This 2-Part episode is dedicated to the anime's 20th anniversary.


Episode 75: Ashes to Ashes Part 1

An aerial view of some sort of futuristic metropolis is shown. Everything is extremely high-tech, even more so than what is normal for the Tenno Region. The scene then zooms to show some sort of guarded compound. Everything looks peaceful, at least for a moment. Then the large metal doors of the building are blasted off of their hinges by a Hyper Beam from the inside. A boy, a girl, and a Dragonite run out. The boy and girl are outfitted in bizarre silver one-piece jumpsuits. The boy has brown hair styled in an outlandishly spikey way, while the girl equally bizarre orange hair. The boy cradles something in his arms.

Several guards and their Pokémon, such as Arcanine and Persian, come running out after them. One shouts, "Stop right there! There's no escaping!"

The boy urges, "We're out of the dampening field! Get us out of here!"

The girl nods. She pulls out what looks to be a Pokéball, and yet also looks completely different. It is an absolutely seamless sphere colored half red and half white. There is no button or anything else to control it with. She tosses it into the air and shouts, "Alakazam, get us out of here!" The strange Pokéball turns completely into red energy, and that energy takes the form of an Alakazam. The Alakazam holds up its spoons and teleports them all away.

One the guards curse, "They got away!"

Another orders, "Report this immediately. They got away with Specimen 251."


The boy, girl, and their Pokémon reappear in the middle of some sort of park. They all take a moment to pant and breathe a sigh of relief. The girl says with relief, "We did it. We actually did it."

The boy says, "Yes, but that was the easy part. What we have ahead of us is the hardest." He looks down to the bundle in his arms. "But at least we have you to help us now." He unwraps the bundle to reveal a small, green Pokémon. "With Celebi's help we can travel back in time and fix everything, but first we need to recruit some help."

The Celebi looks up to them both and smiles.


Ash and Turtsol seem to be doing some training, no doubt working on their Sunny Day attack, while Brock is cooking a meal. Brenda watches Ash. Ash shouts, "Okay Turtsol, we're going to try something different this time. Instead of trying to force the Sun to get brighter all at once, we're going to gradually try to increase the light. Just do what you did before, but build up to it a whole lot slower."

Turtsol nods. "Turt." It begins to gather its concentration. "Tuuuuuuurt…" After several moments of this, nothing seems to happen.

Trying to be encouraging, Brenda says, "I think it might be a degree hotter…maybe."

Ash shakes his head. "No, nothing happened. That didn't work either."

Brock calls out, "Lunch is almost ready. Why don't you call it a day on training and go wash up?"

Ash nods. "Alright. Sounds good." He pulls out Turtsol's Pokéball. "You did a great job trying Turtsol. We'll figure this out eventually." He recalls it. He and Pikachu then go through some trees and bushes towards a nearby stream.

Today may be a special day for all of us, but for our heroes it's just another day on their never-ending journey, at least that's what it is for now.

Once at the stream, both Ash and Pikachu bend down and start washing their hands in the water. Ash looks up into the sky and points. "Hey Pikachu, look!" Ahead of them in the sky is a brilliant rainbow.

Pikachu smiles and happily says, "Chu!"

"You know Pikachu, rainbows like that will always remind me of our first day together. Do you remember that?"

Pikachu nods. "Pik."

"After you saved me from all those the Spearow, we saw a rainbow just like that one, and flying through it was Ho-Oh."

Pikachu once again nods. "Pika." The something catches its attention. It looks around and sniffs the air.

"What's up, Pikachu? Is something wrong?"

Before Pikachu can answer, there's a flash of silver light, and a portal of some kind opens up behind Ash. He quickly turns to see, just in time to see a Celebi fly happily out of it. It flies around happily, doing several aerial loops. It cheers, "Bi bi!" It flies up to Ash, playfully taps him on the nose, and then quickly flies away. "Bi!"

Ash is dumbstruck. "It's a Celebi…"

Then, out from the portal steps the boy and girl from before. They are in the middle saying something, but go silent the moment they see Ash. The boy asks, "Are you Ash Ketchum?"

