Not Backing Down

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon/Pocket Monsters. Nor any of the characters or the monsters themselves. Only the respective company does. This special story takes place after the events of Pokémon Chronicles: Raikou – Legend of Thunder. Also, this is a Jimmy/Kenta x Marina pairing. Read & Review and please, no flames!

Deep in the forest was a tall young man with light-lavender spunky hair with a yellow cap on his head, blue eyes, red sweater, yellow shorts and black sneakers with white stripes. He's also carrying his handy-dandy Poke-gear with him at all times.

Before long, he remembered the times when he met Marina. Not the least of which, there was also his rival, Vincent. During the course of their friendship however, both Jimmy and Vincent were battling each other's throats for Marina's affections. There was even the part where he believes that Marina likes the Dragon-type master, Lance, more than him.

Just then, his Poke-gear began to ring. As he takes it from out of his pocket and opened it, he hears a familiar voice calling out to him. "Hi, Jimmy. It's me, Marina."

Upon hearing her cheerful voice, his body began to shake. "Eh? Marina! Why are you calling me?"

"Oh, I just wanted to hear from you. After all, I've become the most popular idol and Pokémon trainer that there is!" she ended her sentence with a small giggle.

Jimmy pouted at her comment. "You called me up about you being popular? Is it that far important than me and Vincent or even that crush of yours, Lance?"

Marina responded. "No, no! That's not true! I really do care about you, Jimmy! Please believe me!"

The young Pokémon trainer was in deep thought and then sure enough, he answered. "I'm sorry, Marina. I didn't know what came over me. And yes, I do believe you."

"I'm so glad to hear that from you. Oh! I've got to go now! Let me know, when you have some spare time. Bye!" After that, his connection to her had ended and he lets out a deep breath.

As he looks up at the big blue sky with some white clouds, he gave himself a moment to think about his current friendship with Marina and his rival, Vincent.

"What am I going to do? I haven't even confessed my feelings to her. If not worse, Vincent getting mushy on her every time when he's around her." He began clenching his fists tightly, while his face was filled with jealously and anger. "And that just gets me very annoying. I mean, how will I be able to win Marina's heart before he does?"

Meanwhile at a secured location, two members with an 'R' symbol on their shirts are contemplating on how to capture more Pokémon without the usage of Poke-balls. One was a tall man with green hair and black eyes, while the other has yellow double-spiked ponytail hair and purple eyes. The looks on their faces were filled with frustration and boredom.

"Another plan, foiled again." The young blonde smacks her head on the table in shame. "There's got to be another way of getting more Pokémon."

"I know, Cassidy." He places his feet on the table, as he starts rocking the chair with his hands placed at the back of his head. "But, hey. At least, we don't get much failure like the other two dim-wits."

She became infuriated of his comment by mentioning the other members of the same faction but on different occasions. As she got out of her seat, she places her hands from underneath the table and responds to him. "The only dim-wit around here is you!"

When she lifted the table, he fell off his chair and landed head-first on the ground. As a result, he has a small bump on his head due to Cassidy's insult.

"Ow! Hey, c'mon! Can't you at least learn to take a joke?"

She grabs him by the shirt and glares at him with a look of disgust on her face. "The answer is no, you fool! Don't you know that Team Rocket doesn't take any humor at all?"

Butch grunted. "Well, duh. It's not like that I enjoy it. I only do it just for the fun of it. It's more embarrassing than listening to an idol trainer."

"Who's this idol trainer that you're babbling about?" yelled Cassidy, as she screams at his face.

During the argument, they overhear someone's voice coming from the television.

"Joining me now is Marina. The popular idol trainer that has caught audiences and even Pokémon worldwide. Tell me, Marina. What do you plan to do next on your Pokémon journey?" says the interviewer.

She answered to him. "It's simple. Not only am I an advertiser, I'm also a bit of a singer. My voice is so sweet; I've caught the attention to all of my adoring fans."

"Sounds to me that you're quite popular. Does it also include Pokémon as well?"

"When it comes to training, raising and perhaps catching them, than yes." She lets out a small giggle, while she waves at the TV camera. "Anyone who wants to come and see me, feel free!"

After watching and listening to the young girl's interview from the television, Butch and Cassidy were exchanging their looks about the person's involvement of becoming an idol trainer.

"You see what I mean? That's just boring. With a voice like that, she can never catch anything that easily. Why, if we were her agents, we would book a concert for her and then, we…"

Cassidy interjected him and laid out her response. "Get all of the Pokémon that we want." She later made a small grin on her face. "Yes. It would be a very delightful plan, indeed."

"Maybe, but where do we find her?" Butch wondered.

As she began to ponder the situation, they hear Marina's voice once again.

"Let me ask you one last question, Marina. When and where, are you planning to perform your next act?" says the interviewer.

"I'll be performing at Violet City today. Hope to see everyone there!" she said, cheerfully.

By turning off the television and understood of where she'll be, an evil smile had moved across their lips.

"Now we know what her next location is. Ready, Butch?"

