The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Story Written by Freedom Fighter

So now we really get into the action and danger and all of that. Lots of Pokémon battling and a grudge or two that'll get settled this session. Ooh, and a few revelations are due as well!

Let's get this thing started!

Disclaimer: All characters and places featured in the Pokémon anime series and other productions belong to Nintendo and Pokémon USA! Cassie Banks, Arius McFly, and several other characters were imagined up by me and can't be used by anyone else without my expressed written permission. Really, it doesn't pay to steal other people's characters, believe me.

This fanfic is only posted at two places: my place, which contains the full-length chapters in one piece, and , which has the same story, but split up into smaller pieces. It should not be posted anywhere else without my permission.


The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session: May, Part 1 (04.25.06/08.21.08)


Previously, in "The Year of Rocket's Revenge," the world was reeling from the unorthodox ending to the Pokémon League Junior Master Tournament that led to a young man named Marco Pereira to become the first Junior Master. But things got even stranger when he disappeared not to long afterward... and then ambiguous clues connecting it to the New Year's Eve incident that took the lives of many, including the gym leader of Celadon City, Erika.

While the League tried to piece things together, Ash Ketchum, the runner-up from that tournament, took over the role of Junior Master. But after a few weeks, he ended up being kidnapped, right before the eyes of his girlfriend, Misty Waterflower, the gym leader of Cerulean City! Determined to make sure a third Junior Master didn't disappear, the League decided to skip over the second runner-up, Gary Oak, and instead, anointed the third runner-up, Cassie Banks, to the position.

Though heavily guarded and kept under the closeful eye of Vermillion City gym leader Lieutenant Surge, Cassie decided to make herself completely visible to the world and went out to make it a better place for everyone. But as she was doing that, Cassie was contracted by Surge into locating the fifth and final teenager that exhibited powers like Marco did at the tournament. Even though it was suspected that she may be the fifth herself, she willingly went along with the League's investigation. After all, they seemed interested in finding a cure.

Alas, those interests were in doubt after they discovered that the fifth was actually Giselle Gravelpot, a Pokémon Tech valedictorian, and an attempt to cure her 'condition' led to her falling into a deep coma that no one was sure she would ever wake up from. Believing that she was about to follow the same path of betrayal and destruction she was on while working for the Pokémon Trainers' Association, Cassie has since secluded herself and has become unwilling to help any further in the League's research.

Meanwhile, the cure, or something close to it, might have actually been found at the top of Mt. Pyre in the Hoenn region. There, under the guidance of Wallace, the reigning champion of the Hoenn League, Ash Ketchum was under some intense training in hopes of naturally eliminating the Celebi-rus Syndrome from his body. Before he could finish, though, he found himself joined by Misty, who was guided there thanks to the acts of the elder of the caverned village atop the mountain. Together, they completed the training program, but even they aren't sure if they've been cured of the condition.

Regardless of whether they have or not, Ash and Misty returned to the 'real world' in hopes of finding the others with the same condition. Brock, Marco, and Giselle. But their search may have been put aside, after learning that Team Rocket has declared all-out war on the Kanto and Johto regions, attacking and taking possession of several major cities. Suddenly, Ash's hometown of Pallet has risen to the top of the list, and he, Misty, and Pikachu must now race there to stop Team Rocket before it's too late...


Wednesday, May 1st, Fuchsia City

Hundreds of Team Rocket agents were all over the place, swarming the city and destroying practically anything in sight. Their Pokémon were firing off attacks at will, doing more damage and endangering the few citizens who had yet to escape the city.

But at the center of the city, a small group of trainers refused to give up, determined to keep Fuchsia from falling under Team Rocket's control. Among them was Koga, the former gym leader and current member of the Elite Four, and Janine, his daughter and the gym leader who took his place. It seemed that the situation was getting bleaker by the minute, as the number of Team Rocket grunts and Pokémon surrounding them seemed to replace every one they managed to take down.

Among the battling Pokémon were Koga's Golbat and Venomoth, as well as Janine's Weezing. But even they were tiring out from the battling.

"They just keep coming, father!" Janine exclaimed.

"I agree," Koga replied. "I hate to say it, but this may be a lost cause."

"What are we going to do?"

"Golbat, Supersonic!" the Elite Four member yelled before turning back to his daughter. "Me and the others will create a distraction. That'll allow you to make a break for it."

