Author Notes at End of Chapter:

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Chapter 7: Attack on Pewter Museum of Science

When Ash and Leaf arrived, the scene in front of them was even more chaotic than expected. The city alarm continued to sound, making it extremely difficult to talk to anybody, even if they were right in front of you. Weirdly, the fire seemed to not stem from The Museum, but rather a lit police car.

Turning his attention to the building, the sight of fleeing people greeted him. People flooded from all the exits, their cries and shouting barely heard over the alarm. Ash gripped a Pokeball, preparing to enter the chaos. Leaf finally stood back up from leaning on her knees, no doubt exhausted from the run.

"Are you seriously thinking about going inside the building everyone is LITERALLY running out of?" Leaf asked, clearly appalled with her best friend. Ash sighed, stopping himself from running off as he heard Leaf speak.

"I have to help somehow! There are people who could be injured in there."

"Ash! There are police here to handle it! Don't be so rash!" Leaf grabbed his wrist with her left hand. Her efforts were proving to be futile, though, with Ash gently removing her hand with his own.

"There's only two police cars here. They probably need all the help they can get. Besides, I can't just sit back and watch!"

"Wait, Ash!" Leaf shouted, following the black haired teen once again. Ash pushed through the crowd of people, slowly making progress through the main entrance. After receiving plenty of shoves and accidental elbows to his body and sometimes face, Ash finally made it inside the facility.

Immediately, he was greeted by Pokémon attacks and battles occurring throughout the floor. Several police officers were present, yelling out orders to their respective Growlithe.

The police seemed to be battling a group of men and women wearing the exact attire. These people wore an all black outfit, consisting of black pants and a tight black long sleeve. A large R was inscribed on the middle of their shirts, serving as a dead giveaway for their organization.

Team Rocket was a criminal organization that had been slowly built up from nothing in the past thirty years. What little information he knew was from short lived conversations with Professor Oak, as well as news coverage.

As far as Ash knew, the organization strived to establish a foothold over the Kanto and Johto Regions. The boy vaguely recalled hearing a report of their criminal activity in the Sinnoh Region, but wasn't sure. Disregarding that, they were fairly popular in his home region.

"Give up the fossil, old man! I ain't gonna ask again!" A fairly young, bald member of Team Rocket forcefully shouted. The old man was pressed up against the wall, trapped by the grunt Arbok. Arbok hissed violently, slowly slithering even closer to the well dressed elder.

Ignoring the fighting occurring around Ash, he gripped his pokeball and threw it towards Arbok.

"Nidoran, I need your help!"

"Nido Nidoran." Nidoran squeaked, already positioned in a battle stance as it faced the much larger Arbok. The bald grunt raised his eyebrows at Ash, before forcing a clearly fake laugh.

"Kid, the playground is a couple minutes away from here. How about you mind your-"

"Fury Attack!" Nidoran's horn connected into Arbok's chest before both Arbok or the grunt had any time to react. It made contact the maximum amount of times, striking the Poison Type five times. Ash laughed, enjoying the grunt's clear shift to anger.

"Arbok!" Arbok hissed out, backing away from the elder due to Nidoran's attack. The gray haired man remained on the ground, though, as he gripped his leg. He was clearly injured in that area, but it was impossible to tell what specifically occurred.

"You little shit! Arbok, Fire Fang!"

Arbok hissed, opening his mouth wide as he approached Nidoran. The Pokemon's open mouth revealed his sharp, lengthy teeth as they became slightly engulfed in flames.

"Dodge and use multiple Poison Stings."

Nidoran avoided the physical attack easily, gaining a few feet of distance from Arbok before using Poison Sting. The needles pierced Arbok's body, making Arbok cry out.

Unfortunately, Nidoran underestimated Arbok's unusual speed, since Arbok kept up the pressure. Arbok used Fire Fang once again, this time capturing Nidoran in its open jaws.

"Nidoran!" Ash shouted, helpless as Nidoran was thrown across the room after being released from Arbok's teeth.

"That's what you get, brat. Now, use Acid."

"Avoid it!"

Luckily, Nidoran recovered in enough time to dodge the attack, running closer to Arbok as it stayed clear from the acidic, yellow spray.

"Peck!"

Nidoran was close enough, connecting with his attack. The grunt growled, insulting his own Arbok before issuing his own command.

"Use Acid again!"

Nidoran was too close this time, as he was hit partially from the ranged attack.

"Nido!" Nidoran cried out, lucky that it was agile enough to avoid most of the attack.

