Chapter 51: A Successful Heist
In the morning Ash and Nikki prepared to depart on the next leg of their journey through Legenda. While Ash was making some changes to his current team Nikki was on the phone with her mother, giving her the happy news of her first Contest victory.
"Ninetails and Persian were just outstanding! I couldn't have asked them to be any better than they were!" the young coordinator bragged. "I wish you could have been here to see it."
"So do I, but what's important is the fact that you won your first ribbon and that I am very proud of you," Trish said.
"Thanks, Mom," Nikki replied.
"So, where are you two off to now?" Trish wondered.
"For now we have to find another Gym for Ash to challenge," Nikki told her.
"Might I suggest he try the Gym in Mineva Town. That should provide him with a good challenge," Trish suggested.
"Mineva Town… okay. I'll let him know," she said. At that moment she heard Ash ending his call.
"Sounds like Ash finished making his team changes, so we'll probably be heading out soon," she said.
"I'll be waiting to hear from you again," Trish said. "Good luck to the both of you."
"Thanks, Mom. I'll talk with you later." With that Nikki ended her call. She got up from the videophone and joined Ash, who was walking over to her.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
"All set," Nikki responded.
"Okay then, let's hit the road!" Ash shouted.
"(Um… just where are we going exactly?)" Pikachu inquired. Ash's enthusiasm quickly diminished. Though he was eager to continue his journey he had no idea where to go.
"I guess we need to figure out where the next Gym is before leaving, huh," he assumed.
"My mom told me that there's a Gym in Mineva Town and that we should head there next," Nikki announced.
"That works for me," Ash said.
"(So, now that we know where we're heading next do anyone know how to get there?)" Pikachu wondered. Neither trainer knew how to get to Mineva Town, but that was something a quick look at the maps on their Pokécomms would take care of.
"Found it," Nikki said after a few seconds. "Looks like we have a long trek ahead of us." The town in question was quite far to the northeast of their current location and appeared to be nestled amongst some extremely rocky terrain.
"(A long trip with some rough terrain thrown in. Man, we just can't catch a break, can we,)" Buneary groaned.
"(It wouldn't be much of an accomplishment if it was easy,)" Pikachu told her.
"It wouldn't be as fun either," Ash added.
"You have a unique idea of fun," Nikki commented. "In any case we should get going now that we know where we're going and how to get there." The two of them headed towards the door, but before they got there the doors opened and a frantic-looking boy rushed in.
"Please! I need help!" he cried. Almost immediately Ash and Nikki were at the boy's side to see if they could help.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked.
"My Pokémon! Someone stole her!" the boy said. The two of them looked at each other, concern on their faces.
"Who stole your Pokémon? Do you remember?" Nikki asked. The boy took some time to think before answering.
"I remember there being two people. One was a woman with long red hair and a man with short blue hair," he said. "Oh, there was also a Pokémon, a Meowth." Something about the description the boy just gave sounded familiar.
"Tell me, did the Meowth talk like us?" Ash inquired.
"He did," the boy replied. That gave Ash and Nikki all the confirmation they needed.
"Team Rocket," Nikki spat.
"I should have known it was them," Ash said.
"You know who stole my Pokémon?" the boy asked.
"Yeah. They've been after our Pokémon for a while now," Nikki replied.
"They're after you too?" the boy asked.
"Yeah, but we beat them every time," Ash said.
"Do… Do you think you can get my Pokémon back from them?" the boy wondered.
"We'll try," Ash told him. "Do you think you can show us where you met them?"
"Sure. Follow me." Ash and Nikki followed the boy out of the Pokémon Center as he led them towards the forest on the outskirts of town where his Pokémon was stolen.
"My name's Alex, by the way," the boy said.
"I'm Ash, and this is Nikki," Ash replied.
"Could you tell us what happened, exactly?" Nikki requested.