"Yeah. The sooner we get to that kid, the better chance for Team Rocket to resurface and claim victory!"

In the meantime, down on Route thirty-one, Jimmy was almost becoming exhausted after walking down the forest for a very long time. His legs were stiffed, his arms were slouching and his stomach continues to growl completely.

"Oh, man! I've barely had any food lately. If only there was a Pokémon Mart around here."

Fortunately for him, he came across a huge city and by reading a huge sign, he knew that he was in luck. "Hey! I'm in Violet City! Sweet!" Knowing that he's found the place, he came into the town only to discover that the sky was becoming dark. He could tell that it was becoming late for him and so, he went inside the Pokémon Center and restart his day in the morning. He manages to find an open bench and starts falling asleep.

The next day, a morning sunbeam peaked through the window and shined brightly on Jimmy's face. By feeling the warmth of the sun, he groaned; as he covers his eyes and begins to get back up from the bench that he was on. He stretches his arms out and makes a huge yawn after taking a well-deserved rest.

"That's more like it." Then, his stomach starts growling once again. "Darn it! I didn't have anything to eat yet. I'll restart searching for the Pokémon Mart."

He leaves the Pokémon Center after having his Pokémon healed. As he walks down to the Pokémon Mart, he by-passes a billboard that has a promotional poster on it and from the looks of it, it shows a familiar girl on the front cover stating her next appearance: Violet City. The same place that Jimmy is in right now.

By reaching the Pokémon Mart, he makes a sigh of relief and goes right inside. But after he says a friendly "Hello" sign, an unexpected alarm had come off and numerous confetti was spreading all over the place including on Jimmy as well. He became utterly surprised, when the alarm was sounded.

Then, a tall salesperson walked in and later shook Jimmy's hand in a form of gratitude.

"Congratulations, young Pokémon trainer."

"Why are you thanking me for?" he said, looking confused.

The Pokémon Mart worker pressed forward with his answer. "For becoming our tenth-thousand customer. And as a token of my appreciation, you get a special reward."

Jimmy's smile grew big, when he was told that he was getting something special. "Reward? What is it?"

By reaching his keys from inside his pockets, he reaches to one and opens up a secret compartment from underneath the cash register. As he places the key into the knob and twists it to the right, a medium-sized miniature tube appeared and some steam was coming out after being stored for such a long period of time. When it rose up, there was something inside of it. The worker opens it up and gives it to Jimmy. It was a poke-ball with purple on top with blue stripes on it and with white on the bottom.

As Jimmy carefully examines the item, he asked. "Whoa! I've never seen this type of poke-ball like this, before."

"Oh, correction my dear follow. It's actually, a Master Ball."

"A…A Master Ball?" Jimmy gasped.

"That's right. I've received it in a parcel not too long ago after we've spotted a recent Pokémon sighting out here in this facility" he explained to Jimmy.

Jimmy narrowed his eyes. "What kind is it?"

He passes to him a drawing of the Pokémon that he has seen recently on a piece of paper. As Jimmy looks over to see what it looks like, his eyes widened in shock. He somehow has recognized that creature from last time, when he thwarted Attila and Hun's plan to capture it without a poke-ball. He was at a loss for words by staring at the picture of that same creature, while some sweat was formed on his forehead.

The salesperson glanced at Jimmy's expression and realized that he has already encountered this Pokémon. "I can see that you've already seen him. Well, with that Master Ball I gave you, you can catch it without fail."

"You mean…that I can catch him first-hand?"

He nodded his head in agreement.

By looking at the Master Ball that the worker had given to him, a huge smile loomed over his face. "This is great! With this, I'll be able to catch him in no time!"

"Oh, and one more thing, lad" the worker interrupted him.

"Yeah?"

"There's an event happening here in Violet City and if you haven't noticed that billboard from outside, it's being hosted by Marina herself."

"What? Marina is here?" cried Jimmy as he stood there in total shock, when he found out that his childhood friend is attending here.

"So, I see that you've heard of her. Are you her boyfriend?" he asked.

Jimmy's cheeks were tinted red, as he becomes very shy. "Me? No way! Besides, I haven't had the chance to tell her of how much I care about her."

"Once the time is right, you'll be able to confess to her eventually."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. And, I'll take this while I'm at it." With some words of encouragement and purchasing some water bottles, he leaves the Pokémon Mart with his prized possession. Later, he quenches down the water bottle for a good sip and closes the tap.

Than all of a sudden, he hears the bushes shook while some leaves on the trees were falling and several Pokémon were fleeing. As Jimmy looked back, he saw something in the wilderness. But when he gets in a little bit closer and going back into the forest, he gets knocked down by an unknown figure when it went passed him. After he recovered from his slight fall, he turned to see who or what had tackled him. As he did however, he was shocked to see who it its.

It was a large yellow creature with black stripes, a blue sharp-edged moustache, red eyes, a purple wig at the back of its head and a light-blue lightning tail at its backside.