"Back up and use Poison Sting."

Nidoran backtracked, not taking his focus from Arbok while shooting the poisonous needles once again. While it definitely wouldn't poison the other Poison type Pokemon, it would at least cause some minor damage and buy the two some time.

Suddenly, Nidoran stopped moving, as well as cutting off the attack. Ash was about to question why Nidoran suddenly stopped, before widening his eyes in surprise. Nidoran's body became submerged in a bright, white light. While he could no longer see the Pokemon, the outline of Nidoran's body slowly morphed into a larger shape.

The Pallet Town native had never seen a Pokemon evolve live, so the surprise that came with it was unlike anything he had experienced. The instances he had seen on shows, as well as live battles on the television did little to compare to the real life experience.

The white glow finally faded, revealing the newly evolved Pokemon. Nidorino didn't look much taller in height, but he did appear slightly more bulky, as well as wider.

"Alright, Nidorino!" Ash encouraged excitedly, drawing a scoff from the Team Rocket Grunt.

"Who gives a shit? End this with Bite!" The grunt shouted angrily.

"Meet him head on with Fury Attack!"

Both Pokemon collided, except Nidorino struck Arbok's chest yet again. Arbok missed his bite completely, having the wind knocked out of him as he towered over the smaller opponent. Before he could recover, Arbok was sent back by two more strikes by Nidorino's horn.

Arbok fell backwards, hissing in defeat as it was clearly down for the count.

"Shit! The grunt shouted childishly, reaching for another Pokeball.

"Horn attack on Baldy!" Ash quickly commanded, uncaring for the possible damage the trainer would suffer. Before the criminal was able to release another Pokemon, he wheezed from the contact, falling down to the floor similar to Arbok.

"Great job, buddy." Ash complimented Nidorino.

Before Ash could check up on the injured elder, a loud commotion behind him drew his attention. Another Team Rocket grunt seemed finished with his battle, as a green haired officer kneeled beside her Growlithe, clearly concerned for the fainted Pokemon. That same grunt smirked cockily, pointing at Ash as he spoke.

"Use Sludge on the kid."

Nidorino attempted to make it towards his trainer, still a decent distance away from Ash since he had just attacked the other grunt. Ash stumbled backwards, realizing he was likely screwed. However, just as Weezing was about to release the purple, gooey matter from its mouth, a familiar voice interrupted.

"Vine Whip!"

Ash watched gratefully as Weezing was knocked to the side from Bulbasaur's vine. Weezing's Sludge missed its mark by a mile due to the nuisance, while the Pokemon also was launched straight through a glass case in the Science Museum. Ash winced at the damage, already imagining how much rebuilding the floor would cost the owners.

Just a second later, Leaf came into view. The girl looked exhausted to say the least, struggling to brush the damp brown hair from her forehead and out of her eyes. Ash forced a fake smile once the girl's eyes met his own, glaring at him harshly.

"We are SO talking about this after." Leaf warned Ash. Ash muttered an agreement, though he was unsure if the brunette was referring to him being saved by her, his constant running off, or leaving her to run straight into danger. Hell, it could be all three.

"There's no way I'm losing to some freaking kids! Tackle on the Bulbasaur!" The Team Rocket Grunt cockily screamed.

"Stop it with Razor Leaf."

Bulbasaur sent a flurry of sharp leaves at Weezing, who groaned in pain from the attack. The grass type attack easily stopped the momentum of Weezing, who was unmoving despite his trainer's protests.

"Hit it with Peck." Ash jumped in, taking advantage of the preoccupied Weezing. Sure a two on one Pokemon fight was pretty unfair. Who gives a shit about fair, though, when you decide to attack a whole Museum?

"Weeze!" Weezing cried out louder, floating backwards from the attack by Nidorino.

"C'mon Weezing! Use Sludge on the girl!" The grunt panicked, resorting to attack a trainer yet again.

"Vine Whip again!"

"Fury Attack!"

Bulbasaur's Vine Whip hit first, launching the floating Pokemon into the wall. Weezing bounced off the wall harshly, before being met by Nidorino's horn. Yet again, Weezing was sent reeling into the wall. Only difference was that this kept occurring three more times due to the Fury Attack hitting more than once. Ash winced once again, feeling like he was watching a game of ping pong. In all honesty, the teen didn't know Weezing could serve as such a great ball for the game.

Leaf didn't order another attack, convinced that Weezing was done for good. Sure enough, Weezing flopped to the ground once the onslaught finished. The grunt cried out, returning Weezing quickly before running off to escape. However, as he approached the main exit, he was met by several identical officers blocking the door.

