Drop-Off at Mt. Moon!

For all the modern trappings of life to be found in the cities and some of the smaller towns, the wilderness of Kanto was largely left intact, and for good reason. Pokemon training was such a foundational part of not only their culture but that of all the other regions that cutting down and industrializing Pokemon habitats would be to shoot themselves in the foot. Besides, the adventure aspect of being a traveling trainer was considered such an essential part of the experience that destroying that would risk angering a lot of people in command of very powerful beasts and women capable of wielding the powers of the elements. There was no underestimating the weight that a Charizard gave to one's argument in the conservation debate.

Mt. Moon was perfect a perfect representation of this. Rising up halfway between Pewter City and Cerulean City, the rare minerals that could be dug from its caverns would have made any enterprising mining company very wealthy, and in fact a few had tried to do just that. But the Indigo League had stepped in, leading to a legal clash that had lasted nearly four years. In the end, the League had won out, and Mt. Moon had been declared protected territory, accessible only to traveling trainers and explorers and those who were granted special permission. The mining companies had not been happy about this, but the League had both the support of the public and Dragonites. It was hard to win against that.

Of course, there still was the matter of travel between the two cities for those not on a Pokemon journey. Those people just drove, using the highway that made up the mountain's only commercial road. Or they took the bus. On the whole, they journey took about five hours, tops.

In planning out his journey, Ash hadn't intended on doing that. He never had any intention of using public transport at all. He was going to walk the whole way like God intended, and Mt. Moon would be conquered by hiking through its winding tunnels, fighting his way through wild Pokemon, maybe even catching one or two of them, testing himself against other trainers making the same journey, and seeing what useful stones and fossils could be dug up along the way.

He had never thought that he would end up riding right through Mt. Moon on a bus.

Ash sat glumly in the back of the bus, staring out the window at the passing forest. This felt wrong, almost obscenely so. He ought to be in that forest, walking among the trees, sleeping under the stars.

Or rather, he ought to still be in Pewter City, enjoying one last night in the hotel. After all, it was about ten at night, and no one in their right mind would leave in such a hurry.

Unfortunately, it seemed that he wasn't even in control of his own journey anymore.

May sat next to him, hands on her knees, back straight against the seat, eyes fixated dead ahead. She looked distinctly uncomfortable, and had so for the last hour or so. Ash wasn't sure if it was because of their current situation or not, and he didn't feel curious enough to ask.

And by herself in the seat in front of him was Misty. She was sitting sideways, her knees drawn up to her knees, arms hugging her legs, eyes staring silently out the window.

Normally Ash would be compelled to reach out to her. To comfort her. To support her. After all, being blatantly betrayed and screwed over by one's own family, even one reportedly as terrible as Misty's, sounded awful. And on some level, Ash did feel for her.

But not right now.

He was too upset.

It had been the best day of his life. He had overcome the first major hurdle in becoming Indigo League Champion in claiming his first badge. Tangela had come through, proving all of the doubters wrong. He had parted friends with the previously estranged Yellow Nelson. He had not only gotten to finally see a revived extinct Pokemon in the flesh (or rather, exoskeleton), but had battled and beaten it. And despite all the pits and valleys in his weird relationship with Misty and May, things had taken a sudden turn for the better.

A lot better.

But now, instead of going to bed warm and happy in their comfortable hotel room, with his girls curled up against him, he was sulking in the back of a bus speeding toward the next city. Not traveling, as a trainer should. Not taking his time hiking through the fields on the way to the next city, searching for wild Pokemon and training the ones he already had. And certainly not exploring the deep and mysterious tunnels of the famed Mt. Moon, delving for secrets and treasures like had been looking forward to. No, he was on a stinkin' bus, one that was going to bypass all of that entirely.

Ash had been hoping to spend a couple weeks on the way to the next city, at the very least. He had hoped to find at least two new members to his team. He had hoped to enter Cerulean City with a stronger bond with Nidoran and Tangela, and with the two of them more powerful and competent warriors, ready to take on Misty or her sisters, however that all happened to work out. And he had really been looking forward to exploring the mountain itself, to wandering its subterranean paths, testing himself against the dangers that awaited him there and finding the secrets that they guarded, to growing closer to Misty and May-

And then he felt a warm, feminine body lean up against him.

Ash blinked. Then he slowly turned his head to see May leaning against his side, her legs brought up and curled up on the seat next to her.

For brief moment he came very close to angrily shaking her off, as right now he just wanted to sulk in peace. But then he recalled his father's words about never refusing a woman's comfort, and though May might not be naked at the moment, she likely would be again sometime in the near future, so it was best to just let her. Besides, the warmth of her body did feel nice.

Laying her head against his shoulder, May said, "I guess you kinda feel a little hijacked right about now, huh?"

Ash's scowl deepened. "Yup."

There was a pause, and then May said, "Well, after this is over, we can always just take the bus back and do it properly. You'd only lose a couple days."

Maybe, but those were days he'd rather not lose at all. And besides…

"It wouldn't be the same."

He'd already have seen Cerulean City if they did that. Part of the appeal of doing things the long way was emerging from the wilds after days of wandering to see the next city sprawled out before him, as had happened when they reached Pewter City. This way just felt artificial.

May sighed but didn't move away. "Um, do you wanna play with my boobs?"

Ash blinked. Then he turned his head around just enough to stare quizzically at her.

May was still leaning up against him, but now she was fingering her shirt's zipper while her thighs squirmed together in discomfort.

"What?" Ash said.

"It helps calm Misty down whenever she's upset," May said. She lifted her hand and curled her fingers, miming something being squeezed. "Squeezing them. It, uh…" She let her hand drop with a sigh. "Never mind."

Ash stared at her for a few more seconds before turning his attention back to the window.

A couple minutes went by. Then May said, "I can give you a blowjob if you want."

Again Ash had to stare at her in surprise. "May," he hissed in a hoarse whisper. "We're on a bus! There's other people here!"

