Alright, the next chapter is up! And now I would like to address some complaints. For those who keep asking me to make a list of the hybrids and/or Ash's team, I'm not making that list until the third arc begins. Because I don't want to make a list, then I would have to update it over and over again. I rather just wait until the story ends, then put up the list on the new story where everything is pretty much on the table. So please stop asking.

And this next one is more of one reviewer who's been complaining about the same thing for a long time now even after I've explained my reasoning through Author Notes and even in the story itself... thor94, I get it, you want Ash to be powerful, you want Ash to have strong Pokemon, you want Ash to be able to beat up the hybrids and other strong trainers, and you want it as soon as possible. I get it, however that is not what I want to do, okay? I want Ash to work to for it, and it's not a journey that's going to be done overnight. Just because Ash have 'pathetically weak Pokemon' does not mean he is weak, in fact it's to show how someone who looks weak can overcome those who are much stronger. Ash will get stronger as the series goes on, but I am not going to make him godly powerful any time soon. And I'm sorry if you feel this badge is going to be a pity badge because of his partner.

I did have someone ask me about the rocket grunts Mew transformed into plushies near the end of the original Child of Mew. Well they've basically been transported to Mew's castle, and forgotten about. ^^' Nobody seemed to care about what happened to Damion. And someone else asked if Ash would get a Riolu later. Honestly I'm kind of on the fence about that, I'm not a huge Riolu or Lucario fan myself. I don't mind them, but I've gotten sick of them with so many people using them all the time. So it's hard to say if I will give Ash a Riolu in the future, but I guess we'll see when I cross that bridge.

The last complaint for this chapter I'll address is about Andreas and his OP team. First of all, please keep in mind that Andreas and his team are not mine, they are all from Aegis Dragon so if you have complaints about the character then take it up with him. Second of all, Andreas had been training much longer than Ash have and been through different regions whereas Ash had only started in the Kanto region in less than a year ago (in this story anyways), so it's only natural he'd have stronger Pokemon than Ash does. And this is a good way to show how Ash handles stronger Pokemon with his own strategy.

Okay, I've spent enough words addressing the common complaints I've been getting. Please keep in mind that while I appreciate constructive criticism, it's quite troublesome having to deal with complaints about this guy's team is too OP, or, this trainer is too incompetent and weak, or Ash needs to hurry up and be a Mew or Mew hybrid. Honestly, there's no pleasing everyone, but try to enjoy the story for what it is, not how you want it to be. But still, feel free to state your opinions. It's not like I can stop you from complaining anyways, I just wanted you guys to know why I did what I've done, and who knows, maybe I'll get some ideas or inspiration from your comments.

Chapter 41: Team Vs. Team Rocket

Ash was nervously looking at the Viridian Gym; it was bigger than he had thought it would be.

"You sure we're ready for this, Andreas?" Ash asked nervously.

"I just hope we don't get totally creamed," Storm said, just as nervously as his partner.

"We'll be fine as long as we stick to the strategy," Andy said. "I'll distract them and take the hits while you look for weak points and strike when there's an opening."

"Right, just got to calm down. I'm both nervous and excited, it's been such a long journey that I almost can't believe I'm standing at my final Gym," Ash said as he took deep breaths to calm his racing heart down.

There were two bodyguards standing in front of the entrance, and they blocked the way.

"Who goes there?" One of them demanded.

Before Ash or Andy could say anything, however, a red sports car pulled up nearby. And the loud cheering fangirls made Ash cringe, as he knew exactly who it is. It's a good thing Blue was too busy back at the Pokemon Center training Yellow to be here right now, or there could be another brotherly brawl.

"Oh no… Gary is here…" Ash groaned.

Andy frowned as Raela looked over to see what all of the commotion was. "Who the heck is Gary?"

"He's a very arrogant guy who thinks he's better than Ash," Storm sighed.

"Well, well, well, I didn't think you'd be here, Ash. After all this is known to be the toughest Pokemon Gym in all of the Kanto region," Gary said in that smug tone of his.

"I know that, Gary. Are you here for your last gym badge too?" Ash asked.

