A PokeGirl Emergency, Part 3!

As Ash, Nurse Joy, and the mystery PokeGirl fled the front lobby together, Ash couldn't help but feel just a little elated. That had been his first battle, and he had won! In a two-on-one no less! Granted, he had only come in at the end, and the circumstances were…weird, but a victory was a victory, and he managed to save his friend too!

"That was some quick thinking with the flame wheel!" Nurse Joy said as the two ran through the back of the facility. "You just might be cut out for Pokemon training after all!"

"You mean it?"

"Sure! I mean, you probably won't be able to use her, but you do have talent!"

"Wow, thanks!"

The PokeGirl nudged him with her bound elbow and winked at him in encouragement. Though Ash still didn't understand why she was tied up like that or why she didn't seem to have a problem with that, he still blushed at the gesture.

"Oh, uh, and you were amazing!" he said. "You totally saved us all back there!"

Though it was hard to tell with the red ball strapped to her mouth, it was clear that the PokeGirl was smiling in appreciation.

If Ash looked at her any longer he would be too flustered to focus on escaping, so he hastily turned his attention back to Nurse Joy. "So, uh, where are we going?"

"Out the back! With any luck, Chansey will be back with the police."

Ash nodded. Then he looked at the human ball in his hand, with its four cuts across the top. At least she's okay, he thought as he shrank the ball down and stuck it into his pocket. That's the important thing.

The three of them raced through the halls and into the back storeroom, where several boxes of supplies were stacked upon rows and rows of steel racks. The whole place was pitch-black, so Nurse Joy grabbed an emergency flashlight that was on the wall next to the door.

Nurse Joy shut and locked the door behind them. "Come on," she said as she led the two children into the storeroom. The back exit to the alleyway behind the PokeCenter was at the far end of the room.

They hadn't gone very far in when the door handle started rattling. They froze, and then turned back toward the door.

The handle kept shaking and shaking. Then they heard someone on the other side say, "It's locked!"

"Get out of my way, idiot! Houndour, burn us through!"

"Houn," a gruff voice growled. Moments later the door started to glow.

Ash froze. A Houndour? They had a Houndour?

The piping hot fear and excitement that had been powering him on suddenly chilled as icy terror pour into his gut and then proceeded to flood his veins. The sound of gruff barking mixed with the furious yelling of an old man echoed from the back of his mind.

Nurse Joy and the PokeGirl kept running forward toward the exit, but then the PokeGirl glanced over her shoulder and, seeing Ash standing still, kicked at Nurse Joy's heels to get her attention.

Nurse Joy stopped and looked back in confusion. The PokeGirl inclined her head at Ash, who was still standing perfectly still, not moving at all save for the trembling of his hands.

"Ash?" Nurse Joy hurried back to him. "Ash, hurry up! We need to go!" She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along.

Ash didn't immediately respond. His mind was at a time elsewhere, three years prior, a day that had been forever etched in his memory, the day he had accidentally wandered into old Mr. Garrison's backyard while playing hide-and-seek.

Get out of here, you little piece of snot! Carl, sic that brat! Fire fang attack!

The Houndour behind the door snarled with malicious intent, just as Carl had when Mr. Garrison had sent it after Ash, just as it had done so again and again in Ash's darkest dreams ever since. It couldn't be happening again, not another Houndour, not-

The PokeGirl got behind Ash and, planting the bottom of her foot against the small of his back, shoved him hard.

Ash stumbled, but the shock was enough to break him out of his fear-induced trance. "What?"

Then he saw Nurse Joy insistently pulling him along. "Uh, right! Let's-"

The door smashed in.

There they stood silhouetted in the doorway, the two Team Rocket Grunts, each with a flashlight. Coiled around the purple woman's shoulders and hissing angrily was the Ekans, and standing in front of the blonde with its claws bared in hate was the Raticate, both apparently fully healed from their beating, save for one of the Raticate's fangs, which still had part of it broken off.

But they had brought friends.

Standing in front of the pair was an inky-black canine shape, one with burning red eyes and a dark aura. It prowled forward, a deep, bass growl emanating from the back of its throat, the tips of its claws clicking against the concrete floor.

Ash whimpered.

The demonic hellhound looked up at him, looked directly at him, and growled again. "Houn!" it snarled, opening its jaws to reveal several knifelike teeth, dripping with drool the same color and consistency as burning pitch. And behind that, the back of its throat burned with hellfire, like the entrance to Hell itself.

The two Rocket Grunts turned their flashlights onto the trio, like spotlights illuminating runaway fugitives.

"Gotcha," said the purple Grunt.

"Ah!" Ash turned and ran as fast as his feet could carry him.

All rational thought had left him, leaving nothing but the desperate desire to get away! It was worse than when he had been chased by the Spearows. He had been completely panicked then too, but this was different, this was deeper, this was primal, this was fueled by the memory of what had been, until today, the single most terrifying moment of his life. He focused on the exit and charged for it, grasping at his salvation.

Then he heard a high-pitched cackle.

Something darted past him on his right, a swift, dark shadow. Had it been his imagination? No matter. Only the exit mattered. He was almost there! He reached out for the handle…

And then the handle moved, coiling around to swipe away his hand!

Ash stumbled back with a cry. What was that?

The shadows around the door then started moving, slithering in, collecting themselves over the door handle, taking form, taking shape, becoming a small, impish figure made of darkness itself.

The creature clutched to the door right over the handle, its large, bulbous head moving this way and that, as if it were sniffing the air.

Then it looked up at Ash, who found himself staring at a pair of glittering gemstone eyes.

Then a red gash slashed its way across the black void, opening into a leering mouth full of pointed teeth and a large, red, slobbering tongue.

"Sableye!" it screeched.

Ash recoiled with a cry of disgust. He would had turned to run the other way, but he was stopped by Nurse Joy.

It was then that he came to a disheartening discovery: they were surrounded. The Ekans had slithered up the shelves along one side and was rearing up over them, hissing loudly. On the shelves on the other side, the Raticate was crouching, its tail swaying in anticipation, the jagged edge of where its tooth had been broken off gleaming like a knife.

And in the path between them and the door, the Houndour was continuing to stalk forward, its footsteps leaving sizzling black marks on the floor, its drool burning into the concrete, growling the whole way.

"Sableye!" the little imp called again, and started cackling loudly.

Ash, Nurse Joy, and the PokeGirl clustered in tightly together, each facing out a different direction. Ash could feel the PokeGirl trembling where their shoulders touched. He understood her fear. She might have been able to take the Raticate and Ekans on her own with the benefit of surprise, but the other two changed the complexion of the situation. The Houndour would be able to shrug off her fire attacks long enough to answer with one of its own, assuming it didn't just dart in and bite someone's leg off. And Sableye were so notoriously elusive that it would have no trouble dodging everything she threw at it.

