Chapter 9: Don't Be Cruel
"You ready for us Iris?" Cilan asked the purple-haired girl.
"Ready when you are," Iris responded confidently.
Pansage stood in front of Cilan with eyes that thirsted for battle while Axew gave the green monkey a confident grin. Iris had requested a battle from the trainer she found most experienced out of her three friends, Cilan and hoped the gym leader could help her train Axew.
Ash, May, and Pikachu watched from the sidelines. Pikachu sat on Ash's lap while May had her head laid on Ash's shoulder and the boy stared at the two battlers with disappointment. May took notice of his attitude and lifted her head, asking, "What's wrong Ash?"
The raven-haired teen sighed and spoke, "I really wanted to battle Iris, I still don't get why Iris didn't pick me after begging so much."
Iris and Cilan heard the boy and the Dragon-type trainer turned to the boy. "Sorry Ash, but I think it's better if I trained with Cilan instead," Iris apologized, but her voice retained its confident tone.
"But you know how much I enjoy battling, I would've made a great opponent," Ash told Iris about what he believed.
Iris crossed her arms and replied, "That's the problem Ash, you'd battle to win and go too hard on Axew in the process. You would probably use a Volt Tackle the moment the battle commences and that's too much for Axew. Cilan though, is much more experienced and with his abilities, Axew will be trained a lot better."
Ash crossed his arms and frowned at her, "Aren't battles supposed to be about going all-out and aiming to win, that's what makes a battle a battle."
Iris gave Ash such an intense glare that it looked like steam would come out of her ears, "Just sit back and watch the battle!" Iris's yelling startled Ash to the point where his pupils shrunk in fear.
Iris huffed at him and turned her attention back to battle. Cilan and Pikachu laughed nervously while May giggled and ran her fingers through Ash's hair. "Don't worry Ashy, we'll have a battle of our own after this is over if that will cheer you up," May comforted her boyfriend and smiled sweetly.
Ash gave May a grin that appreciated her comfort, "Thanks May," the boy squeezed the girl's hand in affection. The lovebirds and Pikachu turned their attention to Iris and Cilan's battle, which is about to begin.
"Axew, use Scratch!' Iris commanded.
"Axew!" the dragon began running toward Pansage with glowing claws.
Cilan smiled at the innocent Dragon-type and made a command, "Pansage, dodge with Dig!"
Right before Axew could inflict some damage, Pansage went underground and the dragon missed. Axew looked around the battlefield with an anxious look, expecting Pansage to pop out at any minute.
"Axew, stay cool, just wait for Pansage to appear and then use Scratch," Iris instructed her Dragon-type Pokémon.
Pansage burst from underneath and stood a few feet away from Axew. The Tusk Pokémon wasted no time in rushing towards Cilan's Pokémon and scratching it.
"Repeat," Cilan instructed and Pansage went back down again.
"Axew!" the dragon tried to hit Pansage, but missed and fell.
Iris frowned and spoke, "Don't worry Axew, just move faster when Pansage pops back up ok?" Axew nodded and prepared itself for Pansage.
"What is Cilan trying to do, he hasn't even attacked yet," May was confused as to why Cilan did nothing.
"I'm just as confused as you are, but Cilan must be up to something," Ash was also puzzled, but with Cilan being a gym leader and all, the Grass-type trainer is bound to have some tricks.
Cilan's Pansage popped up again and Axew tried to fight back with Scratch, but Pansage was too fast and went back underground. The process was repeated multiple times until Axew became exhausted and could no longer catch up.
Iris frowned at Cilan, "Cilan, could you please stop toying with us and start taking things seriously!"
Cilan crossed his arms and smiled, "We are taking you seriously. Dodging an attack repeatedly tires out the opponent to the point where it barely has enough energy to fight. That's when you leap in an attack."
"Hey, that's a good strategy," Ash thought a tactic like that could come in handy.
Iris was surprised to see what Cilan had been doing the whole time; she had fallen into his trap. Cilan chuckled and extended his arm to the right, "Pansage, use Bullet Seed!"
Pansage came out of the ground released a slow-paced seed that hit Axew. More seeds slowly shot out from Pansage's mouth and damaged the little dragon. Axew tried to cover itself from the attack, but even the weak Bullet Seed was enough to make it cry.
"Ax Axew!" the Tusk Pokémon yelled out and began crying.
Ash, May, and Pikachu raised their eyebrows in confusion. "Is this some kind of joke? Did Cilan just win by using the weakest Bullet Seed I've never seen," Ash became shocked he had seen when he saw the Bullet Seed.
Iris ran over to Axew and picked it up, "Oh Axew, are you okay? I'm sorry I didn't see that Bullet Seed coming." The wild girl pecked its forehead and hugged it.
"You call that a battle? Where was the energy, the passion, the rush? I told you it's always better to go all-out!" Ash complained about the lack of battling there really was.
May sighed and grabbed the boy's hand, "Ash be nice, Axew and Iris don't want that kind of battle, so let them be."
