"Pikachu, Electro Ball!"

The mouse's tail crackled as lightning began to gather around the tip.

The battle with Paul just a few days prior had been yet another reminder that they needed to continue training, and although it had put the team out of commission for a couple of day, they immediately had a fire lit inside of them the moment that they had recovered, and Pikachu's was easily burning the brightest.

Although he had put up the biggest fight out of all three of them, he also seemed to take the loss the most harshly. Ash assumed that that was owed to how he and Elekid seemed to have made it their personal mission to upstage each other.

Letting out a determined cry, Pikachu hurled the now formed ball of electricity towards the nearest rock. Although not perfect, the orb was being held together a lot more notably than before, losing its shape as it sailed towards its target, but never breaking apart outright.

As the rock shattered from the impact, kicking up a cloud of dust, Emily, standing behind Ash, clapped her hands happily.

Rick had gone off to the route leading out of the city to battle some trainers for the day (planning to return later tonight) so Ash and Emily were training alone together today. Although Emily had vehemently accused the tall boy of ditching her, her face had practically turned into a tomato when he called out the time when she snuck off to train on her own without even telling him.

Ash hadn't spent as much one-on-one time with Emily as he had with Rick, but quickly found himself taking a liking to the cute red haired girl, who, after she had gotten over being shy, was a ray of sunshine that made it near impossible to not smile. Mostly because she was really funny when she wanted to be, which ensured the mood was always pleasant.

Her team got along with his fairly well, too. Her Growlithe being the standout example with how she was constantly challenging Pikachu to races. Her Tyrogue was somewhat distant, but friendly, while her Eevee, as Ash quickly realized, was a prankster who had made it her hobby to start messing with Nebula. Although the young Starly was initially annoyed by this, she eventually started having fun with it, and the two became friends in an odd sort of way.

"Whoa! He's really been making gains since he recovered." the girl's brown eyes observed the mouse as Nebula made her way over to him and delivered a complimenting chirp that had him slightly blushing and bashfully rubbing the back of his head.

Ash nodded happily, an excited look in his eyes. "Yeah, he should hopefully have the move battle-ready within the next couple of days. I doubt he's strong enough to manage a full power Thunderbolt yet, but the experience with controlling his electricity that he's been getting with Electro Ball will still be a really good start. We'll need that for the next Gym."

She blinked. "Oh yeah, you're going to Cerulean next, right?"

Ash nodded affirmatively. "Yup. I know that they specialize in water type Pokemon over there, which is why teaching Pikachu stronger electric attacks for his arsenal is so important. We spent the whole week leading up to our battle with Brock without really touching on his electricity, so we really need to make up for lost time."

She frowned, rubbing her arm subconsciously while suddenly finding her feet on the ground to be quite fascinating. "Yeah, this trainer stuff really is overwhelming, isn't it? So much multitasking…"

Ash flinched. She was definitely not wrong. There was so much to focus on at once while being a trainer. Yet another reason why rookies were so easily overwhelmed. How do you determine what to prioritize while still making sure that you don't fall behind in any of the other areas? Especially since trainers and Pokemon were still right in the middle of fully developing their own personal fighting styles in each of their respective beginner years.

"I'm still getting used to it myself." he admitted freely. "But I don't think it's ever going to be easy."

"You certainly make it look easy." she flashed him a sad grin. "Honestly, I'm kinda jealous."

Ignoring the tint of red in his cheeks from the surprise of somebody else being jealous of him of all people, Ash quickly tried to change the subject. "So, when do you think you'll be ready to challenge Brock again?"

The frown returned. "I'm… not too sure…" her voice trailed off for a brief moment. "After two beatdowns, I just…"

He looked at her sympathetically. He knew full well how disheartening it must be to lose like that. Especially twice in a row. No wonder she was so apprehensive about it.

Seeing his frown, she immediately perked up, doing her best to put on a smile. It seemed a bit forced, but she was cute enough to pull it off. "Oh! But don't worry! I'm totally gonna do it! Rick keeps urging me, and we really don't want all of your help to go to waste!"

He smiled back and raised his hands defensively. "Just take your time, okay? I'm not rushing you. And I'm sure you'll win whenever you decide to go back."

She grinned. "Thanks. I'll challenge him in a couple days, just give me a chance to regain my bearings, 'kay?" At his thumbs up, she looked off in the direction of the buildings. "So… you wanna go take a lunch break?" Looking back at him, she winked playfully as a glint of cheerfulness appeared in her eye. "We have all the food to ourselves, after Rick decided to be a jerk and ditched us."

"..." A few seconds after nodding, Ash took a leap of faith and tried his luck at banter.

Doing his best to put on a playful smirk, he said teasingly. "Didn't Rick say that you were the one who ditched him first?"

He was suddenly finding it quite fun to watch her face slowly but surely turn red as a tomato, first starting out as a light shade of pink, before gradually darkening, until it was suddenly impossible to distinguish her cheeks from Pikachu's own. This girl was a walking cartoon, and that just made her all the more endearing to talk with. Yet another reminder of how much he wished that he had met her and Rick sooner in his life.

She roughly slapped him on the back, but the embarrassed smile on her face told him that she was not angry.

"Not you too! Sh-sh-SHUT UP!"

It wasn't long after that before the two kids had burst into laughter, each placing a hand on each other's shoulder. Their Pokemon all watched them, curious but amused nonetheless.

Ash tried to remember he had been able to share a laugh like this with somebody his age. Since before Gary and the others had started rejecting him, no doubt.

Why was he so afraid of talking to other kids? Janine had worked out, Rick and Emily as well. The next time Ash wanted to talk to someone his age, he would.

He still wasn't completely comfortable about it, but he was at least willing to try now.

...Yeah, this was nice.

/

The day came and went as usual. Ash and Emily had parted ways in the late afternoon as Ash went off to visit Elacia. She would still be in Pewter for a little while, and he promised to visit her one last time before leaving. But for now, he just enjoyed her company at the moment.

Sipping her tea, the red haired breeder eyed him. "So, you've been spending some time with a couple of other kids, huh?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, they're really nice. I'm going to miss them after I leave."

"It's good for you, kid. You definitely look like the type who needs to socialize more, with the way that you were back when I first met you. Good to see you coming out of that shell of yours." Behind her, Slurpuff, Pikachu and Valiant were playing with a ball together, while Nebula was perched on Ash's shoulder. "So, what are they like, anyway?"

He grinned at that. "One of them is named Rick. He's really relaxed and nonchalant. Not much seems to bother him. He also has some pretty cool ideas for how he wants to train his Pokemon. He talked about having his Butterfree create a tornado of spores once she's experienced enough, and he's already thinking of ways that his Bellsprout can utilize his full moveset once he's fully evolved. He seems to think ahead a lot." he frowned. "He seems to struggle with short term planning, though. He has a hard time focusing on the current moment."

Elacia giggled. "Sounds like the exact opposite problem that most rookies have. So he heard about how you beat Brock and thought you could help him, then?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah. Emily was the one who had the idea, but he jumped on board pretty quickly. I've done what I can to help both of them, but our teams are so different. I can only really give… whatever advice that I can."

"Any help is good help." she waved it off. "Nice to see you giving pointers to others, though. It really shows just how much your hard work has paid off."

He blushed a bit. "You were part of the reason why I won in the first place."

She shrugged. "Maybe, but don't let that discredit you. You came up with most of the ideas, and I just added to them." After taking a sip of her tea, she eyed him again. "So, what about the other one? You said her name was Emily?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, Rick was the one that I spent time with the most, but I spent the whole day with her today. We get along great. She has a really strong team, and although she was really shy at first she opened up pretty fast. She's really funny and cute."

Elacia's eyes glinted a bit as she grinned at him teasingly. "Oh? Sounds like someone's got a crush."

Ash spit out his hot cocoa mid-sip, startling Nebula, and he felt his cheeks heating up at record times. "What? No! I've only known her for a little bit!" shaking his head a little bit, he gathered himself before continuing. "Plus, she and Rick are probably a lot closer anyway. They went to school together. They're actually traveling together too."

Elacia let out a chuckle as she waved her hand dismissively. "Relax kid! You really need to realize when you're being teased! I guess that's another part that's gonna need some work."

