In the evening, Halley joyfully walked through the streets, excited to show his Pokémon a must-show place in his town. Sometime later, he stopped at a large square in the town's center, with a fountain in the middle that had a stone egg with thickly outlined shapes. There were countless market booths around it, already busy with numerous customers buying goods.

"We're here, Oddish!" He said, taking out his Oddish. The weed Pokémon looked around the place right after it came out of its ball, then turned to his partner.

"Odi?"

"Now, now..." He took Oddish in his arms and carried it. "We're gonna walk around here, and tell me if anything appeals to you."

"Odi!"

About half an hour later, Halley was carrying a plastic bag in his hand, stuffed with Pokémon foods. His backpack was also much heavier than before.

"Hope I can walk around with this..." He said, chuckling.

At the same time, Ash Ketchum also arrived at the marketplace. He was fascinated by just how many people were in the place, and how various kinds of goods they sold.

"This place is so big!" "Pi-ka!" He exclaimed, looking around the marketplace for fun. Anything he could imagine could be found there, such as the national dishes of the Terra region, various Zetta-Cores or Pokéballs, and so much more.

Some minutes later, when Ash felt peckish, he visited a churros truck in the town square where people were already standing in line. He could tell that this truck was a must-eat truck in this town. As he waited in the line, he noticed Halley walking past the truck.

"Oh, hey, Halley!" "Pikachu~!" He and Pikachu joyfully said, waving their hands to him.

"Huh? Uh... Yeah, hi?"

"What are you doing now?"

"Just buying some stuff?" Halley showed him his plastic bag.

"Oh, cool! Wanna try out the churros here too? It's my treat!"

"Huh? That?"

"Yeah, It won't take too long. Can you wait here for a minute?"

A few minutes later, Ash ordered three long churros and gave one to Halley.

"Thanks." "Odi!" Halley replied, with a faint smile on his face.

"You said you are the one to land a hit on Pikachu, right? Can you tell me how you did it?" Ash asked.

"Uh, so, Oddish can use Acid and Growth as of now. It would be impossible for Oddish to hit Pikachu directly, so I decided to use Growth to gather strength. Well, it's the only thing I could do, but using Growth increased the pressure of acid Oddish would shoot out. The more pressure it has, the faster it will fly. I also needed a flying Pokémon to reach Pikachu high up in the sky, so I requested Solare about that."

"You thought all that in, like, three minutes?" "Pika??"

"Uh, umm..." While Halley stuttered, his partner nodded instead of him, agreeing it was all Halley's plan. "Kind of? I didn't expect Solare to help me though, to be honest... She was quite reserved."

"Nah, that doesn't matter. The fact that you could think of that on your first day as a trainer is... Woah." "Pika, Pika!"

"Thanks, haha..." Halley smiled much more vividly than before, scratching his head.

"Solare... Yeah, she's quite reserved..." Ash said, changing the topic. "Though, she doesn't seem like a bad guy."

"Yeah, I know. She helped me out, after all. By the way, what brought you to this region?"

"About that? You know, being the strongest trainer in the world isn't my goal."

"Wait, really?"

"My goal is to be a Pokémon Master. It's like being friends with every single Pokémon there is, and that's why I've visited this region. To be friends with the Pokémons living here!"

"Mmm... And... Why are you challenging the league when you're the strongest trainer in the world already?"

"That's also related to what I've just mentioned. There's nothing greater than Pokémon Battles for meeting and bonding with new Pokémons!"

Halley silently nodded, encouraging Ash's goal.

"And Halley, do you have a goal?"

"Huh? ...no, not yet."

"Well, It's okay. It's your first day after all." Just as they chatted, they arrived at the fountain in the middle of the marketplace. "Hmm, what's this?" "Pika~?"

"That's the fountain of the jubilee. It's the landmark of this town, and it's known for the little Togepi egg on the top." Halley explained, pointing to the stone egg on the fountain.

"Why is there a Togepi egg up there?"

"It's related to a festival that annually takes place here."

"A festival?"

"It's called 'Festival of the Jubilee'. Have you heard about the Pokémon Togekiss?"

