The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session: July Once Again, Part 6 (07.11.06/07.11.10)


"Well, Brock... it was nice knowing you."

The armed Rocket agents had finished loading their rifles. All that was left was to pick their targets and start firing.

"I'm never going to know what it's like to sleep with a girl!" Brock cried.

"Ugh," Misty shook her head in disbelief. "You're worse than Daisy sometimes."

Misty quickly counted at least five rifles, based on what she could see given the humans and Pokémon standing between her and the gun-wielding agents. But she swore she heard more than that cock as the agents picked their targets.

And two of the ones she could see were pointed towards her and Brock.

But before they could fire, they heard a Pokémon in the air screeching very loudly. But one screech turned into many, as the irritating sounds compelled the humans and Pokémon that were still standing on the battlefield to turn their attention towards the skies. And they were all amazed at what they saw.

Dragonite. Lots and lots of Dragonite. One, two, three, five, eight... more in one place than any dare would think possible.

Jane and Calamity were still watching from the roof of the building they had released the cross-bred Pokémon from, as were the four that had accompanied them. And they weren't amused by this new development.

"Isn't that the famed Dragon Clan from Blackthorn City?" Jane asked aloud. "That can't be!"

"Weren't two of our best agents there a few months ago?" Calamity tried to recall. "009 and the new kid, Mark."

"The report said that the clan was protecting two ex-communicated Rockets... and that they had killed them all!"

"They either didn't do the job right... or they utterly failed, and hoped no one would find out. The boss won't be happy about this latest development."

Jane took out a regular Pokéball and smiled.

"Maybe if we fix their mistakes, we'll take their place as the boss' favorite agents!"

"I wholeheartedly concur with your proposal! Let's do it!"

Jane and Calamity headed for the stairs, and the other four agents quickly followed.

Back out on the battlefield, the Dragonite were going on the offensive. Two of them used Twister to blow away the agents with the rifles, doing so before any of them could get a shot off. The agents were sent flying in one direction, their weapons in the other. As the rifles hit the ground, a third Dragonite floated into the area. He touched down on top of the rifles, smashing them into pieces underneath his feet.

As for the other two Dragonite, they turned their attention towards Ursatales and Topchanlee. Their trainers hopped off just as they rushed forward, ramming into the two Pokémon.

"So strong and fast!" Misty and Brock both observed.

The hit to Topchanlee had knocked it out instantly. Ursatales was still conscious, though, as it roared angrily upon getting on its feet. Its rage was off the charts as it charged right back, blinded by the fact that it was walking into a trap.

"Dragonite!" one of the Clan members ordered. "Hyper Beam!"

Dragonite used Hyper Beam on Ursatales, and that was enough to finally bring the big behemoth down, knocking it out. After that display of power, all of the other battles in the field came to a halt. The other Dragonite in the air searched for places to land as the leader, the one who had been riding the one that crushed the rifles. She took the hood off of her cloak and revealed her identity.

"Clair!" Brock exclaimed.

"Good to see we made it in time," the gym leader of Blackthorn stated.

"Wait," Misty wondered, "were you the one Brock called?"

"Yes, but not for me. He needed my help to find two old friends of yours."

"Old friends?"

Misty turned to Brock, looking for a clue.

"But I thought we had all our friends helping us!"

"Well, technically, these two didn't use to be our friends. But Clair assures me they're completely different people now."

"Ah," Clair said as she pointed at a pair of Dragonite landing nearly a familiar face.

That familiar face was Ash, who was watching all of the Pokémon who had surrounded him and Duplica started to back away in fear. The Dragonite touched down, and it was at that point that in addition to the human riders, one of them had a Pokémon on-board as well.

"Long time no see!" a female voice exclaimed.

"The twerp is no longer a twerp!" shouted the male voice.

"And dat's a fact, Jack!" stated... the Pokémon?

"Wait a minute!" Ash realized. "There are only a couple Pokémon in the world that can talk like humans. And given that accent, there's no mistaking who you three are!"

The three tossed aside their hoods to reveal their identities... as Jessie, James, and Persian!

"No way!" Duplica gasped in disbelief. "You three?"