"Ha! As if. I'm not here for a gym badge, but I am here to prove I can beat even the strongest Pokemon Gym in this region," Gary said before pulling out a small case and opening it, showing ten different badges, only two of them Ash were familiar with. "As you can see; I already won ten badges."

Ash blinked before he said, "I didn't know Kanto had that many Pokemon Gyms…"

"Every region has one Gym for each type, but the most well known ones are the Elites," Andy explained, before turning to Gary. "Speaking of which, if you're so great, how come you didn't do the Elite run? Ash here took out all of the toughest Gyms in the region on his own. This is his last one."

"Because I wanted to raise the strongest Pokemon I can find before I even think about challenging the Elite Gyms, which would give a far better challenge if you already had at least six badges. But since I already have ten, I've decided to take on the strongest Gym to save myself the time," Gary said.

The fangirl cheerleaders gave a cheer for Gary, which Ash learned to tune out a long time ago.

Andy smiled. "So, you decided to get stronger before challenging the Elite Gyms? How is that challenging? Ash took them on first thing. To me, that means he's tougher than you."

"Uh… actually I took the Elite run by accident…" Ash meekly answered.

"Shows just how much the dead last Trainer knows about his own region," Gary chuckled. "Now if you'll excuse me I've got a gym match to take."

Gary walked past the two and said to the two bodyguards, "My name is Gary Oak, and I'm here to challenge the Viridian Gym leader."

The bodyguards stood out of Gary's way from the door, "Very well. You may challenge the Gym Leader."

"Come on girls, watch me dominate the so-called toughest Gym in Kanto!" Gary waved to his fangirls.

The fangirls all screeched in excitement as they followed Gary into the Gym. As soon as the door closed behind them, the bodyguards stood in the way again.

"H-hey! We want to challenge the Gym Leader too!" Ash said.

"Only one challenger may be allowed to enter at any given time," one of the bodyguards said.

"What about those girls that followed him? Or the double battle rule?" Ash demanded.

"They are with the challenger, and are you the challenger's partner?" The bodyguard asked.

"... No…" Ash grumbled.

"Then you will wait until the challenger is finished."

Ash sighed as he looked over at Andy. "Sorry about that, Andreas. I didn't know this Gym would be a lot… stricter than the others."

Andy shook his head. "It's alright. It's the toughest gym in the region, which means it probably gets a lot of media attention. The regulations are probably to limit the flow of people so that the gym doesn't go out of commission."

"You make a good point. I guess we'll just wait here and go over our strategy again until Gary is done," Ash sighed.

Andy nodded. "Have you decided who you'll be battling with?"

"They'll be doing a four on four, right?" Ash asked. "The two I'll be using… hmm… I'll start off with Konoha, he's got some status aliment moves like Leech Seed and Sleep Powder that'll put us in the advantage. And if he should go down I'll follow it up with Aliana, she may be a new team member, but she's a strong Dragon type and I want to give her a chance to prove herself."

Andy nodded. "I'll start off with Nami. She'll be good for taking hits and keeping the opponents attention. If she falls, I'll go with Rogue. He may be at a disadvantage due to his typing, but he's got a few surprises in store for anyone that manages to back him into a corner."

"Aww, I won't be fighting? Come on Ash, I haven't been in a gym battle since Sabrina!" Storm whined.

"I'm sorry Storm, but I heard the Viridian Gym uses Ground types. They're not exactly your cup of tea," Ash said to his partner.

Storm huffed, but didn't say anything else about it. Then he looked at the Serperior that tied her body around Andy's waist. "Why do you let your Serperior tie you up like that?"

Andy chuckled. "She's been out of her Pokeball and with me since I started my journey. It'd just seem odd to keep her in a Pokeball just because she's bigger."

Storm looked at her, "... She's… not much of a talker, huh?"

Raela looked over and smiled at Storm. "I speak only if I have something worth saying."

"The strong, silent type, huh?" Storm gave a nervous smile.

Raela grinned. "Why, thank you for the compliment, little mouse."

Storm nervously laughed before whispering to Ash, "She scares me."

Ash rolled his eyes as he put a hand over Storm's head.