Besides, given their close quarters, it wasn't like she could just light things up without roasting her allies.

Still standing by the door to the hall, the two Rocket Grunts leered at the trio. "Oh, what's wrong?" said the purple one. "Can't set everything on fire anymore?"

"We really should've outnumbered them like this from the beginning," added the blonde.

"You mean you should have," snapped the purple one. "Most of them are yours!"

"Hmmm, you know what? You're right. I'll keep that in mind next time you annoy me."

Maybe Ash could send out the rest of the redheaded girl's Pokemon? Surely they couldn't all be as useless as the Goldeen?

Then, as their enemies moved in closer, Ash suddenly had an idea.

"Hey!" he whispered to the PokeGirl. "Do you know smokescreen?"

The PokeGirl frowned. Then she shrugged.

"Well, can you try?"

A beat passed, and then the PokeGirl nodded.

"Do it, and get ready to run!"

"Got it," Nurse Joy said.

"All right, I don't see any reason to draw this out," said the blonde. "Kid, you had your chance. Could've just given us the girls and walked away. But now, once we're done with you, you'll need so many bandages that-"

The PokeGirl swept her foot across the floor in a half-circle, scraping up flames. Then she slammed her foot down.

A thick, black column of smoke exploded up from the ground, filling the already dark room and shrouding everything in black.

…

Coughing, Cassidy waved off smoke out of her face. That had been the third time today, and only one had been her doing!

"Stop them!" she called into the dark through coughs. "D-Don't let them…get away!"

"Uh…Rati?" said Raticate's voice out of the dark. He sounded unsure of what to do.

The smoke began to rise, at least enough for Cassidy to see Sableye and Houndour's glowing eyes, both of which were looking around in confusion. Presumably Raticate and Ekans were just as lost.

As for the Nurse Joy and the Amazing Brat Duo, they were gone.

"Where'd they go?" Jessie said. "I don't-" Then she sneezed.

Cassidy thought on that. There seemed to be only two ways in and out of the storeroom: the door in which she and Jessie stood and the back door still covered by Sableye, and they certainly couldn't have used either one of those.

Cassidy swept the beam of her flashlight through the rest of the room, illuminating the dark shapes of the rows and rows of shelves and boxes.

"They're still in here," she snapped. "Find where they're hiding and take them down!"

"Huh?" Jessie said. "But if we damage the merchandise-"

"Idiot! Headquarters has a Healing Machine! And they won't be worth anything if they get away." Then Cassidy returned her attention to their Pokemon. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go!"

…

As soon as the smokescreen went up, Nurse Joy had closed her eyes, grabbed the first hand that she could, and ran, feeling her way with her hand.

The PokeCenter's storeroom was fairly large, and the shelves weren't all in perfect rows, giving them plenty of corners, nooks, and other hiding places. Nurse Joy pressed on forward, hoping that the map in her head was correct, until they found themselves in a narrow alcove, one obscured by several stacks of boxes that had yet to be shelved.

Nurse Joy crouched down low, bringing the kid she had grabbed down with her. Judging by the feel of bare skin, it was the PokeGirl. The two cowered together, Nurse Joy hugging the poor girl to her breast.

She wondered how Ash was doing. This had been his idea, so presumably he had fled in a different direction. He still had the Gym Leader's Pokemon with him. Hopefully he would remember to use them if things got dire.

Which they most certainly would.

The PokeGirl whimpered through her ball-gag and pressed herself in closer to Nurse Joy. She was trembling hard from fear. Nurse Joy comfortingly ran her fingers through the girl's hair and quietly shushed her. The poor kid had to be terrified. She had fought bravely against the Ekans and Raticate despite having no idea what was going on, but things had taken a sharp turn for the worst. Now none of them were guaranteed to get out of this.

There came the sound of slithering from above, scales sliding over wood and metal. "Ekanssss…" hissed from the dark.

Nurse Joy hugged the girl's head to her chest and did her best to stay still until the slithering passed. The most important thing now was to stay quiet. The lingering aftereffects of the smokescreen worked on both sight and smell; certainly her own nostrils were blocked by the sharp stench of what smelled like burning charcoal. That meant that the Team Rocket Pokemon needed to rely on hearing to find them.

Which meant that while the Ekans and Houndour were severely set back, they were still very vulnerable to the large ears of the Raticate and the Sableye.

Listening intently, Nurse Joy could hear their hunters moving through the storeroom, from the continued slithering of the Ekans in the shelves above to the hurried clicking of the Raticate's claws to the quick swoops and persistent gibbering of the Sableye to the heavier steps of the Houndour, which hissed with hellfire.

"Any sign of them?" one of the Rocket Grunts said.

"Of course not! Let the Pokemon search. You cover the backdoor, I'll stay with this one. They won't escape us!"

There was a pause, and then the other Grunt said in a much less sure tone, "Uh, is this really worth it though? I mean, the police will probably be here soon, and it's only three girls."

"It's not about that anymore! No one disrespects Team Rocket like that! If we can't profit off of this, then we'll set an example! Find themand take them down!"

We're trapped, Nurse Joy realized. Backed into a corner. And the strange thing was that the thought didn't fill her with fear like it ought to. If anything, she felt more incredulous at the ridiculousness of it all, that her life as a free woman would end like this: cowering behind some boxes, holding onto a terrified, naked child, one that could probably incinerate her with her pinkie.

Nurse Joy wondered what was going to be done to them. Team Rocket were notorious for their illegal girl hunting, and what they were said to do to the girls they took was the stuff of nightmares.

"Come out, little brat," called one of the Rocket Grunts. "The more you make me search, the angrier I'll be when I find you!"

"Oh, Joy!" singsonged the other. "Nurse Joy! Why are you risking your life for those little twerps? Tell you what: give us the kids, and we'll let you go!"

A lie. Nurse Joys were in high demand on the PokeGirl black market. But if something didn't happen soon, that would be her fate regardless.

Suddenly the PokeGirl started to pull away from her. Alarmed, Nurse Joy seized her by the arm to stop her.

The PokeGirl shook her off and got her feet under her. "What are you doing?" Nurse Joy said in as low a whisper as she was able.

Then the answer occurred to her a moment later. Despite her very justifiable fear, the PokeGirl was not going to just let them be found and captured. If she was going down, she was going down fighting.

Well, that was a noble compulsion, but also a foolish one. Until they actually were found, they still had options.

"No." Nurse Joy grabbed her again to try to hold her back, but as she did, her elbow hit what felt like a tin can sitting on top of the stack of boxes they had been hiding behind.

The can slid off its perch and hit the floor with a loud clatter.