Ash frowned at that, but knew that she was right. This woman loved walking all over him for fun.

"Anyway," she said, standing up. "I hate to cut this short, but I actually have a short notice appointment at the Pewter City Church."

Ash blinked at that. The Church of Mew was the biggest religious organization in Indigo, especially Kanto. And since Pewter City was one of the most traditional cities, the populace was most often known for being very religious, giving the Church an especially significant prescence throughout the area.

"What for?" he asked curiously.

She grinned awkwardly. "Apparently they've taken in a couple of young Pokemon that they found injured on the road, but the Pokemon are foreign and they don't know much about them. So, they've asked me to come on in and give them advice on how to take care of them. Information on their habits, and what their diet usually is and such."

Ash grinned at that. Since such a skilled Pokemon breeder was currently staying in Pewter for the time being, it must have been pretty convenient for them.

"Well… good luck." he said encouragingly.

"Luck? Me? Don't need it, kid." As he rose up, she eyed him carefully again. "Listen… I'd like to give you something before you leave the city. I'm sure you'll like it. Just remember to stop by, okay?"

Ash was curious now. "What is it?"

She grinned teasingly. "It'll be a bigger surprise if you find out later."

He was a bit confused, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Okay." he said. "Looking forward to it." he wasn't sure what it was, but if it was meant to be a surprise he was sure that it would be good.

/

Ash, Rick, and Emily had all arrived on the training grounds bright and early this morning. Pikachu and Nebula rode on Ash's shoulders while Valiant walked by his side. The mouse and bird exchanged smiles as they made their way to the training grounds. The Ralts looked fairly enthusiastic about what the day will bring.

And Emily was pumped, having dragged Rick all of the way there, much to Ash's amusement.

"Alright, Rick! We're committing to this! Brock is going down in just two days! You hear me?!"

"Okay! Okay! Easy on the collar!"

Behind them, Rick's Sentret was snickering in amusement at the sight. Emily's Eevee was joining in as well.

As the group stopped at the training grounds, Ash turned to Nebula. "Okay, we almost have Aerial Ace down, so are you ready to get started?" She nodded at that. "Great!"

Nebula was close to mastering the powerful technique but still needed some fine tuning. In the meantime, Pikachu and Valiant each had practice of their own.

The boy's plan for Valiant was a new one. At the moment, Valiant was doing pretty good with all of his moves. So Ash wanted to teach him a new one. After doing some more research on what the young Ralts could learn, he perked up at one of them in particular. It should be easy enough for the young Ralts to get the hang of.

Meanwhile, Pikachu would still be working on Electro Ball. Ash was confident that the young mouse would master it sooner rather than later. And Pikachu seemed to agree.

As Pikachu and Nebula conversed, Ash approached Valiant.

The young Ralts perked up and smiled at him.

"Hey." said Ash. "I have an idea for a new move that you can learn." At Valiant's nod, Ash held up his Pokedex for him to see. "Here it is."

The Pokedex showed footage of a Gardevoir firing off a sparkling blast of pink light.

"Dazzling Gleam." Ash explained. "It's a strong move, so I'm not sure how long it'll take to use it to its full potential, but getting the basics down should be easy for you. And after Pikachu learns Thunderbolt, I might have him try to teach it to you in time for the next Gym Battle. Again, it'll probably just be the basics, but this way Magical Leaf won't be your only big tool against the Water Type Pokemon." Ash lowered the Pokedex. "But that's for later. For now, Dazzling Gleam will be a good goal to work towards. Do you want to get started today?" At the Feeling Pokemon's nod, the boy grinned. "Great! I'll be working with you and Nebula while Pikachu practices on his own. He just needs to fine tune what he already has. Nebula too, but I might try to get some practice with Reckless in with possible."

Speaking of abilities like Reckless, Ash realized that he also needed to try to work on Valiant's Telepathy, in order to gain a better understanding of it. That could happen another day, but for now, he wanted the young Ralts to get a head start on his next set of offensive Moves.

/

Valiant put his hands together as he began to gather fairy type energy. By applying what he already knew in regards to fairy type moves, it should be easier than normal, especially since Pokemon traditionally had an easier time learning moves of their own type. Although, it wasn't quite the same as jumping from Thunder Shock to Thunderbolt, and Valiant still wasn't as experienced with fairy type moves as Pikachu was with electricity, so it would still be more difficult overall.

As the boy watched Valiant work, he turned to Nebula. "Alright, are you ready to get started too?"

Nebula's response was to take off into the air, body beginning to cocoon in white light as she sailed into the sky.

Aerial Ace was a great move that allowed the user to attack with a powerful charge through the air, moving at extra high speeds while zeroing in on their opponent. It was difficult to control while learning it, but once mastered, or at least gotten the hang of, it would be great for accurate flight, and even allowed the non-flying types that could learn it some sort of flight ability while using it.

Nebula was still shaking in the air, but she was doing much better now.

Behind him, Ash looked to see Valiant forming a small, pink orb between his hands. A small, narrow beam of sparkling pink light shot out of it, piercing a tiny hole into a nearby boulder.

Ash gave him a thumbs up. "Good. You have a limited version down from just a first attempt."

Not that it would be much use in a battle yet, but the young Ralts was at least capable of manifesting the move. It was a start, so Valiant deserved to be encouraged.

Valiant gave him a smile, but suddenly, after a few seconds, the smile became somewhat more strained. The young Ralts curiously looked off in a different direction, leading towards the outskirts of the city. Ash looked at him, somewhat concerned. Valiant's demeanor had changed quite rapidly.

"Something wrong?"

Perking up, as if having forgotten that Ash was even there, Valiant shot Ash a frantic look that quickly relaxed, as if trying to calm himself down. Raising his hands and shaking them, the young Ralts shook his head back and forth.

Ash raised a brow at that, but decided not to question it. If Valiant said that it was no big deal, then he would believe him.

Turning his attention back to Nebula, Ash saw her continue to soar, practicing Aerial Ace as she progressively became less and less shaky. Pikachu had taken a brief break from his Electro Ball training to watch the young Starly go.

Deciding that both of them would be fine for now, Ash made his way over to Valiant, who still seemed to be a bit uneasy about something.

Ash was a bit concerned, but decided not to keep bothering Valiant about it unless it got worse.

"Alright, do you want to try again?"

Nodding (a bit more slowly than usual, Ash quickly noted), Valiant turned to face a different boulder this time. Ash could see the sweat running down his head as the young Ralts concentrated his fairy type energy into yet another ball. This one was slightly bigger than the last one, but took longer to form.

After a few more seconds of charging, Valiant fired again, this time letting out a slightly bigger, somewhat more wide beam of pink light. Ash smiled As the boulder broke open, not completely destroyed but clearly much more damaged than before.

"Good! If we keep practicing, then at this rate you'll have a usable form of the Move down in no time!" Valiant still needed to work on the charging time so that it could be used a bit more reliably, but offensively speaking, where he was currently at would do for now. It wouldn't be for a while before he could use the Move's full power. But Ash wasn't going to rush him in that department. It would still potentially be the best Move that was currently in Valiant's arsenal if they could get some form of it down.

Valiant gave Ash a determined smile and nodded. The young Ralts always seemed to be very eager for progress, jumping at the chance whenever he could. It was a very admirable trait to have, and his work ethic was something to be taken note of.

"Alright, just let me know when you need a break, okay? I'll keep watching you." At Valiant's affirmative nod, Ash took a seat on a nearby rock as he continued to watch the young Ralts do his work.

But whenever Ash would look away in order to check on Pikachu and Nebula, the young Ralts would always shoot a nervous glance towards the outskirts of the city.

/

The sun was high in the sky when Rick had suggested a lunch break.

The three trainers were all seated in a circle, this time still at the training grounds, while their Pokemon all ate nearby them.

Emily smiled at their teammates.

"It really is nice to see them all getting along together, don't you think so?"

It was true. There wasn't any real segregation between the Pokemon. Although Pikachu and Nebula sat together like usual, they were also joined by Emily's Eevee and Growlithe, the former having struck up a friendship with Nebula, and the latter one with Pikachu.

Rick's Bellsprout and Butterfree sat together, while Emily's Tyrogue and Rick's Sentret sat with Valiant.