Iris glared at Ash again and yelled, "Ash Ketchum, you are such a kid, have you no consideration for Axew, it's not as strong as your Pikachu or Pansage if you haven't noticed!"
Ash rubbed his ear after Iris screamed in his ear and looked at the girl with a hurtful stare, "Why did you have to yell so loud?"
"Because you don't seem to get that Iris isn't up for the kind of training you do, that's why I chose to train with Cilan. He and Pansage have been such gentlemen throughout this battle, unlike you," Iris gave the boy a dirty look.
Cilan and Pansage took a bow and grinned. "We do try, Pansage didn't use more than 20% of its full power when it used Bullet Seed, and we made it as easy for Axew as possible."
"Wow, I guess I never thought about it that way," Ash felt guilty over criticizing Iris and wish he could help, but Cilan obviously seemed more experienced.
"Iris, does Axew know any other move beside Scratch?" May politely inquired.
"Well, there's one other move Axew knows," Iris answered, but with a look of uncertainty across her face.
Ash got up and spoke to Iris, "Why don't you use that move instead, it could come in handy."
Iris sighed and looked at her friends, "I guess it won't hurt to try."
Her friends nodded at her and they walked back to their positions. Ash, May, and Pikachu sat back down while Iris and Cilan stood on opposite ends of the field. Axew jumped off Iris's arms and frowned at Pansage.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu encouraged the little dragon.
"Ax axew ew," Axew smiled confidently and prepared to battle Pansage again.
Cilan grinned again and made a command, "Pansage, use Solarbeam!"
"Axew, dodge and use Scratch!" Iris demanded.
Pansage charged up a Solarbeam and shot it at Axew. The dragon tried to dodge, but the beam shot out too quickly. The problem with the Solarbeam though, was that it was no thinner than a cable, yet it was able to send Axew rolling across the dirt.
"No, Axew!" Iris called out as the dragon rolled in the dirt.
"Not again," Ash sighed while May and Pikachu also gave disappointed looks.
Ash turned to Iris and shouted out, "Iris, Axew will never get better until it tries using different moves; it's one of the many things that makes it stronger!"
Iris frowned at Ash and shouted, "You want to see strong, I'll show you strong!" The purple-haired girl was ready to show Ash what she was made of and ordered a different command, "Axew, use Dragon Rage!"
"Dragon Rage!" The other three teens screamed in shock as well as Pikachu and Pansage.
Axew pulled its head back and a light blue orb of energy formed inside the middle of its stomach. "Axeeeew!" the dragon exclaimed and released the attack, but before it could be released as a ray of energy, the attack exploded.
A large cloud of dust covered the entire field, but once it cleared, a large crater surrounding Axew appeared. The entire group was covered in smoke from the attack and was left awestruck.
"That really was a Dragon Rage…" Ash smiled weakly and fell over along with May, Pikachu, Pansage, and Cilan.
Iris laughed nervously when she saw her friends, "Sorry about that, we didn't mean to let it go so out of hand."
Axew stood in the middle of the field and smiled nervously, "Ax axew…" the Dragon-type apologized as well.
After the teenagers and Pokémon got themselves clean, they all sat on a stump, talking about Axew's Dragon Rage. "Iris, what happened to Dragon Rage when Axew tried to release it?" May asked about the accident that occurred earlier.
"Axew and I have never been able to perfect Dragon Rage and we've been trying to get it right for months now, but it all ends failure," Iris lamented her failure and sighed.
"Yeah, that wasn't exactly a Dragon Rage, it looked like something else," Ash told the girl about the Dragon Rage.
"Would Dragon Sneeze be a better term for the move Axew tried to use?" Cilan stepped in and played with Ash.
"Yeah, that's it; you should call it Dragon Sneeze, instead of Dragon Rage!" Ash chuckled with Cilan.
May spat at her boyfriend and friend for their fooling around, "Stop that both of you, don't forget that you two were probably the same at some point in your lives!" The brunette knew it was a joke, but now wasn't the time or place.
The brunette turned to Iris and held her shoulder, "Don't worry Iris, these things take time. Tepig had a hard time learning Flamethrower, but he eventually got it down, many of my other Pokémon from when I first started my journey also had a hard time learning new moves like a Wartortle I have back home that couldn't learn how to use Ice Beam until he got it right months later, which means that you shouldn't give up." May recalled the first time she traveled with Ash and remembered how hard she tried to get Squirtle to learn Ice Beam.
Iris turned to May with innocent eyes and thanked her. "But how much longer will it take, Dragon Rage is supposed to be a blue stream of energy that shoots out like a lightning bolt, not a sneeze," Iris looked sad again, trying to imagine Axew using Dragon Rage correctly.
"Axew ax," Axew came up to Iris with one apple on each tusk.
"Thanks Axew," Iris smiled at her adorable dragon and took a bite of the fresh, red apple. The purple-haired girl munched on it and then grinned at her friend, "Axew, this apple is delicious. You sure know how to pick them."
Axew took munched its apple and smiled, "Ax ax axew!"
Pikachu and the other teens smiled at the affection shown between Iris and Axew. It was always wonderful to see a loving relationship between trainer and Pokémon because it proved that both species were meant to be together.
