By morning the storm seemed to have passed. And when Ash, Misty, and Brock got up and wandered downstairs, they found Father Joe and the Jynx in the dining area but no one else.

"Good morning," Father Joe greeted them. "Breakfast is ready."

"Morning," Ash blinked. "Thanks!" He and the others quickly sat around the table. "Uh, did Team Rocket already leave?"

"Yes. We gave them some food and they set out about a half hour ago," Father Joe said.

"That's funny that they'd leave ahead of us," Misty said. "They'll probably ambush us on the road when we leave."

"Maybe," Father Joe said, "and maybe not."

"Did they say anything about what they were going to do?" Ash wondered.

"They only said they'd been giving my words a great deal of thought," Father Joe said. "They didn't indicate whether they'd actually follow through on them."

"I wouldn't expect too much," Misty said.

"At least I believe they don't intend to do any damage with the gem," Father Joe said. "Or the Pyros."

"It actually did sound like they planned to leave them alone," Brock acknowledged.

"Yeah, but when it's Team Rocket, they could always change their minds," Ash frowned.

"You know them better than I do and you probably have a perfect right to feel that way about them, but there is the chance that you're wrong," Father Joe said kindly. "And maybe if you gave them the benefit of a doubt, you'd be surprised."

"We've tried that," Ash said. "It never works for long."

"Well," Father Joe commented, "it looks like 'sleeping on it' just made you all more skeptical and suspicious of them again. Yes, I confess I overheard some of what you were saying last night. It was very interesting and very good how you were trying to see things from their point-of-view."

"I guess," Ash said. "It was mostly Brock doing that."

"I think we're all a little confused, Father," Misty said. "We know how they've been in the past and that's hard to forget, even with what we heard last night."

"That's understandable," Father Joe said. "Leopards don't change their spots, at least not very easily."

"But you seem to think they're good people or something," Ash said.

Father Joe paused. "I see them as troubled souls. They started out as good people and they haven't lost that goodness deep down, even if sometimes it seems like they have. But because their occupations require them to be bad, they try to do it and try to convince themselves they like it."

"And as far as we can tell, they do," Ash said.

"It was only last night when we started hearing that maybe they really are bothered by it," Misty said. "But there's not really anything we can do about it."

"No, not if they aren't ready to make the break," Father Joe said. "But it's a funny thing-people who always hear how bad they are, are usually more likely to believe it. On the other hand, people who are told that they're good will eventually lean towards believing that, at least sometimes. If you've seen good in those three-and I think you have-let them know you haven't forgotten it. You can't force them to leave, but realizing that their true hearts are recognized might do wonders."

"I guess we could do that," Misty said. "But maybe it would only backfire and they'd feel they had to be worse than ever because they wouldn't want word to get back to their boss that anyone knew they'd been good."

"Maybe," Father Joe said. "I still say it's worth trying."

"But then there's so much crummy stuff they do too," Ash said darkly. "Like when Jessie kept attacking a Blissey they'd tricked into giving them food. The Blissey really seemed to like her for some reason and kept trying to go to her even after she attacked it!"

"I wonder if there's more to the story than that," Father Joe mused.

Ash frowned. "What else could there be?"

"I don't know," Father Joe said mildly. "But I have a feeling you only know a part of the tale, and maybe nothing of the truth at all."

"I know what we saw," Ash said. "That's more than enough."

"Your eyes can deceive you," Father Joe said.

"Why are you so sure that there's more to it?" Ash wondered. "It could just be one of those 'trying to be bad' things."

"I guess you could say I have a feeling," Father Joe said. "I don't think Jessie would do that for no reason at all. And I don't think the Blissey would be so trusting of just anyone."

"You never saw that Blissey," Ash said.

"Well, I guess if we ever see her again, we could ask her about it," Misty blinked.

"It couldn't hurt," Father Joe said.

"Oh, Father Joe," Brock suddenly said, "I've been wondering if you know the history of that gem the Pyros are guarding."

Father Joe turned his attention to Brock. "I know the legend about it," he said. "It's said to be the core of a Starmie. This Starmie washed ashore at St. Matthew Beach and served as the town's protector for many years with her friends the Pyros. Late at night, sometimes you can still see it turn all seven colors of a Starmie's core as it rests under the stars. I've seen that phenomenon myself."

"That's so sad," Misty said. "What happened to the Starmie?"

"She lived out her life here, in the area she loved," Father Joe said. "When she died, her core remained infused with her desires to protect the town and was protected by the descendants of the original Pyros. As it still is."

"That's beautiful," Misty said.

"This is really interesting, Father," Brock said. "I wonder if the core still holds some of Starmie's memories and if someone could communicate with the core and learn things about both the past and the starfish Pokemon."

