Ever since her last conversation with Athena, when a young girl has told her to start doing her job; Jessie has been thinking about it.
Lately, she has been focused on her Contests, and while she hasn't been doing that well in them, she was still into it, and wanted to get five ribbons so she can compete at the Grand Festival.
That means that with the contests, and training with her, and occasionally James's Pokémon; she didn't have enough time to go and hunt Pokémon for the Organization.
The Flying Type Pokémon she has sent a while ago, were a coincidence. She was just passing through the place where they were, and decided to capture them. She didn't actually go there just to catch them. As such, she had a lot of work to do in order to find, catch, and send a large number of Pokémon, otherwise… she will be in deep shit.
The last time she has seen Athena, Jessie told her that she won't be bothering to send one, or two Pokémon here and there, and will only send big hauls. As such, for the next month, Jessie has been focusing on training for her next contest, but has also been searching for the large groups of Pokémon, to send to the HQ.
She was very lucky to find a large number of Ghost, and Bug Type Pokémon in the forests between Solaceon Town, and the Celestic Town. The whole route in between those two towns is dense with forests, some of which are so dense, that a large number of Ghost Types live there, and are scaring the passengers during the night. As for the Bug Types, all forests are filled with them, so it wasn't that hard to find them.
Of course, it took Jessie a while to catch all those Pokémon. There were many of them, while she only had six Pokémon with her. While they were strong, there were many opponents, so yeah, it took her sometime to catch them all.
In the end, Jessie caught 15 Ghost Types, as well as about two dozen Bug Types. As such, she did her job, and sent a good haul to the HQ, AND her Pokémon got stronger from all that battling. All in all, she was happy.
With all those Pokémon caught and sent to the HQ, Jessie hoped that she will not have enough free time to focus on the Contests, and get at least two more ribbons, before she's forced to send more Pokémon to the HQ.
As such, she trained for a while, and then made a stop in the southern Sinnoh, in a small place called Majolica Town. There, she entered, and won the Majolica Contest, winning her the second Sinnoh ribbon.
With the Majolica Contest finished, Jessie decided to pay a little visit to the Western Sinnoh. She hasn't been farther to the west from Oreburgh City, so it's a good idea to visit it, and see if she can find some Pokémon, not only for the organization, but also for herself. She can also enter in a contest or two, if there are some held in that part of the Sinnoh.
Once she arrived in the Canalave City, the first thing she noticed, is the beauty of the place. She admitted to herself that she can see herself living in a place like this.
Then, as there are no contests in Canalave City, but the City itself is seating on many islands in the middle of the sea, it means that there are a large number of Water Type Pokémon. Thus, Jessie went and captured some of them.
She managed to get her hands on 5 Tentacool, 3 Tentacruel, 6 Finneon, 4 Staryu, 2 Gyarados, and 3 West Sea Shellos. She has managed to catch 23 Pokémon in one go, and sent them all to the HQ. Along with all the Bug, and Ghost Types she sent weeks before, she no longer has to worry about sending anything for a long time.
The next thing that Jessie did, is that she decided to catch herself a Pokémon. She didn't want it to be just about any Pokémon. She has enough normal Pokémon. She wanted something more. Something like a, Mythical, or a Legendary Pokémon.
While in Canalave, she heard that there is Legendary Pokémon which appear around the City from time-to-time, but live on an Island, north of the Canalave City. The Pokémon is a Cresselia. A Psychic Type Legendary Pokémon.
Naturally, when she heard of Cresselia who lives on a Fullmoon Island, she has also heard of the Darkrai, which lives on the Newmoon Island. She has learned that once a year, Darkrai would arrive in the Canalave City, and cause everyone to have nightmares, but every time, Cresselia would appear, and free them all from the nightmares, by chasing away the Darkrai.
When she learned this, Jessie knew that if she catches Cresselia, the whole Canalave City would be in deep shit, as the Legendary Pokémon won't be able to come and drive Darkrai away once it shows up. That would mean that the people of Canalave City would be having nightmares all the time, and no one would be able to save them from the Darkrai.
