PoKéMoN

Avenger by Ben Russell-Gough

Legal Disclaimer

Pokémon, the Pocket Monsters and their human friends and enemies are all the sole copyright and trademark property of Nintendo Entertainment. No breach of any copyright or legal property is intended.

Author's Notes

This is my first Pokémon fic. I don't know all the monsters or all the moves. I base my story purely on what I've seen of the cartoon. I thank all the other Pokémon writers on this board for providing plenty of inspiration.

Text in [squared-off brackets] indicates the translation of a Pokémon's language into English.

Text in Italics but not in quotes indicates thoughts.

Ages: Ash is 16, nearly 17; Misty is 18; Brock is 24; Tracey is 19; Jessie and James are both 23.

Book One – The Last Hope

Chapter 1 – Joy and Pain

Gary was good, Ash admitted to himself, but he realised that his old friend's bluster was not equal to his skill as a Pokémon trainer. "Gary, Gary! He's our man!" Gary's cheerleaders were shouting from the front row. "If he can't do it no one can!"

"Come on Ash!" Misty yelled. "Wipe the smirk off of his face!"

"The final round." The umpire called. "Both Trainers have only one Pokémon left able to fight." Ash tensed and, in a sudden whim, reversed the League Trainer cap he wore. He always used to do that as a kid, and if there was ever a time for old lucky charms, it was now.

"Do it, Gary," Ash shouted the length of the stadium. "Let's see what you've got!"

"Why so confident, Ash-boy?" Gary sneered in return. "And why haven't I seen your little electric mouse yet? I guess he got fed up hanging around with a loser like you." Gary put a hand behind his back and produced a red-and-white Pokéball. "Umbreon! I choose you!"

Gary tossed the small sphere to the centre of the arena. The ball split open and disgorged a flash of red light. The flash cleared to show the second-level evolution of the fox-like evolutionary Pokémon known as Umbreon. Gary sneered. "Make your play, twerp!"

Ash smiled. "Well you asked the question, 'buddy.' Pikachu, I choose you!" Pikachu, the cute yellow-and-red electric mouse bounded from behind Ash and took his place at the opposite side of the start circle, at the centre of the arena. The loud siren hooted, signalling the beginning of the round.

"Umbreon, use Faint Attack now!" Gary commanded.

"Breon, um-um," Umbreon growled in response. The rings of golden fur around the Pokémon's neck, tail and ankles began to glow brightly.

"Pikachu, use Agility!" Ash countered.

Umbreon fired a rippling wave of red-gold earth energy at Pikachu, or at least at the place Pikachu had been standing about a second before. The blast flashed against the safety shield in front of Ash. "Nice shot, Gary," Ash taunted. "Perfect, for fighting a Snorlax that is!"

"Dammit, Umbreon!" Gary yelled. "You've got to be faster than that! Back-pedal and use Growl!"

"Um-eon!"

Umbreon began to growl, and even Ash could feel the effects of the infrasonic component of the classic sonic-type attack. Pikachu's fast moves began to slow down as the sound caused the little electric mouse to suffer feelings of fear and uncertainty. Gary grinned, certain that victory was now something he could gain easily. "Okay, Umbreon, you're doing great!" Gary called. "Now use Hyper Beam!"

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted. "Look at me!" Pikachu looked at his best friend uncertainly, but when he did so, his gaze got firmer and more assured. "Okay! Dodge up!" Ash commanded.

[Eat my dust, red-eyes!] Pikachu cried excitedly, jumping vertically almost 20 feet into the air and dodging Umbreon's attack.

"Heck!" Gary shouted. "Uh… Okay, Umbreon, sit tight! Use Aurora Shield!" The matte-black fox complied, surrounding himself with a faintly glowing glassy blue force field of earth energy.

"Use Growl!" Ash countered. Pikachu landed on the centre mark of the starting circle and glared at Umbreon dangerously. He began to use his own version of Growl and the effects were dramatic. Umbreon dropped his force field and began to back away from the electric mouse, his posture one of fear and uncertainty.

"Use Pulse attack, now!" Ash called. He and Pikachu had practised this attack a few times, but Ash wasn't sure if it would work. Oh well, no time like the present.

"Pika…" Pikachu said. The lights of the stadium dimmed and there was a deep hum of electricity. Massive plasma arcs of megavolt electricity poured from the floodlights and the stadium fittings onto the still-airborne Pikachu.

"Use Aurora Shield again!" Gary pleaded with this Pokémon. Unfortunately, Umbreon was in no fit state to listen to his Trainer.

"Pika… CHU!" Ash closed his eyes just in time. There was a blinding blue-white flash as Pikachu unleashed every volt in his tiny body. Even through his closed eyes, Ash could see the bones in the hand he instinctively raised to protect his face. Ash felt rather than heard the massive thunderclap from Pikachu's attack.

Ash opened his eyes and blinked away the stars from in front of his eyes. Pikachu landed right on the centre mark of the arena and shook his head in exhaustion. Ash hoped that this new wonder-move had been enough, his little friend obviously didn't have a lot left in him. At the other side of the arena, Umbreon stood, completely encrusted in a thick layer of carbon dust. There was a quiet moment as an appalled Gary looked at his blackened and smouldering Pokémon. From his end, Ash could clearly smell burnt fur. "Don't just stand there, Umbreon," Gary finally yelled. "Use Quick Attack!"

"Um…" the other Pokémon muttered. "Um… breon…" Then Umbreon fell limply onto his side.

The head umpire ran over to the collapsed earth-type Pokémon and examined him quickly and efficiently. "Umbreon cannot continue," he announced over the stadium PA system. "Bout to Green Trainer Ketchum and Pikachu. Match to Green Trainer Ash Ketchum!"

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried, leaping into the air as the crowd at the Indigo Plateau Champions' League Stadium went berserk.

"Amazing!" one announcer yelled. "I've never seen any attack like that before. Ketchum's Pikachu fried Oak's Umbreon with one shot!"

