A New Chance For Adventure

by ArcyAnderson

Sequel to A New Chance At Life. Finishing the Johto region while traveling with two Legendary Pokémon, Latias and Latios, was certainly a joyous experience for Ash. With that region behind him, Ash has now set his sights on a new tournament: The Hoenn League. A journey that promises new challenges, new friends and rivals to be met, and a powerful evil ready to rise…

8. Bullies and Poachers

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

"Telepathy"

Author Notes: Chapter 8 is here! And with it, the start of the Petalburg Woods Arc =)

Just wanted to remind to all my readers that soon, starting a bit after some of the upcoming chapters, lots of changes to the storyline shown in the anime will be made, so don't be surprised. I plan huge changes to be made to the anime story as my own story progresses. Like I've said in previous installments, I don't want my Fanfic to be a simple copy of the anime just with two Latis added to it. I plan my Fanfic to eventually diverge far from the anime and into something unique.

As always, I give a deep thank you for all my readers and reviewers for their time to read and review, and for their patience. All reviews are appreciated. I do my best to give you all Fanfics of the highest quality possible.

Last Revision: March 3rd, 2016.

Chapter 8 - Bullies And Poachers

---

After a long night of cozy sleep at the Petalburg City Pokémon Center, a rude awakening from his Pokémon because he slept in as usual, and passing by Norman's home to say their good-byes to the family, Ash and his friends headed out for their next Pokémon Gym challenge in Rustboro City, a very large urban metropolis that was just a short walk through a nearby forest from Petalburg. It was a warm afternoon at the moment, just several hours past midday.

Bianca sighed softly, looking around and enjoying the surrounding area's green and beautiful scenery. "The Petalburg Woods are really beautiful. I love the view, it reminds me of the Secret Garden back at Alto Mare," she commented, voice tender and awed as she looked at the vast green woods and perfect blue sky. Being a natural artist, she was a great appreciator of things like this.

Latios nodded once, his posture very calm and relaxed. "Yeah, kinda, though overall it's not quite as pretty as our garden," he said, smiling down at her. He and Latias were visible since the group was alone along the route, but they were sharp and ready in case they needed to quickly cloak themselves.

Bianca glanced around, scanning her eyes across the lush and gorgeous forest that was spread all around them before turning her attention to Ash. "So is this what your travels usually consist of? Walking for days on end from city to city? That's kinda boring. I admit the forest is pretty, but this will definitely get dull after a couple of days."

Ash sweatdropped at Bianca's comment while slightly tripping on a loose rock in the road; thankfully he regained his footing quickly before he fell. "No Bianca, it's not just about lots of walking from place to place. There's lots of adventures and experiences along the way too. Some examples can be catching wild Pokémon, helping people, having all kinds of fun and meeting new friends. There's a lot more than just plain walking," he answered, feeling slightly offended.

Latios nodded in response to his trainer's comment. "And, also, walking from city to city isn't that boring. There's lots of awesome stuff everywhere, and seeing all kinds of places can be fun. I've greatly enjoyed it, it was a nice change from living all the time in Alto Mare," he said, smiling softly and brushing his claw on Bianca's shoulder. The artist giggled softly and rubbed the dragon's long slender neck with her hand tenderly, scratching at the tiny feathers.

"You two forgot to add 'dealing with Team Rocket on an annoyingly daily basis' to that list of things we do while traveling," Latias added drily. "Seriously, is there anything we can do to get them off our backs for good?"

Ash sighed sadly, thinking back to all the incidents he's had involving Team Rocket, and scowled at the memories. "Not that I know of. I've dealt with them for two years… I really wonder sometimes if they are as annoyed with me as I am with them."

"Doubt it," Pikachu deadpanned, sitting on Ash's shoulder like he always did. "They'll never give up until they capture us, which I doubt will ever happen."

"I can get them off our backs for good very easily," Latios offered with a slightly sinister tone in his voice and a dark grin on his features.

Ash yelped in horror. "No! Don't do anything like that!" he yelled frantically. Latios rolled his eyes as he abandoned all the deliciously dark ideas that were crossing his mind.

Bianca frowned softly, looking down at her legs. They'd been walking for a couple of hours and she could already start feeling the exhaustion in them. "I really hope I get used to all this walking soon."

"You'll get used to it, don't worry Bianca," Ash told her, trying to cheer his traveling companion up. "I also had problems at first, but I've gotten used to it over time."

Bianca breathed softly before she felt her stomach rumble slightly. "I'm rather hungry. It's been a while since the breakfast at the Pokémon Center," she said. "Walking so much really works up an appetite."

Latios nodded in agreement to her comment. "Yeah," he said in approval. "Even if I don't walk, I'm starting to feel hungry myself." He looked up at the sun, gauging the time. "It's probably around four in the afternoon, so I suppose it's a nice time for a meal."

Bianca turned to look at Ash. "So, let's find a nice spot in the woods and have our lunch. You have it with you, right?" She questioned the young Pokémon trainer.

Ash paused and blinked as if he had no clue of what she was talking about. "Wait, what?" he asked, feeling rather confused at why the statement had been directed at him to begin with.

Latias sighed in dismay. Ash's confusion could only mean one thing that she really hoped wasn't the case. "Our food, you are supposed to have it," she reminded him telepathically.

Ash blinked blankly at her. "I don't have any food on me," he said, rather nervous as to why the entire group was looking at him.

Latias frowned at the dreadful reality that was very true after all. "Ash, it was your responsibility to make sure we had enough food supplies for the trip through Petalburg Woods," she stated, her telepathic voice firm.

"What!? Why me?" the black-haired boy asked brusquely, feeling completely dumbfounded as to why the guilt was directed at him. "It's Brock that's always done that."

Latias nodded in agreement at his last comment, but she was still visibly upset. "Yes, and Brock isn't here, so that means the responsibility immediately shifts to you, Ash."

Ash gulped as his heart raced in nervousness. "Me?" he asked quietly.

Bianca glared at Ash with a very annoyed expression. "Yes, you. I only started traveling with you since Alto Mare. You are the professional at traveling, so you are the one that's supposed to keep everything well organized. I'm only starting out."

Latios looked at Ash, locking his bright red eyes with him. "And Ash, as our trainer and the experienced traveler of the group, it is your responsibility to make sure that the group as a whole is safe and the trip is correctly planned, and that we, your Pokémon, are kept well fed and in a perfect state of health. Yes, I know Brock did you the favor of handling all that for you, but if he's not here it is your responsibility, so the guilty one here is you," the large eon dragon reprimanded his trainer.

"Indeed, now how are we going to get through Petalburg Woods without a single bit of food? Ash, this means the traveling skills you have are poor," Bianca scolded him, putting her arms on her hips. "Just because you've had people help you organize your travels in the past doesn't mean you always will, you need to learn it on your own!"

Ash looked down, feeling very ashamed and not knowing what to say to them, since he knew they were right. "I…" Ash's stomach rumbled noisily, expressing how hungry he himself was and only further embarrassing him about the current situation.

Pikachu frowned. "Ash, I'm with them on this. I really thought you could handle the role of the leader when traveling. We may guide you a lot, but ultimately we are your Pokémon and your responsibility."

Ash winced. "But… It was Brock who always did it. I was so used to him always handling everything that I kinda forgot about it…" He said weakly, trying to find a way to lower the mess he was in.

"Yes, he was, but the absence of Brock is no excuse for you to not think about it," Latias said, voice uncharacteristically harsh, which expressed how annoyed she was. "This is your third year traveling Ash, and the mistake of forgetting to have provisions for the trip is a rather rookie one."

"I'm sorry," Ash said apologetically, acknowledging the obvious mistake he had made. In the past, he had always relied on Brock to take care of the basic necessities during his travels. Factors such as food, medicine, guidance, health, traveling plans, were all left to Brock's responsibility while he took care of battling and training himself. Without him, Ash realized traveling was not as easy as he thought. So far, he had been lucky that all the routes had been through were short ones with enough Pokémon Centers along the way to keep the group fed, but now on a long route that'd last for days of traveling, he realized he had messed up.

Latios sighed. "I guess we'll let it slip this time, but Ash, I expect you to not make this kind of mistake again. You are a great Pokémon trainer, I'm sure you can handle all aspects of traveling on your own."

Pikachu smiled. "You're a young man in the making Ash, add this to your experiences, and I'm sure one day you'll not only be a great and powerful trainer, but a mature guy who can handle all the difficulties of traveling. But at least try to learn from your mistakes, alright?" the electric type said gently to his best friend.

"Alright… I really messed up this time," Ash said, nodding slowly. "I promise this won't happen again, okay?"

Bianca frowned. "Sadly, that's not gonna solve our food problem right now. We are all still hungry."

Latios looked around, surveying the area. "Well, I guess me and Latias could look for berries and fruit for us to eat," he suggested as an alternative to handle the situation at hand. "It's a big forest, there has to be plenty of food around here."

"Well, let's find a clearing to rest in," Ash suggested, walking down the road and into the woods. The group followed him, agreeing on that. Soon enough, after walking for another five or so minutes, the group arrived at a relatively nice and open clearing in the woods, with a few rocks here and there as well as pretty colorful flower patches. A soft breeze blew by, letting the group feel the fresh scent of nature that circulated around the pretty clearing.

Pikachu smiled at the scent and the sight. "This will do."

Ash nodded, sitting on a rather large rock. "Yeah."

Latias glanced around as she examined the clearing and noticed that none of the trees within her field of vision had any berries or fruit available on them. "Well, finding some fruit might not be that easy, but I'm sure we can manage somehow. This clearing is good; I think there's water nearby since I can hear and smell it. There's a creek, maybe a small river." She pointed down towards the direction where she knew there was water. "That way," she informed them in case any of them felt thirsty.

Pikachu chuckled. "You two are psychics and you can't find some fruit?" he asked with a slightly teasing tone to his voice.

"Pikachu, we have psychic powers, not some kind of fruit sensing ability," Latios said exasperatedly. "We only have sight and scent on this one."

Pikachu laughed. "Alright, alright. You win. Just hurry up, I'm hungry," he said, rubbing his stomach. Ash nodded, feeling as if he was a caged Snorlax ready to eat a buffet.

Latias rolled her eyes, sighed, and then turned to look at Ash. "I hope you learned your lesson, Ash," she reminded him, hoping that this mistake wouldn't repeat itself. "You need to prepare and organize for your travels better. Food and health items, which I'm pretty sure you don't have either, are among the most important provisions you have to keep at hand."

Ash nodded. "I will, and this won't happen again," he said sincerely.

Latios smirked. "Good, because next time this happens I'll have to eat Pikachu for dinner," he answered, grinning while pulling back his lips slightly, making sure to show his sharp-looking and rather vicious draconic teeth. Pikachu and Ash glanced at him in horror, which earned a loud raucous laugh from the large eon dragon. "Be back in ten minutes while we collect fruits and berries of all kinds." Upon concluding his statement, both he and Latias darted off.

Pikachu shuddered. "I'll electrocute him if he actually tries something like that."

Ash blinked. "If he's willing to eat you…has he ever actually eaten another Pokémon?" They exchanged horrified looks at this thought.

"Finally, a chance to catch some rest," Bianca said in relief, but then she sighed in aggravation due to her dry throat. Damn traveling. "Sadly, I'm thirsty. I'll go by the creek Latias mentioned. And you, Ash?" she asked, gazing at the young trainer.

Ash shook his head. "Nah, I'll wait here for Latias and Latios. I'll also let my Pokémon out of their Pokéballs to get some fresh air."

Bianca nodded. "Okay." She stood up, her bag still with her, and slowly walked in the direction Latias mentioned. Ash sat on the rock, grabbed three Pokéballs, and released Larvitar, Phanpy, and Pidgeot. After exchanging greetings, the two kids started playing along with Pikachu while Pidgeot watched over them protectively from a high branch she was comfortably roosting on.

…

After several minutes of walking through the woods alone, Bianca reached the promised creek. The sight of the river made her smile; it was a crystal clear stream that trailed across the woods. Patches of flowers and bushes ran along at its banks, with very tall trees flanking it. "Gorgeous," she expressed breathlessly. After walking to the edge of the river and kneeling down, she reached up and took off her white beret and placed it in the soft grass beside her. She cupped her hands together and took some of the water, drinking it and quenching her thirst. "Mmm," she hummed softly at the fresh natural taste.

She took a few more handfuls of water, and then reached down for a final one, which she used to slightly wash her face to refresh herself from the hot day. Bianca grabbed her beret and bag and turned around to walk back towards Ash. She frowned and looked back at the scene behind her. "It'd be perfect for a quick sketch," she noted to herself.

She walked to a tree facing the stream and sat down with her legs crossed and her back leaned against the tree's bark. She took out her sketchbook and a drawing pencil, and then looked up at the scene of the gorgeous creek running across the trees and bushes. After analyzing it carefully, she began to draw.

The minutes continued to drift by as Bianca continued her sketch, enjoying the fresh scent of the natural wonder and peace that surrounded her, the perfect environment for an artist with an active muse for drawing. The gentle sounds of nature echoed around her as she kept drawing. With soft yet rapid pencil swipes, the scene before her came to life with well-practiced precision.

She was so absorbed into her drawing that she didn't notice a small rustle in the bushes nearby. Slowly, the head of a Pokémon poked out of it. The Pokémon looked around in an almost reluctant and frightful matter, and after seeing that Bianca didn't quite seem like a possible threat, it came out and walked towards the water in the stream.

