Hey everyone, sorry for the later than usual Chapter this time. Stuff was busy and I took longer than expected to get this done. Hope the decently long chapter will make up for it though. Enjoy.

XXXX

The atmosphere in the Pewter Gym was tense as the combatants faced each other. The rules for this Gym Battle would be the same as before, both sides only allowed 2 Pokemon and the battle would take place in a dual match.

"This time I'll start with Geodude!" Brock declared, throwing his first Pokeball and revealing a Geodude.

"Geodude, huh?" Ash mused, pulling out his Pokedex.

"Geodude, the Rock Pokemon. Geodude is a Rock/Ground-type Pokemon native to Kanto. Geodude live in quarries and are sometimes mistaken as regular rocks by travelers, much to the discomfort of both parties."

"In that case…Nidoran, I choose you!" Ash called out, throwing the ball that housed his newest Pokemon, Nidoran landing on the field as Ash entered the arena, Pikachu staying behind for now. Nidoran tensed, looking raring to go.

"So you've gotten a different Pokemon this time? Interesting, let's see how this one stacks up!" Brock said as he entered the ring as well.

"Well let's find out!" Ash smirked. "Nidoran, charge!"

Nidoran nodded and charged forward, horn at the ready. Geodude seemed to smirk, flexing as he took the impact, looking no worse for wear.

At the same time the two Trainer-Fighters charged forward, Brock landing a strong blow which Ash blocked with his arms, skidding back a little before countering with a savage kick aimed at his head, knocking the Gym Leader back, to which he quickly followed up with several rapid punches to the chest, ending with a roundhouse kick, pushing Brock back further. "Nidoran, Double Kick!" he shouted as he landed his own kick.

Nidoran obeyed, and jumping over a punch from Geodude, landed a pair of kicks on the rock Pokemon, sending him flying back.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!" Brock ordered, before countering with a swing of his tail, which Ash managed to block, though the heavy tail proved not too easy to move.

"Dodge and counter with Double Kick again!" Ash ordered, turning his head a little but keeping his sights on Brock. He wasn't going to make the same mistake again so easily. Good thing too, as Brock pulled his tail back, and would have pulled Ash off his feet if his attention had been broken. As it was, he'd managed to plant his feet and steady himself as he let go of the tail.

At the same time, Nidoran was doing his best to avoid the Rock Throw, and while he was fast enough to dodge most of them, a few managed to hit, knocking him back, but at the last minute he managed to rebound off of one of the stones on the field and counter with a Double Kick, dealing quite a bit of damage to Geodude.

"Your Nidoran is quite strong for something I'm assuming you captured recently," Brock complimented, charging forward with his horn, and at the range they were at, Ash didn't have time to dodge, forcing him to grab hold and stop the attack, gritting his teeth as they were in a bit of a stalemate. "But I'm afraid I won't be letting you win so easily! Geodude, grab hold of it!" he ordered.

"What?!" Ash gasped, as Geodude suddenly surged forward and grabbed hold of Nidoran, the Pokemon struggling to get free, which became harder when Geodude suddenly took to the air.

"Now! Self-Destruct!" Brock ordered, causing Ash's eyes to widen, as Geodude glowed...and a burst of energy like an explosion occurred, both Pokemon falling to the ground, eyes swirly.

Ash growled, bringing up his knee and slamming it into Brock's chin, breaking their lock, followed by a strong kick to the gut, knocking the wind out of Brock as he quickly rushed to Nidoran's side. "Nidoran, are you okay?!" he checked, before sighing when it was clear Nidoran was just out of it. "Was that REALLY necessary?" he asked with a frown as he returned his Pokemon.

"Not my favored tactic I admit, but sometimes in battle you need to know the right move to make to either gain an advantage or lessen your opponent's," Brock said, idly rubbing where he'd been hit as he recalled Geodude. "Let's continue," he said, taking out his second Pokeball and throwing it, revealing Onix once again.

"Well, we were training for this one, so let's go Pikachu!" Ash said, to which Pikachu jumped forward with determination.

"You must be quite confident to use that Pikachu again. Very well, show me what you've gained!" Brock said, as Onix charged forward.

Pikachu didn't need prompting and immediately dashed out of the way. They'd planned for this, and he knew the key would be to keep up his movement and speed so that Onix wouldn't be able to catch him. "Hit and Run Iron Tail!" Ash ordered, before he went after Brock, Pikachu nodding as he started weaving in and out, attacking with Iron Tail whenever he found an opening, striking at various spots all over Onix's body, not just the head and joints like before as he knew he didn't want to be predictable this time.

"Clever, using Onix's speed against him, but don't think it's going to be that easy! Rock Tomb!" Brock ordered as he met Ash's attack head on, the two of them trading blows as they clashed. At the same time, Onix sent out a variety of rocks in an attempt to enclose Pikachu, but the mouse was fast, allowing him to avoid most of them so far, even rebounding off of some to gain more momentum.