"I think that this is the fastest Electric verses Earth victory I've ever seen," the other announcer enthused. "Oak's Umbreon couldn't lay a paw on that little Pikachu! Ash Ketchum wins the match and gets three points, moving him past Moira Douglas and making him the new League Supreme Champion! At 16 years old, he is the youngest ever Trainer to win the title!"

Misty cleared the low concrete barrier separating the audience from the fighting arena and ran towards Ash, who was running towards Pikachu. Pikachu leapt up and hugged his trainer excitedly. [We did it, Ash!].

"Yeah," Ash replied, half laughing, half-crying. "We did it buddy!"

"Ash!" Misty cried. Ash turned to face her just as she grabbed him and hugged him with bone-crushing strength. "Oh Ash, you've done it! I'm so proud!" She released her hold for a moment and planted a kiss right on her stunned friend's lips. Ash responded gladly, prompting a roar of approval from the crowds. When both realised what they were doing, they broke apart, blushing fiercely.

In the stands, Brock Slate, former Gym Leader and one of Ash's closest friends was cheering himself hoarse, while Ash's mother, Delilah, lacking anyone or anything else, was hugging Misty's little Togepi, while crying in joy.

[I'm happy too, Grandma] Togepi chirped.

Back out in the centre of the arena, Ash was refusing to release his hold around the waist of an embarrassed Misty. She tried to back off as old Sylvester Charter, the founder of the Pokémon league walked across the arena to join them. "Ash!" she hissed at him.

"You're the one who made this possible, Misty," Ash responded with a sly smile. "Don't think I'm gonna let you back out now!"

Charter was everyone's idea of a hippie. With a massive flowing beard down to his barrel-like waist, an amazingly bright Hawaiian shirt and a pair of dark glasses, he looked like a throwback to the 1960's. No one was forgetting, however, that this was the trainer who wrote the book on the old blue-, red- and yellow-type Pokémon and went undefeated for over 200 competitive matches. That record was one even Ash hesitated to hope to beat. "Congratulations, Ash," he said in a deep, warm voice. "When I first met you all those years before, I knew you were heading for the big time."

Ash managed not to blush at the compliment, but Misty averted her eyes in embarrassment. God, Ash thought. That is going a long time back. He turned slightly to look at Misty and gave her hand a squeeze. She had helped him fight off a deep black depression that long-past day when he crashed out of an all-comers challenge cup in the final knockout stage at the hands of Richie Yeager. "Thank you, sir," Ash finally managed to blurt out.

"Thank you, son," Charter said with a laugh. "Watching you fight is like watching someone make art. It's a pleasure I haven't seen in many a season up to now." Charter suddenly looked to Ash's right. "Say, what's up with your Pikachu?"

Ash turned and saw that Pikachu was fidgeting like his skin was too tight. "Pikachu, are you alright?"

[Feel odd…] Pikachu replied. Once before this chance had come to him. He had decided against it then, but now it had been too long and his experience was too great to prevent it any longer.

Suddenly the little Pokémon flashed, struck by lightning. Ash gasped and Misty cried out, partly in surprise and partly in fear. The Electric Mouse disappeared in a bright golden flare of energy. When it cleared, Pikachu was gone. In his place was a taller Pokémon with yellow stripes and a longer thunderbolt-tipped tail. It was a Raichu ('Electric Squirrel').

"Pikachu?" Misty asked in concern. To her right, Ash was beginning to grin in a very silly way.

[Once, yes, but now I've grown up] the Pokémon replied.

"Well done, Raichu!" Ash cried happily. He knelt and hugged the newly evolved Pokémon.

Raichu winked at Misty. [Hey, the skin may have changed, but I'm still me, Red!] he said in a firm voice. Misty laughed and joined Ash in hugging the electric squirrel.

Charter clapped his hand on both trainers' shoulders. "Well this is a time for double congratulations, I think," he announced. He then leant closer to Ash and continued in a sotto voice. "But we had better get on with the ceremony before the network decides to go to a advert break!"

Then the ceremony began. Ash was led up the stairwell to meet the other fifteen Pokémon Master Trainers and the mayor of Viridian City. The crowd cheered louder than ever when Ash was handed the league trophy, a golden Pokéball on a tall gold and crystal mounting. Ash raised the trophy in triumph as Raichu leapt over his shoulder, his long tail streaming behind him like a banner.

***

High over the Viridian Forest, about twenty miles to the west of the Pokémon stadium, a strange airship cruised through the skies. It's gas cell was shaped like the head of a Meowth, a feline Pokémon, and the rudders were painted with the capital letter 'R' in a bright scarlet hue. It was the symbol of Team Rocket.

Inside the car, the crew of two humans and one Pokémon were interrupted in their duties by the ringing of a video telephone. "Ring-ring! Ring-ring! Phone call! Phone call!" called out an irritatingly sunny electronic voice. James, a tall, but rather thin and mournful man with long black hair, rose from his seat and walked over to the 'phone.

"Hello, Team Rocket, James speaking. How may I help you?" James asked in his slightly nasal upper-class accent.

The video screen showed a man in silhouette, stroking a sleek Persian, another kind of feline Pokémon. "James you impossible idiot," Giovanni de Rocketti, the leader of Team Rocket snapped. "Who were you expecting to call on our secure video link?"

James winced and motioned with his head for Jessie and Meowth to join him in range of the 'phone's video camera. Jessie, a young woman with long red hair styled in an outrageous gravity-defying wave and Meowth, a small grey feline Pokémon with a bright golden charm on his forehead both reluctantly abandoned their seats to join James in his audience with 'The Boss.'

Giovanni leaned back and looked at his three field agents. Once, Jessie, James and Meowth were amongst his best agents. No one had matched their record of successful Pokémon thefts and suborning of Pokémon Gyms to the cause of Team Rocket. Then, one day six years ago, they tried to raid a Pokémon Centre in Viridian City where, by a coincidence, a young Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower were seeing to the care of one of their Pokémon. The raid turned into a fiasco and the three agents' luck had never recovered.

"Well," Giovanni said, after watching his hapless agents squirm for a minute or so. "Since you three incompetents have proven utterly incapable of stealing one miserable Pikachu from one lone trainer, you will be glad to learn that I have assigned this difficult assignment to another team."