The instant that Jimmy had confronted this being, he knew that it was fate that brought him here and the gift he had received.

The large Pokémon that attacked him, stood his ground and awaits his next move. It slowly moved one step back and later, it pounces right into Jimmy's path.

Jimmy panicked, but not before he pulled out the item that he acquired earlier. He takes it from out of his pocket, clicked it once until it was big and round and threw it at the Pokémon that was about to strike him by saying these words: "Master Ball, go!"

As it makes a direct contact on the creature's head, it moved back, opened its case and sealed him inside the ball. When that happened, the ball was closed and the struggle between capture and failure was on. It was shaking back and forth with the flashing red light blinking on and off.

Jimmy looked on in anticipation. After several minutes, the unthinkable has happened: As the ball had stopped shaking, the red light disappeared; indicating that it has now been caught. When Jimmy witnessed that the Master Ball had worked and captured its prey, he became very excited. As he picks it up, he held it up high and shouted his famous catchphrase. "You rock! You rule!" After he finished posing and also capturing a new Pokémon with the Master Ball, he clicks it once and placed it inside his pouch where he keeps the rest of his fabled Pokémon.

Back at Violet City however, an event is happening by a talented and soon-to-be idol trainer, Marina. She's showing off her dance routines to the audience for some helpful advice on their Pokémon.

Elsewhere at the back of the podium itself, two mysterious strangers dressed in business suits with black sunglasses are poised to move in and confront the individual that's performing on-stage.

"Can we get her, now?"

"Not yet. Once we see an opening, we'll move in and proceed with our plan."

While they're busy contemplating their next move, back outside the forest from across Violet City, Jimmy has made his way out when he caught a new Pokémon with the usage of a Master Ball.

He feels very excited after encountering and catching the same Pokémon from his last encounter with it. He sees a huge crowd that has surrounded the podium and it had made him very puzzled.

By the time he got there and moved in more closely, his jaw had immediately dropped and his eyes grew very big like the size of a golf ball. The young girl he's watching on-stage has wavy aqua blue hair, deep emerald green eyes, wearing a white thin jacket with light pink t-shirt, small white cap, gray and navy blue trunks, and white sneakers with light blue stripes and small white socks. She's also equipped with the same device that Jimmy is wearing; a new Poke-gear.

"Marina…" thought Jimmy as he stares at her amazing features.

After she finished her stunning performance, she bowed to the crowd and received a standing ovation.

At the backstage area from where the curtains are, the two people dressed in black have noticed the show's closing by the young girl. As they both nodded their heads together, they walked in and appeared on-stage.

The audience including Marina have detected them by the time her show had concluded and were all surprised, when the applause had immediately faded.

One of them extended their gratitude and gave their thoughts of Marina's performance.

"Greetings, Marina. You've put on a great show."

"Yes, it was. Your moves have really inspired us. Would you like us to help you in your tour?"

She answered in a shy tone. "Thanks but, I don't need any assistance. I'm capable of doing this on my own. You might as well find someone else for a change."

The agents in black weren't satisfied of her decline. The male agent had whispered into the female's ear about taking this the hard way by force.

"She won't respond. Do you think that we should…"

"Of course."

Jimmy was becoming very suspicious about them, as he raised his eyebrow and narrowed his blue eyes. "There's something odd about them. But, what?"

"Now, listen. As I've said before, I can handle this by myself. So, later." Just when Marina was about to make her exit, one of the agents in black grabbed her arm.

"We're not asking you, Marina."

"We're demanding."

Both the crowd and Jimmy gasped to see that the agents are threatening Marina, since she turned down the offer from them.

"What the? They're assaulting her! I have a hunch that those two aren't really agents at all!"

As Marina struggles to break free, she asked them. "Hey, let me go! I told you, the answer is 'no'! You're not really agents, are you?"

After a while, they've released her arm. That's when they've made their presence felt. By adjusting their black sunglasses, they both grinned.

"Well…aren't we impressed."

"Or so we thought."

By taking off their clothing, they revealed their true identities. They're now wearing black clothing with an 'R' symbol on their suits. Somehow, Jimmy has seen that symbol from before and found out of who they really are.

"Team Rocket! Damn it! I've got to do something!"

"Now that you know who we truly are, we'll be gladly taking you for the ride!" says Butch.

"And to top it off, you'll be getting a front row seat!" added Cassidy.

"Forget it! I'm not going! You can take your request and shove it right down your throat!" replied Marina, as she back away from them.

Butch and Cassidy grunted with displeasure. So, they both took out their poke-balls and threw out their Pokémon.

"Then, you leave us with no choice! Go, Mightyena!"

"Same with you, Sableye!"

As they threw out their poke-balls, out came a gray and black foxlike animal with red eyes while the other was a huge black dog with white horns, fangs and black eyes.

Marina became terrified that she's outnumbered by them and there wasn't anything that she could do, when she checked her belt. "Oh, no! I'm trapped! I wish I had my Pokémon here, but I left them back at my trailer."

"Tough luck for you, missy. Mightyena, use Hyper Beam!"

