Last chapter deviated a little bit from what I had originally planned to write but I needed to introduce an Ash that will go to any lengths to beat Team Rocket. Ash won't be going on a killing spree every time he sees them but there will be several other characters in this fic that will receive Ash's justice

I hated writing the sensational sister's dialogue.

On we go.

Cerulean- What a joke

Ash woke up the next morning and him and Pikachu carried on with their normal routine. Several days had been missed due to the activities inside Mt Moon but now they redoubled their efforts. Pikachu's repeated practice of focusing his power into his fists and punching rocks had paid off, he now knew Rock Smash and was part way there with Brick Break. Ash decided that the next move he would learn would be a combination of Thunderbolt and Rock Smash. Pikachu was ridiculously strong for his species which made Ash wonder whether he had a legendary as an ancestor. No normal Pikachu could ramp up their electricity to the point it changed colour like his Pikachu did. So, learning combo moves seemed like a good idea to Ash, anything outside the box could only be good when facing other trainers. Thunder Smash seemed a bit of a banal name for what he came up with but as it did the job Ash shrugged it off.

Ash rang his mum to let her know what had gone on inside Mt Moon. Delia had made him promise after the incident at Viridian City that anytime he encountered Team Rocket he would ring her and they would talk through whatever happened. Delia was incredibly concerned for Ash hearing just what he had done. He was a murderer now, less than two months after starting his journey but she also knew his task for Arceus came before anything she could be concerned about. So, to that end Delia agreed to keep the scolding to a minimum. It wasn't the loss of the lives of Team Rocket that had her worried, anytime they were brought up just reminded her of Red and what they did to her family. No, her main issue was that it was that her baby actively seeking them out.

Ash didn't tell her about Cleffa just yet. He wanted the little one to be healthy before he sent her to his mum. He knew she would love her, but Ash needed to make sure that Cleffa wanted the same thing. He didn't want to be trapped by anyone and had no desire to do that to anyone else. So, walking down to see Nurse Joy, he asked her how she was doing.

"She has had a lot of trauma Ash" Joy said looking worried "a lot of trauma, she's very skittish at the minute and doesn't react very well to loud noises. She was full of holes, like needles that were roughly put in and then pulled out. You rescued her just in time. She certainly won't be sanctioned to battle for at least a month while her body recovers from her ordeal. You say you have no idea what happened to her?"

"No, sadly I don't" Ash said shaking his head "I caught her at the exit of Mt Moon. I thought she had been attacked and escaped but I didn't know what by. And I knew she needed urgent medical attention which is why I captured her. I had plans to release her once she was healed but I feel like resting in a safe environment would be better for her so I plan to explain to her that I'm sending her to my mother who will spoil her, and if she wants to leave when she's better my mother will take her back to Mt Moon."

"That's wonderful Ash" Joy said "I shall take you to her now" getting up she led Ash into the back area where a Cleffa was sat on a table looking around, clearly in some distress. Walking in and seeing Ash she jumped off the table and ran to the corner.

"Easy there Cleffa" Ash said "Nurse can I have a minute with her please?" nodding Joy left and closed the door. Sitting down cross-legged Ash started talking "Hello little one, my name is Ash and I'm the one who rescued you. The Nurse who healed you doesn't know what happened and I plan to keep it that way. I'm truly sorry about capturing you, I didn't want to, but you would have died had I not brought you here and I couldn't have that on my conscience. Nurse Joy told me that you will take at least another month to recover from your injuries. So, with that in mind I've come to make you an offer. First, I have no desire to have you as my Pokémon, it is nothing personal, I had already planned what my full team would be long before I caught you. My mother however is likely feeling lonely since I left as there is no one else in our home.

So, what I'm proposing is this. I will send you to her so that you can heal up and not be worried about wild Pokémon attacking you while you heal and in return you can provide company for her. Once you are fully better, should you wish it she will take you back to Mt Moon and release you. I will say this, you won't be the only Pokémon I send her so bear that in mind should you wish to stay with her. I will give you a few hours to think this through and to come up with any questions you may have. Oh, the men who did this to you are all dead so they will not be doing that to any other Pokémon ever again."