Ash is unsure how to answer. After a moment of hesitation, he finally says, "Yeah, that's me. What's going on here? Is that your Celebi?"

Ignoring his questions, the girl says, "Ash, you are in grave danger. As we speak, history is being rewritten, and only you can help us fix it."

Ash is even further baffled. "What? What do you mean?"

The boy steps forward and asserts, "We have no time to explain. The longer we wait, the more solidified the new timeline becomes, and we can't allow that happen. A key moment in your personal history is being attacked, and we need to stop it. Celebi can bring us back, but we need to hurry. Either you can help us, or you can stay here. The choice is yours." His tone of voice is somewhat combative.

Ash stands up and slips on his gloves. Pikachu hops up onto his shoulder. "I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about, but there's no way I'm walking away from people in need. Let's do it."

The boy doesn't appear entirely pleased by this, but he nods. "Celebi, open another time portal."

Celebi stops flying around and nods. "Bi!" It closes its eyes, gathers it focus, and another portal appears. The boy and girl run into it, followed by Celebi.

Ash looks to Pikachu and asks, "You ready, buddy?"

Pikachu nods. "Chu!"

"Let's go!" He runs in too.

The portal opens up somewhere else in an open field of grass next to a small, yet distinctly familiar town. Everyone exits the portal and it closes.

Ash looks around, instantly recognizing where they are. "This is Pallet Town! We're home, Pikachu!"

"Pika!"

The girl looks around and is reassured by what she sees. "Alright, I think we've arrived early enough. Nothing seems to have changed yet." She turns to Ash. "Sorry about the rush before, we had to get here as quickly as possible. My name is Ember, and this is my brother, Cinder."

Cinder states coldly, "What you are about to get into is extremely dangerous. A madman from our time is trying to change history, and you're right at the center of it."

Ash questions, "Wait, 'your time?' As in, you're not from my time?"

Ember shakes her head. "No, we come from twenty years into your future."

Ash shakes his head in disbelief. "Wow, time travel…"

Before anyone can say anything else, a familiar voice can be heard saying from nearby, "So, my little electric friend, we meet again."

Ash's head instantly turns towards its source. "Hey, that was Professor Oak's voice!" He sprints towards the source excitedly.

Cinder and Ember exchange nervous glances and then chase after him. Cinder asserts in forceful whisper, "You fool! You can't interfere with events that are supposed to happen!"

Just as Ash is about to approach Oak from behind, Cinder catches up to him and tackles him, forcing him back behind a bush. Ember quickly dives back there too.

Oak, having heard the noise they made, turns his head back for a moment, but doesn't see them, so returns his focus to the task at hand.

Ember emphasizes, "If you talk to anyone or change anything, you risk changing the entire timeline."

Ash nods as he begins to understand his mistake. "Okay…I guess I didn't consider that fully, I was just so excited to see the Professor again. What is the Professor doing out here anyways?" He peeks up to take a look.

Opposing Oak is a Pikachu. Oak says, "We've met like this many times, my old friend. While I have enjoyed our game, I'm afraid that I must end it."

Ash's Pikachu looks at the wild Pikachu with an awestruck sense of disbelief. "Pika…"

Oak pulls out a Pokéball and immediately throws it. "Pokéball, go"

The wild Pikachu leaps up into the air and slaps the Pokéball away with its tail before it can be captured. "Pik!" The ball is redirected towards Oak, sent flying straight at his face. The wild Pikachu begins to laugh at the coming misfortune.

However, Oak was expecting this and manages to catch the Pokéball before it hits his face. He then runs right at the Pikachu, catching it completely off-guard. "Here we go!"

Trying to stop him, the Pikachu unleashes a powerful electric attack, shocking Professor Oak. "Pikaaaaa chuuuuuuuu!"

Despite the electrocution, Professor Oak presses on until he's right in front of the Pikachu. He then taps the Pokéball's button right up to Pikachu's forehead, and Pikachu is pulled into the ball. It wiggles several times in Oak's hand and then clicks. The Pikachu was captured. Oak grins. "As I told you, my old friend, I have finally won our little game. You're coming with me now. I must be honest though, I will miss our battle of wits." He then pulls out a lightning bolt-shaped sticker from his pocket and adheres it to the Pokéball. He heads off towards his lab.