Bianca looked up from her sketchpad to take another glance at the scene and use it for further reference, and noticed the small Pokémon. She blinked, studying the visitor. It wasn't exactly a big Pokémon, perhaps twice the size of Pikachu. It was a bipedal beagle-like brown and white Pokémon with a noticeably long tail that seemed to end… in a paintbrush? Huh. It also had a green substance that seemed to resemble paint oozing from it. The Pokémon's head was rounded, looking almost like a beret with a pointy end, and had two floppy brown ears to each side. The Pokémon had brown rings encircling its eyes, a brown circle around the neck like a collar, and its arms and legs were also adorned with a few brown rings. Its hands looked a bit more complex, with three fingered hands that seemed more dexterous than paws, presumably for better handling the paintbrush tail, and its feet were regular paws. Bianca hummed slightly as she looked at the Pokémon that was currently taking small sips of water from the stream. She could swear she'd seen those before. "Oh, right! A Smeargle, they're very cute," she remarked with a soft smile.

The Smeargle finished drinking water, and looked towards Bianca, blinking softly. The Normal-type slowly walked towards her, eyes very curious. "Hello?" the Smeargle said in a feminine-sounding tone, identifying her as a female.

Bianca, however, couldn't understand what the Pokémon was saying nor discern the gender behind the tone. "Without the twins or Ash, Pokémon interactions certainly aren't fun at all," she lamented with a saddened frown. "Sorry little one, I can't understand you."

Smeargle pouted, but she still approached the human inquisitively. She seemed nice and not at all dangerous. Bianca blinked, eyeing the Pokémon curiously as she slowly approached her. Smeargle stopped a couple of feet away from the young brunette artist. She leaned forward and sniffed, checking Bianca's scent to see if there was anything odd about her.

Bianca smiled, eyeing the curious Pokémon with a smile. Smeargle walked closer, inspecting her. She looked at Bianca's sketchbook with interest. "What? Want to see it?" Bianca said, turning the sketchbook to the side to allow the Painter Pokémon to have a look. The Smeargle cooed softly, her eyes shining in delight at Bianca's drawing. Smeargle as a species had always been identified as Pokémon who enjoyed expressing themselves through various forms of art and were great appreciators of it.

Bianca giggled softly at the Smeargle's expression. "Pretty good, isn't it?" She asked. The Smeargle nodded immediately in response, letting out a series of cute squeals. Bianca smiled warmly at the Pokémon's positive reaction. "I think that's a yes, thank you." She extended her arm and softly petted the Painter Pokémon, running her hand down her face and then scratching her chin. The Smeargle let out a soft noise of appreciation.

As she paid attention to the Pokémon a very familiar presence filled her mind. "Hey Bianca, we got enough fruit, we'll be heading back to the group now," Latios' voice rung in her head. Bianca smiled and nodded, and then looked at her drawing while comparing it to the landscape it was based on. Seeing she had enough of it done to continue later on her own, she decided it was time to get back to Ash.

"Sorry little one, I've got to go," Bianca said towards the Smeargle, who frowned upon hearing the human girl's words. "First I'll get some more water, though." She stood up and put all her drawing stuff into her bag, and then took out a canteen from another pouch. She walked to the stream and took another drink of water, and then proceeded to fill her canteen.

Smeargle watched quietly, looking at the young artist, her mind completely enveloped in the gorgeous drawing Bianca was doing. Smeargle could easily see the girl before her had a real artistic talent, and it greatly interested her. Her ears twitched, and her eyes widened in fear. She heard the distinct sound of flapping, and in this part of the woods, that was bad news. "Hurry! We gotta go!" Smeargle called out, running towards Bianca and pulling on her legs as the human girl put her now-full canteen back in her bag. "Hurry!" the Smeargle yelled, tugging at Bianca's legs harder.

Bianca frowned at the sudden anxiety displayed by the wild Smeargle. "What's wrong little one? I can't understand you," she said sadly. Ash's Pokéspeech gift was very useful and an indispensable asset. She felt an idle pang of envy at it.

Smeargle sighed, knowing that the warnings were of no use when her new friend couldn't understand what she was trying to convey. "Stupid humans and their language barrier," she mumbled in desperation, not that Bianca would understand her.

"Get away from our water!" a voice screeched, and Smeargle yelped in fear. Bianca turned when she heard an angry chirp, and squeaked and barely managed to leap to the side in time to dodge a blue blur that had been gliding towards her.

"What was that!?" Bianca asked, rather frightened by the sudden attack.

Smeargle shivered. "Those would be the local bullies, a dammed flock of stupid Taillow," she answered sadly, her tone clearly expressing how much she hated them. She tugged on Bianca's leg again, wanting to get the human to safety. This time, Bianca didn't ask anything and followed the Smeargle without any objection, but before they could make it away from the creek, a pair of avian Pokémon blocked their path. Behind them, another two of the birds blocked their access to the creek.

"This is our water and only ours!" one of the birds shrieked. Bianca blinked, only hearing angry chirps and having no idea what it was saying to her.

"Uh," Bianca stuttered uneasily, having no idea what was going on. The birds were small Pokémon with dark blue feathers on their tails, upper body, and upper wings as well as their heads. They had red patches of feathers on their lower neck and their faces, going up to the forehead with a small triangular tip. The birds' chests were mostly white as well as the underside of their wings, which had elongated tips for superior speed and maneuverability. Their tail feathers were long and looked almost like a pointy blade, and their beaks were yellow, short and flat. Their black feet had yellow talons. She recognized them as Taillow.

Smeargle frowned as she backed up slightly. "Okay okay, we're leaving now," she spoke levelheadedly, trying to reason with them. "It's your water, we are leaving now."

"Not this time!" the other Taillow in front of them demanded. "You drank from our water, and we'll make you pay for it!" The Tiny Swallow Pokémon reared back and charged at Bianca, wings glowing slightly from a Wing Attack.

"Leave her alone!" Smeargle yelled at them, opening her mouth and firing a long beam made up of golden sparkling stars of energy as she used Swift. The super-accurate star-like projectiles smashed into the Taillow and the one behind it, interrupting its attack and making both of them back off slightly.

"Hey!" one of the other Taillow behind them yelled. The Painter Pokémon quickly turned around, her arms glowing white as a sphere of super-pressurized water formed between them. She hurled the bright blue glowing sphere of water at them. It smashed harshly into the Taillow that had spoken up, crashing him into a tree with a blast of water. The other Taillow chirped angrily and rushed at her, far too fast for the Painter Pokémon to charge up another attack. The Taillow used Peck, pecking away at her chest and making her let out a cry of pain, and then it pecked at her arm, drawing out blood as a moderately-sized wound was inflicted.

Smeargle growled and quickly spat a Swift attack right in the Taillow's face in retaliation for the injury she had sustained, causing it to shriek in pain and be flung backwards as the pretty, shining golden sparkly stars exploded in its face.

Bianca sighed in relief as she saw all four Pokémon fall back from the attacks, looking down at the Smeargle in admiration. "Thanks a lot. Are you okay?" she asked, concerned as she saw the wound on the chest and arm of the Normal-type. Smeargle nodded and cooed at the artist, she could take worse. The Pokémon's tail coiled around Bianca's exposed leg and tugged, once again beckoning her to leave the area. Bianca nodded and followed her new friend.

"We're not done yet!" one of the four Taillow yelled as all of them suddenly blocked their path. "We said we'd make you pay for trespassing into our territory, and that's what we're going to do!" All four reared back, preparing to attack them with a strong and simultaneous Peck Attack.

Bianca gulped as the birds prepared their strike. "Think you can repel all four of them?" she asked, clearly frightened. Smeargle blinked and quickly looked between her opponents. She could stop two of them, but not all four at the same time. The Pokémon knew she would lose quickly.

"Bianca!" an instantly recognizable voice yelled. She whirled around, deeply surprised at the intrusion. "Brock! What are you doing here!?" She asked, very shocked and forgetting for a second that she was about to be attacked by four Taillow.

Brock came out of the vegetation that was parallel to the creek, and quickly grabbed a Fast Ball. "Forretress, use Pin Missile!" He shouted as he hurled the Fast Ball forward.

With a bright flash of light, the Bug and Steel-type Pokémon was released from the Fast Ball. It gave a battle cry as the four stubs coming out of its shell began to glow. Forretress span around so fast on its axis that all physical details of it was lost in nothing but a silver spinning blur. The super-fast spinning continued for a second until suddenly, a series of long beams of energy were shot towards the four Taillow.

The four avian Pokémon cried out in pain as they were bombarded by the powerful beams of energy. Despite the Type-resistance to them, the attack was still painful, especially whenever one of the projectiles struck their frail wings.

Smeargle took the chance that the four were distracted and held in place by the newcomer's move to launch an attack of her own. Inhaling a deep breath, she quickly spat a spiraling stream of fire, enveloping the four Taillow in a tornado of flames, making their shrieks of pain become louder as they were scorched by the attack.

When her Fire Spin attack died down, four very singed and beaten-up Taillow flew away over the canopy as fast as their weakened wings could take them. Smeargle smiled softly, feeling very glad to have taught those bullies a lesson at last. She just hoped they didn't return with reinforcements, as those four were only a small part of a bigger flock.

Brock grinned as he approached Bianca. "Are you okay?" He asked her, feeling concerned for his friend.

"Yeah, I am," Bianca answered, sighing softly and glad that the danger was over.

Brock looked down at the Smeargle. "You've got a new Pokémon, it seems? Woah, I didn't take you to be the Pokémon trainer type," he commented in amusement, but then frowned when he noticed the Smeargle's arm and chest wounds.

Bianca shook her head. "Oh no, it's not my Pokémon, it's a wild Pokémon."

Smeargle glared at Bianca in annoyance and let out an angry bark. Bianca blushed. "Uh, you're a boy?" she asked. Smeargle responded with several sideways shakes of her head. Bianca's eyes lit up. "Oh, you're a girl." Smeargle nodded. "She used quite nice attacks, how did she learn them? She used a fire and water attack."

"Well, Smeargle are said to be able to learn pretty much any Pokémon attack there is," Brock answered, and then chuckled softly. "So, what are you doing here all alone? Where are Latias and Latios? I really didn't know you were the traveling type of person. I thought you had a fixed home with Lorenzo at Alto Mare."

"Well, when Ash visited Alto Mare before coming to Hoenn I decided I wanted to travel with him. That's what I'm doing here in Hoenn. As for why I'm alone, I came here to get some water," Bianca answered. "But I got kinda distracted drawing something, and then those Taillow got very angry at me for some reason. Smeargle helped me out, but we'd have been in big trouble if you hadn't arrived. Now, the real question, Brock, is what are you doing here? I thought you stopped traveling with Ash."

"I never really stopped traveling with Ash. You could say I went to do some errands," Brock said, his tone soft and relived to have found his friends again. "So you'll be our new traveling companion? That's nice," he said kindly, though, he wasn't entirely sure if Bianca could truly replace Misty in their traveling group, as the Cerulean City Gym Leader had been with them throughout their adventures in Kanto and Johto. At the very least, he was sure that Bianca would be a great friend.

"Yes, I will," Bianca answered. "I figured some traveling would be nice to expand my artistic talents beyond what there was available in Alto Mare, which was the main motivator to start traveling. Also, I wanted to be able to spend more time with Latias and Latios. What about you, Brock? The last time we met was back at the Silver Conference, and when I reunited with Ash at Alto Mare you weren't with him."

Before Brock could answer, Latios suddenly burst out through the bushes and trees. "Bianca! Are you okay?" he asked in concern as he looked at her. Smeargle yipped in fright and surprise at the Legendary's sudden appearance, but no one really noticed. She then eyed Latios with amazement and admiration.

Bianca giggled softly. "For someone so fast, you really have trouble showing up in time to save people. Really, Ash told me you were late saving him once from Fearow, and now you're late saving me from those Taillow."

Latios blushed in embarrassment. "I really need to practice that before something bad happens," he mumbled mentally. He turned to look at Brock, blinking in surprise. "Brock?"

"The one and only," Brock answered, smiling as he walked forward and petted the large blue eon dragon. "It's good to see you again, Latios."

Latios nodded, smiling and glad to see the dark-skinned, squinty-eyed trainer again. "Likewise," he responded telepathically.

Brock turned to Bianca. "To answer your question, like I said, no, I didn't stop traveling with Ash. You see, we parted ways in Kanto, but I only had to check up on the Pewter City Gym for a week or so. If all was in perfect order, I could return to traveling…which thankfully happened, so I'm here," he answered, and then smiled. "Ash would be lost without me."

Latios smiled and decided to inform Brock of their current dilemma. "You have no idea. The reason we're separated is because Ash forgot to stock up on provisions and we were improvising a bunch of fruit as today's meal."

Brock sweatdropped when he heard that. For some reason it was so… easy to believe. "So, Ash messed up on the first day of the first long route he was to travel on his own? Wow, that's really sad."

Latios nodded with a not very amused expression. "Yeah, which is why it's great to know you're back."

Bianca frowned. "I'm really hungry, let's get back to the group," she said, interrupting the two.

Brock nodded. "I'll cook something. Ash will love the idea, I've got a bunch of ideas of what to do with forest fruit," he said, making Bianca smile. He crouched down and examined the Smeargle. "Would you like to come too? There's food for you too, and those wounds could use some treating."

Smeargle frowned, pondering what to do for now. She looked at Bianca, then at Brock. She admitted she was hungry, and helping treat her wounds would be nice. Plus, if the bunch of bully Taillow returned, the Latios would beat them up. Smeargle nodded. "Yes, its fine," she said to them.

Brock nodded. "Well, lead the way, Bianca." Bianca began to walk back in the direction of the clearing. Brock, Latios and Smeargle followed her.

After a bit of walking, they reached the clearing. Ash was sitting, just watching Pikachu, Phanpy and Larvitar play around. Pidgeot was roosted underneath the shade of a tree, her eyes closed softly. Latias was talking with Ash while a large bunch of fruits and berries of many kinds was levitating behind her, held in her psychic grip.

Brock smiled as they entered the clearing. "Hello Ash!" He greeted loudly.