Standing up Ash left and told Nurse Joy what he had said. Making their way to the local delivery shop Ash packaged the laptop up and sent it to Lance with a note.

Lance, I took this off a Team Rocket admin. I thought it may interest you. A.S.K

Knowing the initials may give him away didn't make Ash feel as concerned as he could be as he knew that in the next few months he would be working with Lance and the full story would come out then. The fossil came to mind. Watching the carrier Pidgeot fly away Ash relaxed a little. Deciding to go shopping Ash knew that he'd have to restock after Mt Moon. His supplies had gotten dangerously short in that few days inside the mountain. Shopping proved to be more difficult than he imagined though as when he got there, he found that it had been cordoned off. Apparently, thieves had broken in last night and stole equipment from the store. Why anyone would steal a vacuum and leave everything else baffled Ash.

Walking into the Gym Ash spoke to the receptionist and found out that for the next few days the Sensational Sisters wouldn't be taking any gym challenges.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked incredulously "it's their job! They're not allowed to deny any challenger without good reason!"

"And they have one" the receptionist snottily replied, "they have their shows to perform which takes precedence over a silly gym challenge. The next open slot is for Thursday afternoon. Shall I pencil you in?"

"Oh really" Ash said "a 'silly gym challenge' is it. Thursday it is then" Turning round he went to leave but before he did, he said "I wonder what the league will make of this when they find out that the gym leader is declining challenges, despite being funded directly for that. Food for thought isn't it" shaking his head he left.

The next few days passed by in a whirlwind of activity for Ash. Cleffa had decided that she would take Ash up on his offer so he rang his mum to inform her what had happened and if she could help him. Delia was delighted, she admitted that she was a bit lonely in a home with just herself and would happily help Cleffa recover. The transfer process was fairly simple. Ash called Sam, gave him the same explanation he gave Nurse Joy and told him that Cleffa would now be owned by his mum and to clear her from his records. Sam was happy to do this and within five minutes his mum now had a Pokémon. Promising Ash weekly updates on her well being Ash left her to it. He had a little wager with himself that after a month of being with his mother Cleffa wouldn't want to leave.

Training was progressing really well. The three days he had to wait before his battle with Cerulean Gym was beneficial to Ash. He had found a little area up on the cape where people were happy to battle him. As they were just practice battles Ash didn't care about losing, just how they lost and how they progressed. Coming across many hikers Ash and Pikachu were able to practice Pikachu's new moves and mastered Rock Smash and Brick Break. Thunder Smash wasn't progressing as well as he'd hoped though.

"It's baffling" Ash said "how you can't seem to get this one Pikachu when you mastered the base moves"

"That's because you're trying to fuse two moves that oppose each other" a voice said behind him. Turning around he saw it was a massive mountain of a man who looked vaguely familiar. Sitting down beside them both on a bench overlooking the water he continued "I've been watching you both for the last hour try and fail at combining these moves. I believe it's because you're forgetting something vital. Rock naturally resists any form of conduction. There's a reason that type matchups usually work in favour of the one with a better one. And trying to infuse rock with electricity will not work. I've only ever seen a legendary electric Pokémon that's able to affect a rock type like Onix or Graveler with its electricity. Your Pikachu, while strong just doesn't have the voltage capacity to do so. Not just yet anyway. You need to increase Pikachu's electric output before you can attempt to master this move. Maybe think about evolving him"

"Pikachu doesn't want to evolve" Ash said interrupting him "and I will never force a Pokémon to do so just to be able to use a move. There must be another way."

"Well, there may be one thing" the man said "there's an incredibly rare item that is used to power up electric types. It's said to only be located where strong electric types gather. It's called a Light Ball. They only appear in select locations and only then under very unusual circumstances. They're essentially a faulty Thunderstone that's infused with electricity to the point it overloads the evolution element inside. If you find one, it is said to increase your Pokémon's electrical output by 50%."