Immediately there came the sound of rapid scurrying, and at the far end of the dark aisle they were hiding in, a pair of crystalline eyes appeared.

"Saaaaaaableeeeeeyyyyyyyyye!" shrieked the imp as it hurtled itself toward them.

…

Ash wasn't sure where he had gone once the smokescreen had hit. He had simply picked a direction and ran, taking several turns through the shelves of supplies, spare parts, and whatever else a PokeCenter might need to have on hand until finally huddling in a dark corner.

The confusion of their pursuers didn't last long, and soon all four of them were stalking through the storeroom. He could hear them hunting him.

And the closest was the Houndour.

Now that Ash was doing his best to stay as still as possible, the paralyzing fear was starting to come back. As much as he loved Pokemon, he had never gotten over having Mr. Garrison send his Houndour after Ash. Having it chase him while hearing that horrible hoarse growling had been bad enough, but being caught had been so much worse.

Ash had needed over twenty stitches and spent a full week in the hospital. Of course his mom had been furious, and had pressed charges. Ash never saw Mr. Garrison or his terrible Houndour ever again.

At least not when he was awake. But he would see them again, over and over, in his dreams. He would again feel that mindless terror, hear those guttural snarls, and feel those burning teeth close around his legs. Even after he awoke to find himself and tied up in sweat-soaked sheets, his leg would still hurt.

And now another Houndour was after him, and this one was probably far worse than Carl ever was.

Ash's whole body was shaking. He crouched down with his hands clasped over his neck as the growling grew closer and closer. The Houndour sniffed, sneezed, and kept moving. The smokescreen had only slowed it. Sooner or later he would be found.

What was he going to do? The PokeGirl had gone with Nurse Joy, and she wouldn't be much use against a Houndour! Ash was left defenseless, with no friends, no Pokemon-

Wait.

He had Pokemon! The ones belonging to the redheaded girl were still in his pocket, and they all couldn't be as useless as the Goldeen!

Ash stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled them out. Okay, he had the two in-use human balls with the ones Alexander had given him, so that meant he had five possible Pokemon to use. One was a Goldeen, so that left four.

Expanding one at random, he carefully placed it on the ground and tapped it.

Despite being as quiet as possible, there was still the whine of escaping essence and the accompanied red light. The Houndour barked and started to come closer.

Come on, come on! Ash thought anxiously as the shape of the Pokemon formed. Be something I can use!

The red light took shape and solidified, becoming a ten-pointed star with a glowing red gemstone core.

Ash felt a surge of hope. A Starmie! Oh, a Starmie would work great! It was an evolved Pokemon, which meant it had to be at a respectable level, and it also was both water and psychic type, which meant it could take down the Houndour and the Ekans with ease! Okay, so the psychic typing left it vulnerable to the Houndour's dark-type attacks, to say nothing of everything the Sableye had to offer, but-

Ash realized that he was wasting time reviewing everything he had learned at Pokemon Trainer Camp and decided to cut to the chase. The Starmie looked around in bewilderment at its surroundings. "Hruuu?" it said in its ethereal, crystalline voice, clearly confused.

"Hi!" Ash said in a low voice. "Look, I don't have time to explain, but I'm a friend of your trainer, and there's a Houndour stalking me, so I need you to fight it off and-"

"Hwah," responded the Starmie, the contempt in its voice clear.

Then it dissolved into red light that swept back into its pokeball.

"What?" Ash seized the pokeball with both hands. "No, please! I'm serious here! Come back out-"

"Houn…dor!"

Ash looked up. At the end of the aisle were a pair of burning red eyes. The Houndour had found him.

…

It was somewhat fantastic to watch the PokeGirl go to war with the Sableye. She remained in one spot in the middle of the aisle, illuminated by a bright crimson aura, body and legs never staying still. She ducked, bent, and curved around, swiping the air with flaming kick after flaming kick, shooting off bursts of flame this way and that, her lithe, naked body shimmering with heat and glistening with sweat.

All the while, the Sableye continued to circle around her so quickly that he was only able to be registered as a swift shadow, zipping and darting from shelf to shelf, occasionally stopping long enough for Nurse Joy to see the glint of its eyes or of the scarlet gem in its stomach, only for it to leap off again. Here and there it would leap into the circle to take a swipe at the PokeGirl, only for her to gracefully dodge its attack and return with a blaze kick, which would miss by millimeters.

It was a mesmerizing performance, almost like a dance, each one of them keeping perfect time. Unfortunately, the longer it went on, the more it favored the Sableye. It could afford to take a couple of hits, but it needed only to hit the PokeGirl once, and both it and its allies would strike.

And speaking of which, Nurse Joy saw one of them now.

The Raticate emerged on the shelves above, glowering down at the display. In the glow of the PokeGirl's aura it looked particularly menacing, and the glint in its eyes couldn't be mistaken for anything but hate.

It crouched down low, ready to spring. And the PokeGirl didn't notice.

Nurse Joy was about to call out to warn her, but then she realized that would only distract the girl, allowing the Sableye to have an opening, which in turn would let the Raticate get her anyway.

Then Nurse Joy's hand fell upon something long, hard, and cold.

It was a pile of thin metal pipes, no doubt intended for plumbing maintenance. Keeping her eye on the Raticate, Nurse Joy slid one from the pile and held it tightly behind her back. Then she took a deep breath to compose her nerves.

The Raticate crouched down low to strike, but before it could Nurse Joy leapt up and swung the pipe as hard as she could, hitting the large rodent in its side. It didn't succeed in knocking it over, but it did leap back with a yelp of pain.

Unfortunately, that also accomplished what Nurse Joy had been fearing.

Startled by Nurse Joy's sudden movement, the PokeGirl spun towards her and kicked an ember attack in her direction. Nurse Joy just barely had time to throw herself back to avoid getting scorched. Even so, she felt the front of her blouse singe from the passing flame.

The PokeGirl stiffened in shock when she saw what she had almost done, and that proved to be her undoing. The Sableye swooped in and sank its teeth into her calf. The PokeGirl's eyes bulged out and she let out a muffled scream from behind her gag.

No, Nurse Joy thought as she watched in horror as the PokeGirl fell to her knees, the back of her leg bleeding from a dozen punctures. Gibbering endlessly, the Sableye wasted no time scampering up her back, pausing to hump the back of her head, and then it leapt on top of her head, leaned over, and slobbered all over her face with its tongue.

"Get away from her!" Nurse Joy cried. She got up to charge forward, pipe in hand, but before she did, she heard the dry sound of rattling, like dead trees being shaken.

"Ekanssssss!"

A moment later Nurse Joy felt her own calf being punctured as if by a pair of needles. She tried to shrug it off, but her leg suddenly stopped responding. A strange, numbing chill was sweeping through her body, from her calf upward, shutting her down as it went.