"It's possible," Father Joe agreed, "but you'd have to get past all the Pyros to even try to communicate with it. And you'd probably need a Psychic-type to get anywhere in a conversation with it."

"Well, Psyduck's out," Misty scowled. "My Starmie might be able to do it. But yeah, it sounds like it would probably be impossible to even get close enough to try to talk to it." She sighed.

Ash was no longer paying attention. "Hey," he exclaimed. "There's some kind of a helicopter over near the mountain!"

"Oh no!" Misty leaped up. "It must be Team Rocket after all!"

Father Joe's eyes narrowed. "Let's go up to the bell tower," he said. "It could be something perfectly innocent. Helicopters fly over the area from time to time. And even if this one means trouble, that doesn't mean Jessie, James, and Meowth are responsible for it!"

"No, but there's a pretty good chance of it," Ash countered.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded.

The group ran out of the house and over to the church, where they quickly climbed up to the bell tower and Father Joe looked through his telescope. "It is trouble!" he exclaimed. "The Pyros are attacking the helicopter and some kind of ice ray is being shot out at them! They're being frozen in ice and then pulled aboard!"

"That has to be the work of Team Rocket!" Misty spat.

"And we've gotta stop them!" Ash declared. "Come on, Pikachu!" He turned to run back downstairs.

"Wait, Ash!" Brock yelled. "It's too dangerous!"

"And they're stealing the gem!" Father Joe said in horror. "A mechanical hand came out of the bottom of the helicopter and grabbed it!"

Almost immediately, thunder rumbled overhead while the entire building shook.

"It's an earthquake!" Brock cried.

Ash had already been on the stairs. He yelped, tumbling over and over to crash at the bottom.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu wailed. He scampered down the steps and over to Ash.

"Ash, are you okay?!" Misty called. She and Brock were running down now, with Father Joe right behind them.

"Ohh . . . yeah, I think so," Ash mumbled. He pushed himself upright. "That was not fun." Then he was on his feet and running again. "Come on, we have to stop Team Rocket!"

There was nothing the others could do but run after him.

Outside, the pleasant weather was quickly fading. The wind was howling again, nearly bending the trees in half. Pikachu lifted off the ground. "Pika-chuuuu!" he cried in terror.

"Pikachu!" Ash lunged, desperate to grab his friend.

Instead, Pikachu sailed on and was caught by James, who was standing on the sidewalk with Jessie and Meowth.

"You should really be more careful with your Pikachu," Jessie mocked.

Ash clenched his teeth. "Give back Pikachu!"

"We don't have time for this!" Misty exclaimed. "The Pyros and the gem are being stolen!"

"We know," Jessie snapped. "It's Tyson."

Father Joe looked to them with flashing eyes. "Did you tip him off?!"

"No!" James protested. "We didn't have anything to do with it! We don't even know how he knew!"

Meowth was wrapped around James' leg, frantic to not be blown away like Pikachu. "You've gotta believe us!"

Ash didn't look convinced in the least, but he said, "Maybe if you give back Pikachu without a fight."

"Here!" James flung Pikachu back at Ash. "He would have shocked me anyway." With that, Meowth scrambled onto James' back and he took off running with Jessie.

Ash caught Pikachu and held him close. "Are you okay, Pikachu?"

"Pika," Pikachu replied.

Brock stared out in the direction of the mountain. "Then we have to stop Tyson before he gets away with the Pyros and the gem."

"And I know just how to do it!" Ash cried. "Pigeotto! Stop that helicopter!"

"In this wind?!" Misty shot back. "Ash, there's no way!"

Indeed, Pigeotto found himself fighting a losing battle against the gust when he emerged into the sky. Ash soon had no choice but to call him back.

"I don't think that helicopter is going to be able to stay up either," Father Joe pointed out. "Look!"

Everyone stared as the vehicle rocked to the side. Although the pilot battled to keep it in the air, the propellers soon stopped and it descended into the trees below.

"We have to go after it!" Misty gasped. "Those poor Pyros are probably hurt!"

"The pilot too," Father Joe frowned. "Even though he was trying to steal them, I can't wish death on anyone."

"We'll save him!" Ash promised.

"But how are we going to get out to that island?" Brock worried.

"Take one of the boats tied up at the pier," Father Joe said. "That's probably where Team Rocket went."

"Alright!" Ash headed in that direction. "Don't worry, Father Joe! We'll save the Pokemon and the pilot! And the gem!"

Misty looked to Father Joe. "Can you please take care of Togepi for me, Father? I don't want him getting into danger like this."

"Of course." Father Joe reached for the unusual Pokemon. "He'll be safe with me."

Togepi trilled.

Misty smiled. "Thank you. We'll be back soon. I hope."

xxxx

The group reached the pier just as Team Rocket managed to start one of the motorboats. Without another word, they invited themselves aboard, jumping in as it roared away from the dock.

