A/N: This Fic was partly inspired by Parental Guidence by Sol's Darkness, please note that this is a fusion of Pokémon Adventures and the Anime, taking place twenty years after the Red Chapter. Knowledge about the Adventures Manga isn't necessary to enjoy, but it is encouraged. Thank you and please Review.

Professor Oak sipped his tea as he looked over his sitting room table at Delia, "We should really do this more often."

Delia nodded, "I'm sure we can, now that Ash is out of the house and I don't have as much to do anymore."

Professor Oak chuckled, "Well, I suppose so. I have to admit that Gary was the type to just sit back and enjoy some tea."

Delia shook her head, "Neither was Ash, though he has been known to surprise me sometimes."

Oak nodded in agreement, "Tell me about it, that boy is certain to go far on his journey."

"About that, Professor..." Delia fidgeted nervously.

Oak eyed her worriedly, "Is something wrong, Delia?"

Delia set her cup of tea down, "Professor, I've known you for quite a while and I know for a fact that you'd never make such a big mistake as arrange for there to be four trainers when there are only three starters."

Professor Oak smiled as he sipped his tea, "I guess I must be getting senile in my old age." He took another sip of his tea-

Which he promptly spat out when Delia continued, "Probably, after all, I remember seeing a young boy entering your laboratory a few hours after Ash left and I'm certain you said that the other trainers had already left on their journeys." There was an unspoken accusation in her voice.

As he choked on his tea, Professor Oak leaned on the table for support. A table which Delia happened to have a hold of... Oh dear. He didn't need Future Sight to see where this was going.

Delia smiled at him, "Are you alright, Professor?"

Recovering his dignity, "I'm fine." He quickly pulled himself away from the table and sighed. "I guess you rumbled me. When did you figure it out?"

Delia frowned at him, "When he showed me that Pokédex you gave him."

"Ah, yes. I suppose that would be kind of a giveaway." Oak scratched the back of his head, "If it makes you feel any better, I also gave one to Gary."

Delia shook her head, "Professor, I expected you to give one to your Great-Grandson. In fact I expected you to give one to Ash, I just hoped you'd surprise me."

"Trust me, Delia," Oak closed his eyes, "I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Ash was going to get both that Pikachu and that Pokédex regardless of either of our feelings on the matter."

Delia worriedly began to play with her skirt, "Does that mean you gave Ash that Pokédex because of who he is?"

"No, no," Oak assured her, "I chose Ash because the qualities he displayed when I first met him proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that he deserved it. Who he is had nothing to do with it."

Delia was confused, "What do you mean by that, Professor? I don't remember anything particular special about the time he first met you." Other than the Lab's collapsed support beam which forced Professor Oak to renovate, but Delia was pretty sure that hadn't been Ash's fault. Not all of it anyway.

Oak put down his cup and sombrely stared at the bubbles in the tea gently spinning around inside it, "The last time I shared some of that information, it caused a lot of heartbreak and suffering in my later years."

Delia opened her mouth, and then closed it again, the sheer look of guilt on the professor's face made her feel ashamed of even thinking of asking. She could only hope that he'd tell her when he was ready.

Professor Oak looked away from his cup and back at Delia, "So, did you ever actually tell Ash?"

Delia shook her head, "No, there never seemed to be a right time. Every time I managed to muster up the courage, Ash and Gary ended up in another of their arguments and it escaped my mind."

Oak chuckled, "Those two always did seem to get along like a house on fire." His expression turned serious, "But you really need to tell Ash soon. After all, the later you leave it, the more likely Ash is going to resent you for it."

Delia nodded dejectedly and opened her mouth to reply, but a loud crash inside the laboratory interrupted her. A buzzing sound resembling a giggle soon followed.

Professor Oak jumped to his feet and rushed out of the room, "Rotom! What have you done now?!" Several more crashes added to the unseen chaos going on in the lab, followed by more giggling.

Left alone to her thoughts, Delia's gaze soon wandered to a framed picture on a nearby wall. The picture consisted of five people, one of whom was Professor Oak himself, looking relatively the same, if a little less wrinkled, and the rest were four teenagers, two boys and two girls. The boys held a striking resemblance to Ash and Gary if they were a few years older and had different coloured eyes. The girls meanwhile were a blonde and a brunette respectively, the blonde having her hair up in a pony tail, while the brunette's hair was long and concealed under a white hat. What truly drew Delia's attention, however, were the Pokédexes that each teenager was holding.

"But how do I tell you, Ash?"