While Pikachu was busy dodging, Ash was pressing the offensive, aiming to not give Brock time to prepare his Bide counterattack, striking at just about any opening he could find with a rapid set of punches and kicks, all of them aimed at Brock's joints, especially his shoulders and knees, remembering Misty's advice regarding the Pewter Gym's style.

However, even without the Bide, Brock was no slouch, blocking several of his attacks before countering with his own heavy blows, before breaking off the assault with a swing of his tail, catching Ash in the gut, forcing him to back off as the heavy limb drove the wind out of his lungs again. However, Brock didn't give him time to recover and charged forward with a Bulldoze, hitting Ash head on, and sending him flying into one of the rocks that was part of the arena, the force amplified by the fact he'd put his own weight into the attack.

Ash gasped when he hit the rock, falling forward, but quickly managed to right himself before he hit the ground. He quickly shook off the dazed feeling and focused again on the fight, entering a ready stance again.

Pikachu on his part had just delivered a strong hit to Onix, but seeing that happen to Ash caused Pikachu to shout in alarm...and gave Onix the time to catch him again. "I can tell you both have a strong bond, and that's a good thing for a Trainer and Pokemon to have, but if you keep letting it distract you in battle you won't last long in the League," Brock said as Ash painfully picked himself up.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean we can't still win," Ash growled, before charging forward. Brock smirked slightly and soon went into a defensive stance, while at the same time Pikachu was trying to get himself out, but Onix wasn't making that easy and he was squeezing again. Ash attacked Brock head on, aiming for any gaps in the defense, but with Brock's own natural resilience, the damage he was doing wouldn't be as effective as it normally would be. On top of that he knew attacking carelessly would only power up Bide, so as it was, he was wracking his brains thinking about every bit of information he had gotten on Brock to think of a counter. Bide worked by taking the damage the user received then sending it back at twice the strength. But how would a move like that work? Sending the power back was one thing, but at twice the strength, the only way someone would be able to do that was if...they were adding their own strength into the mix, he realized. The moment that clicked in his mind, he immediately began formulating a counter.

As he did so, he aimed a sweep kick at Brock's ankles, the Gym Leader grunting as the impact hit, but his own natural strength stopping him from getting knocked over, the Gym leader momentarily stopping his own defense and countering the kick with one of his own, forcing Ash to block, pushing him back a little. Ash grit his teeth, knowing if things kept going he and Pikachu would lose. If only there were a way for Onix to loosen his grip…

That was when two ideas hit him, one from remembering some of the training he'd had with his father on how to internally manipulate his Aura, as he wasn't ready to externally manifest it while he was still a Riolu. Among that training, he remembered how his dad showed him how to focus his energy, even how to use it to dampen otherwise strong blows. He hadn't quite mastered it to the level his dad could, but he could use it well enough for this idea he had. Of course, if he failed, he could kiss this victory goodbye, but as it was his best shot to deal with Bide. The second idea was thankfully much simpler. "Pikachu, blind him with Thundershock!" he called out, right as he delivered a barrage of Force Palms at Brock, but the Rhydon held his ground.

Pikachu's ears perked up when he heard that and quickly charged up his energy and fired a Thundershock right at Onix's face. The attack didn't do any damage, but the brightness caused Onix to lose focus, just long enough for him to loosen his binding and allow Pikachu to get out. He didn't need any prompting from Ash as he already knew what he needed to do AND what he wanted to do, as he jumped forward...and Onix was met with an Iron Tail right between the eyes, and this time Pikachu didn't let up his assault, attacking the still somewhat dazed Onix in the face with a barrage of Iron Tails.

Brock normally would have been worried for his Pokemon, but as it was, he couldn't afford to break his focus, as Ash had seemingly forgone any defense and was raining blows after blows on him, but he held firm as he was almost ready. If this landed, this match would end in his favor. With that in mind, he broke his defensive stance, readied his arms, and soon surged forward, raining several powerful blows on Ash, who managed to raise his arms and block the barrage. "This match is over!" Brock shouted as he reared back his right arm and landed a powerful blow that broke through Ash's guard and hit him right in the cheek. However, instead of sending him flying, Ash stood his ground, only skidding back a little.

"Yeah, this match ends here!" Ash managed to say, eyes narrowed with determination as his body started to glow with a blue aura. It was close, but he'd just barely managed to focus his aura in a way that would both dampen the damage from the blows and refocus the energy in a way that would allow him to counter the attack. However, he couldn't afford to waste time, as he couldn't hold this for long.

Ash surged forward, taking advantage of Brock's shock and delivered a barrage of rapid punches charged with Counter to his chest, the extra force behind the punches pushing Brock back, before ending it with a strong punch to the chest, knocking him back. Brock gasped, but managed to stand his ground, but Ash was faster and ran up to him, delivering a set of fast kicks, to which Brock tried to counter with a swing of his arm, but Ash ducked under the strike, and countered with another set of punches, before planting his foot into Brock's chest, using it to run upward slightly and landing a sharp kick to his chin. This time Brock was thrown off his feet, landing on his back...right as Pikachu landed another barrage of Iron Tails to Onix's face, ending with one right between the eyes, the rock snake unable to take anymore, falling back...and landing right on top of his trainer, both of them now on the ground, eyes swirly.