"What?"

"Whatever happens, the family name must live on! You must go, not just for us, but for Fuchsia City to survive! It's the only way!"

Janine seemed as if she didn't want to go, but nodded anyway in affirmation, knowing this was the only possible course of action. Koga then turned to the other trainers and barked orders at them.

"Okay, we need to open a path for Janine to get away! The future of Fuchsia City depends on it!"

"Understood!" the other four male trainers yelled.

"Confuse Ray and Confusion, everyone!"

A whole group of Zubat, Golbat, Venonat, and Venomoth were seen using Confuse Ray or Confusion to baffle all of the Pokémon. Koffing and Weezing then used to Smokescreen to blind both humans and Pokémon. In the ensuing chaos, Janine followed the wishes of her father and bolted through the crowd and off to safety.

Janine exited Fuchsia City, trying her best not to look back, for fear it would keep her from running. But once she was clear of the city limits, she ran to the top of a nearby overlook, where she had a good view of the center of the city.

It was at that moment she gasped, as she saw almost all of the Pokémon of Fuchsia City's defense forces faint from exhaustion. The few still standing were nearing their end too. At that point, Koga dropped to one knee as a motion of surrender, and the others quickly did the same.

"Daddy..." Janine squeaked, fighting to hold back tears.

As she saw Koga and the others starting to be led off, bound by the arms with restraints, Janine turned about and resumed her flight, tears streaking from her eyes as she bolted down Route 15 and off to safety.

At least, until whenever Team Rocket decided to chase after her.


Meanwhile, the same was happening in Pewter City. Brock had tried his best to defend his hometown, but the overwhelming number of Team Rocket forces was just too great. Even his mighty Onix fell in battle, and Brock was at the mercy of the evil organization as they restrained him with metal handcuffs.

But the worst part of it all was that all of Brock's siblings were forced to watch the entire battle go down, second by agonizing second. Once it was over, they were all corralled and placed into a nearby black van filled with other young children.

The eldest of them, though, Forrest, wasn't going to go without a struggle.

"Get offa me!" he yelled. "Don't you know who you're messing with? Brock is the greatest rock-type Pokémon trainer there is!"

Brock was being escorted by at that moment, just in time to see one of the grunts retaliate by giving Forrest a knee to the stomach. More than hard enough for Forrest to cough up some blood. Seeing this, Brock went over the edge, as he struggled to break free of his restraints.

"Hey! That's my brothers and sisters! Leave them out of this!"

"Shut up, you!" one of the grunts watching Brock exclaimed before landing a hard punch to the face.

The punch sent Brock to the ground. Unable to defend himself, a few others got into the act as they starting kicking him in several places and spitting on his face. While all this was going on, Forrest was thrown into the van with his brothers and sisters and the other children, and they were all helpless as the doors were slammed shut and the van began to pull away. Brock could only watch helplessly before it all came to an abrupt end with a boot to the head that knocked him out.


A few minutes later, the unconscious Brock was being carried towards a black van... one he was going to get all by his lonesome self. There seemed to be some higher-level agents around this van, proof that they were very serious about making sure Brock didn't get away. At least with Brock out like a light, there was no way he was escaping with his own two feet.

Luckily for him, he had a couple of angels on his side.

"We can't let you take him," stated a red-haired girl in a black Team Rocket uniform.

"We, like, need him more than you do," added a blonde-haired girl in a similar outfit.

The two girls then threw out some Pok?alls. Out of them came two Bulbasaur, a Weepinbell, and a Victrebel. The other Rockets seemed shocked and dismayed at this sudden betrayal.

"Belle and Starr?" one of the grunts shouted. "How could you betray us?"

"Betray is such a strong word," stated the blonde.

"Especially since we were never on your side to begin with!" exclaimed the redhead.

"Now, everyone..." the duo yelled in unison, "Razor Leaf!"

Weepinbell, Victrebel, and the pair of Bulbasaur unleashed a gigantic wave of Razor Leaf on the other Team Rocket members in the area. They were floored by the attack, causing them to forget about Brock and let go of him. The two girls quickly stripped out of their Team Rocket uniforms, revealing the form-fitting lycra jumpsuits that they were wearing underneath, then raced over to catch him.