Jessie whirled around to stare when the boat rocked from the extra weight. "What . . . ?! We didn't ask you to come!" she snapped.

"Well, we're coming to make sure you don't try to help Tyson get away!" Ash replied.

"There's nothing we can do about it now, Jessie," James said. "They'll have to come with us!"

"If you're not working with Tyson, why are you going out there anyway?" Brock asked.

"You're probably hoping to cash in on this disaster by stealing the Pyros and the gem away from him!" Misty snapped.

"The world's goin' crazy here!" Meowth yelped. "You think we want that?!"

Thunder rumbled again and rain suddenly poured out of the sky in sheets, swept sideways by the force of the wind. The entire group was immediately soaking wet.

"Oh, well, this is just great," Jessie said in aggravation.

"And how do you know Tyson's the one who stole everything if you didn't talk to him?!" Misty persisted, not believing Meowth.

"We did talk to him!" James finally snapped. "We went into town and he was there. He bragged to us about what he was going to do and then he tried to lock us up so we wouldn't mess it up for him!"

"We just barely broke out in time," Jessie added.

"A likely story!" Misty spat.

"Yeah, we don't believe you," Ash said. "There's no way he could have known if you didn't tell him!"

"Of course there is!" Jessie finally screamed in frustration. "He could have got here and learned about it, just like we did!"

By now they had reached the shore. The boat hit the sand and everyone jumped out, pulling it to safety so it wouldn't be pulled back out to sea without them.

"You're right," Tyson's sneering voice came from the edge of the trees. "Only you're not."

Everyone spun around. A very battered Tyson was limping out from the wreckage of the helicopter, the gem clutched tightly in his hand.

"Say what you mean!" Jessie snapped. "You know we didn't help you with any of this!"

"No, and I didn't want your incompetent help," Tyson replied. "But see, it started dawning on me that the kids you're always following end up finding rare Pokemon. So I figured if I followed you, I'd find something good."

Ash stared at him. "You mean they really didn't tell you anything?"

"You should blame yourself more than them, Kid," Tyson sneered. "Now I might not get my Pyros, but at least I've got this gem." He pushed past Ash and jumped into the boat. "Thanks for bringing my getaway."

"Come back!" Ash ran after him and jumped in the boat too.

"Ash!" Misty exclaimed.

Brock's attention was elsewhere. "Those Pyros are still frozen in ice! If the helicopter is damaged enough that it explodes, they'll go up with it!" He ran towards the trees.

Misty was torn. "Brock!" She looked from him to Ash, not sure where she was needed most.

Jessie actually looked angry as she stared down Tyson. "And you call yourself a member of Team Rocket?! The Boss would never forgive you for letting those rare Pokemon die!"

"Hey, I don't want to, but if it's them or me, of course I'm going to choose me." Tyson pushed on Ash. "Get out of here before I really get mad."

Ash grabbed onto the gem in Tyson's other hand. "Not without this!"

"Pikachu!" said Pikachu. The rodent jumped around to Tyson's back and started to climb.

"Hey! What the . . . ?!" The tickling was too much. Tyson's grip on the gem loosened and Ash was able to get hold of it and jump out of the boat.

"Alright!" he exclaimed, shoving the gem in his pocket. "Now, let's go, Pikachu!"

A huge wave swept over the boat just then, splashing Ash as well. When it receded, it was taking the boat with it. Tyson and Pikachu were both laying stunned at the bottom.

"No!" Ash cried. "Pikachu!" He ran after it, desperate, but it was no use. Swiftly he pulled out a Pokeball. "Squirtle, rescue Pikachu!"

"Squirtle!" The turtle Pokemon leaped into the water and started to paddle towards the boat.

"Staryu! Help Squirtle!" Misty called.

Staryu emerged from his Pokeball spinning in mid-air. He splashed into the water and chased after Squirtle.

"Thanks, Misty," Ash said in surprise. Sudddenly he noticed how quiet everything had become. "Hey, where's Brock and Team Rocket?"

"They're trying to rescue the frozen Pyros," Misty explained.

"Oh brother!" Ash moaned. "If they get them free, then Team Rocket will probably steal them and we'll be right back where we started!"

At the helicopter wreckage, Brock and Team Rocket actually weren't doing too badly together. While Onix broke the ice around one Pyros, Arbok was spearing ice into pieces and Victreebel was cutting it up. Meowth Fury Swiped where he could.

"I think we've almost got them free!" Brock exclaimed.

The one Onix had been helping stirred and spread its wings, smashing through the remaining ice. With a loud screech, it took flight and burned through the ice around the other Pyros, forcing the Pokemon to jump back.

"Hey, watch it!" Meowth snapped.

"Why is it I have the feeling this isn't going to go the way it's supposed to?" James whimpered.

The Pyros all took to the skies now. Ignoring the group completely, they barreled towards Ash on the shore.