Nurse Joy tried to crawl, but then her arms lost strength, becoming dead, wooden things, and she fell. She tried to roll over, but she didn't even have the strength for that. She tried to cry out in warning, but her tongue felt thick and swollen, and her throat had closed up, making it difficult to even breathe. All she could do was lie helplessly, watching as the Sableye flipped over the PokeGirl's head and pressed its claws against both of her small breasts. Seizing her nipples, it twisted them painfully, making her cry out. Then it rolled back over its shoulders onto its feet and opened its mouth wide.

Dark energy collected inside of its mouth, forming a pulsing black sphere, one that hummed with evil intent. It grew and grew, until it nearly filled the entirely of its mouth.

"SablEEEEEYYYYYYYEEEEE!" it screamed as the shadow ball launched out from its maw, striking the PokeGirl in the stomach and launching her head-over-heels.

…

Though his face still stung from being burned and his stomach still hurt from landing on that fence, Meowth was still on his own two feet, making his way back toward the fray.

"Ken't believe dis went like dis," he muttered to himself as he rubbed the soot from his face. "Bad enuff that there ain't nuttin' worth takin'. Now some stupid kid gotta sic his crazy girlfriend on us. The heck was ups with dem anyway? Dey're kids! Dey ain't supposda have PokeGirls or be PokeGirls! What's dis world comin' to anyways?"

As he neared the sidewalk that would take him back to the PokeCenter, he paused. His ears twitched. Had he just heard something?

When nothing leapt out at him, he continued walking.

"Betcha anythin' dose two idiots managed to bungle it up wit'out me," he muttered. "You'd tink wit' Miss High 'n Mighty on dah team, we'd actually start gettin' somewheres. But no, turns out dat she's jus' as much a screwup as James! Seriously, dah bosses need'ta step up the hiring-"

He paused again. Then he whirled around, claws bared.

"All right, I know someone's our der!" he called. "So come on out, before I scratch you out!"

For a moment, nothing happened.

And then a form stepped out of the shadows, a burly, four-footed form with embers in its eyes.

It looked Meowth over and barked, "Growlithe!"

Meowth froze, not just because he was a cat in the presence of a larger dog, but also because he had realized what the arrival of that particular kind of dog meant. "Oh, shi-"

…

The Houndour was advancing out of the dark, growling the whole way, every step burning. It was Ash's nightmares given flesh, his deepest, darkest fear come alive to torment him.

Shaking with terror, Ash continued to back up until his back hit the shelf. No way to go. No escape. No-

Then he felt his hand touch metal cylinder sitting on one of the shelves. His fingers brushed over the top, finding an apparatus of metal, plastic, and tubes.

Ash inhaled sharply. It couldn't be.

The Houndour stopped advancing. It crouched down low, preparing to spring.

Another memory suddenly flared to life in Ash's mind, another from Pokemon Trainer Camp. If any of you kids want to train fire Pokemon, then you have to be prepared! the instructor had said. Fire types are dangerous and unpredictable, and you never know when things will get out of hand! So you'll need to have and know how to use a-

"AAAAHHHHH!" Ash screamed as he seized the fire extinguisher, yanked the pin loose, and pressed down on the switch, just as the Houndour leapt.

A cone of cooling foam exploded out, striking the Houndour right in its open jaws. Its gruff roar suddenly turned into a squeal of surprise and pain as it was launched backward and sent sprawling.

Ash didn't stop. He just kept spraying and yelling until the Houndour was buried in foam and the fire extinguisher ran empty. Fortunately, it had been sitting next to others, so he grabbed another and kept spraying.

"What the…Houndour!" one of the Rocket Grunts called. It sounded like the blonde one. "What are you whimpering about?"

"He's probably found one of them!" said the other. "Though it doesn't sound like he was as tough as you made him out to be."

Then Ash heard footsteps.

The Houndour wasn't moving, and Ash wasn't going to wait for it to wake up. He ran forward and rounded a corner just in time to see the two Rocket Grunts striding forward to investigate.

They locked eyes with him, and he locked eyes with them. The blonde one's brow raised in surprise, as the purple one opened her mouth to say something, probably to call for help.

So he sprayed more foam into their faces.

"Argh!" Blinded, they stumbled back, clutching at their faces and practically running into one another.

The can ran empty, so Ash did the only thing he could do: he threw it at their heads.

There was a very satisfying sound of metal hitting flesh, followed by a cry of pain, but Ash wasn't going to wait around to see the results. He ran forward, praying that he wasn't too late to save the others.

…

The PokeGirl was curled into an agonized ball, twitching and shaking as dark energies crackled around her body, and Nurse Joy was helpless to do anything but watch. Though most of the feeling had left her body, she was aware that something long and sinuous was slithering around her body, wrapping her up in its coils.

Cackling at its handiwork, the Sableye then scampered around on all fours to look at her. "Ah, Sableye," it said, its voice now a pleased purr. It stood up on two feet and began to walk toward her, almost casual in how confident it was.

Nurse Joy watched as it got closer and closer. It big, slimy tongue flopped out. "Saaaableeeeyyyyeeee," it growled. Nurse Joy did not know what it intended for her, but she was certain that it was going to haunt her dreams for years to come, assuming she survived long enough to have dreams.

The Sableye opened its mouth wide. "Sable-"

Suddenly a pair of bare legs stretched out of nowhere to wrap themselves around its body and squeezed tight like a vice.

"-eye!"

The PokeGirl was up! She was obviously still wracked with pain, her eyes wet with tears, but she was up and she had managed to get her legs around the Sableye, trapping it in place. It screamed and clawed at her legs, leaving painful red lines, but she didn't let go. It was too late for it.

"Mmmpppphhhh!" A slender column of flame burst up around the Sableye, shooting up high and hot enough to burn right through the roof. The Sableye let out a hoarse scream, but not for long.

When the fire cut out, the thing she released from her legs was still as dark as a shadow, but the gems in its eyes and stomach were as black as the rest of it. Also, it now smelled of charcoal. It flopped over lifelessly right onto its face like a dropped stuffed animal.

"Ek-" the snake squeezing around Nurse Joy started to say, but the PokeGirl kicked both of her legs out, hitting it in the face with two jets of flame.

The Ekans's scorched head flopped onto the ground next to Nurse Joy's face, and its coils loosened.

The two hurting and tired girls locked weary eyes with one another. The PokeGirl sighed and nodded.

Then they heard the sound of something scratching across the floor. They both turned their gaze to see the Raticate approaching.

Seeing that it had been spotted, the Raticate froze in place. It looked over to the crispy body of the Sableye, and then over to the lifeless Ekans. Its brow furrowing in uncertainty, the big rodent then looked back to the PokeGirl.