Ash gasps, and then quickly digs around in his backpack and pulls out the exact same Pokéball with the exact same sticker. He looks at it in disbelief. "No way…I just saw you get captured, Pikachu…" He turns to Ember and Cinder as he realizes something, "But that must mean…that means that this is before I got my first Pokémon, before I met Pikachu."

With equal disbelief, Pikachu adds, "Pika pi…"

Cinder nods. "Yes, right now is the day before you set off on your journey to become a Pokémon Master."

"Wow…" After a moment of silence, he asks, "Alright, it's time you explain what's going on here. What do you need my help for, exactly? Why are we here?"

Ember nods. "Yes, you should know. Where we come from, there is an extremely wealthy, yet malevolent man known as Fenghuang. He is power-hungry and mad. Somehow, we really don't know by what means, he managed to get his hands on a Celebi, this Celebi." She beckons up to the Celebi that flies around in circles above their heads, seeming very happy. "And he forced Celebi to take him back in time. His first destination was here. He did something, we don't know exactly what, that completely changed both your history and the history of the world itself."

Ash objects, "But everything seems fine to me. I remember my journey starting off like normal."

Cinder explains, "Time travel can be complicated. You see, after a change in the past is made, there's a rippling effect through all of history. Contrary to what you might logically think, the further in the future you are, the sooner it affects you. We were able to take back Celebi and travel back to your time before our time completely cemented into the new version history and became normalized to us."

Ash looks confused. "Okay…I get it…I think." After a pause, he asks, "One more question though. What's so important about me? A madman gains the ability to time travel, why would I be his first target?"

Ember begins to shout with surprise, "What's so special about you-!?"

Cinder elbows her in the chest and stops her before she can say anything else. He then reminds both of them, "Look, while you would be a greater help to us if you knew everything, knowledge of future events can be extremely dangerous. You're just going to have to trust us that the entire world is in danger, and we need your help to save it. To tell the truth though, if it were up to me, you wouldn't even be here for that reason."

With that, Ash is convinced. He stands up, holds a fist into the air to show his resolve, and declares, "Alright then. That's all I need to know. I'll take on any challenge in my way."

Ember beams with admiration. She whispers to her brother, "He really is the same person, even 20 years ago."

Cinder is unconvinced. "I don't know, but we can only hope so, because that's the person we need."


Who's that Pokémon!?

This Pokémon has electricity-storing pouches on its cheeks. These appear to become electrically charged during the night while the Pokémon sleeps. It occasionally discharges electricity when it is dozy after waking up.


It's now nighttime. Ash, Cinder, and Ember are sneaking behind buildings in Pallet Town, trying to go unnoticed. Ash asks, "So what is we have to do, anyways?"

Cinder responds, "We don't know exactly what Fenghuang has planned, but we do know it has something to do with you over the course of the next day, so we're going to have to watch over your past self carefully. If there's anything different from what you remember, that's when we have to act."

Ash nods. "Okay, I get it. At this time, I would have been in my room, too excited about tomorrow to go to bed."

Ember asks, "Is there anywhere we could see inside your room from without being seen ourselves?"

Ash thinks for a moment and then nods. "Come to think of it, there is. I know a spot that looks right into my bedroom window. I'll show you."

Before he can lead them off, a familiar voice taunts, "Well, if it isn't Ashy-Boy. What are you doing out here at this hour?"

Ash instinctively tenses up in annoyance. He turns around to see Gary Oak. He's unsure of how to respond. "Oh… um…. Gary. Hi." He looks to cinder and Ember for help, but they both shake their heads.

Gary steps closer to Ash and takes a good look at Pikachu. "What's up with the Pikachu?" He then looks down to Ash's belt and notices his Pokéballs. "And you're carrying Pokéballs too. What are they? Toys? Are you pretending to be a Pokémon Trainer or something? Can't you just wait for tomorrow?"

"Um…pretending… Yeah, that's what I'm doing. I was just so excited about tomorrow that I decided to pretend to be a trainer to help time go faster."