She thought on what to do. She really wanted a Cresselia, but isn't sure if she wants to be the reason why the people of Canalave City would be practically sentenced to having continuous nightmares.
As luck seems to follow her, at that moment the answer came to Jessie, walking on two legs, and having Athena's face.
The two talked, and Jessie told Athena about all the Pokémon she sent to the HQ, and also told her about wanting to catch Cresselia, but that she wasn't sure if she should do it.
Athena told her that she has come to Canalave City for her next gym battle. She also said that she's satisfied with the Pokémon Jessie has sent to the HQ, and that even Freya was somewhat satisfied.
When she heard about Jessie's problem, Athena suggested a solution.
Basically, Jessie wasn't sure if she should capture Cresselia, as that would leave no one to chase Darkrai away from Canalave City. So, Athena's answer to the problem is that Jessie catches Cresselia for herself, while Athena will go and catch Darkrai for herself. That way, there will be no Darkrai to torment the Canalave Citizens, so there will be no need for Cresselia.
Thus, Athena and Jessie were currently on the Newmoon Island, which is located north of Canalave City. They are there so that Athena can catch Darkrai, while Jessie will be acting as a helper for Athena if necessary.
Newmoon Island is a mostly rocky island, and no other Pokémon besides Darkrai, live there. There is no human population either. Thus, there shouldn't be any problem for Athena to catch a Darkrai… unless you count a rather large problem that Darkrai itself is.
"Which Pokémon are you going to use," Jessie asked Athena, as the two of them were walking through a rocky terrain of the Newmoon Island? "It's gonna need to be a really strong Bug, Fighting, or Fairy, for you to be able to defeat a Dark Type Mythical Pokémon."
"I have a perfect Pokémon to use for this battle," Athena said with a smile. "It's a Fairy Type. Also, it's my strongest Pokémon."
"I certainly hope that it will be strong enough to defeat Darkrai," Jessie said. "If not, we are in deep shit."
Athena looked at Jessie, and asked. "And which Pokémon were you planning to use against Cresselia? If I remember from all Pokémon you have, none are strong enough to defeat a Legendary Pokémon, which is on the same level as Darkrai."
"Well, I have a Pokémon in mind," Jessie said. "After all the training he's been through, he should be strong enough. But he isn't with me right now, which is why I'm worried about Darkrai."
"I seriously doubt that any of the Pokémon you have, or James has; are powerful enough for you to defeat Cresselia." Athena scoffed at Jessie.
"Why are you mentioning James's Pokémon?" Jessie asked with raised eyebrows.
"I know that you've used some of his Pokémon for your contests," Athena said. "As he has had all his Pokémon trained by the organization, they are considerably more powerful than your Pokémon, which you yourself train."
"Well, for your information," Jessie spoke with a slight anger in her tone, as she didn't like that her training skills are insulted, "the Pokémon I have in mind isn't mine, or James's."
Athena looked at Jessie, and though of whose Pokémon she could be using to fight against Cresselia. She knows that there are some members of the Organization with Pokémon powerful enough to defeat a Pokémon of Cresselia, and Darkrai's level, but none of them would actually give their Pokémon to someone else to use them.
As nothing was coming to mind, Athena was just about to ask Jessie which Pokémon she was referring to, when suddenly, it came to her.
"Meowth!" Athena spoke the Pokémon's name, and Jessie smiled when she heard it.
XXX
About 15 minutes later, Jessie, and Athena arrived at the top of the Newmoon Island, where they were being waited by Darkrai.
The scary-looking Dark Type Mythical Pokémon, floated above ground, as it looked at the two female members of the Shadow Legion, and waited to see what they are after, though it had a really good feeling it already knew.
Seeing the Pokémon they are after, Jessie stopped walking, and stood in place, while Athena continued to walk forward. When she was at the safe distance, but still close enough to Darkrai, Athena spoke. "Darkrai. I'm here to challenge you to a one-on-one battle, and if I win, I want to catch you, so you'd be my Pokémon."
Darkrai floated there, several meters from Athena, as it looked at her. It cast a look at Jessie, but she has just stood there, and did or said nothing.