"You know Iris, Axew seems to love it when you praise it. With the kind of praise you just gave it, Axew will get motivated to strive harder in learning Dragon Rage, motivation is a key to success," Cilan commented, hoping to encourage the girl.
Iris stood on the stump and looked at him, "You really believe that?" the brown-eyed girl looked at Cilan.
Ash and May stood up as well. "Axew has a lot of potential Iris, you're only a step away from getting it right," May encouraged her further.
"That's right Iris, Axew already has enough power to use the move, all it needs to do now is learn how to unleash it and that's only one step, we know you can do it," the raven-haired boy made an encouraging smile after he spoke.
Iris smiled sheepishly and looked at her friends, "Thank you all so much, I honestly don't know what'd do if you weren't here and your right, I can't give up because I even made a promise that wouldn't give up until I raised Axew to become the most powerful dragon it can be."
The teens titled their heads a little, wondering where she was going with this. Iris grinned and looked up at the sky, "You see, about half a year ago, right before I left the Village of the Dragons, I spoke to the elder of the town. She presented me with a baby Axew and she told me it was time to set out on my journey, to train Axew and make it evolve into a Haxorus. I told the elder that I wouldn't disappoint her or the village; I would follow in my predecessors' footsteps and train Axew. This is my ultimate test. So you see, I can't let anyone down, I have to improve and with the encouragement you give me, I know I can make it all the way." Iris's gaze turned from the sky to the teens and a tear slid down her cheek. She quickly brushed it away and smiled at her friends.
May, Ash, Cilan, and Iris got in a group as a form of affection towards Iris. They all smiled as they showed how much they cared for their friend, making the purple-haired girl feel warm and calm inside.
When they backed off, they suddenly realized that Pikachu and Axew were gone for quite some time now. "Pikachu and Axew haven't come back yet, do you think something happened to them," Cilan gave his friends a worried look.
"They couldn't have gone far, don't worry, I'll go look for them," May volunteered to go search for the duo.
Ash suddenly spoke, "May, do you want me to go with you?" the auburn-eyed teen asked, he wasn't being a worry wart, but he felt like he should look after his girlfriend.
May giggled at Ash's worrisome look and winked at him, "Don't worry Ash, it won't take long, I'll be back soon!"
Ash nodded at her and the brunette went off. "Guess we'll have to wait now," Iris placed her hands behind her head and the trio began to wait for May's return with their Pokémon.
Different Area of the Woods…
Axew tried to reach for some fresh-looking apples hanging from a thin and weak-looking branch. The dragon was determined to get some for her friends and her trainer, but it was too far from her.
"Pika pika pi," Pikachu told Axew that the branch would not support her weight.
Axew placed its hands on its hips and stood proudly, "Ax axew ax!" The dragon told the mouse that she'd be fine and there was nothing to worry about. Axew jumped on the branch and made it wobble while trying to reach for the apples.
"Pika…" Pikachu sighed and watched as Axew clung onto the branch while moving forward so she could reach the apples.
"There you are!" a voice shouted out, which almost made Axew lose her grip on the branch as it wobbled.
Pikachu and Axew turned to see May, who was giggling at their antics. "Come on you two, we have to get going. The others are getting worried about you," May informed them while she had her hands on her hips.
"Pi!" Pikachu acknowledged and prepared to get down from the tree. The mouse turned to Axew and told it to come down, but the dragon refused.
"Axew ax axew," Axew said it was determined to getting the apples before leaving and held on to the branch. After seeing how sad her trainer was when she failed to use Dragon Rage, she wanted to cheer her up with some delicious apples and she was going to get them.
May sighed, she decided to let Axew get the apples since there was nothing to lose, besides, they looked delicious. The sapphire-eyed girl suddenly became alert when she saw a shadow leap for the branch Axew was on and used Night Slash to split it in half.
"Aaaaxeew!" the Tusk Pokémon cried out as it fell down. The dragon landed on some bushes and tried to see what was going on.
Pikachu also tried to identify the attacker, but moved to fast. "This doesn't look good," May frowned and knew that they would need help. The brunette reached for a Pokeball and yelled, "Deerling, come and help us out!"
"Deer," the Season Pokémon came out and smiled happily.
"Pikachu we're going to need your help, try to use Thunderbolt to stop whatever is attacking," May told the mouse.
"Pi!" the yellow Pokémon nodded and jumped down from the tree. The mouse wasted no time in using Thunderbolt, which almost hit the figure, but narrowly dodged it.
May grinded her teeth, "That won't work…Deerling use Camouflage and take that thing by surprise." Deerling nodded and blended in with the environment. "Pikachu, keep using Thunderbolt on it," May instructed and the mouse kept trying to hit the thing, but kept missing.
The brunette then nodded to Deerling when she saw the moment to strike and the unsuspecting figure flew against a tree by the camouflaged Deerling. The figure turned out to be no more than a Purrloin.
"What's that Pokémon," May became surprised when she saw the cat-like Pokémon.