"Togekiss? Yeah, I know them."

"Togekisses have a habit of visiting peaceful places and giving the residents blessings. Marey Town is known for being the most peaceful place in the Terra region, and because of that, a Togekiss usually visits the back hill over there around this time of the year." Halley pointed to the back hill.

"Mmm... So, would we be able to see the Togekiss soon?"

"It would be kinda hard. I mean, anyone would be able to know that it's there by finding the Togepi eggs scattered around there, but only a small minority gets a chance to see the Togekiss itself."

"Hmm..."

"And while Togekiss resides there, a festival is taken in this town. People show their talent, compliment each other, and try not to make any unnecessary conflicts. The Togekiss gifts the town kindness and happiness in return."

"Hey, that's cool! So, when does the festival begin?"

"Hmm... I think in about a week."

"Guess I would have to stay here for a while then."

"It's a great festival, so good choice."

"Huh? Hey, Solare!" Ash waved his hand to the front, where Solare was passing by with Fletchling on her shoulder.

"Good evening." She replied with a straight face.

"What are you doing now?"

"Just passing by."

"Churros?" Ash asked, showing her one of his churros.

"I'm fine, thank you. I just tried that one." Solare refused.

"Oh... Okay."

Then, all of a sudden, something, most likely a Pokémon, grazed past Halley's hand that was holding the bag. "Huh?" His hand was open when he looked down at it, and the plastic bag was gone. "Wait, what?!"

"Look over there!" Ash pointed to the back side of the town, where Ninjask was flying to the back hill while holding the plastic bag in its arms.

"Ninjask?!"

"Fletchling, Peck!" Fletching flew out of Solare's shoulder swiftly and darted to the Ninja Pokémon, overtaking it and landing on top of it to slam it to the ground.

"Woah... now that's fast." "Pi..." Ash whispered.

"Faster than Ninjask?!"

Solare sprinted to Ninjask and Fletchling before the former could get away, and snatched away the bag from it.

"Here." She said, giving the bag to Halley.

"Yeah, thanks." Halley received back the plastic bag and looked at Ninjask, who was seemingly the one who fought against him some time ago. The ninja Pokémon powerlessly stretched its arms to him with desperate eyes, as if it was begging for help instead of trying to avenge him. Soon enough, Ninjask gradually closed its eyes and collapsed feebly to the floor. "What...?"

"Ninjask?" Ash ran out, concerned about the Pokémon's condition. "Are you okay?" "Pi-ka-chu?" There were no serious injuries found on its body, puzzling him even more. "That's... strange."

Just then, Jessie was passing by them, garmented in the products she had bought in the marketplace. Ash hadn't noticed her yet, but judging by the condition of the Pokémons here, she thought to get back to the hill again and prepare to leave the region.

"It didn't faint because of an injury... If that's so!" Ash turned to Halley, and asked "Halley, can you give that food to this guy? Just a little!"

Halley thought for a second and nodded. "Sorry, Oddish!" He took out a pack of Pokémon food and opened it, giving it to Ninjask.

Ninjask woke up some minutes later, and the first thing it did was finish the food Halley had given it. Then, it looked at the back hill again, like something was there.

"What's wrong, Ninjask?" "Pika~?"

"Ninjask!" Just then, Ninjask flew up and grabbed onto the food pack Halley was holding as if it was asking for permission this time. Halley nodded, letting go of the package for the ninja Pokémon to have it. Before flying to the back hill again, Ninjask looked back at the three trainers again, as if it was telling them to follow it.

----------------------------------------

In the meantime, Jessie ran in a hurry to where her comrades were, who were already about to leave with the bacteriophage device. The cube on the top of it was glowing intensely, and the legs had disappeared, making it look like a mace.

"I'm back. Now, let's go, hurry!" Jessie said.

"We were about to do that, now, hop on!" Meowth replied, getting on the balloon that was almost ready to fly.

"Now, Fletchling. Use Peck!" Just then, Solare flew to them while hanging on her Tiny Robin Pokémon's legs, letting go of it when she was close enough to the balloon and making Fletchling pop it.

"WHA-" Meowth gasped, baffled about their plan about to fail at its last stage.