"Yeah, but, not…not many." May swallowed noisily. "A-And they're mostly near the front. I'll be real quiet!"

Ash continued to stare.

"Fine. Handjob, then? Be easier to hide."

"What's gotten into you? This isn't the time!"

"I…" May breathed out. "Look, it's…it's all I got, okay? She's upset, and she won't talk to me. You're upset, and…and this is…this is how I make people feel better." She hugged her knees against her chest. "I don't like it when people are upset. I just don't."

Silence.

Ash looked first at her, and then to the back of Misty's head, who still had yet to react to anything they were saying, and then back to May.

Then he sighed, and slid his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him. She shifted her weight, cuddling up closer to him, so that he could feel the warmth of her body as the bus continued to speed through the night.

…

I'm gonna make them pay.

Misty could hear her companions talking behind her. She could hear them talking about her, about how tense things were between them now, about Ash's disgruntlement and May's discomfort with things.

She didn't care.

The countryside passed by her sight without her noticing a single thing. Her mind was occupied with one thing and one thing only.

I'm gonna make them pay.

She was going to rain down thunder and lightning upon the Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City. She was going to pay them back for backstabbing her, for screwing her over, and for three years of mistreatment. She was going to take her gym back by force, drive them out into the cold, and force them to find some other venue to host their stupid swimming show. They had gone too far, and now they were going to pay.

And then…

Misty's hand curled into a fist, while visions of cataclysmic thunderstorms danced behind her eyes.

And then she was going to stop hiding, stop enduring, stop letting people push her around. She was going to make it clear exactly what happened to those who messed with Misty Waterflower. From now on, whenever people spoke her name, it would no longer be with ridicule. People were going to respect her.

Starting with Violet, Daisy, and Lily.

I'm going to make them pay. One by one, I'm going to make them pay.

…

Further back, two pairs of hard feet pounded the ground, bearing two women as they charged down the moonlit highway.

Neither were wearing much clothing, with what they had being mostly scraps of leather and metal covering the intimate bits, and both were clearly in fantastic shape, but that was where their physical similarities ended.

One was something of the exception in Brock Harrison's PokeGirl harem, as she was more small, slim, and petite in comparison to the more musclebound Amazons he preferred, with narrow hips and a modest bust. She had long brown hair tied up in a pair of buns that led to twintails that fell down her back. But even with her slight build, her lean muscle was still evident.

In contrast, the other was taller, bustier, and more powerfully built. She was dark of skin and short of hair, with immaculate makeup and an air of refinement…if she wasn't panting from exertion as she and her partner charged across the moonlit landscape.

The two had been sent to rescue a trio of reckless children from a notorious criminal organization, and frankly, the smaller one wasn't thrilled about it. She already felt that those kids were magnets for trouble, and given Onyx's weird relationship with at least one of them, she really wished to have them out of their lives, lest the weirdness spread. The last thing any of them needed was a horny underaged PokeGirl, much less two!

Still, as much as she was unhappy about things, she was more than willing to go through with it. Children, even troublesome ones, needed to be protected, especially when Team Rocket was involved. She had been there for her trainer's battle to drive them out of Pewter City. She knew the sort of things that they did, and no child should be exposed to that.

Then the big one stumbled.

"Ah!" She fell to her knees and seized one sculpted calf. "Cramp! Cramp!"

The smaller one skidded to a stop and looped back around. "Damn it, Olivia! We don't have time for this!"

"Sorry, I didn't ask for my leg to seize up, okay?" Sitting back, she gingerly stretched her leg out and started massaging the twitching muscle. "Come on, Roxanne. Neither of us expected to be doing this."

Roxanne haughtily folded her arms over her modest bust. "You were ready to spend the day fighting Pokemon and other PokeGirls. How does a little cross-country cause this?"

"That's different! You stretch different muscles and do different warm-ups! Come on, you should have that in all those books of yours!"

"Argh!" Roxanne stamped her foot in impatience. She was not normally this agitated, but the whole ordeal was putting her on edge. "This is stupid! I don't recall signing up to go chasing buses on foot to save really dumb children, but here I am, chasing buses on foot to save really dumb children!" She kicked a rock, sending it sailing into the horizon. "And now my partner has a cramp! A cramp!"

"Hey, take it easy, Teach! It's not like I asked to have my calf twist up like that!"

"Don't call me Teach!" Whirling around, Roxanne slammed the sole of her foot into Olivia's generous thigh, causing every muscle in her leg to suddenly contract.

"Ow!" Olivia bounced in place. "What did you do-Wait." She slowly bent and extended her leg and waggled her foot. "Huh. Hey, my cramp's cleared up! Thanks!"

"It did?" Roxanne said in surprise. "I mean, of course it did! You're welcome!"

Olivia gingerly stood to her feet. "What did you do, some kind of intricate nerve poke or something?"

"Er, um, yes! Yes, that's exactly what I did!"

There was a pause, and then Olivia said, "You just kicked me because you were frustrated, didn't you?"

"No…"

"Rox…"

"Yes," Roxanne muttered.

Snickering, Olivia walked over to wrap her big arms around Roxanne's smaller body. "You're cute when you're flustered," she said, cupping one of Roxanne's breasts in her hand.

Roxanne pushed her away. "Knock it off. We have a job to do, and I want it over with!"

Nodding, Olivia took the time to lean back and properly stretch out her legs so the cramp wouldn't happen again. "Yeah. Kind of hard to believe this is happening again. I mean, Team Rocket, am I right? I thought we were done with those jokers."

That actually got a shiver out of Roxanne. "Yeah," she murmured, hugging her arms around herself. "Well, criminals, delinquents, they're all cut from the same cloth. No matter how many times you smack them down, they just come back with some nefarious new scheme."

"Tell me about it," Olivia said. Standing on one foot, she stretched the other up over her back, and grabbed onto her foot when it touched her shoulder. "I mean, who knows what sort of terrible plans they have for those poor kids?"