"Sableye, use Shadow Ball!"

With their combined strength, a medium sized-ball covered with black and purple outings with lightning was formed with Sableye. Later, Mightyena begins charging his attack from its mouth and then, they both fired their attacks on Marina.

She was left helpless against the combined duo of Team Rocket and their Pokémon. Believing that this could be her end, she covered her eyes and turned away. Suddenly, an unexpected flamethrower was launched from somewhere and it cancelled out their attack on her.

The members of Team Rocket were furious that somebody had interfered.

"Eh? What just happened?"

"Someone's here!"

"And you have just found him!" says a new voice.

Not only did they gasp, so did Marina.

"I…I know that voice!"

Along the way, she hears some footsteps approaching and has a Pokémon with him. It was a tall dark green and yellow creature with red eyes, flamed markings on its back and some razor-sharp claws and fangs. When she sees that certain someone, her eyes were widened and her mouth had dropped upon staring at the man who saved her.

"If you want to pick on her, you'll have to go through me first!"

"Jimmy!" she cried after learning that it was him who stopped them in their tracks.

"Curses! So, you're the one that got in our way!" thought Butch.

"We might as well leave, while we can. There's no point of fighting here" insisted Cassidy.

As they called back their Pokémon into the poke-balls, they immediately make a hasty retreat in order to avoid getting caught by the authorities.

With Team Rocket leaving the scene, Jimmy also calls his Typholsion back into its poke-ball. "Typholsion, return!" After that, he placed it inside his pockets with the rest of his trusty Pokémon. Seeing those two retreating, he wondered. "Those creeps! Just what's the big idea of taking her hostage, anyways?"

"Jimmy…"

Slowly but surely, he turned his head around to see his long-time childhood friend, Marina. Her eyes were shining brightly and made a warm smile on her face. He became very shy as a hint of redness had appeared on his cheeks and waved back to her.

She right away rushed to him and threw her arms around his neck. He felt surprised upon meeting her again after thwarting Team Rocket's plan to abduct her.

"H-Hey, nice to see you, Marina."

After she hugged him, she pressed forward with her statement. "I'm so happy that you're here. If it wasn't for you, I would've been taken away by them. Which reminds me, what would they need me for?"

"They're probably interested of using your talents by manipulating you and perhaps, draw out as many Pokémon that they can" he explained.

"What? How horrible" She then stared at the audience looking dumbfounded and perplexed by seeing her having a conversation with someone. She looked at him and whispered in his ear. "Hey, maybe we can talk about this someplace else, okay?"

"S-Sure."

Several minutes later after her live performance, Jimmy was inside a huge trailer with her as he became very amazed of what she has contained in her camper. There's a desk with a mirror and several make-up kits on it, some blue and white flowers in a vase with water, a few posters of herself on the wall and piles of her fan-mail were scattered all over the place.

He sweat dropped in view of the fact that Marina's popularity as an idol trainer has grown rapidly. "Looks like she's been awfully busy."

"Jimmy, it's been a long while since we last met. Isn't it?" she said with a smile.

"Yeah, I believe it is." He noticed something that Marina is carrying behind her back. "Huh? Hey, what are you holding, Marina?"

With a small giggle, she shows to him of what looks to be a huge booklet that has the same color as her hair. It was huge book with approximately one-hundred pages that made him pretty confused.

"Oh! Is this your…diary?"

Marina laughed. "No, silly. That's my scrapbook. It not only has my pictures, but it also five-hundred fifty signatures of my adoring fans."

Jimmy gasped. "What? Five hundred and fifty signatures?"

"I travel a lot. And, the more people I meet, the more signatures I get. Isn't that wonderful?" she finished her sentence with a striking pose.

For Jimmy, however, he became curious and asked her about a certain individual. "Would one of those signatures happen to have Lance's name on there?"

When she listened to his suspicions about the leader of the Elite Four, she frowned. "No, I'm afraid not."

He became relieved that she didn't get his full name signed on her scrapbook. "That's a relief. But, what would've happened if you did get his name? Would you ask him out?"

She became very upset that Jimmy is being rude on her about Lance. "Huh? Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Not sure of what to make of it, he stammered. "Well…I…he…"

She tapped her foot a few times, raised her eyebrow and awaits his answer. "I'm waiting."

He gulped his throat and replied. "Are you always interested with guys dressed with capes? It's so obvious that you like him more than me, because you don't see me wearing one."

Marina felt very shocked upon hearing those words coming from out of his mouth and dropped her scrapbook. It was half-opened in the middle. "You…You don't even know of how I feel about you? Why?"

Unable to answer, he was left clueless. "I…I don't know."

Knowing that he hasn't had the consideration of how much he cares about her, she made an unprecedented move on him: With a look of anger and sadness, she physically slaps him right across the face.

It was so hard that Jimmy had nearly lost his footing until he was able to stand firm. As he feels the small red mark that was formed on his cheek, he was left shaken. "What…What was that for, Marina?" Before he could get an answer from her, he noticed some tears were flowing down on her pretty face. When he was about to console her by placing his hand on her shoulder, she pulled it away from him and shouted.