Ash smirked. "So somehow you guys are still alive and kicking, huh?"

"IS THAT ANY WAY TO TALK TO THE PEOPLE WHO JUST SAVED YOUR LIFE?" yelled Jessie.

"WE DO SOMETHING OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF OUR HEARTS AND THIS IS HOW YOU WELCOME US BACK FROM THE SHADOWS?" James exclaimed.

As the trio got off of their Dragonite, Ash walked over to admire their new Pokémon.

"Since when did you guys get a Dragonite, much less two of them?"

"Ha!" laughed Jessie. "All part of being a member of the Dragon Clan!"

"In fact," stated James, "we worked hard to raise these big guys from Dratini!"

"Dey finally evolved to da big stage last night," Persian told Ash. "Dat's why we didn't respond to your friend's request right away."

"Brock was the one who called you? I would've never guessed!"

Persian walked over to Pikachu and extended a paw out to shake hands.

"We've totally got a new lease on life, Pikachu! No more chasing you! Dose days are in the past, when we's were a part of Team Rocket! Now, we're two Pokémon among many, fighting for a common goal."

Bulbasaur was apprehensive, still not willing to trust Persian. Pikachu, on the other hand, could see that Persian was not the same Pokémon that tried to cash in on his hide what seemed like every day.

Pikachu extended his paw, and the two Pokémon shook hands.

"See?" James pointed out the new friendship. "Pikachu believes we're on the up and up now!"

"I never said I didn't believe you," Ash stated. "I just didn't believe you guys were still alive."

"AGAIN WITH THE NON-GRATITUDE?" Jessie yelled. "WE CAN LEAVE YOU TO DIE HERE IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT!"

"So Team Rocket," Duplica gestured, "you're not the Team Rocket anymore?"

"Nope," James declared. "I'm just James."

"And I'm Jessie!"

"And Persian... dat's right!"

"And we're here," Jessie said, growing serious, "to help you take down Giovanni once and for all!"

"We're ending his reign of tyranny so that other unfortunate souls like us can get a second chance at life!" James shouted.

"Plus," Persian added, "it's time ta show him whose da top cat!"

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"

They turned their attention to the gates, where the six agents from the rooftop were standing. And Jane was speaking through a megaphone as she addressed the other Team Rocket agents.

"ELIMINATE THOSE DRAGONITE, AND THEN TAKE OUT EVERYONE ELSE! NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!"

With that, the battles started picking up again. Ash saw Charizard get knocked off his feet by Goltank some distance away. He then realized, as did Jessie, James, Persian, and Duplica, that the Vapjoltflarevee was still by them. And he was ready to pounce.

"Dragonite, Wing Attack!" ordered James.

Using Wing Attack, James' Dragonite struck the Vapjoltflarevee with his wings, knocking it off of its feet.

"We need to get over there and help Charizard and Heracross!" Ash exclaimed.

"On it," Jessie shouted. "Dragonite, Twister!"

Jessie's Dragonite used Twister to clear a path straight to Charizard and Heracross. Ash and Pikachu took off, with Bulbasaur and Persian right behind. Jessie turned back to James, whose Dragonite was still preoccupied.

"C'mon, James! We have to help Ash!"

"Busy at the moment, Jessie!"

Vapjoltflarevee used Thunder Wave on Dragonite in an attempt to paralyze its opponent. It worked, as Dragonite slowed down. That gave Vapjoltfarevee the advantage, as it started using Quick Attack continuously to pound away at the huge dragon.

"Go on without me!"

Jessie hesitated at first, but then nodded and ran after Ash. James then turned to Duplica, who only had Ditto - her first Ditto - still able to fight.

"I suppose you know enough about Dragonite to give it a try?"

Duplica nodded, then looked at Ditto, who nodded back.

"Okay, Ditto... Transform!"

Ditto transformed into a complete duplicate of James' Dragonite.

"Just follow my lead," James told her. "Dragonite, let's go!"

James' Dragonite charged towards Vapjoltflarevee for another attack, and Dragonite-dit was right behind him.

Jessie took a quick look around the battlefield, seeing all of the other Dragon Clan members were taking on the rest of the cross-bred Pokémon. Her Dragonite ran along side her, though almost all of Team Rocket's normal Pokémon were staying clear.