"Now, who are you?" Solare asked, landing on the dry ground. The place around where Team Rocket was all dried up, the trees withered and the Pokémons were suffering from hunger. The device drained not only the energy from the ground but also from the Pokémons living in the habitat.

Taking off her garments to reveal her uniform and standing back to back with James, Jessie started. "P-Prepare for trouble..."

"And make it double!"

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"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth finished, poking its head out of the basket.

"Team Rocket..." Solare whispered, retreating her robin onto her shoulder. "So, what are you going to do now? You've got nothing to use to run away."

"Wait... She makes sense. What are we gonna do now?" James and Meowth also asked Jessie.

"Then we use... this!" Jessie tossed the Pokéball their boss had given to them as a last resort. However, when the ball opened and a blue plasma came out to take the shape of a Pokémon, Solare gradually stepped back in fear and Team Rocket's hope rose.

"Oh no..." She reacted.

"Oh yeah..." The trio whispered.

Meanwhile, Ash and Halley arrived at a place near them, both shocked at the trees withered up and the Pokémons starving. Ninjask was also there, feeding a round blue rodent leaning on a dead tree the Pokémon food Halley had given it. The mouse had a round spherical body, a zigzag-like black tail with a blue ball, round ears, and a white belly. Even as it was chewing on the food, its stomach grumbled from getting its energy drained by the bacteriophage.

"No way..." Halley whispered, his eyes widened.

"Who would even do this?" Ash added, approaching Ninjask and the mouse Pokémon. Just then, they heard a threatening roar nearby, most likely from a Pokémon.

When Ash and Halley darted to where the sound came from, Fletchling was battling against a blue quadrupedal draconic Pokémon, with a long, tapered tail, three flat fins on both sides of its head, and a pair of red crescent wings.

"Wait... That Pokémon!" "Pika?!" Ash and Pikachu gasped, realizing that Solare was in danger. Halley's Rotom Phone also jumped out of its user's pocket, scanning the draconic Pokémon.

"Salamence: Dragon Pokémon. Dragon/Flying Type. An unusual Pokémon that gained the ability to fly as it evolved because of its desperate desire to do so."

"A Salamence?! And wait..." Ash noticed that something was riding the Dragon Pokémon, and when he squinted to try to figure out what it was, he was even more shocked. "Team Rocket?!" "Pi-Pikachu?!"

"Team Rocket? What's that?" Halley asked.

"They're bad guys that try to capture Pokémons, including my Pikachu! Now, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pika-CHUU!!"

The next moment, Pikachu released its electricity to the Dragon Pokémon, trying to strike it down. Solare also took the chance and drained Fletchling into her Pokéball, leaving the battle up to Ash. However, it looked like the shock was not flowing through Salamence's body, but something that was on it.

Above the Salamence, the Team Rocket trio had their eyes closed shut in fear, but the electricity didn't reach them. When they opened their eyes, a cyan balloon-shaped Pokémon with a black tail that had eyes was standing in front of them, glowing its body in rainbow colors and receiving the damage instead of its comrades.

"Wobbuffet!" The trio cried out.

"Wo...bu..." The Pokémon groaned trying to deflect the attack, while Pikachu also strengthened its attack.

"Pi..."

The mysterious cyan Pokémon seemed to be winning in the tug-of-war, slowly moving forward while getting electrified by Pikachu.

"...FFET!"

Eventually, it reflected the electricity to Pikachu at double the power, but the mouse Pokémon dodged it perfectly. Halley's Rotom Phone scanned the cyan Pokémon this time.

"Wobbuffet: Patient Pokémon. Psychic Type. A passive Pokémon that will counter with extreme force when attacked."

"Long time no see, twerp!" Jessie greeted.

"Here to give us your Pikachu?" James added.

"Well, we're fine, because we have a mission to accomplish!" Meowth nagged Ash and Pikachu.

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet finished with a salute.

"Wh- What are we going to do?" Halley asked Ash, panicked.

"Then... Alright, that's it. I'm using it!" Ash exclaimed, taking out his Zetta-Zone device from his pocket. "Pikachu, let's do it!"

