Chapter 11

At around 9:00am that morning, team rocket were continuing to enjoy the accommodation in their Silver City hotel room, as they had for the previous three days. Jesse was spending her morning in the bathroom making sure she looked her best, while James continued to try to think of a plan to defeat Giovanni and team rocket, along with team plasma. However, he was getting nowhere at present. He had never been good at thinking outside the box; he concluded that was the difference between most successful people and most unsuccessful people. But he was soon distracted from further feeding his inner demons when Meowth began, who was standing near the window, began to speak: "hey James, there seem to be quite a few gym leaders and trainers coming into the City now. I think if the twerps are coming, today is probably the day we'll see them, maybe tomorrow at the latest."

"Hey Jesse!" James called out.

"Yes James!" She called back.

"When does the tournament begin?"

"In two days, this Wednesday."

"Thank you Jesse. I guess you're right Meowth," he continued, "today, maybe tomorrow at the latest, is our last chance of seeing them. If they don't show, I think we can be pretty certain that they met with foul play, and that will be bye-bye twerps", he said in a dejected tone, as his eyes began to water. Meowth began to pat his back, "come on pretty boy, don't get too sad, you've still got us. And I think, from all those times I've spent with Pikachu and the rest of those twerps, they're pretty hard to finish off, so I think there's a pretty good chance they'll be coming through those gates sometime today."

"Thanks Meowth. Oh well, I guess we'll know soon enough. Sometimes the wait is the hardest part."

Jesse finally came out of the bathroom. "There is one thing we could do," she began, "how about we go and ask a couple of the trainers entering the City if they've seen the twerps along the way. There're bound to be a few who know at least one of the twerps personally."

"Yes Jesse!" James exclaimed. "That's a fine idea. We'll head down there after breakfast."

James began scoffing his breakfast down; he couldn't bear to wait much longer. Jesse and Meowth gave each other concerned looks. "Hey James?" Jesse questioned.

"Yes Jesse?"

"Don't take this the wrong way, but why exactly do you care about the twerps so much, I mean we all care about them, but why you more than us? We have just as much to lose as you if they are gone, so what makes it different with you?"

"Ok, you want the truth?"

"It usually helps."

"The twerp with the Pikachu, Ash, is my cousin. He's my second cousin to be exact, on my father's side. His grandfather is Nanny's younger brother." They looked at him with stunned silence, their mouths hanging open, even Wobberfett was staring with a strange look on his face: "What!" They shouted, loud enough for the entire hotel to hear, "Wobber-Wobber!"

"Shhhh! All of you just shush ok."

"What is it with you and secrets James, life isn't some sort of game, you can't keep doing this to us. I know I'm still in my twenties, but I don't know how much more my heart can take."

"Ok, I'm sorry Jesse but I had my reasons. It might have cost me my job."

"Why on Earth would that make a difference, does Giovanni even know who the kid is?"

"Ah, hello, Earth to Jesse," Meowth bellowed, "remember he dated the twerp's mother for a period."

"Oh yes that's right, point taken."

"Besides," James continued, I had to consider his feelings. His father already left him, he doesn't need any more male members of his family letting him down. In a way I'm ashamed to be his cousin. He's so kind and virtuous and I'm"…. "You," Meowth completed.

"Exactly," James answered.

"So if I'm getting the straight of this," Jesse spoke, "you're related to him on his father's side?"

"Correct."

"And the kid doesn't know?"

"Also correct."

"What was the deal with the father anyway, didn't things work out between him and the mother?"

"I never got the full story but my understanding was Nanny's brother was a world famous pokemon master and Ash's father was desperate to follow in his own father's footsteps, so when Ash was no longer an infant and his mother didn't need as much help raising him, he went to fulfil his destiny as he saw it. That's what I've been told by my father, who's his first cousin obviously."

"And where's he been the last few years or so?"

"Travelling around the different regions but apparently still not feeling completely fulfilled. He's a bit of a nomad I think, just drifts from place to place, trying to make friends with every new pokemon he finds. Apparently he thinks he can communicate with them somehow."

"You mean the aura?" Jesse exclaimed.

"Well I don't know if he really had it or not. He was always a little bit eccentric, or so I've been told. According to my father, he was the one in the family with the most talent, one of those rare people who was good at pretty much everything: pokemon battles, poke-ring, academics, you name it. He even worked at team rocket briefly."

"You're joking?"

"That was around the time they started their secret space program, he was one of the best and brightest members of team rocket, but there was, let's say, a family feud."

"Your father?"

James went silent. He gave no answer. "Anyway, he ended up meeting Delia through Giovanni, who she was dating at the time. And not long after they broke if off, the two of them ended up together. I don't think Giovanni ever let it go, you know."

"Wait just a minute," Meowth began, "there seem to be a few holes in that story. First, why didn't you say who the family feud was with, and you make it sound like he met Delia after he left team rocket but if he met her through Giovanni then it's more likely he met her while he was still there."

"No, that's not true. He and Giovanni stayed in contact after he left team rocket."