"Do you know where I can find one?" Ash asked interested.

"Well Saffron or Celadon department store might have them. Or you could order one" the man said "I'll warn you though because of how rare they are they're not cheap. Alternatively, there's a Power Plant just east of Rock Tunnel. It's rumoured that a powerful Electric Pokémon lives there but no one has ever seen it. It's full of electric type Pokémon so that may be a cheaper option, there's no guarantee you'll find one though."

"Well I wont be getting to either of those cities for months yet" Ash said musingly "and Rock Tunnel is on the way to Lavender Town so I'll be going that way anyway. A little side trip to the Power Plant sounds fun. What do you say Pikachu?"

"Should be fun Ash" Pikachu said "being unable to learn a move is frustrating. Can we learn something else in the meantime."

"That sounds like a good idea. We already know you'll have the advantage in the next gym but then we showed the last gym that type advantage counts for nothing against strategy so maybe we shouldn't be so cocky just yet" Ash said nodding.

"Do you mean to tell me you beat Brock with that Pikachu?" the man asked wonderingly.

"Well, yes and no" Ash said grimacing. "We beat his Geodude and Rhyhorn fairly easily as he didn't expect Pikachu to know Iron Tail. And I'm certain we would have found a way to beat his Onix but Brock decided that I'd met his gym requirements by beating his first two with such a major disadvantage. So he agreed to give me a badge if I would face the weakest of his elites. We did, and we didn't get a move off before it beat us. His Golem used one move and smashed us. Admittedly Pikachu was tired from beating the other two but we both knew we were outclassed at that time. We vowed afterwards to learn moves to deal with Pikachu's type disadvantage and that one day rock types everywhere would fear the small electric mouse that could beat them."

"That's very admirable" the man said standing up "and a very worthy goal. I'd like to test something. I'd like to battle you, not a full battle though. I just want to see where your Pikachu is at developmentally".

Nodding and standing up Ash made his way across the field "lets go Pikachu" he shouted as the little yellow mouse jumped in front of Ash its cheeks sparking threateningly

"I'm going to use my newest member, Ash" the man said "I caught her around a month ago after she got herself lodged in my other Pokémon's body while we were training. I don't expect you to win, just so you know. I have years of training behind me. But I expect you to do your best. Let's go Sandslash" and with that a brown spiky armoured mouse appeared.

Pointing his Pokedex at the creature it bleeped to life "Sandslash, Pokedex Number 28, the Sand Mouse Pokémon and the evolved form of Sandshrew. This Pokémon is Male. It is skilled at slashing enemies with its claws. If broken, they start to grow back in a day."

"So that's what its evolution looks like. It looks tough Pikachu. Lets start off with Quick Attack" at that Pikachu streaked forward, its training with the weights on had given him a massive speed boost once he took them off. He had found that in the few months Ash and he had become partners his speed had doubled already. Ash's methods, while strange had evidently paid off.

"Defence Curl" the man said, and the brown mouse curled up into a ball making Pikachu bounce off it.

"Iron Tail" Ash said and saw his friend swing his tail sending it flying backwards "Good Job Pikachu"

"Dig quickly Sandslash" the man said thoroughly enjoying this as it burrowed its way underground "what are you going to do now young man? Sandslash could appear anywhere."

"Use your feet and ears Pikachu" Ash said "you'll know when its about to surface when the ground beneath you trembles" nodding Pikachu focused. His training with Aura had helped Pikachu develop a much better sense of hearing.

"Come on up Sandslash and use Slash" the man shouted.

Looking around Ash noticed a few pebbles start to shake on the ground "There Pikachu, 5 o clock. Use Iron Tail"

Quicker than anticipated the Sandslash came barrelling up from the ground sending Pikachu flying upwards. Using gravity as momentum though Pikachu swung around and smashed his tail into the Sandslash sending it sprawling to the ground where it staggered to its feet. "Now Pikachu quickly. Use Thunderbolt" immediately a bolt of electricity headed to the sand mouse.