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and landed on the ground, facing its enemies. Ash tossed the device into the air, which stopped in midair and spun faster and faster. The blue gem in it glowed brighter and brighter as it did so.

"Let's fight with all our might! Zetta-Magic!" Ash's device stopped to envelop and release black energy, covering the area in seconds.

"What's going on?!" Jessie looked around, confused.

Some seconds later, four prismatic flames ignited in the distance with a crackle, making a square. Then, with a click, the night sky with a navy Milky Way showed up as if the lights were turned on inside a stage. The place where the flames were revealed itself to be a silver blue pyramid with four pedestals that supported the flames, and there was a gray planet with dozens of moons revolving around it, their orbits indicated with circles. The area around Ash was teleported into the Zetta-Zone as a floating island, with hundreds of smaller round blue stone platforms revolving under it. Below those was a thick, glistering blue fog covering the ground.

"Wh- What is this place?!" Meowth screamed in panic, trapped in a dimension where it didn't know where or how to escape.

"This is it, now they can't run away!" "Pikapika!" Ash and Pikachu confidently exclaimed. "Pikachu, Electroweb!"

"Pikapikapikapika..." Pikachu generated a yellow orb of electricity on its tail and started spinning. "Chuu-Pika!" Then, it tossed the orb to Salamence, expanding into a web of electricity as it flew.

"Salamence, Flamethrower!" Jessie commanded too, and Salamence breathed fire from its mouth to repel the Electroweb. The web eventually shattered before reaching it, revealing Pikachu who was about to land another attack using its tail.

"Now, Iron Tail!" Pikachu glowed its tail silver blue and swung it onto Salamence's head, but Wobbuffet jumped between them to receive the attack instead.

"Wo... bu..." Wobbuffet glowed its body red this time, and pushed back against the mouse Pokémon's Iron Tail, doing another tug-of-war against it.

"Chuu..." Pikachu was winning this time, with Wobbuffet gradually getting pushed behind. "Pi...KA!" With a shockwave, Wobbuffet was knocked back to its comrades, who were also trying their best not to fall off the Dragon Pokémon.

"Wobbuffet..." Spirals were in its eyes, indicating that it was unable to fight.

"How do you like that, Team Rocket?" Ash taunted. Then, he prepared another attack to send Team Rocket blasting off again. "Pikachu, Thunderbo-"

But all of a sudden, the background faded to white.

"Huh?" "Pika?"

"Wait... Did the Leader not tell you about this?" Solare asked as the background shattered to reveal the forest they used to be before activating the zone.

"What the?!"

"Zetta-Zones deactivate when you defeat any of your opponent's Pokémon!"

"Wait, for real?!" Ash gasped, turning to Solare in surprise.

"We're free! Now, let's get outta here!" Jessie exclaimed in joy, hugging James unintentionally.

"Yeah, finally, we have our mission accomplished!" James replied.

"Wait! Before we leave..." Meowth interrupted, gathering in a circle with its comrades.

"?"

"Jessie, James, we now have our mission complete, right?"

"Right," Jessie answered.

"The twerp's Pikachu must have taken some damage against Wobbuffet, correct?"

"Yeah." James nodded this time.

"So why not aim higher? Don't you think we'd be able to win against Pikachu right now, with this Salamence our boss had given us?"

"Perhaps...?" James pondered uncertainly.

"Wait, that makes sense. We used to always target Pikachu, right? So you think this would be the best chance to capture it?" Jessie asked back.

"Yeah, that's what I'm talking about." Meowth nodded.

"Do you agree with us, James?" Jessie asked again.

"Well... I'm convinced. Let's do it." James agreed.

After their conversation, the trio stood against Ash, Halley, and Solare, with a nasty smile on their face.

"Team Rocket! What are you up to now?" Ash asked with a serious expression.

"We changed our plan, twerps," Jessie announced. "Now, give us your Pikachu! Salamence, Flamethrower!"

"WHA- Pikachu, Quick Attack!" Pikachu glowed its body silver, moving at immense speed and dodging the Flamethrower.