Though she was clearly on her last legs, the PokeGirl's eyes burned with defiance. Her scarlet aura picked up in strength.

That seemed to do it. The Raticate made a decision. "Ra," it muttered, and then bowed its head and slowly back away. When it had fully sank into the shadows it turned and scampered away.

The two of them slumped with relief. Or rather, the PokeGirl slumped, leaning back against the shelves with her legs spread out, eyes closed in fatigue. Nurse Joy just continued to lay there with an unconscious and somewhat roasted Ekans still wrapped around her immobile body, but at least she was doing so a little less worried now.

Elsewhere, a commotion was going on. She could heard the blonde Rocket Grunt yelling…something, followed by what sounded like swiftly escaping gas, followed by more yelling, this time without words.

Moments later Ash ran into view.

Oh good. So they weren't dead yet. That was a nice change of pace.

…

In the darkened bathroom just outside of the storeroom, Cassidy and Jessie hastily washed the foam from their faces.

It was not a pleasant experience. Cassidy's face felt like it had been shoved into a snowbank, and now even the feel of room temperature air felt painfully hot. Some had gotten into her mouth, and now each breath felt like it was blistering her throat.

But that all paled in comparison to the humiliation of having been outsmarted by a kid.

"That…stupid…little…twerp!" Jessie was muttering as she rubbed the lump that was rising on her forehead, courtesy of a flying fire extinguisher. "When I get my hands on him, I'm going to wring his scrawny pencil neck and make his girlfriend watch!"

For once, Cassidy was in complete agreement. "Hopefully the Pokemon left us a few pieces," she said. "Though I doubt there's going to be much left once-"

"Ra!"

Cassidy and Jessie both turned to the door to find a small, squat shape. Cassidy turned on her flash to illuminate Raticate.

"Raticate, what are you doing here?" she demanded. "You're supposed to be gnawing legs in half!"

Raticate anxiously jumped up and down, waving his claws in the air. "Cate! Ratiraticate! Rati! Raticate!"

"Cassidy, what is it saying?" Jessie said.

"How should I know? Do I look like I speak Pokemon?"

Jessie sighed. "Oh, if only Meowth were still here."

Frustrated, Raticate stuck out his tongue and waggled it around in a pretty good imitation of Sableye. Then he stuck both claws into the air and mimed an agonized scream. Than he whipped around and got down on all fours, his tail shaking in imitation of a rattle while it hissed like Ekans. Than he punched himself in the face twice, whirled around, and lay flat on the ground.

"I…did you get any of that?" Jessie said. "I was never good with Pictionary."

Cassidy had, and it made her blood boil. "He's saying that the PokeGirl took out both Sableye and Ekans," she said.

"What?" Jessie gasped. "Both of them?"

"Yes."

"But how? They should have-"

Both fists clenched at her side, Cassidy threw her head back and shrieked to the high heavens, unleashing weeks of resentment, frustration, anger, embarrassment, and pure rage with a single scream.

Raticate fled into the hall, his claws covering his ears, while Jessie stumbled backward in shock. Cassidy took no notice. Her cry grew and grew in volume and sharpness, until the mirrors over the sinks shattered, sending shards falling.

Finally it tapered off, and when it did, it left nothing but relentless determination.

"Wow," Jessie said, filling the silence that followed. "Are you sure you're not a PokeGirl? One that knows sonic boom?"

Cassidy ignored the jab. "Come on!" she said as she stormed toward the door. "Let's go kill those twerps."

There was a pause, and then Jessies scrambled to her feet behind her. "You know, I have no problem whatsoever with that!"

…

Ash's legs almost gave way with relief when he saw that his two new friends were okay. Or at least, alive and not captured yet.

Still, they didn't seem to be in great shape. Nurse Joy was lying on the floor, a somewhat peeved expression on her face. Coiled around her was the Ekans, which fortunately seemed to have fainted, and judging by the big black spot on its face, it wasn't hard to guess why.

In the center of the aisle lay an unmoving goblin-shape, smoke still rising from its body. The Sableye, also fainted and a bit on the toasted side. Another win for the good guys.

And sitting with her back to the shelves was the night's reigning champion, though she looked pretty worse for the wear as well. The PokeGirl still had her arms tied up and her mouth gagged, but she didn't seem to care about that. Of more pressing concern were the gashes in her legs, or the bleeding in her calf. She was slouching back in exhaustion, her chest slowly rising and falling with each deep breath, her eyes closed. She didn't seem to be unconscious though. Her body still shone with a faint, yet persistent, red aura, a sure sign that despite the beating she had taken she was not out of it yet.

Hearing him approach, the PokeGirl cracked one eye open. Then her eyes crinkled as she smiled at seeing him.

Relief welled up within him, almost bringing him to tears. No matter how this day tried to bring them down, they were staying alive. Ash cleared his throat and said, "Uh, g-glad you guys are…alive. Are you okay?"

He immediately cringed. 'Are you okay?' What a stupid question!

And the PokeGirl agreed. She rolled her eyes, and turned her leg over so that he could see the bleeding bite marks on the calf.

"Oh. Uh, right. So…"

Then the PokeGirl sighed and titled her head to Nurse Joy, who still hadn't moved, though her eyes were open and alert.

The PokeGirl tilted her again again, with more urgency this time. The message was clear. Help her first.

"Er, okay!" Ash rushed to Nurse Joy's side and knelt down. "So, what happened to you?" he said as he unraveled the coils of the unconscious Ekans and pulled it off of her.

Nurse Joy looked annoyed at the question. Her mouth opened ever-so-slightly and she croaked out, "Prrrrr…"

"Uh, what? Prrrrr…imeape?"

Nurse Joy exhaled sharply through her nose. Then she tried again. "Prrrraaaaiiiiiisssss…"

"Prai-Oh!" Ash suddenly got it. "Paralysis! You've been paralyzed!"

Nurse Joy blinked her eyes in confirmation. Then she moaned out, "Paaaaaaaaeeeehhhh…"

"Puppet?" Were they now dealing with a Shuppet too?"

Behind him, the PokeGirl sighed loudly.

Nurse Joy grunted a negative. "Paaaaahhhhggggeeeeehhhh-"

"Oh! Pocket!"

Ash grabbed Nurse Joy's shoulders and eased her over onto her back. Fortunately the pocket was in plain sight, right in the bottom-left corner of her apron.

It felt weirdly perverse to go digging into the pockets of a paralyzed woman, even while under her instructions, but Ash ignored the weirdness and stuck his hand in. Thankfully, inside were a number of Pokemon care items, including a couple of miniature potions, an antidote, and a paralysis heal. Success!

Unscrewing the cap, Ash pressed the paralysis head against Nurse Joy's neck and pressed the injector. There was a hiss, and the tensed muscles started to relax.