Ash immediately leaped up from his seat and whirled around, making the ex-Gym Leader chuckle slightly at his overreaction. "Brock!?" he yelled out in pure surprise.

"Yes, it's me!" Brock said, walking up to Ash and holding out his right hand.

Ash shook it in greeting while laughing softly. "It's so great to see you again!" the boy exclaimed with tremendous excitement. Ash noted that Brock had, just like him, gotten a new set of clothes. Brock now wore a dark brown jacket with an orange collar and a green undershirt. He also wore grey cargo pants and dark blue shoes. His backpack was blue as well, and it looked a bit larger than the last one he had.

Brock nodded, warmed up by Ash's happy demeanor. He missed having the bright and energetic boy around. "You too," he said. He turned to Latias and nodded at her as well. "Good to you see you again, Latias."

Latias smiled. "It's good to see you too, Brock," she said kindly.

Brock heard a chirp behind him. He turned around and his smile broadened when he saw who was greeting him. "Whoa! Pidgeot! Oh my, look how much you've grown!" He gushed admiringly, eyeing the avian that was now clearly taller than him. She definitely had grown a lot during her time alone. The Pokémon Breeder in the making smiled, excited. "You're a terrific girl now. It's great to see Ash finally got you back," Brock commented as he extended his hand, rubbing down Pidgeot's neck to her chest and then grabbing a hold of her wing. "Wow, you're really well built and strong. Did you train a lot?" He asked curiously, admiring the Bird Pokémon's clear strength. Pidgeot nodded once silently. "That explains it… just looking at you shows how powerful you are. You're impressive. It's great to see you again after over a year."

Pidgeot nodded, chirping softly a few times. Latias took the cue to relay her message to Brock. "She says you're welcome, and that she's glad to see you too," the dragoness translated.

"It's great to see that everyone's okay," Brock said, looking at Phanpy, Larvitar and Pikachu and petting each of them. They happily greeted him back. Brock smiled and set his backpack down, opening it and going through the items that were inside. After looking around it for a few minutes, he pulled out a cloth and a spray potion. "Well Ash, I heard you didn't bring any provisions with you," Brock said as he crouched down beside Smeargle and started cleaning her wounds with the cloth in preparation of applying the medicinal spray.

Ash winced. "Yeah, I didn't…" He said sadly, not wanting to hear another scolding about that.

"I thought you knew better and learned something from me from the two years we spent traveling together, Ash," Brock said, frowning. "Traveling as a trainer is a lot more than just battling and getting powerful Pokémon. It's also about knowing how to manage and grow as a person in all senses to successfully travel safely."

Ash looked down, ashamed. "I'll be more watchful next time," he mumbled.

Brock nodded. "You better. I'll help you through Hoenn, but try to learn how to fulfill all aspects of traveling. I'm a Gym Leader, I was lucky I'm free for another year. We might not be so lucky next time."

Ash nodded. "I'll appreciate your effort and try to learn, I promise," he said sincerely. "So, how was the Gym?"

"The Gym's fine. The Pokémon league was inspecting it and I had to help my replacement, my younger sibling Forrest. We managed to get accredited for another year as an official Kanto Gym. After that, I left all my Pokémon except my Forretress with Forrest so he could use them against challengers and provide the required challenge of a Kanto League Gym," Brock explained. "And everyone's been fine, which was nice to hear, so I'm free to travel and learn more about Pokémon breeding."

Ash nodded. "That's great, Brock!" he beamed cheerily at the great news his friend had. "So, we're back to a group of three traveling partners it seems," he said, looking at Brock and then at Bianca. Ash frowned. "How did you find us, Brock? Hoenn's pretty big and so are these woods."

Brock chuckled before responding to Ash's question. "Finding you wasn't that hard. I arrived at Little Root Town and then just headed to Professor Birch's lab and asked him about you. He told me you were with him just a couple of days ago and where you were headed. Then I went to Petalburg City and passed by the… destroyed… Gym, where they told me about you," he explained. "As for finding you in the woods, that was pretty easy as well." He took out a map and pointed at it, being careful not to interrupt his treatment of Smeargle's wounds. "There's only a couple of rivers in the woods, and I knew that if I followed them I'd run into you sooner or later because everyone needs water. True to that, I ran into Bianca by one of the rivers. Rivers are often used as guides or landmarks to find one's way, or as general camping spots."

Bianca nodded. "That was very smart. See Ash, he really sounds like a traveler with years of experience," the artistic girl teased, winking at Ash. The latter just winced.

"There, all done," Brock said, standing up and letting Smeargle examine her wounds. The Painter Pokémon sniffed at them and looked closely. They seemed fine and already they were starting to feel better. She nodded in appreciation at Brock's kindheartedness.

Ash crouched down so he was closer to the Normal-type. "Well, who's your new friend, Bianca?" He smiled down at the Smeargle. "Hello there."

Smeargle blinked. "Uh, hello?" she asked uncertainly, not sure how to address the stranger.

Bianca looked at the Painter Pokémon with a soft expression. "She's a nice Smeargle who I just met, she helped me when I was in trouble," she answered, and then she brightened up considerably. "Oh, right! Now I can talk to her!"

Latias glanced at her. "I'll translate anything you need Bianca," she offered kindly.

Brock hummed as he examined the pile of fruit and berries Latias and Latios had gathered, thinking out what kinds of stews or meals he could prepare with them. "Well, a very good question to ask is what she's doing here, Smeargle are mostly native to Johto. They are very rare outside of that region," he suggested.

Bianca nodded. "That's a good place to start. Care to tell us a bit about yourself?" she asked the Smeargle nicely. Smeargle shrugged and started letting out a long series of vocalizations of her name, coupled with a few yips and barks. The girl from Alto Mare frowned, remembering their language barrier problem. She was thankful Latias would translate that, but that didn't take away the jealousy she felt at Ash's gift of understanding Pokéspeech. "Let me guess Ash, you understood all of that?" she asked, just to check.

Ash grinned. "Yep," he answered.

"It's times like this I really envy your Pokémon talking ability," Bianca mused out loud, but in a good-natured way.

Latias giggled softly at their comments, and then proceeded to translate Smeargle's speech to Bianca and Brock. "She says that she was captured in Johto, and was taken to a Pokémon Academy called the Pokémon Trainer's School. It's located in the city that we're heading toward. After a long series of disobedient behavior because she didn't like being there, she was finally released into the wild a few weeks ago, right here in Petalburg woods," Latias translated.

"Oh, that explains why there's a rare Smeargle here in these woods," Brock commented, nodding slightly. Smeargle tilted her head, wondering when her speech had been translated, but she realized there were two Legendary Pokémon psychics with the group and figured they had something to do with it.

"And why were you so disobedient at the Academy?" Bianca asked. Smeargle let out another series of vocalizations of her name as she answered the question.

"She says that she was so misbehaved because she's a lover of art and peace and she doesn't really enjoy fighting. In the Pokémon Trainer's School, all she did was constantly put up with annoying human children who got on her nerves, and was always required to battle for young trainer's practices. She never had a chance to practice the art she loved, or at the very least be in peace, so that's why she was disobedient, she was miserable with the environment and wanted her caretakers to see that through her rebellious acts," Latias translated, frowning sadly for the Normal-type's story. It was rather gloomy.

Bianca sighed, saddened. "Aw, you poor little girl," she lamented. "So, your being an artist yourself is why my drawing interested you?" She asked with a kind smile. Smeargle nodded excitedly. Latias smiled. The two were getting along well, and her empathy only further confirmed it.

"Well, she can stay and eat with us," Ash said kindly. "She'll appreciate it."

Bianca giggled. "Brock already offered her food Ash, you're a little late."

Ash pouted. "Awww."

Brock shook his head in amusement. "Food will be ready in fifteen or so minutes, I'll make cocktails with what Latias and Latios brought from their gatherings and a small stew to go along with it. The cocktails will save me some of my food supplies."

Ash beamed. "That's great! I'm very hungry." He patted his stomach, eagerly awaiting the meal.

Pikachu's ear twitched as his very sensitive hearing caught a distant sound. "I hear something," he announced.

Smeargle's eyes widened, recognizing the sound as soon as she heard it. "Uh-oh…"

Pidgeot, who had returned to roosting in the shade of a tree after Brock greeted her, slowly opened her eyes and hummed. She knew that sound very well. "Flapping… and it's a large flock from the sound of it," she said, looking up. "And judging by the franticness of it, they are moving in aggressively."

Ash frowned. "A big flock? What about it?" he asked, slightly confused.

Bianca gulped, knowing that her earlier encounter with the four Taillow most likely had something to do with it. "Ash! I was attacked by four Taillow… maybe they…"

"Brought some friends over," Brock finished, not liking the sound of that. "And they might want to get payback for us beating them up."

Latios snorted, seeing a bunch of Taillow as a very meager threat. "They're small Taillow. I can beat a whole flock of them," he boasted confidently.

Pikachu slapped him slightly on the neck with his thunderbolt-shaped tail. "I could beat a flock faster. I'm an Electric-type."

Pidgeot stood up, slowly walking towards Smeargle, her talons clicking softly against the grass with every step she took. The large avian stopped a few feet away from the Painter Pokémon. Smeargle couldn't help but feel small and intimidated when she looked up at Pidgeot. The bully Taillow terrified her, and they clearly smaller than her, but the Flying-type in front of her was huge in comparison. Even so, something about the much larger Pidgeot made her… feel kind of safe. "Yes?" Smeargle asked uneasily, shaking a bit.

"Could you tell me a bit about this flock please? Flocks cover large territories. I should know, I was once a flock leader myself, and having resided in the woods for weeks, you're bound to have crossed paths with them more than once," Pidgeot said, keeping her voice kind and gentle, so as not to further frighten the Smeargle who clearly looked upset at the sound of the oncoming flapping.

Smeargle sighed. "There's a lot to tell about them," she started, her voice scared and sad. "They're the local forest bullies. Everyone in the forest hates them. They claim all the food and resources as theirs and brutally attack anyone who dares touch them. For example, the reason they attacked your human friend was because she drank some water from the creek nearby, which they consider theirs, and they get really angry when someone drinks from their river," she explained.

Pidgeot frowned at her explanation. "That's terrible."

Pikachu looked at Smeargle sadly. "There's bound to be lots of Pokémon in the forest, a lot more than Taillow. Why don't you fight back?" He asked.

Smeargle shook her head. "Most Pokémon of the forest are too terrified of them to do a thing, and most are either Grass or Bug types, with the occasional Normal-type. They are at too much of a disadvantage to fight a well organized flock of bullies," she answered, voice dark and low in sadness and disappointment. She looked at Pidgeot. "You said you were a flock leader. Did your flock act like that too?"

Pidgeot shook her head. "My flock was never anything like that. It was created after I exiled a flock that sounds pretty similar to the one here. Under my reign, I always made my flock keep a very friendly and tight bond with all the Viridian Forest Pokémon, because it is always useful to have many allies outside the flock," she answered, her tone gentle. "My flock was well loved across Viridian forest, and everyone always turned to us for help. I always taught my underlings to follow a moral compass like my own, and made sure everyone stuck to it."

"I'd love to have someone like you here," Smeargle commented, her early intimidation of Pidgeot disappearing completely. The Flying and Normal-type was very kind and friendly. "Sadly, we don't."

"I can say their leader is very short-sighted and certainly a terrible one for pushing for a behavior like that out of his flock," Pidgeot said, turning to look at the incoming mass of Flying Pokémon. "For their good and the good of everyone in the forest like you, I'll teach them a lesson they won't ever forget."

Smeargle frowned, alarmed at the giant bird's claim. "But there's dozens of them! You're…just one. You can't beat them all!"

Pikachu smiled. "Don't worry, Smeargle. She beat a flock leader before, and the entire enemy flock was too terrified of her to try to attack her, and over time she managed to keep beating that entire flock all by herself," he said, not doubting his friend's power in the least, especially not after seeing her mop the floor with Norman's Vigoroth and Slaking the day before.

Smeargle blinked, looking up at Pidgeot with surprise. The Flying and Normal-type winked at the Painter Pokémon. "Don't worry, I can handle myself. A bunch of Taillow bullies won't beat me anytime soon."

Latios smiled. "Pidgeot's powerful. And in case she needs help, we're here," he said, not very worried about having to fight, and feeling confident Pidgeot could handle the skirmish on her own. Smeargle sighed and nodded.

"Be careful Pidgeot," Ash told the great bird. She nodded back at him. "They're here…" the boy muttered, looking at the large amount of flying-types that had surrounded the group in seconds, but he didn't really feel intimidated. He knew Latias and Latios could beat them if needed, and on top of that, he had faith in his beloved Pidgeot. Ash looked at the flock surrounding then, recognizing only two different kinds of Pokémon. Small ones made up nearly all of the flock, with only a few, maybe six or seven, much bigger ones.

Ash took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the smaller birds. The little red machine beeped once, displaying on its screen Taillow's data and image. "Taillow, the Tiny Swallow Pokémon. Taillow has a fierce personality, never backing down, even against the most powerful opponents," the Pokédex said in a monotone voice. Ash raised an eyebrow and pointed it at the other, larger ones. "Swellow, the Swallow Pokémon. Swellow is very conscientious about the upkeep of its glossy wings. Once two Swellow are gathered, they diligently take care of cleaning each other's wings. If its two tail feathers are standing at attention, it is proof of good health. It soars elegantly in the sky."

"Huh, they don't look that big," Ash commented in surprise as he examined the flock surrounding his friends.

Latias shook her head. "Not really, Taillow are rather small. They are smaller than Pikachu, and Swellow aren't that big either. Remember Harrison's Swellow? He was barely Bayleef's size. Pidgeot, with her impressive size, is easily three times bigger than a Swellow, and a Taillow would be lucky to be as big as her head."

