. "Arggg."

"Here, Kyle." Bill spoke as I turned my head to look at him. He was standing up, holding out a crutch in one hand. "The nurses said for me to give it to you when you woke up."

I looked at the crutch in a disgusted way as I glanced back up to Bill. "I'm not going to use that!" I stood up, untying the gown as I slipped on my shirt. The pain was so great that when I went to lift my arm I winced, but I was able to get it on. Luckily I wasn't naked under my gown, I still had my boxers on, so getting dressed with Bill's help wasn't that embarrassing. I took the sling off then slipped on my pants and shoes. I tried to stand and put on my book bag with the pokeballs in it, but I found myself holding onto Bill's shoulder. When that was done he helped me as we walked. Pichu sidestepped all this and watched for a little bit before scurrying back up to my head.

"Please Kyle," Bill pleaded. "Will you please use the crutch? You're going to need it."

"I will not." I said, looking at the medal contraption.

"Why not?"

"It…" I paused. "Bill, it looks so stupid." I then shook my head. "I don't care how bad off I am, I am not going to use a crutch." Right then I tripped over my own feet, falling but catching myself on the way down. I struggled, but stood, with Bill's help.

"Well, what about a cane?" Bill asked.

"A cane?" I looked at him with a doubtful expression.

"Listen, Kyle. You can't even walk without me here. Heck I even helped you get dressed. What are you going to do when you fight the gym leader? Its not like she is going to let you lean on her as you are calling out orders."

"Yeah… I guess that's true." I said as we walked out of the room. "Well, what about you? Where are you going to be?"

"I figure it will take you at least and hour or two to patch things up with your pokemon and beat the gym. While you are doing that I shall be retrieving the airship."

"Where is the ship at?" I asked.

"Well, the police department said they transported them all to their headquarters in Mahogany. They also told me that I could come pick mine up any time."

"How exactly did you get them to give you one?" I asked. "I mean, I know that you are probably the most well-known person around, but how?"

"Well, Kyle, you don't get as powerful as me without digging up some dirt."

There was a slight silence as I looked at him. "Are you saying that you blackmailed the police department?"

"Not so much blackmail as debt. You see, the police department have some pokemon that they don't want people to know about, as well as other things. They will give me anything I want." He then glanced at me. "Even a drivers license when I was 14."

"So that's how you got that!" I huffed. "Man, I was so jealous of you when you got it, too."

"Anyway," Bill continued. "Once we get you a cane I shall use the Jeep as transportation and acquire the airship. From there I will return here to retrieve you." Bill smiled as we walked into the gift shop. "Like I said, it shouldn't take any longer than two hours. Oh yes, Kyle?"

"Yeah?"

"There's something I need to tell you. About the pokeballs."

***_-Scene Change-_***

Arcanine and Umbreon were lying on the ground beside the door as Pidgeot stayed perched on the light pole of the hospital. Dragonite, however, as big as she was, was sitting on the bench, almost like a human would. Her tail draped around the bench, wrapping around the legs as she stared up at the sky.

"Hmm." I smirked as the automatic doors opened. "Well aren't you all a sight for sore eyes." As I walked out I saw all of them turn to look at me. I know I must look strange. Arm around my ribs, sunglasses on, messed up hair with Pichu not helping things, green button-up shirt only half buttoned, black tie draped around my neck like a scarf, and sporting a black cane. I swear, I bet I look like a Pryce wanna-be or something.

Regardless what I looked like, however, they all jumped up, running and flying over to me. "Whoa!" I said, holding up the arm wrapped around my ribs. As I held out my hand they all slid to a halt, looking at me. "I'm happy to see you guys too, but you've got to be easy." I smiled. "I'm in a lot of pain, ya know?"

"Arf!" Arcanine barked, wagging his tail as he ran up to me, giving me so many licks on the face I almost lost my glasses.

"Hey, calm down boy!" I said laughing. When I did, however, the other three swarmed around me. Umbreon pawing at my leg and yipped while Dragonite and Pidgeot flew around my head, calling out the whole time.