However, Ash took note of Valiant's mood. The young Ralts was barely touching his food, eating with nibbles at a time. Tyrogue and Sentret seemed to have noticed his situation, as they were trying to get through to him, but he was constantly twitching nervously.

It was at this point that Ash finally decided to address Valiant's mood. Something was not normal.

"What's wrong, dude?" Rick was confused as Ash got up.

"Valiant's been acting strange for the past few hours. I think something might be wrong with him. Hold on, I can handle it." The other two kids seemed to be concerned, but listened nonetheless, staying at their seats and conversing with one another as Ash made his way to Valiant, Tyrogue, and Sentret.

The latter two Pokemon both stepped aside upon seeing Ash approach, seemingly somewhat relieved that he was here.

Sitting down and crouching at eye level with the Feeling Pokemon, Ash observed Valiant carefully. "Hey buddy… you okay?"

Valiant shifted a bit, but didn't move his gaze from Ash. The Ralts' hands slowly found their way to his head, and Ash frowned as Valiant tensed a bit while gripping his head somewhat tightly.

"You… have a headache?"

A shake of the head. So that wasn't the problem.

But it was something that he was feeling inside of his head.

What was Valiant feeling…

Feeling…

Feeling...?!

Ash inwardly perked up at the realization.

Ralts was the FEELING Pokemon. They could sense EMOTIONS. If Valiant's issue was a headache… then… maybe that could mean…

"Do you… sense something happening? Is someone in trouble?"

Tyrogue and Sentret seemed somewhat confused by that question, but perked up in surprise when Valiant nodded.

Ash wasn't sure just how far along Valiant's capabilities were in their current development process. He was obviously still quite young, so his ability to detect emotions, a natural capability among all members of his species, was still very inconsistent at best. Some days he'd be much better at it than others. Not to mention, it was involuntary, and there was no way that he could be used to it right now.

Whatever he was feeling was obviously a very negative emotion. And it was overwhelming him. Eating away at him for the entire training session…

The young trainer mentally kicked himself for not confronting Valiant about it sooner. He had taken his teammate's word for it even though it was clear as day that it had just been a white lie. What kind of trainer, even a rookie, would just ignore their Pokemon's feelings like that?

And Valiant had chosen to come along with them by his own free will, too. He wasn't caught like Nebula, or acquired like Pikachu. If anything, that made Ash's neglect even worse.

Valiant had put his trust in him, and Ash was violating that trust by being so dismissive of his feelings.

He would rectify that right now.

"Valiant…" he said slowly, gently, trying not to stress him out further. "Where is it coming from? The outskirts?" That's where Valiant had been looking earlier, after all. At his slow, but steady nod, Ash stood up, but kept his gaze on Valiant. "We… should check it out. Just in case. Somebody could be in trouble."

"Huh?" Emily perked up after hearing that. "Who's in trouble?"

"I don't know yet." said Ash, strapping on his backpack while looking towards his other teammates, who had also directed their attention onto him. "Pikachu, Nebula, can you come with us real quick?"

Despite their confusion, the mouse and bird nodded and left their spots, joining Ash and Valiant by their side. Pikachu looked up at Ash expectantly while Nebula tilted her head in confusion.

"Sorry about the inconvenience, guys. There's just something that we need to check out first." Looking towards Rick and Emily, Ash frowned at them. "It's… probably nothing… but could you please go get help just in case?"

Emily was still a little bit bewildered, but Rick gave him a thumbs up. "Sure thing, man. Better to be safe than sorry, after all. Just make sure you all be careful, okay?"

At Ash's nod, the other two kids recalled their teams and made their way back at a decently quick pace.

Giving the young Ralts a thumbs up, Ash looked down at Valiant gently. "Lead the way, but take it easy."

Reluctantly, Valiant nodded. He was nervous, but seemed glad to have the chance to address all of this.

/

Valiant led them to the outskirts of Pewter City at a decent pace, somewhat slower due to the uneasiness in his head.

Ash was sure not to rush the young Ralts, especially as he grew more and more uncomfortable as they gradually drew closer.

Ash felt a bit guilty for doing this, seeing as though Valiant was most obviously not enjoying it.

But he would feel even more guilty if he didn't do anything about it, and continued to leave Valiant's blatantly obvious discomfort unaddressed.

This was for the best.

"Are we almost there?"

A nod.

Ash turned to Pikachu and Nebula, the mouse following close behind them while Nebula perched herself on his shoulder. Both of them seemed to be a little bit apprehensive, although Pikachu was handling it a little bit better.

While not scared, Nebula was obviously not comfortable with the situation. And neither was Ash.

It was probably nothing. But what if it was not?

Arriving at the outskirts of the city, on a different end than Viridian Forest, Valiant slowed his pace a bit. They were getting closer then. The boy kept his guard up.

This was down the road that would eventually take them to MT. Moon, but Valiant led them off the beaten path, through a set of trees on the side.

After a couple more minutes of walking, Ash's eyes widened at the site.

A set of cages containing a bunch of Pokemon, many of whom he had never seen before.

Without thinking, he bolted forward and gripped the bars of the closest one, peering inside at the two creatures fearfully huddling up in the corner.

No wonder Valiant was so uncomfortable. They looked terrified.

One of them was a Chingling, a psychic type Pokemon that somewhat bore a resemblance to a bell with stubby arms and legs. Ash knew very little of the species of Pokemon outside of its Evolution, Chimecho, which he also knew very little about.

The other one was completely foreign to him, something that he wasn't even remotely familiar with. It was a black and white bird with a little bit of red at the top of its head, and was about the size of Nebula.

Valiant was frowning beside Ash as he made his way next to his Trainer, with Pikachu in tow. Nebula remained on Ash's shoulder, peering down at the scared Pokemon with concerned.

"So there was someone in trouble." Ash was stunned. He didn't think he'd actually find something. "Don't worry you guys, help is on the way." Standing up, he looked between his team. "Come on, Rick and Emily will have gotten help by now. We need to meet up with them and lead them here-"

"My my, what's this?"

The Trainer froze at the chilling voice, and slowly turned to see…

Two people wearing Team Rocket uniforms.

Pikachu and Valiant immediately got into fighting stances, Nebula leaving her trainer's shoulder for what she realized was about to escalate into a fight. The angry growls that escaped from Pikachu's throat made it very clear that he remembered the incident from back in Viridian City.

The two members standing before them were a man and a woman. The man had short blue hair, while the woman had long blonde hair. The man was sneering at them condescendingly while the woman crossed her arms and eyed them lazily.

"I guess this is what we get for taking a bathroom break while we wait for pickup." the woman groaned. "Wasn't expecting a kid to find us."

"What should we do?" asked the man, as if already knowing the answer.

The woman smirked viciously. "Well, I mean, he doesn't look like he'd be missed or anything like that. And he did just say he was going to get help."

Ash's blood was running cold.

No no no no no WHY?! Why Team Rocket?! This had all started out as a completely normal day and… and now…

He had no backup. He figured that if anything was going on, it wouldn't just be something like this…

Suddenly realizing that their lives were all in danger, Ash subconsciously took a few steps back as the woman giggled through her hand.

"Look at him, Butch. As scared as a Snover in a volcano. Tell you what, why don't you just stay here with us until pickup arrives? You won't get hurt as long as you don't try to call the authorities."

"Hold on, Cassidy." the man, Butch stated. "He has a bird with him. It could easily fly away and get helped if left to its own devices. I say we incapacitate him."

The woman, Cassidy, shrugged. 'I suppose you're right." she eyed Ash smugly. "What do you say, kid? Just sit tight and get knocked out. It won't be fatal as long as you cooperate."

Ash was finding it hard to think, but barely managed to squeak out a reply.

"Wh-what… A-are you -d-doing with them?"

"These Pokemon?" Cassidy perked up. "You mean you don't know? EVERYONE knows that the Church takes in lost Pokemon, and we recently received word that some foreign Pokemon had been added to their shelter. The executive that we work under likes things exotic."

A small hint of anger occupied Ash's fearful expression.

"You… stole from the Church?!" How could anyone have so much audacity?!