The setting sun framed Ash's moving body as he tried to reach Viridian City. Looking down at the injured Pokemon he was carrying, he tried to comfort it, "Come on, Pikachu. We're almost there, just hang in there."

He winced with each step, the scratches all over his body reminding him that Pikachu hadn't been the only one injured by that flock of Spearow. When he finally came in sight of a toll booth, his spirits were lifted, now all he needed to do was find someone who could help Pikachu.

"Hold it right there!" A loud voice that seemed filled with authority, broke Ash out of his thoughts. In front of him was a young looking woman wearing a police officers uniform, her orange eyes glared at him from under cyan blue hair.

Nervous, Ash took a step back, he didn't like how this woman was looking at him. "Please, Miss, my Pikachu needs help!"

The officer's eyes narrowed, "How do I even know that's your Pikachu?" She accused. "For all I know, you injured it in battle with another trainer and ran off with it!"

Ash panicked, "What? That's not true, Pikachu's my Pokémon!"

"Well, why else wouldn't you put it back in its Pokéball when it got hurt?" She shot back.

Ash winced, "I don't know how, I just started my journey! Pikachu's my starter, you see and no one showed me how to return a Pokemon yet."

The Officer's eyes softened slightly, "I suppose that makes sense, you're not the first beginner Trainer I've met today," her eyes narrowed again, "But that still doesn't explain why it's a Pikachu, everyone knows the Kanto Starters are Charmander, Bulbasaur and Squirtle! I'm going to need to see some ID!"

Ash began to tear up, "Please, Officer, call Professor Oak if you need to, Pikachu's my starter and he needs help!"

"Professor Oak?" The Officer muttered under her breath, her eyes looking Ash over, lingering on the obvious scratches he endured, until they caught sight of something sticking out of his pocket.

"Is that a Pokedex?!" She gasped, grabbing a hold of it and pulling it open, as she stared at the screen she brushed a button.

A computerised voice almost caused the Officer to drop the Pokedex, one screen displayed a picture of Ash while the other displayed his ID number and other information. "I'm Dexter, I'm a Pokédex assigned to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town by Professor Samuel Oak, if lost or damaged, I cannot be replaced."

"Well, that proves it." The Office decided, handing the Pokédex back to Ash who pocketed it, "I'm so sorry!" She suddenly shouted in Ash's ear causing him to fall onto the ground.

Winding in pain, unable to brace his fall due to still holding Pikachu, Ash tried to pick himself up without using his arms, "Hey, no need to be so loud!"

The Officer, so caught up in excitement, ignored Ash as she continued on, "I had no idea you were a Pokédex Holder! Please forgive the way I treated you, it's just that members of Team Rocket have been sighted in the area!" She pointed towards a couple of wanted posters on a nearby sign which showed two figures wearing white with a red R on their chests, their faces encased in shadow, one obviously a man while the other was a woman. "I thought you might be one of them in disguise."

Ash blinked as he looked at the posters, "Team Rocket?" That name sounded vaguely familiar but he couldn't remember where he'd heard it.

The Officer nodded, "They're an organisation of Pokémon Thieves, involved in extortion, racketeering and other illegal activities. We thought they were gone for good after they disbanded over a decade ago, but they've recently resurfaced. If you see them, stay away, they're trouble with a capital T!"

Ash frowned in confusion, "I'm only 11 years old, why would you think I was a member?"

The Officer bit her lip and turned away, "We have reason to believe that they've been recruiting failed Pokémon Trainers to expand their numbers. People who for whatever reason, gave up on their dreams either due to a lack of resources or ability. They likely picked up the idea from Alola's Team Skull. If they come across a trainer in desperate need of money, they'll sometimes finance their journeys from that point on in exchange for the trainer doing the odd job for them, most of which turn out to be highly illegal."

Ash recoiled in horror, "How can trainers just roll over and do those terrible things because of something like money?"

The Officer looked at Ash sadly, "Many of those Trainers don't have any idea they're in debt to Team Rocket and are just asked to do simple things like carrying an item or two into another city. Often, those items are used to conceal stolen Pokéballs or illegal contraband." She sighed, before continuing, "Once they've completed those jobs, the trainers are blackmailed into working for Team Rocket further, thanks to their illegal deeds being recorded by Rocket Members, and end up committing worse and worse actions trying not to get arrested until they'd likely be sentenced for life if they were ever caught."

Ash couldn't find his voice, he couldn't believe that such horrible things could happen to trainers. When he'd been watching the Pokémon League on TV, it had never occurred to him what happened to the people who didn't make it. A light groaning sound came from his arms, causing him to panic.

