Chapter 2: Back Home Again
"Look, Pikachu! I can see Cerulean City!" Ash and Pikachu looked out over the bow of the ship, watching Cerulean City grow closer and closer. It had been close to a month since Ash's defeat at the Sinnoh League and his separation from Brock and Dawn, and thankfully with each moment he moved closer to his home region of Kanto the better his mood got. Now, with Cerulean City mere minutes away, it appeared as though the old Ash had returned.
"(It's good to have the old you back,)" Pikachu said.
"You can say that again, buddy," Ash agreed. "And it's also great to be back home again."
"(Yeah,)" Pikachu said. "(So what's first on the agenda?)"
"Well, first I want to stop off at the Pokémon Center so I can transport my Sinnoh team to Professor Oak's," Ash answered. "Then I figured we'd pay a visit to Misty at the Cerulean Gym."
"(Good idea. I'm sure Misty would enjoy the company)" Pikachu commented. By this time the ship had docked and all passengers were disembarking.
"Well, let's get going," Ash said. With Pikachu on his shoulder Ash disembarked from the ship on his way to the Pokémon Center.
The Pokémon Center was s short walk from the docks, not even five minutes away. When he and Pikachu arrive they found an unoccupied videophone and called Professor Oak.
"Good to hear from you, my boy," he greeted cheerfully before his voice became somewhat somber. "I'm sorry you lost in the Sinnoh Championship. Everyone was pulling for you."
"I really wish I would have won, but sitting around moping about it wouldn't have done any good," Ash said.
"At least you have the right mindset," Oak commented. "So, did you just call to let me know you were back in Kanto?"
"Actually I wanted to let you know I'll be sending my team from Sinnoh there so they can meet my other Pokémon," Ash answered. "That won't be a problem, will it?"
"Of course not. I'd be glad to get them acquainted with the others," Oak told him.
"Great! I'll send them over right away." One by one Ash placed his Poké Balls into the nearby transporter, sending them to Professor Oak's lab in Pallet Town. When he was done the only Pokémon he had with him was Pikachu.
"I've received them all," Oak said.
"That's good," Ash replied. "I'll be on my way back home soon."
"We'll be waiting," Oak said. Ash ended the called and headed for the front door.
"But first let's stop by the Gym and pay Misty a visit," he said.
"(Yay!)" Pikachu cheered. Ash smiled and reached up to scratch Pikachu behind his ears as the two of them headed towards the Gym.
Ash and Pikachu arrived at the Gym shortly after leaving the Pokémon Center, though they weren't anticipating what they found. The front doors were locked and there appeared to be no one inside.
"That's strange… I wonder why the Gym is closed," Ash said.
"(Good question,)" Pikachu added. While they wondered why the Gym was closed a passerby walked by and saw them standing there.
"You looking for the Gym Leader?" he asked.
"Yeah. You know where she is?" Ash questioned.
"Last I heard she was on vacation. She'll be back in a few weeks," he answered.
"A few weeks, huh. And I was really looking forward to seeing her again," Ash commented. He thanked the passerby and headed for the city limits.
"(Guess we'll have to catch Misty another time,)" Pikachu sighed.
"Guess so, though I wonder why her sisters weren't there," Ash pointed out.
"(Good point. One of her sisters should have been there running the Gym until Misty got back from vacation,)" Pikachu said.
"Well we're not going to find out anything just standing around thinking. I suggest we head back to Pallet Town and see if Professor Oak or my mom has heard from her," Ash suggested. Pikachu agreed as the two of them headed out of town.
Over the next few weeks Ash and Pikachu made their way towards Pallet Town. With each familiar location they passed through fond memories of previous adventures filled their minds.
"Hey, remember the last time we were here?" Ash asked as they passed through Viridian City. "We ended up battling Agatha of the Elite 4 at the Viridian City Gym."
"(Of course we didn't know it was her until after the battle,)" Pikachu pointed out. "(Still, I am impressed with how well we did.)"
"So am I," Ash agreed. After recalling that memory the duo continued south on their way to Pallet Town. So far things had been going good… maybe even too good.
"(Do you think it's weird that we haven't encountered Team Rocket since we came back?)" Pikachu asked.
"It is a bit strange that they haven't tried to steal you lately," Ash said. "Maybe they don't know we're back?"
"(Perhaps,)" Pikachu said.
"In any case let's not think about those three," Ash told him. "We're just about home and so far things have been going smoothly, so let's just enjoy th… AH!" He was interrupted mid-sentence by a long fall into a deep hole.
"Looks like… we spoke too soon," he groaned. While they attempted to regain their bearings a long arm with a rubber hand reached in and grabbed Pikachu, lifting the Mouse Pokémon out of the hole.