The man raised his arms and sighed. "It doesn't matter who we stole from. The matter is what we need. Which is a promotion. Did you know that Alolan Pokemon are the most rare foreign creatures that you could find here in Indigo? And a quarter of these are from that Region. I'm sure our superior would be happy to grant us a bonus after this."

They were doing this… just for the money?!

"Now then…" Cassidy was clearly done talking, taking out a Poke Ball and releasing a large rat-like Pokemon that Ash immediately identified as a Raticate. "Just hold still, boy."

Pikachu stepped forward further, growling dangerously at the Raticate as his cheeks crackled. His eyes were filled with terror, but he was in fight or flight mode. Nebula, sensing this, stepped forward as well, and raised her wings.

Ash gulped. He didn't want to provoke their wrath, but he also couldn't just trust them to keep him alive as promised. Many Team Rocket members killed anyone they felt needed to be dealt with and out of the way. Sometimes even children.

These two claimed to be merciful, but…that was too much of a gamble.

And yet it was also too much of a gamble to instigate a fight, but both of them were already doing that for him…

Trying (and failing) to ignore the fear in his heart, Ash looked down at Valiant. ALthough the fear leaked into his voice, he tried to remain strong for his team.

Valiant was holding his head, still. The fear of the other Pokemon in the cages was still overwhelming him.

'Valiant…" Ash said, quickly taking out the young Ralts' Poke Ball. "I'm returning you. You're in no position to fight."

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The Feeling Pokemon didn't seem to like that, but nodded nonetheless. As he disappeared in a bright flash of red light, Ash turned to Pikachu and Nebula.

"You two… do you think you can handle this?"

They were fighting alongside for the first time now. This would be new to them.

But both of the teammates were determined, and nodded steadfastly. Giving each other determined looks, they gazed into each other's eyes for just a brief moment, taking in the steel gazes of one another, before returning their gazes to the vicious Raticate.

Cassidy flicked her hair a bit. "Well then, that's how it is, I suppose. Not like I'll be losing any sleep over it. Raticate, rip those two pipsqueaks to shreds and then sink your teeth into the boy."

The Raticate growled dangerously as he eyed Pikachu and Nebula like a predator, Ash and the two team Rocket members slowly walking away in order to gain some space to prevent themselves from being placed into harm's way.

And then it bolted forward.

Nebula flapped her wings furiously as she ascended into the air. Pikachu rushed forward to meet Raticate head on, crying out angrily as his tail became cloaked in metal.

The battle had begun.

Pikachu's Iron Tail was bitten down on by the Raticate, but the metallic coating protected him from harm. Before the giant rat could do anything else, however, it had to jump back to avoid the jolt from Pikachu's tail, as the young mouse prepared to fire Electro Ball.

Above them, Nebula was already preparing her Wind Blast.

Both Pokemon fired at the same time.

Raticate leapt backwards to avoid the mutual assault, and, at Cassidy's command, launched forward at Pikachu.

The Raticate was fast. It seemed to be boosting its speed with Quick Attack, but was much faster than Pikachu was.

Unable to dodge, Pikachu instead shot forward while cloaking his body in electricity. Using Spark, he rammed head first into the Raticate. The giant rat's greater momentum and physical strength resulted in Pikachu being slammed into the air, knocked away from his opponent by the impact, but the electricity of Spark itself had a painful effect on the rat, leaving it clutching its head in pain.

"Wind Blast!"

High above, Nebula fired the blast of wind down onto Raticate, painfully pinning it to the ground as the attack assaulted its back.

Turning back to Pikachu, who had already used Iron Tail to catch himself, Ash gave the order. "Brick Break!"

Ignoring the painful bruise that now occupied the top of his head from his previous clash with Raticate, Pikachu shot forward, the orange aura already enveloping his fist as he pulled it back.

The attack collided with the Raticate's forehead, sending it tumbling backwards towards Cassidy and Butch, the latter heaving an overly exaggerated, over-dramatic sigh at the spectacle.

"Such a pity. It seems these runts actually have a few fangs to go along with their fragileness."

Cassidy groaned while facepalming. "UGGGH… does this mean that I actually have to try now? And here I thought this would be easy." shrugging, she glared ahead at Ash and his Pokemon. "Welp, it can't be helped now. Shadow Ball!"

Returning to its feat, Raticate opened its mouth and began gathering a mass of distorted, blackish-purple energy in the form of a perfectly formed sphere.

Shadow Ball was a powerful ghost type move and the most commonly used of its respective typing by far. This one seemed to be quite potent, and well mastered. Getting hit by it wouldn't be good…

"Double Team!"

Pikachu split off into two copies, leaving the Raticate looking between the two, bewildered as to who the real one was.

This was it. A distraction.

"Aerial Ace, Nebula!"

Nebula, who had been waiting in the air, circling around in anticipation for Ash's next instructions, immediately dive bombed downwards and towards the Raticate, who looked up in a panic and fired the Shadow Ball on instinct.

But Ash wasn't concerned with that. As a normal type Pokemon, Nebula charged head first, straight into the ghost type move, and, with the force of her attack powering through the explosion, was left mostly unharmed as she continued her assault, bashing beak first right into the Raticate's forehead.

The giant rat was left falling onto its butt, briefly clutching its forehead in pain as it snarled lividly towards the now fleeing Starly.

Knowing that he couldn't give the rat a luxury of any breathing room, Ash followed up as quickly as he could. "Pikachu! Zap Tail!"

Zap Tail was already an attack that Pikachu had used against Dustox back in Viridian Forest. But this time, Ash had a name for it. Using Quick Attack to boost up his speed, Pikachu cloaked his tail in metal as he channeled Spark through it, leaving his Iron Tail surging with electricity.

It would be a powerful blow for sure, and, due to the electricity, Raticate wouldn't be able to intercept it without biting down on it this time. Well, not without getting zapped, at the very least.

Unfortunately, Raticate had already risen to its feet in recovery, and, upon seeing Pikachu sailing over towards him in a mighty sprint, intercepted the attack using a different method: Standing upright, it cloaked its tail in metallic coating, meeting Pikachu's attack with an Iron Tail of its own.

Pikachu's momentum initially gave him the edge, causing Raticate's feet to sink into the ground, but it wasn't long before the mouse found himself losing the upper hand against the physically superior opponent.

But Ash was already responding. "Steel Wing!"

With Raticate occupied with Pikachu, Nebula was free to shoot forward, slamming a steel-coated wing down onto the top of the rat's head. Being forced downwards, Raticate ceased defense against Pikachu's Zap Tail, and was struck into the face, rolling backwards yet again.

"Idiot!" yelled Cassidy as Raticate began picking itself up again. It was getting pretty banged up now, its injuries beginning to show. "Your Shadow Ball won't work on that damn bird! Get smart and focus!"

"Pikachu! Double Team and Brick Break! Nebula! Double Team and Steel Wing!"

"Just get out of the way!" screamed Cassidy, already realizing what Ash's plan was.

As Pikachu and Nebula charged forward, they split into copies that charged with them. Raticate would have no way of knowing which ones to watch out for, leaving it wide open to both attacks.

Unfortunately, it abandoned that thought at Cassidy's orders, dashing to the side with Quick Attack and leaving the duo to miss their mark.

"Flame Wheel!"

Ash's eyes widened at that, as Raticate's body became cloaked in fire, rolling rapidly towards Pikachu.

"Jump over it and use Thunder Shock!"

Propelling himself up with Iron Tail, Pikachu gathered the electricity in his cheeks before firing back at Raticate, who's flames allowed it to tank the attack, but was still slowed down by the abrupt impact.

"Quick Attack to get away!" Yelled Cassidy as Nebula's Wind Blast was fired down after it.

Raticate bolted away from the danger, but Pikachu pursued it. Although normally not as fast, the mouse was beginning to gain on the giant rat due to its new injuries beginning to slow it down. Nevertheless, his Brick Break was still narrowly avoided…

Only for Nebula to intercept with Aerial Ace, and send the rat reeling off in a different direction.

"Grr, let's see how they like this! Ice Beam!"

While Nebula was still gathering herself from the impact of slamming into Raticate, the giant rat fired a concentrated blast of ice into her. Ash gasped as the small bird was immediately struck down to the ground, seething in pain from the attack.