Seeing that they were clearly down for the count, Ash let out a small sigh of relief and walked over to make sure they were okay. What he didn't expect...was to get dog piled by several young Pokemorphs, consisting of mainly Rhyhorns and a few Popplios. Normally he'd be able to handle the sudden weight, but with how tired he was after that fight, he fell over under the weight face first. "Seriously?" he groaned, realizing the Pokemorphs were all Brock's younger siblings, all of them telling him to stop picking on their big brother.

"Pi…" Pikachu said, tilting his head in confusion with a huge sweat drop...

XXXX

"Sorry about that," Brock said a little sheepishly. "Even though I'm a Gym Leader, some of my younger siblings don't quite understand that losing is part of the job."

"Eh, no harm done," Ash waved it off. "Just shows how much they care about you." Currently the two were outside of the Gym back in their normal clothes. After that little misunderstanding, Brock managed to get his younger siblings to get off of him, and after properly announcing him the winner, he was awarded the Gym Badge of Pewter: the Boulder Badge.

"They do yeah," Brock nodded. "At any rate, now that you've won the Boulder Badge, I'm assuming you'll be going to the next city?"

"Yeah, the next city is Cerulean City," Ash nodded. "Guess you should head home soon."

Brock nodded. "Yeah, I should. Truth be told, I've always wanted to travel the world and be a Pokemon Breeder, but while my parents are away I have to take care of my siblings," he sighed. "Not that I mind. I care a lot about them but it's still…"

"It's not easy having to wait on your dreams," Ash nodded. "Yeah, I remember. I wanted to go on my journey when I was 10, but dad said I should wait first, make sure I'm ready to be both a Trainer and a Fighter. And well...I'm honestly glad I did. If I'd run off then and there, I don't know if I'd be able to make this far. Trainer maybe, but Fighter...I don't think so."

"I'd say you used your time well. It's nothing strange to lose to a Gym Leader the first time, but you'd be surprised how many times I have challengers who lose and come back literally the next day hoping for a different result. They don't usually get it," Brock chuckled lightly at the end. "Still, until the day my parents return, I'll keep taking care of the Gym and my family...while taking some time when I can to study of course."

"And that day is today," came a familiar voice, as Ash and Brock turned around and saw Flint standing there...before Flint took off his beanie and beard, revealing what appeared to be an older evolved version of Brock.

"Dad?!" Brock said in surprise.

"Wait, YOU'RE Brock's dad?" Ash blinked. "...that explains why I thought you looked alike."

"Yes, I couldn't become the great Trainer-Fighter I wanted to be, and when I realized that I was just too embarrassed to come back after how long I've been gone. Truth be told, I've been trying to work the nerve to finally come clean, and after watching you two I realized I can't keep running away from reality," he said coming closer. "It's time I started taking care of my family, so you go and chase your dreams. It's high time I stopped dropping my responsibilities on you," Flint said.

"Though, why did you help me?" Ash couldn't help but ask.

"Honestly? I knew you'd be able to win eventually. I just figured I'd speed it up a little. That and you remind me of someone I admired during my trip. In fact, you look just like him honestly," Flint mused. "Yeah, now that I think about it, if you were a Lucario, you'd look just like Carmine."

"That's probably because he's my dad," Ash sweat dropped. What were the odds that his dad had met Brock's dad.

Flint stumbled a bit at the reveal, but quickly regained his composure. "Anyway," he coughed a little. "I'll make the preparations to take over for the Pewter Gym, you get ready so you can go at any time," he said to Brock.

"Alright, but before that there's something I need to say first," Brock said.

"I understand. After all I've done, you deserve to get it off your chest," Flint nodded...only to be given a pen and paper. "Huh?"

"Rather than that I just want to make sure you know how to take care of everyone," Brock said before he started listing off all sorts of things that his siblings liked or did so that his father could be prepared, much to the Rhyperior's chagrin as he was stuck writing as fast as he could.

Ash and Pikachu could only watch from the sidelines with HUGE sweat drops on their heads.

XXXX

"Thanks for letting me join you," Brock said as currently he had a large backpack on his back, walking alongside Ash, Pikachu, and Misty on the way out of Pewter, towards the next town.

"Hey, the more the merrier," Ash said. "It's more fun to travel when you have friends anyway."

"Though do we HAVE to go to Cerulean City next?" Misty sighed.

"I kinda DO need to properly challenge the Gym to earn a Badge properly," Ash said. "You don't HAVE to see your sisters if it's that big of a deal for you."

"Maybe…" Misty frowned, before shaking her head. "I'll worry about that when we get there. Like it or not, we have to pass through there anyway."

"Yep, and the sooner we go the sooner we get there. Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash grinned, Pikachu nodding in agreement as they started running ahead.