"What is it you're hiding now James, tell us," Jesse urged

"Yeah James, the gig is up," Meowth shouted.

"I'm not telling either of you anything else. Not one more word!" he screamed, "you got the picture."

"Ok James," Jesse answered nervously, "we weren't trying to offend you, we're just trying to help." He began to calm down, "ok, a man can only reveal so much of his personal life in one morning. The rest, I'll let you know when I'm ready ok." They both nodded.

After breakfast, they went down the main street which was filled with people coming in for the tournament. It was a festive atmosphere: despite everything that had happened, people seemed so happy; there were children playing, couples holding hands, families eating in the restaurants, or at the stalls set up in the middle of the street. It warmed James' heart and Jesse's likewise.

When they got towards the end of the street, not far from the entrance into the city, they saw a small group of trainers having a pokemon battle. They came up to one boy, aged somewhere in his mid-teens, who was watching the battle. "Hello there" Jesse said, "how are you today?"

"Oh, I'm great thanks. I'm excited about the tournament. My friend's one of the best gym leaders in the land, I think he's a real chance of winning."

"What region is he from?"

"Genoa."

"That's great. I haven't been there before, I'm interested to see what sort of pokemon he'll have. But, I did actually want to ask you something?" He looked a little surprised, "ok, what is it?"

"Well, with everything that's going on, a lot of people have become separated from each other, me and my friend were wondering about the well-being of a certain group of trainers and gym leaders who were with us in Azalea City a couple of weeks back?"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. What were their names?"

"Well the big twer…I mean, one of the gym leaders is a very highly skilled trainer and gym leader, his name was Brock, he has kind of squinty eyes, darkish complexion."

"Oh Brocko, yeah I saw him yesterday."

"That's fantastic! Who was he with?"

"He was with a pretty large group actually. Let's see, I think there was his girlfriend; a couple of blond haired kids; and there was also a red-haired girl, and a couple of others. I think one of the guys had a Pikachu on his shoulder."

"Yep, that's all I need to know. Thank you very much for your help."

"You're welcome."

Jesse turned back to James who looked over the moon. They both started jumping up and down and high fiving each other, "Whoo-hoo, the twerps are alive! The twerps are alive!" They started to get some funny looks from people around them: "hey geniuses!" Meowth grabbed them with his claws, "do you mind not blowing our cover?"

"Cover," James seemed perplexed, "do we even need a cover any more. It's not like we're trying to catch Pikachu anymore."

"Well," Jesse began to contemplate, "it would be okay to keep our options open, but James is right, we have more immediate concerns."

"Okay, suit yourselves," Meowth answered, shrugging his shoulders.

They waited near the entrance to the city for around another two hours before they saw a group of several people, some of them were walking towards the entrance, others were sprinting right towards them: it was them. James placed himself right in the middle of the street, so as to be noticed. At first they seemed oblivious to what was in front of them, but then a few of them began to look in James' direction, "Ash" James shouted running towards his secret relative, "it's good to see you." When Ash first recognised him, he was caught in a state somewhere between joy and disbelief. He and James continued to approach one another and James put his arms around Ash and gave him a hug, a gesture which Ash returned.

"I thought you were…" They both said simultaneously.

"I know James," Ash began, "we thought you guys were gone too."

"Ash."

"Yeah?"

"Jesse, Meowth and myself would like to apologise for all the things we've done to you. The last few weeks have given me a lot of direction and I promise from now on, we won't come after your Pikachu. From now on, I'll be using my talents predominantly for good, there won't be any more stealing pokemon, you have my word."

Ash still wasn't certain. "You really promise James?" He had to examine himself and think about it for a few moments: "Yes, this is it, I promise Ash."

"Thank you James, I really appreciate it." But most of his friends, judging by their expressions, still were far from convinced.

"Now Ash," James continued, "there's something I have to tell you."

"What is it James?"

"I'm"…He began to hesitate, "I'm…afraid for you and your friends' safety. I fear that this war isn't over yet." This is what Ash had feared, as a dark cloud of dread came over him, making his heart skip a beat. "You know, I've had the same feeling too. Have you heard about a proph…"

"Wait a minute," shouted Misty, "how can you know the danger's not over yet?"

"Um…just a feeling, that's all." He answered nervously, wishing he hadn't opened his stupid mouth.

"Would you like to discuss it with me?" Sara asked in an intimidating tone.

"Ahhh, you again," he squealed. "No, I know nothing!" he maintained defiantly. Anyway, farewell all, I'll catch up with you again tomorrow, too-da-loo!" He then ran back to where Jesse, Meowth and Wobberfett were standing. The four of them then bolted back down the main street in the direction of their hotel room.

"So it looks like team rocket are the ones behind this," Misty said crossly.

"Don't worry," Sara added, "I'll be asking them a few questions before we leave."

"I'm an idiot aren't I?" Ash said in a dejected tone. "I actually thought I could trust team rocket."

"I told you when you saw them again you'd wish they hadn't survived," Brock joked.