"Don't touch me!"

"Marina, wait! Please let me explain."

"Shut up! Do me a favor and leave me alone!" After her harsh conversation with him, she ran inside her dressing room and slammed the door behind her. The star logo that had her name on it was shaking back and forth until it fell onto the floor.

As he picked up the logo where it had Marina's name and glanced at it, he could feel his heart sink. By making a few quiet footsteps, he placed his ear on the door at her dressing room and can still hear her crying hard. For some reason, he was ashamed for his actions and lets out of sigh of disbelief. He sat on the couch, picked up her scrapbook and placed it on his lap. After he flipped through so many pages that had numerous fan signatures, he witnessed that there's five pages remaining and were left completely blank. In order for him to make up an apology to her, he wrote down a special sentence on the blank piece of paper in the scrapbook. When he was done writing, he closes the scrapbook and puts it back on the desk. Regardless, he still feels sorry from earlier and so, he exits out of her camper and into the wilderness.

Hours have passed by and Marina was feeling batter. But after she left her dressing room by rubbing her eyes and stretching out her arms, she sees that Jimmy was nowhere in sight. She felt sad that she was mean to him relating to her liking towards Lance and her connection with Jimmy.

She then sees that her scrapbook is on her desk and completely closed. This made her curious as to why it was on there. By sitting down on the chair and moving up to the desk, she checks to see of what was written in there. As she did, she made a huge gasp when she read the sentence in her scrapbook. It said:

"Marina, I'm sorry for what I said to you. I didn't know what occurred me to lash you out like that. I never intended to be so hard on you, because I only wanted to tell you of how much I really care about you. Besides, it's come to my attention that ever since we were kids, I've seemingly grown very fond of you. In turn, my life would be meaningless without you and there's no one that's more unique then you are. Signed, Jimmy."

Having read the message that Jimmy had wrote in her scrapbook, Marina's heart was starting to beat faster and faster at every second. Her cheeks had a hint of redness on them. By taking a deep sigh of comfort, she could tell that Jimmy has shown an affection towards her.

Later, she turned off all the lights in her camper, plopped onto her bed and fell asleep. But little did she know, she forgot to close and lock the main door.

During the evening, two mysterious strangers quietly sneak inside the camper by opening the door slowly since Marina had left it unlocked. With every small step, they walked right into the dressing room, where Marina is resting. Sensing that this could be their big chance of getting their prey, one of them closes the door softly and locked it.

Marina's eyes were opened quick and when she got up, they instantly grabbed her and covered her mouth with a white cloth that had a small dosage of chloroform on it. The scent was so strong, she right away passed out and became very limp.

With a sick laugh, they exited out of the dressing room and placed the unconscious Marina into their black vehicle with an 'R' symbol on the side doors. Now that their plan had been pulled-off big time, they jetted the engine and headed back to their local hideout with Marina as their stowaway.

The next day, Jimmy walked back to Marina's camper after staying overnight at the Pokémon Center. Before he returned, he had a conversation with Nurse Joy about his recent chat with Marina.

(Flashback)

Nurse Joy: "Is there something wrong?"

Jimmy: "Yes, it is. I got into an argument with Marina."

Nurse Joy: "Oh? You and the Pokémon Idol? What happened?"

Jimmy: "When I told her that she prefers Lance over me, I became jealous. All because he has a cape and I don't. It got worse when she believes that I don't have any feelings towards her since we were kids, she slapped me. Yet, I was oblivious about it up until now."

Nurse Joy: "Once you resolve the situation with her, you'll be able to return them to her."

Jimmy: "I hope so."

Nurse Joy: "Listen, don't condemn yourself. Let your heart decide, when the time comes."

Jimmy: "Thanks, Nurse Joy. I'll remember that."

(End Flashback)

By the time he arrives to Marina's camper, he sees Officer Jenny with a notepad in her hands. Believing that something is very wrong, he runs to her and asked. "Excuse me, Officer Jenny, what happened here?"

"First off, would your name happen to be Jimmy?"

He nodded. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

She replied and gives him a small piece of paper. "This letter was found in Marina's camper last night and it's addressed to you."

He reads the paper out loud. "Jimmy, we've taken Marina hostage. If you ever want to see her again, meet us at the old abandon factory which is north from where you are. Just try and stop us! Signed, Team Rocket." Realizing that his best friend has been abducted by the same group from yesterday, Jimmy crumpled the paper. "That does it! They've gone too far! But, wait. How did they get in?"

Officer Jenny explained. "The front door was left opened and there was a struggle in Marina's dressing room."

He gasped in shock that it was opened throughout the whole night. "Marina, how come you didn't close the door? Was it because of my argument with you? Damn!"

Before he could settle his heated conflict with Team Rocket and rescue Marina, Officer Jenny warns him. "You better find her fast. There's no telling what they might do to her. Also, make sure that you take very good caution. Team Rocket can be very sneaky."