"Pikachu! I've got to get him to a hospital."

The Officer blinked and then jumped, "That's right! I got so caught up I forgot all about it! We'll need to get to the Pokemon Centre as quickly as possible!" She ran over to her motorbike which was parked nearby. She looked over at Ash impatiently, "What are you waiting for? Hop on!"

Ash nodded and quickly mounted the bike behind the Officer, being careful to keep a firm grip on the still groaning Pikachu. Once they were secure, the Officer started the engine and drove off at high speeds, just missing an orange haired girl wearing shorts and a tank top and carrying the burnt out frame of a bicycle.

She fumed as she watched them ride off into the distance, "Come back, you idiot! You destroyed my bike!" She ran after them, unsteady at first due to carrying the burnt frame, but soon picked up speed. Had she stood still for even a moment longer, she might have noticed the hook on a long piece of wire catch one of the wanted posters, peeling it off of the board as it was retracted back into the air.

"So, they noticed us eh? I suppose we'll need to move quickly or we'll be recognised!"

"I don't know about that, this is a terrible likeness, you can't even see my face!"

"That's a real improvement if ya ask me! Just looking at ya ugly mug makes me feel sick sometimes!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Oh, of course you'd say that!"

"Never mind him, we need to get to work, got it?"

"Got it!"

"Yeah."

"Wobba!"

Getting on a motorbike while holding a Pokémon was not Ash's best idea. The Officer didn't seem to realise this as each twist and turn happened at such high speeds that Ash was pretty sure that he'd almost fallen off four times.

As a large building came into view, the Officer saw fit to shout at Ash with a warning, "We don't have time to park so I'm going to drive right inside! Brace yourselves!"

Alarmed, Ash looked at the Officer like she was insane, "You're going to what?!"

The Officer spun the handlebars around, causing the bike to twist around and applied her hand to the breaks. The bike screeched to a halt, but not before crashing through the Centre's front doors, almost ripping them off their hinges and creating deep scratches in the floor tiles. Ash still frozen after their impromptu stop, only managed to recover when the Officer grabbed his hand and pulled him off the bike.

The pink haired nurse at the front desk frowned at the Officer, "This is the third time you've done this in a month, Jenny. You do realise there's a driveway, right?"

"Sorry, Joy," Officer Jenny motioned towards Pikachu, still in Ash's arms, "But we were kind of in a hurry. This Pikachu needs medical help, see?"

Nurse Joy looked over Ash and Pikachu, noticing the scrapes and scratches on them, "He's not the only one," She turned to the pink egg shaped Pokémon beside her, "Chansey, please get this Pikachu to the emergency room."

The Chansey beside her nodded, "Chansey!"

Several more Chansey pulled along a stretcher right up to Ash and carefully took Pikachu out of his arms and placed him on it. They then quickly pushed the stretcher out of the reception.

Officer Jenny looked around, "I guess I should probably leave," she chuckled nervously.

Nurse Joy smiled at her, it wasn't a very nice smile, "Next time use the Driveway." Officer Jenny wilted under it and looked over at Ash.

"I hope your Pikachu recovers!" With that she got back on her bike and drove out of the Pokémon Centre.

Now that they were alone, Nurse Joy looked at Ash sternly, "How could you let Pikachu get in that condition? The instant that it looked like Pikachu was going to get seriously hurt, you should have returned him to his Pokéball." Her gaze softened as she looked Ash over, "Then again, you don't look like had much of a choice considering the state you're in. You're just starting out, aren't you?"

Ash could only nod in shame. Nurse Joy shook her head, "When are people going to learn that even trainers need some training before they start their journeys?"

She sighed and looked at Ash, "I'd suggest that you clean your wounds, but you're probably too worried about Pikachu. I have to go and look after him, so just stay here." She smiled, "Don't worry, I'll do my best to make sure Pikachu gets better."

As she walked away, Ash could only stare at the wall in silence, not knowing what else to do. As he looked around the Reception, he noticed a row of Video Phones. Maybe he should call Mom.

After a few minutes, Ash waited for his mother to pick up the phone as it rang. When she finally did so, she was wearing a bathrobe, having obviously been getting ready for bed.

"Ash!" She looked delighted to see him. "You're already in Viridian City?"

Ash nodded, "Yeah, Mom!" Even if he'd only last seen his mother in the morning, it felt good to see her again so quickly.

"That's great! I could have sworn it would take you longer, especially with the way that Pikachu of yours was acting earlier." Delia's face was positively glowing, "I have to admit I had my doubts, but you definitely proved me wrong, getting there so fast."