…

"This," Butch declared as he examined the police hat in his hands, "is flippin' ridiculous."

"Just deal with it," Cassidy growled as she adjusted the blouse and tugged on the skirt of her own stolen uniform. She disliked the police even under the best of circumstances, but a week in the "care" of the world's most sadistic Officer Jenny had amplified that dislike into outright hatred. Still, the plan was the plan.

"But it's way too complicated! We'd do a heck of a lot better if we just pulled up and blew out the tires! That'll make 'em stop for sure!"

Cassidy sighed. "Butch. One: they'll be driving over a giant ravine! We do that, then they could end up veering right over the edge. And two: who knows what Pokemon and PokeGirls those passengers have! We start shooting, we could end up staring down the barrel of an angry Magmortar. Do you want to deal with an angry Gengar? Because I don't!"

That mollified her partner somewhat, though he still looked quite disgruntled. "Well, I still think this is ridiculous. Why do we gotta go with his plan again?"

Cassidy's ears still burned with Executive Archer's harsh reprimands. "If the higher-ups really think those idiots are useful, then we're going to find out why. Otherwise, we'll be stuck with them forever. Besides, didn't you say that you and James actually pulled off every job you did?"

At this, Butch's irritation morphed into total bewilderment. "I just don't get it. He'd come up with the wackiest schemes, like that most ridiculous ideas that you'd ever heard, but they'd work! I mean, I'd have to be the one to make sure that they work, but they'd still work!"

"There you go," Cassidy said. "Let him kick things off, and we'll handle the follow-through."

"If you say so. I still think this is way too freakin' complicated." Then Butch turned toward her and spread his arms. "Okay," he said. "How do I look?"

One hand on her hip and the other holding her chin, Cassidy gave him an appraising look up and down. On the one hand, the thought of the two of them donning police uniforms, even as a disguise, was deeply offensive to her. On the other hand, there was no denying that Butch looked incredibly sharp in his.

"Let me put it this way," Cassidy said. "I want to tear it right off of you, for a number of different reasons."

Grinning, he stepped forward, looping one arm around her waist to seize her ass while squeezing her breast with the other. "Right back at'cha, babe," he murmured before crushing her mouth against his.

Cassidy moaned in delight as she melted into his arms. Oh, she had missed this. Looping her arms around his neck, she parted her lips, letting him slip his tongue in, letting him slip in anything that he'd want to-

"Hey! Get your pawing hands off of each other. Don't you realize that Jessie is still in danger?"

Sighing, the two slipped from each other's arms and mouths to glower at James. Like them, he had his disguise ready, namely being a knitted shawl over a grey, woolen gown; a thick pair of bifocals; and a curly grey wig. An oak cane was in his hand.

James thrust a finger at them. "You two are wasting time slobbering all over each other while my Jessie remains in captivity!"

"And whose fault is that, exactly?" Cassidy said.

"Yours!"

"Okay, okay," Meowth groused as it walked in between them. "I sees where this is goin'. So, hey, if yah gotta squabble like preschoolers, hows about yah wait until aftah we bag dose kids?"

Cassidy glowered. "Fine," she said. "If it'll get me away from you two faster."

"My thoughts exactly!" James turned and sulked off to get into position, Meowth following close behind, shaking its head in exasperation.

As Butch and Cassidy watched as James hobbled away, Cassidy couldn't help but remark, "Remind me again how you two were so effective as a duo?"

"I…have no idea," Butch admitted. "We just…were."

"Ah." Maybe Jessie really was the weak link all along. Then Cassidy looked down at the uniforms they were wearing, and then the vehicle sitting parked beside them. "And I don't suppose you have any idea where he got these uniforms? Or this police car?"

Frowning, Butch scratched his head. "It was just the damnedest thing. Didn't seem to matter what crazy shit we needed for our heists, he'd just…get it. Somehow."

Huh. Well, it seemed that the foppish moron had a use after all. Still…

"Okay, last question," she said as she and Butch boarded the police car. "Why did he disguise himself as an old woman instead of an old man?"

At this, Butch groaned out loud. "Oh, don't ask. Seriously. I gave up tryin' to figure that guy out on day one."

…

"…the ravine was carved out by the now defunct Silph Mining Co. seventy-four years ago," said the very bored-sounding bus driver over the vehicle's PA. "After the discovery of moonstone, it was hoped that the mineral could be mined, but thanks to protests from both traveling trainers and delegations from both Pewter City and Cerulean City the Indigo League was compelled to act in order to preserve the mountain's natural beauty."

The ravine was quite the sight, something even Ash had to admit. Cutting through one shoulder of the massive monolith that was Mt. Moon, it extended deep down into the foundation of the mountain itself, so far that even in the light of day the bottom could not be seen. It was said that the old tunnels dug out by the miners were still down there, now occupied and extended by the various wild Pokemon that dwelled within the mountain.

Construction on the ravine might have been halted, but a use was still found for it, with the road extending all the way across on a suspended four-lane highway, two one direction and two the other. The ravine was too deep for support columns, so the highway was really more of a very long bridge, held up by steel girders bracing it to the stone walls on either end and heavy-duty anchoring it to tall steel posts. Even so, much of the middle was just a long stretch of floating road, with nothing but metal guardrails separating the cars from a sheer drop into oblivion.

Which was where the bus currently was traveling.

Despite his surly mood, Ash couldn't help but press his face to the window, peering out as far as he could see. The silhouette of Mt. Moon towered over the highway, blotting out its shining namesake from the night sky. The sheer walls of the ravine were far from the highway, so much that Ash could barely make out their shape.

And down below…well, down below there was nothing to see at all. Honestly, it was kind of terrifying.

Still, Ash couldn't help but stare down into that abyss with some measure of envy. How many other trainers were currently wandering the passages within that mountain? How many were close to where the bus was now?

"…since then, no corporate entity has been allowed nowhere near Mt. Moon," the bus driver was saying. "Thereby ensuring preservation of-HOLY SHIT!"