They looked ahead, where Goltank was using Rollout again. And this time upon knocking Heracross of his feet and to the ground, the bug-type was in so much pain that his body refused to let him get back to his feet.

"Heracross!" Ash called out. "Hold on, Heracross!"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu shouted.

Upon reaching Heracross, Ash and Pikachu tried checking how badly wounded he was. Bulbasaur, though, didn't want Heracross to quit yet, so he started pushing against Heracross' left shoulder, trying to get the bug-type to get up.

"Bulba! Bulba, bulba!"

"Bulbasaur, stop!" ordered Ash. "Heracross is spent."

He then pulled out Heracross' Pokéball and recalled him.

"You did a great job, Heracross. I promise I'll get you to a Pokémon Center as soon as I can."

He pocketed Heracross' Pokéball, and quickly took stock of his current situation. Charizard continued to battle Goltank and was doing well to keep it occupied. Pikachu and Bulbasaur were by his side, but he had to believe they were starting to get tired.

"We need to speed this up!" Ash growled as he turned to Jessie. "Jessie, I have an idea!"

But Jessie had other plans, as her Dragonite flew right at Goltank and rammed it from the right, knocking it out of its ball form before it could make another pass at Charizard.

Seeing this opportunity, Charizard roared to go on the offensive. But then Dragonite stepped in his way.

"Jessie!" Ash yelled at her. "What are you doing?"

"Doing what comes naturally to bench players," she replied. "Taking care of the riff-raff."

"But it's faster if we team up..."

"No! Call your Charizard off! There are bigger fish to fry!"

Ash realized that Jessie was right. Jane and Calamity were still standing at the gate. Plus, who knows what waited beyond them.
He then noticed Charizard about to retaliate for being cut off by Dragonite, and he had to stop him.

"Charizard, back off!"

Hearing Ash's command, Charizard backed away from Dragonite. He then glanced over at Goltank, who was battered and bruised but still willing to go at it some more.

"Agility, Dragonite!"

Dragonite used Agility to boost his speed, then he took off towards Goltank. Ash, Pikachu, and Bulbasaur made their way to Charizard and climbed on his back.

"Dragonite and Persian will hold off this thing!"

"Wait, what?" Persian suddenly objected.

"Don't tell me you've been doing all that training the past few weeks to come here and do nothing!"

"Well... I do have a few tricks up ma sleeve..."

"Hey, you!" Jessie pointed at Ash.

"Huh?"

"We've come too far this past year, staving off death! We intend to survive this day too... and you'd better do the same!"

Ash clenched his fist in determination.

"I'll make sure I'll come back alive."

Ash turned to Charizard and pointed at the gate.

"Let's go, Charizard!"

Charizard roared as he flapped his wings and took off.

"Go get 'em!" Persian shouted.

"Why don't you get him?" Jessie growled at him, pointing to the fact that her Dragonite and Goltank were stuck in a grappling match.

"Oh... right!"

Persian unsheathed his claws and charged into battle.

"Let's see if dis cat taught himself some new tricks!"


As the battle continued outside, inside the Pokémon League Headquarters building, Mark was heading for the elevator after leaving the conference room where Giovanni had set up his office. He was holding his Absol's Pokéball in his right hand.

"I can't believe this isn't over already! Incompetent fools."

As the elevator doors slid open, a red aura started to emanate from his body... as well as Absol's Pokéball.

"I guess I'll have to take matters into my own hands..."

He smiled evilly as the aura got brighter and the doors to the elevator car slid closed.


"Stop that Charizard!"

"How? I'm out of Pokémon!"

"Throw something at 'im!"

Charizard flew over the large group of Team Rocket operatives standing near the gates, who were powerless to stop him. There were only a few Pokémon standing in their immediate vicinity: a Rhydon, a Nidorino, and a Granbull, and none of them had moves in their arsenal to hit someone in the sky.

But they all had more pressing matters, as a Dragonite being ridden by Clair and an Onix with Brock and Misty on his back were charging straight for them.

"Out of the way!" Clair yelled.