Ash clenched his fists, how could he tell his mother that Pikachu was in surgery right now due to his incompetence?

"Ash, I've always been trying to find the right time to say this-" Delia began, having a nervous expression on her face, only to be interrupted by Ash.

"I failed, Mom!" Ash shouted with tears in his eyes. "I failed to get Pikachu to listen to me and because I failed, Pikachu got hurt."

Delia gasped lightly, "Ash..."

"I got mad at it refusing to listen to me, and tried to catch a Spearow on my own, even throwing a rock at it to weaken it. That made it mad and it called an entire flock to attack us." Ash grit his teeth. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid.

"Ash." Delia looked at him worried.

"Then we ran, and ran, trying to escape, but we couldn't, Mom, we just couldn't! I even tried to use someone's bike to escape, but the flock just kept on coming, until I collapsed." Ash shook his head, "And Pikachu sacrificed itself and lightning was everywhere and Pikachu was hurt and I don't know what to do Mom!"

"Ash, you've got to calm down." Delia told him, worried for him, "I can't help you until you're calm enough to listen." When Ash finally managed to stop sniffling, Delia continued. "I don't know everything that happened, and I know you feel terrible, but I can say this, you're 11 years old, sweetie, it's okay to make mistakes so long as you learn from them."

Ash looked over at the red light above the emergency room, "But, Pikachu got hurt because of me. I can't just move on and forget this ever happened."

Delia frowned at him, "Then don't, use it as your motivation to become closer with Pikachu. But that doesn't mean you have to go beat yourself because of it, sweetie."

Ash looked at his Mom, "I love you, Mom."

Delia smiled back at him, "I love you too, sweetie. And don't forget to change your underwear!" The screen went blank, Ash felt a blush coming on.

"Wonder what she wanted to talk to me about?" Ash felt a bit better, but he still felt really worried about how Pikachu was doing.

Suddenly, he could hear a ringing sound, looking around the reception, he noticed that Nurse Joy's PC was flashing. Looking around for anyone else, Ash noticed that he was the only one in the room and shrugged, pressing one of the PC's buttons.

Whirring noises could be heard coming from a stone mosaic of several birds as one of the stone tablets slid down to reveal a screen underneath it. The screen flashed on to reveal the back of Professor Oak's head.

"Professor?" Surprised, Ash looked down at the PC which seemed to be saying something about 'Phone Call redirected to a larger screen'.

The Professor seemed to be doing something with his computer, "Ash, I seem to have only gotten the sound, wait a minute while I try to find out what's wrong."

"Er," Ash looked at the back of the Professor's head. "Maybe turning around would be a good start?"

Confused, Professor Oak turned around, "What do you-" He cut himself off when he noticed the camera on the other end.

Ash watched as the screen cut off for a second, before returning with Professor Oak now facing the camera, "That's better, now Ash, where are you? I called the Viridian City Pokémon Centre to ask if they saw you." He paused, "That pretty much answered my question, didn't it? I really am getting senile."

"Kind of, yeah," Ash nodded, "Still it's great to see you!"

Oak glowered at Ash, "Wait, was that a reply to the rhetorical question or did you just agree with me that I'm-"

"Anyway," Ash cut Professor Oak off, "I'm in Viridian City, so where's Gary?" His mood darkened slightly at the memory of his childhood friend turned rival.

Oak chuckled slightly nervously, "Last I heard, he reached Pewter City."

"What do you mean Pewter City?! It took me all day to reach Vermillion!"

"Well, he does have that car," Oak noted, "By the way, I don't suppose you were the one who got it for him? You see, last time I asked, he told me it was a Birthday gift from a friend."

Ash looked at Professor Oak, bewildered, "Don't you think I'd be the one with the car with I could afford something like that? And I'm still trying to figure out where the cheerleaders came from, so don't ask me!"

Oak nodded in agreement, "So, speaking of Gary, he told me that you wouldn't have caught a single Pokémon by the time you made it to Vermillion City, so I bet him a million dollars that he was wrong." He smiled at Ash, almost pleadingly.

Ash laughed nervously, "Well, money isn't everything!"

Oak slumped his shoulders, "Why do I even bother?"

Looking to cheer up Professor Oak, Ash noticed that the stone tablet above the screen looked awfully familiar. "I saw that Pokémon on my way here!"

"Eh?" Professor Oak frowned, "What Pokémon? I can't see whatever you're pointing at."

