Chapter 7: Turning A New Leaf
Ash certainly did not like Senior Officer Leaf. For starters, she was constantly quizzing him on literally everything Team Rocket related. She was like the annoying little sibling that Ash never had, constantly asking why? Why? Why? Luckily for Ash he knew most of the right answers, but there were a few times that he had to make something up or just admit that he didn't know. In those instances Leaf would just humph at him in judgment.
Ash was also fairly certain that Leaf did not deserve her title of Senior Officer. The only Pokemon she had released during their journey through the mountain was an Ivysaur, which definitely looked better trained than Gary's Wartortle was, but it was much too docile to be a strong fighter. If this was the best of her three Pokemon, Ash was certain his team could take her out if he needed to.
This was his main thought during the four days that they had been travelling together. Ash had only been able to release Buzz, as all of his other Pokemon were not permitted for a Team Rocket Agent to own. He carried Clefairy on his belt as well, knowing that he could probably explain having the Kanto native better than an Alolan Sandshrew or a Totodile. So Ash and Buzz had been sizing Leaf and her Ivysaur up, and Ash made numerous different battle strategies in case they needed to overpower their companion.
Ash decided that it would be of no use to try and fight fair against Team Rocket, and decided that if he needed to, he would immediately release all of his other Pokemon to overpower the Ivysaur by sheer numbers. The others were used to working together in their spars against Buzz, so even if the Ivysaur would be stronger than them individually there was no way it could battle four Pokemon at once.
Ash was also upset at how long it was taking them to get through Rock Tunnel. If he had been alone, he could have released Clefairy and let the cave Pokemon lead them through quickly and efficiently. Instead, he had to follow Leaf and Ivysaur (because a four-legged plant really knows its way around a tunnel) as they backtracked and ran into dead ends time and time again. Overall, Ash had been quite frustrated for the past few days.
But it seemed like their luck had finally changed, as the small tunnel they had been following opened up into a much larger cavern with multiple smaller tunnels funneling into it and Ash could see people at the far end. "Look, we must be near the exit!" Ash said excitedly.
"Of course kid. I told you I knew where we were going." Leaf said back smugly.
Ash was ready to be rid of her. Ash and Buzz hurriedly rushed over to the people he saw, ready to ask for directions to the exit. He slowed down as he approached, however as he began to overhear what they were saying.
"… the insurgents are bunkered down in the tunnel to your right." One man was telling the other. Ash could tell from the black uniform that this was one Team Rocket Officer talking to another. All of the others wore the gray uniforms associated with Grunts and Agents.
"They wiped us all out and we were the second squad to engage. They have to be getting weaker by now, you guys should be able to handle them no problem." The man finished.
"Thank you! Now go get your Pokemon healed up, we will take it from here. Let's get ready to take them out guys!" The other Officer called back to the Agents around him.
"Thanks Bob. We'll see you around." The first Officer called back as he headed out.
Ash stopped in his tracks as he watched the first Officer leave through the tunnel that was directly behind the group of Team Rocket. Insurgents? Second squad to engage? What did this mean?
As Ash was trying to wrap his head around what he just overheard, Leaf casually strolled forward towards the Officer in command and made her presence known.
"Excuse me, what is going on here?" She said with her know-it-all attitude.
The Officer named Bob turned to look at her and was about to mouth off when he saw that she was a higher ranking member than he was. "Senior Officer! We were just getting ready to launch an assault on the insurgents here in this cave. We brought more man power than the last two squadrons, so we are certain that we will be able to overpower the enemy and bring them into custody!" Bob said matter of factly.
It clicked for Ash and he realized the insurgents must be people who didn't accept Team Rocket's rule. He had to find a way to team up with them, but there were too many Team Rocket members around for him to overpower them all. There had to be at least a dozen Agents there.
"Well I'm glad we caught you in time. There will be no need for that, there has been a change of plans. My agent and I were sent to handle the insurgents. There has been too many casualties already and the boss doesn't want any more of you low leveled peons getting hurt." Leaf spat back at Bob.
Now Ash was extremely confused. They had been travelling together for four days and there was no mention of any of this the whole entire time. There was no way these insurgents had been trapped down here for that long.
"But… But Ma'am there are only two of you… Certainly we could aid you guys! Going in with only two would be madness." Bob stuttered back. He was obviously caught off guard, as was Ash.
"Nonsense. We are a specially trained battle unit. We work better without others in the way. I can prove it to you if you would like." Leaf responded.