She took out her Pokédex and listened to the automated voice, "Purrloin, the Devious Pokémon. Purrloin fools people into letting their guard down so it can steal their possessions. When angered it uses its claws to fight back."
May put away her Pokédex and looked at the unconscious cat, "Guess I should be careful with this one." The girl approached the cat to see if it was alright, Deerling's Double Kick looked like it did some critical damage since the Pokédex stated it was a Dark-type.
The brunette got closer and when she held out to touch the cat, the feline opened its eyes and leaped towards May. It bit May's fanny pack and pulled it from her waste, breaking the strap in the process.
"My fanny pack!" May became shocked when she saw how quickly Purrloin had snatched it and broken it in the process. Purrloin chuckled when she saw the girl's expression, not caring what it had done.
Purrloin saw Deerling and Pikachu ready to strike it from both sides and prepared to battle. Pikachu jumped and used Iron Tail, its tail turning into iron and aiming at Purrloin. The cat wasted no time in jumping up and countering with Iron Tail as well while still biting on the fanny pack.
"Deerling, help me get back my fanny pack with Energy Ball!" May commanded. Deerling unleashed the attack, but Purrloin flipped to dodge it and it hit Pikachu instead. The cat then followed up with a Shadow Ball that sent Deerling flying.
"It's tough, but I can't lose," May made it clear that she wasn't going to give up.
Pikachu got up after being hit by the Energy Ball and used Thunderbolt, but Purrloin's quick speed allowed it to dodge. "Puuuurrr," the cat smirked and stomped on the ground. Pikachu suddenly found itself enveloped in dark energy and when it tried to use Thunderbolt, nothing came out.
May frowned, "It used Torment, now Pikachu can't use Thunderbolt. This isn't good…" the brunette saw how serious the situation was getting.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu glared at Purrloin and used Quick Attack, but the cat countered with a simple Sand-Attack, blinding the mouse. Purrloin followed it up with a Night Slash that sent the Electric-type crashing against a trunk.
"Deerling, it's your turn!" May ordered and the cat turned around, but it was too late. Deerling sent the cat flying against some bushes after using Take Down.
While still holding onto May's fanny pack with her teeth, she smirked at Deerling as if it were saying, not bad.
"Now use Nature Power!" May extended her arm forward.
"Deerling!" the faun released a barrage of sharp leaves that forced Purrloin to dodge. The cat dodged most of them until it got caught by the remaining razor leaves and got slashed by its sharp edges. Purrloin showed signs of struggle at this point, but then began charging at Deerling.
May made a fist and yelled, "Stop Purrloin with Energy Ball!" Deerling used the attack, but Purrloin dodged it by jumping over it. May gasped as Purrloin now dropped from midair with a purple glowing foot, it was going to use Sucker Punch.
Before Deerling could react though, Pikachu came from nowhere and sent it flying with Volt Tackle. Purrloin bit on the fanny pack harder so it wouldn't lose grip and rolled on the dirt. The cat glared at her opponents who had the upper hand as it struggled to get up.
The cat looked into May's glaring eyes and smirked, fascinated by the brunette's battling ability and use of combinations like Camouflage and Double Kick to outwit an opponent.
"Piiiiii," Pikachu frowned at Purrloin with Deerling as its cheeks sparked.
All of a sudden, Axew jumped from out of the bushes and attempted to use Dragon Rage. "Axeeeew!" the Tusk Pokémon played hero and unleashed the attack.
Pikachu, Deerling, Purrloin, and May were all caught off guard by Axew's attack and the whole area blew up. Unfortunately, Dragon Rage failed once again, but this time it knocked out Pikachu and Deerling while May was struggling to get up after being knocked down from the blast.
Axew's eyes widened when it saw Purrloin still standing, but struggling to walk. The dragon tried to use Scratch, but the cat slammed it against the dirt with Slash. Purrloin then proceeded to getting Pikachu on its back and began carrying with a bit of struggle. It took one last look at May, who was still trying to get up and ran away.
"No…" May grinded her teeth and saw that Purrloin had escaped with Pikachu and her fanny pack and also saw the Deerling knocked out while Axew also had a hard time getting up after being pounded.
"May!" a voice called out to her and the brunette saw Ash and the others running towards her.
The boy's eyes widened when she saw her covered in dirt and with a few injuries. Ash ran up to her and embraced her, "What happened to you?"
"Ash, I'm sorry, it took Pikachu and my Pokémon," the girl murmured, still weak from the explosion.
"Axew!" Iris ran over to her Dragon-type and picked her up, hugging the little one in her arms with a worrisome look across her face.
Cilan saw May's Deerling lying with fainted eyes and saw the damaged trees. He turned to the brunette who was still being embraced by Ash. "May, what happened?" Cilan asked the girl with an anxious expression.