"Take it Sandslash, charge through and use Slash" the man said thinking Ash had forgot his type charts. "You lose this time young man. What?!"

Sandslash felt something very few ground types had every experienced before as it went flying backwards. Conduction. It lit up like a Christmas tree and was knocked out.

"Well, I'll be" the man said as he recalled his beaten Pokémon "your Pikachu is something special young man"

"Thanks" Ash said picking Pikachu up and placing him on his shoulder "we've trained relentlessly since we became partners. We still need to work on his sensory issues it seems though. Dig should have never been allowed to connect so it looks like we've got another area to train. Those defence sessions we've been having have certainly paid off though, that Dig was strong" Nodding Pikachu agreed. It had been a good match. And now he knew that his electricity was potent enough to affect ground types he was less worried about facing them.

"Indeed" the man said laughing shaking his head "it seems that I need to train too. Man, wait until I tell the others this. The rest of the group will never let me live this down. Imagine an electric type beating a ground type with an electric move. Your Pikachu will become a monster if he ever decides to evolve. If not, a light Ball will work wonders too. Well, I must be off. It was good meeting you young man".

"Ash" he said "my name is Ash Ketchum".

"Red's boy?" the man said wonderingly "that explains a lot. I expect you to go far in the league Ash. I shall be looking out for you." The man then left leaving Ash and Pikachu wondering just who he was, and more importantly how he knew his dad. Walking back to the centre he passed several trainers rushing off to where Ash had just been. Overhearing a conversation, he stopped

"Did you hear? Bruno is said to around here somewhere."

"Elite Four Bruno? Where? Oh man, id love to meet him."

"I don't know, I just overheard it in the café before. Apparently he's passing through Cerulean on his way to the mountains near Mt Moon."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find him."

Shaking his head Ash carried on walking "I'm glad I'm not really famous yet amongst trainers Pikachu. I know Sam told me that I'm famous amongst professors but thankfully I've only met one. I don't think I could cope with being hounded like the Elite Four do. It would have been cool to meet Bruno though eh?"

"It would. It's not every day you get to meet an Elite Four member" Pikachu said "we could have asked for tips on how to get stronger"

"That's true" Ash said nodding walking into the Pokémon centre "but that bloke gave us some good advice too. Once we're done with Cerulean we'll see about getting information about the Power Plant and you a Light Ball. Lets have a look at what moves you can learn Pikachu" he said as he powered up the computer. "it looks like you've got decent coverage so far for rock types. We need something for the neutral types. Grass and Fire Types resist your electricity so maybe something for them. We're pretty limited on what we can learn though buddy. I think we'll save Thunder for last after we develop your electricity more. Ooh these look promising. Double Team for evasion, Feint in case of Protect stallers and Light Screen for special coverage. Yeah, I think they'll be the next three moves for you to learn."

"Sounds good Ash" Pikachu said curling up on the bed "I know quite a few moves but more always helps."

"Yup" Ash said standing up "that's a good point actually. What moves do you know?" getting Dexter, he pointed it at Pikachu and it blared to life "This Pikachu knows the moves Thundershock, Thunderbolt, Thunder Wave, Iron Tail, Quick Attack, Rock Smash, Brick Break and Aura Sphere. It has the egg move Volt Tackle that has yet to be unlocked."

"What the hell?" Ash shouted standing up "how do you know Aura Sphere? Pikachu's can't learn Aura Sphere!"

"How the hell should I know" Pikachu said standing up too "I have been feeling weird though lately. Whenever I focus on something I can hear the world around me a lot better. When the Sandslash used Dig before I could hear it underground. And I could feel it in the rocks around me. It was very distracting."

"I can only assume its because I've been infusing your body with Aura every day building up your defence. That's only a guess though. Try and form an Aura Sphere" Ash said.

"How?" Pikachu asked.