"Well, I was out with my Sneasel following a Pokémon I wanted to catch when those people and the Meowth showed up. The woman challenged me to a battle and I accepted. Looking back I shouldn't have," Alex explained.
"Why? What happened?" Nikki asked.
"It started off one-on-one, but after a few minutes the man sent out his Pokémon and they both ganged up on me. After they beat my Sneasel I recalled her and was about to head into town to get Officer Jenny, but before I could the Meowth tackled me and stole her Poké Ball," Alex continued.
"Did you try to get it back?" Ash asked.
"I would have, but before I could the whole area got covered in smoke," Alex said. "By the time it cleared they were gone."
"They must have used Weezing's Smokescreen to cover their escape," Ash assumed.
"And with no leads on which way they went finding them is going to be difficult," Nikki added.
"Does that mean we won't be able to find them?" Alex asked.
"We'll find them. We're just going to need some help," Ash said. He immediately grabbed one of his Poké Balls and tossed it.
"Swellow, we need your help!" he said. Moments later the Swallow Pokémon appeared in the air above them.
"Oh, I get it. You want to search for them in the air," Nikki surmised. She then grabbed Swablu's Poké Ball and called her out.
"Team Rocket stole a Pokémon. We think their balloon is nearby and we need your help finding it," Ash explained.
"(Leave it to us,)" Swellow said.
"(We'll find them,)" Swablu added.
"We're counting on you two," Nikki said. Moments later the two Flying types departed to search for Team Rocket's balloon.
"While they're searching from the air we'll keep looking on foot," Ash stated. The group continued on deeper into the forest, continuing to search for Team Rocket's balloon.
In another part of the forest the mischievous trio were in their balloon, gloating about successfully stealing Alex's Pokémon.
"That was easy," Jessie commented.
"Like taking candy from a baby," James added.
"So, what do you say about sending this little beauty to the Boss," Meowth suggested.
"Sounds good to me," James agreed.
"Go ahead and call him, Meowth," Jessie said.
"Good thing I made some improvements to our balloon," Meowth bragged as he turned to a rather sizeable console situated in one corner of the balloon. The console housed a videophone as well as a Poké Ball transporter.
"This shouldn't take too long," Meowth said. Shortly after dialing his number the face of Giovanni appeared on the screen.
"I take it you three have a good reason for disturbing me," Giovanni said, slightly annoyed.
"We do, sir." Jessie then held the stolen Poké Ball up for him to see.
A newly-acquired Pokémon," she stated. This seemed to only slightly interest him.
"Send it," he ordered.
"Yes sir!" Jessie quickly placed the Poké Ball into the transporter and watched along with James and Meowth as it was transported. As soon as Giovanni received the Poké Ball he placed it into another device and scanned it.
Species: Sneasel
Gender: Female
Known Attacks: Fake Out, Crush Claw, Faint Attack, Screech
The results of the scan left Giovanni a bit impressed.
"This one has potential," he commented. He then turned his attention to Jessie, James and Meowth.
"Excellent work," he praised.
"Th-Thank you, Boss," Meowth stuttered.
"We shall continue to prove our worth to Team Rocket," Jessie vowed.
"That has yet to be seen," Giovanni stated. "However, if you truly wish to prove yourselves, then consider this an incentive towards that." Moments later a Poké Ball appeared in the transporter. Jessie picked it up. The moment she did another Poké Ball appeared. James took this one.
"Continue to prove yourselves and there will be more in the future." With those final words Giovanni ended the call. Jessie and James stared at the Poké Balls in their hands.
"Did… Did we just get new Pokémon from the Boss?" James wondered.
"It sure looks that way," Meowth confirmed.
"This is great! Now we have something new to go after the twerps with!" Jessie shouted.
"What do you suppose the Boss sent us?" James wondered.
"Who knows," Meowth replied. "Whatever he sent is sure to be strong."
"I say we go after the twerps immediately," Jessie declared.
"So soon?" Meowth said.