"No falling down on the job," the redhead told Brock.

"Like, the mistress won't be happy if you do!" exclaimed the blonde with a smile.

At that moment, Brock slipped back into consciousness and slowly opened his eyes.

"An.. an... angel?" Brock murmured before slipping out again.

"Real close," stated the redhead. "Angela, actually."

"Tee hee," giggled the blonde. "And I'm Tomiko!"

With all of the Rockets down and groaning in pain, the two girls recalled their grass Pokémon. Angela then pulled out a different Pokéball and threw it out. A large Pidgeot materialized from.

"Dgeo!" Pidgeot cried.

Angela hopped on Pidgeot's back, and then helped Tomiko lift Brock up. Tomiko climbed up last, and positioned herself so that Brock was sitting squished in-between the two of them.

"This is so awkward!" squealed Tomiko.

"I'm trying not to think about it," Angela blushed before turning her attention to Pidgeot. "Okay, girl, let's get going!"

Pidgeot squawked, then flapped her wings and slowly lifted off the ground. Once at a safe altitude, they were about to fly off when they notice some of the Rockets were getting to their feet.

"Uh oh," stated Angela. "Pidgeot, use Whirlwind on them!"

"Pidgeo!"

Pidgeot flapped her wings as fast as she could in the direction of the Rockets on the ground, blowing them away as none of them were able to hold their ground against the near tornado-like winds. Angela then turned Pidgeot around and start guiding her towards their desired destination. Once they were clear of Pewter City, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"So..." Tomiko said slyly, "you look very comfortable sitting like that!"

"Shut up and get your mind out of the gutter!" Angela shouted back, nervously red-faced.

"He's just your ty-ype..."

"YOU WANT ME TO THROW YOU OFF?"


But even the small town of Pallet wasn't immune, as a small force of Team Rocket grunts were marching there. Two familiar top agents were at the head of the platoon, but they were shielding their faces with black, dome-shaped helmets.

At Professor Oak's laboratory, Tracey and Mrs. Ketchum were in the process of an 'emergency transport' operation. They were down in the Pokéball storage area, teleporting Pokéball after Pokéball to safety.

"How many left?" Tracey asked as he ran past Mrs. Ketchum, who had six Pokéballs cradled in her arms.

"One more shelf in the far corner," she replied.

Mrs. Ketchum returned to the transportation device and started sending those Pokéballs off. As she was doing that, Professor Oak entered from upstairs, wheezing heavily after a long run.

"Oh my! Are you alright, honey?"

"Just... need to... catch my... breath..."

"Here," she motioned, pulling up a wooden chair from a nearby desk.

"Thank you."

"Is it really as bad as you say it is?"

Professor Oak nodded. "There's only eight, but that'll be more than enough to overwhelm what little defense force we have. We don't have any trainers capable of surviving such odds!"

"Oh, come on, grandpa!" said a familiar voice from the stairwell.

The two adults looked at each other, and then peered up the stairs. At the top stood a very confident looking Gary, as well as his two traveling companions, Stephanie and Amber.

"You've got a Junior Master-level trainer by your side!"


"Cate!"

"Freeee!"

"Marill!"

"Char!"

Raticate, Butterfree, Marill, and Charmander all simultaneously fainted, leaving their young trainers with no more Pokémon to battle.

"We agreed to come to this backwater town for this?" asked one of the leaders, a female.

"Unacceptable!" said the other, a male.

"Neither the Pokémon or their Pokémon trainers are worth capturing. I suggest you kids move along before you really get hurt."

"'Cause I'm starting to get a lust for blood!" the male smirked.

The three young boys and one young girl recalled their Pokémon and then high-tailed it out of there.

"Lust for blood?" the female asked, glaring at her partner. "What the heck is up with that?"

"It makes us sound more menacing. You know, to match the new meaner, leaner Team Rocket?"

"It makes you sound like a rookie."

The six grunts with them walked up behind of them, and one of them raised their hand as he presented his side.

"I kinda side with him on this one, ma'am," he said, pointing at the guy.

"NOBODY ASKED YOU!" the two of them yelled.

"So, it's you clowns, huh?"

At the word 'clowns,' the two turned about to see who had uttered that word. Approaching from the direction of Professor Oak's laboratory were Gary and Tracey, both with determined looks on their faces and Pokéballs in hand. Behind them were an apprehensive Amber and scared Stephanie, both girls decked out in daisy-print cheerleading outfits and carrying pom-poms.