After a while, Darkrai looked directly at Athena's eyes, and nodded with its head.
Athena smiled at that, before she took one of her Poke Balls, and released the Pokémon from inside.
"Let's do this, Florges." Athena said to her Pokémon, who stood in front of her, and opposite of Darkrai.
"That Pokémon is from the Kalos Region," Jessie spoke in surprise. "Where did you find it?'
"This was my first Pokémon," Athena said. "I received a White Flower Flabébé on my 10th birthday from Freya. I've raised her since then. She is my first, and my most powerful Pokémon. She is the only Pokémon I have who I'm sure can defeat a Pokémon of Darkrai's level."
With that said, Athena focused on the battle which is just about to start.
It was Darkrai who started the battle, by firing Dark Pulse at Florges.
Florges countered this with Moonblast.
The two attacks collided, and caused an explosion which covered the area in a dust cloud.
Athena went and told her Florges to use Misty Terrain, which made Florges release a thick light blue mist from her body, covering the surrounding area with it.
Darkrai used Dark Void, but Florges countered it with another Moonblast.
Darkrai used Double Team, creating many copies of itself, which surrounded Florges on all sides. Then, Darkrai used Shockwave, which hit Florges, making her cry out in pain.
She wasn't defeated yet, though. Florges went and released multiple shining, heart-shaped, blue petals at Darkrai, who was hit by a powerful Grass Type attack, which damaged it slightly. Florges followed this up with Moonblast, which hit Darkrai point blank, and dealt it a lot of damage.
Darkrai got up quickly, though damaged quite a bit. It then fired Dark Pulse, which hit Florges, but due to her resistance against Dark Type attacks, she wasn't very affected.
By that point, Darkrai is damaged enough, and so is Florges. The Misty Terrain is also about to expire in one more move, so, Athena pulled her tramp card. The only reason she used Misty Terrain to begin with.
Athena told her Florges to use Misty Explosion.
Florges glowed white for a moment, and then she caused a huge explosion across the entire field she and Darkrai were on. Due to the Misty Terrain, the power of the explosion was almost twice as powerful as it would be without the Misty Terrain, so the explosion was big.
The dust cloud covered the whole area, and prevented Athena and Jessie to see what was going on. In any case, Athena knew that at least her Florges has passed out, as that's the side-effect of the Misty Explosion. She can only hope that Darkrai has also been defeated.
It took several minutes for the dust cloud to dissipate, and for Athena, and Jessie to be able to see what happened.
Once they were able to see, Athena wasn't surprised when she saw her Florges lying inside of a large crater. Then, she looked toward Darkrai, and was happy to see that Darkrai is also lying in the same crater, and just as unconscious as Florges.
Athena took an empty Poke Ball, and threw it at Darkrai. Once Darkrai was sucked inside the ball, the ball fell on the ground, wiggled for several moments, before it pinged, meaning that Athena has gotten herself a Darkrai.
XXX
After the Newmoon Island, Athena and Jessie went back to the Canalave City.
They would have preferred to go after Cresselia on the Fullmoon Island, which is just few kilometers from the Newmoon Island, but due to Jessie not having a Pokémon to fight against Cresselia, the two had to go back to Canalave City.
Once they were back, it was already late at night. It was already a night when Athena fought Darkrai, but now it's really late. As such, one teenage girl, and one 30 year old woman, went to sleep in the Pokémon Center. They will deal with Cresselia the next day, after they get some rest.
XXX
"So, tell me, Jessie," Meowth spoke to Jessie, as the two of them, and Athena were seating in the Pokémon Center. "Why have you called me to come here, and have a battle for you? Who could you possibly be battling to need me, and not use one of your own, or even one of James's Pokémon, who have all become very powerful?"
It was the afternoon of the day after Athena fought, and caught Darkrai, and now the two of them, and Meowth were talking about the next move.
"I decided to catch myself a Cresselia," Jessie said quietly so no one besides Meowth, and Athena could hear her. "And for that, I need your help."
"A Cresselia," Meowth said with raised eyebrows. "A Legendary Pokémon, Cresselia."