Another lie. What in the world was happening?
"No no, I believe you! But surely I would be more help to you than an Agent? His Beedrill may seem large but I guarantee my Pokemon are better suited for this." Bob said back. He obviously didn't want to get kicked off of this battle. Ash could respect that.
"I'll tell you what. I will let you send all three of your Pokemon out at once. If they can defeat his Beedrill 3v1, then you can come along with me. Otherwise, you all leave and let us handle the insurgents. Deal?"
"Wait, what?" Ash cried out incredulously. He hadn't signed up for this.
"Relax kid, he's too scared of getting beat by you in front of all of his friends to take the challenge anyways. He will just walk out of here with his tail between his legs like a scared little Poochyena." Leaf said back playfully.
A Poochyena? Ash thought to himself. The name sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. It definitely wasn't a Pokemon from Kanto or Johto, that was for sure.
"I accept! Sorry kid, I'll try to make it short for you." Bob said back, a little red in the cheeks. Apparently he didn't like being called a Poochyena.
Ash thought about objecting, but decided against it. He didn't understand what Leaf's motives were, but he figured this worked out the best for him anyways. With all of the Agents gone it would just be him and Leaf left, and he was certain that with the element of surprise his team would be able to overpower her and free the insurgents.
Ash and the other trainer lined up on either side of the large cavern. Buzz flew forward, and Bob released all three of his Pokemon.
Ash watched as a Golbat appeared, followed by a Magmar and a Nidorino. Ash quickly sized up his opponents, mentally ranking them from strongest to weakest, as he tried to devise a strategy to take them all down. He was at an extreme disadvantage, as they were all resistant to bug types, the only one he could poison was Magmar, and Magmar also happened to be a fire type.
Ash had a brief flashback to the moment he watched the Queen Bee get burnt to a crisp in Viridian forest. This only served to enrage him as he settled on his plan of action.
"Double Team, keep them guessing! Twin Needle and Poison Sting, get that stupid fire type poisoned as fast as possible. Twineedle won't do much damage but keep them peppered with it so it's harder for them to focus." Ash yelled out to Buzz. He wanted to get this battle over with as soon as possible.
Ash watched as Buzz split himself into ten different copies and they started flying all over the cavern, firing poison out of their lances and needles from their abdomen. Of course the only one that would do any damage would be the real Buzz, but with all of the movement going on there was no way his enemy could know which one that was.
Ash watched with glee as Bob was obviously taken aback and took a moment to try and figure out how to counter. "Golbat, hit them with Gust! Uh, Magmar try to take some of them down with Ember and Nidorino use Poison Sting!" Bob commanded.
His team responded, but it was obvious they weren't very battle trained as they didn't manage to hit many of the illusions. Ash watched as they each became more and more frustrated as a real Twineedle or Poison Sting would strike them. It didn't look to do much damage, but it knocked them off balance and pissed them off a great deal.
For Buzz's part, he was putting on a fantastic show. The 10 different Beedrills were flying around, each dodging attacks sent at them and also firing off shot after shot. Ash knew that keeping up this level of Double Team was taking most of Buzz's concentration, and that the attacks he was firing were pretty low powered as such. The real purpose of this was to test his opponents and get the Magmar poisoned, so as long as Buzz didn't wear himself out too much it was working perfectly.
"Get the Magmar poisoned!" Ash called out to Buzz.
Buzz must have heard him, because as Ash watched a volley of poison stings came at the fire-type from all directions. It bellowed in anger as the actual poison stings landed. It stomped its foot and let out a battle cry before breathing in deeply, deciding to take the battle into its own hands.
Ash barely had a chance to react before the Magmar's attack was released. "Iron Defense! Drop out of the sky quickly!" Ash shouted as the Magmar released the Flamethrower he had charged up.
Instead of aiming for one or two of the illusions, Magmar swept his flamethrower across the whole sky, covering over all of the Beedrill with its powerful flames. The Golbat was also caught up in the Flamethrower, and Ash watched as one of the Beedrill dropped faster than usual directly underneath the flames. Ash saw that it was covered with steel-type energy, and knew that the extra weight from Iron Defense had helped Buzz escape the worse of the flames. The heat would still damage him, but at least he hadn't taken any of the actual flames.
The foe's Nidorino didn't wait for a command, and instead charged Buzz with a Horn Attack. Ash tried to call out to Buzz to look out but was too late, and the large poison type slammed into the unsuspecting Beedrill.