Ash rummaged in his pockets, "I used that Pokédex you gave me on it and it said this." Finding his Pokédex, Ash clicked on its history and found the appropriate entry.

Dexter's speakers started up, "Ho-Oh: The Rainbow Pokémon. Legends claim this Pokémon flies the world's skies continuously on its magnificent seven-colored wings."

Oak leaned in closer to the screen, "You saw Ho-Oh?! Ash, no one has seen that Pokémon for around two decades!"

Ash frowned, "You mean it's really rare?"

Professor Oak shook his head, "Not just rare, it's a Legendary Pokémon. A Pokémon which is noted to not only be exceedingly rare, but extremely powerful and almost impossible to capture in battle. Ash, seeing a Pokémon like that on your first day as a trainer makes me glad I entrusted you with that Pokédex."

Ash looked down at Dexter, "About that Professor... Officer Jenny seemed really surprised when she saw my Pokédex, I thought you gave them to all of the trainers you give a starter to."

Professor Oak coughed into his hand, "That's not quite true," the Professor's expression turned serious, "Ash, I want you to promise me something."

Surprised at how Professor Oak was acting, Ash gulped, the last time he saw the Professor act like this, Gary had been caught frightening the Oddish's for fun. "What, Professor?"

"Don't just use the Pokédex to identify a Pokémon's name and type. I want you to use it to its fullest potential. One of the first Trainer I gave a Pokédex to used it to expose weak spots in enemy Pokémon and strengths in his own, beyond what help typing and moves can give you." Oak glanced at something off screen, before turning back to Ash, "I want you to use the Pokédex in a similar manner, if you do, then the Pokémon League won't just be a dream away."

Ash smiled, "Of course, Professor, thank you!" He frowned, "Wait, when was the last time someone saw Ho-Oh?"

Oak closed his eyes, "The Mask of Ice incident." He whispered.

Ash blinked, that was something he'd never heard of before, "The Mask of Ice? What's that?"

Oak sighed, "I wish I'd been able to cover history with you, but your fallout with Gary prevented me from teaching you far too much. In any case, I don't like talking about it, but suffice to say, if Ho-Oh has finally decided to show itself to a Human again, that can only mean good things. Goodbye, Ash." He moved to hang up.

Ash tried to stop him, "Professor, wait!" Unfortunately the screen turned black leaving Ash alone in the Pokémon Centre.

"There you are!" A shrill voice invaded Ash's ears, spinning around he was faced with the orange haired girl he'd borrowed a bike from in his mad rush to escape from that flock of Spearow. She seemed to be carrying the burnt remains of a bike. The same bike, he realised with a jolt, that Pikachu had destroyed when it had unleashed the thunderbolt to scatter the flock.

Glaring at him, she continued, "First you take my bike without my permission, then you promise to give it back to me but never return, and then when I go after you, I find out you've destroyed it! Who even does that?!"

"I'm sorry about your bike, but-"

"No, buts!" Misty cut Ash off, "I just want a new bike and you're going to pay for it!"

"It's my Pikachu," Ash looked down, trying not to cry. Realising that something was off, Misty's face softened, "He got hurt trying to fight off that flock of Spearow."

"I'm sorry," Misty whispered, "Is it serious?"

Ash nodded, "I think so." He looked behind him at the red light above the Emergency Room. "And it's all my fault."

Misty bit her lip, "I'll wait with you, I haven't forgotten about my bike, but it's the least I can do."

Ash silently looked at her for a moment, "Thank you." He whispered and sat down one of the benches. Misty kept standing for a moment before sitting down with him.

After a few hours, the red light blinked off and chiming sound blared out of the Pokémon Centre's speakers. Ash jumped to his feet, as Nurse Joy pushed Pikachu's stretcher out of the Emergency Room. Misty sat up to get a better look.

Pikachu, properly bandaged, looked far better than he had when Ash had carried him into Vermillion City. Ash sighed in relief.

"All done." Nurse Joy smiled at the 11 year old, "All Pikachu needs now is some rest and he'll be as right as rain by morning."

"Pikachu!" Ash's eyes watered as he gazed down at his starter, "I'm so sorry for putting you in danger like that."

"Pika!" Pikachu shook his head, "Pika, Pika, Pika!"

Ash looked at Pikachu for a moment, "Are you trying to say we're both at fault here?" Pikachu nodded.

"Pikachu, that's not true, you refused to listen to me because I was weak," Ash bit his lip, his eyes hidden under his hat, "I'd have just gotten us hurt picking a fight we couldn't win!"