"Strike while the iron is hot, as they say," Jessie told him. "We have to ride this wave of good fortune as long as it lasts."
"You do have a point, Jess," James agreed.
"So then, let's get twerp hunting," Meowth said. While the three of them laid out their plans a pair of Flying Pokémon circled overhead briefly before flying off.
"Hey! Your Pokémon came back!" Ash and Nikki stopped searching and looked up. Just as Alex said Swellow and Swablu had indeed returned. They approached the two Flying types, eager to hear if they found Team Rocket.
"Any luck?" Ash asked.
"(We found their balloon,)" Swellow reported.
"Good job. I knew we could count on you two," Ash praised.
"Can you take us to it?" Nikki requested.
"(Sure. Follow us,)" Swablu said. The two Flying types took to the skies again and headed towards Team Rocket's balloon with Ash, Nikki and Alex following right behind them.
"Do you think my Sneasel's okay?" Alex wondered.
"We can hope," Nikki replied. They continued to follow Swellow and Swablu until the two Flying types lead them to a clearing, and in the center of the clearing was Team Rocket's balloon.
"Look! It's Team Rocket's balloon!" Nikki shouted.
"And there's Team Rocket!" Ash said, pointing to the trio standing next to it.
"Well now, you twerps just saved us the trouble of looking for you," Jessie said.
"And they didn't come alone," Meowth added once he saw Alex.
"Give me back my Sneasel!" Alex demanded.
"Your Sneasel? Last time I checked that Sneasel was in our possession," James commented.
"Give Alex his Pokémon back!" Nikki ordered.
"That's not going to happen, twerpette," Jessie refused. "His Pokémon now belongs to the Boss."
"That's right. We already shipped her off. She's sitting pretty at one of our facilities waiting to be turned into the next great Team Rocket Pokémon," Meowth added.
"You what?!" Ash shouted.
"She's one of us now, and you'll never see her again!" James declared. While Ash glared at Team Rocket Nikki looked over at Alex. The young boy had fallen to his knees, tears falling from his eyes.
"M-My Sneasel… s-she's… gone," he wept. Seeing the sadness and despair on Alex's face sent a wave of anger through Nikki. She sent a hateful glare in Team Rocket's direction.
"How could you?! You three are the worst!" she spat.
"Now now, no need to be like that," Jessie said. "After all, one person's loss is another's gain."
"That kid lost his Pokémon, and because of that we were rewarded with new Pokémon of our own," James stated.
"And these new Pokémon of ours will help us relieve you of yours," Meowth declared.
"Not a chance!" Ash shouted. Immediately Pikachu and Buneary took battle stances in front of their trainers. Jessie and James smirked as they grabbed the Poké Balls containing their new Pokémon.
"Go!" they shouted as they tossed the balls. Moments later they opened, revealing their occupants. Jessie's Pokémon looked like a little girl with a pair of massive jaws on the back of her head while James's Pokémon looked like a small boy with a needle-like nose and a single leaf on top of his head.
"That's a Mawile and a Nuzleaf," Meowth commented. Ash and Nikki took out their Pokécomms and scanned the two Pokémon.
Name: Mawile
Species: The Deceiver Pokémon
Pokécomm Entry: Attacked to its head is a huge set of jaws formed by horns. It can chew through iron beams.
Name: Nuzleaf
Species: The Wily Pokémon
Pokécomm Entry: The sound of its grass flute makes its listeners uneasy. It lives deep in forests.
"They could be trouble," Ash commented.
"No kidding," Nikki agreed. Jessie and James took Ash and Nikki's caution towards the situation as a sign of fear.
"Look at that! The twerps are too scared to do anything!" James shouted.
"Well, if they won't make the first move then we will!" Jessie declared.
"How do you plan on doing that if you don't even know what their attacks are?" Meowth inquired. It was at that moment that they realized that in their excitement they neglected to learn what attacks their new Pokémon had.
"Well… um… That's a good question," James said.