Suddenly the brakes were slammed so hard that Ash was nearly thrown facefirst into the back of Misty's chair. He only just managed to stop himself in time, but given the sounds of dismay and cries of pain, some of the other passengers weren't so lucky.

The bus's tires squealed in a desperate attempt to bring the vehicle to a stop, but whatever the driver was trying to do, he was too late. Ash heard the sound of a loud thump.

"Hey, what was that?" called one of the passengers. "I think I broke my nose!"

The driver didn't respond. Shaken a bit by the sudden shock, Ash craned his neck to see what was happening.

The driver was still in his seat, hand clenched tightly at the wheel, staring at something on the road, something that Ash couldn't see.

"What happened?" said someone else. "Why'd you brake?"

"I, uh…" The bus driver took off his crap and ran his trembling fingers through his shaking hair. "I…" He slowly stood up and looked back at his passengers. "Just…stay where you are and don't go anywhere!"

"I don't see that being a problem," someone said. "Nowhere to go."

The bus driver didn't respond. He simply opened the door and rushed out into the open air.

The three of them stared after him. "What do you think happened?" Ash said.

"I think he hit something," Misty responded.

"Hit something? More like someone!" said a man sitting a few seats up.

Ash felt a chill just sweep down his spine. Had someone just died? "Who?"

"I don't know, but I heard the scream."

"The scream?"

The man stared at Ash like he was daft. "Didn't you hear it? Right before the thump?"

Ash shook his head. He exchanged a quick glance with May and sat back, wondering how to react to this very unexpected turn of events.

A moment later the bus driver got back onto the bus. The man looked absolutely harried. His face was pale, and he was sweating profusely. "Does anyone have any Pokemon or PokeGirls with any healing abilities?" he called.

Oh man, it was bad.

"Uh, no, just a Sandslash," someone responded.

"Cathy's a water-type, so no."

"Well, I'm actually a psychic-type, but unfortunately, I only know offensive moves, because someone insisted I concentrate on that and only that!"

"Hey, the only stats you need to worry about affecting is changing your opponent's health stat to zero!"

Then an older man sitting near the front said, "Well, I have a First-Aid kit in my pack. Would that help?"

The bus driver stared blankly at the man. "First-Aid kit," he repeated. "Yes, that would…" Then he smacked himself in the forehead. "Wait, I have a First-Aid kit! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Did you call for an ambulance?" someone else asked.

"Ambulance?" The bus driver blinked. "Uh, r-right. I should…do that."

"Man, the poor guy's in total shock," May remarked as the bus driver stumbled toward the radio.

"It's not every day that you almost kill someone," Misty said. "Though why would anyone be walking across the highway this far out?"

That was a good question. The highway was, well, very high up, with nothing but the sheer walls of the canyon down below, and there wasn't much at either end, not even a sidewalk for pedestrians. Maybe a workman doing some routine maintenance who had just been unlucky enough to cross the road right as the bus had been coming? Or a wandering hiker? No, none of those made any sense.

And then Ash heard the sound of sirens.

"Wow, that was fast," Misty said.

May frowned, clearly discomforted. Ash didn't blame her. That had been weirdly fast.

"That's not an ambulance," Misty said, craning her neck to look out the windows across the aisle as flashing lights caught up to the bus.

The police? Oh man, this really was serious.

The poor bus driver was already shaken, but now he looked like he was going to throw up. The sirens stopped, but the flashing red, white, and blue lights did not. A moment later he could hear the bus driver having a tense conversation with someone standing outside.

Then the bus driver turned toward his staring passengers. "Everyone off the bus," he said hoarsely.

Ash swallowed. May winced. And Misty buried her face in her hands.

Rising in silence, the three of them lined up behind the few other passengers and filed down the stairs onto the highway. There, Ash could see a policeman wearing a Pewter City Police Department uniform, standing next to a police car that was parked right next to the bus, inside which was a policewoman. The bus driver was sitting on the ground with his face in his hands. And just beyond him, right in front of the bus, lay a prone form. It looked like an old woman.

Oh man!

"Everyone behind the bus," ordered the policeman. The passengers obeyed, heading back, and the three anxious kids moved to follow.

"This can't be happening," Misty whispered to herself. "This can't be happening. This can't be happening."

Ash agreed. May had been right. The two of them drew bad fortune like iron dust to a magnet, and together their bad luck was only magnified.

However, before they had gone too far, the policeman suddenly said, "Hey! You three kids! Stop!"

The three of them froze in their tracks.

"Come here!"

Wincing, they all turned. The policeman was staring at them in suspicion, his brow furrowed behind his sunglasses. Why was he wearing sunglasses? It was night!

"Where are you three headed?" he demanded as they approached.

"C-Cerulean," Misty stammered.

"Why?"

What? Why would he care so much where three kids were going?

"I live there," Misty said.

"Is that right?" the policeman said. "Because we got a call about some kids wanted in connection with a recent attack on the Viridian City PokeCenter."

Ash inhaled sharply.

Misty's fists were shaking. "That had nothing to do with us," she said.

"Oh yeah? Then how come the security footage matches your two friends here?"

Misty didn't answer.

Folding his arms, the policeman looked all three over and said, "Okay, kiddos. What're your names?"

"Uh, A-Ash Ketchum, sir!" Ash said.

"Well, that's one. What about you two girls?"

May didn't answer. Neither did Misty.

"You go deaf?" the policeman said. "I asked you a question. What are your names?"

…

"There!" Roxanne said as she and Olivia reached the top of a hill, one overlooking the highway. "There's the bus!"

There it was indeed. But curiously enough, it was not in motion. Furthermore, everyone seemed to be outside instead of riding inside, and there was a parked police car right next to it.

"What's going on?" Olivia said. She squinting her eyes to focus. "Who's that?"

"Um, that's…that's a Pewter City police car, all right," Roxanne said. "I…don't recognize the officer, though."