Buzz went tumbling a few feet away, but thankfully the Iron Defense was still activated so the horn hadn't penetrated Buzz's exoskeleton. Buzz quickly took back to the sky, not wanting to be subject to another physical attack from the Nidorino.
Ash surveyed the battlefield. The Golbat was grounded, with a wing that looked crispy on the edges and overall looking pretty beat up. The Magmar was likewise winded, with that giant Flamethrower (maybe it was an Overheat Ash thought) and the poison taking most of the fight out of him. The Nidorino still seemed totally fine, but with Buzz in the air it wasn't much of an issue at this point.
"Come on guys, we got this! Rally and hit it again!" Bob called out to his Pokemon.
"Electroweb on the Golbat and give the Magmar a couple of Poison Jabs. Put them both out of commission." Ash said back flatly. He didn't want to allow any sort of rally for the fire-type or the Golbat.
Buzz quickly flew over and spat a couple of potent Electroweb straight into the grounded Golbat's face. It began writhing around in pain, with the electricity being super effective against the weakened flying type. Buzz then followed up by discreetly splitting into two copies, with the first coming head on towards the Magmar. It stomped its foot again and let loose a much weaker flamethrower that caused the Beedrill to dissolve into thin air. The Magmar roared in victory just before the actual Buzz planted a vicious Poison Jab straight into its unsuspecting back. It roared in pain this time, but Buzz quickly shut it up with a couple more Poison Jabs and an Electroweb for good measure.
"You can surrender now if you would like. I won't hold it against you," Ash said to Bob as he recalled his two unconscious Pokemon.
"Nonsense! Your Beedrill is obviously weakened and it has no way of injuring my Nidorino! This battle is mine kid!" Bob shouted back as he prepared to bark out some orders.
"Get in close and use Horn Attack or Double-Kick! Just hit it however you can!" Bob yelled out.
Ash sighed. This was going to be drawn out then. "Double Team, hit it with Pin Missile or Twineedle. They won't do much damage but it will do some. If you get a clear shot go ahead and use Electroweb, that'll probably be what takes it down."
Ash watched as Buzz flew lower to the ground and only split into three different copies. In fact, the third copy was wavy, as if Buzz didn't have enough energy to maintain the illusion. Ash was surprised, he didn't realize how much energy the battle must have already taken out of Buzz.
"Haha, your foe is weak, get 'em Nidorino! Don't even worry about the third illusion, focus on the solid ones!" Bob said as he could see the victory that was his.
Ash watched in horror as the Nidorino charged towards the Beedrill copies. They weren't even hardly moving, just firing needles at the incoming Pokemon. Ash could see each time one of the needles actually connected, as it was powerful enough to stick into the Nidorino's thick hide. These had to be Pin Missiles coming at it, but that made no sense with how tired Buzz was.
"Move Buzz, don't let him hit you!" Ash yelled with no luck. Buzz either didn't hear him or was tired of running and was ready to be done. The Nidorino charged through the first Beedrill and it vanished, leaving just the real Buzz and the shaky illusion left.
"Finish it off with Iron Tail!" Bob yelled with glee. The Nidorino listened even as it was being hit with more needles, as it charged the steel energy on its tail and slashed into Buzz.
Or, at least it slashed into what everyone thought was Buzz. But the Beedrill that was hit with the Iron Tail vanished upon impact, leaving Nidorino, Bob, and Ash confused.
Just then the shaky mirage of Buzz spread out into four different copies that surrounded the still confused Nidorino and starting firing off Electrowebs at it. The Poison type grunted in pain as it tried to hit the Beedrill with its horn. Buzz was relentless, however and fired off round after round of Electroweb until he had ran through the stores of electricity that his body was capable of holding.
Then the four copies of Buzz descended upon the weakened Nidorino and began stabbing it incessantly with his lances. This looked a lot like Fury Attack, which from the Pokedex's information on the move made sense. Fury Attack, like most normal type moves, didn't need to be taught to a Pokemon because it was something they could already do naturally (Like Tackle or Scratch). The Pokedex didn't register these as moves the Pokemon had unless they had used them in battle before (how the Pokedex knew that Ash had no clue) so according to the Pokedex Buzz might have just learnt a new move. Ash was glad he had been working on Buzz's arm strength.
But Ash was more excited when Bob recalled the twitching Nidorino, officially making Ash the winner of this battle.