Gary laughs in a mocking manner. "Wow Ashy-Boy, that's just pathetic. Whatever." He turns to walk away. He taunts, "Hope you're not late tomorrow. Smell ya later, Ashy-Boy," and then walks off.

Ash breathes a sigh of relief. Then he shakes his head in disbelief. "I had forgotten what a jerk Gary used to be. Oh, how he annoyed me."

Cinder urges, "Now's not the time to get caught up in the past, we need to think about the future."

Ash nods. "Sorry. Come on, I'll show you to my house."

He leads them the rest of the way and shows them a spot where they can easily see into Ash's bedroom window. Ash is in for a shock, as standing there, proudly holding his Voltorb alarm clock into the air as if it were a Pokéball, is his past self.

Past Ash declares, "And I hereby declare to the Pokémon of the world: I will be a Pokémon Master! Pokémon Master, that is what I'll-!"

He's cut off when Ash's mom forces the door open and scolds, "Ash! Get to bed!" The surprise of her appearance causes Past Ash to stumble and toss the alarm clock in his hand. His mom catches it. She further scolds, "It's eleven o'clock and you should be asleep."

Ember giggles and whispers to Cinder, "Even Pokémon Masters have bed times, it would seem."

Past Ash complains, "But tomorrow I begin my Pokémon journey. I can't sleep."

His mom replies, "Well, if you can't sleep then you might as well get ready for tomorrow. Here, watch this." She changes the channel on his TV from a league match to a program hosted by Professor Oak. She asserts, "Go to bed when this done."

Past Ash, enthralled in the new show, says, "Alright, I'm going."

Before leaving, his mom adds, "And change into your pajamas, okay?"

This also causes Ember to giggle again. Even Cinder derives some enjoyment from it.

Present Ash says, "So everything seems normal so far. This is exactly how I remember it going."

Cinder nods. "Alright, but we cannot let our guard down. We must remain vigilant. Fenghuang could strike at any moment."

Ash ask, "So does that mean we have to stay up all night?"

Ember nods. "Unfortunately so." She then jokes, "But hey, you said it yourself that you couldn't sleep tonight."

Ash objects, "But I didn't-" He decides it's not worth it and cuts himself off.


It's Pikachu!


In the middle of the night, Past Ash has finally gone to sleep, leaving Ash, Ember, and Cinder the boring task of waiting for something to happen. Past Ash says in his sleep, "Raising Bulbasaur, that'd be really simple. It's perfect for beginners…"

Celebi is flying in circles around Ash's head. It happily exclaims, "Bi!"

Ash comments, "This Celebi sure is a happy one."

Ember nods in agreement. "It really is. I think it's because it's so happy to be free from Fenghuang. I don't even want to imagine how awful of an experience that must have been for the little thing."

The Celebi then flies down to eye level with Ash, taps him on the nose, and then grabs his hat and flies away with it.

Ash leaps up and grabs for the hat. "Hey, give that back!" He keeps on jumping and grabbing for it, but Celebi is just out of his reach. Ember, Pikachu, and Celebi all laugh at his failure. Celebi then decides to be nice and lowers down a little, allowing Ash to grab the hat back. Ash promptly puts it back on.

Ember observes, "You know, that Celebi really seems to like you. It's kind of strange, considering Celebi are supposed to be so shy and it only just met you."

Ash thinks about it for a moment. "Yeah, you're right. That is odd." Ash looks over towards his side and sees Cinder sitting on the floor away from the others. Something seems to be on his mind. Ash walks towards him.

As Ash walks off, Ember looks towards Pikachu and Celebi, who are chasing each other around in circles. She smiles. "You're just the cutest, Pikachu." Pikachu looks towards her. "Hey, why don't you come over here?"

Pikachu runs up to her and asks, "Pik?"

Ember reaches an arm out and scratches Pikachu under the ear in its favorite way.

Pikachu smiles and exclaims happily, "Chu!"

"You really like that, don't you Pikachu?" Pikachu nods. Ember looks over towards Ash and takes a breath in. "You know you have a really special trainer, right Pikachu?"