"I don't really know. I just focus on expelling my Aura outwards and then shape it into a ball or a spike. It's virtually impossible to describe to those who can't use aura. Try focusing that weird feeling you get sometimes. Then focus your energy into your palm and try and shape it."

After half an hour of nothing Ash sat down sighing. "Dexter says you know it, so it's clearly there inside of you. We just have to find a way to unlock it. And I refuse to get the Guardians involved before you say anything."

"I wasn't going to" Pikachu said defensively "I trust you Ash. I know we'll find a way of unlocking it."

"Come on, let's go eat. Tomorrow is the day we battle the leader. I want an annihilation job Pikachu. They've really irritated me" Ash said standing up and making his way to the canteen.

The next day Ash made his way to the Gym. When he got there the same snotty receptionist was there. "Come back, have you?"

"No" Ash said sarcastically "I'm a mirage. This is all in your head."

"Well go on through. The leaders are ready to beat you" she said smirking nastily.

"We'll see wont we" Ash said walking through the corridor and following the signs for the gym. Walking out of the doorway he stopped. It was a massive pool with platforms at various points. Across from him on the other side were three women. The only distinguishing features about them that separated them were their hair. One had pink hair, another blue and the last was blonde "Which one of you is the gym leader?" Ash asked.

"Like, we all are" the Blonde said as though it was obvious.

"Yeah, we take it in turns to battle" the Bluenette said.

"Yeah, we are the sensational Sisters. But like, we have already been in a few battles today, our Pokémon are far too valuable as stars in our show to get hurt so we like, can't be bothered battling you today so you'll have to come back tomorrow" the Pinkette said.

"Erm, no" Ash said furiously "I've already been denied a battle with you on Sunday by that bitchy receptionist you have, who told me to come back today. I have done just that. Now, I'll repeat, which one of you am I battling?"

"Like, none little boy" the blonde said laughing "now why don't you go on home to mummy."

"Alright" Ash said taking his pokegear out and ringing Sam "I'll just make this phone call and then I'll leave."

"Like we don't care" the Pinkette said.

As the call connected he placed it on speaker phone "Hi Ash what can I do for you?"

"Hi Professor Oak. I am at the Cerulean Gym now. I was denied a battle with the leader three days ago by the receptionist because, and I quote 'their shows are more important than a silly battle'. I was told to come back today, which I did. Now they're denying me a battle because, and again I quote 'we like, cannot be bothered'. Can you let Blue and Lance know please that a sanctioned gym leader is refusing to do the job they're paid for?"

"That's very disappointing Ash" Sam said as the three ladies paled "I'll ring my son now and inform him we need the Cerulean Gym leaders replacing. This will mean that you'll have to come back another day though Ash when we get a replacement in, we are obliged by law to give them a week to pack up and move out of the building"

"That's fine professor" Ash said "I was planning on returning this way anyway. I'm going to head to Vermillion and then come back this way to have a look in the Power Plant on my way to Lavender. Can you let me know when there's someone here?"

"Will do Ash" Sam said hanging up.

Looking over at them he smirked "well, that's that. Sorry Pikachu, it doesn't look like you'll be battling here today" he said as he walked back down the corridor to the entrance. The sisters caught up to him there just outside the entrance doors. Behind them all the employees of the building also followed them out wanting to know what the shouting was all about.

"Like, what the hell? What have you done that for?" the blonde said.

"Yeah, like we would have battled you tomorrow." The Pinkette piped up.

"This is like our home" The Bluenette finished.

"No" Ash said smiling "this was your home until you decided to take the piss out of me. I warned your receptionist the other day about the league and what they would do if they found out that you weren't doing what you were paid to do. Evidently you either ignored it or she never told you. That's not on me. I feel no guilt about this."

"What's going on?" A voice asked from behind Ash "what are you doing here?" it asked accusingly.

"Misty!" Ash said cheerily as a crowd had gathered wondering what was going on "Are you here to see my gym battle? Sadly, I'm afraid you're too late. The gym leaders have just been evicted from this building by the league" gasps rang out through the crowd

"What do you mean?" Misty asked. Turning to the leaders "what the hell have you three done this time?"