He nods his head in agreement and begins his search for Team Rocket's location and Marina as well. "Wait for me, Marina. I'm coming for you!"

Back at the old abandoned factory where it uses to process supplies, Butch and Cassidy are now holding Marina as their prisoner.

The young idol trainer was out-cold for a while until she manages to open her eyes. She feels that she can't move her hands and feet. They've been tied tightly with a thick rope and she's also inside a small cage.

"Huh? Where am I? Hey! Why can't I move?"

"This is where you'll set the stage for us" told Butch.

"And once that happens, we'll get every Pokémon that we can" added Cassidy.

Marina knew that they're going to use her for their scheme of capturing Pokémon, when she glanced at their uniforms. "No! I will not do it! Just walk on your own two feet!"

"Why, you little…" Just as the duo were about to teach Marina a serious lesson, one Grunt member of Team Rocket had interrupted them.

"Sir! Ma'am! I've detected an intruder from outside!" he said.

Cassidy made a command to him. "An intruder? Show it to us now!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

As he turned on some of the switches, the viewing screen had lit up and it shows a young Pokémon trainer running towards their base.

The infamous pair had bumped into him before, when he interfered in their plan of kidnapping Marina. Their first attempt was foiled but in their second try, it proved to be the difference maker.

"It's that wretched kid, again!" yelled Butch.

"And in good timing" grinned Cassidy, as she places her hand on the pedal of a special stick and thrusts it down.

Back to where Jimmy was, still running down the field searching for Team Rocket's hideaway and Marina. After nearly an hour, he stumbled upon an old warehouse building that has many rusted spots on the wall and a few cracked windows. As he observed the place, he figured that this is the place where Marina is being held.

"This must be it! When I get in there, I'll stop Team Rocket and bring Marina back in one piece."

But as he was busy dealing with the search and rescue mission, he hadn't accounted the hidden trap door that was underneath him.

When he tried to move, he felt nothing and as he looked down, the chute was opened whole and he fell in. But not until he had this to say: "Uh-oh!"

By falling down, he was on a metal structure slide and was zooming across it while screaming in fear. For approximately two minutes, the thrill ride had ended when a bright hole had appeared at the end. As he came right through, he crashed onto the floor. Despite having a rough landing from the trap door he came from, he stood himself up and opened his eyes.

As he did, he gasped in astonishment. Standing a few feet away from him are Team Rocket members, Butch and Cassidy. With his fists clenched and grinding his teeth, he asks them to know where his best friend is.

"Okay, you two! Where's Marina?"

"Right here" told Butch, as both he and Cassidy moved away to show Jimmy their captured prey: Marina. Trapped inside a small cage with her hands and feet tied up with a thick rope.

"Marina!"

"Jimmy! Please help me!" she said, struggling to untie herself from the thick ropes but was unsuccessful.

"Be quiet, you twerp!" Butch kicked the cage so hard, it made Marina fall on her back.

"Stop that! You're hurting her! Let's just settle this once and for all in a Pokémon duel!" Jimmy insisted to them.

"I couldn't agree more. Take charge, Granbull!" says Cassidy, grinning as she throws out her Pokémon while followed by Butch.

"You too, Primeape!"

After they've thrown their Pokémon out from their poke-balls and onto the battlefield, Jimmy quickly handpicks his Pokémon. "Okay, then. Go, Beedrill and you too, Typholsion!"

Both combatants are poised for battle after exiting out of their Poke-Balls.

"Is that your best?"

"Your Pokémon are nothing compared to us!"

Despite their harsh remarks on his Beedrill and Typholsion, Jimmy keeps his focus intact. "Dream on! Beedrill, use Agility! You too, Typholsion!"

Hearing its command from the trainer, they both zoom into battle against Granbull and Primeape.

As the duo looks on the see their opponent's Pokémon closing in, they've also made their move with their Pokémon.

"Granbull, use Fire Fang!"

"Primeape, attack with Dynamic Punch!"

Both the ferocious Granbull and the raging Primeape have acknowledged the response from their trainers and use their attacks on Beedrill and Typholsion. But due to the quick speed of Beedrill and Typholsion, they've missed their targets.

This gave Jimmy to counter-attack. "Now, Beedrill! Use Fury Attack on Granbull and Primeape! Typholsion, finish it with Flame Wheel!"

Beedrill unleashes its power on Granbull three times, while Typholsion summoned a spiral of flames that surrounds his body, went up in the air and landed straight on both Granbull and Primeape. This resulted of both of them being knocked out.

Marina cheered on, while inside the cage. "Way to go, Jimmy!"

Butch and Cassidy were steaming mad that Jimmy was able to outmaneuver them.

"I don't believe this! Primeape, return!"

"Granbull, return!"

By rubbing his nose and with a smile on his face, Jimmy was enjoying himself in this heated match-up. As for Team Rocket, however, they became very unpleasant in their efforts that their first lead of victory was denied.