Pikachu smacked Ash across the face with his tail, shocking him into silence, "Pika, Pika!" Pikachu curled his paw into a fist as he mimed punching an unseen opponent.

Ash blinked, "So, you're saying I'll never be a Pokémon Master if I let that get me down. If we want to fight tough opponents, of course we'll get hurt, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try." Ash began to laugh, "You're right, Pikachu!" Ash picked Pikachu and began to twirl him around.

Misty took a step forwards only to be stopped by Nurse Joy, "Don't worry, Pikachu will be fine. None of his wounds are at risk of being opened again by all this movement."

Misty looked over at Ash and Pikachu's celebration, "How did Ash get what Pikachu was saying?"

Nurse Joy answered for her, "It's not unknown for Pokémon and trainers to be able to understand one another after enough time to together." She frowned in thought. "Though I've never heard of such a bond developing so quickly, I was under the impression that Ash just became a trainer earlier today."

Misty looked over at Pikachu and Ash, "Still," She muttered, "Does it matter how long they've know each other if they're this close?"

Nurse Joy softly shook her head with a smile, "No. I suppose not."

A sudden explosion knocked everyone off their feet, kicking up a massive amount of smoke. Coughing, Ash pulled himself up off the floor as he tried to peer through the smoke, making out what seemed to be four figures.

As the smoke cleared, the voices of the figures could be heard.

"Prepare for Trouble." The voice of a young woman cackled.

"And Make it Double." A more masculine voice followed her.

"To Protect the World from Devastation!" The female voice continued.

"To Unite the People Within our Nation!" The male voice followed.

"To Denounce the Evils of Truth and Love!"

"To Extend Our Reach to the Skies Above!"

"Jessie." The smoke cleared enough to reveal a crimson haired woman with long hair that seemed to stay up in the air behind her head, somehow defying gravity. She wore a white uniform with black gloves and boots with a red R printed on her chest.

"James." The dark blue haired man beside her, held a rose as he looked at Ash and the others. He wore a similar uniform to Jessie, with the same red R branded on his chest.

"Team Rocket Blasts off at the Speed of Light!" Jessie shouted.

"Surrender Now or Prepare to Fight!" James told them.

"Meowth, That's Right!" A Meowth landed in between the two, and surreally he seemed to be talking.

"Wobbuffet!" What looked like a blue punching bag with arms saluted next to the woman named Jesse.

Misty summed up everyone's thoughts about Team Rocket, "What?"

Ash pulled out Dexter, "Maybe this can explain why that Meowth just talked?"

Ash pointed Dexter at the cat, "Meowth: The Scratch Cat Pokemon. Appears to be more active at night. It loves round and shiny things. It can't stop from picking them up."

"Nothing about them being able to talk," Ash frowned.

Meowth smugly folded his arms, "Haven't you figured it out yet? I'm one of a kind!"

The blue punching bag beside him nodded, "Wobbuffet!"

Misty looked at it for a moment, "Ash, use that thing on that Pokémon, I've never seen anything like it!" She grabbed Ash's arm holding Dexter and directed it towards the punching bag.

"Wobbuffet: The Patient Pokemon. To keep its pitch-black tail hidden, it lives quietly in the darkness. It is never first to attack."

"Wobba!" Wobbuffet agreed.

"Team Rocket!" Nurse Joy glared at the four, "I've heard of you. You steal rare Pokémon for profit!"

"Team Rocket?" Ash whispered, "Officer Jenny mentioned them earlier. Hey!" He shouted, "You wouldn't happen to be former Trainers being blackmailed?"

James blinked, "What is he talking about?"

Jessie closed her eyes as she smirked, "Who cares? We're here for rare and valuable Pokémon, nothing more nothing less."

"You're not going to get Pikachu!" Ash shouted at Team Rocket, holding Pikachu closer to his chest.

Jessie laughed, "Why would we want to steal a rat like that? We're after much bigger prizes!"

"Then you're looking in the wrong place!" Nurse Joy glared at them, "All we have are sick and weak Pokémon here!"

"That may be so," Jessie acknowledged, "But I bet that you've got a few glistening gems among the dirt."

James' eyes narrowed as he looked at the device in Ash's hand, "Such as that Pokédex of yours, I'm sure the boss would be thrilled if we got it for him."

Meowth nodded, grinning as he did so, "I like the way you think, James!" He held up a paw and one of his claws glinted in the light.

Ash took a step back, Dexter had been a gift from Professor Oak, he wasn't just going to roll over and let these crooks take it from him.