James tried to hide his relief. Their repeated conflicts with Ash, Misty and the rest of what he and Jessie referred to as the 'twerps' had taken on the characteristics of a recurring nightmare. Still, James had his professional pride and he couldn't just let the case drop. "Er, if you don't mind, Boss," he asked timidly, "who are you assigning to the mission in our place?"

If Giovanni thought the question impertinent or irrelevant, he gave no sign. The mysterious terrorist leader chuckled darkly. "I'm assigning it to Butch and Cassidy," he said with laughter in his voice. "I think those two have the right touch to deal with such a… delicate matter."

"Butch and Cassidy?" Meowth cried in amazement. "Boss, you can't be serious! Dey are a pair of cheap killers! Dey never leave a trainer behind alive!" Meowth yelped in pain as Jessie slapped him across the back of the head and put her finger to her mouth behind her hand.

"Perhaps, Meowth," Giovanni commented darkly, "that is what it will take to complete this mission." Giovanni turned slightly to look at his LCD computer display. "In any case, the matter of Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu is no longer your concern. I want you to get yourselves to Indigo Plateau. The last meeting of this season's Pokémon League is taking place at the stadium there. I want you to break in during the closing ceremony and steal every Pokémon you can get your fingers on." Giovanni looked up at his three agents. "Do you think you can handle a simple sneak theft?"

"Yes sir!" the three villains replied with a smart salute. Giovanni grunted sceptically and cut the communications link.

After a moment, James walked over to the pilot's chair. With practised movements, he programmed the autopilot to set course for a landing stage hidden in the forest near the Champions' League Stadium. "We're on the way," he finally announced. "Now let's talk about how we are going to get in and out undetected."

"Good idea," Jessie replied. James raised an eyebrow as he heard the distinctive 'twang' of a Viridian City accent in his partner's voice. She normally didn't let that into her cultured elocution unless she was under stress.

"Meowth! Want to talk about it, Jessie?" Meowth asked in a sly tone.

Jessie affected disgust. "What is to talk about?" She asked. "I think that a tunnel is the best option."

"Yeah," said Meowth. "Da old ways are always the best. Dat's why I think dat Da Boss has made da wrong call this time. Butch and Cassidy are too brutal. Dey are more likely to kill dat Pikachu than steal him."

"That isn't our concern," James snapped. "We should trust the Boss's decisions. Still," he added thoughtfully, "Ash has beaten them several times before. He might stop them before they do too much damage."

"What if they are unlucky?" Jessie whispered. "I don't think I could stand it if anyone were permanently injured because we failed."

"Jessie," Meowth hissed angrily. "The Twerps had their chance to play it nice. Whatever that happens from now is their own fault."

"Yes, of course you're right," Jessie said firmly. Although all three Rockets were in apparent agreement, there was still a deep, depressed silence filling the car of the Team Rocket airship as it growled its way towards Indigo Plateau. How is it, James asked himself, that we find ourselves worrying about the safety of our worst enemies? Perhaps it is because it is the closest thing that we are likely to get, in this life anyway, to close friends.

***

By now, the party in the stadium was in full swing. Ash found himself carried around the arena on the shoulders of several cheering Trainers. These included, much to his surprise, Gary Oak. When he finally got off the impromptu victory lap, he managed to work his way over to Misty, who didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Misty was playing with her long ginger ponytail, which normally hung behind her. "Well, Ash, you've reached the top," she announced, deciding that their usual acerbic conversation was the easiest tack to take. "You know what they say: 'The only way is down.'"

Ash chuckled. "Not for me. I still have to make 'Master Trainer,' remember?

"Yeah I remember," she admitted. "Damn, but when did that bratty obnoxious kid I met so long ago become such a great trainer?" she asked with a proud smile. With a saucy wink, she added "and such a great guy too?"

"Hey, you've always known it, Misty," Ash countered. A little high on enthusiasm and feeling better tonight than he had for a long time, Ash suddenly found himself taken by a very strange compulsion. A part of him that made him a superb strategist took the compulsion, examined it from every angle for flaws and instantly reported: Go for it. He grabbed Misty swept her backwards off her feet and planted a passionate kiss on her lips. Misty ineffectually thumped his back a few times before submitting to the kiss, grabbing the back of Ash's head to hold him in place. This kiss quickly became very hot and very long.

Wolf whistles echoed around the stadium. Brock looked around at the grinning faces and decided that he should take the line of least damage. He tapped Ash on the shoulder. "Don't you think you should come up for air, Ash?" he asked pleasantly. Ash was still young enough to blush. Misty smiled up at him dreamily before regaining her usual mischievous composure.

Ash cleared his throat nervously and, accompanied by a suddenly very giggly Misty walked out of the stadium to meet the cheering fans outside. "Why the sudden support?" Ash asked Misty out of the corner of the mouth.

"Hey," Misty said with a twinkle in her eye. "You are the one who wants the whole world to think that I'm your girlfriend. Now I've got to play the part." Then she winked again. That made Ash blush even brighter red, something that Misty found inexplicably cute.

Now when did I start thinking of Misty as a woman instead of a buddy? Ash asked himself. It may have been that time when he was pushing through the brush to tell her to come back to camp as breakfast was ready. He pushed through the last thicket only to find Misty was taking a bath in the lake. She wasn't wearing anything at all except her Horsee water-type Pokémon, who was swimming around her slowly. Ash was very proud of the fact that, instead of standing there and drooling as he strongly suspected Brock or Tracey might have done, he immediately turned his back and went back to camp to report that Misty's breakfast needed to be kept warm for a while.

No, he decided, it had been a gradual thing. For six long years of his adolescence, Misty had been his closest companion. She was a fellow trainer, a travelling companion, an ally against Team Rocket and the many threats of the wide world. In time, the annoying girl who wouldn't leave him alone also became first a friend, a confidant and a big sister-type. Then she simply became Misty: someone he could no longer imagine being without.

Ash shook his head and returned to the here-and-now. With the beautiful ginger-haired girl at this side, he walked through the crowds, shaking hands, signing autographs and offering the odd tip to young would-be trainers among the crowds.