"I know, I know!" I said laughing. "I missed you all too!" I then pulled away and looked at them. "But there is something I need to tell you guys." I then paused. "All of you. So will you help me find the rest of them?"

"Arf!" Arcanine said as he lowered down to let me on.

"Hmm." I smiled. "Thanks."

As I was climbing on his back the door to the hospital opened again. I watched Bill walk out of the doors, holding a phone to his ear. When he saw me he put down the phone, calling out. "I'll be back in a couple of hours!" He said, motioning to this green beat-up looking Jeep parked in the parking lot behind the hospital.

I glanced over at him, giving him a thumbs-up as Arcanine took off to the west, Pidgeot, Dragonite and Umbreon following close behind. Before long, the hospital vanished out of sight, as we rode down the almost deserted road that lead into town.

This is strange. I thought to myself. Johto is such a weird place. This stretch of land looks almost like a desert. All dirt, and hardly any trees anywhere. On top of that, all I can see for miles are mountains. Bare, rocky mountains. I lifted my arm that was bandaged up, wiping some sweat off my forehead. When I first came here it was late February, and even then New Bark Town felt almost like a tropical area, with the weather at 50 degrees. Since then it had snowed in April while I was in Ecruteak, blazing hot in late May at Cianwood, and now Blackthorn is a desert trapped between the mountains?

Up in the distance I saw faint little shapes come into view. I could make out houses, some trees, a few hut like things, and the PokeCenter. "Up there boy." I said, pointing to the building.

"Arf!" Arcanine barked as he ran at a steady pace, trying not to jostle me around too much.

When we got to the Poke Center I noticed that the place was deserted, at least from the outside. "This is strange." I said, hopping off of Arcanine as my other pokemon gathered around me. I glanced around, "There is always at least some one outside of the Poke Center." But there wasn't anyone. The bench was empty, no cars parked beside it, nothing.

"Oh well." I shrugged, taking a step forward onto the doormat of the center. The door opened, and inside I saw a Chansey with bandages all over it running from the side hall down the lobby and into the back, screaming out the whole time.

"Chansey! Chansey!"

I stood there, watching as the big pink pokemon ran around chanting. Soon a Nurse Joy, also covered in bandages, came running from the same area. "Down boy!" She screamed. "Down boy! Down!"

Then, out from the same hall I saw Kabutops, running after both of them with his sword like arms spread out wide. He had a goofy grin on his face as he chased them around the Center, laughing and smiling the whole time. "Bu! Tops-Tops-Tops!" he grinned.

"Kabutops!" I called out and a stern voice.

"Bu?" Kabutops stopped chasing them and turned to look at me. I saw both Nurse Joy and the Chansey run behind the front desk, grabbing a baseball bat as they hid. Kabutops looked at me strange for a while, then, almost as if it clicked with him, he put on the same smile and ran after me, arms spread out wide. "Bu-Tops-Tops-Tops!"

"STOP!" I screamed, holding out my good hand in front of me. The prehistoric pokemon stopped running, skidded to a stop in front of my feet, and sat down on the ground.

"Buuuuu…." He said in a low whimper as he began to tear up.

"I know, I know." I said with a smile as I kneeled down and rubbed his head. "I missed you too bud, but you cant go around hugging people." I smiled as he looked up to me. "Instead, lets use that as a move when we fight, okay?"

"Bu-Tops-Tops!" He smiled happily.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nurse Joy come up to me with the baseball bat still in hand, using Chansey as a shield and hiding behind it. "So," she spoke. "Is that thing yours?"

"Yep." I smiled, picking up my cane from the ground as I pushed myself back up to my feet. "I know he can be a handful at times, but he is still a great pal. So, thanks for keeping him for me while I was in the hospital, I hope he wasn't too much of a handful."

"A handful?" Nurse Joy asked. "A handful? That thing ran off my customers for four days! The only thing that makes him stop cutting people is this baseball bat!"