"So then, what attacks do you know?" Jessie inquired.
"(Well, I know…)"
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Buneary, Hidden Power!" While Jessie and James were trying to figure out what their Pokémon's attacks were Ash and Nikki decided to go on the attack.
"Don't tell us what you can do! Just do it!" Jessie shouted.
"(Heh. Watch this,)" Mawile advised. She swung her head around, causing the jaws on the back of her head to spin around in front of her. The spinning jaws created a makeshift shield that completely blocked Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
"What?!" Ash gasped.
"(My turn!)" Nuzleaf declared. He swung his head forward, sending a volley of leaves from the single leaf on his head. The leaves flew through the air and intercepted Buneary's Hidden Power.
"No way! He blocked the attack with Razor Leaf!" Nikki shouted.
"That was impressive," Jessie praised.
"(You haven't seen anything yet,)" Mawile stated. She then broke out in a run towards Pikachu.
"Stop her with Iron Tail, Pikachu!" Ash instructed.
"(I don't think so!)" Right when Pikachu was about to go into the motion for his attack Mawile's speed suddenly increased.
"(How did she get so… gah!)" Pikachu's comment was interrupted when Mawile suddenly appeared next to him and punched him across his face. Pikachu stumbled backwards and rubbed his cheek where Mawile hit him.
"That was a Sucker Punch!" Meowth commented.
"Buneary, use Jump Kick to back up Pikachu!" Nikki called.
"(You got it!)" Buneary said. She jumped up and dove feet-first towards Team Rocket's Pokémon.
"(Your turn,)" Mawile said to Nuzleaf.
"(Alright.)" The Wily Pokémon jumped out of the way, causing Buneary's attack to miss which resulted in her taking a huge amount of damage herself.
"(Ah!)" she cried.
"(Let's see how you like this!)" Nuzleaf declared. He reared back and struck Buneary with a powerful punch, sending her flailing back towards Pikachu.
"That was Pound," Meowth said. "These two have some nice moves."
"(And here's another one!)" Nuzleaf shouted. He then spat a glob of purple goo at Pikachu and Buneary.
"Watch out!" Nikki warned. Pikachu and Buneary had just enough time to look up before the purple goo exploded in front of them, blanketing them in a purple cloud. Once the cloud dissipated the two Pokémon were coughing violently, a purple discoloration around their eyes.
"Their poisoned!" Ash gasped. "That means…"
"That last move was Toxic!" Nikki shouted.
"Ahahaha! It feels great to have the advantage!" Jessie boasted.
"Then let's press our advantage!" James advised.
"(With pleasure!)" Mawile agreed. She dove forward, striking Buneary with her head. At the same time Nuzleaf sent a wave of green energy at Pikachu. The wave engulfed Pikachu and started sapping his energy, sending it to Nuzleaf.
"Iron Head and Giga Drain. Man, they got the twerps on the ropes," Meowth bragged.
"That they do, but I believe it's time to finish them off so we can add Pikachu and Buneary to our collection," Jessie commented.
"Indeed," James agreed. "If you would, please."
"(Gladly,)" Mawile complied.
"(Let's end this!)" Nuzleaf shouted. The two Pokémon charged the ailing Pikachu and Buneary, looking to deliver the finishing blow.
"Now, Aerial Ace!" Ash called.
"Aerial Ace? Neither of them can use that move," James said.
"Guys, heads up!" Meowth warned. Unfortunately his warning came too late, for faster than they could see Swellow dove down from the sky and delivered a devastating Aerial Ace to Nuzleaf, dropping the Grass and Dark type on the spot.
"Dragon Pulse!" Nikki called. Just as Swellow had done earlier Swablu dove down and fired her Dragon Pulse. The blue orb struck the ground in front of Mawile, causing her to stumble backwards.
"Drat! The twerps had backup waiting in the wings!" Meowth yelled.
"Come on, you two! Do something!" Jessie ordered.