The doors to the Gym opened, and Gary was solemnly walking out along with the fangirls. They all looked very down and shocked, but Gary looked more disturbed than shocked.

"Gary?" Ash frowned in concern. "What's wrong?"

"I can't believe Gary lost!" One of the fangirls cried.

Gary sighed at them before he said to Ash, "I was doing well, but… then the Gym Leader… he used a Pokemon I've never seen before, and it totally wiped my team out like they were nothing."

Andy frowned. "Is he using a Pokemon from a different region? I thought that was against regulations?"

"I don't think so," Gary answered in a low tone. "I would've recognized it if it was a Pokemon from a different region. I have the National Dex after all, but even it couldn't distinguish this Pokemon. Its body was covered in armor though, so I couldn't been see its face anyways."

Andy frowned. "Armor? Now that I know is against regulation. What the heck is this Gym Leader thinking? He'll get shut down if the League hears about this."

"There's no rule against this one," Gary said grimly. "Because nobody knows what Pokemon it is, for all we know the armor is a part of its body, like how a Cubone's skull and bone are a part of its body."

Andy nodded. "Well, we came all this way, and we trained for this. I don't know about you Ash, but I'm not about to let some foreboding news stop us from trying."

Ash himself didn't seem to share the same thoughts. In fact he was even less sure and more nervous about this whole thing. "What if it's a Legendary Pokemon? One that we've never seen before?"

"My father taught me all about Legendaries and their weaknesses. If it's a Legendary, I'll know where to strike. But this doesn't sound like any Legendary I know of. And I know them all."

"Well, good luck with this Pokemon. it's nothing to be played with," Gary said. "It seems like it could be a Psychic type by how it used a powerful Psychic attack to defeat my Pokemon."

Ash frowned, why would the Ground type Gym Leader use a Psychic type? That's going to be bad for Konoha since he's part Poison type.

Andy frowned. "Yeah, this guy's definitely gonna get shut down. Gyms aren't supposed to stray from their established type."

"Good luck telling the League that," Gary said. "If you two want to get your butts kicked, be my guest."

Ash frowned but nodded to himself, "Let's do this, Andreas. If we can beat this Gym and that mysterious Psychic Pokemon, then we'll be ready for anything."

Andy nodded and smiled. "That's the spirit. You wanna rethink who you bring in there, or are you ready to go?"

"I'm sticking with who I chose. Maybe if we're lucky we won't face it. After all the Gyms get harder depending on how many badges you have and Gary had ten, we only have seven," Ash said logically.

Andy sighed. "We can't approach this guy thinking he's just another Gym Leader. Because clearly, he's not. But I understand what you're saying."

Andy approached the two body guards. "Ash and Andreas, here to take the Double Battle Challenge."

The two bodyguards nodded as one of them pulled out a walkie talkie. "There are two Trainers here wanting a Double Battle. Shall we proceed? … Yes sir. Okay, you two are good to go."

The guards allowed the two boys to pass. Ash walked behind Andy as he was more nervous about this. The two came up on a large arena.

"Well, we're here," Ash said.

There was a bright light on the opposite side of the field. A silhouette of a man walked onto the arena.

"Well now. It's rare I get a challenge for a Double Battle," The man said. "I am Giovanni, leader of this Gym."

As the man said his name, the lights dimmed enough for Ash and Andy to see what he looked like. Ash and Storm both gasped.

"Y-you're… Team Rocket's leader!" Ash pointed out in shock.

Andy himself was quite astonished. Although this certainly explained Gary's story. Giovanni had always been... unstable. But why would the Rocket Elite's allow Giovanni to head a Gym?

"Hmm? You seem to recognize me, boy," Giovanni said, sounding a little surprised himself.

"How could I forget? You tried to steal the Silph Company's prototype Master Ball and creamed us after all," Ash said as he narrowed his eyes and Storm's cheeks sparked.

"Oh, so you were one of the brats who tried to stop me, huh? Forgive me; I'm not so good with faces that are not important," Giovanni said with a mock bow.

Andy raised an eyebrow at this. "You're saying that to a boy that's single-handedly knocked out several of your operations. You do realize that, right?"