Dragonite roared as he swung his tail around, and with one swipe, knocked a good number of the Team Rocket agents aside. Clair leaped off Dragonite's back as he swung his tail around again, this time going for the aforementioned Nidorino and Granbull and knocking out both of them.

"How dare you!" one of the Team Rocket grunts shouted at Clair.

The agents that were still standing leaped at Clair. She responded to the threat... by revealing her other super-powerful dragon Pokémon, Kingdra and Gyarados.

"Hyper Beam and Dragon Pulse!" Clair commanded.

As the operatives were disposed of, Misty and Brock, still on Onix, raced by and past the gate.

"Ash, wait up!" Misty shouted up at him.

"We're right behind you!" added Brock.

Ash and Pikachu looked back to motion for them to hurry up... when they saw a horrible sight rushing in from behind.

"LOOK OUT!"

But it was too late, as the next thing they knew, Misty and Brock felt themselves being thrown off of Onix as the rock snake was completely enveloped by a massive beam of light.

The two gym leaders hit the ground hard, the force of their landing bouncing them back up off the asphalt road before they landed again and rolled a few more feet to the sidewalk.

As for Onix, he had been blasted into a row of houses, completely demolishing five before coming to a stop just in front of the sixth. Whatever had been fired at him, it had easily knocked him out.

"Charizard, we have to go back!" Ash shouted.

Charizard nodded, then did a 180-degree turn and headed back. Ash guided him towards Misty and Brock, and worry started to set deep in his mind when he couldn't see movement from either of them.

Charizard landed about 250 feet away from Misty and Brock's bodies. Ash and Pikachu jumped off and ran over, leaving Charizard and Bulbasaur to wait for them. Ash made his way over to Misty, who was lying facing straight up, and started shaking her at the shoulders.

"Misty! Misty! C'mon, Misty, wake up!"

Pikachu went over to Brock, who was on his side, right arm against the pavement, and was trying to do the same.

"Pikachu! Pika pika!"

Ash put one of his hands behind Misty's back and gently lifted it off the ground until everything from her waist up was at a 45-degree angle in relation to the ground. It was then that Misty began to stir, to Ash's relief.

"Misty!"

Misty slowed opened her eyes, and she could see how happy Ash was to see her wake up.

"I thought I had lost you for a second."

"I'm tougher than you think... Ash Ketchum."

Misty then winced as she slowly lifted her right arm up to the back of her head. She felt around until she found a large bump protruding, one which upon touching she had to shut her mouth and grit her teeth to keep from yelling in pain.

"Mist..."

Misty brought her hand forward again and saw nothing on it.

"I feel like I just got hit by a truck!" Misty exclaimed. "I'm hurting everywhere..."

"Take it easy! You might've broken a bone somewhere..."

"I'm... fine..."

"Pika pi!"

Ash and Misty heard Pikachu cry out and then turned their attention to Brock. He was also coming to, but they couldn't tell what his current state was by looking at his back.

"Ugh..." Brock muttered.

"Brock!" Ash shouted.

Misty let her hands touch the ground so she could support herself, while Ash released his hold on her and moved to Brock's other side. Brock was in slightly worse shape, as there was a cut on his lip and had several bruises on his face and arms. Ash slowly moved Brock so that he was lying flat on the ground.

"Are you okay?"

Brock grunted as he moved his left arm across his body to his right one. But as soon as he tried to lift it, Brock screamed in pain.

"ARGH!"

"Brock! What's wrong?"

"It hurts so much!"

"You don't think it's..."

"I don't even want to think what it means! Just tell me... what happened to Onix?"

Ash was about to answer as he looked in the direction Onix had been blasted in, but he spotted when the same horrifying sight from earlier emerge from behind one of the demolished houses and start walking towards them.

"Oh no!"

It was the last of the cross-bred Pokémon... the one that had the three heads of a Dodrio, the spikes of a Sandslash, the claws of a Parasect, the body of a Rhydon, the tail of an Ampharos, and the four legs of a Donphan. And the monstrosity didn't look like it was satisfied with just taking out Onix.

It had its eyes on Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu.

"Ash," Misty said with fear in her voice, "I don't think I can get up right now."

