The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Story Written by Freedom Fighter

Back in the saddle.  Is it time for someone to get lucky?  A few big 
revelations await in the latest session of "The Year of Rocket's 
Revenge."  Trust me when I say that you're in for quite a shock.

Disclaimer:  All characters and places featured in the Pokémon anime 
series and other productions belong to Nintendo and Pokémon USA!  
Cassie Banks, Arius McFly, and several others too numerous to name 
here were created by me and can't be used by anyone else without 
permission!  You don't want to be the unlucky joe who ignores the 
warning, trust me.

This fanfic is only posted at two places: my place, which contains the 
full-length chapters in one piece, and Fanfiction.net, which has the 
same story, but split up into smaller pieces.  It should not be posted 
anywhere else without my permission.

******

The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session: March (03.29.08)

******

Last time, on "The Year of Rocket's Revenge," Ash had been searching 
for Misty, who had run away after seeing him and her best friend, Duplica, 
kiss on New Year's Eve.  Questioning herself if she still wanted to be 
part of the relationship, as well as wondering if Ash really understood 
the ramifications of kissing another girl, Misty found herself still 
afraid to face the truth when Ash finally tracked her down in Saffron 
City.

But her boyfriend wasn't the only one looking for her, as Misty was also 
located by Lt. Surge, who wanted to question her about 'abandoning' her 
duties as a gym leader.  But he more importantly had questions about the 
late Erika's research into the five teenagers blessed with the ability 
to have the spirits of each teen and their favorite Pokémon temporarily 
share the same body, but have access to unlimited power.  With the most 
first-hand knowledge of Erika's research, Misty was coerced into telling 
Surge everything that she was aware of, including confirming that she,
Ash, Brock, and the still-missing Marco were four of the five.

Telling Ash about her interview with Surge was the last thing on Misty's 
mind, especially after having a comfy reunion and night together.  But 
before she could press him for advice, there was still the matter of 
what to do about their relationship.  But even before that could get 
resolved, Ash and Pikachu found themselves being kidnapped by a guy 
posing as a League official... and Misty couldn't do anything to stop 
the guy.

It's been almost a month since the kidnapping.  The League, officially, 
is no longer investigating the case or searching for the reigning 
Pokémon Junior Master.  All except for one brave soul, refusing to 
accept the inevitable fate the one closest to her heart may have fallen 
victim to...

******

Friday, March 1st, Hoenn Route 121

The left eye opened.  Then, the right.  A cold feeling on the forehead.  
Eyes dart to the left, then right, then straight up.  Sunlight seemed to 
be getting through the thin orange-colored tent fabric.

Quickly not recognizing her surroundings, Misty shot up to a sitting 
position, causing the fuzzy yellow blanket covering her to drop down to 
her waist, and a small plastic baggie half-full of water to land on top 
of it.  She hastily noted the blue duffel-like bag she had brought along 
with her was off to her left, right next to a blue and yellow backpack.  
Ripping the blanket off, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw she 
was still wearing her windbreaker and matching-colored sweatpants.

"Wait," Misty thought to herself, "what happened last night?"

"Pii..." something squeaked from outside.

"Not so loud, Chuchino!" exclaimed a second voice.

"Chuchino?" Misty scratched her head, still a little dazed as she got to 
her feet.  "Why does that name sound familiar?  And that voice?"

Misty walked over to the entrance flap and lifted it... just in time to 
get a faceful of Pikachu, who had leaped up and into the tent at that 
exact moment.  Caught by surprise, Misty fell to the ground, landing 
first on her butt, then her back.  She quickly pulled the Pikachu off her 
face and stared longingly at him.

"Chu?"

Misty almost lapsed into thinking the Pikachu in her hands was Pikachu... 
Ash's Pikachu.  But then she noticed the small tuft of fur sticking up 
like hair just above Chuchino's right eye.

"Oh, crap, I hope you're not mad at me again!" yelled a voice of a young 
man who had stuck his head through the entrance flap.

"Ric... Richie?" Misty blinked, finally matching voice to face.

======

A year and a half ago - Indigo Stadium

"We're now prepared to begin the second semifinal match of the Pokémon 
League Novice Tournament!"

Richie and Misty were standing at opposite sides of the field, having 
already secured entrance into the Pokémon League... but now each standing 
one victory away from playing for the tournament championship.

"Starmie, tackle!" Misty shouted.

Starmie spun towards Butterfree and hit the butterfly right on the head.  
Butterfree flew back, hit the ground, and tumbled twice before coming to a 
stop, unconscious.