"Woohooo! Good job Buzz, you were amazing!" Ash said as he raced towards the giant bee. Buzz dissolved the illusions and landed on the ground, obviously worn out from the battle.
"I counted at least 7 Electrowebs before you couldn't make anymore! That was awesome! And don't even get me started on that Double Team trick! Where did you come up with that from?" Ash said as he got to Buzz and began scratching his exoskeleton. Buzz just chittered back happily.
"Like I said, we've got the insurgents. Now you and your men get out of here and let the big kids handle the naughty children." Leaf said to Bob as she walked towards Ash. "Good job kid, I wasn't sure you were going to pull through there." Leaf said as an aside to Ash.
"Of course kid. I told you I knew what I was doing," Ash said back, trying to mock Leaf from earlier.
Leaf had already left Ash and was talking to Bob, so his sarcasm was only for himself.
"So, like I said we have this handled. Now go ahead and get out of here with the rest of your crew." Leaf said to Bob, who looked humiliated.
The dozen or so Agents that were behind him had mixed reactions based on the battle they just witnessed. About half of them were laughing at their leader getting all three of his Pokemon beat by one trainer, while the other half were murmuring about how powerful Buzz was. Ash wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but was too focused on Buzz to really care.
He examined the Beedrill over and saw that he was in almost perfect condition. There was a slight dent where the Nidorino had landed a horn attack, which Ash sprayed a potion over. Otherwise though Buzz was fine, just tired from the exertion the battle took.
Ash watched as the squadron of Team Rocket members filed out of the cave, and he reached into his bag to grab a Sitrus berry for Buzz. He also snuck out his other two Pokeballs and quickly put them in his pocket, ready to take out Leaf's Ivysaur when the opportunity presented.
Leaf watched as the other Rocket's left, before turning to Ash. "Well, we might as well go check on the resistance fighters now." She said as she turned her back to Ash and began walking towards the tunnel that led to Ash's only true allies.
Ash knew this was his chance to catch her by surprise so he quickly released all of his Pokemon from their Pokeballs. They appeared in a series of red flashes, taking in their surroundings as they arrived.
"Quickly, take down that Ivysaur!" Ash shouted as he pointed to the Pokemon by Leaf. "Water Gun, Dazzling Gleam, Icicle Spear!" Ash commanded. "Buzz take to the skies and start laying down some needles!"
Ash watched as his Pokemon gathered themselves and began the onslaught against the unsuspecting enemy, but what happened next Ash couldn't have planned for.
A giant force field appeared in front of the Ivysaur, blocking all of the attacks that had just been fired. Ash recognized the move as Protect, but was astonished that it was able to block so much fire power.
Leaf had used the time behind the shield to run away from the direct line of fire and began barking orders to her Pokemon. "Magical Leaf on the bug in the air! Vine Whip on the Totodile, use Bullet Seed on the other two."
Ash watched as the docile and lazy Ivysaur shifted position into a legitimate threat and began following Leaf's orders. A series of leaves appeared and flew towards Buzz, who had already used Double Team to split into multiple copies. The leaves hit with uncanny accuracy, with some obliterating the copies and a few landing direct hits on Buzz.
As that was happening, the Ivysaur also shot Bullet Seeds towards Clefairy and Totodile, while lashing out towards Blizz with the long vine coming from its back. Totodile and Clefairy dodged the majority of the seeds, but Clefairy wasn't quite fast enough and was clipped by one of them. Blizz stood his ground and took the vine whip straight on, using the opportunity to launch a couple more Icicle Spears at the grass-type.
Ash was shocked at the Ivysaur's ability to multitask and was trying to figure out a strategy when he heard Leaf call out.
"No, Ivysaur, the Totodile is the other blue one! Hit that with your vine!"
"Quick, Clefairy use Flash! Totodile, Blizz keep attacking it! Don't let it get you with the vine Totodile!" Ash yelled out in desperation. This battle was not going the way he wanted it to.
Clefairy let loose a bright light that nearly blinded Ash even though he was prepared for it. It seemed to have the same effect on the Ivysaur, as it was momentarily stunned. A giant wave of pink energy brought it back into awareness as Clefairy hit it with a Dazzling Gleam before it was able to construct another Protect to shield off the Water Gun and Icicle Spears coming at it.
Ash had to find a way to get past that Protect, and came up with a strategy he thought would work.