"Hey, wait up!" Misty said, but had a rather amused expression on her face as she chased after them.

"Yeah, don't forget about us!" Brock couldn't help but laugh a little as he ran forward as well, none of them noticing the slight 'bumps' they stepped on as they ran.

XXXX

A couple days later…

"Mt. Moon...doesn't the name just sound so romantic?" Misty said as the the group were walking down a forested path, headed for the mountain in question.

"Dad told me about this place once. He said of all the places in Kanto, it's one of the places that people are still exploring till now," Ash said.

"I heard that they say a meteorite crashed into these mountains in prehistoric times. They say it hasn't been found even till now," Brock said.

"You mean the Moon Stone, right?" Ash smiled, remembering hearing about that once too.

"The Moon Stone, huh?" Misty mused. "Isn't that also one of the Evolution Stones?"

"Guess some people didn't think that would be confusing," Brock sweat dropped.

Before the group could talk further, they heard the sound of screaming and quickly ran to the source, finding what appeared to be someone being attacked by a swarm of Zubat. "Why are Zubat out and about right now?" Ash frowned, taking out his Pokedex and scanning the Zubat. "Zubat, the bat Pokemon. Zubat is a Poison/Flying Pokemon native to the Kanto region. Zubat prefer dark places and usually stay in caves during the daytime."

"Well these Zubat sure aren't afraid of going out in the day," Ash frowned, especially when they noticed the Zubat were swarming around someone. Someone who was shouting in fear. "Pikachu, Thundershock, but easy on the power!"

Pikachu didn't need much prompting and immediately jumped forward, charging up a controlled charge and letting it fly, hit the Zubat in a way that shouldn't hurt them too much, or more importantly, whoever was being swarmed. As intended, the Zubat were given enough of a shock that they retreated back into the nearby cave. With that taken care of...

"Are you okay?!" Misty asked in alarm as the group got closer to the person who was being attacked. From the looks of it they were some kind of scientist judging by the labcoat they were wearing. Upon closer inspection they were surprised at the form of the unfamiliar Pokemorph, who was an Elgyem morph. He had the standard light blue skin of his species with an oblong head which was covered in somewhat messy brown hair. He had the green button-like eyes of his kind with a pair of glasses over them, while he had a mouth on his lower face. His hands had five fingers each though each finger was tipped with a multi colored digit, while his legs ended with stubby feet, a small tail poking out from his pants though his lab coat covered it. He had a rather skinny build with thin limbs and body, making it pretty clear he wasn't much of a fighter.

"Wow! You saved me! Thank you thank you!" he said, suddenly getting up and hugging the nearest one to them...which happened to be Ash, much to the Riolu's discomfort...and surprise as this guy was stronger than he looked, seeing as he couldn't quite break out of the hug.

"You're welcome, but please let go," Ash managed to say, but his voice sounded a bit muffled. Worse, he felt a lump between them, which could only be one thing. True enough…

"Chuuuu!" Pikachu shouted, letting out a blast of electricity as he was being squeezed between them, shocking them both, leaving Ash looking a bit dazed and the Elgyem Morph to fall to the ground twitching a bit.

"Are you okay?" the three of them asked in alarm, while Pikachu rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

The Elgyem got up none worse for wear. "Oh I'm fine, rather I'm very grateful. I was worried when the Zubat suddenly came out and attacked, but thanks to you I'm okay now. Compared to that a little zap is nothing," he said.

"Glad to hear that," Ash nodded. "So uh...why were the Zubat attacking you… uh…?" he trailed off realizing they'd never got his name.

"My name is Seymour. Seymour the Scientist, and I'm here researching the mountain," the now named Seymour said. "Oh and if you're wondering what I am, I'm an Elgyem morph. Don't worry about not knowing, we're not exactly common around Kanto," he said cheerfully. "As for why the Zubat attacked…" he frowned. "Well...it's probably best if I show you."

XXXX

The group soon entered the caves and rather than the darkness one would expect of a cave...it was brightly lit, and not by natural lighting either. "As you can see someone has been setting up these lights throughout the caves, and not the soft type we use for research either," Seymour frowned. "As you can imagine, these are upsetting the lifestyle of the Pokemon who live in the dark, and making them confused," he said, before holding out his hand, releasing a weak Thunder Wave that caused the lights to short circuit and fuse, dimming them a bit as they walked through the caves, Seymour pointing out how the various Pokemon were being badly affected by the lights that were messing up their ecosystem, before putting them out himself.

"This is terrible…" Brock frowned, the others nodding sadly in agreement.

"That's why I'm here, I'm hoping to try and find these troublemakers and put a stop to this," Seymour said, not noticing the weird and rather skeptical looks they were giving him. Not about his motive no, but rather...wondering if he actually CAN do what he says he wants to do.

"Why ARE they so intent on causing problems in these caves?" Ash frowned.

"Actually it's not as far-fetched as you'd think," Brock frowned. "I heard Mt. Moon is one of the places you can find Rare Stones, and in some cases some people have even found Pokemon Fossils, specifically the type you could revive into a Fossil Pokemon."