"How dare you intrude into my territory?!" a Taillow bellowed angrily, descending towards the group. "This is my forest!" he declared boldly. He glared down at them. "That food you are daring to consume is mine! Now give us all your food or else things will get ugly! Anyone who dares to take even the slightest bit from my forest will have to pay dearly for it!"

Pidgeot snorted softly, shaking her head in amusement. "Really? I presume you are the leader of this flock? I was expecting someone more… impressive." She walked forward, standing in front of the group and facing the Taillow so as to denote she was the one to do the talking. "Or at least evolved."

Taillow glared at her, admitting she did seem like a formidable opponent, based solely on her size. "I don't need a silly evolution to be powerful at all! I am this flock's leader because I am the strongest one, even stronger than our Swellow. And I can kick your tail feathers to prove it," he threatened with an angry tone. "How dare you attack four members of my flock and steal our resources… this forest is ours and that's final!"

Ash winced at the small Pokémon's display of arrogant and cocky behavior. "Wow, what an attitude," he commented.

Pikachu nodded with amusement. "If Pidgeot wasn't the one doing the confrontation I'd love to shock the living daylights out of them with one powerful strike." Latios nodded in approval.

Pidgeot frowned. "Really? Drinking from a river is stealing your resources? You act like a human and a Smeargle drinking will dry an entire river. Or a small group like mine being able to consume all the trees that you claim belong to your flock. Really, your argument is stupid," she said sharply, eyes narrowing at the lead Taillow, denoting she was not the slightest bit intimidated.

Taillow squawked angrily in response. "This is my land and that's final! What you think doesn't matter at all to me," he said stubbornly. "All the Pokémon in the forest are our toys and slaves for all we care. The food and water belongs to us only. And if they don't like that, then they can leave."

Pidgeot sighed sadly. His attitude sounded bad from what Smeargle had described, but, he was much, much more of a jerk than she had expected. "You're a pathetic brat for a Leader. The way you conduct your flock is terribly thought out and executed. You should reconsider your mannerisms."

"What? How dare you insult me!?" Taillow shrieked angrily, further revealing his overinflated ego. "You are just a stupid solitary Flying Pokémon that plays with dumb humans! You have no idea how a flock is ruled, so you are no one to come and say that the way I run my flock is inadequate!"

Pidgeot chuckled softly, shaking her head in amusement. "A brat like you is always good for a laugh. But for your information, I was a flock leader for over a year, and raised said flock from being one of the smallest and weakest in the forest to being the biggest and strongest. I left when my assistance was no longer needed. So yes, I am capable of coming and telling you to your face that you are a terrible flock leader."

Taillow growled at Pidgeot as his anger continued to accumulate. "How dare you…" He said in a low tone of voice. "You are thinning my patience badly, so I really suggest you shut up this instant!" he threatened while keeping his glare on the much larger Pokémon that was still calmly standing on the ground.

Pidgeot snorted at the not very impressive threat. "Then come and shut me up if you're so brave," she challenged him, voice clearly defiant.

"Oh, I certainly intend to," Taillow sneered. He raised his head towards Smeargle, glaring at her. Smeargle yelped fearfully and hid behind Bianca. "She and your friend are going to have it badly for attacking four members of my flock."

Pidgeot spread her wings slightly. "Oh, really? Have it for what, drinking from 'your' river? What's wrong with that? It's not like it's going to dry up or they are going to drink all the water."

"It's my damned river! That's why! They are not allowed to even get near it! Not my flock's river, nor my flock's berries! Understand!?" Taillow shrieked stubbornly.

Pidgeot shook her head once, closing her eyes for a second. "You are the worst flock leader I've ever seen in my life. You are a self-centered, stubborn, ego-stuffed, shortsighted, whiny brat that has a very stupid mindset about the forest," she said, voice firm as she opened her eyes to glance back at the Taillow and Swellow flock. "You seem like a teen, not an adult. I do wonder how you made it to flock leader, but your inexperience and lack of leadership is evident."

"I am the flock leader because I am the strongest one here! And that's even over the Swellow!" Taillow answered angrily, flapping his tiny wings harshly.

"There is a lot more to being a leader than power," Pidgeot said coolly. "Thinking about fighting and power will only lead your flock to their doom. Just looking at the unconfident and afraid way the rest of your flock holds itself speaks of the tension around you."

Taillow squeaked angrily. "You dare to question the integrity of my flock!? You shut up! I don't care who you think you are, but I'm here to teach you a lesson for drinking my water, taking my berries and fruits, and daring to attack my flock!"

"You are the same as a Fearow whose flock was a bitter rival of mine. Want to know what happened to him for his selfish attitude? His flock kicked him out after I handed all of them enough defeats," Pidgeot said causally, her wings fluttering coolly at her sides. "Really, you are messing with the wrong Pidgeot, and behind me, with the wrong group. If there is one thing I know how to do well, it's how to handle egocentric brats like you alongside their entire flocks."

"We'll see about that!" Taillow screeched angrily. He turned towards a group of roughly ten Pokémon within his flock, being several Taillow and a couple of Swellow. "Attack her!" He ordered.

Pidgeot shook her head in dismay. "Attacking me is a bad idea," she warned. The Flying-types squeaked and screeched in return and flapped their wings, charging up several attacks. Some used Peck, others used Wing Attack, and the Swellow used Aerial Ace. All charged towards the lone Pidgeot, who was still standing on the grassy ground. Pidgeot didn't look very alarmed by the birds ganging up on her, with a year's experience having to hold off Fearow's entire flock, and some future rivals, she knew how to defend herself against large numbers. At least ten avian Pokémon rushed towards Pidgeot from different angles at their leader's command.

"Pidgeot! Watch out!" Ash cried out. Latias and Latios were debating over intervening or not, but Pidgeot's confident stance was confusing the two siblings. She didn't seem alarmed at all, so they decided to stay put and let her handle it unless it was evident she needed assistance.

Pidgeot looked at the incoming attackers with her sharp eyes and extended her wings as an orb of yellow energy appeared above her. Powerful streaks of golden energy encased her body, followed by a huge sphere of lavender-colored energy as she used Giga Impact.

The Taillow and Swellow squawked at the sudden counterattack, but with the speed that they were rushing at her at, they were unable to stop in time. They smashed into Pidgeot, making her sphere of energy vibrate and tremble with each powerful impact, but she didn't seem bothered. On the other hand, her adversaries screeched in pain as they all took massive amounts of damage from colliding against a gigantic Giga Impact. Pidgeot narrowed her eyes, spread her wings wider, and then gave a mighty flap with both her wings. The energy she had gathered all around her detonated outwards in a huge blast of gold and purple vibrant energy. The Taillow and Swellow screeched as they were blasted away, crashing into the grass a dozen feet away from Pidgeot or into trees, making the leaves rustle.

"Ouch," Smeargle commented, wincing at the beating that part of the flock took in a single attack. Her admiration for Pidgeot rose sky high, as did her hope that the bullies would finally get the beating they deserved.

"Whoa," Ash commented, impressed. "That was a good use for Giga Impact!"

Latios nodded. "She must have learned how to do that in order to protect herself from attacks and numbers. I wouldn't put it past that coward Fearow to order his flock to attack her while he hid in the background," he said, gauging Pidgeot's technique. She really was very powerful.

Brock hummed, clearly amazed by Pidgeot's strength. "Indeed. It seems she's grown a lot during the year she was on her own."

Pidgeot looked up at the leader Taillow, who didn't seem happy at the fact that his multiple attack on her had failed so badly. "I warned you, trying to attack me like that is a bad idea. A flock as poorly managed and raised like yours is pitiful. You don't have the sight of a leader, and soon, the evidence of that will come at you like a flash of lightning. "

"Bite me!" Taillow spat back, irritated at the older Flying and Normal-type. Knowing the downside of using Giga Impact, the few moments of immobility that came from using and releasing so much energy at once, he charged at her, streaks of wind surrounding him as he flew towards Pidgeot rapidly with an Aerial Ace. Pidgeot narrowed her eyes and made no attempt to dodge.

Taillow rammed into her chest harshly, making Pidgeot let out a small grunt, but outside of that she didn't seem to take much damage; in fact, she didn't even budge in the slightest. Taillow gasped at Pidgeot's lack of response towards his attack and glared up at her. Pidgeot, now regaining her power after using Giga Impact, looked down at the Taillow as one of her wings began generating a bright white glow. Taillow, knowing what was going to happen, righted himself and immediately flapped his wings to try and get away, but he was too slow. Pidgeot didn't have any second thoughts on her mind as she effortlessly smashed a powerful Steel Wing into him. The Tiny Swallow Pokémon screeched in pain and crashed into a tree, denting the bark badly. "I think you all lost already," Pidgeot commented, but she was taken back slightly when she saw all the Taillow and Swellow she bad blasted away begin to regain their footing. Even the leader Taillow was scrambling back on his talons, despite the fact that he was beaten with a wing made of pure steel.

"You're so damn cocky, you overgrown Pidgey," Taillow rasped out angrily as his spite for his opponent continued to rise. "Let's see if you can back your taunts in a one on one fight against me, the strongest Taillow there is!"

Pidgeot shrugged. "If you desire," she said simply, flapping her wings as she began to take flight to face her challenger in the air.

Latias frowned. "They're gonna battle now? It's obvious Pidgeot is a lot stronger and bigger than the Taillow, can't he just admit it and get it over with?" she wondered, clearly exasperated.

"Well, Latias, the Pokédex did say Taillow never backed down from fights, no matter how strong and powerful the opponent is," Ash replied. "And I guess it was right."

Bianca shrugged, petting the Smeargle she had befriended. "Let them fight, I just want lunch to be ready," she said idly, making everyone sweatdrop.

Ash nodded in agreement. "I say yes to that logic, how much time is left, Brock?" he asked.

Brock hummed, moving over to the pot where his stew was, which he somehow had set up without anyone noticing. "I still have to finish cutting all the fruit for the cocktails, so, it'll still take ten or so more minutes."

Smeargle nodded. "Great, enough time for Pidgeot to teach that Taillow a lesson!" she said eagerly, looking at the aerial battle with interest, and clearly hoping the Taillow lost.

Pikachu blinked. "You're rather eager."

"Of course I am!" Smeargle said excitedly. "That guy and his flock have been a pain in the tail to everyone in the forest, I'm really eager to see them finally getting their tail feathers handed to them."

Taillow squeaked angrily upon hearing the Painter Pokémon's statement. "Shut up you pathetic Smeargle! Once I'm done with the Pidgeot, you're next!"

Pidgeot sighed in exasperation. "That's if you're ever done with me, which I seriously doubt," she said calmly, not a single hint of agitation or nervousness in her mind regarding the upcoming showdown.

"You're really pissing me off," Taillow said angrily. "I'll make you pay for it!" He flapped his wings and lunged at Pidgeot at an extremely fast speed.

Pidgeot flapped her own wings, but Taillow was clearly faster in close range. His wings glowed white as he passed by her with a Wing Attack, hitting the side of her chest with a swift pass. Pidgeot merely grunted from the received strike and looked on as Taillow flew away. 'He's smaller and probably has greater maneuverability and acceleration in a small space than I do,' Pidgeot analyzed, eyes locked on her opponent as the Tiny Swallow Pokémon turned around and headed at her again. 'But I have greater strength, endurance, experience and power, and on longer distances I'd be faster too,' she summarized. It wasn't really a hard fight, definitely not as hard as the one against Norman's Slaking.

"Take this!" Taillow bellowed angrily as white streaks of light began to form around him before he promptly charged at her with Aerial Ace. Pidgeot's keen eyesight kept track of every movement of the speedy Taillow. Once she noticed his attack pattern and realized he was once again going to try a swift pass, she played her hand. With a quick flap of her wings she aligned herself right in Taillow's path, her beak beginning to emanate a white glow and growing in size as she prepared a Peck attack.

Taillow frowned, rather perplexed by his opponent's movement. Instead of trying to dodge or move away Pidgeot had moved right into his attack, and at this range, he was unable to alter his course either. Taillow crashed right into Pidgeot's chest at full force. Pidgeot winced and was pushed back several feet along the attack. Unlike when she was hit when she was on the ground, she didn't have an effective brace to keep from being pushed back. Pidgeot's wings spread wide, stopping the backwards push and thus ending Taillow's momentum and also leaving him right open for her attack.

Pidgeot lowered her head and used the Peck attack she had prepared before Taillow hit her, smashing her powered up beak into his back several times in rapid succession. As he screeched in pain from the blows, she made two powerful stabs at his wings, causing him to start plummeting towards the ground as his wings were temporarily disabled from the pain. She took aim at the descending Taillow and then flapped her wings mightily, sending a pair of Air Slash wind blades towards the rapidly descending Taillow. They smashed on his back and increased the force he crashed into the dirt dramatically, throwing up a large dust cloud at the ruthless impact. "I'd be very surprised if he survives that," Pidgeot muttered lowly to herself. A couple of the Taillow and Swellow glared at her angrily and squawked insults at her; she merely glared back at them and they instantly fell silent in fear.

"Well, he did show he's pretty feisty," Latios commented, shrugging and thinking that the Taillow had already been defeated. "Just get it over with, Pidgeot, the meal's gonna be ready any moment now."

Pidgeot nodded, gazing at Latios out of the corner of her eye. "Will do, Latios."

"Ugh, you're gonna pay for that!" Taillow screeched as he slowly stood up, shaking his aching wings to brush the dirt off.

Pidgeot blinked once in surprise, as did the Eon twins and Pikachu. "Okay, you have good resistance, I'll give you that." She spread her wings and then began to flap them very forcefully, sending a series of Air Slash blades towards the smaller avian. Taillow yelped and flapped his wings immediately to dodge the attacks, successfully raising himself and gaining enough altitude, but Pidgeot kept up her powerful attacks, forcing him to dodge each of her dual attacks.