***

Later that evening in the Trainer's Locker Room, a careful set of ears would have heard the unmistakable sound of digging. After a moment it stopped and a spark of flame appeared and cut a round incision in the floor. After a pause, the disc of concrete was slowly lifted out of the floor. After a moment, Meowth poked his head up out of the hole. "Meowth! We're in," said Meowth, a little too loudly.

A leather-gloved hand fastened itself around Meowth's mouth. "Shh," Jessie whispered. "Not so loud, Meowth!"

"Sorry, Jessie," Meowth replied, a little more discreetly.

"Can you see anyone?" Jessie asked. Meowth scanned the locker room with his night vision eyes.

"Can we please hurry it up?" James asked in a plaintive tone. "It's just that I can't breathe down here."

"Shut up James," Jessie hissed. James rose out of the hole and squinted blindly into the darkness. Human vision was useless in such an environment. Fortunately, Meowth could see in almost-total darkness.

"Nope," Meowth announced. "We're in da clear, so lets clean out every Pokéball in dis place… Yeee-ow!" The lights suddenly flashed on, temporarily blinding him. As Jessie and James blinked furiously, trying to restore their vision, they heard a familiar and unwelcome mocking voice.

"Hello, guys. It's unusual for you to turn up without first announcing your presence using that incredibly dorky motto of yours."

"Shut up, Twerp," Jessie hissed, glaring at the indistinct blur that was the younger Pokémon trainer. "You could never understand the espirit de corps of Team Rocket."

"That's right, Jessie," Ash replied. "I can't and don't want to either. You guys used up all your credit with me when you tried to kidnap Misty all those years ago."

"Now come on, Ash," James protested. "You can't blame that on us! It was Butch and Cassidy! Besides, you know we only operate under… oof!" James said 'oof' because Jessie thumped him over the ear.

"Stop debating you idiot!" she howled. "Meowth, Scratch attack!" Meowth extended his claws and launched himself at Ash.

"Graveler!" roared a voice and Meowth was knocked back into a surprised Jessie's arms.

James' vision cleared and he saw Brock Stone, accompanied by his Graveler fighting rock Pokémon. Misty moved from behind Ash, with Psyduck waddling along at her feet. [You are in for it now,] The little psi Pokémon predicted with a wince. Speaking always exacerbated his always-chronic headache.

[That goes double for me,"] Raichu added from his place on Ash's shoulders.

"Jessie," James hissed. "I think we should back out. We are a little outgunned here!"

"Never!" Jessie cried, her pride overcoming her tactical caution. "Team Rocket never surrenders!" She reached for a Pokéball attached to the back of her belt. James gritted his teeth and did so also. Meowth launched himself forward again.

"Psyduck, Kinesis!"

"Raichu, stun shock!"

An invisible wall of force knocked Meowth back just as a 1,000-volt burst of electricity shorted out the voluntary nerve endings of all three Rockets. Jessie and James dropped Arbok's and Victreebell's Pokéballs and all three of them fell back into their tunnel. For several long seconds, all they could do was lie there and twitch helplessly as the electrical burns on Jessie and James' black and white uniforms smouldered.

Ash leaned over the three stunned would-be terrorists. "Gee, you guys look so unhappy down there," he said with a sigh, his face reflecting mock sympathy. Then his face cleared and he smiled. "I tell you what, I'll give you some company!" Ash reached behind him and pulled out a Pokéball. The container unlocked and opened and a beam of light shot down between the three villains. What materialised looked like a beachball-sized Pokéball with eyes and a mouth. The creature smiled maliciously.

Jessie regained control of her voice. "Oh no," she cried. "Not an Electrode!" The three members of Team Rocket tried to stagger to their feet and get out of the tunnel.

"Electrode," the bomb Pokémon said. Electrode generated a powerful electrostatic discharge that created an explosion. The explosion blew out the back wall of the locker room and launched Team Rocket into the sky.

"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!" Jessie, James and Meowth cried as they disappeared into the heavens.

"Bye," Ash said without a hint of regret. He recalled Electrode and turned to his two fellow trainers. "Don't those guys ever give up?" he asked in a tired voice. Once, Team Rocket was a welcome diversion on a long trek and had even been allies of convenience against the most terrible of threats. Now, however, they were enemies, and Ash had no reason to show them any consideration anymore.

Flashback – 2 Years Before Present

Ash could still remember clearly the panic he felt as he charged through the woods, with Tracey's Scyther slicing his way through the under-brush for the two trainers.

For once, Ash did not even think of striking first using Pikachu's amazing electrical powers. When he entered that forest clearing and saw Misty tied to a tree, beaten and bruised, he simply went berserk. He threw himself forward. Before the two Team Rocket agents could react, Ash was among them; he threw a hard right hook that sent the powerfully built, dark haired man to the ground. The man tried to rise, reaching for a sub-machinegun slung under his arm. Ash did not even seem to notice. He brought his right foot crushingly down on the man's arm and punched blow after blow into his wide, cruel face.

"Hold it right there, Twerp!" shouted the other Rocket, a woman with long blond hair. Ash turned to see that she was holding a big gold-plated automatic pistol to a semi-conscious Misty's head. "Back away from Butch or I'll ventilate your bitch's head, I swear it!"

Ash snarled and backed away from the man, Butch. The man rose unsteadily. "Nice work, Cassidy," he smirked, and swung up his sub-machinegun. "You loose, jerk-off," he added.

Ash's expression did not change. "Pikachu: Thunderstrike," he said clearly, pointing at the surprised man.

"Pika-CHU!" Pikachu yelled from his place in a tree to the left. An enormous electrical discharge connected with the sub-machinegun and illuminated Butch's entire body. The Rocket squealed and began to thrash helplessly, dropping his gun in the process. Almost too soon for Ash's state of mind, the attack was over and Butch collapsed bonelessly.

"Butch!" the woman yelled. "You little bastard!" The woman froze in a moment of indecision. Should she carry out her threat to kill Misty, or attack Ash before he could finish her partner off? Her hesitation made it a moot point.