That done, Ash turned his attention to the much more awkward task of tending to the PokeGirl.

She was still slouching against the shelves, eyes closed again. Though she had yet to pass out, it was clear that she had been pushed to her limit.

The two potions in hand, Ash knelt down next to her. "Okay, hold still," he said. "This'll help."

The PokeGirl didn't open her eyes, but she did give him a slight nod. Ash unscrewed the potion lids and gently sprayed them over her injuries.

"Um, I'm Ash, by the way," he said. "I know this is all very weird and confusing, but I promise that I'm your friend. And as soon as we're safe, I'll explain everything, or, uh, at least the parts I understand, because this is so weird that I…"

Ash's voice slowly trailed off, not because he had run out of things to say, but because as he sprayed the potions up and down her bare, glistening legs, he had been struck by the realization that she just might be the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

He had seen PokeGirls before, of course. Pallet Town's lack of a Gym or even a PokeCenter meant that it didn't get a lot of traffic from trainers, but they came through on occasion, and he had of course seen PokeGirl battle against both Pokemon and each other on TV, which meant that despite his young age, he had seen his fair share of nudity. Naked girls weren't that big of a deal, provided that they had been caught properly, and any horny kid looking for bare breasts or butts would have no trouble finding them.

But Ash had never seen a PokeGirl his own age before, a kid like he was. Just fantasizing about the possibility with the redheaded girl in the shower had almost overwhelmed him with arousal, but here was the real thing, her young, slender body as nude as can be, without a hint of embarrassment. He was entranced by her, from how the sweat dripped down her cheeks and the tips of her hair to splash onto her shoulders and collarbone; to how her tiny, pink nipples were standing stiff on her small, budding breasts; to her slim, toned stomach that was honestly making him wish he had devoted more time to sit-ups; to her rosy little slit that pushed up through the soft mound between her legs; which were long and athletic, lovely even with the punishment they had taken.

And it wasn't just because she was pretty. And to be clear, Ash thought that she was very pretty, almost as pretty as the redheaded girl! But it was also the tantalizing paradox of everything about her, that someone could be so young and yet so confidently sensual, so strong and yet so vulnerable, so powerful and yet so soft. If the redheaded girl was everything he wanted to be as a trainer, then this girl was everything he just wanted, period.

And he did want her, and badly at that. It had little to do with her being a PokeGirl; he just wanted her, in the most primal of ways. It had nothing to do with logic or reason or morality or anything that had to do with higher brain functions. It was pure need. He yearned for her, ached for her, desired her more than anything. His loins were aflame, his penis ramrod straight to the point that it was almost painful, begging to be used, begging to be plunged into her soft, yielding crevices, to heard her cry out in pleasure, to have her want him as much as he wanted-

"Hrmph."

Ash looked up and very nearly choked. The PokeGirl's baby-blue eyes were open, and she was staring right at him. But not in the manner he would have preferred. Rather, they seemed rather annoyed, exasperated, but also tinged with amusement. She apparently had been watching him just crouch there and leer at her for quite a bit.

Once again the haze of lust that had enveloped Ash's mind was snuffed out by pure embarrassment. She knew. She knew full well what he had been thinking and feeling, that despite her risking her very life to save both him and Nurse Joy, a couple of strangers, and getting hurt for it, she still couldn't even take a rest without the only ambulatory member of their party wasting precious seconds to ogle her. And that obviously irritated her, but also struck her as rather funny.

"Sorry!" he said, leaping back from her. "I didn't mean to, uh, I didn't-"

Snickering, the PokeGirl shook her head. She moved her legs around and tried to stand up.

Then her legs buckled and she stumbled forward, into Ash.

Ash instinctively grabbed her by the shoulders to help steady her. "Careful," he said, helping her sit up. "You're still-"

Then he became immediately, intensely aware of his skin on hers, of the soft flesh beneath his palms and the surprisingly strong muscle layered beneath. She was very warm to the touch, like stretching out on a sun-warmed rock on a balmy summer's day.

Ash froze up again. The wave of hot desire rose up again in response to the touch, and he wanted nothing more than to keep touching her, to let his fingers roam over bare skin and plunge into her deepest of places, to feel more of her warmth as their bodies pressed into one another, nothing covering them and getting in the way, the two of them joining together and penetrating into one another in every way they could-

"Ash!"

Ash flinched at the sound of his name. Nurse Joy had shaken off the paralysis and was struggling to stand. And she had no doubt taken note of the young boy's hormonal episode and gotten annoyed at it.

"Sorry," he whispered, but then he noticed that he was still holding the PokeGirl by the shoulders, and she was now looking over her shoulder at him, eyebrow askew as if expecting him to do something.

Ash hastily pulled his hands away. "Sorry!" he said again, louder this time.

"Forget it, Ash," Nurse Joy said, slurring her words as she struggled with her numb lips and tongue. "We don't have time. Is she okay?"

"I, uh…" Ash looked again to the PokeGirl, who had stretched her legs out again and was now glowering at them in irritation.

To his dismay, while the little cuts had sealed up, the bite marks on her calf remained. They were a little smaller now, but still trickling blood, no doubt why she still couldn't stand.

"I don't understand," he said. "I gave her the potions!"

"Clearly they weren't enough," Nurse Joy muttered. "They are pretty weak, and she did take a lot of damage." She braced her palms against the shelf behind her and grunted as she forced herself up. "Give me a hand here."

Ash hurried over to support her. "Are you all right?" he said as he put his shoulders under her arm to help boost her up.

"Yes. Just…still a little weak." She looked at the two disheveled children and sighed. "All right, we'd better go. Uh, PokeGirl? I'm sorry I don't know your name, but you'd better go back into your human ball for now."

The PokeGirl stiffened in surprised. Then her eyes narrowed.

"I understand you still want to fight, but you can't walk on that leg. We've already won for now, so we have to focus on escape!"

As if to further prove her point, they heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching the melted door. "When I get my hands on those brat…" one of the Rocket Grunts was saying.

"Right now what we need is speed," Nurse Joy continued.

The PokeGirl still looked unsure. She shot a glance to Ash, as if silently asking for his input.

Realizing that he was the one who still had her human ball and thus would be the one responsible for safety, he said, "I-I promise I won't let anything happen to you! You'll be safe with me!"

That…probably wasn't what she wanted to hear, but she still seemed charmed regardless, or at the very least found his hopeless earnestness endearing. She sighed, chuckled, and shook her head. Then she looked back to Ash and nodded.

"Right! Okay…" Ash stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a handful of capture balls.

Five of them were the redheaded girl's pokeballs, and those were useless right now. Two of them were human balls, one of which had its top half gouged. Okay, that was the one that still had the redheaded girl. The other one was it.