Taillow quickly skimmed between the Bird Pokémon's attacks, his small size and high maneuverability being of great help in evading the powerful Air Slashes. Taillow quickly followed up with an Aerial Ace. Pidgeot narrowed her eyes, noting his trajectory. 'He's heading for my wings,' she thought. It was a very smart strategy, as she knew that if he managed to hit a wing solidly in the right place he could cripple her.

Unbeknownst to Taillow, she was well prepared for a situation like that. Her wings began to glow as she utilized Steel Wing, hardening both of them to metallic properties. Taillow gasped at the sight; he certainly wasn't expecting that to happen. A very loud crash echoed as Taillow flew smack-dab into her wings, followed with a loud cry of pain. Pidgeot shook her head slowly, and then raised both wings high above her head. Without any second thoughts, she slammed them down onto Taillow, hard.

"Aaaaahhhhhhhh!" Taillow screamed in pain as Pidgeot's double hit with her Steel Wing sent him plummeting towards the ground yet again. This time, he smashed into a tree, painfully crashing through the branches as he made his way downwards. He emerged from the tree's leafy top and crashed painfully into the ground.

The rest of Taillow's flock looked on in shock, not believing how powerful this Pidgeot was and how their leader was losing so terribly, despite his best efforts. Some wanted to help, but they knew that'd only anger Taillow as he had requested a one-on-one battle. And really, if she was beating the strongest of them and had easily deflected a group attack, none of them were particularly eager to get painfully beaten up by her.

Pidgeot looked down towards the unmoving Taillow near the tree bark. "This is ove-" She gawked when she saw him move and begin to stand up again. 'Oh, are you serious!?' she thought in annoyance.

Taillow slowly struggled to get up, pure willpower and stubbornness keeping him up at this point. He absolutely refused to give up and let the win go to Pidgeot. 'I will not be defeated!' he thought determinedly, especially not right in front of all his flock. He panted heavily as he raised himself, his entire body aching as if every bone in his body was annihilated. He could taste the blood in his beak already from the terrible blows from Pidgeot's Steel Wing. Giving off a low growl, he spat the blood on the grass. "You will pay for this!" he shot back angrily, turning around and glaring at Pidgeot as he brought up a wing to wipe the blood on his beak away.

Pidgeot closed her eyes for a couple seconds thoughtfully, and then opened them, looking down at Taillow with a soft expression. "I really suggest you give up, this battle is fairly pointless. I am clearly way out of your league, and while I admit your determination to keep fighting has surprised me, stop it. Stop it before I injure you badly," she said levelheadedly. "I have no desire to hurt you."

Taillow shook his head stubbornly. "Never!" he yelled as he flapped his wings, taking to the sky once more and preparing to continue the pointless fight.

"Pidgeot should end this somehow, if this continues she'll badly injure the Taillow," Brock advised with a frown. "It's like he won't call it quits until she kills him or something."

Latias sighed. "His determination is admirable, at least," she said. Smeargle snorted at all the other's comments, silently hoping the battle would drag on a lot longer and Pidgeot would really kick the Taillow's tail feathers badly. She also didn't mind if there was more blood than just a trickle on his beak.

"Eh, when's lunch ready?" Latios asked, turning towards Brock. Everyone else sweatdropped collectively at the Eon dragon's lack of interest towards the Taillow's condition after the most recent attacks he took or the outcome of the battle.

"That's something I'd expect Ash to say, not you," Pikachu commented. Latios shrugged.

Pidgeot pondered slowly what to do. She didn't want to badly hurt Taillow any further as she just wanted to teach him a good lesson as to how to be a good flock leader, but at the same time, it was clear the Taillow wouldn't leave peacefully. She hummed as an idea crossed her mind on how to end the battle as soon as possible. With Taillow's raw determination playing a factor in the battle, this could easily continue until she killed him. "You really are stubborn," she commented. "I do admit you are strong, and your resistance and determination are worthy."

Taillow cawed angrily. "You'll be admitting a lot more than that when I ram your beak into the ground bitch!" he snarled as he charged at her, wings glowing white with a Wing Attack.

Pidgeot flapped her wings and took off towards the air quickly, easily outpacing and evading Taillow's Wing Attack. "Huh!?" He questioned in shock, looking around as Pidgeot's speed made him lose sight of her.

Pidgeot dive bombed towards Taillow, using an Aerial Ace to increase her speed dramatically. She narrowed her eyes, knowing she had him.

Taillow gasped as he heard Pidgeot's attack coming from above. He looked up, eyes widening as he saw Pidgeot coming right at him like a speedy predator locked onto its prey. She was coming in too fast for him to react accordingly. He instantly knew he couldn't dodge out of this one. "Oh crap…" he muttered, dreading the hit that would surely come and possibly end his life.

'Got you,' Pidgeot thought to herself, feeling very pleased that the battle was over. Instead of charging beak-first at him, she up righted herself just before she hit him so her feet were the ones to first make contact on him. With deadly precision, she closed her talons around the Tiny Swallow Pokémon. Taillow gasped as he saw the ground nearing quickly, and with Pidgeot's weight on top of him, he knew that this would be a very painful crash. He closed his eyes and braced for the inevitable. Pidgeot, however, didn't have any intention of further harming him. She spread her wings, slowing her descent until she landed with an almost gentle thud on the ground. Pidgeot adjusted her feet to get a better grip, keeping Taillow firmly pinned to the ground under her, while making sure to press him down in a way that'd limit his movement.

Taillow growled and struggled as hard as he could to free himself, but the grip of Pidgeot's feet and her body weight keeping him pinned to the ground made it impossible to escape. "Ugh… Ugngnhhg…" he moaned, as all the battle's hits took their toll on his pained body. "Get off me, bitch! Let me go!" he cursed madly, struggling harder.

Pidgeot merely tilted her head and tightened the grip her feet had on him, making her talons press to his skin hard, not enough to puncture, but enough to make their presence there clearly known to the Taillow. One of the talons was dangerously close to his neck, and the other painfully aimed at one of his precious wings. "I'm in control here, so I strongly suggest you shut up and listen to me carefully."

"Screw you, bitch!" Taillow said stubbornly. Pidgeot tightened her grip even more, and the Tiny Swallow Pokémon could feel her claws starting to tear his skin at his neck, wings, and chest. Taillow screamed. "Alright! Alright! Sheesh! You crazy female!" he finally cried out in fear. Pidgeot nodded, easing up slightly on the pressure of her foot and her talons on his neck and wings. Taillow sighed in relief, but was still very uncomfortable pinned under Pidgeot's feet and weight. "Let me up now?" he asked, trying to see if she fell for his next dirty trick up his wing.

Pidgeot snorted at his deplorable attempt to trick her. "So you can try to fight me more? Nope. Listen, the battle is pointless, it's clear you're not going to beat me, and now I'm going to teach you a few lessons and you are going to listen." Her razor-sharp talon grazed his wing. "Or you can say goodbye to your flying days." Taillow paled and nodded rapidly. No stupid argument was worth his beloved wings.

The rest of his flock watched rather nervously, whispering among each other, but none had the guts to stand up to Pidgeot. "Fine, what do you want?" Taillow grunted, ceasing his futile struggles against Pidgeot's talons.

"I already made my point clear when we talked before our little battle," Pidgeot began. "It was very stupid and short-sighted on your part to behave towards everyone else like you have. Really, you get angry at someone just because they drank from the river in your territory?"

"It's my river!" Taillow protested angrily.

"Yes, but it's not like it will dry up just becomes someone drinks from it," Pidgeot said levelheadedly, gazing down at the Tiny Swallow Pokémon. "For your own good, I strongly recommend you adopt a nicer attitude towards your flock and the forest Pokémon. You don't need to be a cocky jerk to be a leader or prove your strength."

Taillow snorted, not caring at all. "Why shouldn't I? I don't see any reason not to."

"I was a flock leader for over a year, and I've seen a leader like you before. Arrogant, short-sighted, hateful, a huge stuffed ego… in the end, his flock expelled him because they got fed up with his stupidity," Pidgeot said, causing Taillow to gulp and look up at his flock nervously. "And believe it or not, getting along with the forest Pokémon can be extremely useful."

Taillow frowned. "I don't see how…"

"If a danger or catastrophe strikes your flock, or perhaps unexpected competition flies in to settle on your territory, which can easily happen, you'll be alone. All the forest Pokémon will be against you and will only make that difficulty worse because chances are, they'll align themselves with the invaders or band up to make your problems worse," Pidgeot explained, her voice taking a gentler and kinder tone, genuinely wanting to help the Taillow. "Befriending the other Pokémon can keep something like that from happening."

Taillow winced. His flock was relatively young and recently made, easily noticeable in the fact that most of its members were still Taillow, and there were so few Swellow. Taillow also knew that he was rather new to being a Leader and had never thought about that. "Uh…"

"When something bad happens to your flock, all the Pokémon you bully today will join up to make your situation go from bad to worse. They'll take advantage of it to hurt you," Pidgeot advised wisely. "That's why, if you are kind and nice to them instead, when something bad happens, they will help you instead."

"I… never really saw it that way…" Taillow mumbled. While he liked being the boss, he didn't want that to last so shortly, and even through his mindset, he could see the reason in Pidgeot's words.

Pidgeot nodded. "That is part of the reason why I'm helping you to become a better leader, for your own good and your flock's benefit, and also for the good of the forest Pokémon like Smeargle. Share your food, water and land. Really, it won't dent your resources that much, and the benefit you'd gain is massive. You'd get potential friends and allies to help you in times where you need assistance. I know very well, I was able to raise a small flock to the forest's biggest in less than a year."

"What's a situation in which you being 'nice' to all the forest Pokémon helped you?" Taillow asked curiously, feeling genuinely interested in Pidgeot's knowledge. He hadn't exactly thought about things like that.

"As the flock leader, I always taught my underlings to be nice to all local Pokémon regardless of who they are, to let them be in our territory and to give them protection. It paid off very well when a member of my flock had gotten ill with a strange infection and it quickly spread to at least a quarter of my flock. I was scared so I did the only thing I knew could be done, I asked the local Grass, Poison and Bug-type Pokémon for their aid, to help me make a cure out of natural plants and spores readily available to them. Since I had always been kind to them in every possible instance, they helped me, and within a day, I had a cure ready to heal my ill flock, and soon everyone was restored to full health," Pidgeot said, her voice filled with nostalgia as she remembered the old times with her flock. She missed them all. "If I had been like you, instead of being helped, the local Pokémon would have let my flock die from the sickness, or they'd take advantage of the situation and attack us while we were ill and weak to finish us off."

Taillow looked down, pondering what Pidgeot had said. "Oh…" As much as his regular egocentric nature hated to admit it, she was right. He couldn't think of a single argument to use against her, nor could he think of a way to justify his actions to her comparisons.

Pidgeot nodded. "The price to pay is little, really. It's not like a couple dozen Pokémon drinking from 'your river' will make it dry up or something. And the possible benefits you can gain are really high. That would also increase the unity and create a friendlier atmosphere within your flock, which would make them support you as their leader a lot more," Pidgeot continued. "And really, what you did right now, coming to attack my group out of a stupid motive, was also pretty dangerous. I'm not even the strongest one here. We could all very easily beat your entire flock and not lose sleep over it. So, you should not let anger or your overinflated ego decide your actions; it'll only prove hazardous for you. If my group was meaner, we could easily wipe you all out."

Taillow sighed, heavily pondering everything that Pidgeot said. He couldn't deny her since the experience and instincts of a leader were clearly evident inside her voice and she certainly knew what she was doing and saying. He couldn't simply deny it, she was right, and he knew it. "You're… right… I guess, I can't argue with it," Taillow admitted with a grimace. He just hated it when he had to swallow his ego and admit he was wrong.

Pidgeot chuckled and took a step back, letting Taillow free from her deadly talons. "I suggest you leave now. And keep in mind what I said. You should change for the better, you won't regret it. You are very strong and your determination to fight is very good. You have the strength to be a good flock leader, now you need to change your attitude to a more fitting one and you'll be good to go," she said kindly, nodding once. "If you'd like, one of my friends can treat your injuries."

"I'm fine," Taillow said, once again surprising Pidgeot by standing up on his own despite the beating she gave him. "I'll… think about what you said. Okay?" the very small avian muttered. He flapped his wings and reunited with his flock, his expression clearly thoughtful. "I guess we'll leave now."

Pidgeot nodded, satisfied that the confrontation had come to an end and that the Taillow had seen her point. "Very well."

Taillow hummed, thinking hard on something. He decided to give it a try as there was nothing to lose. He turned around, facing Pidgeot. "Hey, would you like to come with us?" He asked hopefully.

"What?" Pidgeot responded in surprise.

"Come with us! You're powerful, a great leader, and I gotta admit you're a gorgeous Pokémon. You'd be a great second leader for our flock. A flock is a better place for a flying-type than with a human trainer," Taillow offered, voice bright and hopeful. "You'll like it. And you can help us change and become better and more powerful."

"You're not one to judge what's better or worse for me, and in any case, I refuse your offer," Pidgeot said simply. "I'm not going with you."

Taillow sulked but remained optimistic. "But you'll like it! There's lots of food, water and a very nice place to live!" Taillow said, and then, to her surprise, he looked at Pidgeot lasciviously. "And I promise you that I'll keep your female needs very well satisfied. I can be very good at pleasuring a woman, right girls?" he said in a sly tone, turning to look at his flock. At least a dozen or so Taillow and a few Swellow, all of them clearly female, nodded in agreement, eagerly backing up their leader's statement. "See! They can vouch for my sexual skills. I promise you that you'll always be well pleased, whenever you desire. I promise it!"