"It looks like that we've underestimated him. Time to use brute force! Take him down, Sableye!"

"Let's do this, Mightyena!"

By tossing their poke-balls onto the ground, out came the two similar creatures that almost assaulted Marina the other day. Jimmy recalled the event that transpired during Marina's spectacle. So, this is his chance for some payback.

"Okay, Typholsion. Use Quick Attack on Sableye!"

With a huge growl, the fiery creature quickly sprang into action and pounced right onto Sableye with its head.

Cassidy countered. "That jerk! Sableye, counterattack with Focus Punch on Typholsion!"

Butch soon followed. "Mightyena, use Hyper Beam on Beedrill!"

Both Mightyena and Sableye fired their attacks and with their unified strength, they've managed to knock both Typholsion and Beedrill down to the pavement. But not for very long.

"Hang in there, you two! Typholsion, fight back with Flamethrower on Mightyena! Beedrill, use Twin Needle on Sableye!" called Jimmy to both of his Pokémon.

As both Pokémon fired their special attacks, they've both made direct hits on their opponents. Typholsion had enough power to overwhelm Mightyena, where it was rendered defeat. Whereas Sableye, it was able to survive before Cassidy made her move.

"Sableye, relinquish that Beedrill with Fury Swipes!"

He fired his special attack onto Beedrill five times, where it suffered massive damage. Thus, Beedrill fainted as a result.

Jimmy gasped in bewilderment to see his Beedrill down and out. "Beedrill, return!" He called back his Pokémon into its Poke-ball. "You did well. So, take a rest."

Seeing that his Typholsion is all that remains, Butch calls out his next Pokémon. "Alright, then. Go get him, Aggron!" By throwing out his poke-ball onto the battleground, in comes a massive twin-horned creature.

"Huh? What is that?" wondered Jimmy, as he Poke-Dex for further details.

The Poke-Dex shows a picture of the Pokémon and spat out the details. "Aggron. The Iron Armor Pokémon. The evolved form of Lairon and the final evolution of Aron. While seeking iron for food, it digs tunnels by breaking through bedrock with its steel horns. It bears a dragon-like appearance with iron plates over its entire body, horns, and claws. Some say that it looks partially like a castle wall."

Jimmy gasped. "That doesn't sound too good."

Cassidy complains to Butch about the Pokémon he chose. "Are you crazy? Don't you know that Aggron is also a Steel-type Pokémon?"

He replied to her. "I'm aware of that! Besides, I have just the move to take out his Typholsion."

"And what might that be?" Jimmy asked.

Butch answered. "Simple. Aggron, use Water Pulse!"

Aggron forms his hands together as a blue ball appeared and by slamming it to the ground, it shoots out a large blue ball with aqua waves underneath and nails Typholsion.

However, much to everybody's surprise, Typholsion had survived the ordeal despite being very weak against water-type Pokémon.

"No way!" cried Marina.

"It's not possible! How can he withstood that?!" added Butch.

Jimmy explained. "That's because it refuses to give in and more importantly, I'm not giving up both this duel and Marina! She means everything to me."

Marina became touched of his thoughtful words. "Jimmy."

"You're fighting us for the sake of your girlfriend? Oh, please! We'll make sure that you won't accomplish that task so easily!" told Cassidy.

He replied back to her. "That's what you think! Typholsion, use Blaze on Aggron! Now!"

By heeding its call from him, its eyes turned light red as red-hot flames erupted from its back with sheer velocity. Then, it leapt up into the air, formed itself into an inferno ball and headed straight at Aggron.

Butch responds back to his Pokémon. "Aggron! Finish him off with Water Pulse!"

As it did from before, Aggron charges up his next attack and fires it at Typholsion.

Apparently, Typholsion's Blaze went right through the Water Pulse and blasts Aggron head-on with its last ounce of strength.

After the dust was cleared, Aggron was down due to being weak against fire-type attacks since it's also a steel-type.

"Why, you little..." Butch instantly cuts himself off, when noticed something wrong with Jimmy's Typholsion.

It started to breathe very heavily right after acquiring Blaze. A few seconds later, it collapsed onto the ground. Like Aggron, it too was also out.

"Typholsion!" gasped Jimmy, seeing his beloved starter Pokémon completely worn out. "I don't believe this. Return!" He calls him back into its poke-ball. "I'm really proud of you. You deserve a good rest."

As Marina looks on, she has detected Jimmy's behavior and realizes that something is up. "What's going on? If Typholsion was the only one left, how come he's not worried?"

Although Butch and Cassidy were mildly displeased, they were somewhat surprised of his efforts.

"For someone who's tough, you've certainly impressed us. But the road for you ends here! Go, Hitmontop!" Butch threw out his last Pokémon and out comes the spinning kick Pokémon known as Hitmontop.

"Time for you to feel the heat! Get him, Charizard!" Cassidy also threw her last Pokémon and it was the wing-flamed Pokémon, Charizard.