"Neither can Brock," Ash noted. "We're in trouble."

The creature then opened its mouth wide and a bright white light beam, just like the one that Ash saw take out Onix, begin to form.

"Ash!" Brock yelled, "run while you still can!"

"NO! I'M NOT LEAVING YOU TWO TO DIE!"

The creature fired its beam, and it flew at lightning speed at the quartet. It looked like the end...

Until something jumped in the beam's path at the last second, which the teens could not see as they became blinded by the light...


Team Rocket HQ

Gary and Cassie were in the midst of a battle against two high-ranking Team Rocket agents just outside the complex's barracks when they both suddenly stopped upon getting an ominous feeling run through them.

Both turned their heads towards in the direction of the Indigo Plateau, and then Cassie looked at Gary upon seeing they were doing the same thing.

"You felt that too?" Cassie asked him.

"Uh huh," replied Gary. "And that's not a good one."


Saffron City

Sabrina, Wallace, and Richie were getting the same feeling, even as they and their Pokémon were surrounded and outnumbered by a ratio of three-to-one.

"Brock," Sabrina said.

"Misty," stated Wallace.

"And Ash," Richie growled. "C'mon... it can't end like this!"


Indigo Plateau

The smoke that had resulted from the attack making impact finally started to disappear. But a certain trio couldn't wait for proof to appear before they started to gloat.

And they gloated the only way they knew how to... by reciting the Team Rocket motto.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To introduce the world to devastation!"

"To love our team and unite our nation!"

"To denounce the values known as truth and love!"

"To extend our knowledge to the stars above!"

"Jane!"

"Calamity!"

"Team Rocket, the best when stealing Pokémon is right!"

"Surrender now, or prepare for a fight!"

"Pidgeo! We are the very best, like no one ever was, is, or will ever be!"

Jane, Calamity, and their human-speaking Pidgeotto, Pidgeo, laughed out loud as the smoke finally cleared out... and saw that Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu were all still alive.

"What?" Jane nearly freaked out. "How is that possible?"

"That's how it's possible!" Calamity answered, pointing to what the attack had hit.

Ash's gaze followed the direction of Calamity's hand, and he was speechless when he saw who had jumped in front of the blast.

Charizard.

Charizard lied still on the ground, with blood coming out in several places all over his body. His right wing was bent in such a way that it was hard to tell how it managed to stay attached. And the most distressing sight... his tail.

The tip of the tail, which would normally be lit with a giant flame, was now as dim as an about-to-expire candlelight.

"Ch... Ch... Ch... Ch... Ch..."

Pikachu looked up at Ash as he pulled out Charizard's Pokéball and tried to get it return.

"Return!"

Nothing happened.

"Return! Return! Return!"

The Pokéball continued to fail to operate, and Charizard continued to lie there, dormant. Ash let the Pok ball fall out of his hands, and onto the paved road underneath his feet. Tears started to flow from his eyes.

"CHARIZARD!"

Ash fell to his knees and bent forward, lifting up his hands so he could cry into them. Pikachu and Bulbasaur walked over, and each of them trying to hold in their emotions as they looked at Ash, and then at Charizard.

But then they heard a sound that was even louder than Ash's sobbing for his fallen Pokémon.

It was the sound... of laughter.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

Jane, Calamity, and Pidgeo were laughing with glee over the fall of Ash's Charizard.

"What a fool!" Jane chuckled.

"Sacrificing itself for nothing!" chortled Calamity.

"Good riddance to stupid Pokémon!" commented Pidgeo.

As they continued to cackle uncontrollably, Ash felt a bit of rage envelope him. Pikachu and Bulbasaur looked on as a black aura began to surround Ash's body.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu shook Ash's pants leg worriedly.

Ash began to clench his fists, as he felt his anger about to boil to the top. But as he was about to explode, he felt a hand being placed on each of his shoulders... and his anger quick subsided.

He looked up and was in shock to see Misty and Brock standing next to him! Misty's form was surrounded by a cerulean blue aura, while Brock's had a brown tint to it. For some reason, seeing them both this way made the black aura around Ash fade away.