It appeared that the attack was over, judging by all remaining Team Rocket members either being handcuffed on the ground, or unconscious and lined up against the wall. Although the fighting was finally over, the first floor was an utter mess. There were only a few glass cases and models that remained untouched. Fortunately, there was no fire that threatened the safety of the building.

"What are you two thinking? You should not be in here." One of the green haired officers approached Ash and Leaf, crossing her arms in disapproval.

"I tried telling him that Officer?" Leaf trailed off, unsure of the woman's name.

"Officer Jenny, dear. Were you in here at the time of the attack?" Officer Jenny asked the teens.

"Totally."

"No, we weren't."

Both stated at the same time, with Ash rolling his eyes at Leaf telling the truth. Officer Jenny sighed, pinching her eyes stressfully.

"I appreciate your help. I really do. But you two are just kids."

"We're almost fourteen, so not really." Ash muttered, his words doing little to convince the older woman.

"That's great. Really. However, that doesn't change the fact that you aren't made for this kind of work."

"I'd like to disagree, Officer Jenny." The injured elder hobbled over, being helped by two other police officers. One of them appeared exactly like Officer Jenny, with only a slight change in hairstyling. Ash shrugged it off, believing the identical women to be related. Though, how were there so many of them?

"Mr. Lee?" Officer Jenny asked confusedly. Ash kept his eyes on the gray haired man, believing to recognize him from somewhere. Now that his face was much closer and clearer, Ash's mouth opened slightly in surprise.

"This young man actually saved me, effectively defeating a member of Team Rocket for unselfish reasons." Mr. Lee responded, smiling gratefully at the teen.

"I spoke with you here, right?" Ash asked, wanting to confirm his suspicions.

"That's right, Ash. You can call me Barry." Barry shook Ash's hand, formally introducing himself. "You were also quite spectacular with your Bulbasaur. What's your name?"

"Leaf Green, sir." Leaf politely answered.

"Nice to meet you, Leaf." Barry Lee shook the hand of Leaf, before waving off the police officers who helped him stand. Slightly leaning on his unhurt leg, Barry chuckled heartily.

"You should give the kids a break, Officer Jenny. Back in my day, we got up to a lot more dangerous activities." His words made Officer Jenny sigh with a smile.

"Well, it's a different time now Mr. Lee. If you two didn't know already, Mr. Lee is actually the owner of Pewter's Science Museum. I apologize for the damages, sir."

Mr. Lee waved off her apologies with a free hand, still smiling despite the clear need for remodeling in his museum.

"Nonsense, Officer Jenny. It's not your fault these lunatics dedicate their lives to looting and creating havoc."

"Have you seen much Team Rocket activity in Pewter City?" Leaf asked, curious if this was a recurring theme. Officer Jenny shook her head before replying.

"No, this is actually the first major incident in a couple of years now. Of course, we've seen reports of possible sightings of the group, but nothing like this. Team Rocket has been on the low for the past decade, ever since the Pokemon League Committee cracked down on them."

"I know they disbanded for a bit. Why is that?" Ask chipped in.

"I don't know much about it, but do you know Red?"

"Of course. He's considered the strongest trainer the world has ever seen." Ash laughed, more than familiar with his name. Although not much was known about him, Red was considered to be a Pokemon Master. Somebody Ash had idolized, as he had grown up hearing stories about the trainer. The way they sounded, it seemed more like legends.

Red had become the youngest champion ever, as he became Champion of Kanto at the age of just eighteen. Champions today praised the guy almost religiously. However, he hadn't been seen even before Ash was born. Everyone had their theories, but one thing was for sure. The guy fell off the damn map.

"Supposedly, he played a large part in disbanding them. Attacked several Rocket strongholds by himself. Of course, some of the world's most powerful trainers and organizations played a hand in it too. Though, it's rumored that Red defeated the leader, which caused their demise originally." Officer Jenny remarked.

"Who was their leader? Also, who's the new one considering they've been back recently?" Ash pushed on, with Officer Jenny's answers only making the boy more curious.

"No one knows. Red was the only one who saw and defeated him. At least, that's what the Pokemon League stated all those years back."

"Then how-"

"Ash, stop playing twenty one questions with Officer Jenny." Leaf cut him off, making Ash glare at her in annoyance. Officer Jenny noticeably held back a giggle, while Mr. Lee smiled at the two interacting.

"Tommy! I came as soon as they called me."