"Yes." Jessie said.
"What makes you think that I can defeat Cresselia?" Meowth asked.
"You are stronger than any of mine, or James's Pokémon," Jessie said. "You trained very hard with the organization, and have gotten really strong. As such, you are my only option."
"Why did you even chose Cresselia, and not something else, like Volcanion… or, I don't know… Manaphy," Meowth asked? "Manaphy's cuteness will definitely work for you in Contests."
"When I came here to Canalave City, I was only after exploring, and maybe catching some new Pokémon, or entering some contest," Jessie said. "But then I heard about the Darkrai which shows up here every year at the same time. And every year when Darkrai shows up, and people start having nightmares, a Cresselia comes, and chases Darkrai away. Then I found out that the two Pokémon live on the two islands north of here. As such, I decided I want to catch a Cresselia, as I thought it would be better than Darkrai, though they are both around the same level.
"There were two problems, though. One was that I don't have a Pokémon which can defeat a Cresselia. The second problem is that if I catch Cresselia, then once the Darkrai comes here, there would be no one to chase it away, and the whole City will suffer."
"I didn't think you would care about that?" Meowth interrupted Jessie, and said.
"Come one, Meowth," Jessie spoke. "It's one thing to steal something, but a totally different thing to leave a whole City of people at Darkrai's mercy."
Meowth nodded with his head. He could understand Jessie's reluctance after her explanation. He isn't sure how he would feel if he was in her position.
"Anyway," Jessie continued. "That's when Athena showed up, and I told her about what I plan. She decided that she would want to catch a Darkrai. If she does that, then there won't be a Darkrai to show up here, and there won't be a need for Cresselia.
"So, we went to the Newmoon Island last night. Once there, we found Darkrai, and Athena battled it. She won… sort of… and then she caught it. Now, I need to go to the Fullmoon Island, and battle Cresselia, thus, I need your help."
Once Jessie finished her explanation, Meowth sighed. He wanted to help her, he really did. They were friends for a long time, and were part of Team Rocked together. Now they were in the Shadow Legion, again together, though not as much as while in the Team Rocket.
Still, Meowth considers Jessie, and James as his friends, and probably the only family he has, and will ever have. So, while he isn't sure that he will be able to defeat a Legendary Pokémon, even with all the training he had, and even with the fact that Cresselia isn't even close to the power of some other Legendary Pokémon; he has decided that he will battle Cresselia, and see what happens.
"Fine," Meowth said. "I'll help you. I just hope you realize that there is no way of knowing if I'll be able to win."
"I know," Jessie said. "And thank you for agreeing to help me. With Cresselia in my team, my chances in contests will rise significantly. I will also have a great chance to win the Sinnoh Grand Festival."
"If you say so." Meowth said.
In all the time Jessie and Meowth spoke, Athena was quiet, and was just listening.
XXX
Ash, Lillie, Dawn, and Barry have arrived in Canalave City after about half-a-day travel from the Hearthome City, via a blimp.
As soon as they arrived, Barry took a ferry to the Iron Island, where he plans to do some training, while Ash, and the girls went to check out the Canalave Gym, and see if the gym leader is even there.
From there on, they would decide on what to do.
Unfortunately for them, when they arrived in front of the gym, they were informed that the gym leader has left to Iron Island, so he can train his Pokémon for a few days.
As such, there was nothing else they can do except wait, and train their Pokémon. They most certainly won't leave and come back later.
XXX
Athena, Jessie and Meowth have left the Pokémon Center, and were on their way to the shore, so they can find a boat, and head to the Fullmoon Island.
As they were walking to the shore, they were passing through the City's busiest shopping district, which was full of people; but then, Athena noticed Ash, Lillie and Dawn. She quickly told Jessie and Meowth that she won't be going with them to the Fullmoon Island, and will be staying behind.
Then, she run off, leaving behind a red-haired woman, and a Meowth, confused about what just happened.
In the end, they didn't really care anyway, so they went on their way. Catching that Cresselia for Jessie was more important to them then where Athena run of to.