Latios, Latias, Smeargle and Pikachu blushed at the comment, while Ash blinked, confused as to why they all blushed. "I still decline your offer," Pidgeot replied, her voice remaining rather neutral. "You are filled with traits I wouldn't want in a potential mate, so no."

Taillow sighed. "Well, at least I tried, but this was your loss!" he called out. "We'll leave now. Goodbye." Taillow turned and flew away, his mind heavily pondering all that Pidgeot that taught him. His flock followed him without looking back, and soon all the birds had disappeared into the tree tops.

Pidgeot scoffed and turned to look at her group, walking back towards them. "See? Problem solved," she said, looking down at Smeargle.

Smeargle nodded. "Thank you very much, you're very strong. I wish I had the power and motivation to stand up to them like that…"

Pidgeot looked at her kindly, wrapping a wing gently around her. Smeargle sighed in contentment at the comforting hug and the Bird Pokémon's warm feathers. "It's fine, everyone has their own traits. You dislike fighting and its okay. But in any case, I dealt with the problem already." Smeargle smiled at her, glad that the very large avian Pokémon was very comprehensive and nice.

"That was an amazing battle you had there, Pidgeot," Ash praised the bird, hugging her gently while running his hands down her back.

"Thank you, Ash," Pidgeot replied, tone tender as she hugged him back. "I told you I'd be fine." She paused. "So, where's lunch? I'm hungry."

Latias turned to look at Brock. "She says when's lunch ready?" she translated. Admittedly, she too was starving.

"Almost done," Brock answered, already serving the plates of the food for both humans and Pokémon.

Pikachu frowned with a rather uncomfortable look on his expression. "Uh… Pidgeot?" he asked awkwardly, looking down at the ground.

"Yes, Pikachu?" Pidgeot replied, turning her attention towards the Electric type.

"Taillow said he offered you good sex… and apparently all the females in his flock were his harem, so… is that how flocks work? Does that mean that you… uh," Pikachu blushed brightly as he tried to get the courage to finish his question. "You know, um…did it with all your flock's males?" the Electric Mouse Pokémon asked, feeling tongue-tied and flushed at what he had just asked his friend. Everyone turned to look at Pidgeot.

Pidgeot blinked once and then giggled. "Oh, Pikachu…" she muttered, amused. She gave him a teasing look. "I'll leave the answer entirely to your imagination." She turned and walked towards the bowls of food, leaving Pikachu to attend to his confusion and embarrassment on his own.

Latias and Latios looked at each other, also wondering what the answer was. They could read Pidgeot's mind to know, but they knew violating a friend's private thoughts like that was a very rude gesture, so they had to put up with the doubt as well. Ash looked confused at the question, not understanding it, but he figured it wasn't important and just went to his food, which was in fact important.

Bianca looked down at the Smeargle. "Now that the Taillow are taken care of, what will you do now?" She asked curiously. The Painter Pokémon turned towards her and let out a series of barks and vocalizations of her name.

"She says that she'll take up on our offer to eat with us, and then she'll leave to continue her life in the woods," Latios translated. "She says thanks for being nice and showing her your art." Bianca nodded and gave the Smeargle a gentle scratch behind the ears. Smeargle grinned slightly. She had to wonder if she really did want to go back to the forest.

Ash turned to look at Brock. "And us? It's already late noon, it'll darken in a few hours," he said, looking up towards the sky.

Brock hummed. "There's a Pokémon Center in the middle of the route. I think that after eating we should have enough time to reach it before nighttime sets in, so we can spend the night there," he suggested.

"Sounds like a plan. Now, let's eat!" Ash said eagerly, going straight towards his plate. The rest of the group chuckled and focused on each of their bowls and plates. They were all very glad to have Brock aboard the group now. The benefits he brought were undeniable in every possible way.

…

Meanwhile, in another part of the Petalburg Woods…

"This just isn't fair…" Jessie whined, walking in a terribly unmotivated posture along a dirt road running through the woods. She looked at the distant sun, already on its trip down towards the horizon as late noon began to set in.

James nodded lazily, his mood as bad as Jessie's. "We got beat again by those twerps, and that Slaking robot we got was supposed to be borderline unstoppable!" he complained in an irritated voice. He sighed pessimistically. "And we were almost blasted off to Rustboro City. Now we gotta walk back to the route's start to find the twerps again!" He grumbled.

Meowth moaned in aggravation, also as slung and beat down as the other two. "Well, you two know da sayin', 'crime pays little,'" he said, saddened.

"It's 'crime doesn't pay,' Meowth," James corrected, though he wasn't very eager to admit it. "And it's very fitting for us right now."

"Let's forget useless proverbs and start thinking about more important things, like how we capture the twerp's Pokémon." Jessie suggested, looking at James and Meowth out the corner of her eyes. "I'm open to suggestions."

"I give up on it," James said unenthusiastically. "Really, we were never able to beat them with just Pikachu, now with the dragons they're invincible…" he lamented sadly.

"And there's dat Pidgeot too…" Meowth muttered sadly. "She's tough."

Jessie sighed. "I can't argue at all…" She looked down towards the dirt. "Is this really worth it? We've been losing and losing to the twerps for years. I'm starting to wonder if we should just find something new to do…"

"No Jessie! We can't give up! Think of how excited the boss will be when we present him with Latios, Latias and Pikachu!" James said, trying to cheer his crestfallen friend up.

"What's the point…" Jessie muttered, her mood completely crashed down.

Meowth paused when a distinct sound reached his very sensitive ears. "Huh, what's dat?" he asked, looking around while trying to pinpoint the origin of the sound he was hearing.

James looked at him, though without any particular interest. "What's what Meowth?" he asked the talking Normal-type Pokémon.

"I hear something… it's like hissing," the feline Pokémon answered. "It sounds… scared, and pleading…" he frowned. "I wonder what it is."

Jessie smiled slightly. "Let's go and check, maybe it's an injured Pokémon we can capture easily, it'd make up for our lousy day," she suggested. "We really need a boost in our confidence after yesterday's defeat."

James nodded. "Let's go!" He agreed, and pushed Meowth forward. "Lead the way!" he said, his voice desperate for a glimmer of hope to shine down on their pretty much ruined careers as Pokémon thieves.

Meowth closed his eyes for a second, listening closely to try and get a more accurate reading on the sound's possible origin. After a couple of seconds, he grinned. "Found it!" He yelled once another hiss reached his ears, this time clear enough for him to locate it exactly. He sprang forward, away from the road and into the green and lush woods. The two humans followed him quickly.

"Hurry up Meowth!" Jessie yelled sharply, her voice more and more hopeful. "I can't wait to reach what'll make our day and finally give us something to send to the boss so he remembers we at least exist!"

Meowth turned his head briefly to look back at her, but he was still running. "Don't ya think I also wanna get dere!?" he shouted back in annoyance. When he turned his head to look back in front of him, he noticed something very important. He was a few steps away from a rather steep hill. "Aaaahhh!" Meowth screamed as he rolled down the hill, his momentum too great for him to stop.

Jessie winced slightly. "Ouch," she commented as she saw Meowth disappear past some bushes at the bottom of the hill. "I shouldn't have distracted him."

"Yeah, poor Meowth, that's gotta hurt," James agreed, nodding once. He pulled out a Pokéball and sent out his Weezing. "I need a lift, care to help me?" he asked, his voice caring and kind. Weezing nodded and levitated a little lower, letting James hug it and lift himself onto it. Weezing began to softly glide down the hill, his trainer firmly holding onto him.

Jessie took out a Pokéball of her own. "Arbok, come out!" She released the Poison-type Pokémon, who appeared before her in a bright flash of white dazzling light. "Care to help me go down the hill?" she asked kindly. Arbok nodded happily, nuzzling his trainer once, and then let her grab onto his hood. Jessie took hold of him and Arbok began to slither down the hill.

"Meowth! Meowth!" James called out as loud as he could as he and Weezing reached the bottom of the hill. "You okay?" he yelled loudly. "Where are you?"

"Ugh," Meowth's barely audible moan could be heard. "I'm here," he said shakily, stepping out of a few bushes, covered in cuts from landing in a rather thorny group of bushes. James stifled a laugh, but he was unable to, and began laughing at the cat's misery.

"Quit playing around, Meowth!" Jessie scolded once she too arrived at the bottom of the hill. "We've got Pokémon to steal!" she said harshly as she jumped off Arbok.

"I got busted on a buncha freakin' thorns and ya get angry at me!?" Meowth yelled exasperatedly, using his arms to indicate his cut-covered body. "I'm da one who located dis catch to start with!"

"Yeah, I get angry at you," Jessie said uninterestedly, brushing off the feline's angry comment like it was nothing. "Let's look around and see what we find," she said, walking towards the now very audible hissing. The other two followed her.

After a minute or two of walking, they came across a rather odd sight. "What the hell?" James muttered as the trio plus their other two Pokémon came across a very large rectangular object hidden between a pair of leafy trees and surrounded by a group of bushes. It was covered in a camouflaged tarp with additional leaves and twigs to hide it by blending it into the foliage. The hissing they were hearing was clearly coming from inside it.

Jessie frowned. "Okay, this is very odd," she commented as she reached forward and pulled the tarp off, exposing the thing it was hiding. The Team Rocket trio gasped in shock at the sight that greeted them. Under the camouflage tarp was a vehicle trailer with a huge cage in its back, and inside the cage were seven very badly beaten up Ekans. The Poison snake-like Pokémon were covered in burns, cuts and bruises, and all of them had terrified and hurt looks in their faces.

"A cage full of Ekans?!" Jessie cried in disbelief. "But how?"

James hummed. "Shocking, yes, but also it's very convenient, they're already in a cage!" he said excitedly, expecting this to be their easiest capture ever.

Meowth frowned sadly, feeling very bad for the Ekans inside the cage, their condition was simply terrible. "What happened to ya guys?" he asked, stepping closer to the Ekans trapped in the cage.

"Pleassse help usss!" One of the Ekans, a female, pleaded. "My nessst is nearby and it'sss unprotected, pleassse!" she hissed.

"Help usss out of here! I don't want to be captured!" Another Ekans pleaded with a very raspy and clearly pained voice, burns and cuts littering its body.

"Lisssten," another Ekans began, to answer the odd human-speaking Pokémon's question unlike the other two. "An evil human with really creepy Pokémon captured usss by forssse, he isss what humansss call a 'poacher' and he'sss very cruel… he wantsss to sssell usss or sssomething like that… We're all ssscared and terrified…" the Poison-type explained, clearly on the verge of tears from sheer terror.

"Get usss out of here! Pleassse!" Another of the Ekans pleaded. This one's voice was very young and he was openly crying.

"What are they saying, Meowth?" Jessie asked curiously. A pang of pain was tearing at her heart. She was also feeling rather saddened by the painful scene before her, Ekans was a Pokémon she could relate to very well.

"Dey're saying dat dey were captured by some evil poacher and dey're pleadin' with us to let 'em out," Meowth translated to the two humans. "Poor guys…"

Jessie frowned. "I came here with the intention to capture some Pokémon, but I don't know now, this really played against my feelings… I used to have an Ekans, and I love him," she said, reaching beside her and petting her beloved Arbok's head softly.

Arbok, who had tears in his eyes from the horrible scene before him, nodded slightly, pressing against Jessie's side. "Let'sss free them," he said, looking at Meowth, silently asking him to translate.

"Jessie, your Arbok says he wants dem freed," Meowth translated again.

Jessie nodded. "For once, I don't want to steal anything. Let's free them," she said. "We should hurry before the poacher shows up."

Meowth nodded. "Okay, where would this cage be opened from?" the cat-like Normal-type Pokémon wondered in a whispered voice, reaching with one of his paws towards the cage.

"No! Don't touch it!" an Ekans yelled, but it was too late. Meowth screamed in pain as a powerful electric shock ripped through him the second he touched the cage. The seven Ekans in the cage winced.

"Ouch," Weezing and Arbok muttered. They all knew from the twerp's Pikachu that electricity was painful, and they really weren't looking forward to being shocked.

"Dat hurt…" Meowth muttered in pain as he stumbled about, before falling on his back. "Ow…"

"Well, that was counterproductive," James muttered, crouching down and helping Meowth up. "You okay?"

"Do I look okay to ya!?" Meowth yelled, his body blackened and smoking and his fur standing on end from the electrical shock.

James frowned. "Let's spray it with Acid Jessie, that might melt it," he suggested, trying to be helpful.

"That's a great idea!" Jessie beamed. "Arbok, let's free your friends with Acid!" Arbok nodded eagerly, wanting to free his brethren as fast as possible. He opened his mouth and spat a large stream of poisonous acid, spraying the cage's dull grey metal bars with the sickly greenish grey liquid. To the Rocket trio's dismay, the metal didn't look affected in the slightest.

"Well, if the cage was made to store Poison-types, it's pretty smart if they made it acid proof," James commented, clearly dismayed. "Logical, I guess…"

Jessie sighed. "There's got to be way to open it," she said, looking at the cage. "Where did the cage open when the poacher put you all inside?" she asked the group of trapped Ekans.

One of the Ekans raised his tail and pointed at the side of the cage. "There," he said, not that Jessie could understand him.

"Looks like a lock," Jessie muttered while closely looking at the very small pad with a keyhole on the side of the cage. "And a really tough one, especially since it seems to be electrified too…" Arbok cried sadly and nuzzled Jessie, pleading her to help his pre-evolution brethren. She nodded. "We'll help Arbok, so don't worry, it's just not going to be easy."

James frowned. "How does he open it anyway? If it's electrified too, it would shock him seeing as keys are metallic," he wondered, confused.

"There must be a way to turn off the electricity then," Jessie said, examining the cage as a whole but not finding any clear way it could be opened.