"Like, you can't speak to us like that runt" the Bluenette said.

"Shut up" Misty said silencing them "what did you do to get our family evicted from this building?"

"Well Misty" Ash said interrupting her tirade "I take it these three are your sisters?" receiving a nod he continued "Well it all started on Sunday when your receptionist told me that their shows are more important than the gym battles they are paid to do and that I will have to come back at their convenience to have a battle. When I arrived today the receptionist again was a bitch but I let that slide as I wanted to get the battle over with and leave. When I arrived at the battle ground your sisters refused having a battle because 'we like, can't be bothered'. A clear abuse of power as they knew I would need their badge. What they didn't know though is that Professor Oak is not only a good friend of mine but also my sponsor. His son is the League Champion, the man who oversees all the gyms in Kanto. Professor Oak was less than impressed. He has informed his son of what's happened and your sisters have a week to vacate the premises. That's about the end of it."

"You got my family evicted?" Misty said.

"No, your family got themselves evicted. It was quite clear that this wasn't the first time they've pulled this crap. I was just unfortunate enough to be the wrong person they pulled it with. Now I have to be going. See you all around someday" Ash said as he went to leave. Immediately his instincts kicked in again as he ducked an object and swept the legs of the person who attacked him shoving their face into the ground. "haven't we already been in this position before Red? With the exact same outcome"

"What's going on here?" a voice said as the crowd parted revealing Officer Jenny with a few of her colleagues

"Hello Officer" Ash said cheerily "you've arrived just in time to make an arrest. This is the second time this lady has attacked me with that mallet over there. Last time I let her go with a warning. This time I'm not letting it slide."

"The bastard has got my family evicted" Misty said from the floor "I'll kill him."

"Ooooh a death threat in front of an officer?" Ash said "Seems like it's not only your sisters who need to learn to keep their mouths shut is it?"

Seeing no other alternative Jenny handcuffed Misty and had one of her officers collect her and take her away while she got the statement off Ash. Learning what happened to the sisters had Jenny shaking her head. Looking at them she said "I warned you three about this in the past. The League is a multi-million-dollar enterprise. And the gyms are their pride and joy. Did you really think you'd be able to do this forever?"

"You knew about this?" Ash said incredulously.

"Of course, I did" Jenny said "Who do you think reported them to the league in the first place? This is my city to run, and if I don't do my job then I can easily be replaced. I'm damn good at my job Mr Ketchum and I take an enormous amount of pride in what I do. And I gave them enough warnings to change their stance. They've had at least eighteen months now to save up money from their shows to move it to another building and still keep the gym operational. While they have my sympathies about being evicted they also have my pity that they didn't listen. I do not like feeling like I've been taken advantage of. Now, all of you, move on."

At that the crowd dispersed "You too Mr Ketchum. I will be in touch with Professor Oak about the next gym leader. Hopefully, we can make Cerulean Gym a place to be proud of. Here's my pokegear number. Call me if you need me." Turning to the still shocked sisters she said "I suggest you begin packing. Your mother and father would be deeply ashamed of you if they were still alive"

Walking back to the centre Ash picked up his things, sent his mum a quick email about what had happened and made his way out of the City. Walking along Route 5 Ash wondered just what would happen next. His entire journey so far had been unbelievably eventful. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he happened upon a signpost that said "AJ's Gym" with a little dirt path behind it. Curious Ash walked down it only to find a trainer running the opposite way

"Don't go that way. AJ will demolish you" as the trainer sped off. How very strange. Walking for another few minutes a building with a makeshift battlefield came into view. Wondering just what was going on Ash wandered and had a look around. Walking around the corner he saw a massive area marked out with lines. It was clearly a battlefield. Looking at the side of the battlefield he noticed a scoreboard that said 99 wins, 0 losses.

"Are you my 100th win?" a voice said from behind him. Turning around he saw it was a boy with green hair, a few years older than himself with a Sandshrew at his side. "Judging by the rat on your shoulders this should be easy."