[You are a very bad lady] Togepi trilled from his place in Tracey's arms. The little egg Pokémon waved his flipper-like arms and generated a mace-like telekinetic force field, which he projected forward. It connected with Cassidy's temple and sent her down like a bag of potatoes.

Ash, still growling like a wounded animal, charged Cassidy. The woman was on her knees and brining up her pistol when Ash reached her. He grabbed her arm, twisted it back and thrust it hard against his knee. She shrieked in agony as the impact snapped both bones in her lower arm, one jagged edge bursting through her skin. Cassidy's hand opened nervelessly and she dropped the pistol, still crying out in pain.

"Poliwhirl-pol-pol!" hissed a new voice. Ash spun around to see a Poliwhirl water-type Pokémon threatening Tracey and Togepi. He could see the refracted glare of Poliwhirl's Hypnosis attack flaring out of the concentric circles on the squat, sneering Pokémon's belly.

"Step away from Cassidy," Butch ordered. "Or I'll have Poliwhirl tell your two friends to rip each other limb-from-limb." Ash drew in a deep breath and took a few steps back. Butch walked cautiously towards his fallen partner, keeping the tree Misty was tied to between him and Ash. When he reached her side, Butch picked up the sobbing Cassidy and led her as he backed carefully away. "Not a word, kid," Butch warned. "I'll be able to get your friends before you say a word to your little Electric Mouse."

Idiot, Ash thought. As if I would need to speak to get Pikachu to act. He had always had the ability to understand tactics and strategy. He knew what Butch was planning. He looked towards Pikachu, who was in the trees to the left, looked in Poliwhirl's direction and nodded. Pikachu nodded back and moved closer to Poliwhirl.

"There now, that wasn't so hard was it?" Butch snarled from among the trees. "Now. Poliwhirl, be so kind as to kill all of them."

Ash raised his hand and brought it down. "Pika-CHU!" Pikachu cried and delivered a Thunderbolt attack to the hypnotic Pokémon. Outraged at the attack, Poliwhirl turned to engage this new threat. Pikachu immediately dodged to the left, staying in the trees. By keeping moving, he could avoid Poliwhirl's most powerful weapon, his Hypnosis attack.

Another lightning bolt struck the Poliwhirl in the small of its back, sending it to the ground. "Poli-whirl-whirl-li!" It roared and jumped to its feet. Pikachu was already airborne, leaping over its head.

"Finish it Pikachu!" Ash yelled. "Thunder attack!"

Pikachu unleashed another powerful lightning bolt that tore into Poliwhirl as it gawked at the Electric Mouse's athletic dodges. So powerful was the attack that Poliwhirl's skeleton was visible, glowing under its skin. The evil Pokémon collapsed face down. There was a flash of red as Butch recalled his defeated Pokémon to its Pokéball.

Ash turned back to the retreating two Rockets. Butch tucked away the Pokéball and drew a long-barrelled revolver. "You'll die for that shit-head," Butch growled menacingly and fired.

Tracey, freed from Poliwhirl's influence, leapt forward and knocked Ash to the ground, the bullet whizzing over head. "Scyther, disarm him!" He shouted.

Scyther, from his hiding place in the bushes near Butch, simply reached out with one of his sword-like arms and punched right through the flesh of Butch's forearm. The Rocket howled in agony and dropped his gun. He virtually lifted Cassidy, who was still in shock, into his arms and carried her away into the woods, yelling threats over his shoulder as he crashed through the brush.

"Scyther, pursue!" Tracey shouted. "Bring them back…"

"No," Ash interrupted. "It's alright, Tracey. We're cheaply rid of them. Let them go." Ash shook his head and continued in a strangely muted and exhausted voice. "They'll tell the rest of their filthy kind what happened here and maybe they'll leave us alone for a while."

As Tracey recalled Scyther, Ash approached the limp form of Misty. Cassidy had implied that she was still alive. He kept that hope in mind as he touched her clammy face.

Misty raised her face, her expression filled with pain and confusion. "Ash…" she whispered. "You're here? You're alive?"

Ash restrained a cry of triumph. "I'm here Misty. They're gone."

"Oh god, Ash," Misty muttered, beginning to cry. "They told me that they had killed you… that no one would come and help me… they said…" Misty couldn't continue and her voice disintegrated into sobs.

Ash drew the long machete he bought during their trek through the tropical Orange Islands and hacked through the ropes binding her to the tree. He noted with rage the rope burn and the way her right arm was twisted, doubtless broken.

Ash lifted her to the ground as gently as he could. "Ash," she managed to gasp out. "They wanted to know where you hid your Pokéballs. I wouldn't tell them… They started hitting me, but I still wouldn't say… They threatened to rape me if I wouldn't tell them…" To their left, Tracey gasped in horrified amazement as he heard that last part.

Ash hugged Misty as she began to shudder with sobs again. "Shh, shh, Misty," he said. "You did it. You won, Misty, you beat them. Now they're gone," Ash continued in a fierce tone, "and I promise that no one will ever hurt you again."

[We'll deal with those mis-evolved monkeys,] Pikachu added, prompting a confused smile from Misty.

While Ash held her, soothing, her with words and caresses, Tracey arranged a splint on Misty's broken arm. Eventually, mercifully, Misty surrendered to sleep. Ash gathered her up in a blanket, took her in his arms and carried her away to safety, surrounded by his friends.

End Flashback

Ash shook his head as he tracked Team Rocket's departure angle and predicted that they would either land in the forest or in Lake Viridian. That moment had changed everything as far as Ash was concerned. Up to that point, he had been a happy-go-lucky sort. Even his occasional conflicts with Team Rocket were basically childish fun. However, this terrible experience had forced a certain emotional maturity upon him. He had been ready to kill to protect Misty. Therefore, he had a double reason to hate the terrorists. As well as their many crimes, they had cost him his innocence.

"Gone away in thought, Ash?" Misty asked playfully.

Ash turned to face the girl who had become a woman. "Bad old memories," he explained. "Don't worry about it Misty."