Pikachu looked back and gasped as Nebula struggled to pick herself up, but this left him open, as Raticate was suddenly upon him with Iron Tail. Pikachu quickly blocked with one of his own as Raticate slammed its tail down onto his, but could put up little resistance as he was pushed downwards.

Ash's fists tightened as his breath caught in his throat.

At this rate, they'd all be doomed. They'd be killed. They'd-

NO! He couldn't think like that right now! He needed to be strong for his team! Regardless of how terrified that he was!

And that meant getting them out of this!

"Electro Ball!"

The explosion knocked Pikachu down on his back, but the concussive force also caused Raticate to stagger back and fall on its butt. To Ash's relief, Nebula had gotten up, and, despite the pain that she was in, taken to the air again.

Whirlwind wouldn't work with Pikachu there too, as he would be blown away even more would Raticate, so Wind Blast would have to do.

At Ash's order, Nebula fired the concentrated blast of wind the the large rat, who attempted to avoid it but struggled to maintain its balance as it was clipped in the side.

"Brick Break!"

Now picking himself up, Pikachu rushed forward and drove his orange fist into Raticate's gut, briefly knocking the wind out of the giant rat as Nebula came in with an Aerial Ace.

As Raticate attempted to fire off yet another Ice Beam, Pikachu zapped it with a quick jolt from Thunder Shock, stalling it just long enough for Nebula to hit her mark safely. As Raticate staggering backwards again, falling onto its butt once more, Ash gave the order.

"Zap Tail, Pikachu!"

Rushing forward, and cloaking his tail in metallic coating, Pikachu reared back as he channeled lightning into his Iron Tail, driving it across Raichu's face with a mighty SLAM.

The rat cried out in rage and pain from the painful blow to the job, falling onto its side and struggling to pick itself up.

"Wind Blast!"

"Outta the way, idiot!" screamed Cassidy, somewhat desperately.

Raticate just barely managed to lurch out of the way from Nebula's attack, but began to stumble forward as Pikachu locked his eyes on it.

"Electro Ball!"

Pikachu's attack slammed right into the Raticate's side, blasting it a few feet away and leaving it rolling across the ground. Now on its back, it briefly attempted to pick up its head before falling unconscious.

Ash couldn't allow himself to breathe out a sigh of relief just yet. Not when Team Rocket was still here, but he was still very proud of his team so far.

In a one on one fight, that Raticate would have very easily overwhelmed Pikachu and Nebula, for sure.

But together, they had prevailed.

However, Ash and Pikachu both started as Nebula's body began to envelop in bright, white light.

Without warning, her body began to grow, extending outwards and increasing in bulk.

When the light died down, in place of a Starly, was a Staravia. Ash couldn't stop himself from smiling, and Pikachu mirrored his reaction.

If only the evolution had come at a less stressful time.

As Nebula landed near Pikachu, who exchanged smiles with her quickly before returning his attention to Team Rocket, Cassidy seethed with anger as she returned her Raticate.

"What a stupid oaf that damn rat was! To think he was beaten by a couple of lowly runts like that! ARGGH!" she began pulling on her hair angrily as Butch placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Now, now, Cassidy, there's no need to be a sore loser. Especially since we haven't actually lost."

Ash gulped again. He knew it.

Obviously, these two weren't going to back down just because of one Pokemon being defeated.

A merciless grin appeared on Cassidy's lips at that.

"Right, right. How could I forget? It's not like Raticate was the best Pokemon on our team, after all. I just got cocky is all."

As Ash's breath caught in his throat, Butch stepped forward with a Poke Ball in hand.

"You've got spunk for a rookie kid, but the show's over. You've had your chance to show off, and now we have ours. Feast your eyes on the real deal!"

Tossing the orb into the air halfheartedly, Butch viciously smirked at what exited it.

And Ash, Pikachu, and Nebula all paled in terror.

It was a large, bulky, bipedal rhinoceros that towered over Ash's teammates, and even himself. It landed on the ground with a violent THUD, kicking up a large cloud of dust that temporarily obscured it from view.

Ash wished it could stay that way, and so did Pikachu and Nebula.

But its silhouette already looked intimidating enough, and as it rose up on its hind legs to glower down on its prey, Ash knew true terror as he and his teammates backed away in horror.

The Rhydon roared.

Covering his ears in pain, Ash desperately racked his brain for something, anything, that could possibly get him out of this, but constantly found himself coming up short.

Nobody on his team was strong enough to take a Rhydon just yet. Ash didn't even know just how trained that thing was, if it was newly evolved or had been a Rhydon for years. But it mattered not. Because not even a newly evolved Rhydon would struggle against him and his team the way that they were right now.

It took a while for Rhyhorn to evolve, but when they did, they most certainly showed it. Although greatly eclipsed by their evolution, Rhyperior, Rhydon weren't nearly as rare, and were still more than strong enough to compete in the big leagues in their own right. Many high level trainers in the Conference used a Rhydon as a part of their team.

The smirk on Butch's face was bitter and malicious as Cassidy cackled with glee.

"Thought you were being real slick, didn't ya?" asked Butch slyly. "Well, if you weren't going to do things the easy way and get mauled by Raticate, you'll have to settle for getting stomped to death by Rhydon. Time for this beast to grind your bones into particles!"

Ash could feel himself almost about to vomit, the queasiness in his stomach suddenly being accompanied by nausea in his mouth.

"H-hold on now! C-can't we t-talk about this?!"

"Talk? About what? You didn't cooperate with us before, but you will now that you know that you're doomed?" Butch snarled with glee. "Sorry kid, but our offers are a one time thing. This beast is going to have some fun with you."

Nebula stood in front of a terrified Pikachu as the ferocious rhino glowered down at them like a predator eying a vulnerable group of prey, but she herself was sweating up a storm as the Rhydon began to advance.

Ash found himself sinking to his knees. So this was it… even after all that… they were just toying with them. They had everything under control the entire time. They could have easily sent out the Rhydon before, but just chose to have a little bit of fun with them instead. And now…

"AAASSH!"

Ash perked up at the frantic, panicked voice as the sound of furiously pounding footsteps filled his hearing.

And then, all of a sudden…

"ENOUGH. Team Rocket."

Ash blinked at the figure in front of him. A woman standing tall, standing upright, holding her arms protectively in front of him.

As he slowly got to his feet, Ash blinked furiously before coming to his senses.

"E...Elacia?'

Meanwhile, Slurpuff had gotten in front of Pikachu and Nebula, urging them to step back.

"Trying to murder a child like that. Have you no shame?!"

Elacia's voice… she was furious. This was... he could barely recognize her in this tone.

Team Rocket was less than intimidated, however. "HAHAHA!" Butch guffawed as Cassidy sneered ferociously. "Is mommy here to save the little cub? Oh, how terrifying!"

Elacia wasn't intimidated herself, nevertheless. Or amused, for that matter. Backing up a bit, she wrapped an arm around the boy and pulled him in, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Your friends came to the Pokemon Center to report the trouble that Valiant seemed to be picking up on. I was there at the time, so I went on ahead while Nurse Joy contacted the authorities. I couldn't find you at first, but Rhydon's roar led me here. Don't worry, it's gonna be fine. You're all gonna be fine."

Ash was still scared, but the tone of her voice was warming. Comforting. Team Rocket was right there and yet he could already feel his nerves beginning to ease up. The way her touch felt, the way her voice sounded, it was suddenly as if her very presence was the end to all of his troubles.

This wasn't Elacia as she normally was. She was dead serious, yet completely calming. It was an abrupt change, and yet he welcomed it.

The things she said, and the way she said them… were exactly what he needed right now.

It almost reminded him… of his mother. Like that time when she was right by his side when he had twisted his ankle in soccer. Or when he had been scared of storms.

"Uhhh… Excuse me?!" Butch's voice was agitated beyond belief. "We're still here, you know! STOP IGNORING US!"

Gently pushing Ash behind her, Elacia stood defensively in front of the child, her gaze steel and her glare steady. Sparing a glance at Pikachu and Nebula, she quickly gestured towards the duo.

"Pikachu, Nebula. Over here, come on." without argument, the two quickly scurried to where their trainer was. Slurpuff stayed put.