"Ash!" A female voice yelled through a large crowd of people, and made Ash, Lillie and Dawn stop walking. They looked around to see who was calling for Ash, when they saw a familiar face trying to reach them through the crowd, while wearing a smile on her face.
"Athena," Dawn said, also smiling when she saw the girl she hasn't seen in a long time. "What are you doing here?" She asked as soon as Athena managed to break through the crowd, and reach the gang of thee.
"I came here to challenge the Canalave Gym," Athena replied. "But anyway, it's nice to see you all again. We haven't seen each other since the Eterna Forest." That was only partly true. Ash, Lillie and Dawn haven't seen Athena since the Eterna Forest. Athena has been following them around, though, so she has been seeing a lot of them.
"It's nice to see you too," Lillie said, also smiling. The brown-haired girl has been traveling with them for a few days, so they've grown somewhat close, and were friends. "How's your journey been so far?"
"It was fine," Athena said. "I've got four badges, and I came here for my fifth. What about you, guys?"
"Well, we've just arrived here from Hearthome City," Dawn said. "We went to the gym first, but the gym leader is on Iron Island, training with his Pokémon. He won't be back for a few days, so we have to wait."
"Is that so," Athena questioned? "I didn't know that. Even though I arrived here yesterday, I still haven't been to the gym."
"We've just been there, so there is no need for you to go, unless you want to just see it." Ash said. Unlike Lillie and Dawn he wasn't so happy with seeing Athena.
Since he first met her, he knew that she was a member of the Shadow Legion. As he has met her before he made his promised to Lillie not to read people's minds, he has red Athena's, so he knew who she is, and what her current mission is.
That being said, it has been a while since he's seen her, and he was curious about what's she been up to since then, except following them. In order to find that out, he would need to read her mind, but that's a problem because he would once again, have to break his promise to Lillie.
He really hates doing that.
For several minutes, Ash stood there quietly, thinking on what to do, while the three girls talked with each other.
Eventually, Ash decided not to read her mind. He knows that she's with the Shadow Legion. He knows that she's there to spy on him, Lillie and Dawn. Beyond that, he doesn't know anything, but there is really no need to know. He knows the most important stuff. For now, that will be enough.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Dawn suddenly asked, drawing Ash's attention.
Ash looked at her, and asked. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, the Canalave Gym Leader isn't here, so we have a few days free," Dawn said. "How do you want us to spend it?"
"Well… we can always train." Ash suggested what they can do.
"We can do that," Lillie agreed. "But, we can also have some fun. This seems like a nice place. We can look around, maybe buy some stuff, and enjoy ourselves. We don't have to spend all the time training."
"You are right," Ash sighed. "We don't have to train all the time. So, what do you want to do?"
"I want to do some shopping." Lilli said. Dawn and Athena were all up for it.
"Shopping," Ash said, getting three nods, immediately. "Fine," he sighed. "We will go shopping."
The three girls cheered.
XXX
By the time Jessie and Meowth have arrived at the Fullmoon Island, it was already late in the afternoon, and the sun was setting beyond the horizon.
The small boat they took from the Canalave City, they rode by themselves, so there was no one else with them. They moored the boat in the cave which acted as the entrance to the island, before they followed the stairs, which led them to the interior of the island. At that point, all that was left was to find Cresselia.
It didn't take them long to do it. Cresselia was on her own shrine on the Fullmoon Island. She was just standing there, looking at Jessie and Meowth, as they approached her.
"Who are you," Cresselia asked in her own language, which Jessie didn't understand, but Meowth did? "What do you want?"
"We came here to battle against you, and to catch you if I win." Meowth said.
Cresselia gave a cry of anger. "I'm not interested in having a trainer! Do you understand that?"
Meowth sighed. "She says that she doesn't want to have a trainer, so she won't battle." He said to Jessie.
Jessie thought on what to do. She really wanted Cresselia, but she isn't sure if she should attack her now that the Legendary Pokémon refused her. Even if she was to attack, and win, who knows if Cresselia would even want to listen to her if she was to use her in Contests, or battles?