Pikachu nods. "Pi."

"I wish that I could be half the friend to my Pokémon that he is to you. I honestly don't know what it is about him, but there really is something unique that no other trainer could possibly possess."

"Pika."

Ember lifts her arm and Pikachu goes back to playing with Celebi.

Ash approaches Cinder and asks, "Hey, what's up with you? Why don't you come back over with the rest of us? It looks like you could use the company."

Cinder shakes his head. "No, someone needs to keep watch over the main road." He says that, but something about the way he says it infers it's not the entire reason.

Ash sits down next to him. "Come on, I can tell that something's up with you. What is it?"

Cinder shakes his head in disbelief. "Wow, you sound just like him."

"Just like who?"

Cinder shakes his head. "No one. Just forget I said that. Look, I've just got a lot to think about, that's all. It's been a crazy day for all of us."

Ash grins. "You've got that much right. So, tell me, what's it like being a Pokémon trainer in the future?"

Cinder is surprised by the question. "I…I don't know. I've never thought about it like that before. I suppose it really isn't that different."

"Really? I suppose not much really could change. So, what is it that you're training for? What's your goal?"

Cinder lets a small grin appear on his face. "I want to become a Pokémon Master. I want to be the very best. I want to be better than-" He cuts himself off and then amends, "There's someone that I want to surpass. I've stood in his shadow my entire life, and I want to break free of it."

Ash smiles broadly. "That's exactly what I want to do. Not the shadow part, but someday I will be a Pokémon Master."

Cinder starts to say something, something that it looks like he really wants to say, but he stops himself, deciding that he'd better not.

Ash realizes what he was about to say. "I suppose you probably know already whether or not I achieve my goals."

Cinder reluctantly nods.

"Well, don't tell me."

Cinder is intrigued by this. "Really? Even if I was willing to tell you, you wouldn't want to know?"

Ash nods. "What's the fun in taking a journey if I already know the destination?" He pauses for a moment and adds, "Besides, I don't need a time traveler to tell me whether or not I'll become a Pokémon Master, because I already know I will."

Cinder looks at Ash with a newfound sense of admiration and disbelief.

Ash stands back up and begins to walk back over towards the others. Before he leaves, he says, "Look, if you decide to come and join us, we'll be waiting."

While Ash walks back over to where he was before, Past Ash can be seen rolling in his bed while sleeping, causing it to shake his nightstand, and his Voltorb alarm clock to fall into his open palm. He sleep talks, "Then, there's Squirtle…" After a moment more, he suddenly sits upright in his bed, still sleeping, and throws the alarm clock, causing it crash into a wall and break. He declares in his sleep, "Choose it or lose it…" and then falls back into bed.


It's morning. Nearby, a Dodrio can be heard crowing. Ash, Ember, and Cinder continue to watch Ash's past self. Celebi is serenely sleeping, supporting itself against Ash. Past Ash rolls over in bed and sleep talks, "Hold on. Charmander. Those in the know say that's the best way to go."

Looking slightly embarrassed, Ash groans. "I had no idea I sleep talk so much."

Pikachu chuckles at his expense and says, "Pika pi," inferring that it did know that.

Ash looks over towards Professor Oak's Lab and sees a crowd gathering at the base of the hill it's on. He says with some worry, "If I don't wake up soon, I'm going to be late. Why don't I wake up?"

Ember reminds him, "You got a little over-eager in your sleep and threw your alarm clock, remember?"

"I know that, but I should be waking up on my own by now. Something's not right." He walks towards the window. "I have to wake myself up, I can't let myself be any later."

Cinder suddenly looks up and asserts, "No! You can't do that! You can't change anything!"

Ash ignores him and continues to walk towards the window. He raises an arm to knock on the window.

Cinder asserts once more, "No!" He then dives at Ash and knocks him down before he can knock. The two of them crash against the wall beneath the window, causing a loud crashing noise.

This causes Past Ash to wake up and spring upright. He shouts in panic, "Oh no! What time is it!?" Without even bothering to put his clothes on, he dashes out of his house and sprints towards Oak's Lab.