"You'd be correct there, but I believe these particular trouble makers may be after the Moon Stone," Seymour nodded.

"Moon Stone? Just to be clear, we're talking the one that fell from the sky and not the smaller ones used for Evolution, right?" Misty asked.

"Actually I believe the Moon Stone that fell from the sky may in fact be a large piece of the very same stones used in Pokemon Evolution," Seymour said. "It would certainly explain why Moon Stones are the rarest of the Evolution Stones, and the Moon Stone of Mt. Moon is the largest of such specimens, perhaps even the original boulder of which all of them originate from, and its hiding deep in these caves," Seymour said. "Needless to say nobody has ever found it, but that hasn't stopped people from trying, and unfortunately some resort to less savory and even destructive ways to achieve their goal," Seymour frowned.

"That's just not right," Ash frowned, earning nods of agreement from the others.

"I'm glad you agree. Even if the Moon Stone was found, the fact it's been here for so long means that it doesn't belong to us, but to the Pokemon that live here, and we shouldn't take it from them," Seymour said.

"Well...I GUESS that makes sense," Brock said as he and the rest of the group sweat dropped. Seymour was well intentioned but clearly he got a little TOO passionate about things. Any further conversation was cut short when they heard the sound of something skip past them. "Hey, I think that's a Clefairy," Brock said, remembering hearing about these Pokemon.

"Clefairy, huh?" Ash mused, taking out his Pokedex. He'd heard of them too, and from what he remembered, they were VERY rare. "Clefairy, the Fairy Pokemon. Clefairy is a Fairy-type Pokemon native to the Kanto Region, and is among the rarest of Pokemon. They usually only live in the remote locations of certain mountains, and as such few have ever been seen in the wild."

"Well then, how can I possibly pass up a chance like this," Ash grinned, readying a Pokeball, but Seymour stopped him.

"I'm sorry, but it'd be best if you don't. The caves' ecosystem is having problems as is, so please don't catch any of the Pokemon for now," Seymour said.

Ash blinked, thinking it over, before nodding. "Alright, I understand," he said. However, their attention was soon captured again when they heard the Clefairy shout in distress, to which they all ran to the source, and found the Clefairy from before cowering in fear as a shadow loomed over it, said shadow revealing to be Meowth.

"What are you doing here?!" Meowth said in surprise when he saw them.

"Should have guessed you three were causing trouble again!" Ash frowned, while Pikachu went over to Clefairy, reassuring it, and getting it to come with him for now.

"You know this guy?" Brock and Seymour asked...both surprisingly calm about seeing a talking Meowth.

"Yeah, he's a member of Team Rocket, they're Pokemon Thieves who cause all sorts of trouble," Misty said. Right as she said that though…

"Trouble?" came the familiar voice of Jessie.

"Make that double," came the familiar voice of James, before the music started and the familiar forms of the Pyroar and Roserade stepped forward.

(Play 'Team Rocket Theme')

"To Protect the world from devastation."

"To Unite all people within our nations."

"To Denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To Extend our reach to the stars above."

At this point three familiar figures could be seen, revealing to be Team Rocket again.

"Jessie."

"James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

(Theme end)

"That was...something…" Brock sweat dropped.

"Yeah...they kinda do it every time," Ash said as he and Misty both had sweat drops as well, before focusing on them. "What are you planning THIS time?!"

"Why else would anyone bother going through this much trouble to explore these caves?" James smirked.

"We're gonna get our hands on the Moon Stone, and with it we'll use it to power up some of the rarest Pokemon Team Rocket has," Meowth said.

"And even then, it'd be easy enough to make a fortune off of the stone or the pieces that we don't use," Jessie added. "Either way the Moon Stone will be helping Team Rocket a lot."

"You messed up the entire cave's ecosystem just for that?!" Seymour glared.

"There's no way we're going to just stand here and let you wreck the lives of all these Pokemon for your own purposes!" Ash agreed.

"You want a rock, then take one of these and get lost!" Brock added.

"Get lost? How rude," Jessie smirked as she and James dropped the digging equipment they'd been carrying, and pulled out their batons.

"We should teach them some manners," James said as they went into a ready stance and grabbed their Pokeballs at the same time.

"Looks like they're ready to fight," Brock frowned, as he went for a Pokeball, Ash doing the same.

Misty would have done the same too but Ash spoke up. "Keep an eye on Seymour and Clefairy. When you get the chance, get out of here."

"I can fight too," Misty protested.

"We're not doubting that, but when it comes down to it, making sure Team Rocket doesn't get any closer to their goal is the main priority," Brock frowned.

"Right," Misty nodded after a moment, eyes narrowing in determination.

At that moment Team Rocket made their moves. "Ready or not!" they said releasing Ekans and Koffing.

"Go, Butterfree!" Ash called out, sending out Buttefree.

"Here we go!" Brock called out, throwing a Pokeball and revealing a Zubat.