"Carry on and I'll be your first loss" Ash said unconcerned "I take it you're AJ then?"

"My reputation precedes me I see" the boy said "yeah, I'm AJ. If you're not here to battle, then I suggest you clear off."

Laughing Ash shook his head "I was simply here to see what the fuss was about. Looking at you now, I'm still wondering the same thing"

Furiously AJ said "you wont be so cocky when I kick your arse. Let's go to the battlefield. This may be an unsanctioned match but I will very much enjoy beating you and your rat"

Taking out Dexter he asked "Dexter, how many battles have I been in so far?"

It bleeped to life and said "Trainer Ash Ketchum, 87 sanctioned battles, 0 losses. Unsanctioned battles 48, 47 wins 1 loss"

"That loss was against a gym leader who asked me to battle one of his Elites after I had already beat him. At that point I had only had Pikachu around 6-7 weeks and I beat him in a normal battle. So he sent out a Golem" Ash said smirking. "you've clearly been training for some time now given you have 99 wins. The fact you've not moved from here tells me that you're scared to do so."

"Enough talking" AJ said removing a whip from his belt. Cracking it he shouted "Sandshrew Defence Curl into Tackle."

"You know what to do Pikachu" Ash said. Leaping forward with a Quick Attack Pikachu waited until Sandshrew was close before twisting and striking it with an Iron Tail sending it flying into the wall. "Was that it?" Ash asked rhetorically "after all that bluster, your Pokémon is out in one hit?"

"Grrr Sandshrew get up" he said cracking the whip. It was really starting to irritate Ash. Sandshrew stumbled to its feet looking over at AJ clearly worried about whatever the whip represented. Cracking it again he shouted "Dig Sandshrew" as it disappeared below ground.

"Same attack pattern as yesterday Pikachu" Ash said receiving a nod as Pikachu hunched down to the ground. Thirty seconds later Pikachu noticed the stones around him start to shake and prepared to take the hit. Launching Pikachu into the air Sandshrew's move hit making AJ cheer "game over."

"Not quite" Ash said stopping the cheering as Pikachu twisted in mid-air and send Sandshrew flying back into the ground with an Iron Tail where it impacted the ground with such force it made a crater. "Now that's game over" Ash said

"This is not over" AJ shouted cracking his whip repeatedly "Sandshrew you better get up or there will be no food for you" amazingly the beat up Sandshrew managed to haul itself onto its feet. Battered and bruised it signalled it wanted to fight again. Shaking his head in sympathy Ash said "light him up Pikachu. Put it out of its misery" as Pikachu sent a Thunderbolt at it knocking it out.

"How the hell did an electric attack work on a ground type? You cheating bastard! I knew you were cheating" AJ said as he charged forward flinging the whip at Ash. Using his aura strength Ash caught the whip with his left hand and pulled sending AJ flying towards him and with his right hand punched him in mid air knocking him out. Sighing Ash plucked the poke ball off AJ's belt and returned the knocked out Sandshrew. "Stay here Pikachu, if he wakes up knock him back out. I'm going to check that building, something about that whip and his attitude sets me off."

Walking over to the building Ash opened the door and walked through the house. At the back he walked into a gym area where clearly exhausted Pokémon all around him frantically began to run around. "stop" Ash shouted causing the panic to halt "I am not AJ. I am here to see if I can help. Now I need one of you to tell me what's going on here" immediately chatter started until Ash put his hand up "One at a time". An Eevee walked out of its hiding place and stood in front of Ash. Pointing Dexter at it it bleeped "Eevee, Pokedex number 133, The Evolution Pokémon, Its genetic code is irregular. This Pokémon is female. It may mutate if it is exposed to radiation from elemental stones"

"Ok, talk" Ash said to the Eevee. Listening to its story he looked around and received many nods. Sighing he knew that he would have to get help with this. "Ok, I'm in over my head here. I'm going to have to call my sponsor and then possibly Officer Jenny to take you all to safety. Depending on what he says you may all be freed so you have until I get off the phone to decide what you want to do"

Walking over to the door Ash rand Sam and told him what had happened. Unfortunately, as AJ didn't have a Pokedex, he was unable to ban him. He could however put a sanction on him from ever competing in a league due to Pokémon abuse.