Cinder groans. "Great, you just changed something. Who knows how much damage you might have just done?"

Ash shakes his head. "Actually, I don't think I've done any. This is exactly what happened last time. I was woken up by an unexplained crash this morning. I never knew what caused it, until now at least."

Pikachu says in awe, "Pika..."

Ash agrees, "I know, pretty crazy stuff."

Ember urges, "Well, you two had better get off the ground, we need to follow that Ash."

Ash and Cinder both get up in sync with each other and respond, "Right," at the same time. They all run off after Past Ash.


Ash, Cinder, and Ember are up at the top of the hill that hosts Oak's lab. They're peeking through a window into the main laboratory area. Past Ash has just learned that all three of Professor Oak's usual Pokémon have been taken. He asks with disappointment, "Does that mean all the Pokémon are gone?"

Professor Oak reluctantly responds, "Well…there still is one more left…but I…uh…"

Past Ash's eyes go wide. "Professor, I'll take it!"

Oak presses a button, and a fourth Pokéball rises. It's the one he caught Pikachu in. Oak picks it up and states, "I think I should warn you, there is a problem with this last one."

Ash asserts, "I have to have a Pokémon."

Oak reluctantly hands over the Pokéball. "Well…in that case…"

Ash opens the Pokéball, there is a massive flash of light, and Pikachu appears on the table in front of them. It says, "Pikachu."

Looking at Past Pikachu again, Ash then looks to Present Pikachu and comments, "You know Pikachu, I don't think I've ever realized how much weight you've lost since we started our journey."

Pikachu smiles in response.

Back in the lab, Oak says, "Its name is Pikachu."

Very happy, Past Ash exclaims, "Oh, it's so cute! It's the best of all!"

Oak simply responds, "You'll see."

Ash picks it up. He greets, "Oh. Hi Pikachu." He tries to hug it, but this angers Pikachu.

"Pika chuuuuuuuuu." It zaps Ash with a potent electric attack.

While he's being electrocuted, Oak explains, "It's also known as Electric Mouse. It's usually shy, but can sometimes have an electrifying personality."

Pikachu stops, leaving Ash completely singed. Still in shock from his shock, Ash states, "I see what you mean…"

Oak asks, "Shocking, isn't it?" Oak then holds out a Pokédex and five Pokéballs. "Now take these, your Pokédex and Pokéballs."

Ash, still barely able to move, reaches out to grab them. "Thank yoooooooou…!" Once he contacts Oak, Pikachu shocks both of them.

While being shocked, Oak screams, "You're welcooooome!"

Ember says in surprise, "Wow, Pikachu wasn't anything like it is now."

Pikachu admits with embarrassment, "Pika pi…"

Ash agrees, "Yeah, Pikachu and I didn't start off on the best of terms, but our bond only became all the stronger because of it."

Before anyone can say anything else, Celebi suddenly cries out in intense pain. "Biiiii!"

Ember asks with worry, "Celebi, what's wrong?"

Cinder asserts, "It must be sensing something is amiss in the timeline! Fenghuang is making his move!" He looks to Celebi and orders, "Celebi, you have to lead us to Fenghuang!" Celebi is too distracted to answer. He curses, "It's no use."

Ash says, "Let me try. He walks up to Celebi and takes it into his arms. He says friendlily, "Celebi, we need your help. If you don't show us where Fenghuang is, we can't fix the changes he's making. If we're going to fix time, you have to help us."

Celebi forces its eyes open and then looks up to Ash. It grits its teeth and nods. "Bi…"

"Thank you Celebi."

Ember appears enthusiastic that Ash has succeeded, and Cinder looks envious.

Celebi flies up out of Ash's arms then away from them. Cinder asserts, "Follow it!" They all run off after it.


Sitting alone in the middle of a forest on Route One are the past versions of Jessie, James, and Meowth. Jessie says, "Alright then, it's settled. We attack the Pokémon Center from the air, and they'll have no way to defend themselves once we break in."

James adds, "They'll never expect us coming from above, either."

Meowth also adds, "And we'll finally get a chance to use that handsome new balloon we got."

Jessie complains, "I still think an Ekans balloon would have been the better choice."