After they've thrown their Pokémon out on the field, Jimmy takes out his Master Ball. "Hang on, Marina. Just wait for me." By clicking it once, it expanded. "Here's goes nothing! Go, Master Ball!" As he threw out the Master Ball, it popped open to reveal his latest Pokémon.

When it was revealed to Team Rocket, they were in total shock to see what Pokémon he had caught.

"This…this can't be!" cried Cassidy.

"No way! Why, that's a Raikou!" added Butch.

Not only were they shocked to see Raikou, so was Marina. She too couldn't believe that Jimmy had caught a new Pokémon during his journey.

"J-Jimmy…"

"Raikou! Thunder attack, now!" he said, making a direct command to him.

Raikou turned his head and stared at his face for a brief moment. By going back, he uses his special Thunder move on both Hitmontop and Charizard. Enormous bolts of electricity were surging through Butch and Cassidy's Pokémon and were yelping in pain. As a result, they've both fainted from the massive impact.

However, Jimmy wasn't finished yet. "Now, use Zap Cannon!"

With its loud growl, Raikou charges its power by forming an electrical ball in-front and fires it right onto Team Rocket. They were screaming in sheer pain and were later blown up high into the air.

"This is just like from what happened to Jessie and James, when they kept on failing!"

"Who cares! At least, we didn't get caught. But all we know one thing…"

Like the other members of Team Rocket, they too shout out the familiar catchphrase every time their plans go up in smoke and later on, they disappeared into the sky. "That we're blasting off again!"

Now with them out of the picture, Jimmy has found a key on the floor that Team Rocket had dropped when Raikou had attacked. Right after he opened the cage and untied the ropes from Marina, she threw her arms around his neck and the two later embraced.

"Oh, Jimmy! You've saved me! Thank you!"

Upon feeling her warmth, a hint of pure redness appeared on his cheeks. "N-No problem, Marina. C'mon, let's get out of this joint. Raikou, return!" They right away leave the abandoned warehouse, where Team Rocket used to be at.

Back at Violet City once again, Jimmy and Marina are now inside of her private trailer with both windows and the doors completely locked.

By moving in closer, Jimmy threw his arms around Marina's lower back while she threw hers around his neck.

"Marina."

"Jimmy."

As they hugged each other, she remembered of what he had written in her scrapbook. "Say, Jimmy? About what you wrote in my scrapbook, is it true that you like me?" Her cheeks were slightly reddened.

All that he could do was laugh a little, when he sees her of being shy. So, he takes her by the hand and looked deep into her pure green eyes.

"To be honest Marina, I really do. In fact…" During his confession to her, he could feel his heart racing fast like a Rapidash. He then spat out these important words to her. "I love you, Marina. Very much."

By hearing those exact words, she became overjoyed as her eyes were filled with tears of greatness. "Oh, Jimmy! I-I-I love you, too!" She hugged him dearly.

At first, there was a brief silence between them. It had quickly changed, when Jimmy leaned over to Marina and pressed her lips against his. Marina moaned deeply, by feeling Jimmy's tongue traveling inside her mouth. As he breaks up the kiss with her, he escorts outside of her trailer to show her his newest Pokémon.

"Come on out, Raikou!"

As he tosses the Master Ball onto the ground, it opened up to show Raikou.

The yellow and black striped creature turned to Jimmy and stared at him with its red eyes. Then, without warning, he pounced right onto him and fell on-top of him.

"Jimmy!" cried Marina.

But when she begins to panic, it quickly altered when she viewed of what Raikou is actually doing to Jimmy.

He starts rubbing his head on Jimmy's face in a friendly manner as she becomes very awestruck that Raikou is acting different.

Jimmy was already giggling with joy, when Raikou begins to play with him in a pleasant mood. "Hey, cut it out, Raikou! That tickles! Okay, stop that!"

After a while, Raikou got off him and stepped back a few feet away. He later watched Jimmy reaching his hand out and later placing it on his head. He glares at his face carefully and that's when he hears him say something to him in loyalty. "Thank you, Raikou. I couldn't have saved Marina without your help. I'm in your debt."

With a small gasp and understanding his persona, it nods its head in gratitude.

"Raikou, return!" Jimmy calls him back inside the Master Ball and went back to Marina.

She couldn't believe that he has managed to catch the legendary Thunder Pokémon. "Jimmy, how were able to obtain him?"

He answered. "It was when I went inside the Pokémon Mart and the owner gave me the Master Ball. All due to the fact that Raikou was lurking around in this very area."

"And that's when you caught him?" she asked.

"Yup. I caught it without fail. If it weren't for Raikou..." he stopped at mid-sentence to see Marina's eyes glistening at him with a heart-warming smile. "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Jimmy." As she threw her arms around his neck once more, she continued while soft tears had appeared in her eyes. "It's just that...you've been inside my heart since we were kids. I could never replace someone as special like yourself."

"Thank you, Marina. Same to you." He throws his arms around her lower waist and replied. "And I love you."

"I love you too."

They lean to each other and pressed their lips once more in a heartfelt embrace under the bright sunny sky.