"What do you want to do?" Meowth asked.
"I don't know," Jessie said. "I want to catch her, but if I do, and she refuses to listen to me, then I would have a Legendary Pokémon which is useless to me."
"You can always sell her," Meowth suggested. "Or send her to HQ. I'm sure they'll be able to… reeducate her."
"I don't want to do either of those things," Jessie said with a glare toward Meowth. "It would be inhuman to do that to a Pokémon."
"We've already done that while in Team Rocket," Meowth said. "And the organization we are now a part of, does that. All those Pokémon you sent them, will go through hell until they become strong. You didn't have a problem with sending them, so why do you have a problem with Cresselia."
"I don't know," Jessie said. "I just do. I don't want to send her there."
"Well, I do," Meowth suddenly said, as he looked at Cresselia with narrowed eyes, along with a smirk. This look, has unnerved Cresselia, and made Jessie wonder what is he about to do? "I wondered earlier if I will be able to take on a Legendary Pokémon. I wasn't so sure, as I was quite weak at the time I joined the organization. The training I had has helped me a lot, but I wasn't sure if it would be enough.
"Now though… I really want to know."
"What are you going to do?" Jessie asked.
Instead of responding to her, Meowth looked at Cresselia, and said. "I want to battle you. I don't care if you want to or not. I will attack, and you better defend."
With that said, Meowth disappeared in a burst of speed, and almost instantly appeared in front of surprised Cresselia. As he appeared in front of Cresselia, Meowth's right paw has his nails extended, and the whole paw is glowing white. Then, he slashed toward Cresselia.
Fortunately for her, Cresselia reacted quickly, and used Double Team. As such, Meowth's glowing paw slashed through one of the copies of Cresselia, while many others were now surrounding Meowth, and all of them had a glare in their eyes.
All copies of Cresselia created pink orbs of energy in front of their heads, and then fired them at Meowth. When the orbs hit the place where Meowth is, there was a huge explosion, which destroyed everything in its path, and completely covered the whole area in a dust cloud.
Jessie stood to the side, and wondered if Meowth has already been defeated. She was surprised by his speed, and the fact that he has learned Night Slash, but if he was hit by Cresselia's Moonblast, there was no way her was still standing, considering its power.
Jessie was surprised when she saw many yellow stars appeared through the cloud of dust, before she heard a cry of pain from Cresselia.
The dust cloud cleared up by that point, allowing Jessie to see Meowth standing unharmed, while Cresselia had some small bruises. Jessie was sure it was from the Swift, which Meowth also seems to have learned.
Cresselia's eyes glowed red for a moment, before she lifted her head up, and created a light blue ball of energy, surrounded by electricity. Then, she fired the ball into the sky, where the ball disappeared.
"That was Future Sight," Jessie said to Meowth! "Be careful."
"I know." Meowth said, before he created a purple and black ball in between his hands, and then fired purple and black rings of energy from the ball, towards Cresselia.
This was Dark Pulse. Jessie recognized it instantly, and knew that it was another new attack, which Meowth seems to have learned.
Cresselia used Aurora Beam, as she fired a multicolored beam from the multicolored ball she created in front of her face.
The two attacks clashed and created another large explosion, which again rose dust all over the area.
Cresselia reacted instantly. She didn't want to wait for Meowth to attack her through the cloud like earlier. She went and used Double Team, creating many copies of herself.
When the dust cloud came down, Meowth saw many copies of his opponent, and used Swift, by swinging his tail. Many yellow stars came down on Cresselia's copies, destroying them left, and right. But then, one of the Cresselia's tailfins glowed pink, before she released a pink crescent-like blade of energy from her tailfin, at Meowth.
Meowth wasn't expecting this, and was hit by Psycho Cut. A very powerful Psychic Type attack.
Meowth fell to the ground, heavily injured, but not defeated. He wasn't going to five up that easily. He stood back up, and then he crossed his arms. Immediately, he opens them and multiple glowing white balls of energy come out of the charm on his head.
The rain of coins, started to fall on Cresselia, who was shocked that Meowth was still standing after he was hit by a Psycho Cut, let alone be able to attack.