"When did you get a Zubat?" Ash asked in surprise.

"I caught it on the way in. Seems he took a bit of a stronger shock than the others," Brock explained.

"Kinda wish I got one now," Ash frowned, but quickly focused back on the fight. "Careful, they fight dirty. Those are stun batons they're using."

"Not surprising, criminals rarely follow the rules," Brock nodded, both of them getting into ready stances.

"Let's start with this! Koffing, Smog!" James ordered, Koffing releasing his poisonous gas, which flowed towards their opponents.

"I don't think so! Butterfree, Whirlwind!" Ash countered.

"Zubat, help him!" Brock added, the two flying Pokemon flapping their wings quickly, generating a powerful blast of wind, which pushed the smog back, covering Team Rocket.

"You want to play like that, eh?!" Jessie growled, before firing a Flamethrower through the smog aimed at the Pokemon, but Brock got in the way, and blocked the flames, leaving him only slightly singed.

"Don't forget about us," Brock smirked a bit. "I'll deal with her, you deal with him," he said to Ash.

"Right," Ash nodded, surging forward towards James, who readied his baton, but not before Ekans jumped at him and tried to bite him. "Butterfree, Confusion!" Ash quickly ordered, Butterfree obeying and hit Ekans with the blast of psychic energy, the blast hitting Ekans and knocking him back.

James growled and lashed out with his baton, electricity sparking from it, but Ash ducked under the swing, and used the momentum to land a spin kick to his gut, pushing him back, and leaving him looking a bit sick.

At the same time, Koffing had opted to help Jessie seeing as Ekans went to aid his master, and shot a Sludge attack, which managed to hit Brock in the face while he was on the defensive.

"Got you now!" Jessie smirked as she struck him with her baton a few times, but it barely did any damage.

"An electric baton isn't going to work on me!" Brock smirked. "Zubat, Supersonic!"

Zubat screeched, catching both Jessie and Koffing in the cone of sound, causing both of them to get confused, Koffing shooting Sludge haphazardly and ending up hitting Jessie in the face...though she herself was acting too tipsy to actually react beyond closing her eyes.

Back with Ash, he was pushing James on the defensive, the Roserade doing his best to block the attacks, while trying to find an opening to use his baton, forcing Ash to be careful where he was punching. However, he heard Butterfree call out, to which he managed to turn and duck...right as Ekans came sailing through the air, having been hit by Butterfree's Tackle, the snake impacting James and ended up wrapped around him, much to his dismay as he couldn't move freely. "Great job, Butterfree!" Ash nodded, before he got up close and personal again and rained blow after blow on James, pushing him back, before ending with a kick to his side, sending him into the still confused Koffing and Jessie, leaving the four of them in a heap.

"This is really not our day…" James groaned, as Ash and Brock stood ready their Pokemon with them (and Brock having managed to get the Sludge out of his eyes by now).

"Let's send them packing!" Ash grinned. "Butterfree, Whirlwind!"

"Once more, help him out!" Brock added, both Pokemon once again flapping hard, and sending a powerful blast of wind at Team Rocket, sending them flying down the passage way behind them.

"Looks like we're blasting off!" James shouted, while Jessie had sobered up in time to see the blast hit, to which she added, "But we'll be back!" and soon they vanished from sight.

"Alright, we won!" Ash grinned as he and Brock high fived.

"Wait...aren't we forgetting something?" Brock frowned when he realized something was wrong, before it hit both of them.

"Where's Meowth?!"

XXXX

"Hey, wait for us!" Misty said as Clefairy bounced out through an opening in the cave they'd found, to which she and Seymour soon climbed out and chased after it. The little fairy turned out to be quite...active...seeing as by the time they started to catch up, Clefairy had bounced up a rock hill and was soon making its way to a natural stone arch/bridge not far away.

"Clefairy, come back!" Seymour said in a vain effort to make the Pokemon come back as they were forced to climb after it...with Seymour clearly having an easier time climbing than Misty as he simply floated upward with a mere thought. They'd gotten half way up when Clefairy shouted in distress and went over the side of the arc it was on, falling to the ground.

"Oh no!" Misty gasped, before tensing and jumping off of the part she was climbing on and managed to catch Clefairy, before using Hydro Pump to slow their descent, letting them land softly in the water, Seymour sliding down behind them. Once they landed, another figure jumped off the arc, and landed on a nearby rock, revealing to be Meowth.

"Alright, hand over that Clefairy and its Moon Stone!" Meowth said.

"You CAN'T be serious," Misty said dryly.

"Serious as a heart attack," Meowth smirked...clearly forgetting his current position when Misty simply threw a Pokeball and released one of her Pokemon, a Staryu.

"Let's send him flying! Water Gun!" Misty ordered, before she too fired her own Water Gun, the two attacks hitting Meowth dead on...and for some reason he had his mouth open and ended up drinking...more than a healthy amount of water...which soon sent him flying away when the water came out. "And don't come back!" Misty frowned, before calling Staryu back.