"Starmie, hydro pump!  Let’s finish this in one shot!"

Zippo, Richie's Charmeleon, tried to dodge the attack, but he was 
unsuccessful.  Zippo got a face full of water and went down for the 
count.  The crowd began to boo Richie for making such a bad choice.

"Chuchino, thunder bolt!"

Starmie put up the screen in time, and diverted a little bit of the energy 
from the thunder bolt.  Not enough, though, as the bolt drilled through 
the light screen and shattered Starmie’s red jewel center.

"Pika pika... PIKA-CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Chuchino gathered up the energy from the bolt and aimed it right at 
Jigglypuff.  It struck the pink rotund Pokémon so hard that she was 
literally fried on the spot.  Chuchino finally relaxed and landed back on 
the ground - tired, yet happy.

"This match is now dead even at two!" remarked the announcer.  "The final 
round begins, with the victor advancing to the championship match!  Who 
will win?

Misty called out Vaporeon for her third and final Pokémon.  Richie and 
Misty poured their heart out, and so did their Pokémon, as Chuchino and 
Vaporeon fought tooth and nail to come out on top.

But eventually...

"Pika-CHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUU!"

"Vaporeon!" Misty cried out.

The third bolt of thunder was the charm, as Vaporeon couldn't take no 
more, conceding the battle and fainting on the spot.

"And it's over, folks!" the announcer yelled.  "Richie Sparky wins the 
second semi-final, and moves on to tomorrow's championship match!"

Misty stood on her podium in shock, in disbelief that she lost a match 
that she had been firmly in control of...

======

Misty found herself several minutes later sitting on a log, eating from a 
bowl of watery oatmeal.  Richie had made himself a bowl from the small 
pot he had hanging over a campfire.  Chuchino and Happy, Richie's 
Butterfree, were a few hundred feet away, playing around in the grass.

Misty lifted the spoon from the bowl and put a gob of oatmeal in her 
mouth.  She quickly swallowed the contents, and then nearly gagged - the 
oatmeal not exactly being of a great tasting flavor.

"Sorry about that," Richie quickly apologized.  "I'm on my last day of 
supplies, so the food's not exactly fresh."

"No, really..." Misty attempted to lie.  "It's not all that bad."

Richie put a spoonful into his mouth, and elicited a similar reaction to 
the cooked yet partially-spoiled oatmeal.

"So..." Richie muttered, trying to keep the conversation going.  "It's 
been awhile since the Indigo Plateau, right?  How have you..."

"I know you're going to ask, so go ahead..." Misty interrupted, already 
seeing the inevitable.

Richie gulped, then issued a response.  "So... you do realize Mt. Pyre is 
off-limits at night, right?  It's too dangerous for anyone to go into the 
caverns of that mountain, much less alone!"

Misty sat there silently for a minute before explaining her reasoning.

"It's Ash."

"Ash?"

Misty nodded.  "I have reason to believe he's in there."

Richie gasped in shock.  "How?"

"Well... it started about a week ago..."

======

Saturday, February 23rd, Cerulean City Gym

Misty was alone in the office, filling out paperwork and settling overdue 
bills and the like.  But as she did, she couldn't help but every few 
minutes stop and look at the picture frame on her desk next to her 
computer monitor.  In it was a picture of her and Ash, taken at the end 
of the Novice Tournament, just before they split ways so Misty could 
complete her gym leader training.

"Oh, Ash... the League may have given up on you, but I sure haven't," 
Misty told the picture.

Misty turned towards the TV in the room, as she reached for the remote 
and pressed the 'volume up' button.

"Two weeks as the new Junior Master, and 13-year old Cassie Banks 
continues to make her presence known throughout the Pokémon League!" 
proclaimed the news anchor.  "Her latest act of good faith?  Helping pass 
a new measure that will bring about the creation of half-a-dozen new 
Pokémon Centers throughout the Kanto region.  Including one in her very 
own hometown, which is where Frank Kirkpatrick gives us this report.  
Frank?"

"Thank you, Tanya," replied Frank, live in Poli Town.  "Just a few hours 
ago, the Pokémon League passed the measure, as expected, and young Miss 
Banks was here among family and friends to celebrate.  Once a town off 
the map, unwilling to send young kids off on their own to become Pokémon 
trainers, finally has someone to rally behind.  Someone to prove that 
even the 'little guy' can succeed in this great, big world."

The feed then switched to a tape in which Cassie was addressing the media 
following the measure's passage.