"Over my dead body!" He shouted. Silence permeated the air, with only the sound of Misty face palming breaking it.

"I can't believe he just said that!" Misty muttered under her breath.

Team Rocket looked at Ash for ten seconds and then burst out laughing. "You've got to be kidding." Jessie managed to get out, "We don't even need to do that!"

She pulled out a Pokéball, "Ekans, go!" A purple snake with yellow stripes appeared.

"You too, Koffing!" James threw out another Pokéball which released what looked like a purple ball of poison gas, which was continuously smiling.

Remembering what Professor Oak said about using the Pokédex to its fullest potential, Ash pointed Dexter at the snake Pokémon, "Ekans: The Snake Pokemon. The older it gets, the longer it grows. At night, it wraps its long body around tree branches to rest."

"Well, that wasn't much help," Ash looked away from Ekans and directed Dexter at the poison ball.

"Koffing: The Poison Gas Pokemon. Because it stores several kinds of toxic gases in its body, it is prone to exploding without warning."

Before Ash had the chance to process that information, Meowth jumped at him, claws at the ready. "That's the thing about listening to your Pokédex, it leaves you wide open! Get a load of my Fury Swipes!" He screamed as he began slashing wildly in Ash's direction.

Before the claws could make contact with Ash's face, a hand grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him out of the way. As he tried to turn around, he found that Misty was pulling him as she ran alongside Nurse Joy, "Hey, let me go! You're hurting me!"

"Are you kidding me, we need to run!" Misty shouted as they ran.

"Could you please be a little more quiet?" Nurse Joy asked, "We need to get to where the Pokéballs are stored as quickly as possible and I'd rather we'd have a head start on those thieves."

Misty winced, "Sorry."

By the time they got into the room where the Pokéballs were stored, the lights had gone out, leaving Ash, Misty and Nurse Joy with only the Emergency Lights. Ash could barely see the Pokéballs that were lining the shelves around them, noting that several seemed to be different colours from the classic red and white he usually saw.

"They've taken out the Main Power Generator." Misty whispered, "Shouldn't the back-ups have kicked in by now?"

"It must have also been damaged in the attack." Nurse Joy realised, "Don't worry, we can start it up again with Pika Power!"

"Pika Power?!" Misty and Ash chorused.

As if answer, multiple Pikachu jumped out from behind the shelves, under the desk and even from the ceiling, their cheeks sparking in anticipation as they grabbed onto a strange looking machine's handles and started to push it around in a circle as the discharged electricity. The lights suddenly came on.

"Pikachu..." Ash mumbled as he pointed Dexter at them, "Pikachu: The Mouse Pokemon. It keeps its tail raised to monitor its surroundings. If you yank its tail, it will try to bite you. When several of these Pokémon gather, their electricity could build and cause lightning storms."

Seeing the look on both trainer's faces, Nurse Joy explained, "We use Pikachu to jump start the generator if necessary, there are all sorts of passages that help them get around the Pokémon Centre as quickly as possible."

"Okay," Misty looked at Nurse Joy oddly, "But Pika Power?"

Nurse Joy had the decency to blush, "We had a poll and Officer Jenny's suggestion was the winner." She changed the subject, "Anyway, we need to move these Pokémon as quickly possible, I'll ring up Pewter City's Centre."

Soon, the video phone had booted up and a face identical to Nurse Joy appeared. "This is Pewter City's Pokémon Centre, we received your call for help and we're willing to house your Centre's Pokémon for security."

"Is that..." Ash began, but Misty shook her head.

"Don't ask Ash, no one's completely sure about why there are so many Nurse Joys or Officer Jennys." Misty winced remembering the time her sisters had taken her to one of the Joys family reunions. She'd been so confused, that her sisters hadn't stopped calling her a Psyduck for the next month and a half.

Having not heard them, the Pewter City Joy announced, "We're ready for Transfer!"

Soon, the Pokéballs lining the shelves were picked up by a robotic arm and set onto a conveyer belt, the Pokémon inside watching as one at a time, they were transported to Pewter City.

Ash jumped when he realised something, "Hey, I can see inside those Pokéballs!"

Nurse Joy nodded, "That's right, most Pokéballs are transparent so that you don't end up mixing up what Pokémon you want to use. The one's that aren't tend to be more durable, but they aren't really for beginners."

Misty shrugged, "Yeah, I remember being surprised when I first noticed that too."

While they were distracted, black smoke began to seep through the cracks of the door. Pikachu, on Ash's shoulder, noticed and pinched his ear.