"Well I hope that you can get rid of that scowl," Misty continued in her usual forthright way. She reached out and smoothed Ash's furrowed brow. "We are supposed to be going to your Mom's hotel room for a celebratory party. I don't want people wondering who ran over your cat." Ash managed a slight smile. "See? That's better," Misty said in an approving tone.

"Actually," Ash said, "I'm rather worried about this damage." He gestured to the hole in the floor and the massive blast hole in the back wall. "I'll be lucky if I don't loose my title for this little trick."

Brock laughed. He had been very concerned at the incredibly bitter way Ash had dealt with Team Rocket. Something had happened during those four years he was not with his two younger friends and its effect on Ash was terrifying, to say the least. He was glad to see that Ash still had a little of his good-natured humour to hand. "Don't worry, Ash," Brock commented. "If I know Charter, he will laugh his head off when he hears about this."

Brock strode out of the Locker Room. Misty recalled Psyduck and turned to follow. Ash reached out and touched her shoulder. "Misty," he said. "Have I ever gotten around to telling you that… uh… that…" That I love you? "That I wouldn't be anything without you?"

Misty blushed a bright red and avoided Ash's piercing gaze. "I knew already, silly," she said gently. "Come on, I don't want you to be late for your own party."

***

After a short flight on Ash's Pidgeot, Misty's Dragonite and Brock's Aerodactyl, the three friends arrived in Viridian City. They then went to the Viridian Rose hotel, where Delilah was staying for the duration of the League Season.

Everyone, it seemed, was at the party. Not only was Ash's mother there, but also Professor Oak, his grandson (and Ash's greatest rival) Gary, and even Brock's father. Accompanying them were their friends and the friends of their friends. "Well," Ash said loudly as he walked through the door. "Everyone seems to be celebrating. What's the big occasion?"

There was a second of silence, then everyone began to cheer and sing 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.' Ash blushed deeply and devoutly wished for the ground to swallow him up. Misty clung to his arm and smiled in pride while Brock pushed him deeper into the congratulatory melee.

The evening went very well for Ash, who found a little poise and learnt to respond modestly to congratulations. Ash even found a kind word for Gary. His oldest friend might have an ego the size and inertia of a sleeping Snorlax, but he was still a friend. Ash apologised for frying his starter Pokémon and Gary allowed, with a wink, that he would not take it personally.

When Gary asked Misty if she was still hanging around with 'this loser,' she pulled herself very close to Ash and conformed herself to every bump in his body, much to Ash's satisfaction. "The way I see it, ego-boy," Misty purred in an almost-feline tone, "Ash isn't the loser." Gary did his landed Magicarp impersonation and walked off, scratching his head. "I can't understand why you even talk to that guy," Misty fumed.

"Gary might be proud, but he is a good man at heart," Ash insisted. "You always know where you stand with him." Ash smirked and gathered Misty even closer. "You on the other hand," he whispered into her ear, "are truly unpredictable. That makes my life very interesting." Ash smiled at Misty's embarrassed reaction and turned to speak with Tracey, who was trying to get his attention.

Some time in that night of glory, Ash noticed Professor Oak and his mother talking together. Professor Oak's expression and body posture were unreadable, and his Mother looked on the verge of tears. He was not surprised, then, when Gary approached him as the last of the guests departed. "My grandpa wants a word, Ash," Gary commented easily. "He told me that it was quote: 'none of your business what this is about, Gary,' unquote." Gary shrugged.

Ash chucked and punched Gary lightly on the arm. "Don't worry pal, you'll get some glory soon enough." Gary cocked his head and left the room with a pair of blonde babes that had materialised sometime during the night.

Ash excused himself from the remaining guests and checked that Misty was comfortably asleep with Togepi in the second bedroom. Raichu sat alongside her, silently watching for trouble. Ash smiled. The little electric Pokémon was as devoted to Misty as he was to Ash. In that, he was only mimicking the way Ash felt about her. Or possibly, it was Raichu's own preference. Misty had the ability to draw people to her with her kind soul.

Ash entered the main bedroom and found it brightly lit. Professor Oak stood in the centre of the room and his mother sat on a chair beside him. "Come in dear," his mother said. "Samuel and I have something to tell you."

Now this sounds bad, Ash thought nervously. He closed the door and stood opposite his mother and the man who, to all intents and purposes, had been his father for his whole conscious existence.

His mother pursed her lips and thought for a moment before speaking. "Do you remember before you left on your quest," she began, "that you asked me again who your father was and what had happened to him?" Ash nodded mutely. "I told you," his mother continued, "that I would tell you when you were a little older."

Delilah Ketchum looked up at Professor Oak and touched his hand for reassurance. Professor Oak took up from where she left off. "Ash," he said, "what you are about to hear will contain many dark secrets and many terrible truths. However, I ask you to remember that everything your mother and I have done was to protect you. We are telling you this now because we think you are ready, at last, to hear it."

Ash suppressed a shudder and directed his attention back to his mother. Delilah looked on the verge of tears. "Ash," she said. "Your father was… is a Pokémon trainer named Joseph Jonathan Oak. He was… is Samuel's younger brother."

Ash took a step back and sat down on a small stool by the room's dressing table. He had always had a feeling that the moment he heard the name there would be a flash of light and that the images and voices would stream back to him and that he would, at last, know his father. Nothing of the sort happened. All there was, was a name: Six syllables hanging in the air telling him nothing. "Who was he?" Ash finally whispered into the sudden reverent silence.

"He was the bravest, most naturally brilliant and most idealistic Pokémon Trainer that ever lived," Delilah said in a proud tone. "No one until you had ever qualified for the League so quickly or trained such a superb team of Pokémon." Delilah broke off, her voice becoming unsteady. To Ash's surprise, his mother was crying. Whatever the problem is, Ash decided, it must be really nasty! He braced himself for the worst.

"I was just a little girl, younger than Misty, when I first met your father, dear," Delilah continued when she regained control of her voice. "Joseph swept me off of my feet with his kindness and his hope for the future. He foresaw a time when Pokémon Trainers could be united, not in a sporting league, but as crusaders for justice and peace. He…" Delilah stopped and looked up at Oak. "I'm sorry Sam, could you?"