That was worrying. While Pewter City had a decently sized police force, Brock did work closely with the department, and as such he and his PokeGirls had met most of the officers on it at one time or another, especially the ones that patrolled the road through Mt. Moon, given that he was on the areas Environmental Commission board. Granted, it was entirely possible that a new officer had been hired that they hadn't met yet, but it did raise suspicions.

Also, the officer was talking to three children, three children that were easily recognized as the ones they had been sent to protect.

"Huh," Roxanne said, putting her hands on her hips.

The talk did not seem to be to the kids' liking, and the officer looked like he was getting frustrated with them. He then opened the rear door of the police car and indicated for them to get inside. The boy looked like he was about to obey, but the redheaded one was arguing, and rather angrily at that.

"Huh," Roxanne said again.

And the Olivia noticed something.

"Hey, Rox?" she said, pointing at the car. "Didn't the PCPD change their logo a couple years back when they found out the old one had a hidden penis in it?"

"Yeah?"

"So why does that car have the penis logo?"

Silence.

The two women exchanged a single look. And then Roxanne balled up her fists, making the knuckles pop, while Olivia pounded one hand into the palm of the other.

…

"I don't care who you think we are! You have nothing on us, no warrant, nothing! So we're not going anywhere!"

Ash, Misty, and May were still standing next to the parked bus on the highway that ran through Mt. Moon, waiting anxiously as Misty argued with the policeman that wanted to take them back to Pewter City, and naturally, Misty was having none of it. It was actually kind of impressive, watching a little girl dress down a fully grown and uniformed police officer.

Unfortunately, the officer wasn't having any of it either.

"Talk back all you want," growled the policeman. "But the chief has made it clear: anyone who finds those kids has to bring them back right away, so that's that!"

"Ooooh, no! No way. If your chief wants us so badly, he can come here, knock us out, and carry us back himself! Otherwise, call him up and tell him where he can stick his orders!"

Rocking back and forth on his ankles and toes, Ash craned his neck to see past the bus. The body of the old lady was still lying there, forgotten in the argument.

That struck Ash as being amazingly messed up.

Wincing, he then glanced over to May, who seemed quite ill at ease. She was pacing back and forth, arms hugging herself, her face pale and eyes staring at nothing. No doubt she was wondering what would happen if the police learned her name. Would she be sent back to her family? Knowing how opposed she was that, Ash could only sympathize.

Then his eyes flitted from her over to the police car and the other officer still sitting inside. There was no real reason, just a natural wandering of his gaze. However, once they fell upon the woman's face, he found himself freezing stiff.

The policewoman was also wearing sunglasses despite the late hour and had on an officer's cap pulled down over her hair, which was done in a tight bun. However, that didn't disguise the hateful way she was glowering right at Ash. He could practically feel the malice radiating off of her.

But why? What did he do? And…

And why did her face seem so familiar?

Seeing that he was now staring at her as well, the policewoman didn't look away, but instead her scowl deepened. Ash swallowed. Yup, she definitely didn't like him.

"Hey," he whispered, bumping May with his arm. "May. Look at the policelady in the car. Does she look familiar to you?"

May's eyes flickered over to the angry woman in disinterest. Then she looked back at her with greater focus. "Huh," she said. "Now that you mention it…"

"Why's she looking at us like that?"

"How should I know? I've never seen her before in…"

May's voice trailed off. The two children exchanged looks of dawning horror.

Then Ash whirled around toward where Misty was still arguing with the "policeman," his hand darting down to where Nidoran and Tangela's pokeballs were stowed.

Suddenly something hit the ground right in front of the bus with such impact that waves of force shockwaved out from the point of impact. The bus and policecar both bounced, and everyone found themselves unexpectedly bowled over: the kids, the police officer, and even the body of the old woman were all flung back.

Ash fell into the May, and the two tumbled to the ground, May fortunately and unintentionally saving Ash from a painful impact on the asphalt. Dazed, the two tried to untangle themselves from each other and rise, only for Misty to fall on top of them, causing all three to collapse into a heap.

Blinking the dust from his eyes, Ash struggled to remove himself from the two stunned girls and sit up to see what was happening.

What he saw made him wonder if he had suffered a concussion.

Two women were there, one taller and more muscular, with dark skin and short, shiny black hair, and the other slimmer and more pale, her hair long and dark brown. Both were dressed in a very striking manner, wearing bikini tops of studded leather, hanging loincloths, and bronze bands on their wrists, forearms, and ankles.

Brock's PokeGirls? What? What were they doing here?

But more concerning was what they were doing. The bigger one had caught the policeman by the collar and was lifting him up with one hand, while the other had seized the body of the old woman and was hoisting it up.

Ash was horrified. Assaulting a police officer was bad. Desecrating a dead body was worse! And even worse than that, if the old lady was somehow still alive, then the PokeGirl might end up injuring her even further! What in the world were the doing to-

Wait, why was the dead old woman suddenly kicking her legs and grabbing onto the hand seizing her throat?

Wait, why was her grey hair slipping off her head, revealing hair that short, blue, and evidently employed an excess amount of hairspray?

"Let go of me, you lunatic!" the "dead old woman" cried. "This is assault! I'll sue you! I'll sue you and own you! I'll sue your owner and own them!"

Wait, was the old woman really a young man?

"Well, well, well," said the dark-skinned PokeGirl as she continued to hold the struggling policeman aloft. "What do we have here? A couple of bullies, picking on kids. Hey, Teach! What do we do with bullies?"

"Oh, I'm thinking an extended suspension," said the one who had the kicking blue-haired man.

"Darn right! You are very much suspended! Suspended up…off the ground…because I'm holding you. By the neck. Yeah."

The other one sighed. "Nice follow-through, Olivia."

"I am so lost," May said.

"Wait, what's going on here?" cried the bus driver. "She's not dead! She's not a she?"

"Nope! You've all been tricked," said the one called Teach.

"Backstabbed," added Olivia.

"Misled."

"Swindled."

"Conned."

"Deceived."