Ash's face perked up in recognition, turning around to view behind him. As he thought, Brock was present, kneeling in front of a much smaller boy. A police officer stood beside the boy, likely watching him until Brock arrived. From the clear similarities in appearance, as well as the behavior between the two, it seemed the two were related.

"Hi Brock!" The kid greeted happily, clearly not affected by the prior attack.

"Are you hurt?" Brock asked frantically, gripping the boy with his hands while scanning his body for injuries. Tommy simply shook his head, still grinning ear to ear. "I can't believe you were here." Brock exhaled heavily, clearly relieved.

"Brock, you should have seen it! Those two trainers beat Team Rocket's butts!" Tommy exclaimed, pointing his finger at the group. Brock's head turned to follow his hand, spotting Leaf and Ash. Brock laughed, shaking his head before getting and taking Tommy by the hand.

"I knew you two were natural born trainers, but I didn't peg you for the heroic types. Clearly I was wrong." Brock joked as he approached the group, making Ash scratch the back of his head sheepishly.

"I'm not, but Ash definitely doesn't seem to agree judging by his actions." Leaf laughed, though it was only apparent to Ash how forced it was. Yep, she was definitely going to rip into him later.

"Regardless, thank you. Thank you too, Officer Jenny." Officer Jenny nodded, patting Brock on the shoulder, making the tall teen giggle happily. Ash looked at the taller man weirdly, before Brock continued in a much more serious fashion. "You guys are a major reason why my little brother is safe today against all odds."

"It was nothing." Ash waved off, while Leaf simply smiled and nodded at Brock's appreciation.

"Brock! Can they come to our house? I want to see more of their cool Pokemon!" Tommy pulled Brock's leg as he stared up at his towering brother.

"Actually, that's a great idea. As a small thank you, I would love to have you two for dinner with my family." Brock stated. Ash forced an appreciative smile, regretting having to say his next words.

"That would be amazing but we were actually about to leave town."

"Actually, it's unlikely anyone will be able to enter or exit the town until tomorrow." Mr. Lee joined in, informing the group.

"Why's that?" Leaf asked in confusion.

"Officer Jenny notified me that the officials are exercising a lockdown to potentially look for any Team Rocket members that might have escaped. It's much easier for them to be tracked down if they are stuck inside the city, as well as preventing any other criminals from entering."

"I'm sure one day waiting wouldn't hurt. If it's not a burden, we'd love to attend." Leaf replied gratefully, eliciting grins from both Brock and Tommy.

"Well I'm always one to enjoy free meals!" Ash groaned, rubbing his side where Leaf had elbowed him.

"Actually, before you go Ash, I'd like to give you something." Mr. Lee started, making the boy raise an eyebrow. "It was an item that the grunt you defeated was attempting to strip away from me."

Mr. Lee dug into his jacket pocket, before removing a shiny, golden fossil. "This is a Pokemon fossil, called Old Amber. When recovered, it is revived into an Aerodactyl."

"Mr. Lee… I can't take something like this. Besides, why would you give it up when you just fought so hard to keep it." Ash replied kindly, refusing the tempting offer.

"Son, you're going to see in your journey that oftentimes, you don't fight for something just because you want it. Sometimes, you fight for whatever it may be because it's the right thing. Sometimes, you fight for it, because screw them."

Before Ash could respond, Mr. Lee grabbed one of Ash's hands with his own and forced his palm to face the roof. Mr. Lee then placed the fossil in his palm, before walking past the group.

"Cinnabar Island has a laboratory dedicated towards fossils. Tell them my name and they'll recover it for you." Mr. Lee stated as he walked away, not looking behind him while waving. Ash smiled, dancing internally at the kind gift.

"What a nice guy." Leaf commented, drawing a hum in agreement from Brock.

"It's already getting pretty late, so you're more than welcome to come back to my house with me right now! Be ready though. I have quite a large and chaotic family." Brock remarked, his tone becoming much more serious at the end.

"Can't be that bad. What, you have like three siblings?" Ash joked.

"Something like that."

It was definitely not, "something like that". Unless, that meant that three siblings is close to nine siblings. Brock's siblings were all fairly young and appeared exactly like Brock and each other, with squinted eyes, spiky hair, and tan skin.

As Leaf and Ash sat beside each other in the large, wooden, rectangular table, absolute chaos was unfolding. Food was flying everywhere, screams were piercing through the air, and Brock sat as if it was the most normal dinner in the world.