"(Ash!)" he cried.
"Pikachu, no!" Ash yelled. Shortly after sinister laughing filled the air.
"Seems we have the upper hand!" a female voice declared. Ash looked up and saw a Meowth-shaped balloon floating overhead.
"Come on… not you three!" he groaned.
"Listen! Is that a disbelieving twerp I hear?!
His complaints come across loud and clear!
On the winds!
Past the stars!
In your ears!
We bring chaos at a break-neck pace!
Dashing all hope, putting fear in its place!
A rose by any other name's just as sweet!
When everything's worse our work is complete!
Jessie!
James!
Meowth's the name!
Putting you do-gooders in your place!
Team Rocket!
In your face!
Wobbuffet!
Mime Mime Mime!
"Team Rocket!" Ash shouted.
"You were expecting someone else?" Jessie taunted. By now they had Pikachu contained in a small capsule.
"Give Pikachu back now!" he demanded.
"You really expect us to give up our prize after the back-breaking hours we spent digging that hole you're in? I don't think so," James said.
"Then I guess we'll have to do this the hard way!" Ash shouted. "Pikachu, break free with Thunderbolt!"
"(You got it!)" Pikachu replied. After a quick charge he unleashed a massive Thunderbolt, but the capsule did not break. Team Rocket laughed at his efforts.
"(What the?!)" he yelled.
"Come on! You think after chasing you around for all these years you'd know that we'd come prepared for Pikachu's Electric attacks!" Meowth commented.
"Well let's see how you handle… oh no!" Right then Ash remembered that he didn't have any other Pokémon with him.
"What's this? The twerp coming unprepared?" Jessie questioned.
"That's not very twerp-like," James commented.
"Hey! Let's do less talking and more escaping!" Meowth said.
"What's the rush? Without his Pokémon there's no way he can stop us," Jessie pointed out.
"But you guys…"
"Please Meowth, let us enjoy this moment," James said. "There were so many times where we were on the receiving end of a Thunderbolt blast-off that it feels good to gloat whenever we get the chance."
"Team Rocket!" Looking down the evil trio saw that Ash had somehow made his way out of the hole they had dug and was now glaring up at them.
"You're persistent if nothing else," Jessie commented.
"Let Pikachu go now!" he demanded again. They laughed at his seemingly empty threats.
"Give it up, twerp," Meowth said. "Pikachu's the only Pokémon you've got with you, and he's with us now. Face it, you can't do anything to stop us."
"But I can! Hydro Pump!" Before anyone could determine where the new voice was coming from Team Rocket's balloon was blasted by a powerful Hydro Pump. The balloon exploded, causing Pikachu's capsule to fall and Team Rocket to go sailing through the sky.
"I told you we should have got going when the getting was good!" Meowth shouted.
"Oh would you shut your big fat mouth!" Jessie yelled. "How were we supposed to know he had back-up?!"
"Just who did attack us?" James asked.
"It doesn't matter!" Meowth complained.
"Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they cried, vanishing in the distance.
"(Ash!)" Pikachu cried as the capsule containing him plummeted towards the ground.
"I'm coming, Pikachu!" Ash shouted. He broke out in a dead sprint, trying to catch Pikachu before he hit the ground. It was a race between him and gravity, with Pikachu being the prize. Pikachu's capsule was falling faster than Ash could run, meaning that if he didn't pick up the pace he wouldn't make it in time.
"Have to… go… faster!" Ash said. With a final burst of speed he lunged forward and reached out, catching Pikachu's capsule right before it hit the ground. With a sigh of relief he opened the capsule and freed his trapped Pokémon.
"Are you okay, Pikachu?" he asked worriedly.
"(I am now,)" Pikachu said. Ash was relieved that Pikachu was unharmed, and now that the danger had passed he wanted to thank whoever it was that sent Team Rocket packing. With Pikachu in his arms he stood and turned towards the direction the attack came from.
"Hey, thanks for…" To his and Pikachu's surprise, standing there with a Marill by her side was the one person they were hoping to see and the last person they expected to find.
"(Misty!)" Pikachu cheered. The Mouse Pokémon jumped out of his trainer's arms and sprinted towards the Cerulean City native, leaping into her arms.
"Hi, Pikachu!" she cooed. Pikachu let out a few content sighs as he nuzzled into her arms.
"Same old Pikachu," she giggled.
"Hey Misty," Ash greeted. "I wasn't expecting to see you out here."
"It's a good thing I was here, though. It looked like Team Rocket was finally about to get away with Pikachu," she commented. "Why didn't you use your other Pokémon?"
"I sent them to Professor Oak's back when we were in Cerulean City," Ash told her.
"That would explain it," Misty said.