Expanding the human ball, Ash pointed it at the PokeGirl. "Uh, return?"

It worked. The top of the ball opened, and the PokeGirl's body dissolved into red light, when was then swallowed up by the human ball.

"I still have a lot of questions about that girl," Nurse Joy said as she slapped some life back into her legs.

"Huh? But she saved us!"

"I'm not denying that, but even so…" Nurse Joy sighed. "Oh, we can worry about that later. Let's go!"

Ash hastily shrunk the ball down and shoved the lot into his pocket, and the two rushed (well, Ash did anyway. Nurse Joy more of hobbled quickly along) to the back door. They almost made it when a gloved hand reached out from around the corner to grab at them.

"Stop right there!" the blonde Rocket Grunt snapped. She seized Ash by the ear and wrenched it painfully.

"Ah!" Ash screamed as he was yanked back.

"Oh, you stupid little boy," the Rocket Grunt said. "Do you know what happens to stupid little boys who meddle with adult affair? They get-"

Reacting purely on instinct, Ash punched her.

In the boob.

Apparently she wasn't expecting that, as she let out a surprised oof and released him.

"YAAAAAAH!" Ash barreled into her, tackling her at the waist and driving her back. Of course it was a dumb move, one performed purely out of desperation. She was older, taller, and stronger than he, and once she got her wits back she would be able to overpower him with ease, so he really was doing the only thing he could do: flail around and hope he got lucky.

He did.

There was something sticking out of the high shelves nearby. It was impossible to make out what they were in the dark, but they were square, metal, and had an edge sticking out just a little bit past the edge of the shelf, easily avoided if the lights worked and you saw where you were going.

Neither of those applied. There was a sharp thud as the back of the Rocket Grunt's head hit the edge of the object and she dropped.

Ash gawked at the lifeless woman lying at his feet. Oh no, had he killed her? He hadn't meant to! True, he had been doing a lot of things that he didn't mean to do today, but he had never wanted to kill anyone, no matter how bad they were!

Then the Rocket Grunt groaned. Oh, thank goodness, she was still alive. But what was he supposed to do now, just leave her?

"Ash, run!" Nurse Joy cried as she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away.

Apparently yes.

The two burst through the back door and into the alley. After being cooped up in that smoky storeroom, the clean, cool night air revitalized Ash, giving him a fresh burst of energy.

"Come on!"

The city streets were dead ahead. He and Nurse Joy joined hands and turned to run.

"Gotcha!"

Ash and Nurse Joy whirled around. The purple Rocket Grunt was there, and she was incensed! Her face was beet-red with rage, the fingers of her left hand curled into trembling claws, while a tire iron was clutched in her right. On her forehead was a bright purple bruise. Well, that told Ash which one he had hit with the fire extinguisher at least.

"Do you have…any idea…how much you've humiliated me today?" she said as she advanced on the pair.

Ash quickly made sure that the still-recovering nurse was behind him. "Get back!"

The Rocket Grunt ignored him. "This was supposed to be an easy job! But now I have to report losing to a stupid twerp, his exhibitionist girlfriend, and a Nurse Joy! This is all Cassidy's fault! At least when I worked with James our failures were funny the day after!"

No question about it, Ash had to use one of the redheaded girl's Pokemon. Hopefully it wouldn't be the Goldeen or the Starmie. He thrust his hand into his pocket.

There was nothing there.

"But at least I'll have this!" the Grunt said. "At least I'll have this!"

Ash was starting to panic. Why weren't the pokeballs there? Why were they gone! And…oh no, did he lose both of the girls? How had he done that?

He anxiously stuck his hand into his other pocket. To his surprise, the number of capture balls in there had multiplied. Oh no, in his haste he had stuck both girls and the Pokemon into the same pocket as the human balls!

No time! He grabbed one between two fingers and pulled it out.

"Jessie used tire iron!" the Rocket Grunt cackled as she charged at the pair, swinging the metal bar wildly. "It's super-"

Ash hurled the ball, praying that it was one of the pokeballs, and that the Pokemon inside would at least help defend them.

It wasn't.

The human ball hit the Grunt next to the bruise on her forehead when she was less than a meter away. "Ow!" She dropped the tire iron and recoiled, clutching at her head. The human ball started to drop.

Then it paused in midair. Its top popped open, and the Rocket Grunt vanished into a scarlet beam of light, which was then swallowed up by the human ball.

Ash's jaw dropped.

The human ball fell to the ground. As Ash and Nurse Joy stared, it shook once as the captive woman struggled to escape. Then it shook again.

Any second now, Ash thought. Any second now, and she's going to burst out. And she's going to be ticked off! At least he had bought them a few moments, enough to find one of the pokeballs and-

The human ball shook a third time and then sat still. There was a clicking sound, followed by a ding, and the red light on the circular lock button cooled to white.

Ash choked.

"Well, you're…making quite the collection," Nurse Joy remarked.

"I didn't mean…" Ash sighed. Not again.

"I never said that you did, just…" Nurse Joy sighed. "Oh well. We'll just hand her over to the police."

Ash gingerly picked up the inert human ball, shrank it down, and put it in his jacket's breast pocket to keep it apart from the others. "Where are they though?" he said. "Didn't you say your Chansey went to go get them?"

"She did." Nurse Joy frowned. "Look, the park's right across the street, and it has a payphone. Let's go give them a call and see if they got the message."

…

Back in the storeroom, Cassidy lay listless, her breasts aching and her head swimming.

"Ugh," she said as she stared up into darkness. "Mother, please don't hit me again. I swear I've been bad. I cheated on the quiz just like you said! Just because I passed doesn't mean I studied!"

Then she heard footsteps.

Frowning, Cassidy turned her head. She couldn't see much, just a vague figure walking toward her.

"Butch?" she said. "Is that you? Have you finally come to save me?"

There was a click, and a beam of light hit her right in the face.

Cassidy flinched. With her headache, it felt like someone was grinding sand into the back of her eyes. "Stop it," she said groggily, shooing the person away. "That hurts."

The beam moved a little, still keeping her in the light but no longer hitting her in the face, and Cassidy saw a young woman with turquoise hair, one who was wearing a blue police uniform. Accompanying her was a serious-faced Growlithe.

"Rocket Agent Cassidy?" said the young woman.

Cassidy blinked. "Oh," she said. "Well. Shit."

Officer Jenny of the Viridian City Police Department smiled. "Consider yourself under arrest," she said. "And in big trouble."

…

As Ash anxiously waited outside of the phone booth, Nurse Joy sighed and hung up the phone. "We're in luck," she said. "Chansey made it after all. The police entered the PokeCenter from the front just as we were leaving from the back. They already have the other Rocket Grunt and all their Pokemon in custody, as well as that talking Meowth."