"Oh no Brock, quite the opposite in fact. Despite all of team rocket's flaws, I'm glad they survived. In fact, this is the happiest I've felt in quite some time, and something tells me destiny is playing a hand in all of this." Serena gave him a questioning glance. Then all of a sudden, he remembered the GS ball which he was carrying in his bag. He planned to carry it around in his pocket for much of their stay in Silver City. He had a theory he wanted to test.

They then headed to the pokemon centre to book accommodation, and to allow Brock and Misty to register for the tournament.

"So brock?" Ash asked when they arrived, "how many people are going to be in this tournament?"

"Glad you asked Ash. There will be two representatives from each of the twelve regions, making for a total of twenty four participants. In the preliminary rounds, there will be six groups consisting of four gym leaders each, who will all battle against each other once, meaning each leader will compete in three preliminary matches. From each group, the top two will advance, leaving a total of twelve competitors remaining. Of those twelve, the top four ranked competitors will be given a day's rest, while the remaining eight will compete in the wildcard round. This consists of four one-on-one battles, with the four winners advancing to the final eight. From there, it's the same format as any pokemon league, the quarter finals, semi finals and then the final where the champion will be crowned. Also, all battles in the preliminary rounds will be three-on-three battles, while all battles from that point on will be five-on-five. Got any questions?"

"That's cool Brock, and no, I think I've got it covered."

"Great, now I'm off to sign, coming Misty?"

"Right behind you Brock," she answered enthusiastically.

They both went up to the front counter, where a lady asked for their gym leader licenses and other personal details, before giving them both paper forms to sign. Brock began to sign his, but as Misty was about to sign, she suddenly turned back to the others, "Hey Clement," she shouted. He walked, slightly nervously, up to where she was standing next to Brock. "What is it Misty?"

"You're a gym leader right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, why don't you sign up as well, I know you'd be great."

"Oh, well I hadn't really thought about it." He began to think about it before deciding, "no, I'm sorry, I just wasn't prepared for this, I'd get eaten alive. My spot should go to someone who has done the preparation."

"No!" Misty answered back. "Look at me Clement", she said somewhat manically, "I listened to you talking about pokemon the other day, and I've listened to you from time to time since we started travelling together. You know as much as Brock does, and you're smarter than anyone I know", Brock suddenly had an angered expression written on his face. "I know you can do this," she continued more gently, "I know if you do a bit of preparation over the next two days and give it your best shot, you'll go a long way in this tournament, trust me," she finished softly, as she leant in and pecked him on the lips. Clement was shocked at first but then he smiled: "well, that's definitely good extra motivation. Okay, if I can handle giant machines, I think I can handle a tournament."

"Great!" She shouted enthusiastically, grabbing Clement by the arm. "Um, Madam, could you bring out one more form please?"

"Certainly," the bun-haired lady responded kindly.

She handed Clement his form and he began to fill in the necessary sections. He then handed her is gym leader's license. "Congratulations young man, you're now officially registered."

Ash and the others were observing these events with much interest. "Yay" Bonnie exclaimed, my brother's going to be in the gym leader's championship, woo-hoo!"

"Clement…and Misty," Serena's jaw dropped.

"What are you implying Serena?" Drew asked smugly.

"It's just that, I didn't even know Clement noticed girls."

"Oh, Serena!" Bonny exclaimed, "don't be silly, my brother notices a lot of things he doesn't mention much."

"And I should mention that Misty does have her charms," Ash noted, "she could probably put a spell on a lot of guys."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Serena raged.

"It's just a joke. Don't worry about it Serena. Besides I already said I never really felt that way about Misty."

"Ok Ash, I'll let you off just this once." The others began to snigger. That'll be the day, Ash said to himself, annoyed by Serena's recent oversensitivity.

Suddenly Ash remembered the GS ball. He decided this would be a good time to get it out. As he suspected, it was glowing but not as much as it had immediately before the invasion back in Azalea Town. The others were now staring, including Brock, Misty and Clement, who were returning from the counter. "So I guess," Clement began, "unless we get attacked in the next few hours or so, that means the royal heir theory is back on the table?"

"That's correct Clement. Hey Drew, could you come and hold this for a moment?" Ash asked.

"Ok Ash", he responded, looking slightly nervous. "He took the gold and silver coloured ball from Ash; it was still glowing, a fairly strong white light beaming outward. He held it in his hands for several seconds but its hue remained consistent, it got no brighter, nor any duller."

"Thanks Drew."

"So I think we can firmly establish I'm not the chosen one," he responded smugly.

"Yes Drew, I think so. But I believe the heir was in Azalea Town at that party, and I believe they're somewhere in Silver City right now."

"That means it's probably a gym leader," May answered.

"That may well be true May. But not necessarily."

"You suspect someone else don't you?" Brock noted. Ash nodded. "Oh well", he concluded, we'll know when destiny is ready for us to know. Anyway, I think Pikachu and I would like a rest, and I'm sure some of you guys would too, so what do you say, will we head up to our rooms now?" The rest of them nodded their heads in agreement. Just a few minutes later, they were all resting happily on their big, comfortable beds, ready for whatever the coming days would throw at them.