Ash stopped hugging May so she could explain, wanting to hear the story as well as Iris. May sighed, "I found Pikachu and Axew here trying to get some apples, but we got attacked by a Purrloin. It used trickery and speed to outsmart us; it stole my fanny pack with my Pokémon, except for Deerling. Axew tried to help with Dragon Rage, but the attack was so strong that it knocked out Deerling and Pikachu; even I got caught in the attack. It took Pikachu away with it once it saw that it was unconscious. I understand why it would steal my fanny pack since the Pokédex said Purrloin tend to steal, but I don't know why it took Pikachu." The brunette turned to Ash with tears in her eyes and hid her face in his chest. "I'm sorry Ash, I tried to stop Purrloin, but it was too strong and I let it get away with Pikachu, this wasn't supposed to happen."
The auburn-eyed teen could feel May crying in his chest, feeling weak for being unable to stop the assault. Iris, Cilan, and Axew all looked at the couple with sadness, it seemed like trouble followed them everywhere they went. Ash brought May's face out of his chest and made her look at him.
"May, don't cry, I know you tried your best, but you got caught off guard so there wasn't much you could do. Don't worry about Pikachu, we'll find him and we'll find your Pokémon too. Just please don't cry, this isn't your fault," Ash told the girl as he wiped away the tears and dirt from her sweet, angelic face.
The sapphire-eyed girl looked at the path Purrloin took to escape and then looked at Ash. She became surprised when she saw the calm look on Ash's face, even after hearing that Pikachu had been kidnapped, but he only smiled at her. Suddenly, he felt Ash's face get closer to hers and he kissed her lips, she was caught off guard by the move, but let the boy have his way with her.
She ran her fingers through his hair and as they kissed, the wounds of guilt were slowly healed by Ash's love as he continued to kiss her until he had to stop for some air. Ash grinned at her and asked, "Is that better?"
May smiled at him warmly, "It is," she answered.
"Don't feel guilty about what happened May, Purrloin couldn't have gone far, we'll catch up and rescue our Pokémon," Ash told the girl, who nodded at him while still smiling warmly.
Their attention then turned to a wailing Axew who escaped from Iris's arms. "Iris, what's wrong with Axew?" Ash asked with a puzzled look, but before Iris could answer, Axew ran away from the group, taking the path that Purrloin took to escape.
"Axew stop!" May cried out to the Dragon-type Pokémon, but it continued running.
They were all confused by the incident, but Iris had an answer. "If there's anyone who should feel guilty about what happened to Pikachu and you May, it's Axew and I. Axew tried to fight against Purrloin, but because it failed to use Dragon Rage, Purrloin took advantage of that and escaped with your Pokémon. Axew is going to look for Purrloin because it feels responsible for what happened and I am going to, because it's also my fault, I didn't prepare Axew hard enough for a situation like this and now Purrloin has Pikachu and your Pokémon. I have to go with Axew and get them back."
Cilan suddenly spoke, "But Iris let us help you. That Purrloin sounds incredibly tough and we'd like to help you."
Iris shook her head sideways and grinned at him, "No Cilan, this is part of my trial that the elder use to tell me about, getting those Pokémon back are part of my test, so I'm going after them, I'm sorry." Without wasting any more time, Iris ran off into the woods, taking the same path Axew had taken.
Ash, May, and Cilan gave the dashing Iris sad looks, the wild girl was holding herself responsible for what happened in an incident she hadn't been in, but she saw it as her personal mission to retrieve her friend's Pokémon now.
May wasn't going to let Iris take on Purrloin alone, there might be more trouble looming than they might think. "We have to go after Iris, I'm worried for her, she might end up losing like I did and I'm worried about her, let's go," May insisted on them going after Iris.
At first Ash and Cilan were hesitant since Iris would want to do it alone, but they also didn't want her to get into trouble. "May's right, we have no choice Cilan, we have to go," Ash made a fist and walked towards May so he could stand by her side.
Cilan smiled and nodded, "I'm with you guys, now let's go help Iris." May returned Deerling to its Pokeball and they wasted no time in going after the wild girl.
Some where nearby…
Iris and Axew reached a mountainous part of the woods. Axew had used its sense of smell to track down Pikachu and they reached the rocky area of the woods. "This is where Pikachu's scent led you to right, Axew?" Iris looked at her dragon.
"Ax," Axew nodded up and down.
"Then where could they be?" Iris looked around, but couldn't spot anything.
"Axew ax!" the Dragon-type called out and Iris looked to see where Axew was pointing at. Iris's eyes expanded when she saw Team Rocket and a man in black standing on a cliff above them.
She also saw Purrloin standing next to them, handing over May's fanny pack and Ash's now conscious Pikachu. The mouse tried to escape, but Team Rocket trapped it in a jar that was electric-proof.
"Not them again, Purrloin must have been working for these crooks the whole time," Iris frowned when she saw the exchange between them.
The man in black turned around and saw Iris and Axew below them. "Looks like we've got company," the man hidden under the black hood stated.
"Huh?" the rockets looked behind the man in black and saw Iris. "Hey, where are the other twerps?" James became puzzled when he saw only Iris.
"Does it matter, this is much more beneficial since you are three and she is one, you might finally perform a theft correctly," the man spoke with a serious attitude.
"Yes sir, we're sorry sir," Jessie, James, and Meowth apologized for the questioning.