"Blizz, charge it with an Ice Punch! Just keep hammering it until it goes down. Everyone else, keep up enough fire power that it won't be able to evade Blizz!" Ash called out.
"Enough playing around! Vine Whip on the Totodile, Magical Leaf on the rest of them. Finish this!"
Buzz was already looking pretty beat up but continued firing Twineedles at the Ivysaur. He didn't waste any energy with Double Team, and instead just focused on attacking. As soon as the Ivysaur dropped the protect and began its attack, Clefairy responded with Dazzling Gleam.
Totodile likewise launched large bursts of water at the grass type, but as soon as the large vine on Ivysaur's back started heading towards him he turned to a run, trying to avoid it. He wasn't fast enough, however, and was smacked straight in the side with the super effective attack. Ash watched as Totodile was thrown through the air and then tumbled to a stop a few feet away, unconscious.
Ash barely had time to recall Totodile before the Magical Leaf hit its target in his other Pokemon. Buzz was knocked out of the air, not looking too injured but obviously exhausted from the prolonged battles. Blizz powered through the leaves, grunting as they hit him but continuing with his approach. Clefairy took the most damage, with a large number of leaves hitting her hard and leaving her severely injured.
Blizz was almost to the opposing Ivysaur now, and Ash was sure the Ice Punch would do extreme damage against the susceptive grass type. Blizz never got the chance though, as Leaf called out something that Ash was not expecting.
"Sleep Powder!"
"No! Blizz, get away!" Ash called out in vain as the Ivysaur released a cloud of powder from the plant on its back. Blizz ran straight into it, intent on delivering the winning blow, and immediately fell asleep. It would have been comical to see this Pokemon who was running full sprint suddenly fall asleep and tumble forward as he did so, but Ash was too concerned with the tide of the battle to find any humor in it. He recalled Blizz before Ivysaur could put any finishing touches on him.
"Magical Leaf again! Then Headbutt the Beedrill!" Leaf called out to her Pokemon, sensing that the battle was almost over.
She was right, of course, as the following Magical Leaf knocked Clefairy out cold and left Buzz further injured. Ash recalled them both as Ivysaur charged towards the Beedrill, intent on pummeling it into the ground.
Ash stood there helplessly as the Ivysaur turned towards him. There was no chance of escape. His friends had fought valiantly but they were not strong enough. Sure, Buzz could have taken another hit or two but at what cost? He couldn't risk permanent injury, although by surrendering that might be just what he was doing. Soon Buzz and all his friends would be taken from him.
"Stupid kid." Leaf said from across the battlefield. "Now get over here and stay close. Ivysaur won't hesitate to put a Bullet Seed in your back if you try to run away." Leaf said as she turned back towards the cavern where the group of rebels were.
Ash dejectedly walked over to her, still in shock from the loss he had just suffered. Without Electroweb most of his attacks were not very effective against the grass-poison type, and he knew that the Bulbasaur line was tanky, but he didn't figure he would lose 4v1.
Ash barely noticed as he reached Leaf and they continued towards the rebels who would soon be put down as well. All hope had left him, and he was imagining a dark and dreary existence. Perhaps eventually he would be allowed to start over again, but he didn't want to start all over with a Rattata. This was his team, these were his friends. He had left everything to try and protect Buzz and now… Now he had failed.
Leaf looked over at Ash and saw the boy walking with his head downcast. "Hey, kid. Don't let go of the strongest weapon you have just because you lost a battle." She said.
"Huh?" Ash responded, being shaken from his thoughts and barely hearing anything that Leaf had said.
"I said don't let go of the strongest weapon you have. So what, you lost a battle. It happens. You're young and inexperienced; it's going to happen a lot. But the strongest weapon you have," She said, as she poked Ash in the chest, "is hope. Don't lose hope just because of a loss. Things are not always as they seem, and those who remain hopeful find their way through."
"Yeah. Whatever." Ash said back as he went back to his musing. What kind of a cruel joke was this? Don't lose hope? From the person who was about to take away his team from him? From the person who made him feel like a powerless Caterpie in the talons of a Pidgeotto? Yeah, sure Leaf.
It was with thoughts like these that Ash entered into the dimly lit cavern that the rebels were bunkered up in. Ivysaur conjured up another Protect as rocks were hurled towards the new party. Leaf called out in a loud voice. "Are you not mighty men of the Saffron Dojo? Why must you throw rocks and use deceit? I challenge your leader to an Agni Kai if you are man enough to accept!"