"That reminds me, why was the Gym closed? I figured you'd have your sisters there running it while you were gone," Ash questioned. Misty looked at him, a slight smirk on her face.
"They have nothing to do with the Gym anymore," she said.
"They don't?" Ash asked, a bit surprised.
"Nope. You are now looking at the sole Gym Leader for Cerulean City," Misty announced, beaming with pride.
"That's great! Congratulations!" Ash said. "How did you convince your sisters to leave the Gym?"
"I just told them if they weren't going to focus on being Gym Leaders then they needed to just leave the Gym to someone who would. After that one thing lead to another and I ended up with sole possession of the Gym," Misty explained.
"And they just gave you the Gym? Just like that?" Ash asked.
"Yeah. It surprised me too, but then again they never were too concerned with their duties as Gym Leaders. All they wanted was a place to hold their water shows," Misty said.
"At least with you in charge the Gym will gain a reputation for what it's supposed to be… a Pokémon Gym," Ash commented.
"Yeah, and with as strong as my Pokémon are it'll be a tough win for anyone," Misty bragged.
"Speaking of your Pokémon I don't recall you ever having a Marill," Ash said. "Is she…"
"You guessed it. She's the Azurill that you met when you two came back from Hoenn," Misty said. "I've been training her a little each day until she finally evolved."
"(It was a tough road, but in the end it was worth it,)" Marill said.
"She may be small and cute, but don't let her looks fool you. She's one of my main powerhouse Pokémon," Misty warned.
"Something Team Rocket found out the hard way," Ash joked. The four of them had a good laugh before deciding to finish their conversation at the Ketchum house in Pallet Town.
"So how much time do you have for vacation?" Ash asked.
"I've still got a few weeks before I go back," Misty replied.
"Where are the rest of your Pokémon?" Ash asked.
"At the Gym. Marill's the only one I brought with me," Misty told him.
"(And judging by the way she handled Team Rocket she's the only one you need,)" Pikachu commented. "(Seriously, I couldn't have done it better myself.)"
"(Coming from someone who deals with them constantly I'll take that as a compliment,)" Marill said. While she and Pikachu were in conversation Ash and Misty were engaged in a conversation of their own.
"It's good to see you doing so well," Ash said.
"Thanks, though I wish I could say the same for you," Misty admitted. Ash knew exactly what she was talking about.
"So… you heard about that, huh," he said. Misty shook her head.
"I'd watch whenever I had some free time," she corrected.
"Oh," Ash said.
"I really thought you had him the way things started off, but after Infernape took down his Weavile it was almost as if he hit another gear," Misty commented.
"Well, Weavile was always one of his… I don't want to say weaker Pokémon, but he is the one who gets defeated the most," Ash said.
"Speaking of his Pokémon does he always push them that hard? I know every trainer wants to get the most out of their Pokémon but he's really pushing the line," Misty said.
"Paul doesn't care. He always pushes his Pokémon as far as they can go, and then he pushes them even further," Ash explained.
"Sounds a bit harsh to me," Misty commented.
"That's never bothered him," Ash said. "Unfortunately that's not the worst of it."
"I seriously can't see how it can get any worse than that," Misty commented. Ash then proceeded to tell Misty about his argument with Dawn where the coordinator basically told him that she was going to travel with Paul because he was better than Ash.
"How… How could she say those things?! I mean just because you lost that doesn't give her the right to say you're not good enough!" Misty yelled. "I can just imagine how hurt you were."
"I was, but it was more because she was the one saying those things," Ash admitted.
"Well, what did Brock have to say? Come to think of it… where is Brock?" Misty asked, just now noticing that the slit-eyed breeder wasn't among them.
"He stayed in Sinnoh to learn more about breeding," Ash told her.
"And you just left him there? You didn't think about all the Nurse Joy's, Officer Jenny's or any of the other girls in Sinnoh he'll be tormenting looking for a date?" Misty questioned.
"He still has Croagunk," Ash pointed out. Misty paused for a bit.
"Good point," she admitted.
"(Hey! I can see Pallet Town!)" Pikachu shouted. He and Marill were standing at the top of a small hill. Ash and Misty quickly caught up to their Pokémon and looked over, staring down at the small town Ash called home.
"After being on the road for so long it feels great to come back home," he said.
"I know how you feel. I felt the same way when I first came back to Cerulean City after Johto," Misty admitted. They looked down at the small town for a bit longer before Ash was ready to continue.
"Come on. I'm sure my mom's ready to have me back home," he said. The two trainers and their Pokémon continued down the hill towards Pallet Town, where a bit of R&R awaited them.
After an unexpected encounter with Team Rocket and a subsequent reunion with Misty Ash and Pikachu find themselves mere minutes away from Pallet Town. What awaits them there? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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