The man chuckled and turned to Purrloin, "As for you, a deal is a deal." He reached for a cage hiding behind a boulder with 6 Purrloin trapped inside, "You got what these clowns wanted, so your friends are free to go."
"Huh? What's up with the cage of Purrloin and why is that figure releasing them?" Iris wondered with Axew. Suddenly, a thought struck her and she snapped her fingers, "That's it; Purrloin must have been forced to capture Pikachu and May's Pokémon in exchange for its friends. They must have been taken hostage and Purrloin had no other choice, but to assault May and Pikachu."
"Wat are ya doin', tose Pokémon were fur da boss," Meowth became alerted when he saw the man releasing the Purrloin from the cage.
The man glared at the cat and spoke, "The Majestic 12 is an organization who keeps its word, and we're much nobler than a gang composed of petty thieves like Team Rocket. I managed to steal the Pokémon you've been pursuing for years on my first try, and with the help of a wild Pokémon, not even belonging to me."
"What gives you the right to speak that way about Team Rocket, we should report that to him this instant!" Jessie yelled at the man and glared at him.
The figure opened a dark portal to leave, but before exiting he said one more thing, "Your boss is nothing, but a coward, you'd be surprised if you knew who your boss was actually working for." Without another word, the figure vanished through the portal.
"What did he mean that the boss works for someone else, does he mean like a benefactor?" James stated and wondered with Jessie, scratching his head with his finger.
"Dat's a load o' baloney, da boss is ta most fear'd guy in da criminal undaworld!" Meowth defended Giovanni.
Jessie and James nodded, wiping the idea about their boss working for someone else aside. "So where were we?" Jessie asked the cat.
"We planned on catchin' da purtty Purrloin!" Meowth laughed and pressed a button that shot out a large cage from their balloon, trapping the Purrloin.
"You should've escaped the moment the guy released you silly Purrloin, now you're official member of Team Rocket," James crossed his arms and laughed.
Meowth examined the Purrloin and smiled, "Aren't they beauties?"
All of a sudden, the Purrloin who took Pikachu scratched the iron bars in hopes of hurting Meowth, but the cat was too far. Meowth laughed evilly, "Tis one's feisty, I tink I'll make er my wife."
Purrloin's vain popped out when she heard the comment, but was powerless to do anything.
Pikachu tried to escape the jar it was contained in, but it proved no use and sighed. It looked at Purrloin with a sad look, now understanding why Purrloin had attacked them like that; she had been forced.
Team Rocket danced around May's fanny pack, Pikachu, and the cage of Purrloin joyfully until someone caught their attention.
"Hey Team Rocket, let those Purrloin go now, and give me back Pikachu and May's fanny pack!" Iris yelled at them angrily.
Jessie giggled and glared, "No can do twerp, this is the closest we've ever been to having Pikachu in ages and it came with a bonus. There's no way we're handing over anything!"
"Then you give me no choice, but to stop you!" Iris exclaimed with fury.
Jessie smirked, "Stop us? A foolish action indeed!"
"We do, what we do, when we feel the need!" James also smirked.
"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!" Jessie exclaimed violently while swooshing her arm aggressively.
"Thrusting the hammer of justice down onto the black darkness of the universe!" James made a hammer motion with an aggressive expression across his face.
Meowth stepped in as well, "Carving our names in the Rock of Eternity!"
"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!" the red-head declared.
"And with thunderous emotion, I am James!" the purple-haired man announced.
"Wisest of the wise, Meowth!" the cat dropped in front of Jessie and James.
"And now gather, under the name of Team Rocket!" the trio had their arms crossed while declaring the announcement.
"Team Rocket!" a familiar voice called out.
The trio became alert and looked down to see Ash with the other two twerps. James gave the group a cunningly look, "Look, it's the rest of twerp squad."
"Ash, May, Cilan, what are you guys doing here?" Iris became surprised when she saw them.
"We knew you'd need some backup, we should've known that Team Rocket tricked a wild Pokémon into stealing our Pokémon," Ash grinded his teeth, recalling many times in his journey when Team Rocket had tricked wild Pokémon for personal gain.
Iris smiled at her friends, she didn't admit the fact that she would've needed them through voice, but the gaze in her eyes said it all. "Thanks," Iris grinned at her friends.
"Want to fill us in a little Iris?" May asked the girl with a kind grin.
"I got here a few minutes ago and found these thugs with one of those Majestic 12 guys. I couldn't see the person's face because it was hidden under a hood, but it looked like he was responsible for Purrloin's actions, he held all of Purrloin's friends as hostages, so Purrloin would be forced to capture Pikachu and your Pokémon, May. When Purrloin presented Pikachu and the fanny pack, the figure released Purrloin's friend and I heard them say something about being nobler than Team Rocket, but when they left, Team Rocket captured them anyway," Iris explained what she had seen the whole time.
Iris's details made Ash wonder for a second, if the Majestic 12 became involved with Team Rocket in the same way as Team Neo Plasma, but that was a thought for another day.
"Well, all that matters now is freeing Pikachu, the Purrloin, and retrieving May's fanny pack," Cilan pointed out the priority.