"You don't have time to get angry at lowlifes like these," Brock told Ash.

"Especially since there's an even bigger lowlife waiting for you just ahead," added Misty.

Jane, Calamity, and Pidgeo abruptly ended their laugh party when they saw Misty and Brock standing on their feet.

"No way!" Jane exclaimed. "There's no way!"

"Seconds ago you two were barely clinging to life!" stated Calamity.

"There's no way this can be happening!" Pidgeo said in disbelief.

As Misty and Brock stepped forward to partially obscure the Rockets' view of Ash, it was then that the teen from Pallet Town noticed that Brock was still gripping his right arm with his left, and Misty's bump on the back of her head was still clear as day.

"Guys!" Ash said to them. "You can't fight! You're in no condition to!"

"When we tell you to get a move on," Brock grunted, "we mean move it!"

"Don't worry about us," Misty looked back at Ash, flashing a fake smile. "This is our destiny. Yours still awaits."

Ash turned his attention towards the Pokémon League HQ building and instantly began to sense 'his destiny' calling out to him. Ash got to his feet, dried his eyes, and gathered his confidence back.

"You're right. There's still someone waiting for me."

Ash walked over to Charizard with Pikachu and Bulbasaur. It was at that point that he noticed that he was still breathing... barely. Ash knelt down and rubbed his hand over Charizard's forehead.

"Hang on," Ash said to him. "I'm never going to abandon you. I made that promise when I first found you... and I still intend to keep it!"

Ash then turned to Bulbasaur.

"Bulbasaur... I want you to keep an eye on Charizard. Make sure nothing happens to him until I get back."

Bulbasaur was confused. Without him, Ash only had Pikachu to help protect him. And as strong as Pikachu is, Bulbasaur knew that he was just as exhausted as he was.

And yet, one look into Ash's stoic face was all Bulbasaur needed to know that his master was doing the right thing.

"Bulbasaur! Bulba!"

Bulbasaur turned to face Team Rocket, and growled as he whipped out his vines, determined not to let anyone near Charizard as long as he could still breathe.

"Pikachu," Ash turned to his best friend. "Let's go."

"Pika," nodded Pikachu.

Ash and Pikachu sprinted off, down the road. That action didn't sit well with Team Rocket, though.

"You think you're getting off easy?" questioned Jane.

"Get him!" Calamity yelled towards the six-part Pokémon creature.

"Uh... guys..." Pidgeo stuttered.

Pidgeo pointed out that the creature had fainted while they weren't looking.

"It must have overexerted itself!" deduced Calamity.

"Fine," grumbled Jane. "We'll have to do this the old fashioned way!"

Jane and Calamity each threw out a Pokéball. Out of them emerged their signature Pokémon... Pinsir and Kabutops, respectively.

"We'd better be efficient," Jane said aloud to Calamity, though Misty and Brock could hear them too.

"Yeah. These are the only Pokémon we have on us."

Misty and Brock looked at each other, then reached into their pockets and pulled out one Pok ball apiece.

"How interesting," noted Brock. "The only Pokémon I have still in any condition to battle... is Geodude."

"And I just have Golduck," Misty revealed. "There's going to be no margin for error."

Geodude and Golduck appeared in front of their trainers, both somewhat banged up but still with plenty of energy to fight. The opposing Pokémon stared each other down, ready to leap into the fight upon command.

"GO!"

All four Pokémon raced towards each other, running to the center of the road, where they all collided in a cloud of fury.


After a few minutes of running, Ash and Pikachu reached the entrance to the Pokémon League HQ building, located about three-eights of a mile southeast of the main Pokémon Stadium. Ash opened the door and the two went inside, stepping into a lobby that was mysteriously empty and dark. The only light in the room was coming from the sun's rays that got through the glass front door.

"When I thought all of Team Rocket would be waiting for us at the gates," Ash said aloud, "I wasn't kidding!"

Pikachu's ears shot up, sensing someone coming towards them.

"Pika pi!"

Ash turned to his right and saw two figures step out of the darkness.

Mark and his Absol.

And Mark was glowing with a blood red aura.

"Like I said before... I ALWAYS GET MY MARK!"

To be concluded in Part 7!