"I've only really stopped three members…" Ash grumbled. "The Elite Rockets work separate from Giovanni."

"Well then, I'm sure you'll remember how strong my Pokemon are then," Giovanni said. "How many badges do you both have?"

"Seven each," Andy said, speaking for both of them. Ash was clearly nervous, and they needed to present themselves with an air of confidence.

"Oh, so it looks like you chose my Gym for your eighth badge, huh? Good, that means I don't have to hold back. Since we're doing a Double Battle, we will go four on four," Giovanni said. "However, I will not be the one you're facing."

"What? Why not?" Ash demanded.

"Because I have another pair who will get the job done. And I need to see if you two can handle battling me after you've battled my grunts. But if it makes you feel better I will only be using one Pokemon against both of yours, sounds fair?" Giovanni had an air of confidence.

Andy frowned. "Yeah, that and everything else I've heard is gonna get this Gym wiped off the map by the League."

"I didn't become the leader of Team Rocket and this Gym for nothing. Like every rule, there's a loophole," Giovanni said. "Now, shall we get started?" He snapped his fingers.

Two people walked over beside Giovanni.

"I don't believe it!" Ash was staring at the two as if they were ghosts. "Jessie? James?"

"You must be kidding me! I knew we should've turned them into Officer Jenny when we had the chance!" Storm growled.

"Hey, it's the twerp and his Pikachu!" Jessie pointed out.

"Well didn't think we'd meet again all the way over here," James said. "Is he the one we're facing?"

"Yes, and his partner, in a Double Battle. Don't blow it," Giovanni said to the two.

"We won't let you down sir!" Jessie saluted.

"If we're fighting them, then we won't be facing Ground types like I thought we were," Ash grumbled.

Andy nodded. "This, however, isn't against regulations. There are a few gyms out there that have you face other trainers before facing the Leader. It's supposed to test your resolve."

"Alright then, looks like we get to have a rematch with you. We've done a lot of intensive training since you last saw us, so don't think we're going to be pushovers." James said.

"And one more thing," Giovanni said as he walked over to a chair. "If you manage to win, I will allow you both to use all six Pokemon against me."

Andy frowned. "Okay, now that's just plain arrogance. You expect one Pokemon to beat twelve in succession? Even if you've got a Legendary, heck, a Mythical Pokemon, that's just not gonna happen."

"Call it a test if you want," Giovanni said.

"For who? Us, or you?"

"For both, and the Pokemon itself. I want to test its limits," Giovanni answered.

Andy frowned. This was all sounding very suspicious.

"Hey, no more talking to the boss!" Jessie spoke up. "You've got us to deal with now."

"Yeah, just a second. I'm not done with him," Andy said, waving them off like flies.

Jessie glared angrily before her head was suddenly giant size as she screamed, "BATTLE US OR GET THE HECK OUT OF HERE!"

Andy looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Temper, temper. But if you say so. It just means I'll get to talk with your boss without interruption when we're finished with you."

Ash and Storm both sweatdropped at Andy's attitude towards them.

"You want a fight you little brat!? Then you've GOT ONE! Arbok, teach that brat a lesson!" Jessie threw out her Pokeball and released the big, purple cobra Pokemon.

"Let's go, Weezing!" James released his own Pokemon from his Pokeball.

"The classic Poison type duo," Ash said. "But it does look like they've gotten much stronger, maybe this'll be a good challenge after all."

Andy nodded and pulled out his own Pokeball. "Nami, front and center. Show these two what we've got."

Out of the ball popped the beautiful Milotic from the other day, who smiled alluringly at the other side. "Let's get started, then."

"I just realize that you showed off a very rare and beautiful Pokemon not of this region in front of a criminal organization…" Storm muttered.

Ash tossed out the Heal Ball, "Go for it, Konoha!"

The Heal Ball released the Bulbasaur and he stood ready. "Let's do this."

"Arbok, use Glare on that beautiful Milotic!" Jessie ordered.

The Arbok's eyes glowed as it glared at Nami.

"Don't let it phase you, Nami. Safeguard!"

The Milotic hummed a soft tone as a mystical like surrounded both her and Konoha. The Glare seemed to have no effect in the face of this.