They all nodded at Cilan and prepared to battle, except for May who was left without a Pokémon since Deerling fainted, but an idea struck her when she saw a way to climb towards the cliff the Rockets were on.
"Dwebble, get ready to fight!" Cilan summoned his Bug-type.
"Axew, you too!" Iris looked at her dragon, who nodded.
Ash got a Pokeball and yelled, "Snivy, we need you out here too!"
"You want to play like that, fine, go Woobat!" Jessie summoned her Pokémon.
"Yamask, you too!" James sent out his new Pokémon.
Woobat and a ghostly, black Pokémon hovered above the teens. They glared at their opponents with fierce eyes and prepared to battle. "Meanwhile, I'll surve az backap wit tis doohickey!" Meowth took out a contraption that resembled a bazooka and shot out a Solarbeam, Hydro Pump, and Fire Blast into the air as a warning.
"That's one deadly machine!" Cilan took note of the machine's power.
"We'll have to be careful then," Ash instructed, knowing that this would not be easy.
"Dwebble give Yamask a spicy sense with X-Scissor!" Cilan commanded.
"Back off Jamie Oliver!" Meowth yelled and shot out a Fire Blast that canceled out X-Scissor
"Yamask, now use Shadow Ball!" James instructed and Dwebble took a direct hit from the attack.
"Woobat, use Air Slash on Snivy!" Jessie ordered.
"Snivy, counter with Leaf Storm!" Ash commanded.
Leaf Storm and Air Slash canceled each other out, despite the type disadvantage. "That's the way Snivy," Ash smiled at it.
"That's impossible," Jessie's jaw dropped.
"Don't worry Jess, I got tis!" Meowth smiled deviously used Fire Blast with the bazooka-like weapon.
Ash and Snivy got caught by surprise, causing the snake Pokémon to get a direct hit. "Snivy!" Ash grinded his teeth when he saw Snivy with scorch marks, but kept getting up.
"It's no use, that machine is like a defense and offense thing," Iris saw how Meowth would use it to defend the Rockets' Pokémon and then attack.
Dwebble, Snivy, and Axew tried their hardest, but with Meowth in the way, it was impossible for them to win. The cat would shoot out a Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, or Solarbeam each time to counter, giving the trainers a massive headache.
While Woobat and Yamask were still in top shape, the teenagers' Pokémon were already exhausted. "Hit him Meowth," James smiled confidently.
"You bet, let's turn tis up wit a Hyper Beam," Meowth flicked a switch and charged a Hyper Beam.
All of a sudden, Jessie called out, "Meowth, the Hoenn twerp!"
"What about her!" Meowth turned around to see what Jessie was looking at and saw May running towards them.
"Not today Team Rocket!" May grinned at them slyly when she saw their faces.
"We'll see bout dat!" Meowth shot the Hyper Beam underneath May and the floor beneath her shattered, causing her to fall.
"May!" Ash cried out when he saw the girl falling and screaming.
Iris, Cilan, Pikachu, Axew, and the other Pokémon gasped as they saw May fall. Ash ran as quick as possible to the place where she would land and made it in the nick of time, if he had taken longer, the worst could have been expected.
May fell into Ash's arms, making the boy lose his balance and fall on his behind. "May, are you alright?" the boy gave her worried look.
May didn't say anything when she found herself in Ash's arms and simply hugged him with affection. Ash let out a breath of relief and held her in his arms, glad he saved her in time.
Cilan, Iris, and Pikachu were also relieved when they saw the result and smiled at the embrace between the lovers. "Awww!" Jessie cried out and clasped her hands together.
"Save it for the fan fiction readers, hit em Meowth!" James ignored the teenage love and ordered Meowth to shoot.
"Right, tis time we blast you off, twerps!" Meowth smirked and charged up another Hyper Beam.
Axew saw how desperate the situation had gotten when he saw that Snivy and Dwebble weren't able to continue and the trainers were powerless to do anything. They couldn't afford to lose again; the dragon knew it had to do something.
Iris took notice of Axew's gaze and asked what's wrong. The dragon didn't say anything, but began charging up blue energy in its stomach. "Axew, no!" Iris cried out when she realized what the dragon was doing.
"Aaaaaxeeeeew!" Axew released a stream of blue energy that took the shape of a classic dragon and shot it at Team Rocket.
The powerful blast destroyed Meowth's weapon, the Pikachu's cage, and Purrloin's cage. Woobat and Yamask were immediately down for the count the moment Dragon Rage hit its mark. May's fanny pack also flew into the air and landed in front of the teens. Pikachu and the Purrloin wasted no time in standing beside the teens, ready to face Team Rocket.
When the smoke cleared, Team Rocket was covered in dust and smoke. "Jessie, I don't like this…" James spoke weakly.
"I don't think I'll enjoy it either," Jessie answered.
"Get ready to escape," Meowth sighed, recognizing their failure.
Pikachu got in front of Ash while the Purrloin from earlier got in front of May and prepared to attack.
"Puuuurr," the cat looked at May, confusing the girl.
"What does it want?" May raised an eyebrow, not understanding what Purrloin wanted.