"Tell me why we're wearing these?" asked Amber.

"We're the cheerleaders!" Stephanie proclaimed. "We're supposed to cheer Gary on from the sidelines, no matter the danger."

"That means you'll cheer for me too, right?" Tracey asked as he looked back at them.

"Focus on the task at hand!" Gary grumbled at him.

The four stopped about a hundred feet away from the Rocket troop.

"Ah, it's the smug grandchild of Professor Oak!" identified the female.

"Should've seen that one coming," exclaimed the male.

"Wait a minute!" Tracey shouted, a bit confused. "You've met before?"

"Unfortunately, yes," replied Gary.

"Then, who are they?"

"Heh heh... glad you asked! Prepare for trouble..."

"...and make it double!"

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all peoples in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

The two then yelled out their names as they ripped their helmets off.

"Cassidy!"

"And me, Butch!"

"Team Rocket circles the world at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or you will surely lose the fight!"

Tracey gasped. "You're part of Team Rocket?"

"The boy doesn't get out much, does he?" Butch said with a chuckle.

"You're not taking Pallet Town without a fight!" Gary declared.

"Oh, don't worry! We don't want to take Pallet Town. We just want to find a certain someone."

"And then we'll take Pallet Town! Down! Mwa ha ha ha ha!"

"That's horrible!" Samantha cried out. "How can you even fathom doing such things?"

"Wait..." Gary interrupted, getting it. "You're after Ash, aren't you?"

"Somebody's on the ball today," Cassidy said with a smile.

"So, where is the little twerp?" Butch asked.

"He's not here, and even if we knew where he was, we wouldn't tell you!"

"That's what I figure you'd say. Ready to teach them a lesson, Butch?"

"Ready and rarin' to go, Cassidy!"

"Houndour, let's do it!" Cassidy shouted.

"Mightyena, go!" yelled Butch.

The two Pokémon emerged, both growling angrily at their opponents. Save for Gary himself, everyone on his side seemed a little unnerved by the threatening duo.

"We can't take them, no sweat!" Gary smirked. "Let's go, Umbreon!"

"Time to come out, Scyther!" announced Tracey.

Umbreon and Scyther came out and immediately engaged in a staring contest with Houndour and Mightyena.

"We'll start! Mightyena, blind 'em with Sand Attack!"

Mightyena kicked sand in Umbreon's direction, but Scyther jumped in and blocked it with his arms.

"Good going, Scyther! Now, counter with Skull Bash!"

"You too, Umbreon! Skull Bash!"

The two Pokémon dashed forward head-first.

"No, you don't! Houndour, Fire Blast!"

Houndour unleashed a huge wave of fire at Umbreon and Scyther. But the two Pokémon dodged the attack and continued on their collision course. Umbreon rammed into Houndour, while Scyther bashed heads with Mightyena. Both Pokémon were knocked back and rendered a little dazed, but were still up on their feet.

"Retaliate with Crunch!" Cassidy and Butch yelled in unison.

Houndour and Mightyena opened their mouths wide to show off their very sharp fangs. They then bit into their opponents... Houndour into Umbreon's left ear and Mightyena into Scyther's right arm.

"Breee!"

"Scyther!"

"Hang tough, Umbreon!" Gary shouted. "Use Shadow Ball!"

Umbreon fired a ball of dark energy from his mouth. It hit Mightyena head-on, but it didn't do much damage.

"Houndour, Flamethrower at Scyther!"

"Quick, Scyther, use Double Team!"

Scyther enabled Double Team just in time, allowing one of his mirror images to be destroyed by the directed beam of fire.

"We're at a disadvantage here!" Tracey shouted.

"I could've told you that!" retorted Gary. "We'll have to even the odds up a little. Umbreon, Confuse Ray!"

Umbreon used Confused Ray on Houndour and Mightyena. Mightyena reacted fast enough to dodge it completely, but Houndour wasn't so lucky. Mightyena quickly retaliated, per Butch's commands.

"Mightyena, Take Down!"

Mightyena charged right at one of the two remaining Scyther. He slammed into one, and it disappeared, leaving Mightyena to take all the damage.