"You have been hitting my pokemon?" I asked with a blank face.

"No, I don't need to." Joy said as she lowered it down. "All I have to do is show it to him and he stops." She huffed. "This proves why those things are extinct. And should be!"

"You know, for a Nurse Joy you are pretty hateful." I said. "Threatening and making fun of a pokemon that is 'special', and a little under average." I turned to walk out. "I'm glad my Kabutops ran away your customers. Because if they didn't run away from him then they definitely would have ran away from you."

"Bu-Bu-Bu-Bu!" Kabutops giggled.

"Come on, Kabutops." I said, limping out the door.

I walked outside as Arcanine lowered down for me, Pichu playing in his mane. When Kabutops saw Arcanine he came running up to him with a big smile and arms held out wide, but with one low growl from the massive dog Kabutops stopped dead in his tracks. I settled in, giving Arcanine a pat as he rose up. Right then the door to the center opened again and a fuming Nurse Joy ran out.

"Don't you ever come back to my PokeCenter again!" She screamed, shaking her fist. "You little hoodlum!"

"Hmph." I smirked, tilting my head and giving her a half wave. With that Arcanine turned around, heading into town.

***_-Scene Change-_***

When I got deeper into the almost western town I could already guess where Primeape and Raticate were, if only from the screaming and ranting that I heard. I rode up to this man in an apron who was standing outside of a deli. The man was a bit taller than me, wearing a hair net, and was on the fairly large size, if you know what I mean.

"You darn dirty ape!" The man screamed as he threw a butcher knife down the alleyway between his store and some apartments. "You took it! You took it all!"

"Umm… sir?" I asked, from the back of Arcanine. The man turned around, red in the face from anger, and then looked at all my pokemon around me. "Whats' up?"

"You!" He pointed at me as he screamed. "You! You're a pokemon trainer, right?"

"Uh... yeah… I guess." I shrugged.

"Good!" The man then pointed his finger down the ally. "There is this darn stupid monkey that has been stealing all of my food for four days! And on top of that it has this rat with it that is bigger than a hog!" The man made a motion with his arms, trying to show how big the 'rat' was. "I'll make you a deal, if you can catch or kill those stupid things I'll give you and all your pokemon a free 'all you can eat buffet' meal!"

"Wow!" I said, as I chuckled to myself. Oh what he would do if he only knew that I was their trainer. "Well, I might hit you up on that later, but for now I've got to go find the gym leader."

"Wait!" The man pleaded. "Don't go! Those things have run my business into the ground, and it has only been four days! Just imagine what they could do in a year!" The man then ran up to Arcanine, who backed away a little bit, upset by the old beggar. "Please! I beg you! I'll give you anything you want, just get rid of those things!"

"Ahh…" I signed. "Alright, just give me a minute." I smiled as Arcanine lowered down, letting me off. I took my cane, limping over to the alleyway as I called down it. "Primeape!" I screamed. "Raticate! Get your butts down here!" I turned to see the man give me a shocked look as the big monkey came up and jumped in my arms. "Uph!" I groaned, falling on the ground backwards.

"Raf!" Arcanine leaped, jumping over the man and landing by my side. He then wrapped his jaws around Primape tossing him off of me.

"Arcanine!" I said. "Stop! He doesn't know I'm hurt."

"Prime…" Primeape stood up, shaking off some dirt as glared at Arcanine. "PRIME!" He charged.

"Fine Primeape." I said as I reached my hand into my pocket, taking out his pokeball. "I was going to wait, but you leave me no choice." I tossed the ball at him as he was sucked inside. The ball hit the ground, shook, and then stayed still. Arcanine helped me up, picking up my cane in his mouth and handing it to me as I made my way over to the pokeball. When I picked up the ball I saw my other pokemon flinch at the sight of it, but they acted fine when I put it away. "Now." I said looking back down the alleyway. "Raticate!" I said. "Come on! You get out here too!"