"This is something that many have waited anxiously for," she told the 
reporters.  "Especially here in Poli Town, what with many 10- and 11-year 
olds already looking up to me, seeing how successful I've been, and 
wanting to go out on journeys of their own and make a name for themselves."

Suddenly, Misty shut off the TV, sighing in despair.

"Even Cassie's forgotten about Ash.  Probably just what the League wanted, 
anyway.  No wonder they don't care anymore... when they have a willing 
puppet..."

The phone then began to ring.  Misty picked the receiver up without 
hesitation.

"Cerulean City Gym, Misty speaking..." Misty stated, spewing the usual 
phone greeting.

"I... know... where... he... is..." spouted a creepy voice, breathing 
heavily between words.

"Excuse me?"

"Ash... Ketchum.  Your... boy... friend."

"Who... who is this?"

"Tonight... seven... Cerulean... Cape..."

"Cerulean Cape?  Wait a..."

With that, the person on the other end hung up.  Misty quickly followed 
suit, then glanced at the clock on her computer.  It read 5:15.  Misty 
grabbed her windbreaker off the coat rack and bolted out of the office.

======

A long bike ride later, with her way illuminated only by a small headlight 
mounted on the front of her bicycle, Misty arrived at Cerulean Cape with 
minutes to spare.  She could spot Bill's Lighthouse at the top of a cliff 
about a quarter of a mile away... well, the spotlight emanating from it, 
at least, as a fog was rolling in, reducing visibility in the area.

Dismounting from her bike, Misty quickly called out Vaporeon and Scyther 
for protection.

"Keep your eyes and ears open, guys," she told them.  "This could be a 
trap."

Vaporeon and Scyther nodded in response, then quickly took to scanning 
the surrounding area with their eyes.

"I... knew..."

"Huh?" Misty shouted, turning towards where the voice was coming from.

"I... knew... you'd... come."

Misty stood there as slowly, but surely, a Pokémon emerged from the 
fog.  It was a very elderly Alakazam, with a light blue bubble 
surrounding him.  The Alakazam was showing his age, as his mustache was 
completely white in color, and wrinkles were visible all over his body.

"A talking Alakazam?  But... not like Persian," Misty deduced.  "Just 
like..."

"Ex... actly," the Alakazam proclaimed, finishing Misty's audible 
thoughts.

The Alakazam then began to float in the air, crossing his legs and 
closing his eyes, as if starting to meditate.  Misty took a step forward 
and reached for the bubble...

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you," a voice warned her.

Misty stopped, then quickly glancing right, left, and behind her.  
Vaporeon and Scyther did the same.

"Don't be alarmed," the voice spoke again.  "I'm speaking directly into 
your mind, through Alakazam."

"Really?"

"And please, don't touch Alakazam.  He may be old, but that barrier is 
for his protection... and it is very powerful.  I'm pretty sure someone 
as young as you wouldn't want to lose a finger..."

"If he's very powerful, then how do I know Alakazam won't attack me?"

"Alakazam is using all his strength to keep that barrier.  To attack, 
he'd have to drop it... and at his age, he isn't exactly graced with 
lightning-quick reflexes."

"So..." Misty relaxed a little, satisfied with the explanation.  "Why is 
he here and not you?"

"Because he can still move, young lady!  Unlike him, my age keeps me 
bed-ridden!"

"I... I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize.  It's how the cycle of life works.  Then again, it was 
accelerated by 'Celebi-rus Syndrome.'"

Misty blinked in confusion.  "Celebi-rus Syndrome?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if you haven't heard of it... the official name 
hasn't been officially registered yet.  But you've already experienced 
symptoms of it.  I suppose the late Miss Erika told you before her 
untimely passing..."

Misty looked down at Vaporeon, and she up at her trainer.  They nodded in 
confirmation and thought the same thing... this guy might be worth 
hearing out.

"Suppose this is the same thing I'm going through.  How can I tell you're 
telling the truth?"

"Because Ash Ketchum is in the same situation, Misty Waterflower.  As is 
Brock Slate and Marco Pereira."

"And you have it too?"

"Used to... though, the illness has unavoidable side effects, even after 
the syndrome has long passed!"

"How... how can that be?" Misty exclaimed in dismay.  "You mean there's 
no way to avoid..."

"Oh, there is.  But, avoiding such a fate requires a multitude of tasks, 
all of which require a great commitment of time and effort to complete.  
Are you willing to make that sacrifice?"

"How do I know you're not attempting to trick me into a trap?  You don't 
even know where Ash is, do you?"

"Ash is with us.  That's all you need to know."