James disagrees, "We all know a Koffing balloon made the most sense."

Meowth asserts, "Well I'm the top cat around here, so we do things my way." He's about to say something else, when he suddenly notices something and asks, "Hey, what's that?"

Jessie asks, "What's what?" She and James look in the same direction as Meowth and see Celebi. It quickly flies right past them.

James asks, "Was it some kind of Pokémon?"

Jessie answers, "I don't know, I've never seen one like it before."

Then, running after Celebi, comes Ash, Cinder, and Ember. They push Team Rocket out of their way as they run.

Meowth shouts, "Hey, watch where you're going!"

Ash looks back and shouts, "Sorry! I'm not prepared for any trouble! I've got to move on the double!" As they run off, Pikachu makes a rude face to taunt Team Rocket, and then they disappear from sight, leaving Team Rocket alone once more.

Jesse questioningly asks, "Prepare for trouble?"

James adds, "Make it double?"

Now improvising, Jessie declares, "To enact the world's devastation!"

James adlibs, "To incite all people within the nation!"

"To pronounce the goods of lies and hate!"

"To extend our place in the stars' mandate!"

"I'm Jessie!"

"This is James!"

"Team Rocket introduces themselves with this new song!"

"Surrender now, for we are too strong!"

Meowth stops them by shouting, "Meowth, this is all wrong!"

Jessie and James look to each other. Jessie says, "Hmm…I think I like it."

James nods in agreement. "With a few tweaks, this could be the introduction motto we've been looking for."

Meowth turns and crosses his arms. "Well I think it's stupid. Leave me out of it."

Jessie says, "Come on Meowth, you need at least one line. You're a part of our group too."

Meowth acquiesces. "Fine, one line. No more."

James taunts, "You'll regret not having more lines later, I promise."

Meowth disagrees. "No way. Nah ah."


Celebi has led them into a clearing. It looks around frantically, but sees nothing at all. It asserts, "Bi!"

Ember says, "Celebi says this is where the temporal discrepancy is occurring, but there's nothing here."

Ash looks around intensely. "There has to be. Look for anything!"

Then a menacing voice says from behind some trees, "Looking for me?" The source of the voice steps out from the shadows. It's an extremely tall and muscular man with a sinister and intimidating appearance. He is bald, but wears some sort of metal headband. His clothes are colored all seven colors of the rainbow, but are primarily red and gold. They contain some sort of feather-like motif in design.

Cinder shouts, "Fenghuang!"

The man, Fenghuang, states, "So, judging by the fact that you are time travelers using my Celebi, I must presume that my mission here turns out to be a success, forcing you to steal my Celebi and come to try to stop me. You have done nothing but confirm to me that I will indeed succeed in my mission. You're presence here changes nothing."

Ash demands, "And what is your mission!?"

Fenghuang smiles menacingly and pulls out some sort of remote. He presses a button and points upwards towards the sky.

Everyone looks up to see three orbs of metal fly up into the air. Just as they're reaching their peak, a large and magnificent bird Pokémon flies into view.

Ash widens his eyes in surprise and horror. "Ho-Oh…"

The three orbs surround Ho-Oh and emit a field around it. Ho-Oh cries out in surprise.

The moment this happens, Celebi shrieks in intense agony. "Biiiiiiiiiiiii!" It passes out into Ember's arms.

The field created by the orbs begins to shrink, restricting Ho-Oh's ability to fly, and forcing it to fall towards the ground. It cries out in pain.

Ash and Pikachu look to Fenghuang with extreme anger. Ash shouts, "How dare you!?"

Pikachu adds, "Pi pika!?"

They charge headfirst towards Fenghuang, but Fenghuang is ready. He presses another button on his remote, and suddenly Ash, Ember, and Cinder are surrounded by field just like the one that captured Ho-Oh. Ash rams right into it, but the force from it sends him flying back.

Fenghuang laughs maniacally. "At last, the elusive Ho-Oh is mine!"

Everyone reacts in their own way. Ember is horrified. Cinder looks at Fenghuang with defiance, and Ash and Pikachu with ire and loathing.

To Be Continued…