The coins rained down on her, and while they weren't damaging her that much, she was overwhelmed by the amount. Then, she was shocked even more when Meowth appeared in front of her, and slashed her across the face with his white-glowing paw.
This was a Night Slash, a powerful Dark Type attack which works perfectly on Psychic Type Pokémon like Cresselia.
Cresselia cried in pain, and backed away a little bit, but then she was hit by a very powerful Thunderbolt, which shock her whole body, and made her cry out even more.
Meowth seemed to be on a roll at that point, because he attacked without stopping. After Pay Day, Night Slash, and Thunderbolt, he used Swift, and then Night Slash once again.
After that final Night Slash, Cresselia fell on the ground, barely conscious, but still not completely defeated.
Then again, if Jessie was to throw a Poke Ball at Cresselia at that moment, she would have most likely caught her. Jessie knew this, but didn't really know if she should do it.
Before she could come to a decision, a strong gust of wind blew across the area, before a multicolored beam of energy fell from the sky, and went directly at Meowth, who at that point was down on his knees.
He had no chance to get away, and could only watch as the beam fell on him and caused a huge explosion, which rocked the whole area, and covered everything in dust.
XXX
Ash set on the grass in the small meadow outside of the Canalave City.
It was a night time, and he should be sleeping right now, but he didn't feel like it. He has spent the whole afternoon going around the Canalave City with Lillie, Dawn, and Athena, while they were doing shopping. Shopping which he has financed.
It wasn't like they asked him to pay for everything. Each of the three girls had their own money, which they would use to buy what they want, and can. But, Ash felt like he as a man, and as the one who has more money they all three girls - including Lillie, whose mother isn't exactly poor - should buy them something. In the end, he bought them everything they wanted. It's not like it has cost him too much… just 100 000 Poke Dollars.
Still, Lillie and Dawn were happy, so he was happy. Even Athena was happy, and while Ash can't really be happy for her for... obvious reasons, he still bought her everything she wanted.
Once the endless hours of shopping have finally ended, Ash, and the three girls went to the Pokémon Center – with Ash acting as a mule, carrying all the stuff they bought – where they booked two rooms. One was for Ash, while the girls decided to sleep together in one room.
They all had dinner together, after which they all went to their rooms. The girls went to sleep immediately, as they were tired, while Ash tried to sleep, but for some reason, he couldn't.
So, as he couldn't sleep, and he wasn't going to just turn around in bed, Ash got up, and left the room, and the Pokémon Center. He even left the City, and went to the hill outside of it.
There, Ash set on the ground, and has been doing nothing but seating for the last half-an-hour.
As he set there, he felt peaceful. The night was warm, there was a moonlight, so it wasn't too dark, but most importantly, it was quit, and Ash loves peace and quiet. It helps him keep his mind calm. When his mind is calm, it's sharp, and there is no treat that he will gut someone if he gets too angry. In his opinion, that's a good thing.
All peace and quiet eventually comes to an end, and Ash's has come too soon.
As he was seating there on the meadow, Ash noticed a faint light coming toward him. It seems to be moving fast, but it wasn't moving in a straight line. It was moving left and right every so often.
Ash stood up, and looked toward the light. He couldn't see what it was, but he can sense. He can sense that it is a Pokémon. A powerful one at that, but also an injured one.
When the Pokémon was close enough, he was able to recognize that it was a Cresselia, of all things. She was injured, moving fast, and doesn't seem to be slowing down. At this speed, Ash was sure that Cresselia won't be reaching the ground slowly, and will crush into it.
As such, Ash reacted.
XXX
Meowth woke up from his sleep, and through bleary eyes, he looked around.
The first thing he saw is a starry sky. The second thing he noticed, is that he was lying on his back, on something hard. And finally, he noticed that he was in some vehicle, which was moving.
He stood up, and set, while rubbing his eyes. Then, he looked forward, and noticed Jessie's red hair floating on the winds, as she was driving the boat the two of them used to go from Canalave City, to the Fullmoon Island.