"Salamence, do you have any other move you can use?" James asked. Salamence nodded in response, roaring at the sky all of a sudden.

The sun then started to shine brighter, making the temperature rise to the point that it felt like a hot summer day even though it was just an evening in spring. After that, it nodded to James, telling him that everything was ready.

"Now, use Flamethrower again!" Salamence breathed out fire again, but the flame was much larger and hotter than before. Halley and Solare got down in a hurry, feeling the sheer heat of the inferno Salamence created.

"Dodge it with Quick Attack again!" Pikachu once again evaded the attack by maneuvering at swift speed around the forest.

Oddish was right next to Halley, and it was shivering in fear from facing such a threatening being, covering its face with its leaves.

"Oddish..." Halley said, embracing the Weed Pokémon in his arms.

All of a sudden, Ninjask joined the battle and rammed Salamence's head at immense speed, distracting it from Pikachu.

"Ninjask!" Ash exclaimed in relief.

The Dragon Pokémon aimed for Ninjask this time, but it was interrupted by Fletchling before it could even breathe anything.

"Solare!"

"Watch out, Fletchling!" Just as Solare shouted out, the Tiny Robin was engulfed in flames in an instant. "FLETCHLING!" When Solare ran out to receive the falling Fletchling, its body was severely burnt, definitely unable to battle.

"No way..." Halley whispered, watching Fletchling get drained to its ball while lying flat on the ground. Even though he knew it was his first day as a Pokémon trainer, and therefore was the weakest he could ever be, the fact that reality doesn't always go easy on people like him frustrated him.

What could he do in such a situation?

What would happen if he took action right now?

Would he even survive?

Before Halley could finish thinking, Oddish was gone from his arms and was taking deep breaths while facing the bright sun.

"O- ODDISH!" Halley gasped, his eyes widened.

But when he looked at Oddish, despite being out in the sun for only a few seconds, its body was overflowing with energy.

"Huh? How? You were..." Halley looked up to the blazing sun and realized something. "Rotom, do you know what Oddish's ability is?"

"Let's see... It's Chlorophyll! Oddish becomes much faster while it's exposed to the bright sunlight like now!"

"Then why is Growth stronger than it's supposed to be?"

"Because Oddish is exposed to a stronger sunlight, duh!"

"Oh, then..." With an idea coming into his mind, Halley picked up Oddish and started running around Salamence. Ash, noticing Halley doing so, understood his plan immediately.

"Ninjask, Pikachu! Let's focus on distracting Salamence!" Ash suggested.

"Pika!"

"Ninjask!" Nodding, Ninjask generated dozens of clones around itself, surrounding Salamence and hindering its view. The clones then all started flying around, giving no room for the dragon to look outside the flock. And just as Salamence breathed in to use Flamethrower again, Pikachu jumped in front of its face and smirked.

"Pi~"

Then, the mouse Pokémon tossed a ball of electricity into the Dragon Pokémon's throat, electrifying an stunning it before it could even execute an attack.

"Uh oh." Team Rocket whispered as the electricity flowed into their body too, making them shake violently.

At the same time, among the clones of Ninjasks, the real Ninja Pokémon created a green glowing baton and passed it to Oddish, who received it by biting it with its mouth. The baton immediately shattered after that, the clones turning to Oddish in an instant.

"You can do it, Oddish! Deal as much damage as you can to that thing!" Halley encouraged, determined to win this battle.

"Odi..." Oddish and its clones gathered energy on their leaves and released a sticky green tentacle to Salamence, stopping it from moving.

"What on earth is this?!" Jessie screamed, shocked by the dozens of tentacles binding their dragon.

"Huh? What move is that?" Halley wondered, puzzled about Oddish executing a move he hadn't seen before.

"Let's see... It's Mega Drain!"

"Woah, your Oddish already learned a new move? That's quick!" Ash reacted. "Now, Pikachu! Use Thunderbolt!"

"Pi-ka..." In front of Salamence and Team Rocket, Pikachu charged electricity on its red cheeks. "CHUU!!" Then, it discharged the electricity to the villains, causing an explosion to occur and sending them blasting off.