Pikachu quickly made his way to Ash's shoulder, and the young boy felt relieved to have the mouse near him again. Looking down at Nebula, he exchanged a quick smile with her.

They were all safe. For now.

Cassidy snorted despicably. "Just because some rando shows up you think you're safe? Life doesn't work that way!"

"ENOUGH." Elacia's tone was one of boldness and authority. "I didn't come here to listen to you."

"Elacia…" Ash said carefully. "They robbed the Church. Those Pokemon in those cages were stolen by them."

Elacia's glare tightened as the Rhydon advanced forward, glowering down at Slurpuff, who seemed to be less than intimidated.

"You join a group of terrorists. You rob a Church. You try to kill a child and his team." Her clenched fists were trembling. "You're just trying to check off every atrocity in the book, aren't you?"

Butch snarled disgustingly as he pointed a finger forward. "You're in no position to lecture us, woman. I have a massive Rhydon towering over all of you, and all you have is some little cream ball over there." Slurpuff was unfazed by the insult.

A small smirk appeared on Elacia's lips, although the anger in her eyes never subsided. "You must be even worse than a rookie if you think size determines everything in a battle. Let's just say my Slurpuff has handled Pokemon far bigger than your Rhydon in the past. She has nothing to fear from the likes of you two."

As Slurpuff assumed a fighting stance, Ash felt himself tensing up again, but felt his nerves easing once more as Elacia's hand made its way to his shoulder.

"I'm giving you one chance to back off." she spoke evenly, holding back a snarl to prevent Ash from getting any more nervous than he probably already was. "I suggest you take it before I change my mind anyway."

"Don't bargain with us!" yelled Butch. "We're in control here!" He took a step forward. "Rhydon! Prepare for battle!"

The Rhydon, as if stretching, raised a foot, and then pounded it into the ground. He then repeated the same process with the other foot. Each of the two stomps sent a massive shockwave outwards, whilst kicking up a very large amount of dust. Elacia and Slurpuff remained steadfast but Ash and his team found themselves flinching just a little bit.

Elacia stopped waiting. "Slurpuff! Belly Drum, now!"

Ash raised a brow. Belly Drum? What was that?

Slurpuff puffed out her chest and began beating her small, stubby arms against her stomach. The sounds of her arms banging against her belly progressively grew louder and louder as her body suddenly began to vibrate, and Ash, Pikachu, and Nebula all proceeded to gawk as a red aura began to manifest around her, first appearing as an outline, and then, suddenly enveloping her entire body, as if an additional exterior. As the blood red aura surrounded her, crimson lightning began to crackle along her body, and, much like the aura, continued growing in intensity. The vibrations of her body began to increase more and more, the sound of her arms banging against her stomach suddenly becoming thunderous.

Ash wasn't sure what he was watching, but all of a sudden, Elacia's cute and cuddly companion was a hell of a lot more intimidating than she was when they first met.

"I don't know what that does, and I'm not finding out!" Butch screamed defiantly. He pointed at Ash, causing the kid to step back a bit. "You should have cooperated with us when you had the chance, runt! Rhydon! Crush that little thing with Hammer Arm!"

But Elacia responded immediately. "Drain Punch!"

Rhydon charged forward on its hind legs, letting out a mighty roar as it raised a glowing arm, enveloped in blinding white light. The arm violently crashed to the ground, shaking the earth as Slurpuff leapt out of the way at the nick of time.

Landing beside Rhydon, Slurpuff launched herself forward. Her fist glowed with a bright, orange light, with a level of intensity that made even the glow in Rhydon's Hammer Arm seem faint and dim by comparison. Slurpuff kept her fist channeling the new attack, gathering energy for the upcoming blow, and she reared it back as she charged forward. The battle cry that she let out as she swung her fist made Pikachu's seem mellow and dispassionate by comparison.

Rhydon didn't know what hit it.

BAM!

The sound was… deafening as Slurpuff's powerful punch connected. Ash could hardly even believe it. One moment he was cowering in fear in the face of this terrifying creature, and the next… and the next…

Rhydon roared in agony as Slurpuff's fist smashed into its stone hard hide. Its defenses were supposed to be absolute, and yet it immediately found itself helpless in the face of such a small, seemingly intimidating creature.

Everyone's jaws dropped to the ground as Rhydon sailed through the air. Elacia remained steadfast as the massive, incredibly heavy creature was sent flying across the battlefield without effort, swiftly crashing straight into a large wall of boulders off to the near distance.

A loud smashing noise was heard as the beast collided with the rocks, and as the Rhydon helplessly fell to the ground, it immediately became clear that it would not be getting up.

Ash didn't know whether to feel relieved or astounded. The reassurance that he had felt from Elacia and Slurpuff's quick victory was clashing with the sheer amazement from the absurdity of it all.

Standing tall, Slurpuff looked completely normal as her aura died down, glaring fiercely at the two Team Rocket members, who were in complete shock from the whole ordeal.

"B-b-b-but-b-b-b-b-b-but…" Butch was coughing up slobber as he struggled to stutter the words out. "T-t-that… R-r-Rhydon w-w-was… the s-strongest P-Pokemon t-that w-we h-had…"

Cassidy wasn't faring much better, either. "W-what k-kind of m-monster is that damned little thing?!" she pointed at the breeder's partner as though Slurpuff was the single most terrifying creature in existence.

A hint of satisfaction arrived in Elacia's eyes as she eyed the two pale faced Team Rocket members. They were looking even more terrified than Ash ever did.

"Sorry folks, better luck next time." her lips curved upwards, a somewhat nasty smirk taking up her normally good natured features. "Oh wait, that's right. There is no next time. You're going to jail, suckers!"

As the two stunned Team Rocket members collapsed helplessly to their knees in misery, Ash inwardly declared Elacia the most amazing person that he had ever met.

/

An unrivaled sense of relief hung overhead back at Pewter City. Cassidy and Butch had been apprehended by the authorities, led by Brock and Officer Jenny. The Pokemon were all returned to the Church, safe and sound.

And now, it was all over. Everything was back to normal, back as it should be. And Ash's psyche was all the better for it.

At the moment, he was standing outside of the police station with Brock and Elacia. Officer Jenny was inside filling out the paperwork, and Brock would have paperwork of his own once he got back to the Gym.

Ash had given his own report on how everything went down. He felt nervous the entire time, scared to miss specific details, or to say the wrong thing. Thankfully, Elacia had been there to help him ease up. All of a sudden it felt like she was the answer to all of his problems. He'd always enjoyed being around her, but after the incident, he suddenly had a whole new level of appreciation for her, seemingly for her very existence.

"Cassidy and Butch." said Brock. "Two rookie members of Team Rocket, according to their files. Based on what they said it seemed like they came here on their own accord." he frowned. "That's the second Team Rocket incident of the Season. Nothing too unusual, but…"

"They were being bold." said Elacia with a grumble. "They snuck into a Church and kidnapped Pokemon that were being sheltered there. Not the worst thing they ever did, but still unprecedented, to my knowledge."

Ash grimaced. "How often do these things happen?"

"No pattern." Brock admitted with a sigh. "Usually I don't have any direct responsibility on it unless they need additional hands. Since Pewter City is so close to the Indigo Plateau…"

"They're usually too scared to come here?" Elacia suggested.

"Exactly. I don't want to say that we let our guards down, but… maybe we do." He gave Ash an acknowledging look. "If your Ralts hadn't picked up on them, they probably would have gotten away." his gaze was suddenly softer, his "facade" as Elacia liked to call it, seemingly dropping a bit. "I know it was a scare for you, but you really did help us out. So thanks."

Ash's cheeks reddened at that, and he stammered.

"N-n-no. It was V-V-Valiant who did it. He was the one who deserves the credit. P-plus, we're not the ones who stopped them." he looked over to Elacia, who shrugged humbly with a light smile.

"I'm glad you took action, though. Or at least I would be, if it hadn't put you in danger." Brock's frown grew. "I know it goes without saying, but be careful out there. Team Rocket operates with no predictable schedule. They could strike at anytime, anywhere, and in any way. All of their members have a variety of different ways of doing things. It makes it borderline impossible to predict what sort of incident that they're going to be committing next." he sighed. "And of course, they are all incredibly dangerous. Many of them don't even care about whether or not they are killing children, as you've now seen."