"Rat…" Raticate said, crawling out of the shadows.

"Come on, its okay." I said with a smile as I walked over to Arcanine. "It's okay, come on, I'm better now."

"Rat! Rat!" He chimed happily as he ran over to my side.

"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too." I patted him on the head as Arcanine lowered himself for me. As I climbed on his back, the fat man ran up to me.

"You mean to tell me that those were your pokemon the whole time?" He screamed.

"Well, yeah." I laughed.

"I aught to sue you!" He pointed at me as I began to turn away on Arcanine. "Property damage! Unlawful taking! Criminal acts! Vandalism!" The man kept screaming and ranting, all the way until we were out of town, or maybe we were just too far away to hear him.

But I do wander. I thought as I held his pokeball in my hand. Why was he acting like that? It is almost like he wasn't himself. Even back before he evolved he refused to fight, that is, if food wasn't involved. But nothing like that. For a second there, he reminded me of… Conner.

Up ahead of us was a small patch of trees, and from a distance I could make out streaks of red and yellow moving around at a fast rate. When Arcanine got closer I could tell that it was Typhlosion, Scizors and Beedrill running around and bashing out attack after attack.

Typhlosion spun up into a Flame Wheel attack as Scizors crossed his arms in defense. As soon as the attack hit Beedrill swooped down, trying to stab a stinger into Typhlosion, but, Typhlosion anticipated this and dodged in a knick of time.

"Great job!" I said as they all stopped to look at me. "I am so proud of all of you!" I smiled.

"Ty!" Typhlosion beamed as he ran over to me and Arcanine on all fours. He then stood up on his hind legs, rubbing his head on my leg as I gave him a quick pet.

"Bee!" Beedrill bussed as he flew around my head.

"I missed you guys too." I smiled, then looked at Scizors. "And wow, Scizors, you have really changed haven't you?"

"Sc…" Scizors cocked his head, looking the opposite way as he leaned up against a tree.

"So we are back to that again?" I asked. "Ah, oh well. What can I expect after all that you guys have been through." All my pokemon then turned to look at me with sadness in their eyes, even Scizors. "But, that is part of what I need to tell you all, so lets go get Gyarados and Articuno and…"

"You called?" A familiar female voice said as I felt a snowflake fall to my nose. I turned around to see Articuno standing beside Dragonite. "I foresaw this." She said. "Your Gyarados in which you seek is currently panicking tourist beside the waterfall on the other end of town."

"Thanks." I smiled as I turned Arcanine around. "Scizors." I said, knowing that he was listening, though not facing me anymore. "All I ask is you hear me out. Then, you can do whatever you want." With that I nudged Arcanine, telling him to follow the nearby river upstream until we hit the waterfall.

As we all disappeared in the distance, Scizors stayed behind, watching us go.

***_-Scene Change-_***

We passed through town again, but this time we went on an alterative route, by passing the crazy fat man that ran the deli. On this new path, however, we were able to find the gym, which I must say looked a lot bigger than any other gym I have ever seen. Periodically I looked behind me, but, I saw no sign of Scizors.

I sighed. "Oh well…"

"Pi?" Pichu asked, popping his head out from Arcanine's mane. He gave a very funny face as he twisted his head, almost like he was confused.

"You silly little guy!" I chuckled, placing my good hand on his head and ruffling up his hair.

"Chaaa!" He smiled happily as he buried himself back inside of Arcanine's mane.

Before long we all made it over to the waterfall. It was this massive flow that dropped at least a thousand foot. As me and my pokemon rode up we watched tourists taking pictures.

"Oh honey!" A man in a tropical shirt said. He handed her the camera then ran over to stand by his son on the edge of the railing overlooking the waterfall. "Take a picture of us! For the album!"

"Agg…" They teenage boy groaned as he pulled up his headphones. He had long black hair, pulled back in a ponytail with tattoos all over him.

"Alright!" The large mother said as she held the camera. "Get closer together."