With Meowth gone, Clefairy turned to Misty and trilled its name happily in gratitude, causing Misty to chuckle. "It was nothing. Dealing with clowns like him is all in a day's work."

Right after she said that, they heard Ash and Brock's voices as the two were quickly approaching. "Hey! Is everyone okay?" Ash asked when he and Brock got to them.

"You don't have to worry about Meowth for a while. We sent him packing," Misty chuckled.

"Great work. Looks like Team Rocket won't be causing us any trouble anymore," Brock nodded.

"For now at least," Misty nodded.

"Yeah...those guys don't really know when to quit," Ash couldn't help but chuckle.

XXXX

A short while later the group was settling down near the water after the bit of excitement, finding a few rocks to use as seats, while the Pokemon took a break as well, Brock taking out a few containers full of Pokemon food.

"Huh, these don't look like the usual store brand. Did you make it yourself?" Ash asked, looking at some of the Pokemon Food Brock had given him.

"Yep, it's my own special blend," Brock nodded. "Store bought Pokemon Food is fine and all, but there's nothing like making your own Pokemon Food for the best results. I'll make a batch for Pikachu too if you'd like."

"That sounds great, thanks," Ash nodded. "Maybe you can even teach me how to make some too."

"Sure, though you're gonna have to find the right recipe yourself after I teach you how to make some, since my own recipe is a secret," Brock chuckled.

"Sounds good to me," Ash nodded, giving some of the Pokemon Food to Butterfree, who seemed to be enjoying it quite a lot, Brock doing the same for Zubat who was resting on his shoulder.

"I'll try some," Seymour said, taking a piece of Pokemon Food and popping it into his mouth. "Hm...not bad," he mused.

"Huh, let me try some," Ash blinked, taking one of the pieces he'd given Butterfree and popping it into his mouth. His face immediately scrunched up at the strong taste that hit him. TOO strong.

"Yeah, Pokemorphs tend to have it hit and miss when it comes to Pokemon Food," Brock chuckled with a sweat drop.

As they were talking, Clefairy had been sitting close to Misty, before Pikachu went over to her and the two Pokemon started talking. The group enjoyed the peaceful bit.

"Pikachu sure makes friends so easily now," Ash chuckled.

"You sound like he wasn't always that way," Misty said curiously.

"Well...let's just say we didn't quite hit it off on the right foot, but we worked through it and we're best friends now," Ash chuckled as the group continued to enjoy the break. Their time was cut short however when they noticed the surprised 'pi?' that Pikachu let out, followed by Pikachu calling for their attention. "What's wrong, Pikachu?" Ash asked, to which Pikachu pointed at Clefairy who soon skipped away, Pikachu chasing after her.

"Here we go again…" Brock sighed.

XXXX

Thankfully this time around it seemed that Clefairy was keeping at a more manageable pace, even if by then it was dark. They went through a few paths and twists, they eventually came upon a cave that lead to an opening deep within the mountains which opened to show the moonlight coming in, and sitting in the center of the open chamber was a huge boulder on a section that looked almost like a pedestal, albeit more or less naturally formed. The boulder itself glittered in the moonlight, with several smaller stones being placed around its base on the pedestal.

"Is that…?" Misty started with a gasp.

"It's the Moon Stone!" Seymour gasped.

"So the Moon Stone Legend is true…" Brock said in awe.

"Hey, Clefairy is doing something," Ash said, as Clefairy skipped over to the Moon Stone and placed the piece she'd been carrying the whole time, completing the ring of smaller stones, which began to shine in a soft blue light, joined by the Moon Stone boulder itself.

As if called by the Moon Stone, several more Clefairy were heard, and before long, a colony of them were present inside the room, with the Clefairy that had come with them stepping forward. "Clefairy fairy fairy clefairy!" she said happily before bowing a little. .

"I think they're welcoming us," Misty said with a smile. Before long the Clefairy began to gather and the best way they could describe what was happening was that they were skipping around while spinning in mid-air going around the Moon Stone in a way that they likened to a dance.

"Amazing! These Clefairy have formed their own society!" Seymour said in awe as he watched them dance. At the same time, the Clefairy they'd met earlier was by Misty's side, once again talking to Pikachu.

"Hey, Pikachu I was wondering, what's Clefairy been telling you?" Ash asked curiously, to which Pikachu turned to him and started saying something while miming a bit.

"You understand him?" Seymour asked.

"Well...I'm getting there," Ash admitted, before going to a knee and held out his hand, which glowed with aura again, Pikachu not hesitating to take his hand, as the message was sent through Aura, albeit in bits. "Clefairy...Moon Stone...Sacred…" he mused before he put it together. "I get it! The Moon Stone is sacred to the Clefairy, so they gather and pray at it!"

Pikachu and Clefairy nodded happily, confirming he got it right.

Seymour looked at the Moon Stone with an intense expression. "The Clefairy see the Moon Stone as sacred...perhaps because it fell from the sky?"

"I think it makes sense," Misty said. "I mean, if something fell from the sky, I'd say that'd look pretty sacred."