James shook his head sadly. "Well, we can just try to destroy it by force," he commented, examining the lock closely. He took a few steps backwards and turned to look at his Poison-type. "Weezing, use Sludge Bomb on the lock!" he ordered.

"Okay!" Weezing said as he took a deep breath, preparing to launch the attack… and was suddenly tackled very harshly by a Fearow. "Aaahh!" Weezing cried in pain and smashed into James, causing both to topple over.

Jessie gasped, and then glared at the Fearow. "Hey, you stupid feather bag, what do you think you're doing!?" She yelled in anger. The Fearow cawed angrily at her, making her yelp back in fear.

"Someone's comin'!" Meowth yelled, pointing towards a rapidly approaching vehicle.

"Crap, the poacher's here," Jessie muttered, growling lowly. She had wanted to free the Ekans before she had to fight the one who captured them. The vehicle reached them quickly, its powerful engine roaring loudly and denoting it was modified to pull big loads. The large vehicle was very robust, a heavy-duty beige colored Jeep. Behind it were two cage trailers, just like the one holding the Ekans. Jessie and James gasped when they saw the contents of the two trailers. In the first one were at least eight or nine Koffing, which instantly made Weezing burst out crying. In the second cage was a variety of Poison-type Pokémon. There were a pair of Seviper, at least four Dustox, four Gulpin and also three Zubat. All of the Pokémon were in a terrible condition, just like the Ekans.

"That guy's gotta huge loada Pokémon!" Meowth cried out in shock.

The Jeep stopped abruptly a few meters from the Ekans-loaded cage trailer. The Jeep's driver side door swung open, and a man slowly stepped down. "Alright you stupid clowns, who the hell are you two to mess with my property!" he yelled in a rough and angry voice as he crossed his arms over his chest. He was very tall, dressed in black heavy boots, grey cargo pants and a dark red shirt with a thick vest with many pockets over it. He had forest green hair and a very harsh expression on his face.

James smirked. "Did you hear that Jessie? I think he should…" he began, hinting towards Jessie.

"Prepare for Trouble! Finders keepers, loser's weepers!" Jessie began, posing dramatically.

"We're Team Rocket so make it double, jeeper's creepers!" James continued, posing dramatically alongside Jessie.

Jessie changed her pose. "To protect the world from devastation!" she said.

James changed his pose to one vaguely similar to Jessie's. "To unite all people within our nation!" he said.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Jessie said, looking at the baffled poacher with a defiant stare.

"To extend our reach to the starts above!" James continued, looking at the poacher with the same stare as Jessie.

"Jessie," Jessie said, introducing herself.

"James," James said, introducing himself.

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!" Jessie bellowed mightily, or so she tried, it didn't come out particularly impressive.

"Surrender those Ekans, Koffing and all other Pokémon or prepare to fight!" James bellowed equally mightily, but his effeminate voice made it pathetic.

"And Meowth! Dat's very right!" Meowth ended, posing between the two Team rocket thieves.

The poacher blinked, looking at the three with a rather baffled expression as if he had just finished watching a poorly executed comedy stunt. "That was a pathetic waste of my time. Let's try this again. Who the hell do you think you three are!? And what the hell are you doing with my Pokémon!" He yelled angrily, more than ticked off by their silly antics.

Jessie sighed. "Weren't you paying attention to the motto!? It was all in there!" she said exasperatedly.

"We're Team Rocket! I'm James, she's Jessie. And we're going to be taking away those Ekans and Koffing!" James followed up. "And there's nothing you can do about it, you creep!"

"Yeah! That's right!" Meowth agreed. "And who are you anyway, dummy?"

The hunter sighed exasperatedly, already very annoyed with the trio. "Seems like we'll have to start from square one. I'm Hunter Rico, the Pokémon Poacher of Hoenn. And it is very stupid of you three to try and steal my property. You guys…" Rico looked at them with a sinister expression on his face while snarling. "Have no idea who you are dealing with."

"What are you doing with all those Pokémon!?" Jessie asked. She was obviously angered at their condition, especially that of the Ekans.

"Per my client's wishes, I am poaching as many Poison-types as I can find within a forty-eight hour period. I get a really nice bounty for each one, and as you can see from my three cages. I am already done," Rico said darkly, and then smirked as he turned to look at Arbok and Weezing. "Almost. You made a grave mistake waltzing in here and trying to poach from a poacher like me."

"We're thieves too you know!" James argued. "Who's going to turn down a great chance when someone else already did the dirty work?"

Rico nodded, he could see their point as he was a thief as well after all. "I know. I've heard of Team Rocket before. But I can tell you three are pretty lousy thieves," he said, shaking his head in an odd combination of annoyance and amusement at the two idiots. "Bunch of silly amateurs, you shouldn't mess with a professional like me."

"Who are you calling amateurs!?" Jessie shouted angrily in offence, shaking her fist at him.

Meowth frowned, examining themselves next to the poacher before them. "I do gotta admit, he caught three cages worth of Poison-types in two days and we've failed at gettin' a Pikachu in two years," he lamented sadly.

Rico laughed mockingly. "Pathetic. Well, as fellow thieves, I'll go easy on you three. Give me your Arbok and Weezing, and I'll let you three go without a scratch."

Jessie gasped. "What!?" she said in shock, not quite believing what she just heard.

"The nerve! Never!" James cried out in anger. "You said we're fellow thieves! Why steal from us now!?"

Rico snorted. "Simple, you tried to steal from me first. Normally I don't poach fellow criminals so had you three not tried to poach me I'd not be interested in your Poison-types. But since you three tried to steal from me first, its only natural I return the favor to teach you a lesson about meddling in the affairs of those who are in the big leagues," he explained, smirking sinisterly. "I'll also want the Meowth. While my client said only Poison-types, I can try selling him elsewhere. A talking Pokémon might be worth something on the black market."

Meowth gasped. "Never! Team Rocket has been everything for me, so I'm not coming with you!" he yelled, terrified at the idea.

"No!" Jessie yelled. "My Arbok was a birthday present and he's the most precious thing to me! You are not taking him away, you lousy criminal!" she said firmly. Arbok nodded and nuzzled his beloved trainer.

"I agree with her!" James said immediately. "My Weezing is my brother in all rights, he was a Christmas gift! And you are not taking him!"

Rico shook his head slowly. "Pitiable. I'm a Pokémon Hunter remember? I steal without giving a damn for the emotional attachments of the people I steal from. I only care about the money that goes into my bank account after a good day of poaching and lawbreaking," he spoke laconically and sadistically. "But since you three are obviously not going to hand them over peacefully, looks like I'll have to take them… the hard way." He grabbed a single Pokéball. "Go!" he ordered as he hurled the device through the air.

A bright flash of light followed as a medium-sized quadruped Pokémon was released. It was covered in white fur on all its body, with a fluffy ruff around its neck and chest, and a round tuft that cascaded down to the side of its head adorned with a blue oval on the center of the forehead. The Pokémon had a blue feline-like face with a very scary scythe growing on the side of its head, along with a sickle-like tail. Its legs were long and strong, with three blue claws sprouting from each round paw. The Pokémon blinked and looked at Team Rocket with a blank and emotionless expression.

James gasped. "I know those! That's an Absol!" he called out, shocked.

Jessie shivered at the emotionless and blank expression the Absol had. "Talk about a wicked kitty," she commented. "I prefer Meowth."

Rico chuckled. "Fearow," he said. The brown avian Pokémon flew down and landed beside the Absol, an angry and defiant expression on its face.

James blinked, looking between the empty and rather… unnerving expression of the Absol to the fierce and angry expression of the Fearow. At least he had an expression to gauge. "What's wrong with the Absol?" He asked, frightened as he'd never seen a Pokémon act so…dead.

Rico stared at him in disbelief. "Really? Really? Really!? You don't know? You two really are the worst criminals I've met in my entire career if you don't recognize a Slave Pokémon when you see it," he said, rather shocked.

"Slave Pokémon?" Jessie asked, confused. She admitted she's heard the term before somewhere, but she had forgotten what the concept of it was. As hard as she thought back, she couldn't quite remember what that was. Meowth gulped at the Absol's creepy expression.

"Guess I'll tell you just so you learn something new about the criminal world. At the same time that'll definitely help you two become better criminals," Rico said with a smirk. "It's only natural I tell you what kind of Pokémon will be the one to steal yours. Slave Pokémon are Pokémon specially and strictly trained from birth to only know two simple things … obey their masters and battle efficiently. Their minds are so underdeveloped by the rigorous training that they can't think outside of blind obedience; they don't know anything else! They are simply the perfect servants because no matter what you do, they obey you word by word because that's the only thing they know to do. Their minds are so tiny and stupid they can't think past that. Of course, only a handful of specialized crime syndicates and organizations can train them. I'm surprised, I'd think an organization like Team Rocket would have hundreds of them by now," Rico explained.

James gulped. "Talk about evil…" he muttered, rather unnerved. "Think we can beat it?" he asked, looking towards Jessie.

"For Arbok and Weezing, we can!" Jessie said defiantly.

Rico laughed at the fact that these three clowns were still trying to put up resistance against him. "Listen, I suggest you stop wasting my time and just give me your Pokémon before I hurt you. Slave Pokémon, apart from being trained to only obey their buyers, are also trained to be powerful battlers as they're loaded with lots of powerful moves and raised to the top of their physical and special power. This is further boosted by lots of performance and power enhancing illegal drugs of course," Rico said smugly, chuckling darkly.

"Just… just where did you get that monstrosity!?" Jessie shouted in fear, more unnerved by the second by Rico's description of his wicked Absol. Sure, she was a criminal and a thief but the boundaries that Rico was going into were just absolute evil. Her morals were questionable yes, but they'd never go that far.

"I bought him along with two other slaves from a crime syndicate here in Hoenn that specializes in creating, training and then selling Slave Pokémon. They are very expensive to buy due to how hard it is to raise them into perfect fighting machines. So, while I do think Team Rocket must have hundreds of these, I doubt lousy crooks like you three will have any," Rico said while shaking his head in amusement and chuckling. "Right Absol?" he asked. The Dark-type merely nodded with a blank expression on its face. At least the Fearow didn't look to be like one of those Pokémon as he clearly had a feisty attitude.

"I'm scared guys…" Meowth said, talking a couple steps back and hiding behind James' leg.

"You three should reconsider your careers as criminals if you don't understand Slave Pokémon, they are a basis for all real big name criminals, like me," Rico said, scowling at the Team Rocket trio. His Fearow squeaked angrily in agreement.

"If you said they were expensive, how could you buy them!?" Jessie shouted indignantly. "You're a loner!"

"Normally I'd not answer that, but, I guess I will just so you three dunderheads learn a bit on how to be real criminals like me. I scammed a trio of pathetic novice poachers back in Johto and bought a Tyranitar for a laughable price, and then I sold the Tyranitar here for a real profit. That damn bitch was too hard to control, so I decided not to keep her. And with the money I got from selling her, I used it to purchase three Slave Pokémon and lots of new equipment," Rico explained. "In the world of crime you need to be sharp and strong, and always be updated on the latest news if you want to be at the top of the food chain. I hope you three learned something new on how to be better criminals today from me, and put it to good use in the future." Rico smirked. "But it doesn't mean I'll let you go easy for trying to steal from my efforts. Give me your Arbok, Weezing and Meowth. Now," he ordered sharply, his patience obviously wearing thin.

"No!" Jessie shouted back, clearly pissed at the poacher's audacity to order her to surrender her dear Pokémon. "Arbok, use Acid!" she called out and thus beginning what she knew was gonna be one of the most important battles of her life. She did not want to think of the consequences of losing.

Rico shook his head slowly while looking down at the grass. "So feeble of you two to stand up to me like this. It'd be easier on both parties if you just did this the easy way, but I can play rough if you want me to. Absol, use Sucker Punch," he ordered firmly. The virtually mindless Pokémon immediately sprang to action without any objections. His body began glowing in a dark aura of vile energy, preparing to utilize the ultra-fast attack. Before Arbok could even hope to finish preparing to use his own move, Absol dashed towards him at speeds that were difficult to track with the naked eye, his agility greatly increased by the dark aura surrounding him thanks to the fast priority of the move Sucker Punch. Arbok watched in horror as the Absol seemed to cross the large gap of at least a dozen meters between them in less than a second. Completely shocked, the Cobra Pokémon tried speeding up his move but it was futile. He released a bellowing cry of pain as the Absol rammed into him, dark energies blasting at him harshly in a flash of darkness. Arbok was sent back several feet, clearly damaged badly from the first strike.

James gasped in alarm. The Absol had moved so fast he had barely been able to see the movement. "Weezing, quick, use Sludge Bomb!" he ordered hastily.

"Sucker Punch that Weezing into oblivion!" Rico ordered with confidence. Absol quickly jumped from Arbok to Weezing, smashing into the levitating Pokémon before he could even start up his Poison-type attack. Weezing screeched in pain at the sheer power behind the dark aura of the Disaster Pokémon's move.

"Arbok, use a Bite attack!" Jessie called out quickly, taking advantage of the fact that the Absol's back was facing her Arbok. Arbok slowly tried to get up, the energy of the Sucker Punch attack still painfully rippling around him. He growled and lunged at the Absol, determined to win this battle.

"Use Psycho Cut against both of them," was Rico's next order. The Absol's scythe began to glow in a pink shade of energy, which materialized into a blade of psychic energy that seemed to at least double the scythe in size, length, and sharpness. The Absol tossed his head to the side in one brutal motion, making a crescent blade of energy fling off of the scythe-like protrusion towards the incoming Arbok. The Poison-type screeched in pain as the energy scythe blasted into him, badly cutting his inner hood and sending him flying backwards into a tree. The Cobra Pokémon crashed into the tree bark with a cry of pain, blood spilling down his hood from the huge cut that now adorned it. He slipped down the trunk in a state of complete unconsciousness.