"Like… this?" The father beamed as he wrapped his arm around the boy. The boy struggled to get free, but failed. So he stood for the picture, even though he was really looking at all of my pokemon to the side of his mother.

"Alright!" The mother said as she began to countdown. "On the count of three. One. Two. Thre…" It was right then that Gyarados began to stick his big head out of the waterfall. His mouth was open, and his eyes were narrowed. Water ran from the falls into his mouth, creating a rainbow as he crept closer to them.

"Well, what are we suppose to say, honey?" The father asked with a smile. "How about Cheeseburger?"

"Monster!" The mother screamed.

"Um… okay honey." The father said as he took a deep breath. "Monster!" He then looked over to his son who didn't say anything. "Marvin?"

"Ahh…" Marvin sighed. "Monster… whooohhhooo!"

"No!" The mother screamed as she pointed behind them. "Monster!"

It was then that Marvin and the father turned around. Their faces went as white as their mothers when Gyarados began to give a wild looking toothy grin.

"Gar, Gar, Gar!" He chucked. He then opened his mouth and sprayed them all down with a Water Gun attack.

"Ahh!" They all three screamed as they ran away. "Monster! Monster!"

"I told you we should have drove!" Marvin said.

"Shut up! And keep running!" Both parents screamed as they ran out of sight.

I waited until they were out of sight, then I turned to look at the massive serpent that slithered in front of me out of the waterfall. "So is this what you have been doing for the past four days?" I scolded.

"Gara! Gara!" Gyarados nodded as he slithered over to me and licked me on the face.

"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too." I said with a smile. "But I have something to tell you." I then looked around, still not seeing Articuno and Scizors. "I wanted to wait till all of you got here, but I guess I can tell you now."

"Not just yet." Articuno said as she fluttered down beside me. "There is still one member of the party missing."

"Well I don't think Scizors is coming." I said, nudging Arcanine to let me down.

"I wouldn't be so sure." She turned around, looking to the sky. In the distance I saw a red dot that seemed to get bigger and bigger. Before long I saw that it was Scizors, and he landed down about fifty feet away from me. He cocked his head, like he always did, and then leaned up on the side of a cliff.

"Good." I said as I stood up on my own, taking my cane and walking over to the railing. "There is a lot I need to say." I started. "First off, I am sure you all saw from the beginning that Ricky was not a good guy. Trust me, I did too, but I never thought he was capable of all he did. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." I looked around, and then lowered my head. "And, as you all might have also noticed, we are short one member of our team. Ricky, or Conner, was a member of Team Rocket, and right from under my nose he stole all of you from me. I never meant for that to happen, but luckily I got almost all of you back safe." I then raised my head as tears rolled down my face. "I don't know how else to say this, so I'm just going to. Magcargo is dead, and its all my fault. I couldn't save him." I began to weep. "I tried, but he wouldn't listen to me at all. Conner had completely brainwashed him, and now we will never see him again."

I sobbed for a moment before Arcanine walked over too me. He nudged my chin with his nose, and then licked my face, licking up all the tears that had collected on my cheeks.

I halfway smiled. "Thanks, bud." I wiped my face with my sleeve as I continued. "Now, this brings me to my next order of business." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a pokeball. When I did this I saw all my pokemon except for Arcanine, Articuno, Gyarados, and Pichu flinch. "Don't worry." I said, as I laid the ball on the ground. "To keep you safe Bill destroyed all of your old pokeballs and made you new ones. These new balls are not like any other. For one, they will automatically send you to Professor's Oaks lab, where you all used to go. And second, these pokeballs only work on you guys." I ran my good hand through my hair. "Now, because your old ones were destroyed, that means I have to re-catch you. But, after this ordeal, I can understand if you don't want to. I can understand if you never trust me again." I felt my eyes water again. "After all that I have let happen to you… I… I…"

WHOOSH! Out of nowhere I felt a cold flow of water drench me from head to toe. I turned around, looking at Gyarados. I didn't know whether to be mad at him or thank him for pulling me out of crying. "Ahh…" I signed. "Thanks, I needed that." I then turned back to my other pokemon. "Now, I can understand if you don't want to be caught by me again. And because of that, you are free to leave right now if you want to."