Leaf eyes continued to scan the table while Ash held his head low in his food, amazed at the delicious flavor he was experiencing. How did the Pewter City Gym Leader manage to make a simple sandwich so damn incredible? Only a few minutes in to eating and he had almost choked three times.

"You take care of all your siblings by yourself?" Ash heard Leaf ask incredulously across the table to Brock. Brock laughed heartily, nodding in response.

"Since a couple years back. We haven't had the greatest circumstances with our parents. They're alive, but they're not the best father and mother." Ash's attention was drawn at this, finally looking up from his plate.

"Well, he doesn't really take care of us anymore. We're all a lot older than when he first started." Suzie bragged, being Brock's second youngest sibling.

"You know that's not true." Brock replied while still beaming. "Taking care of you all is a full time job. Though, I wouldn't give it up for the world." It was easily apparent that Brock loved his siblings, judging by his warmhearted words and smile.

"I wish you would." Forrest, Brock's oldest sibling, mumbled softly. Despite his barely audible words, everyone across the table heard them. The table went completely quiet as Ash and Leaf's eyes widened, while Brock held a hurt expression.

"Why's that?"

"I don't mean it in a bad way, but things are different now. Suzie is right. Years ago, we did need you with cooking, school work, and basically anything else that our parents normally did. But not anymore." Brock remained silent, letting Forrest continue.

"You've always dreamed of being a Pokemon doctor and experiencing the world like mom and dad. You think that you can't do this, but you can now! With you as Gym Leader and us getting older, we've gotten used to taking care of ourselves. Not to mention that Cindy and I are old enough to help the others like you did." Forrest finished his passionate rant.

Brock continued staring at Forrest, taking in his words for a moment.

"I have responsibilities as Gym Leader here. Without that, who's going to pay for everything we need?"

"I will. I'm already fifteen, just a year younger than you were when you started. You know I'm also capable of running it." Forrest replied seriously. Ash and Leaf remained silent, realizing it was a serious family matter that didn't pertain to them.

"I know you are. That doesn't change the fact that as the oldest, I still need to take care of you all." Brock finished, not budging on the issue. However, not a second had elapsed before all of Brock's siblings butted into the conversation their protests.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

"We already said we're old enough!"

"Follow your dreams, Brock!"

"You're not listening to Forrest!"

"I can take care of myself!"

"I can cook for us!"

"You don't have to stay, Brock!"

"We want the best for you!"

"I can wipe my butt by myself!"

The last one made Ash open his mouth in confusion, while Leaf mirrored the same, caught off guard expression. The protests continued, with the group of siblings ganging up on the oldest teen. Brock told the group to calm down, but gave up since the group was way too loud to hear him. The Gym Leader remained silent, letting the screams continue before shouting loudly.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT I'LL GO!"

Immediately, the air was pierced with somehow even louder and obnoxious cheering. All the siblings got off their respective chairs, piling up on Brock as they hugged him tightly.

"I've never seen a family celebrate when their siblings leave them." Ash joked, clearly understanding why they were celebrating. Leaf sniffled slightly, wiping real tears from her eyes.

"It's so wholesome." The brunette cried out.

Brock then proceeded to go on a rant, detailing everyone's responsibilities, as well as telling Forrest he would speak to him personally regarding his Gym responsibilities. While it was a relatively young family, it was so large that it was reassuring they would have each others backs.

"Since you want to travel to Kanto, why don't you come with us, Brock?" Ash offered, making Brock turn his head in surprise at the offer. Due to the personal conversation with his family, it was likely Brock forgot that he and Leaf were even present.

"That's a good idea. We'd love to have you." Leaf chipped in.

"Are- Are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude."

"The more the merrier!" Ash swung his arm dramatically, earning a sarcastic eyeroll from his best friend. Brock contemplated the offer for a few more seconds, before answering.

"If it's not an inconvenience, I would enjoy that." The whole group clapped, celebrating the news.

"Thank Arceus, we don't have to eat Pokemon food anymore." Ash held his hands in the air, only to scream in a high pitched voice, running around the table as a crazy teenager followed closely with her fork.

"Ash! I'm going to kill you!"

Finally, Brock has joined the two on their journey! Honestly, I feel like it will be this trio that will be traveling throughout Kanto together. At least, for the majority of it. There will be plenty of other characters in both the anime and game that will be introduced and play a major role. However, I don't see anyone joining this main group. Sorry if this disappoints anybody but that's likely the way its going to be.

REVIEW as it motivates me to update quicker and I'll see you all soon!