There was a silence that filled the room. Ash had no idea what was happening. Probably just some other trick by Leaf to capture these unsuspecting suckers. Finally, a voice responded.
"Haha! Very well, an Agni Kai it is. Once we win, you and the boy must forfeit all of your Pokemon to us!" The voice said.
"And once I win," Leaf responded, "You will all surrender and come out from hiding."
"I like your spirit! But I have been training my Primeape since we were both little! You stand no chance against us!" The voice said as a massive Primeape appeared in the opening of the cavern. The thing was about as tall as Ash but its arms and legs bulged with muscles. There was no way Leaf's Ivysaur could stand a chance against this thing! Perhaps there still was hope! Ash thought to himself.
Leaf simply smirked as she grabbed a well-worn Pokeball off her belt and released the Pokemon inside with a flash of red.
What appeared was a strange tree, also about the same height as Ash. It looked just like a tree, with leaves for hands, with the exception of its long white hair that covered half of its face and went down its back almost all the way to the floor. The only thing that could be seen through its massive mane were two long wooden ears, sticking out from the top. It turned its head around to view it's surrounding and its eyes caught Ash's, which made him shudder. There was something unnerving, something evil in those eyes. Ash turned away almost as quickly as he made eye contact, but the image was stuck in his head.
"Primeape! Focus Punch! Give it everything you've got, don't hold back! Let's finish this off with one hit!" The stranger commanded to his Pokemon as it charged towards the dark tree.
Leaf remained calm and collected as she gave her commands. "Take it. Then Payback." She stated. Her strange tree nodded its head as it faced the incoming Primeape.
Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing. Focus Punch was one of the strongest physical attacks there was available to fighting types, and she was simply going to take it? There was no way her Pokemon was that strong. And yet, Ash couldn't get those evil eyes out of the back of his mind.
Ash didn't have to wait long to find out what the result would be, as the Primeape charged forward and landed a punch squarely into the chest of the tree. The Pokemon barely flinched as it grinned and swung its own arm forward and into the fighting type. Ash gaped at the dark aura that surrounded the tree's arm, confirming in his mind its dark typing. What was even more impressive was the result of the vicious Payback to the Primeape. The large monkey was sent flying back, skipping across the ground like a rock over a lake before landing with a thud against the cavern wall.
Ash was in shock. Whatever this Pokemon was, it had a lot of power. Apparently Ash wasn't the only one in shock, as he watched a number of rugged looking men come out from hiding to gaze upon the unconscious form of the Primeape.
"Impossible! You cheated! No way my Primeape could be beaten in one shot! That was treachery!" The voice called out, as the man whom it came from stepped out from behind his cover.
He was a tall man, standing a full head and shoulders above Ash, with rippling muscles easily visible from his cut off shirt. His clothes were plain and white, with the only thing accenting them being a large black belt around his waist.
"So this is how the great Hitoshi responds to defeat aye? With lies of deception or treachery? Not man enough to admit that you were beaten by a girl?" Leaf responded in her usual abrasive manner.
"How do you know my name? What do you want?" Hitoshi responded, caught off guard by the use of his name by a Rocket.
"Your brother asked me to find you about two weeks ago. Said he was afraid you and your men were in trouble and needed rescuing. Lucky for you he did, otherwise you'd be screwed right now."
"We were fine! None of those Rockets could even stand a chance against us!" He responded back.
"For how long? Where would you get enough food? Sure the Rockets are weak but they are numerous and you are cornered. You can't have much food left as is! This was a hair brained scheme and you're lucky your big brother cares about you enough to come and look for you." Leaf spat back. She really didn't like being challenged.
"Bah! Koichi always worries too much. We were just having a little fun, aye boys?" Hitoshi asked back to his men, who gave a cheer in response.
"Well, if you want to have fun then let's figure out how you all are going to break out of Rocket custody," Leaf said as she approached Hitoshi and began speaking with him. She was too far away for Ash to overhear but he barely noticed as his head was spinning with all the information he had just gained.
Leaf was working with these rebels? So Leaf wasn't a Rocket? Ash thought over his last few days of being with Leaf. Her questions about Rocket procedure must not have been a test, but her searching for knowledge. Her lies to the Rocket officer earlier made more sense now as well. And that Pokemon, whatever it was, was certainly far too powerful for a Rocket Officer to have.
Ash took a shaky breath as Leaf walked back over to him. "So you're…. you're not a Rocket?" Ash asked.