"Really? Wow, that's…" Ash sighed. "That's a big relief."

Nurse Joy nodded. "They told us to wait here. They're sending someone to pick us up."

"Right now?"

"Soon. Why?"

Ash uncomfortably shifted from one foot to the next. "Uh, well…"

Nurse Joy sighed. "You have to go to the bathroom, don't you?"

Ash nodded vigorously.

"Fine." Nurse Joy pointed at the park's public bathroom. "Hurry up. I'll tell them to wait if they get here first."

"Thank you!" Ash rushed to the squat, brick building that sat on one of the park's paths.

Wincing, Nurse Joy limped over to a nearby bench and sat down. The paralysis had mostly worn off, but it was leaving her muscles sore as a result, and her leg still ached where the Ekans had bitten her.

This had been, no doubt, the worst evening of her life. And the strangest. While she was glad that things had turned out all right in the end, it baffled her that Team Rocket had attacked in the first place. Of all the cities in Kanto region, Viridian City was one that they had mostly left alone. Heck, it had one of the lowest crime rates in the region, something people always attributed to its great infrastructure and vigilant police department. For them to do something so brazen as assault the PokeCenter was certainly out of character.

Well, at least they had failed. The Grunts were going to jail, and their Pokemon no doubt were to be sent to a special Pokemon rehabilitation center. All's well that ends well.

Of more pressing concern were the two PokeGirls. The issue with the young Gym Leader ought not to cause much issue. It had been a life-or-death situation, so all they had to do was let her out of the human ball and officially release her. No harm, no foul. But the other one though, the fire-type, that could be an issue. Having underage trainers run Pokemon Gyms wasn't necessarily unheard of or even all that rare, but it was a contentious subject in many circles, and if it got out that an underage Gym Leader was keeping another minor as a PokeGirl, and in a clearly sexual manner at that, then there was going to be quite the outcry against Ash Ketchum's savior.

The poor kid probably wasn't going to like that. It was clear that he had become quite a bit infatuated with both PokeGirls, and would be horrified at having gotten them in trouble. But Nurse Joy didn't know how else things would go. In the end, one had to do what was best in the long run, and one child keeping another as a PokeGirl surely wasn't that!

As she sat there contemplating, she heard the sound of sirens. Moments later a police car pulled up next to where she was sitting.

Finally. Sighing, Nurse Joy stood up.

Out of the police car came Viridian City's Officer Jenny. Nurse Joy actually knew her quite well. They weren't exactly close friends, but they had ran into each other several times during their respective duties, and always made time to chat.

"Thank goodness you're here," Nurse Joy said.

"Hello, Joy," Officer Jenny said. There was a strange look on her face, one that seemed almost sad.

Nurse Joy approached her. "So like I told the receptionist over the phone, I-"

Suddenly Officer Jenny grabbed her, spun her around, and slammed her against the side of the car. Nurse Joy choked. "What are you-"

"Quiet," Officer Jenny sighed. She wrestled Nurse Joy's hands behind her back snapped a pair of handcuffs over wrists. "Nurse Joy, you are under arrest for conspiring with Team Rocket. You have the right to remain silent, and please, please use it. Make this easier on both of us, okay?"

"On…what? Conspiring with Team Rocket? Are you insane?"

Without a word, Officer Jenny opened the back door of her police car and shoved Nurse Joy inside. The door locked as soon as it was shut.

Stunned, Nurse Joy sat still as she watched Officer Jenny walk around the car to slide into the driver's seat. Moments later, they were on their way.

"Jenny," Nurse Joy said. "What's going on? Why are you doing this?"

There was a long pause, and for a moment Nurse Joy thought that she was going to be ignored.

But then Officer Jenny sighed. "Because you saw too much."

"What? Saw what? What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry that it had to come to this, but I have no choice. This is Viridian City after all." Officer Jenny glanced over her shoulder at Nurse Joy, her eyes sad and regretful. She took her police badge off of her breast and lifted it for Nurse Joy to see. She pressed a hidden button on its side, and the front popped open.

Within was a large scarlet R.

"And Viridian City belongs to Team Rocket."

…

After Ash had finished evacuating his bowels and cleaned up, he found himself struck with a sudden sense of uncertainty.

Nurse Joy was still waiting for him outside, and soon the police would come to pick them up. The Rocket Grunts were officially defeated, and soon Ash could finally start his Pokemon journey, and got to start it with a victory over Team Rocket. Not even that stupid Gary could claim that!

But now that he was starting to calm down, he realized that he had a problem on his hands.

The police would no doubt have him hand over the human ball with the Rocket Grunt inside, and he had no issue with that at all. They could have her, and he hoped to never see her again.

But they were also going to make him hand over the other two in-use human balls in his possession as well, weren't they?

Ash went back into the stall, locked the door, and sat back down on the toilet. He took out both human balls, expanded them, and stared down at the pair.

In the one with the scratched top was the redheaded girl that had saved his life. In the other was her PokeGirl, the one that had kicked so much butt but also had gotten really hurt in the process. What was going to happen to them when the police found out about them?

He didn't know why the redhead had a PokeGirl of her own, but he was sure it couldn't be for anything bad. She didn't seem to mind being a PokeGirl, right? She had fought at their side, never made an issue of those ropes or being naked, and while she had been reluctant to go back into her human ball, she didn't seem to be afraid of it. So she couldn't be upset at being a PokeGirl, right?

But why had she been naked in the first place? What was up with those ropes or that ball strapped to her mouth in the first place? Ash had seen plenty of other PokeGirls who were also tied up like that, but they had all been grown-ups!

He was sure that there was a reason, but the police probably wouldn't care enough to listen. They would take both of them away, and they would be in big trouble just because they had helped him.

Ash couldn't let that happen.

He shrank both balls down and took off his hat. Then he slipped them into the strap that lined the inside of the hat and put it back on. It was a pretty snug fit, and wasn't exactly comfortable, but he could deal with it.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the stall and back into the park, ready to rejoin Nurse Joy.

But when he came out into the open night air, she was gone.

Ash was flummoxed. She had been right there! She had said that she would wait for him! Had the police already arrived to pick her up? Why hadn't they waited for him?

Ash felt a sudden chill as he looked over the abandoned park. Something wasn't right. The rational part of his mind told him to just give the police a call and tell them that they had forgotten someone, but another part screamed for him to leave and to do it now!

He stepped out of the bathroom and looked around again. There still was nobody there, no Nurse Joy, no police, no Rocket Grunts, no one but himself.

This was bad.

I can't leave! his mind cried. I have to go to the police! The police will help! They're the good guys!

But the sour feeling building in his gut strongly disagreed.

Ash hesitated, and then turned to run, fleeing the park, fleeing the city, and heading off to disappear into the wilderness.