"And quite possibly bamboozled." Teach gave the blue-haired man a rough shake.

Ash's jaw dropped. "Wh-What? Then who-"

"All right, that's enough!"

Everyone turned. The dour policewoman had exited the car and was now aiming a pistol toward the two PokeGirls. "Drop my partner and the idiot!"

"I'm not your partner!" the blue-haired man cried.

"Oh, fer the love of…" grumbled the policeman.

"No, you're the idiot, idiot!" The policewoman. She directed her aim toward Olivia's forehead. "I'm giving you until the count of five! One-"

Suddenly the policeman dropped from Olivia's grasp as she fell to her knees with a cry, one hand seizing her arm.

"Olivia?" Teach said in alarm. "What's wro-"

And then she staggered as well, dropping her own hostage, but this time Ash caught sight of a flitting shadow and the glint of gems.

Oh no.

The policeman and the blue-haired guy both scrambled back, and the policelady hastily ran over to join them.

"What was that?" Olivia said, grimacing as she gripped her arm.

"I don't know, but one thing's for sure." Teach thrust a finger at the two uniformed "police officers" and snarled, "You two don't deserve to wear those uniforms, so drop the act!"

The two "police" officers glanced at each other. "Well, I guess the gig is up," said the woman.

"Guess you're right," said the man. "Shall we?"

And then Ash's world was consumed by thick, choking blue smoke, hissing from an unseen source. He coughed and waved his hand, trying futilely to clear his vision.

Slowly the smoke dissipated, revealing the silhouettes of the two police officers, still standing side-by-side. However, as their forms became clear, Ash saw that they had somehow completely discarded their police uniforms, replacing them with a pair of black outfits, each one with a scarlet upper-case R on the breast. What was more, the woman was now bare-headed, revealing her blonde hair, done in a style that Ash found discouragingly familiar.

"No," May whispered.

The two agents of Team Rocket sneered at the kids. And then, taking turns, they began chanting.

"Prepare for trouble," stated the woman.

"And make it double!" added the man. Then, in unison, they both said, "Here's our mission, so you better listen!"

"What," Misty said flatly. Ash agreed with her bewilderment.

However, they weren't done. "To infect the world with devastation!" said the woman.

"To blight all people in every nation!" the man said.

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

With a flourish, the woman posed with her hands on her hips. "Cassidy!"

The man did the same. "And Butch, of course!"

"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night."

"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the-"

"Enough of that!" the blue-haired man suddenly cut in. Like the other two, he was now wearing the uniform of Team Rocket, though his was white instead of black. He stepped in front of his partners and thrust an angry finger at Ash. "Hey! What did you do with my Jessie, you snot-nosed brat?"

Now Ash was totally lost. Jessie? What was a-

Oh.

Oh no.

"And as for you two!" The blue-haired man whirled to face the other two. "What kind of motto is that?"

"Uh, the right one?" said the woman now identified as Cassidy.

"James, I told yah," said the man named Butch. "You guys have been sayin' it wrong this whole time!"

James looked about ready to explode. "Ridiculous! The syllabic flow is all over the place! A complete and total disaster that refuses to roll off the tongue!"

As they argued, Misty sidled up to Ash. "Hey, uh, Ash?" she murmured out of the corner of their mouth. "You maybe want to tell me what's going on?"

Ash swallowed. "That blonde woman is one of the Team Rocket grunts that attacked me and May at the Viridian City PokeCenter!"

"I thought we'd have to deal with her again," May said with a scowl.

"Okay," Misty said. "So…what's a Jessie?"

Oh boy.

With a winced, Ash reached up to his jacket's breast pocket. Unzipping it, he reached his finger in, and winced again when they brushed up against something small, round, and metal.

Extracting it, he saw that it was a shrunken-down human ball, one that he had stowed their days ago and had plumb forgotten about.

"Wait, is that mine?" May said, tilting her head in confusion.

"Uh, no."

"Well, it's not mine," Misty said. "Mine has a bunch of scratches on-"

Her voice trailed off. She slowly raised her head to meet Ash's eyes as realization dawned on her. Shamefaced, he looked away.

"Are you serious?" she said in a hoarse whisper.

"I forgot!"

"You forgot? How do you forget something like-"

"Hey!"

Everyone's eyes turned in the direction of the new voice, from which now came the sound of soft-padded paws, sarcastically being clapped together.

From the dark emerged that Meowth, the one that could inexplicably speak. "Well dun," it sad. "All yah had'ta do was kidnap three stupid kids, and yah mucked it up. Humans. Only thing yah can depend on you fer iz bein' undependable."

"I'm sorry, did that Pokemon just…speak?" said the poor bus driver, who really had to be having the most unusual day.

"Wow, you weren't kidding," Misty said. "It really can talk!"

"You thought we were lying?" Ash said.

"Well, no, but come on. A talking Meowth? That's something you have to see for yourself."

Olivia scratched the back of her neck. "This is definitely not going how I pictured."

"Yeah, I ken talk!" The Meowth then whirled around toward the dumbstruck bus passengers. "And here's how things are gonna go!" It popped the claws on its right paw. "You twerps are comin' wit' us! Complain, an' I slice yah! Fight back, an' I slice yah! Geddit?"

"Uh, yeah, no we're not," May said flatly.

"Uh, yeah, yah are, sweetcheeks. Nice'ta see you figgered out how'ta dress yerself." Then it turned back toward the empty highway ahead of them. "Hey! Yah bozos mebbe wanna get in on dis?"

And then, one by one, they appeared.

The hissing Ekans, slithering out of the dark.

The leering Sableye, landing in a crouch.

The incensed Raticate, emerging from around the front of the bus.

And worst of all, the Houndour, its malicious eyes burning with hellfire, both of them staring a hole into Ash. It was evident that it had not forgotten what he had done to it, and very much wished to even that score.

The Meowth turned to the blue-haired man, who was still wearing the shawl of an old woman, and was still sitting on his butt. "Hey! James! Yah gonna join in here?"