"Sadly Ash, you're the only one who can talk to Pokémon" Sam said "And while you may know the truth there is no way of knowing if you're telling the truth. It's your word against his. It's a shame. AJ could also still obtain a Pokémon illegally. Take pictures and call Jenny. It's best to let the law handle this one."

Nodding Ash called Jenny up "you again Ketchum" Jenny said "what problem is there now?". She soon sobered up when she heard what happened "let me track your GPS and I'll be there as soon as possible" hanging up Ash went back to the Pokémon and asked them to follow him. Walking over to Pikachu he noticed a lump forming on AJ's head "He moved" Pikachu said. Shrugging his shoulders, he called out Sandshrew who still looked battered. Explaining what was said they all agreed to want to be freed. Recalling the rest into their pokeballs Eevee began twittering away talking very fast as she dodged the beam. Stopping she asked Ash the question that she was clearly leading up to.

"No, I'm sorry Eevee but I already have my team picked out" Ash said apologetically. Walking away Eevee sadly curled up on the ground. Seeing this Ash sighed "let me make a call." Taking out his pokegear he rang his mum.

"Hi Mum" Ash began "we have a situation here". Explaining what had happened his mum immediately clocked onto what Ash was thinking and agreed.

Walking over to Eevee he said "I have a solution. But you need to decide before Jenny gets here. As I said I don't want an Eevee as my team has already been picked. My mother however would love for you to become part of her growing family. A few days ago, she adopted a Cleffa from me who I saved from an evil team in Mt Moon who did experiments on her. Once Cleffa is healed though my mum will be taking her back to where she grew up to release her so she will be alone again. I'm proposing that I capture you with the understanding that at the next Pokémon centre I transfer you to my mother. We need to move quickly here though. If Jenny gets here and you're still owned by AJ then I can't do anything and you will be released with the rest of his Pokémon. So, what do you say?"

Immediately Eevee tackled Ash and shouted "Yes!"

Making Eevees pokeball large Ash pressed the button until it turned blue. Pointing it at Eevee, it lit her up for a good ten seconds. Finally, the light stopped, and the ball cracked open at the hinges. Shoving it into his pocket he took out his own pokeball and threw it at Eevee capturing her. Deciding to scan her later he waited for Jenny to get there. Minutes later she arrived in her van. Loading the still unconscious AJ onto the van she took the bag of pokeballs off him and received his statement. Thanking Ash, she hopped back up into her van and sped off. Making sure she had actually gone Ash called Eevee back out.

"All safe Eevee. Now I'm not going to sugar-coat this. I will be training you until we reach Vermillion. I don't want to leave my mother with a Pokémon that can't defend her so until then I'll do my best to teach you as many new moves as I can. We have around three weeks to cram as much as we can in. Pikachu and I will be training right alongside you and we will fill you in on our journey so far. Be warned, it's not all been happiness and rainbows. Let's see what moves you have so far."

Pointing Dexter at her it bleeped to life "This Eevee has a Naughty Nature and knows the moves Tackle, Sand Attack, Bite, Growl and Dig"

"Ok, a good solid base. We can work with that. You have a lot of similarities with Pikachu. Your nature is really good as well. By the time we give you back to my mother we will have learned a few more moves and strengthened your body. As I said it won't be easy, but I will never withhold food as a punishment. We don't punish in this family. We admit we were lacking, understand why and then move on being mindful of the lessons learned. Above all though we have fun doing it. Now, lets go. We have a badge to collect. Oh, and Eevee, welcome to the family"

Eevee cried in thanks and relief. Ash let her finish before placing her on his left shoulder. The right shoulder was Pikachu's spot, and always would be.