He'd seen it already, at the Viridian City Pokemon Center, but he had felt truly helpless this time.

Team Rocket… he had known about them for a while. Everyone in Indigo did. But after two encounters, and not even against any of their most dangerous members, in fact, he knew more than ever.

Avoid them at all costs.

"Hey…" Elacia's hand landed on his shoulder, and he looked up to see her apologetic smile. "Sorry about… y'know, getting so worked up back there, and all." she chuckled a bit. "Maybe I've grown a bit more attached to you than I expected."

He ignored the blush and giggled a bit.

"Anyway…" said Brock, pushing himself off of the wall that he was leaning against and permitting his crossed arms to fall to his sides. "You've both given your reports, and I'm afraid that I'll have a good amount of paperwork tonight, so I need to get back."

Ash frowned sympathetically. "From just one incident?"

"Part of the job, kid. When we're not battling, training our teams, and testing trainers for the upcoming Conference, we're usually doing this."

Elacia wrapped an arm around Ash, half protectively, half affectionately.

"Come on, kid. I'll walk you back to the Center."

Ash nodded with a light grin. After everything that happened, he appreciated the close contact. He felt more… secure.

Brock offered a nod. "May the Guardian Mew watch over you on your travelers."

The two friends offered a light, appreciative wave to the Gym Leader before making their way back.

/

This was it. His last day in Pewter City.

Three weeks as a trainer. Two of them spent right here. It almost felt surreal to leave.

But he knew that if he didn't leave soon, he would never want to.

Even after Elacia eventually left, he was too… comfortable here. He had grown too used to it. Almost like a second home. If he hesitated anymore, he would probably just want to do things the easy way and stay here forever. No long roads of traveling. No Team Rocket. No harsh wilds. Just here in Pewter City. Safe forever.

But that could never happen.

If he wanted to make it as a trainer. He had to travel. He had to train. He had to battle. He couldn't just stay in one place. It was a harsh reality that he had to face. His little vacation in Pewter City was over. He couldn't grow complacent with the places that he visited, and it was something that he had to accept.

This morning, he had called his mother to inform her that he was leaving. The previous day, the morning after the incident with Cassidy and Butch, he had called her and told her about Nebula's evolution, deliberately omitting the details regarding Team Rocket's involvement.

He was still a bit shaken from it. Not just from almost getting killed (which was certainly the primary cause) but the actions of the group in general. He had only really heard about their crimes on the news, and even though they had only tried to steal Pokemon this time, it definitely made the threat feel real. Between this and Viridian City, he knew that it wasn't to be taken for granted.

He thought back to the Pokemon. Elacia had only been informed of a couple of Pokemon being taken in by the Church, but judging by the number of Pokemon that Cassidy and Butch had attempted to steal, there must have been more before that. He wondered how often the Church did this.

Having gotten everything situated, he had made his way to Elacia's place one last time. He would certainly miss her.

And, leaving him mildly flattered, it seemed as though the feel was mutual, as she gazed down at him with a sad smile.

"So then… this is it, huh? Back to the cruel, unforgiving outside world?"

Atop his shoulder, Pikachu frowned a bit at that, but didn't seem too discouraged. Ash tickled under his chin affectionately, earning a delighted squeal from the young mouse as he looked back up at Elacia.

"Yeah, I'm afraid I can't dawdle any longer. I've already gotten so many holdups. I better leave before… something else happens."

Chuckling behind her hand, Elacia reached down and patted Slurpuff on the head. "Yeah, can't argue with that, can I? Hopefully you'll have better luck in the next city."

A comfortable silence fell into the room, but Ash awkwardly broke it while rubbing the back of his head.

"Thanks… for everything, by the way. You've helped me so much."

It was true. Giving him advice on training, someone to talk to in general, saving his life, and his team's at that, he wasn't sure how to express his gratitude to her.

But she took it in stride. "Don't mention it, kid. Anyway, I said I had something for you before you go, so…"

Ash blinked. That was right. She did say that she did.

"Oh yeah."

Smiling, she gestured over to him, leading him to the end of the room. "Here, just take a seat real quick, and I'll go fetch it."

The boy complied.

As she disappeared into the back, PIkachu took a seat on the table in front of Ash's seat, and the young boy petted him for a bit while they waited.

It didn't take long for her to return, however, holding a small backpack that she placed onto the table in front of them.

"Okay, in here."

Ash blinked as she opened it and prepared to take out what was inside.

Pikachu looked on curiously.

"I know it sounds a bit sudden, but I realized that even after all the time we spent together…" she flashed him an apologetic grin. "I never really offered to do business with you."

Ash's eyes widened… as she placed an Egg on the table.

"I'd like to rectify that, if you're okay with it, of course."

This was… sudden. In front of him, Pikachu looked equally surprised.

The boy had experience with Eggs, due to Heracross' Egg back at home, but to actually be offered one of his own…

"This is what you wanted to give me?" he asked, a bit flabbergasted.

She nodded. "Yup. Received this from a contact in Kalos about a week or two ago. It shouldn't be far from hatching."

Ash took a look at the Egg curiously. Pokemon Eggs came in a variety of colors, often displaying a different pattern or color scheme depending on the species.

As for this Egg…

It was mostly grayish-brown, with certain parts of it a lighter shade of grey. The Egg was about the typical size for Pokemon Eggs.

"So… what species is it?" he asked as Pikachu sniffed the Egg quizzically.

Elacia crossed her arms as she took a seat across from the boy, Slurpuff making her way onto the table as she did so. She cocked her head with a light smile.

"I mean, I could tell you, but don't you want to be surprised?"

Ash blinked at that, but then a light giggle escaped his throat.

"Yeah, nevermind." he was embarrassed to even ask such a question. Most trainers loved the surprise of not knowing what was in a Pokemon Egg. It added a whole new level of excitement to the moment when it finally hatches.

Of course, a fair amount of trainers still preferred to know ahead of time, often requesting a Pokemon Egg for a very specific species, or at least of a certain variety, but since Elacia was offering this to him, rather than him coming to her for a request…

He eased up a bit and took in the Egg again.

To think… he could actually leave Pewter City with this. A brand new team member… one that he and his friends could raise together from an infant. But…

Elacia leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands as she studied Ash with a friendly grin.

"So… what do you say?" she asked the boy. "It's all up to you, of course."

Ash offered her a sad smile, lightly pushing the Egg away a bit, with some regret.

"Thanks… but… I really can't afford an Egg right now. I don't have the extra money yet."

She nodded in understanding. "Yeah… I figured, but I was going to make a deal with you." At his raised brow, she took out a piece of paper and began writing. "I don't need you to pay me everything up front. Since I like you, I'll just let you take it for now, and pay me when you can. It's not like there's a rule against it, right?" after finishing, she pushed the paper towards him. "You'd owe me this much."

Ash took the piece of paper as Pikachu peaked over. Seven thousand... certainly a sizable amount of money. Pokemon Egg prices often varied depending on the species, so if it cost this much… it was either a very powerful Pokemon, or a very rare one. Perhaps both.

Looking up, he made eye contact with her. She was back to resting her chin in her hands, a very professional look in her eyes as her gaze met his.

She was a businesswoman right now.

"You'd really be willing to sell me this? Just like that?"

"I'm a businesswoman by trade, obviously. But really, I'd like to see what you could do with this Pokemon. As a breeder, I've made a habit of scouting potential. And you've got lots of it. Part of why I'm willing to compromise with you about not paying upfront. It's all up to you, though."

Ash exchanged a quick glance with Pikachu. After a few more moments of thinking, he looked back up at Elacia with a smile. He nodded.

"Sure." he said happily. "I'd be happy to do it. And I'll get you your money as soon as I can."

Elacia's grin was back. "Don't stress it, kid. Not trying to put you on a time limit or anything like that." getting up, she reached out her hand, which Ash accepted after getting up himself, and the two shook.

Pikachu placed his paws on the Egg, feeling its outer shell for a moment with a smile.

Taking out a folder, Elacia handed it to Ash, who looked at it curiously.