The Absol turned towards Weezing. "Oh no… Weezing, watch out!" James called out, but it was too late. The Absol lunged at the barely mobile Weezing, smashing his scythe into it and inflicting a painful cut on the larger of the two heads. The Weezing cried in pain as he rolled a couple meters along the grass, gas leaking from the cut in its side, eyes turning to swirls as it fell unconscious.

The Team Rocket duo watched in utter shock as the Absol defeated both of their Pokémon with terrifying ease. It almost reminded them of every time they fought the twerps. "No…" James whispered softly, utterly terrified.

"Fearow, collect Weezing. Absol, get Arbok and the Meowth," Rico ordered. The Absol nodded and went over to the fallen Arbok while Fearow headed for Weezing.

"We won't let you!" Jessie screamed, tears blurring her eyes as she realized what defeat meant. "You are not taking Arbok away!" she yelled as she stepped in the Absol's path.

Rico laughed. "I am. Consider it your punishment for trying to poach a poacher, fellow criminals. I'll teach you guys another very useful tip for being a good criminal. Don't just rely on Pokémon to get all the dirty work done; always have a plan B," he said as he walked to his jeep, reached inside, and pulled out something else. The Team Rocket duo froze in complete fear. In Rico's hands was a firearm. It was a long and rectangular rather oddly-shaped and very futuristic-looking automatic firearm. "I don't want to use this against you two, so step aside."

Absol looked at the Meowth, and realizing it'd be easier to get the smaller one first, he lunged at the feline. "Aaaahhhhh!" Meowth screamed in terror as the Absol landed in front of him. "Don't hurt me!" Meowth pleaded pathetically, shivering in horror and whimpering.

The Absol mindlessly proceeded with the order he was given. As Meowth turned to try and run away, the Absol raised a leg and brutally stomped on Meowth's back, making him fall on his face. The Absol pressed his paw against the smaller Pokémon's back harshly, the claws digging painfully and tearing at the Cat Pokémon's flesh.

"Meowth!" Jessie and James cried out at the same time. Both rushed towards him in a desperate attempt to aid him. A terrifyingly deafening loud bang echoed across the forest as Rico fired a single round from his machine gun. Thankfully, it was a warning shot and not a shot-to-kill. Jessie and James fell over on their backs as a very small ripple of dirt blasted upwards about a meter in front of them, signaling where the bullet had hit.

"Stay," Rico ordered mockingly as if they were a pair of Growlithe at their master's mercy. The Absol lowered his head and bit on Meowth's scruff, causing him to scream as the fangs dug into his neck painfully and make a drop of blood trickle down his back. The Disaster Pokémon easily raised the Meowth held in his fangs. The Dark-type walked towards Arbok, the talking Meowth held firmly in his mouth, and lowered his body under the hood of Arbok's upper neck, using it to drag the Cobra Pokémon back towards Rico, not really caring that the Arbok's deep gash was making some blood soak his fur with bright crimson. As Absol collected Arbok and Meowth, Fearow flew towards the unconscious Weezing and gripped the tube-like extension that united the two 'heads' with his talons. With a couple flaps of his great wings, he lifted the Poison Gas Pokémon and carried him over to the Pokémon Poacher.

"No!" Jessie screamed, tears in her eyes as she watched her beloved Arbok being taken away. "Arbok!"

"Nooo!" Jessie cried, tears running down his cheek as he watched his beloved Weezing being taken away as well. "Weezing!"

"Hey! Why does no one cry for me!?" Meowth complained, and then yelped in pain when the Absol tightened his bite, further hurting him as the teeth sank deeper into his flesh. "Ah! Don't eat me!" Meowth begged.

Both Jessie and James ran towards Rico, crying in a last attempt to get their treasured Pokémon back. Rico simply snorted at their display. "This is the most laughable display of desperation I've seen in a long time. And you call yourselves criminals?" he questioned while shaking his head at them. "Absol, deal with them. Use Night Slash," he simply commanded.

Absol opened his mouth and let Meowth fall back to the dirt, and then shook his body slightly to drop the unconscious Arbok on top of the Normal-type, trapping him under the Cobra Pokémon's weight. Absol turned towards the incoming Rocket duo and leaped at them, his scythe lengthening in size as a slick coat of dark energy covered it. Jessie gasped in fright, stopping in her tracks. James bravely threw himself in front of his partner just as the white-furred Pokémon began to strike. James cried out in pain as the Absol sliced him across his chest and sent him flying back towards the still frozen Jessie, making both of them tumble back and land heavily. "Aaaaaahhhh!" Both of them screamed out, but James' scream was clearly more audible as he had taken the brunt of the attack.

Rico smirked and walked towards them, almost feeling sorry for these clowns. He stopped just a couple of feet away from them, looming over them as he pointed his automatic firearm ominously at the two. "Now pay attention," Rico spat sharply. Both Team Rocket agents looked at him quietly as tears streamed down their cheeks. "You two are a pathetic example of criminals. I thought Team Rocket would field better agents... Anyway, consider this advice from a real professional criminal. Your Pokémon are weak, and look at you! You're crying like a pack of babies just because you're being mugged, really pathetic. You two are poor excuses of criminals. I bet you couldn't steal a single Pokémon from a trainer if you tried," Rico taunted as he kept the barrel of his machine gun trained on them. Both Jessie and James winced as that was particularly true.

"Give us Arbok and Weezing!" James pleaded pitifully, holding his arm across the long, deep cut across the center of his chest in an attempt to stem the bleeding, the white arm sleeve of his uniform already starting to turn an ugly shade of crimson around the edges. "And Meowth! We're sorry for trying to steal your Ekans! Don't take them!" he begged, swallowing his pride and outright begging for his beloved partners to not be taken away.

"Not a chance, sore loser. You meddled in my business first, you should have considered the consequences. If you want to become real criminals like me, man up and stop crying, get a couple of powerful Slave Pokémon, and also…" Rico patted his machine gun. "Get a gun. Stop being whiny crybabies and start using Slave Pokémon and guns without mercy and you're good to go as real rotten bad guys like me." Rico pointed his gun at the Team Rocket duo, making them freeze in horror.

"Don't kill us!" Jessie cried out, horrified.

"Normally I do kill people I poach from. After all, as the old pirate saying goes 'dead men tell no tales' and it really applies well. Someone dead can't give the police information about me, but I'll let you two live because you are fellow criminals. Take heed on my advice to be real criminals, you pair of hopeless pussies." Rico turned around and walked back to his jeep. "Absol, let's go." The Disaster Pokémon nodded and followed his master.

Jessie and James could only watch and cry, utterly helpless, as Rico loaded Arbok, Weezing and Meowth onto one of his cage trailers, secured it and the trailer full of Ekans to his jeep, and then drove away without giving a look back. They could only watch in despair as their two beloved life partners and Meowth were taken away.

"No…" Jessie said in a panicked tone of voice, pain and grief striking her heart harshly as a new wave of tears welled up in her eyes. "Arbok…" she muttered, looking down at the ground. "Arbok…" she sobbed. "ARBOK!" She finally screamed, openly crying. It was too much; the pain was unbearable, as was the thought of never seeing Arbok ever again. At the thought of losing a friend forever.

"Weezing… brother!" James cried as well, punching the ground several times. "No! No!" he yelled over and over again, tears spilling down his eyes. It was excruciating, the feeling of helplessness against such a powerful enemy.

Jessie sobbed, trying to hold back the seemingly endless tears. "Why? It's not fair! Arbok was my Pokémon… my friend! My first and true friend! My beloved Pokémon! No!" She cried again, wailing loudly. "I got him when…" she sobbed. "When he was just a little Ekans… it was a… a wonderful birthday present… Ekans… My Arbok…" She cried, tears running down her cheeks and soaking her white team Rocket uniform. "Even Meowth… he was our friend… this is not fair! No!" Her heart clenched in suffering as many memories of her and her Arbok came to her mind.

"Weezing…" James muttered, shocked and tearful. He found it hard to think of anything else, the realization that he may never see Weezing ever again slowly coming to him. "I got him when he was just a little Koffing… a Christmas present… Koffing… Weezing… No!" He burst into tears again, not caring at the fact he had a rather long cut on his chest from the Absol's attack. That pain was nothing to what he felt tearing at his heart, that his most cherished friend had been so ruthlessly stolen. "Meowth too… why all three!?" he cried out. He too went down memory lane, of all the good moments with Weezing and Meowth.

Jessie looked at James, her face reddened and her eyes wet and red from the tears. "James… what are we going to do now…" she said in a frightened voice. It was seemingly over. She couldn't think past the pain she felt at the loss of her partner, it was like nothing else mattered. A bright flash suddenly spooked the two as Wobbuffet released himself from his Pokéball, and to Jessie's surprise… he hugged her. Wobbuffet hugged Jessie tightly and whispered soothing words to her that she could not understands due to the language barrier, but she knew he was comforting her. "Wobbuffet…" Jessie whispered, sniffing. The Psychic-type nuzzled and hugged her comfortingly, letting her know he was there for her.

James whimpered, sobbing. "I don't know! I don't know what we can do! All we have left is your Wobbuffet, we can't fight him… It can't end like this… Weezing… Arbok… Meowth, we can't be separated like this!" he lamented. "Not by a robbery… not by such a cruel thing! We, Team Rocket, are a team and we'll stick together until the very end!" It was hard to believe for James. He had always lived carefree and took his friendship with his Pokémon for granted, like nothing could ever go wrong. Now that he was the victim of such a cruel separation, he sobbed. It was so painful, far more painful than his injury.

Jessie cried, hugging James tightly. "I know! But we can't do a thing!" Both Team Rocket agents sobbed their pain against each other, trying to seek what little comfort there could be with each other's presences. They had been together in everything, both the good times and the bad, and now in a time of grief they knew they needed each other the most.

James pulled away slightly. "We… we can get a mecha! And try to rescue them…" he suggested, trying to calm the pain and suffering inside him by looking to the slimmest and faintest glimmer of hope he could find to alleviate the situation.

Jessie shook her head. "No… it'd take a couple of days to get a new robot… by that time we'd have lost that poacher…" she whimpered. "This… really is the goodbye of our friends… it… really is…" She burst out crying harder. Why did her life always end in misery?

"It's so cruel… we've been trying to steal one measly Pikachu for two years, and instead it's us who get our Pokémon stolen in a day, no fair!" James screamed, tears pouring down openly. He had always tried to steal Pokémon, but he had never realized the horrible pain of those who were on the receiving end of it. Did he really want to continue stealing Pokémon? Knowing now, first hand, how painful such a thing was?

Both Team Rocket agents paused. "One measly Pikachu…" both repeated at the same time. "The twerps!" they said at the same time, looking at each other with a glimmer of hope shining in their tearful eyes. That was it, the only possible thing they could hold onto for hope, the only thing that could save their friends from a terrible fate. Not everything was lost. Not yet.

"They could help us!" James said, sniffing to try and control his crying. Thinking of Ash and his group helping them out did alleviate the agony, replacing it with hope.

"I don't know… would they? We've tried to steal their Pokémon for so long," Jessie said sadly, lost in despair and anguish for her Pokémon. "I don't think they'd help us… they must hate us."

"It's our only hope, they're the good guys, they've gotta help us!" James said optimistically, wiping his face with his sleeve. He stood up and offered Jessie a hand, still using his other arm to keep pressure against the wound on his chest in an attempt to staunch the blood flow, his uniform was stained red, clearly visible against the white, he hoped it'd clot soon so it doesn't become more dangerous. "Come on Jess," he said affectionately, trying to cheer her up slightly. "Staying here crying won't get Arbok, Weezing and Meowth back."

Jessie looked up at him, eyes blurry with tears, but she nevertheless nodded. Agreeing with his logic, she took the hand and let him pull her up. James winced from the stab of pain that brought from his cut, but he did his best to ignore it. All that mattered now was getting their friends back.

---

Author Notes: For those of you who are wondering, Rico's firearm is a FN-P90 Submachine gun. Before you ask, yes, that was in the actual anime. Interesting huh? Though, for some odd reason, despite having the Submachine gun in hand, Rico didn't get the chance to fire it a single time throughout the entire episode. Very odd isn't it?

I decided to use mostly the same layout as the anime episode to re-introduce Brock. Went for the easy one xD Well, I hope this chapter pleases those fans who liked Taillow/Swellow, he always came off in the anime (At least in his debuting episode) as a bullish brat. But, he made his appearance! As you all can guess, I've sort of replaced him in Ash's Hoenn party with Pidgeot.

Now, I'll answer a couple questions I'm constantly asked through PMs or Reviews.

Will Ash have the same party as the anime? The answer is no, Ash will not have the same Pokémon party as the anime. The only Pokémon he'll share with the anime is Treecko. I have his party all set up and planned. I hope that what I have envisioned pleases you all. Just to keep you with an O_O feeling, *smirks* Ash's Hoenn-ANCFA party will include a Unova Gen 5 Pokémon, who? Good luck guessing! :D And as a note, I can now understand why the Producers of the anime reset Ash's party completely every region back to just Pikachu… finding ways to fit the new Pokémon when his party is already completely full is hard. It took me a while just to find out how to replace and add the new members.

Will Ash capture more Legendaries? The answer is no. Ash will not catch more Legendary Pokémon. But, through the course of the story, nearly all Legendaries will make appearances. Some of them will even appear constantly, very constantly. So there's no need to give Ash more. As ANCFA progresses, it will also start to dwell heavily into the Life of Legendaries.

Who is Latias and Latios' mother and what will their names be? I'm sorry, but I will not answer this yet. It is part of a big plot thing, so you'll have to wait for it to come to get an actual answer.

That's all for now. Thanks for all the support and feedback.