"Another miss!" Tracey said, pumping his fist. "Good job, Scyther!"

"Now's our chance, Tracey!"

Tracey nodded in agreement. "Scyther, use Fury Cutter!"

"Umbreon! Faint Attack!"

Scyther got Mightyena from behind and started slicing at him. Each consecutive hit was stronger than the one before it, and eventually Mightyena succumbed to it all and fainted from the damage. As this was going on, Umbreon suddenly appeared to Houndour's left. Houndour reached around to try and bite Umbreon, but he ended up biting himself on the leg! As he howled in pain, Umbreon attacked, knocking out the fire-type.

"Gary! Tracey! They're the best! You all should go just take a rest!" cheered Stephanie and Amber exuberantly.

"Don't think this is over, 'cause it's not!" yelled Cassidy.

"We've got a whole bunch of helpers at our disposal!" Butch pointed out.

The six grunts smiled as they each tossed out a pair of Pokéballs. Before they knew it, Gary's foursome had a Nidoking, a Nidoqueen, two Muk, two Arbok, two Murkrow, two Sneasel, and two Houndoom standing before them, all ready to attack.

"I suddenly don't feel like cheering anymore," Stephanie stated aloud.

"Yeah!" Amber added. "They outnumber us by so much!"

But Gary didn't seem frightened at all. Tracey was getting a bit nervous, but he wasn't freaking out. Yet.

"Hey, Tracey. Ever battled with several Pokémon at once?"

"Uh... no."

"Then I hope you're ready for a crash course, 'cause I'm gonna need all the help I can get."

Gary then turned to the girls.

"You two better get back to the laboratory. You'll be safe with my grandpa."

"But we can't!" Stephanie objected. "I'm not gonna run away while my beloved Gary faces off against impossible odds!"

"Besides," Amber said as she pulled out her Pokéball, "we can help!"

"We... we can?"

"Yeah, Stephanie! If you really care about Gary, then you'll battle beside him to the very end!"

Stephanie was definitely apprehensive given the situation, but after seeing the looks of determination on Tracey, Amber, and especially Gary, she decided that she was going to stay.

"I know I don't have much battle experience, but I promise I'll do everything I can!"


Somewhere a few minutes away...

"C'mon, we're almost there!" shouted a young man.

"Why are we running there, anyway?" asked the young woman. "Couldn't we have flown?"


"Scyther, Fury Cutter! Venonat, Psybeam! Marill, Water Gun!"

Scyther started to slice at an Arbok, Venonat fired a psychic blast at both Muk, and Marill succeeded in getting one of the Houndoom wet.

"This isn't actually half bad," Tracey commented to Gary.

Arbok struck back with Poison Sting, the Muk flung Mud Bombs at Venonat, and Houndoom bit down hard on Marill's tail.

"Then again..."

"This battle's far from over!" Gary exclaimed. "Dodrio and Fearow, Drill Peck! Pinsir, Vice Grip! Arcanine, Flame Wheel! Umbreon, Pursuit!"

The five Pokémon unleashed their attacks, getting into Nidoking, Nidoqueen, the other Arbok, the other Houndoom, and both Sneasel.

"And Blastoise, Hydro Pump!"

Blastoise blasted the six dazed and injured enemy Pokémon with a concentrated blast of water from the Pokémon's cannons. The attack sent them all every which way, knocking some of them out and injuring the rest.

"A little help would be welcome any time now!" Amber screamed as she ran away from the two Murkrow and their trainers.

As Amber ran, Horsea, whom was being held over her head, facing their pursuers, was constantly using Bubble on them... but to little effect. Suddenly, Amber spotted Stephanie waving at her from up ahead, standing atop a tree stump.

"Amber! Duck on three!"

Stephanie then did an about face and pulled her only Pokéball out of her purse.

"This better work..."

She tossed it to the ground.

"Come on out, Gastly!"

"Gastly gast!" remarked Gastly as it came out.

"Gastly!" Stephanie called out to her Pokémon. "Don't you want to give me a lick on the cheek?"

Stephanie pointed to her cheeks, and that's all the incentive Gastly needed. The ghost type charged blindly at Stephanie's head, tongue hanging out as far as it could go, ready to lick. Stephanie waited until Gastly was almost in licking range, and then she fell backwards. As she fell to the ground, she sensed Gastly pass over her. Upside down, she quickly shouted at Amber.