"Uh oh, we're blasting off again...!" They cried out, flying far away and eventually disappearing out of sight. They left their bacteriophage on the ground as they flew away, which Ash picked up.

"Woah, woah!" Halley darted out to receive Oddish as its clones disappeared in an instant. The Weed Pokémon smiled as it landed on Halley's arms, proud of what it had done in the battle.

"Yeah, that's right, Oddish! You did a great job!"

At that moment, multiple female police officers in blue outfits and green hair arrived at the place.

"Good evening, kids. Are you okay?" One of the police officers asked, getting off her motorcycle. "We got a call that the Pokémons in the hills are starving! Do you know the cause?"

"Yeah, I'll explain," Ash explained to the officer everything he had seen on the hill, one by one.

"Why would they?"

"I'm not very sure, but I think it's related to this." He showed her the bacteriophage, the cube still intensely glowing.

"So, this contains their energy?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then. We'll take an inspection of this." Ash gave the officer the device. "Don't worry about the Pokémons. We'll take good care of them after housing them temporarily in the Pokémon Center, then release them back into the wild again once they're healthy enough. Regardless, thanks for fighting bravely against them!" The officer saluted.

"Thank you!" "Pika!" Ash saluted back with a smile. Just then, Ninjask went next to him and tapped on his shoulder. "Huh? What's wrong, Ninjask?"

"Ninjask!" The Ninja Pokémon cried, stretching out its arm.

"Oh," Ash stretched his fist in response, doing a fist bump with Ninjask. "Great job back then!"

"Pikapi, pi..." Pikachu pointed at Ash's backpack, understanding what Ninjask was trying to say.

"This?" Ash said, taking out a Pokéball from his bag. Ninjask nodded in response. "Oh, I see. If that's so!" Excited, Ash turned his cap backward and tossed the ball to the Ninja Pokémon. The ball opened up as it touched the cicada, draining it inside and closing again. After shaking a few times, the Pokéball made a clicking sound.

"I just caught a Ninjask!" Ash exclaimed, holding the Pokéball up high.

'Woah, really?" Halley asked curiously, approaching him.

"Yeah, to be honest, I didn't expect it to be this quick..." Ash scratched his head. "Though, where's Solare?"

"She left. Uh, some minutes ago. She hurried to the Pokémon Center after getting permission from the officer." Halley explained.

"Oh, I see."

Sometime later, Ash and Halley descended the hill, finally free from Team Rocket for now.

"Ash, how strong is Team Rocket to be exact?" Halley started.

"Team Rocket? I usually just blast them off, but... They aren't that weak. Also, that Salamence was strong."

"Usually?" Halley asked again, looking at Ash. "Do you mean you saw them multiple times?"

"A lot, to be honest."

"Ow... I feel bad for you."

"Not really. They unintentionally help me out sometimes."

"R-really?" Halley stuttered, baffled.

"Yeah... That doesn't mean they're good guys, though. Let's forget about what happened today. That would have been a frustrating experience for new trainers like you and Solare."

"I know, but... That doesn't mean they won't show up anymore." Turning to Ash, Halley requested: "So, Ash Ketchum. Can you train me?"

"Huh?" "Pika?"

"I know, I don't know what I want to do yet, but... I don't want to be a complete nobody when I or anyone I know is in danger!"

Ash and Pikachu looked at each other and smiled, then replied: "Got it, let's meet again on the back hill tomorrow morning!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, see you tomorrow! Bye!" "Pika-Pika!" Ash and Pikachu waved their hand as they reached the entrance of the hiking path, going a separate path from Halley's.

"Thank you!" "Odi!" Halley replied, waving his hand back. Oddish didn't have arms, so it used the tentacle created by Mega Drain to wave.

Some minutes later, Ash visited the Pokémon Center in the town. The first thing he noticed was Solare sitting in the waiting room, covering her face with her hands. Ash immediately realized what she was doing, so he decided to not touch her directly. Instead, he wrote a small letter on a Post-it note and stuck it behind the chair in front of her so that she could see it.

I'll be training Halley tomorrow on the hill.

Come join us if you want to!

Ash Ketchum

To Be Continued