"It's a good thing your Milotic knows Safeguard. At least we won't have to worry about getting poisoned or paralyzed for a while," Ash said.

"How annoying!" Jessie growled.

"Now, Water Pulse, before it can do anything else!"

Nami summoned forth a large ball of water, launching it at high speed toward the poison snake.

"Arbok! Avoid it by using Dig!" Jessie ordered.

The cobra Pokemon went underground, barely avoiding the Water Pulse that hit the ground instead.

"Weezing, use Sludge Bomb now!" James ordered.

The Weezing threw out toxic sludge from its holes at the Milotic, they seem to be aiming for the strongest Pokemon on the field.

"That's it, now Konoha, use Vine Whip to spin it around!" Ash yelled out.

The Bulbasaur was right behind the Weezing and used one of its vines to slap the Weezing so hard that it began spinning like a top, letting the sludge go everywhere.

"Mirror Coat, Nami!"

Nami braced for impact as a bright sheen covered her body. The attack hit her head on, and she gritted her teeth, before grinning, and launching the attack back twofold.

And in addition to that, Arbok came out from underground to launch at one of the Pokemon, but was hit in the face by a stray sludge attack. Weezing flew back as it was hit by its own attack with twice the power.

"Now use Leech Seed!" Ash commanded.

Konoha grew a seed on the tip of his bulb and launched it onto the Weezing, as it was the bulkier of the two. The seed implanted itself onto the Weezing's head and surrounded its body with vines and slowly but surely started sapping away its strength.

"Hey! Don't start leeching off my Weezing!" James snapped.

"Arbok! Shake that sludge off and use Thunder Fang on that Milotic now!" Jessie shouted.

The snake Pokemon shook its head to get rid of the sludge before it jumped at Nami. Arbok's teeth were sparking with electricity and bit down on Nami's tail.

Nami shouted out in pain as thousands of volts of electricity shot through her body.

"Shake it off with Dragon Tail!"

Nami's tail became surrounded with a deep red energy as she thrashed it around in an attempt to dislodge the snake.

"Konoha, use Sleep Powder on the Arbok!" Ash said.

The Bulbasaur sprayed out blue pollen from his bulb, letting it gather all over the Arbok. As soon as the snake Pokemon breathed in those spores, it fell to the floor fast asleep.

"Wah-!? ARBOK! ARBOK YOU WAKE UP THIS INSTANT!" Jessie shouted, but Arbok continued to snooze away.

"Now's our chance to finish it off," Ash said to Andy.

"Not so fast! Weezing cover the field with Smokescreen!" James quickly said.

Weezing didn't waste any time covering the field in thick, black smoke.

Andy glared at the field. He'd always disliked moves like that, that disconnected him from the battlefield.

"Stay alert, Nami. Forget sight, focus on hearing and smell."

Nami nodded and calmed herself, smelling the air, and listening intently for signs of the Weezing and Arbok.

"Now use Sludge Bomb!" James ordered.

The Trainers heard a Bulbasaur's cry, meaning the Sludge Bomb had hit Konoha.

"Konoha!" Ash called out in concern.

"Water Pulse at 2 o'clock!"

Nami turned to the right a bit and shot out another ball of water to where her trainer had hopefully pinpointed the Weezing.

Ash frowned. He wished there was a way to see through the black smoke. If only he had a Pokemon that could use Whirlwind or something. Wait a minute…

"Konoha, blow this smoke away with your Whirlwind!" Ash said, which surprised his battle partner.

Andy looked over at Ash. "Wait, your Bulbasaur can use Whirlwind? A Flying Type move?!"

Ash gave a confident smirk, "Yup."

Konoha took a deep breath and blew a gust of wind from his mouth, easily blowing all the smoke away and clearing the battlefield. The Weezing was soaked and unconscious, the vines from the Leech Seed fell off the Weezing.

"Weezing is unable to battle. Send in your next Pokemon, James." Giovanni said calmly.

"Y-yes sir!" James recalled his Weezing back into his Pokeball.

Andy sighed in relief. He was worried that Nami might have missed, or worse, hit Konoha by mistake.