Seymour seemed to be thinking about it before he gained a bright expression. "It all makes sense!" he gasped. "The Moon Stone… the Pokemon… and the Pokemorph race! Together we will use the Moon Stone to reach space! First the moon then to the stars!" he declared… not noticing the weird looks Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, and Clefairy were giving him...and that they inched away a little. They looked like they wanted to say something to keep Seymour a bit more grounded but…

"Stars? That's our cue!" came a familiar laugh, as a familiar song filled the air.

"Again? Didn't we ALREADY deal with you today?" Ash said in annoyance as they turned to see Team Rocket.

"When Team Rocket sets its sights on something, we don't give up until we get it," Meowth said with a smirk, before suddenly Seymour had stepped forward.

"I-I won't let you take the Moon Stone! Leave it alone or else…!" he said...a sight that wasn't particularly threatening, made even LESS threatening by the fact his knees were shaking.

Ash, Misty, and Brock had huge sweat drops at that. They wanted to be supportive of Seymour, they really did, but this...was just sad…

"What is that strange sound?" James asked mockingly.

"His knees are shaking!" Jessie laughed.

"Sounds like a wimp!" Meowth smirked.

"I-I'll show you!" Seymour said, running forward...completely forgetting to try using some of his moves...and was tripped by Meowth for his trouble.

"Are you okay?!" Misty gasped.

"I'm okay! Protect the Moon Stone!" Seymour said.

"You might have beaten us last time, but this time it won't be so easy!" James smirked as he and Jessie released their Pokemon, Koffing immediately covering the area in smoke.

"I don't think so! Pidgeotto, blow the smoke away!" Ash countered, sending out Pidgeotto who blew the smoke away...revealing that the Moon Stone Boulder was gone, and a large hole was present on the ground.

"Ignoring how they did that so quickly, I think it's safe to say that's where they went. Let's go, Onix!" Brock said, releasing Onix who soon dug into the hole as they soon followed after.

The group gave chase using the tunnel and soon found an opening to a downward hill, Brock ordering Onix to keep pursuing underground till he found Team Rocket and stopped them, while they themselves quickly ran down the hill after Team Rocket. A loud sound ahead alerted them that they weren't far off, as Onix appeared out of the ground, and caused the cart Team Rocket was using to fall over, but not before he ended up clashing against Koffing in a head on Tackle attack clash, leaving both Pokemon dazed.

"Onix!" Brock said in alarm, before recalling his Pokemon. "Good job, now take a good rest."

"And now we're gonna send you three flying so far away you're not coming back!" Ash added with a glare, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu standing alongside him, sharing in the determination.

"Just try it! We won't give up the Moon Stone so easily!" Jessie glared back as she and the rest of Team Rocket tensed, both sides ready to fight it out...before the mood was derailed when a Clefairy popped out of the hole that Onix had made...then another and another, and before long the entire colony had emerged out of the hole with Seymour poking his head out.

"What are you all doing here?" Misty blinked in surprise at seeing them all.

"Well, since the Moon Stone belongs to the Clefairy, they came to take it back," Seymour said as the Clefairy crowded around Team Rocket.

"You want to stop us? I'd like to see you try," Meowth smirked...only for the Clefairy to raise their arms and fingers, before starting to move them back and forth.

"Wait...isn't that?" Ash blinked, feeling like he'd seen this Move somewhere before...right as they all noticed they were following the movements of the fingers.

"This is a Move the Clefairy know called the Metronome," Seymour said. "What happens next, nobody knows."

Right as he said that, the Clefairy stopped...and the entire area started to glow...before a massive explosion happened, centered on Team Rocket.

"Looks like Team Rocket's Blasting off again!" the group shouted as they were sent flying from the sheer force of the explosion.

"There they go…" Ash blinked, honestly quite surprised at the sheer destruction the Metronome move caused, Pikachu letting out an awed "Piii…" as well.

"But I think they overdid it…" Brock couldn't help but say as there was no sign of the Moon Stone Boulder. However, that was when they noticed glowing pieces float down, some of them landing on a few of the Clefairy, to which they started glowing, before they evolved, revealing Clefables in their place, while the Clefairy that didn't have pieces land on them immediately went to start gathering the pieces that fell to the ground, before the newly evolved Clefable did the same.

"These are pieces of the Moon Stone," Seymour said in wonder. "I see...because it's sacred to them, only those who had pieces land directly on them evolved. It's not right any other way."

"And now they're gathering the Moon Stone pieces again," Misty said.

"...think we should help them?" Ash asked.

"No, this is their Sacred Moon Stone. We should let them gather it once more," Seymour said with a smile, earning some nods from the group as they watched the Clefairy and Clefable work.

XXXX

And done. More changes happen, but even so some events play out more or less the same. That's the tone I'm going for, changing some events, keeping others the same, generally changing things up based on what works. Also no Retold File this time as I kinda forgot to do it. Sorry about that for anyone who was hoping to see it. Until next time.