"Amber, THREE!"

Amber saw Gastly coming and quickly dived down to the pavement, extending her arms out so that she kept Horsea off it, but at the same time low enough so that Gastly missed them both.

Unfortunately, by the time the two grunts and their Murkrow realized what was going on, it was too late to dodge. Gastly crashed into them, licking the foursome and paralyzing them.

"I guess Gastly isn't such a bad Pokémon after all," Stephanie said as she helped pull Amber to her feet. "I'd say they got licked!"

Out of nowhere, Gastly was suddenly blasted with a powerful fire attack that resembled a Hyper Beam! The move instantly knocked Gastly out, much to Stephanie's surprise.

"What was that?" Gary, Tracey, Stephanie, and Amber all asked in unison.

The four heroes and the other grunts turned towards Cassidy and Butch, who were laughing with glee as a strange Pokémon stood in front of them. It had the head and wings of a Charizard, the body and shell of a Blastoise, and the vines and bulb on its back of a Venusaur.

"Enough child's play!" Cassidy growled.

"We're gonna end this right here and now!" Butch proclaimed.

The strange Pokémon then fired a Hyper Beam-like grass attack at Tracey's Marill and Gary's Blastoise, easily knocking out Marill and seriously crippling Blastoise. It then followed that with a similarly-powered water attack that took out Gary's Arcanine, Dodrio, and Pinsir.

The Pokémon then turned its attention to Gary and fired the fire-type attack towards him. Gary found himself uncharacteristically frozen for once, unable to move!


"I'm starting to see something up ahead!"

"Oh... I hope we're not too late!"


After the last attack, most of the Pokémon on both sides of the battle had been knocked out. The few still standing: Tracey's Venonat, Amber's Horsea, and Gary's Umbreon, as well as the Nidoking, the Nidoqueen, and one of the Sneasel. But none of them were still in fighting condition.

Tracey, Stephanie, and Amber had all jumped on top of Gary, trying to protect them from the blast. And they were shielded by Tracey's Scyther and Gary's Fearow, both who took the full extent of the blast and were knocked out by it. The grunts' Pokémon not standing had also been taken out, having been in trajectory path of the attack.

Tracey, Stephanie, and Amber weren't all unscathed, though, as each of them had an assortment of bumps, bruises, and minor cuts as they got to their feet, pulling Gary up with them, who was unharmed. They noted all of the Team Rocket grunts were stunned at the sheer power that had been unleashed.

"Unbelievable..."

"Unreal..."

"They're as powerful as they said..."

Cassidy and Butch smirked as they surveyed the damage before them.

"Hydro Cannon. Frenzy Plant. Blast Burn."

"Three powerful attacks on their own..."

"But virtually unstoppable when combined!" the duo screeched simultaneously.

"But, but," Stephanie commented, "you haven't used the three of them combined yet!"

Cassidy chuckled. "I guess we should remedy that, huh?"

Butch did likewise. "Yes, we should."

Cassidy and Butch turned to the Pokémon. "Time for the tri-attack!"

Gary and Amber glared at Stephanie. "Way to go, Steph."

Tracey nodded. "Uh huh. I'm afraid I'm not going to ask you out after all this over."

"Don't flatter yourself," Stephanie sweatdropped, "you wouldn't be on my radar even if we survived."

Venonat and Umbreon jumped out in front of the quartet, willing to defend them no matter what. Horsea cradled herself within Amber's arms as the four trainers feared that they had more than lost this battle.

"And to think..." Gary said as an aside, "I'll never get to have another match with Ash."

Then, at the very last possible moment, a huge water blast swirling with electricity appeared from Cassidy and Butch's left, slamming into the strange Pokémon just enough to tip it off balance and affect its aim. The Pokémon fired the tri-attack, and it missed completely everything... though it came awfully close to striking Professor Oak's laboratory, missing by mere feet!

"What was that?" Cassidy wondered out loud.

Everyone turned towards where the attack had come from. They all saw a Vaporeon and a Pikachu standing there, both in battle stances and ready to unleash another attack. And behind them were two heroic teenagers who looked as if they had arrived just in the nick of time.

It was Ash and Misty.

And they looked ready for a fight.

To be continued next week in Part 2!