"I don't think so! Featherdance!" Nikki instructed. Swablu flew over them and sprinkled them with Featherdance. Immediately Nuzleaf felt his strength leaving him, but Mawile appear unaffected.
"What the?! Why isn't it working on Mawile?" Nikki wondered.
"(It's all thanks to my ability,)" Mawile answered.
"Her ability? What does… oh no!" Nikki groaned.
"What's her ability?" Ash asked.
"Hyper Cutter. It prevents her attack from being lowered," Nikki explained. "Thanks to that Swablu's Featherdance won't have any affect."
"Hah! How do you like that, twerps?! My Mawile has more than a few tricks up her sleeves!" Jessie bragged.
"Well then, let's see how she handles this! Thunderbolt!" Ash shouted. Even though he was badly poisoned Pikachu still managed to gather energy for his Electric attack.
"Don't you remember what happened last time? Mawile will just block your little Thunderbolt," Jessie said.
"Not this time! Dragon Pulse!" Nikki called. Right before Pikachu fired his Thunderbolt Swablu fired a Dragon Pulse. The orb struck the ground in front of Mawile. The sudden attack caused her to hesitate briefly, allowing Pikachu's Thunderbolt to make contact. The Electric attack engulfed Team Rocket, their Pokémon and their balloon. Moments later the balloon exploded, sending Team Rocket on their way.
"We're blasting off again!" they screamed as they vanished. Normally Ash and Nikki would be relieved, but they had more pressing issues to take care of.
"Quick! We need to find something to neutralize the poison!" Ash shouted.
"I think I might have some Pecha berries," Nikki said. She quickly rummaged through her backpack and found a pair of Pecha berries. She handed Pikachu and Buneary each one.
"Eat those. It'll take care of the poison," she instructed. As quickly as they could Pikachu and Buneary devoured the Pecha berries. Within moments the healing effects of the berries cured both Pokémon of their poison.
"(Oh man, that feels so much better,)" Pikachu said.
"(That's something I don't want to experience again anytime soon,)" Buneary commented.
"Good thing you had those Pecha berries," Ash said.
"It always pays to be prepared," Nikki replied. Now that Team Rocket had been taken care of they focused their attention on Alex. The young boy hadn't moved and still had a depressed look on his face.
"Alex, I… I'm sorry we couldn't get your Pokémon back," Nikki apologized.
"My Sneasel… I'll never see her again," Alex said.
"If only we had gotten here sooner. We might have been able to get her back," Ash said.
"No, it's… it's not your fault. If anyone's at fault it's mine for letting them take her in the first place," Alex sighed.
"It's not your fault either," Nikki told him. "If we're blaming anyone then it's Team Rocket."
"If… If you say so," Alex said. Neither Ash nor Nikki knew what to do for Alex. They truly did feel for him. Suddenly, Pikachu's ears perked up.
"(Something's nearby,)" he whispered. Moments later a small black and grey canine Pokémon walked into the open.
"It's a Poochyena," Nikki said. The Dark type looked around, fear evident in his eyes.
"(A-Are they gone?)" he asked.
"(Is who gone?)" Buneary wondered.
"(Those people and that Meowth,)" the Poochyena answered.
"(Oh, Team Rocket? We took care of them,)" Pikachu stated.
"(Thank goodness,)" the Poochyena said, sounding quite relieved. "(I was so scared when they showed up. I didn't know what they were here for, but they scared me.)"
"(They're more annoying than scary,)" Swellow commented.
"So you were hiding the entire time?" Nikki asked. The Poochyena hung his head in shame.
"(I didn't think I'd be able to do anything. I… I'm not a strong Pokémon,)" he replied.
"Oh no, I wasn't judging you or anything," Nikki said. As they talked Alex kept staring at the Poochyena. After a while his eyes grew wide in realization.
"Wait. I know you. You're the Pokémon I was following," he revealed. As soon as Alex spoke the Poochyena looked at him.