"Gyar! Gyar! Gyar!" Gyarados cackled as he swam over to me, running his massive head against my good arm.

"Thanks." I said with a smile. "I guess that means you're in." I reached my hand into my pocket and pulled out his pokeball. I pressed it to his nose, and he was sucked inside. It shook once in my hand, a second time, and then sealed shut.

"Arf!" Arcanine barked as he walked towards me.

"Pi!" Pichu said as well, riding on his back.

"Alright." I put my book bag down, dug in there until I found a necklace. I pulled it out, and on it was Arcanine's new Pokeball. As Pichu hopped off I touched it to the dog's nose. He was sucked inside. It shook once, then twice, and closed shut as I worked the necklace over my head.

"Pi! Pi!" Pichu pleaded as I reached into my book bag again.

"Okay, you too." I smiled, placing the ball to his head. He was sucked inside. It shook once, then twice, and closed as well. But when I went to pick it up, the pokeball opened again.

"PIcha! Pichu!" He said holding up his fist in a victorious way.

"So you are still going to stay outside of your ball?" I asked.

"Pi, Pi." He turned around and gave me a wink, before running up on my shoulder. One by one my pokemon walked or flew up to me, and one by one they were sucked inside their pokeballs, that is, except Scizors and Articuno.

I glanced over at Articuno. "Well, I guess that you don't want to stay with me anymore?" I sighed. "You know, Team Rocket is gone, so there isn't anyone else out there that knows about you, or would hunt you down. You are free to go if you want."

"Kyle." She spoke softly. "I have foreseen a time when you will need me, and I have also foreseen a time when I must depart from you. But this is not the moment that I have foreseen." She then nodded over to Scizors. "The reason why I am out here is because your Scizors has lost all respect for you. He told me when I stayed back to reason with him into coming."

"Oh…" I looked down. "Well, I can understand that. What do I need to do?"

"He would like a battle with you." She said as she turned back to me. "Depending on how the outcome will go is whether or not he will accompany you in your travels."

I looked past here and yelled to the red pokemon that stood far away from us. "Is that true Scizors? If I battle you then you will consider joining me again?"

Scizors turned his head to face me, and then un-crossed his arms. He spread his wings, taking off into the sky as he landed a few yards in front of me.

"What pokemon does he want me to use?" I asked Articuno.

"Sciz-ors!" He called out.

"Umbreon." Articuno spoke as she looked back to me.

"Umbreon, huh?" I said looking back to him with a smile. "Alright, if you want." I reached on my belt, pulling off his pokeball. "Go, Umbreon!" I watched as the ball flew from my hand. It hit the ground and Umbreon popped up. The ball then floated back to me as I caught it and put it back on my belt. Wow, that is a nice feature.

Scizors made the first move, so by instinct I called out, "Quick Attack left!" I watched Umbreon move to the left, but not very fast. Soon he was hit with a hard Iron Head attack in the side. It spun him around, skidding on the dirt as he shook his head.

"Why didn't that work?" I asked aloud, not really expecting a reply.

"Within the time your pokemon were out of your care they learned new moves." Articuno answered. "Your Umbreon replaced that move with one called Last Resort."

"Last Resort, huh?" I said as Scizors put his arms in an x-like formation. "I know that move, but I have to use his other moves first. Umbreon!" I called out. "Sand Attack!"

Scizors charged at Umbreon, but when he got close enough Umbreon turned around, using his hind legs to spray up dirt in Scizor's eyes. Scizor flinched and stopped his attack, covering his eyes with his massive pinchers. Umbreon did the attack again, this time creating a cloud of dust that was so thick it was impossible to see through it.

"Now!" I said. "Use Bite!"