"But before James get his next Pokemon out… Konoha, hit that Arbok with your strongest Razor Leaf attack!" Ash pointed at the Arbok.

Konoha shot out numerous sharp leaves that all cut into the still sleeping Arbok. Although it wasn't very effective it did a lot of damage.

"Nami, finish it off with Dragon Tail."

The Milotic's tail once again glowed deep red as she swept her powerful tail at the sleeping snake, sending it flying back to Jessie.

Jessie gave a yelp as her now unconscious Arbok slammed into her face.

"Arbok is unable to battle. Send in your next Pokemon, Jessie," Giovanni said, though there was a hint of amusement in his tone.

Jessie returned the Arbok back into its Pokeball before she glared at Andy. "THAT WAS NOT NECESSARY YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

Andy chuckled. "Hey, I don't control where she decides to aim. I just tell her what moves to use."

Nami smiled playfully as she extended her fanned tail toward Jessie and moved it back and forth in a 'bring it on' motion.

Konoha sweatdropped at this, "Is it really necessary to antagonize her?"

"It's fun," Nami said to him. "Don't pretend it isn't funny."

"I take it you do this a lot," Konoha sighed. "It's a wonder how you and your Trainer didn't get run out of town that way."

Nami just giggled and braced herself for the next battle.

"Alright, our next runner ups are much stronger to deal with!" James smiled. "It took a while, but the results were worth it. Let's go, Gyarados!"

Ash was shocked at this, "Gyarados!?"

James threw a gold plated Pokeball and it released a huge sea dragon-like Pokemon. The Gyarados gave a battle roar.

Andy raised in eyebrow. "I thought you told me these two were incompetent!"

Ash raised an eyebrow of his own, "When did I ever say that?"

"Now it'll be a battle of Water types!" Jessie said. "Slowking, teach these brats a lesson!"

Jessie's Pokeball released what looked like a Slowpoke standing on its hind legs, and wearing a red and white frill around its neck and the Shellder shell on its head like a crown.

"When did you two evolve your Water Pokemon?" Ash asked, surprised by both the Gyarados and Slowking. The last time he saw them they were still a Magikarp and Slowpoke.

"Like we said; we've been doing some intensive training since we last met," James said with a confident smile.

"Nami, you good to go?"

"Always for you, Andy," Nami said.

The trainer rolled his eyes at the Milotic's flirtatious nature.

"Can you still battle, Konoha?" Ash asked his Bulbasaur.

Konoha nodded and said, "I'm far from being out."

"It's too bad you didn't use me, Ash. I could wipe the floor on those Pokemon with a good Volt Tackle! Speaking of which; you hardly ever let me use Volt Tackle!" Storm complained.

"We'll talk about that later, Storm," Ash sighed.

Ash looked over at Andy and said, "It looks like we're going to be in for a rough ride. Think you should make the first move?"

Andy nodded. "I'll try to keep their attention on me." Then in a louder tone. "Disarming Voice!"

Nami let out a beautiful cry, the sound waves visibly shooting towards both Pokemon on the other side of the field.

"Slowking, use Protect!" Jessie commanded.

Slowking's eyes light up with psychic power, and a shield came around its body, protecting it from the Disarming Voice.

Andy frowned. 'Noted,' he thought, as he looked over to see how the Gyarados would fare.

"Close in on that Milotic, Gyarados!" James said, but he didn't order an attack.

Gyarados dived at the Milotic with surprising speed. When he was at point blank, James gave an order.

"Thunder Fang!"

Gyarados chomped down the Milotic's body. It was much more powerful and devastating than the Arbok's Thunder Fang.

The Milotic screeched, oddly still managing to sound beautiful, when something odd happened. Hearts appeared in the large water dragons eyes.

Andy smiled at this. "Dragon Tail," he shouted, not allowing James the chance to assess the situation. But his smile quickly faded when he saw sparks shooting off Nami's body as she struggled to move. Paralysis. So the Safeguard had worn off.

"We gotta help her, Konoha! Use Vine Whip and pull that Gyarados off her!" Ash said.