"What? Oh, right."

James stood and threw a pokeball of his own. Moments later a creature like a massive, floating purple tumor with a face appeared.

"Koffing!" it called in a deep voice.

"This isn't good," Ash said, taking a step back. "They've got us outnumbered!"

"Maybe," May said. "But I really don't care." She stepped forward, fingers curling into fists.

"May, wait!" Misty place a hand on May's shoulder. "Don't! People can see!"

May took a glance at their fellow passengers still standing confused behind them, and her face fell. "Drat," she muttered.

"Hey, don't sweat it," Olivia said. "Maybe you kids can't light it up." She then slammed her fist into her palm. "But we can!"

Teach sighed. "Well, I guess we're doing this now." Raising her voice, she called, "So, you delinquents wish to rumble? Very well."

This seemed to take the Meowth by surprise. "Uh, hang on," it said, taking a nervous step back. "N-No need tah-"

"Oh, for Heaven's sake, Meowth!" Cassidy snapped. She swung her arm, indicating all the Pokemon lined up on their side. "We have them outnumbered!"

"Yeah, and how did that work out for you last time?" May shouted back.

"There's no dark corners for you to pull your little tricks, kiddo! In a straight-up fight, we'd cream you!"

"We had a straight-up fight, just me against three of your Pokemon at once, remember? You sure about those odds?"

"Bring it, brat! I've been dreaming of the day when I could-"

But before things could devolve further, someone interrupted.

It was one of the other passengers from the bus, a short, unassuming old man, one with a balding head, a greying mustache, and thick glasses. He wore a brown overcoat and a brown fedora and walked with the assistance of a cane.

"Excuse me," he said as stepped forward. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but while this feud certainly seems to have some history to it that I am not privy to, it does seem to me that you young people wish to take these children away against their will. Would I have that correct?"

All three Team Rocket grunts scowled. "And what's it to you, Gramps?" Butch demanded.

"So that would be a 'yes,'" the old man said. "Well, I'm terribly sorry, but I cannot allow that to happen."

Butch and Cassidy both glanced at each other in disbelief. Then they burst out laughing. "Are you serious?" Cassidy said. "You look like a stiff wind would knock you over."

"Ah, well, it's true that my physical prime are far behind me," the old man said. "But I do not see a stiff wind in your arsenal." He then held up a hand, and Ash saw two shrunken-down pokeballs held between his fingers. "However, I do have these."

Twin bursts of light appeared, but when they collected, they became two very different creatures. One was a bit taller than the old man and stood on four segmented legs. It seemed to be made entirely of sharp-edged steel, with a faceted disc-shaped body and two glaring eyes.

The other was a round-bodied biped, with squat legs, a big belly, and a pair of clawed cannons for hands. Flames rose up from its heavy-jowled face, as well as its spiked shoulders.

"METAGROSS!" shrieked the metal one as it slammed one heavy foot into the asphalt.

The other narrowed its eyes and growled, its voice a deep rumble. "Magmortar."

Ash's heart soared. They weren't going to have to do this alone after all!

Then a shapely woman stepped forward, one with wild lavender hair held back by a bandana encircling her forehead. She was wearing tight yoga pants and a fishnet top with nothing underneath. "Okay, so I have no idea what's going on. I only know that we're running late, and you bozos are making us later. So…"

She spread her hands, and her body began to glow purple. Her feet left the ground as she slowly levitated into the air.

A moment later there was another flash of light, and a young girl with short blonde hair appeared, one wearing a pink bikini with a frilly skirt and flip-flops. She looked around in confusion. "Hey, wait," she said. "This isn't Cerulean City! Jake, what's going on?"

"Our bus got hijacked by Team Rocket!" her trainer said. "That's them over there!"

The girl's eyes went wide. And then she scowled. "Oh, did it?" she said, taking up a fighter's stance.

And then a spiky Sandslash appeared.

Followed by a Fearow.

And then a Swinub.

Now Team Rocket were the ones outnumbered. The three humans all exchanged uncomfortable looks and took a step back, while the Pokemon all seemed much less sure of their odds. "Er, hey, waidda minnit!" said the now visibly sweating Meowth. "Dere's no need fer…Oh, crap."

Grinning, Ash reached down toward his belt. "And hey!" he said. "I'm not so helpless anymore either!"

Suddenly Misty's face went white in alarm. "Ash, wait! No!"

Too late. He had already hurled Nidoran and Tangela's pokeballs.

Nidoran appeared, spines bristling, ready to fight as always.

But as Tangela's body materialized, Ash realized what a terrible mistake he had made. Sure, Tangela might be a terror of destruction when faced with an enemy, but she was still very much not stable, and still very much had a problem with PokeGirls!

Of which his side now had six.

Ash's own face lost color as ice water flooded his gut. Oh no. Oh no, no, NO!

Time seemed to slow down. Tangela rose up and looked around, obviously confused as to why she was suddenly standing in the middle of the road facing a bunch of angry-looking strangers.

"Tan?" she said.

Ash hastily brought its pokeball up to recall her, but his fingers slipped, and it dropped down.

Tangela glanced down at Nidoran, which gave it a look. "Ge?" she inquired. Nidoran pawed at the ground. "Nido!" He also probably had no idea what was going on, but he knew a fight when he saw one.

The pokeball hit the ground and bounced once. Ash dove for it, both hands clapping over the metal sphere before it could bounce away.

Then Tangela turned to face him, instinctively focusing on her trainer. However, in doing so, she caught sight of Olivia.

And from Olivia, she saw the floating psychic-typed PokeGirl.

And then she saw Teach.

And then she saw the PokeGirl in the bikini.

Tangela's eyes went wide, the whites darkening to sickly yellow.

"LA!"

Ash rose up, arm extending to point the pokeball at the unstable grass-typed Pokemon before it lost control.

He was too late. The screaming had already started.

…

Everything…hurt.

That was the first thing May grew aware of. Pain. All over. She had been hit hard, and not in a fun way.