"Of course not, kid. You think I'd buy into all that equality stuff? We work harder, train more, and practice better than everyone else so why would I want forced equality? Life isn't fair, and the Rockets trying to control everyone to keep things fair just isn't right." Leaf responded back.
"What is that Pokemon? I've never seen anything like it before." Ash asked as he looked towards where the tree had been last. It had vanished, and Ash wondered if Leaf had recalled it or if it was wondering around in the shadows.
"Willow is a Shiftry. She originates from Hoenn, as do I. Look kid, I'm sure you have a ton more questions which I'm happy to answer but right now we have to march these guys out of here before any of those Rockets try to come back and our cover is blown. Help me out, and I'll explain everything later."
"Okay, yeah! I can do that." Ash said, finally relieved. He wasn't going to have to give up his team, and even better he now had a powerful ally!
"There we go. Like I said kid, never give up hope. You never know how things will turn out."
X
Thank you guys so much for reading and for the reviews! This one took longer than expected (Which I've said about all of the last chapters haven't I?), but I am still committed to this story! I will never complain about Traveler taking too long to update again, as I understand if only a little what writing is like. Thank you for the reading and please review!
Dloodl87: good story but I have a few issues but the major issue is Lance and his attack. Lance could have never won against the entire elite 4 and every trainer at the league, he would have been crushed pretty damn quick. Not even Dragons can fight possibly over a thousand Pokémon, not to mention that most Elite 4 would be champion level any ways. Agatha alone would destroy Lance. Not to mention Koga being a fucking ninja/assasin would have attempted to kill Giovani the moment he pulled his shit, they had to have had suspicions about Giovani and had plans in place just in case. Other than a few other minor issues, its a really good story and I cannot wait to see how Ash stomps Team Rocket, as long as you don't pull a "Trainer" and write yourself into a corner by making Team Rocket super fucking Op to where no one can win and Ash just gets wrecked constantly.
Thanks for the review. If you haven't read Traveler, that's my main inspiration for the power level of Lance. Let me get a little bit into my thinking though. They wouldn't have sent out all the League trainers to fight him, as there would be countless casualties. Think about it, Dragons are faster than birds and can breathe fire and dragon energy. No, they would trust the other three members of the Elite Four to challenge Lance. Agatha being able to destroy Lance doesn't make sense because then she would be the Champion if she could do that, right? Plus, let's say for the sake of this that Lance and his team was also empowered by whatever psychic source had come over him and turned him crazy. That wouldn't help much against Agatha, which is why ultimately all Four of the Elite Four perished in their duel. Traveler does a really good job with the power level of the regional champions, and that was my main inspiration. Ash will get wrecked occasionally (As seen in this chapter) but I do want him to actually be the main protagonist. We will see!
Astriodu: I just finished binging to the 6th chapter, It's been a long time since I read something this good in Pokemon fandom, I like that you want the progress Ash makes with his team seem reasonable and not rushing through everything at once, I agree with you that legendaries should absolutely be overpowered
Waiting for the next chapter, I just hope you keep your promise and complete this fanfic.
Thanks so much! I'm so happy to hear that you like it. This chapter took too long to complete but I have the story all planned out and am looking forward to finish it. I may never complete a Pokedex, but I will complete this fanfic!
KuraiArcoiris: Why doesn't this have more reviews? It's such an interesting concept. The idea of Team Rocket being in power when Ash comes of age is something I haven't seen done (at least not well). I love how you've developed this world (though I did find the exposition with Brock to be a tad overboard and convenient - how did he know he could trust Ash especially about the bracelets?) Overall I think this AU and world is fascinating. I also appreciate the pace since it is neither too fast or too slow. The readers don't have to slog through endless paragraphs of training, but the progression of growth is believable. And Ash's team is different enough from what I usually see that it is refreshing! I mean Clefairy and Alolan Sandshrew were really nice additions, and starting with Beedrill was definitely refreshing (though the dig against Butterfree was unnecessary). I look forward to reading more!
Thanks so much for your feedback! Brock's explanation was probably a little convienient, but let me try to make two excuses. First, Brock hasn't talked to anyone other than his siblings in a long time and he was probably lonely, but secondly Brock saw that the Beedrill trusted him enough to give him the mystery stone, so he figured Ash must be trustworthy. The Butterfree dig was probably unnecessary, but Ash is a Beedrill guy and there must be that natural rivalry there, right? Anyways, thanks for the review!