Konoha ran at the Gyarados, who- despite being in love- was still biting down on the Milotic. The Bulbasaur unleashed his vines and tied up the Gyarados' tail and tried pulling it. The massive Pokemon was not an easy thing to pull for such a small Bulbasaur.

"Slowking, use Psychic on that annoying little plant," Jessie said.

Ash gritted his teeth as he knew Psychic was bad for Konoha.

Nami finally pushed through the paralysis, gritting her teeth as she fought her stiff muscles and flung the Gyarados over to the Slowking, causing Andy to grin.

"Nice move, Nami!"

"Before they have a chance to recover, use Razor Leaf on both of them!" Ash commanded.

Konoha shoot out countless sharp leaves at the two Water types. Slowking was cringing in pain while the Gyarados just looked annoyed.

"Andreas, it looks like Nami took a pretty big hit," Ash said in concern. "Will she be okay? She's paralyzed too."

"I know. But Nami can take a lot of punishment. The paralysis may hinder her, but it won't stop her. She can keep going, at least for now."

"It's too bad I never taught Konoha how to use Aromatherapy. That'd come in handy right now," Ash said.

"Slowking, use Protect now!" Jessie ordered.

Slowking's eyes glowed as the protective barrier came around her body.

"Gyarados, now use Earthquake!" James commanded.

Gyarados' eyes were, strangely enough, no longer hearts. Ash frowned when he saw this. Did the Cute Charm wear off already?

The Gyarados slammed its body on the field and caused the entire place to tremble. Storm yelped as he held onto Ash's head. Slowking was fine due to Protect, but Konoha and Nami took the brunt of the Earthquake attack.

Nami closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, struggling to endure the attack and pull through for her trainer.

"Fight through it, Nami! Water Pulse on that Slowking before it can Protect itself again!"

Nami opened her eyes and gave another beautiful cry, summoning a ball of water and firing it straight at the Psychic type.

The Water Pulse hit the Slowking, and it cringed a bit, before she gave a smirk. That was when Ash and Andy noticed that the Slowking's body was glowing silver, just like when Nami had used Mirror Coat earlier. The Water Pulse came back at Nami, with much greater force than before.

Neither Andy nor Nami had expected this, and that resulted in the Water Pulse hitting her squarely. She flew back and slid along the ground, struggling to rise before lapsing into unconsciousness.

Andy was stunned. Nami was never one to be taken out easily. How could that Gyarados just shake off her Cute Charm? And how did that Slowking reflect her Water Pulse? Jessie hadn't given it a command at all.

"Milotic is unable to battle. Send in your next Pokemon," Giovanni said.

He sighed as he recalled her. "You did great. Take a break now. You've earned it."

Ash frowned as he was just as confused by all that too himself. That's strange… Maybe Slowking was able to hear Jessie's thoughts? But that still doesn't explain why Gyarados snapped out of the Cute Charm so fast… Speaking of Jessie and James… where's Meowth? Doesn't he always stick with them?

"Looks like that Milotic won't be singing anymore for this battle," Jessie sneered.

"Gyarados, take out that weak little Bulbasuar with Ice Fang," James said.

"Konoha! Quick, use Sleep Powder!" Ash commanded.

Konoha shot out the blue spore from his bulb at the Gyarados, but it swayed away from the spores before biting down onto his bulb. Konoha gave a loud cry of pain.

"Konoha!" Ash yelled in concern.

Before long, the Bulbasaur's eyes were swirling and his body went limp.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle. Send in your next Pokemon," Giovanni said, almost boredly at this point. "I knew I should've hired a Ref for this."

Ash recalled Konoha back into his Heal Ball. "Take it easy, Konoha, you did well out there."

Andy turned over to Ash. "Last chance to change your mind on who you're gonna use."

Ash looked down at his Safari Ball that contained Aliana within it. "They're strong… but I know Aliana can handle it. Scorch wouldn't fare so well against two Water types anyways."

"Hey! What about me? The little lightning bolt on your shoulder!" Storm pointed to himself.

Ash chuckled, "Sorry Storm. This is Aliana's battle."

Storm just grumbled and sighed, but didn't argue.

Ash tossed out the Safari Ball, "Go for it, Aliana!"

The Safari Ball released the little Dratini onto the battlefield.