"This has instructions for how to take care of the Pokemon after it hatches." she gave him a quick wink. "Of course, if you want the species to be a surprise, then be sure not to open it until after the Egg is hatched. The details should come in handy after it does."

Ash nodded gratefully. "Thanks."

He released Nebula and Valiant real quick, first to show them the Egg, and then to give them the chance to say goodbye to Elacia and Slurpuff. It was dawning on him that this would probably be the last time he saw her or spoke to her for a while. It… hurt… but that was part of being a Trainer. The nomadic lifestyle made this sort of thing the common norm.

After the goodbyes were done, Elacia handed Ash one more thing: it was another business card.

Ash took the card curiously. It had a picture of a Vulpix on it. "What's this?"

Elacia grinned, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't be a stranger, kid. Once you eventually get to Celadon, I'd like you stop stop by, if that's okay. The card I gave you before has my address there, but if I'm not in town at the time…" she slowly put a finger on the card she gave him. "This is Suzie's card. I'd… like you to visit her if I'm not around."

Ash blinked up at her. "What for?"

She grinned, somewhat uneasily, but quickly hid that. "No real reason. I'd just… recommend it. You'll do it, right?"

Ash wasn't sure what this was about, but slowly nodded nonetheless. "Okay."

She flashed him a more cheerful grin. "Great! I'm guessing you want to hit the road while you've still got a good amount of daylight left, so I won't keep you any longer. Knock 'em dead, okay kid?"

Ash couldn't argue with that. Pumping a fist in the air, he tried to respond with passion. "Yeah!"

On Ash's shoulder, Pikachu repeated the notion, letting out a loud cry of enthusiasm.

And with that, Ash made his way to the door, him and Elacia carrying fond memories of their time together.

But unfortunately for him, she still couldn't resist getting one last jab in before he left.

"Make sure you tell Emily you love her before you leave!"

He was out of the door faster than Pikachu could use Quick Attack.

/

The outskirts of Pewter City were just ahead of them.

Ash and his team rested at the waiting place, where Rick and Emily would be meeting him. Both knew that they'd be leaving today, and this was also the day where they were finally going to rechallenge Brock. Ash had faith that they could win, and looked forward to hearing from them.

Much like Elacia, he'd miss them quite a lot too. His interactions with them were something that he hadn't really gotten back in Pallet Town.

During the wait, Nebula had taken to the skies with Pikachu on her back. Ever since her Evolution, she was able to give the young mouse rides without any sort of difficulty.

As the mouse and bird duo had fun in the air, Valiant stayed close to Ash, keeping an eye out for their friends. They had been here for about twenty minutes at this point…

"Hey Ash!"

The boy smiled as Rick and Emily came running, Emily happily waving her arm in the air with Rick quickly following behind.

Noticing them, Pikachu and Nebula returned to the ground, offering friendly greetings to the two fellow rookie trainers as they arrived.

Raising a hand in greeting, Ash beamed at them as they stopped in front of him and Valiant. "Hey, you guys! How'd it go?"

Emily was positively giddy as she held her hand up towards his face. Ash immediately saw why as he noticed the Boulder Badge between her fingers. His smile grew brighter.

"Congratulations!"

Emily's grin could have split her face in half. "I know, Thanks!" she was jumping up a bit, as if high on her ecstasy.

Glancing over at Rick, who didn't seem nearly as overjoyed, Ash offered his other friend a curious look. "What about you?"

Rubbing the back of his neck somewhat bashfully, Rick offered an awkward smile. "Heh. Sorry." he held up his hand. "Jus barley lost by the slightest bit of smidges." he pressed his thumb and index finger together as he said that, as if to emphasize. Ash frowned.

"Oh… sorry…" he wasn't so sure what else to say. He knew that Rick had been just as passionate about all of this as Emily was. How did he feel, seeing Emily get her first ever Gym Badge when he didn't?

But Rick waved it off rather quickly. "Nah man, it's all fine. I'm just going to keep training for a couple more days before rechallenging him. I'm already right there, so just gotta break through the edge, y'know?"

He sounded convincing enough, but Ash could still just barely detect the disappointment in his voice. Nevertheless, the optimism greatly outweighed it.

His attention was brought back to Emily as he felt her hand on his shoulder. "So… I guess you're all leaving now?" her smile was a sad one. Ash returned it with one of his own.

"Yeah… I'd love to stay, but that's exactly why I have to leave. If I don't go while I have the chance, I'll never want to. I've grown too complacent being here."

They both seemed a bit saddened by his answer, but understanding was worn on their features as well. They both knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Heh, okay." said Emily with a sad smile. "Just be safe out there, okay?"

"Especially when Valiant is picking up on distressed emotions." Rick piped in.

A light giggle escaped from Ash's throat. "Yeah, I'll… do that…"

It was a pretty bittersweet moment. Happy to be moving on, unhappy to be leaving everything behind. Not nearly as difficult as leaving Pallet Town, but it still hurts, nonetheless.

Rick and Emily couldn't let out their own respective teams since they were all still recovering from their battles with Brock. So they settled for simply exchanging goodbyes with Ash's Pokemon.

After exchanging a quick handshake with Emily and a fistbump with Rick, Ash waved goodbye as he found himself exiting the city, Valiant beside him as Pikachu and Nebula took to the skies. The boy looked back at the city fondly before continuing on ahead, keeping his focus on the main road that would take him and his team to Mt. Moon.

So much time spent in that one city. He wouldn't be forgetting it any time soon, and neither would his team.

But for now, the memories would be all that they had.

/

Rick and Emily sat outside of an ice cream shop, sipping their milkshakes (Rick with a strawberry and Emily with a vanilla) as they watched a few passersby.

It had been a couple of hours since Ash and his team had left. They were still waiting for their own Pokemon to recover from the battles against Brock.

Emily let out a sigh as she took a break from sipping her shake.

"We really should have asked him to stay with us." she gave Rick a look. "Wasn't that your idea, by the way? Why didn't you bring it up before he left?"

Rick rubbed the back of his neck as his face adopted an apologetic look. "Sorry. I was going to ask him, honest. But then I lost the battle… he'd have to stay here for longer, and I really didn't want to slow him down like that."

She gave a small, sympathetic grin in response to his regretful look. "It's fine, don't worry. I understand." she looked off to the side, in the direction of the outskirts (which weren't visible from here). "He helped us out a lot, though. I'm glad we ran into him."

Rick smiled more genuinely this time. "Yeah, same here. He's still probably ahead of us, though. Especially after Nebula evolved. We'll both catch up eventually." he blinked. "...right after I beat Brock, of course. Heh heh."

Emily nodded. "Right, I'm sure you can do it. I'll keep helping you train. And then, we can both get out of here, too."

Rick nodded back. "Yeah, thanks."

/

The sun had set in Pewter. The moon was out now, the dark night skies starry and cloudless. It was quite the pleasant sight to look at, especially coupled with the dark silhouettes of the mountains surrounding the city, and the trees of Viridian Forest. Pewter City at nighttime was almost always a beautiful spectacle.

Most people were either headed in side or were going about their nightly activities outdoors. Overhead, a few bird Pokemon could be spotted soaring in the nighttime sky.

Elacia had her lights turned on all the way now, coming inside with Slurpuff after gazing out at the clear, starry night skies for a few moments.

The two of them were a bit sad to see Ash and his team go, but now that he was on the road again, the red haired breeder had a matter to deal with.

Taking a seat near her video phone, she quickly dialed a number. After a few moments, it didn't pick up.

"Guess I'm gonna have to leave a message, then." she said.

Slurpuff took a seat next to her as she spoke.

"Hey, Suzie. This is Elacia. Sorry we haven't talked in a good bit, I know it's been a while." she shifted a bit uneasily in her seat, her gaze becoming slightly serious. "Listen… I don't want to get your hopes up about anything… it's probably nothing, but… do you remember that… incident that you told me about… I think almost a month ago?" After a bit of a pause, she continued. "Look, I'm not saying we should jump to conclusions, but… I met a boy named Ash Ketchum here in Pewter. He won't be in Celadon for a while, but I'd recommend keeping a lookout for him just in case. Obviously he'll probably have more Pokemon by the time he gets there, but right now, his team consists of…"