"(Oh yeah. You were following me,)" he realized.
"You were looking to catch him?" Ash asked.
"Yeah… though, I won't be able to now," Alex sighed.
"(Why not?)" the Poochyena inquired.
"Those people you were hiding from stole his Sneasel," Nikki explained. The Poochyena looked shocked.
"(Th-They stole his Pokémon?! How could they do such a thing?!)" he gasped.
"(That's how they are,)" Pikachu spat.
"I was trying to get a full team of Pokémon before starting my journey, but now I… I don't have any Pokémon at all," Alex moaned. Alex's depression returned tenfold. Ash, Nikki and their Pokémon couldn't even begin to imagine what he was going through. In one move Team Rocket not only stole his Pokémon but put an end to his journey before it even began.
"Is there anything we can do for him?" Nikki wondered.
"I don't know," Ash told her. The Poochyena walked over to Alex and sat in front of him.
"(If you want I'll… I'll join you,)" he said. Everyone looked at the Bite Pokémon, wondering if they heard him right.
"You'll what?" Alex asked.
"(I'll join you and be your Pokémon,)" he repeated. "(I might not be able to replace the one you lost, but I promise to be the best Pokémon I can.)"
"You should accept his offer," Ash said. "That way you can still have a shot at starting your journey."
"I agree. This way you'll still have a Pokémon," Nikki added. Alex looked at the canine Pokémon, seeing nothing but sincerity in his eyes. After a while he smiled.
"Okay. You can be my Pokémon," he agreed. The Poochyena's eyes lit up and his tail began wagging.
"(Oh, thank you! I promise to do my best for you!)" he barked. Alex smiled at the Poochyena as he took out an empty Poké Ball. He gently tapped the Bite Pokémon on his head and watched as he was drawn inside. The ball 'pinged' after a few seconds, signaling a successful capture.
"Thank you, Poochyena," Alex said.
"We should head back to the Pokémon Center," Nikki suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Ash agreed. The three of them left the clearing and headed back to town.
Once they got back to the Pokémon Center they gave their Pokémon to Nurse Joy for a check-up. Thankfully all their Pokémon were given a clean bill of health. For Ash and Nikki this meant they could continue on to the next leg of their journey.
"I want to thank you for trying to help me. Even though I didn't get my Sneasel back I think Poochyena going to be a great Pokémon," Alex said.
"I'm sure he will," Ash agreed.
"You know, we may end up meeting again in the Legenda League," Nikki pointed out.
"If we do I hope we end up battling each other," Alex said.
"So do I," Ash reciprocated. They said their goodbyes to Alex before heading north out of town.
"Okay. Next stop, Mineva Town!" Nikki cheered. She expected Ash to be just as excited as she was, but when she looked in his direction she noticed he appeared to be deep in thought.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"I can't help but feel like we failed back there," he answered, referencing the fact that Team Rocket seemingly got away with stealing Alex's Pokémon.
"What else could we have done? Given the circumstances we got there as fast as we could," Nikki said.
"Even so, I don't like it when they do something like that and get away with is," Ash replied.
"I don't either, and that's why we have to keep stopping them every chance we get," Nikki stated.
"(Nikki's right, Ash. We'll get them next time,)" Pikachu vowed.
"Yeah… Yeah, you're right," Ash agreed. "We won't let them get away with something like this again."
"That's the spirit," Nikki said. "So, what do you say we get this show on the road, huh?"
"Let's do it. Mineva Town, here I come!" Ash suddenly broke out in a run.
"Hey! Wait for us!" Nikki called. She started running after Ash as they continued on their journey towards Mineva Town.
Despite receiving new Pokémon as a reward for successfully stealing a Pokémon Jessie and James were still defeated by Ash and Nikki's combined effort. Now on their way to Mineva Town one has to wonder what awaits them next on their journey through Legenda. Find out next time in Search for Power!
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