"My first real battle! I won't disappoint you, Ash!" Aliana said excitedly.

Andy nodded and took out his Pokeball. "Rogue, front and center."

The ball popped open as the jackal Pokemon entered the field. "I will not fail you, master."

"Ah, I'm impressed," they heard Giovanni said. "Both of you have such rare and strong Pokemon. If only you two would become members of Team Rocket, you'd make excellent commanders."

Jessie and James looked depressed.

"He never gave us such compliments…" Jessie groaned.

"And after we've worked so hard too…" James sighed sadly.

Ash and Andy could see a rain cloud over them, as well as dark purple lines.

Andy frowned. "Okay, how did those clouds get there?"

"It's an anime thing, don't question it," Ash waved off.

"We'll prove to the Boss we can be strong and competent too!" Jessie yelled with fire in her eyes.

"We will, and we'll start by taking down these two twerps!" James yelled with as much fire in his eyes too.

"Mach Punch on Gyarados!" Andy shouted, taking the two by surprise as Rogue sped over alarmingly quickly and slammed a fist of glowing white energy into the water dragon's face.

"Use Psychic!" Jessie commanded.

Slowking's eyes glowed as the psychic energy took hold of the Lucario and slammed him into the ground.

Rogue let out a grunt as he was lifted and slammed down, glaring at the Slowking with his blood red eyes.

"Aura Sphere!"Andy commanded, not needing to specify a target.

The Lucario leapt into the air as he charged a ball of azure energy in his paws and fired it towards the Slowking, propelling him through the air back to Andy and Ash's side of the field and landing in a fighting stance.

"How annoying," Jessie grumbled. "Slowking, use Protect!"

Slowking covered herself in a shield.

"Gyarados, use Earthquake!" James said.

"Aliana, use Wrap on the Gyarados, now!" Ash yelled.

The Dratini bounced up at the Gyarados's head and wrapped her long body around its eyes, blinding it. The Gyarados let out a panicked roar as it was too busy trying to shake off the Dratini to use the move James issued.

"Force Palm on that Slowking while it's vulnerable!"

The Lucario sped forward towards the Psychic-Water type, his paw glowing as he moved to grab Slowking and release the pent up energy all at once.

Slowking gave a flinch, but then yawned in Rouge's face. Rouge's eyes widen before he started to get drowsy.

The Gyarados finally managed to shake Aliana off him. The little Dratini gave a yelp as she fell to the ground. The Gyarados glared at her and launched itself at her with Ice Fang.

"Aliana! Get out of there!" Ash called when he saw the ice in the Gyarados's teeth.

Aliana yelped as she tried to bounce away, but the tip of her tail did get scrapped by the ice of its teeth just as it bit down. Aliana gave a hiss, but was otherwise okay.

Andy gritted his teeth. Again, they moved without being commanded. He smirked. Two can play at that game.

Suddenly, and without any warning, Rogue charged an Aura Sphere and detonated it point blank, jumping back and using the shockwave to carry him back to their side of the field. His eyes began drooping as he struggled to stay awake.

Ash looked at him before he said, "How do some Trainers get their Pokemon to use moves without them issuing a command? I've seen Dustin do it, and even Blue, now you and Team Rocket."

"Two ways. One, you train your Pokemon to use a contingency, basically allowing it to use a move without command if certain conditions are met. Or, in my case…" He smiled. "Telepathy."

"You're using telepathy?" Ash looked over on the battlefield. "You know, I did notice something odd about this… Jessie and James have a Meowth that speaks human language that follows them everywhere, but I haven't seen him at all during this battle."

Andy frowned. "But what could that have to do with this?"

"It's probably nothing, but it's still weird that he's not with them," Ash said. "Aliana, get ready, we need to be prepared for anything they throw at us!"

Weren't expecting Jessie and James to come back in such a way, were ya? :P And don't worry, at least Ash is still battling Giovanni, and he gets to face off against Mewtwo, unlike in the anime. Oh and, like I said before, if you guys have complaints about Andreas and his team, take it up with Aegis Dragon as he is not my character, nor am I writing him. Anyways, folks, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to hearing from you.