"What's going on?!" Brock exclaimed.

"Why are they after the twerp?" Jessie frowned.

"He must have that gem thing!" Meowth yelped.

Immediately they gave chase.

"Wait! Stop!" James protested. "He's not trying to steal your gem. He's trying to give it back!"

The Pyros either didn't understand or didn't care. As they reached Ash and Misty, all three of them let loose with a vicious fire attack.

It only didn't hit them because Squirtle and Staryu leaped into the way just then and fired their Water Guns with all their might.

"Squirtle," Ash said in surprise.

"Staryu. . . ." Misty stared at her friend. He and Squirtle hadn't returned with Pikachu, but they had come back in time to save their lives.

Suddenly Misty had an idea. "Come on out, Starmie!" she called.

The beautiful lavender starfish jumped out of her Pokeball and joined the other two Water Pokemon.

The Pyros stopped their attack, staring at Starmie in confusion and disbelief. Then, with one accord, they rose higher in the sky.

Ash slowly straightened. "What's going on?" he said in bewilderment.

"They won't attack Starmie," Brock realized. "They know this Starmie isn't the one whose core they've been guarding, but seeing a Starmie must be a shock. Maybe they even have a vow not to harm a Starmie."

Misty smiled. "You did great, Starmie. You too, Staryu."

They chirped.

Just as quickly, Ash's attention turned back to Squirtle and Staryu. "And you too, Squirtle. Thanks for coming back, you guys, but what about Pikachu?!"

Staryu's points drooped. Squirtle looked down. "Squirtle-Squirt. . . ."

"They lost the boat," Misty said in dismay. She bent down to Staryu, who communicated the rest of the story to her. "They were still going to try to find it, but then they looked and saw they were needed here."

"Squirtle," Squirtle said sadly.

"And Pikachu would never want to be found at the cost of my life," Ash translated. "Yeah, that's true. Tyson won't kill Pikachu, that's for sure."

"But now he has Pikachu?!" James cried in disbelief.

"We've been deliberately trying to get him for ages and now he just drops into Tyson's lap because of dumb luck?!" Jessie exclaimed.

"We'll get him back," Ash vowed. "Tyson's probably steering the boat by now. Do you know where he'd go from here?!"

"That depends on if he could get there," Meowth said. "He could've been blown way off-course!"

"Where?!" Ash demanded. "Come on, you've gotta tell me!"

"Honestly, right now he would just be worried about getting back to shore," Jessie said. "There aren't any Team Rocket bases anywhere around here or he wouldn't have had to follow us to learn about the Pyros."

James nodded. "Once he gets back to shore, he'll try to radio for back-up. Unless he has another helicopter stashed somewhere." The wind blew his hair into his mouth and he gasped and choked, brushing it aside. "But he won't be taking off again in this weather!"

"And this weather's going to keep being this bad until we put the gem back." Ash turned to look towards the mountain, mostly obscured by low-hanging clouds. "Hey, maybe if we keep Starmie out, the Pyros won't attack us all the way up!"

Misty sighed. "Nice try, Ash, but Starmie can't climb that! It's way too steep!"

"Can't she just keep jumping and spinning and finding footholds?" Ash protested.

Starmie chirped in the affirmative.

"Well . . ." Misty smiled. "If you're up for it, Starmie, let's give it a try."

A horrific roar startled everyone and they looked towards the water, praying for that not to be what it sounded like. But to all of their dismay, a furious Gyarados was rising and bearing down on them.

Jessie and James dove into each other's arms in terror. "What's going on?!" James shrieked.

"Why is it looking at us like that?!" Jessie wailed.

"It must be mad about the weather!" Misty exclaimed. "Maybe it thinks we're responsible for it!"

Ash ran forward. "No, Gyarados! You've got it all wrong! We're trying to fix the problem! We didn't steal the gem; we were just going to put it back!"

"Ash, you can't reason with it!" Brock cried. "Get back!" He reached to grab Ash and pull him back.

Several more Gyarados rose from the waves and they all began to spin, faster and faster, churning the water into a vicious whirlpool.

"Oh no!" Misty said in horror.

"Is anyone else experiencin' a bad case of deja vu?!" Meowth scrambled up Jessie and James and clung to their shoulders.

"Meowth, you're digging in your claws!" Jessie said in dismay.

"Let's run for it!" James wailed. "It's going to use Dragon Rage!"

The water spout rushed at the group and onto the land, where it picked them all up and mercilessly threw them about.

"Hang on, everyone!" Misty cried. "We survived this once; we can do it again!"

"I'm going to have nightmares for weeks!" James shrieked.

"Oh James, shut up!" Jessie retorted.

The spinning went on and on, seemingly neverending. One by one, everyone fell unconscious, not knowing where or when they would be spat out.