Everything had been knocked out of whack. Her thoughts were scattered, her body ached, and she had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. All of her senses were scrambled, with pain being the only sensation that was properly registering, and she didn't even have the state of mind to dislike that.

In time she became aware of something else, that she was lying on something cool and rough. Asphalt. She was lying on asphalt. She was lying on a road.

But why? Had she gotten hit by a car or something?

She smelled something. Dust. Dust and burning gasoline. Ew.

Something else began to register. Voices. Distressed voices. The flickering of flames. One voice in particular, one that was very near, albeit still sounding weirdly distorted, as if speaking to her from underwater. But that was just silly. She wasn't underwater. It would hurt a lot more if she was!

"Kid! Kid? Hey, kid!"

A hand shook her shoulder. Irritated, May twitched and groaned in protest.

"C'mon, get up, okay?"

"Move aside! I'll fix her up!"

Then she felt something cool and soothing spray over her aching face. Moments later the throbbing pain began to dull, and her thoughts started to clear.

The first thing she saw was the concerned face of the new PokeGirl, the one called Olivia. She was crouched down low, staring at May right in the fact. May didn't mind at all, especially given that it gave her a very close view of the woman's generous amount of cleavage. Still, she would like to know why she was lying flat on her stomach.

"She's waking up!"

That was true enough. May started to move, only to wince when the ache flared up again. Olivia reached over and helped her gingerly turn over onto her back. From their she maneuvered the younger PokeGirl up into a sitting position.

May blinked her eyes several times. She was now further back down the road. The burning thing turned out to be Team Rocket's stolen police car, which was now upside-down and lying against the guard rails that lined the highway. All of its windows were shattered, its sides dented.

And it was very much on fire.

"What?" May said in confusion. Then she winced again, and touched a hand to a sore spot on her head. Ouch, she had taken a nasty bump.

The bus driver, the other passengers, and their PokeGirls and Pokemon were huddled together in a small ground behind the bus. Though she hadn't taken a headcount, it did seem like they were all there, though obviously many of them were scared. The poor bus driver was curled up on the ground with his head in his heads, evidently in the middle of a full mental breakdown.

As for the bus, it wasn't flung around or on fire, but it did have a few dents of its own, as well as its fair share of shattered windows.

Eh?

"What happened?" she said. "Where's Team Rocket?"

Teach's lip curled. "Gone," she said. "As soon as your dummy friend's Tangela went berserk, they threw another one of their smoke bombs and vanished."

Tangela. Right. That's what had happened. Ash had brought Tangela out, and she had gone completely insane, as was her wont. May recalled ducking several flailing vines, only to look up and see another vine swinging right for her face. Presumably that was when she had gotten knocked out and subsequently beaten up.

"And can I just say, that was a dumb idea?" Olivia said. "I mean, we already knew that thing wasn't safe."

"Well, I'm sure Ash didn't mean any harm," May grumbled as she massaged the flesh around the bump on her head. "He just forgets things when he's-"

Then she gasped. "Hey, wait! Where is he? Where's Misty? Where's my friends?"

At this, Olivia and Teach exchanged looks of discomfort.

Oh no, something had happened. "What's that look mean?" she said. "What happened to them? Are they hurt?"

Teach's dour face softened in genuine sympathy and concern. "May," she said, kneeling down next to the younger PokeGirl. "I'm going to need you to brace yourself."

May's breath caught. "What? Why?"

"It was chaos," Teach said, laying a hand on her shoulder. "The Tangela went wild, attacking everything left and right. Your friends tried to stop it, but-"

"WHAT HAPPENED?" May shrieked.

"Th-They went over the edge," Olivia stammered.

May's heart nearly stopped.

"What?" she whispered.

Olivia pointed to one side of the highway. There, the guardrail was clearly bent outward. "It slammed into them both, and they went over the edge."

May was confused. She heard the words that Olivia was saying to her, and they were words that she understood, but for whatever reason the way that Olivia was using them failed to make any sort of coherent sense to her at all. Edge? Went over the edge? What did that mean? Why wasn't she telling her where Misty and Ash were? Were they over by the bus? Were they chasing Team Rocket?

Teach was saying something, but May could barely hear her. It was like she was talking through thick water. And why was she talking at all when she ought to be getting Misty and Ash for her? Everything was so weird, and nothing was making sense at all.

And then, all at once, it did.

"Misty, NO!" May screamed as she bolted to her feet, tearing out of Teach's grasp, and rushed to the dented guardrail. "Ash!"

"Kid, wait!" Olivia called behind her, but May was not to be deterred. She grabbed into the rail and looked down.

Beneath her, the ravine went down and down and down, vanishing into darkness.

"MISTY!" she screamed again. "ASH! Can you hear me?"

No answer.

No.

No, it couldn't be. They had to be okay.

Maybe they had landed in water or something. Maybe they were unconscious. Maybe it was just too far for her voice to carry.

She had to get down there. But how? It was a long drop, and though her body could take much more of a beating than back when she was a plain old vanilla human being, there were still limits!

Maybe…Maybe if she shot a lot of fire downward, it would slow her fall? Heck, maybe she could actually fly! She had heard of some PokeGirls learning flying-type moves. It wasn't exactly common, but it was possible. Maybe she was double-typed this whole time and just never knew!

Only one way to find out.

May stepped over the guardrail and looked down into the infinite black. She spread her hands to either side, palms down, and took a deep breath.

Then she took a step forward.

"STOP!"

A pair of strong arms grabbed her from behind and yanked her back. Startled, May tried to take a swing at her aggressor, her fist covered with flames, only for another hand to clamp over her own, snuffing the fire out.

"Calm down, kid!" Olivia said as she hauled May away from the edge, Teach following along with her hand covering May's.

May was not interested in calming down. And May very much resented being dragged away from trying to save her friends.

"Let met go!" she shrieked as she writhed and kicked. "My friends are down there, I have to help them! Let me go! LET ME GO!"