"It's waiting for your instructions May, it wants you to tell it to use an attack," Ash smiled at the brunette.
May turned from Ash to Purrloin and the cat nodded. The brunette nodded at the cat and looked at Team Rocket.
"Time's up Team Rocket, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.
"Purrloin, use Shadow Ball!" May also commanded.
"Pika…chu!" the mouse released the electric attack while Purrloin shot out its most powerful Shadow Ball.
The combo attack caused a large explosion that destroyed the Rocket's balloon and made the cliff collapse, but Team Rocket flew out of the smoke on jetpacks like the last couples of times.
"We blew it again," Meowth sighed as he flew away.
"It's not like we were assigned to do it though," James pointed out, stating that there was no penalty for their failure.
"Still, we were so close," Jessie whined as they flew off.
The trio disappeared among the clouds with Yamask and Woobat's Pokeballs in their hands. They would be back eventually.
Ash let out a sigh of relief, "We did it," the boy smiled.
"And we all owe it to Axew," May turned to the brave little Dragon-type.
"Way to go Axew!" Iris grabbed Axew and spun around in join, making the dragon smile happily.
"This certainly turned out to be a tasty victory," Cilan was glad that the storm finally cleared.
"That's right, Axew and Iris are today's heroes for what they did today," Ash crossed his arms and smiled at his friends.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu also cheered for his friends.
Iris and Axew grinned sheepishly as they became showered with praise from their friends, but Iris was still curious about something. Iris dropped Axew and spoke to the dragon, "Axew, can you try to use Dragon Rage one more time on one of the boulders?"
"Ax!" Axew nodded and everyone watched with anticipation as Axew charged the attack. Their eyes all glistened with fascination, but suddenly, when Axew opened his mouth, nothing came out.
"It looks like Axew still needs some training," Cilan smiled sheepishly.
"Don't worry Iris, you're much closer than you were before," May encouraged the girl.
"Just train at a good pace and you'll get there. At least Axew got it right just in time to save us from Team Rocket," Ash reminded them of today's success.
Iris smiled and picked up Axew again, "We're closer than ever Axew, and we'll be even closer tomorrow and we'll be much closer the day after tomorrow!" The friends grinned at Iris and Axew's excitement.
Ash then picked up May's fanny back and saw the broken strap. May looked at the fanny pack and then at Ash, "What are you thinking about Ash?"
The boy smiled and spoke, "Come over here." The brunette walked over to him and was told to turn, with her back facing Ash. The boy then tied the broken ends of the fanny pack together so it would hold on to May's waist like a belt. "It's only till we can get a new one or get this one repaired," Ash told her, still facing her back.
May turned around and gave Ash a loving gaze, "Speaking of fanny packs, heroism, and accomplishments, he's your reward for saving me, my hero!" The brunette pulled Ash in for a kiss on the lips that was quick, but incredible on so many levels for the boy.
Ash felt his legs shaking from how much energy May put into the kiss, it was one of those rare kisses they shared and it was one of his favorites. May only giggled at the boy's reaction after the kiss.
"Puuurr," a Pokémon called out that grabbed everyone's attention.
"It looks like it wants to apologize, especially to you May," Iris saw the look in the Purrloin that stood in front of them with the other Purrloin.
May kneeled down as the Purrloin began rubbing itself on the girl and apologizing to Pikachu and the others for getting them into trouble. "It's okay Purrloin, you're friends were in trouble, there wasn't anything you could do," May petted the cat.
Purrloin stopped apologizing and separated from May, but stood motionless in front of her. "Puuurrloin," the cat purred and said its name.
"It looks like Purrloin has one more request," Cilan pointed out.
"Yeah, I think it wants you to catch it May. It became impressed by your battling skills earlier and the combinations you did, so I guess it wants to tag along with you," Ash told his girlfriend.
"Really, catch it?" May turned from her friends to Purrloin.
Purrloin nodded at the girl while the other Purrloin approved the catch with several bobs. May grinned at the Purrloin, "If you want to become my partner Purrloin, then you're welcomed, we'll be a great team."
"Puuurr," the cat smiled at May as the brunette took out her Pokeball. The sapphire-eyed girl threw her Pokeball at Purrloin and the Pokeball easily trapped the cat inside, proving that Purrloin did want to travel with May. The other Purrloin who were freed smiled at the Pokeball and bid farewell to the trainers, thanking them for their help.
"It was our pleasure," Iris grinned at them and waved goodbye to the Purrloin with the rest of the gang.
"Well, today turned out to be another exhilarating day, Axew used Dragon Rage for the first time and I made a new friend," May smiled at Purrloin's Pokeball and then turned to iris, the girls were clearly happy with their achievements, but now it was time to hit the road and continue their trip to Nacrene City.
This chapter was longer than the average, but I liked writing it. I hope you enjoyed it as well! By the way, my winter break is over and I won't be able to update as regularly so there might only be 2 chapters a week, but I'll try to post up more if I get the chance. Remember to review, leave comments and opinions, Ch 10 will be up as soon as possible, see ya soon!