With that I heard a loud crunch sound and then a whimper that came from Umbreon. I watched, unsure if Umbreon was okay or not as Scizors flew up into the air, putting his arms back in the x-shape.

"Shadow Ball!" I said. With that a massive purple ball of energy shot out of the dust, heading straight for Scizors, but he dodged in the air. Scizors then looked to where the energy ball had come from. He began to flap his wings violently, clearing out the dust, revealing a very hurt, and almost knocked out Umbreon.

"SCI-ZORS!" He screamed as he charged at the badly beaten fox.

"Last Resort!" I called out.

Umbreon's eyes began to glow a bright purple as an orb of dark energy pulsed out of him. It was so powerful that it made a small crater where Umbreon was standing, leaving him floating in the air where the ground use to be. He lifted up his head and released all the energy into one massive stream that struck Scizors hard. But Scizors flew straight through it, acting like nothing had happened. I watched in horror as Umbreon was hit with an X-Scissor attack to the face. He flew out of the crater from the recoil of the attack, landing a few feet away. From then, he didn't move.

When I recalled Umbreon I watched the damaged and barely walking Scizor exit the crater as well. "Well." I said I a glum way. "Scizors, it was nice meeting you. I really enjoyed having you on my team." I let my head sink down. "But, a deal is a deal. You won, so you can go."

"Sci-Sciz-or, Or-Siz." I lifted my head up and he continued. "Scizors-Sciz, Sc-Ors, Siz. Scizors."

I looked over to Articuno with a questioning look.

"He said that you fought well." She said before continuing. "He said that he fought a pokemon that was much weaker than him so he see how you would react."

I looked back to Scizors.

"Sciz." He spoke as he walked over to me, placing one of he massive claws on my shoulder. "Sciz-Scizors, Sciz."

"He said that he would be honored to have you as his trainer."

A smile went from ear to ear on my face as my eyes began to water in happiness. "Thank you Scizors." I said, wiping my eyes with my shirt again. "Thank you." With that I held up his pokeball. He pushed the button with his claw as he was sucked back inside. It shook once, twice and then locked shut.

"Well." I said, looking back to Articuno. "I guess you're the only one left."

"What about Primeape?" She asked. "What do you plan to do about his behavior?"

"How did you know about that?" I asked.

She looked at me blankly before speaking. "I am a talking bird that can see the future, read minds, and speak telepathically to whomever I want at any given time." She then cocked her head the other way. "You must have gotten hit on the head harder than I thought."

"Oh shut up." I said. "But to answer your question, I really don't know."

"Have you thought about letting him run free?"

"Are you joking?" I asked. "He would get killed!" I then paused and looked down. "I hate to admit it, but… I think he needs a better trainer than me."

Articuno looked at me blankly before nodding. "Kyle, I am so very proud of you right now."

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

"Because you have finally realized you have met your match with a pokemon." She then looked to the sky.

"So, what do you know?" I asked. "If you can see the future, what do I do?"

"You do what you want to do." She spoke calmly. "I told you once before, your future is not laid out for you, you have to choose what to do. And what you choose will affect everything." She then looked back to me. "Even the people you didn't think it would."

I looked at her strangely before speaking. "You're giving me a hint, aren't you?"

I saw her smile. "So you have been learning things about me, haven't you?" She then turned me around, and stuck her head in my book bag. She slowly picked Pichu up out of it and put him on the ground.

"Pi?" He cheeped, looking up at her from the ground, tilting his head as he did.

"What are you doing?" I asked. When I did she pulled her head out and placed something in my hand. When she pulled back I saw that it was a pokeball.

"I'm ready." She said as she made her way in front of me.

"Thanks." I smiled. "For everything."

"Don't thank me yet." She smiled back as I placed the ball to her. "We still have another three years left together." With that she was sucked inside. The ball shook in my hand, then closed shut.

I smiled, looking at the ball as Pichu climbed back up on my shoulder. "So, three years is when I'm going to need you again?" I looked up to the sky. "I wish I knew if that's going to be a good thing or bad."