Oak nodded reluctantly. "Ash," he said, and then sighed. "Joe was always the idealistic one, lad. As long as I could remember he wanted to right the wrongs of the world. When he saw that he couldn't achieve his goals within the League, he formed his own breakaway group of trainers who were loyal to his hopes and dreams. They called themselves 'Team Rocket.'"

Ash nearly collapsed. He felt as if he had been struck in the stomach by a Hitmonchan's fist. Fighting back tears and accusations of lies he tried to form a response. "You…" he coughed. "You are saying that my father founded Team Rocket? How is that possible?"

"Haven't you ever heard their motto?" Delilah asked in a quiet voice. "I remember the first time Joseph told me it. He was so proud, he had never considered himself the lyrical type." Delilah closed her eyes and began to recite.

"To protect the world from devastation,

"To unite all people of our nation,

"To promote the joys of truth and love,

"To extend our reach to the stars above,

"Team Rocket: Blasting off at the speed of light."

Ash shook his head, still trying to come to terms with this revelation. His father: the founder of Team Rocket. There was something wrong with his mother's recitation, but he couldn't concentrate enough to figure it out. Then it hit him. "No, Mom," he murmured. "The third stanza is 'To denounce the lies of truth and love' and the motto ends 'Surrender or prepare to fight.'

Delilah shook her head. "Not when I first heard it," she said gently. "Your Father was a global hero, Ash. He dreamed of righting the wrongs of the world." Delilah shrugged and sighed. "What can I say? We fell in love and became lovers. Oh it was difficult. He was always off on some new crusade to some godforsaken part of this planet. Sometimes he wasn't in Pallet City for months at a time. If you check newspaper records from about 18 years ago, you will find a lot of mention of the exploits of Team Rocket. They were always off overthrowing some dictatorship or saving some poor helpless region of the world from natural disasters."

Ash shook his head as he tried to take in all of this. "These days Team Rocket is a byword for evil," he blurted. "What the hell happened?"

Professor Oak sighed. "Ash, your father felt the wrongs of the world so deeply. He cared so much for everyone that, eventually, the sheer futility of his struggle began to eat away at him. No matter how many dictators he overthrew, there were twenty more waiting in the wings to take up where the previous one left off. When Team Rocket made the desert bloom, there were bullies and industrialists waiting to cut down the forests and hoard the food. No man can face the evil in the human heart for as long as your father did without it affecting him. And eventually it did."

"By now we were married," Delilah continued. "I had insisted. Your father tried to talk me out of it. He had so many enemies and he was afraid they might hurt me in an attempt to hurt him, but I won through in the end." She impatiently wiped a tear from her eye. "It was the most beautiful day. The sun shone and your father was resplendent in his uniform. I thought it could never end."

"But it did," Ash predicted. He had a bad feeling, a very bad feeling indeed.

"Your father became increasingly aggressive in his missions," Oak explained. "By this time I had joined Team Rocket and often served alongside him. He was frequently loosing control of himself and causing terrible damage. He no longer freed people, but took charge of their governments. Peace, freedom and prosperity used to be his watchwords. Now he preached a sterile gospel of order. He decided that society itself was beyond salvation. He re-organised Team Rocket as a weapon to destroy society and re-create civilisation according to his formula."

Oak suddenly sat down on the bed. This part hurt him and Delilah more than he could say, but Ash deserved the full story. Much depended on the lad knowing the whole truth. "The final straw happened when he murdered a young woman who had been amongst his first allies," Oak said quietly. "She dared to disagree with his tactics and he accused her of being in league with his enemies."

Delilah drew in a breath before continuing. "I contacted him as soon as Samuel told me about this. I pleaded with him to visit me in Pallet City. I hoped…" she broke off and cleared her throat impatiently. "In many ways, I should have known that you father was already lost, Ash. However, I loved him. Samuel and I hoped that, between us, we might yet turn him back. When I saw him, I barely recognised him. His whole demeanour had changed Ash. When I first met your father, he was the kindest, most generous person you could ever hope to know. Now he looked around him with an arrogance and a disdain for all others that froze my heart."

"I spoke to him first," Samuel said. "I reminded him of his ideals and what he hoped Team Rocket would achieve. I accused him of betraying these ideals." Oak paused and closed his eyes for a moment before continuing. "He laughed, Ash. It was the bitterest angriest sound I have ever heard. He made no further reply, other than to tear the Team Rocket patch off of my jacket and throw it to the floor."

Ash found himself crying. He did not want to believe this. He could not believe it. Nonetheless, he knew it was true. "I saw your father next," Delilah continued. "He looked so strange with his hair slicked back and wearing that new Team Rocket uniform he had designed, that strange almost leisure suit-like paramilitary design with its big red 'R' on the front." She shook her head. "He hardly seemed to know me as we talked, or rather I spoke to him. I don't think he was really listening." Delilah paused and drew in a deep, shuddering breath. "I asked him, I begged him to stay in Pallet for a few more days. I hoped that if he spent some time away from his problems he would be able to re-assess the situation, maybe recover a little of his good nature. When I asked him to stay, he looked at me as if he did not even understand what I was saying. 'Stay?' he asked. 'Why should I do something like that?'"

To Ash's surprise, his mother, the woman who had been so strong all his life, began to cry helplessly at the recital of his father's final denial of their love. Numbly he walked over and began to stroke her hair and whisper words of comfort.

"That is when I told him," Delilah choked. "I told him that I was pregnant." She closed her eyes and sobbed for a few more moments before looking into her son's eyes. "He went insane, Ash. He began to scream and shout, throwing things about, accusing me of betraying him and of being in league with his enemies." She shook her head. "I don't think he could tell the difference between friend and enemy anymore. I tried to stop him, begged him to calm down." Her eyes were now supernaturally clear. Ash could tell that she was reliving that terrible final moment. "That is when he hit me. He knocked me down to the ground and began to kick me, screaming like a wounded animal."