As soon as he remembered that, Meowth also remembered Cresselia, and how he foolishly challenged her in order to test his power, even though he knew that he won't get anything out of it, except get his ass kicked.
"What happened?" Meowth asked, drawing Jessie's attention to him.
"I see you are awake," she said, not even stopping the boat. She kept driving the thing. "Good that you are alive. I had my doubts that you will stay alive after you were hit by that Future Sight. The damn thing destroyed the whole hill, and nearly killed you, AND ME."
"So I lost," Meowth sighed.
"You did," Jessie said. "But, you did great. That Cresselia was heavily injured when she left right after the Future Sight hit. You really did a number on her."
"But I still didn't win." Meowth said.
"No, you didn't," Jessie said.
"Shame." Meowth said.
Jessie shock her head. "Couple more months of training, and you would be able to defeat any Legendary, or Mythical Pokémon on the level of that Cresselia," she said. "So you shouldn't be feeling any shame."
Meowth nodded with a sigh. "What now?" He asked.
"We go back to Canalave City," Jessie said. "I'll speak with Athena if I see her, and tell her that I failed to catch Cresselia. As for you, I'll send you back to James. From there, you can go where you want."
Meowth nodded at that. "Did you pick up the coins? There were a lot of them after I used Pay Day on Cresselia."
Jessie scoffed. "What coins," she asked back. "The whole area where you battled was completely destroyed. There was nothing left."
"Damn." That was all Meowth could say at that piece of information.
XXX
A man wearing a long black cloak covering his whole body, and hair, was standing at the edge of a smoking crater.
The crater was left by Cresselia's Future Sight from her battle against Meowth, which the man has watched from the distance.
The man has arrived there at about the same time as Jessie and Meowth. His way of arriving was different, though, so they haven't seen him, but he has seen them from the moment they've found Cresselia. He has heard Meowth translate to Jessie that Cresselia isn't interested in having a trainer, and actually had to hold back a scoff at Jessie when he heard that she doesn't want to catch a Pokémon who doesn't want to come with her.
In a way, the man understood. What's the point of having a Pokémon which won't obey you? In his mind though, every Pokémon can learn to obey. You just have to teach them how, by any means necessary.
Jessie wasn't capable of that, but the man is. He has dealt with bothersome, and disobedient Pokémon before, and they all ended up listening to him. Cresselia would as well.
He stood there and watched the battle between Cresselia and Meowth. He was surprised by the fact that a Meowth, of all Pokémon, was capable of fighting against a Legendary Pokémon to almost a stand-still. He was even more surprised by the vicious attacks performed by Meowth. The man was sure that one, maybe two more attacks, and Meowth would have won.
But then that god-forsaken Future Sight came down, and destroyed the whole area. The man was actually shocked by the power of the damn thing.
By the time the dust cleared from the area, all that was left was a crater, with Meowth passed out in the middle of it, while Jessie was lying on the edge of the crater. Cresselia was nowhere to be seen.
At that moment, the man cursed at his stupidity, as he has practically left his target run away from him.
He wanted to take his anger on Jessie and Meowth, but he knew that he can't do that for some… special reasons. As such, he stood there and watched as Jessie got up from the ground, went to check on Meowth, picked it up, and left the island.
The man has stayed behind, and is still standing there, even half an hour after Jessie and Meowth have left.
He has hoped that Cresselia hasn't gone too far. That she was still on the island, and he could find her. Unfortunately, the Pokémon he sent to find her, all came back with nothing.
He did find one thing, though. A shine of light caught his eyes, and he took what was reflecting the light. It was a Lunar Wing.
He looked around the area, and found three more, so in total, he had four Lunar Wings.
The man knew that they are somewhat valuable, though only to certain people. Like the ones in Canalave City, as they have problems with Darkrai which appears once a year.
He decided to sell them all there, as he has no other use for them, and can fetch a nice price for them.
Now, with the fact that Cresselia is gone, and who knows where she is, or when she will be back; the man had nothing left but to leave the Fullmoon Island, and pay a visit to the Newmoon Island. Maybe he can catch the Darkrai which lives there.
If only he knew.