"Ow!" Ash winced from the pain and looked at Pikachu, "Pikachu, why'd you do that?" Pikachu motioned towards the door. "Huh? Oh-"

A blast sent the door off its hinges and as it scraped over the floor to rest at Ash's feet, he tensed for a fight.

Jessie's voice filled the air, "You can't get rid of us that easily." Ekans at the ready before her.

"Even the boss said so," James agreed with her, with Koffing floating over Ekans.

Ash got ready to battle. "Ash, Pikachu's in no state to battle!" Misty reminded him, "Use one of the Pokémon on the shelves!"

Ash nodded and picked a Pokéball off the shell at random, absently noting it contained a Pidgey. "Pidgey, go!"

The Pidgey cooed as it was released, unfortunately one glare from Ekans was all it took to freak it out. Ash sighed as he returned the panicking Pidgey.

Joy shook her head, "Most of the Pokemon here are too weak to battle."

"Then we'll just take the Pokédex and leave it at that." Meowth smirked.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Misty glared at them as she pulled out a Pokéball, "Let's go, Goldeen!" She released a brown and white fish with beautiful fins and a small horn. It glared as it got ready for battle.

Then it landed and started flopping around, "Goldeen, Goldeen, Goldeen."

As one, Team Rocket, Ash, Pikachu and Nurse Joy as well as all the Pokémon in the Pokéballs that were still on the shelves just stared at the Goldeen and Misty. "And Domino called us idiots," James muttered.

Ash just used Dexter on the Goldeen as he continued to stare, "Goldeen: The Goldfish Pokemon. Its tail fin billows like an elegant ballroom dress, giving it the nickname of the Water Queen. When it is time for them to lay eggs, they can be seen swimming up rivers and falls in large groups."

Blushing in embarrassment, Misty returned Goldeen, "You know as well as I do that a water Pokémon is useless on land!"

"Then why did you use it?" Ash muttered.

Misty spun around to shout at him, "I wanted to give Goldeen some experience so it could grow stronger, okay?"

"Even I know that's not how that works." Ash said, Pikachu nodded in agreement. "Pika."

Realising that everyone had forgotten about them, Meowth fumed, "What is this? Some kind of kids show, get them you idiots!" He shouted at Ekans and Koffing.

"Right!" Jessie agreed, "Ekans, use Poison Sting on his feet!" Ekans unleashed a barrage of glowing purple needles at Ash's feet, forcing him to dance wildly trying to dodge them, "Good, now he's distracted-"

She was interrupted by Pikachu jumping to the floor, "Pika!"

Ash blinked, "What did you say?" He asked.

"Pika!" Po-

"Pikachu?" Ash was surprised at the way that Pikachu was acting. And was it just him, or was Pikachu actually saying something?

"Pika, Pika, Pi!" Powe-

"Pika Power?" Ash looked at Pikachu who nodded, "You mean you want more power!" Pikachu jumped in joy at him getting it.

"How'd he get that from Pika?" Misty whispered to herself.

Looking at the collection of Pikachu who were still holding onto the machine, all of whom were sparking in anticipation, Ash remembered what Dexter said about Pikachu and what he said about Koffing.

"Pikachu, all of you, help us out here!" He shouted, the Pikachu jumping onto the floor together with Ash's Pikachu in front, "Aim for Koffing and use Thundershock!"

The Pikachu sparked together and released electricity which combined together to form a bolt of lightning, heading straight for Koffing. Team Rocket screamed as the electricity made contact with the gas and caused it to ignite, creating an explosion.

"Team Rocket's blasting off!" They heard the criminals scream from the heart of the explosion, accompanied with a "Wobba!"

Pikachu climbed back onto Ash's shoulder as the smoke cleared, Ash congratulating him as he did so, "Nice work, Pikachu."

Incredible, Misty realised, he remembered that Pikachu were at their most powerful in groups and that the gas Koffing produce is highly explosive. She eyed Ash, he might actually have a shot at becoming a Pokémon Master if he keeps this up.

As the last of the smoke dyed away, the floor was revealed to be covered in soot while the ceiling seemed to have been blown off from the force of the blast. There was no sign of Team Rocket, which meant that they must have either retreated or been driven off.

Ash took a step back when he saw the damage he'd caused, "I don't suppose you expect me to pay for that too?" Ash looked at Nurse Joy nervously, ready to make a break for it.

Before Nurse Joy could answer, Ash suddenly collapsed. "Ash!" Misty ran towards Ash's collapsed body. Worried, she rolled his body over, only to find him lightly snoring, angry she shouted at him, "You idiot!"