Ash staggered back until he hit the back wall. Professor Oak took up where his distraught mother left off. "I heard your mother's scream and came in from through the connecting door from the other room," he explained. "I saw Joe attacking your mother and yelling like a madman. I didn't hesitate, but shoulder-charged him and knocked him back." Oak sighed. "Your father wiped the blood off of his lip and stared at me like I was some kind of monster. I shouted at him to get out. Striking a pregnant woman like that went against everything he ever told me he believed in. He laughed again and said 'Too right! Beating is too good for you two. I think it would be cleaner if I simply sterilised this entire area.' Then he called up his Charmeleon and ordered it to burn us both, to burn the entire building to the ground. I panicked, of course. Joe was a superb trainer and I didn't stand a chance against him in a one-on-one fight. I threw Voltorb right at Charmeleon and the explosion blew that big lizard right through the wall.

"Joe came at me waving a big gun," Oak continued. "He shot me in the arm at point blank range." Oak subconsciously flexed his arm, feeling that past pain all over again. "I was terrified. I called up the other Pokémon I always carried, my Scyther. Joe wasn't afraid of Scyther; he actually tried to fight. Scyther sliced his arm, forcing him to drop his gun, and then Joe jumped right at him. Scyther reacted instinctively and sliced Joe's face open from eyebrow to chin." Oak swallowed. "He screamed, Ash. I've never heard anything like that before or since. He screamed as if his soul were being ripped from his body. He staggered back blindly just as Charmeleon re-entered the room. I had to concentrate on helping Scyther defeat Charmeleon quickly before he could injure your mother. By the time it was over, Joe was gone, leaving behind a trail of blood." Oak shrugged. "I assume that he returned to Team Rocket's hidden fortress and took up where he left off. No one outside the innermost circles of the organisation ever saw him again."

"I don't remember any of this," Delilah almost whispered. "I regained consciousness in hospital. The doctor told me that I had been carrying twins, and that, because of the beating I had taken, I had almost miscarried. Although they had saved one child, you my son, they had lost the other one, a little girl."

Ash choked and tried to get his mind around this tale. "You… you are telling me that I had a twin sister? That my father killed her?" Ash shook his head. "How could you have done this to me?" he blurted, tears running down his cheeks. "All my life you have told me that my father was a good man who had died. Now you tell me that my father was some kind of monster that killed my own sister… Why?" By the end of his denial, Ash was crying and shouting. "Why did you let me create this image of a man that did not exist?"

"Oh Ash, darling," Delilah cried out. "Don't you realise that we were trying to protect you from him?"

Ash stopped dead at his mother's protest. "Protect me?" He gasped.

Professor Oak leapt into the breach. "No one ever saw my brother Joseph ever again, Ash. Team Rocket went underground and became effectively a terrorist organisation. They were lead by a man named Giovanni diRocketti." Oak laughed bitterly. "People assume that diRocketti murdered Joe and took over the organisation, but I knew the truth. My brother always had a strange sense of humour. 'Giovanni diRocketti' is Italian for 'Joseph of Rockets.' Soon after this, the bodies of the other founding members of Team Rocket were found in a mass grave on an small island in the Orange Islands." Oak drew a breath. "When we heard this, Ash, we knew that the good man who was your father was gone forever. Joseph Oak was dead, and he had become Giovanni diRocketti, a murderer and a monster. So what your mother and I told you was the truth, from a certain point of view."

Ash sagged to the ground. "From a certain point of view?" he whispered in disbelief. Delilah rose and knelt beside him, trying clumsily to comfort her son.

"What were we supposed to say?" Oak protested. "That your father was a terrorist and a madman? That he murdered your sister before she was even born? That he had killed every friend he ever had and was trying to conquer the world?" Oak sat in Delilah's vacated seat. "You know what a wild kid you were when you were younger. You would have rushed off to face him and gotten yourself destroyed or worse. We had to protect you from him."

"I still don't understand why you needed to protect me from him." Ash asked in surprise. "Why would you need to do that?"

Oak stood up and began to pace. "What I am about to tell you will never leave this room, Ash. Do you understand?" Ash nodded mutely. "Ash, your father had a gift. A strange, terrible and wonderful thing that no one had ever seen before. He could talk to all Pokémon. He could understand their languages and how they thought. He could instantly determine any species' strengths and weaknesses and design his strategy around it. He could also compartmentalise his thoughts, review his strategies and tactics in the field while simultaneously directing his followers and his Pokémon. It is these strange gifts that made him such a superb trainer." Oak looked up at Ash, his eyes clear and certain. "You have those gifts too, lad. I saw it when you played with my Scyther and Magneton as a child. I saw it in the arena during this season of the League. You have those gifts and they have made you a superb trainer, not only equal to your father, but far superior."

"Giovanni knew or guessed that my son would share his gifts," Delilah said bitterly. "There were several kidnap attempts when you were a child. When you went on your quest to become a trainer, he sent his minions to try to prevent you from achieving your goals. He knew that only one trainer could stand in the way of his plans. You, Ash Ketchum, his son."

Ash stood up with a shout of protest. "No!" he cried. "I will not be a part of this! I have not become a Pokémon trainer simply to fight a proxy war on your behalf against my own father! You can't ask me to do this." Ash, much to his frustration, was crying. He collapsed to the floor, back against the wall, his face buried against his legs, his arms wrapped around his head. Delilah hugged him hard.

As his mother tried to soothe him, Ash heard Professor Oak speak. They were hard words, he knew, but Ash also knew them to be the truth. "Ash, you cannot avoid this," he said in a sympathetic tone. "You must understand that you are our only hope. Besides, Giovanni knows about you. He has already tried to stop you becoming a full trainer. That plan failed, but he will have others. He knows that you are the only person who could possibly stop him. Believe me, Ash, that is not a state of affairs he will tolerate for long."

Delilah continued to stroke a sobbing Ash's hair as Professor Oak mercilessly spoke the words that ended the young man's existence as he knew it and closed forever the door on his childhood innocence. "Either you will go to him, or he will come to you. In the end, it does not matter. You will face and destroy Team Rocket. You will face your father. You will defeat your father and you will hold him accountable for his crimes. It is your destiny."

To be continued…

So, what do you think? Is it a star or a stinker? Should I continue or should I go back to Star Trek ;) Let me know at [email protected].