Misty crossed her arms over her chest.  "And I'm supposed to believe you?"

"I can't make you believe me.  But who else could give you the answers 
you're seeking?  This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Misty had to think long and hard to come to a decision, but before she 
could...

"Mt. Pyre.  March 1st, between midnight and 2 am."

"Wha?  But I didn't..."

"Once in a lifetime..."

With that, the voice faded away.  Suddenly, Alakazam woke up from his 
meditation, dropping the barrier in the process.  Vaporeon and Scyther 
hastily jumped in front of Misty, both getting into defensive stances.  
The three Pokémon stared each other down for about a minute, as Misty 
contemplated her next course of action.

Vaporeon took two steps forward, and started charging up for an attack...

"No."

Vaporeon stopped, hearing the very solemn, meek-voiced command.

"No.  Let him... go."

With that last word, Alakazam turned around and slowly crept back into 
the fog.  Assured that the psychic-type was gone, both Vaporeon and 
Scyther breathed a sigh of relief.  Misty wrestled her Pokédex out of 
her windbreaker pocket and used it to look up information on Mt. Pyre...

======

Tuesday, February 26th, Hoenn Route 121, just west of Lilycove City

"After doing some research for Mt. Pyre and trouble getting a flight 
into nearby Lilycove because it was Pokémon Contest season," Misty told 
Richie, "I finally managed to procure a bike rental and pedaled my way to 
Mt. Pyre."

Misty found herself lost several times as she asked numerous passers-by 
for directions to Mt. Pyre.  Among those she prompted for help were two 
college students interning at the nearby Safari Zone.

Soon enough, she reached the cove of water which surrounded a 20-mile 
radius of Mt. Pyre.  Misty proceeded over this area, Hoenn Route 122, 
by asking for the assistance of a wild Wailmer to cross the cove.

======

"It had taken two-and-a-half days to travel there from Lilycove, but I 
managed to get there just in time..."

Misty waved goodbye to Wailmer, then took a gander at her glow-in-the-dark 
wristwatch as she picked up her duffel bag off the ground and headed for 
the main entrance of the mountain caverns, just an eighth-mile north of 
the docks she was standing on.

Producing a flashlight out of a pocket from her sweatpants, she turned it 
on and shined it upon a nearby wooden sign.  It read...

MT. PYRE - HOME TO THE DEARLY DEPARTED POKEMON WE SO CHERISHED

"Great," Misty gulped, a sarcastic tone in her voice.  "I don't like ghost 
Pokémon.  Maybe even more than I don't like bug Pokémon..."

Stopping at the entrance, Misty stared into the unlighted cavern before 
her.  She could swear she heard noises coming from inside.  But she knew 
she had no choice... she had to go in!

"Don't worry Ash," Misty thought to herself.  "I'm GOING to save you."

As Misty stepped inside, her flashlight illuminating only a few feet in 
front of her, she failed to notice a pair of red eyes watching her from 
right above the entrance...

======

"So, then what?" Richie asked.

Misty shrugged her shoulders.  "I don't know.  After that, the next thing 
I remember is waking up in your tent."

"That's because I found you outside the cave and brought you back to my 
campsite..."

======

High above Route 122, Richie and Chuchino were shouting with glee as they 
were soaring through the air, riding upon the back of a Charizard.  
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Richie noticed movement on the Mt. 
Pyre entrance grounds below.

"That's suspicious," Richie commented.  "Let's check it out!"

Curious to investigate, the two hung on for dear life as Charizard 
sharply descended down to the ground.  As they got closer to the cave 
entrance, Chuchino spotted three Duskull circling an unconscious human 
figure on the ground.

"Pika!" Chuchino pointed out.

"Right.  Flamethrower time!" Richie ordered.

Charizard responded with haste, aiming the Flamethrower at the three 
Duskull.  They all immediately fled back into the cave, avoiding getting 
burned in the process.  Charizard slowed down as he landed on the ground, 
two feet firmly planted in the grass.  Richie and Chuchino leaped off, 
the Pikachu fleet-footed enough to reach the human figure first.

"Pi?  Pika pika!" Chuchino chirped after seeing the human's face and 
quickly recognizing it.

"Huh?  What's up, Chuchino?" asked Richie as he trotted up.

"Pika!"

Richie gasped when he gazed down and noticed that he, too, recognized the 
human laying unconscious before him.

It was Misty, who had a pretty big bump on the top of her head.

"I don't know what's going on, or if she went into the caverns by 
herself.  But we can't leave her here."

Richie whistled for Charizard to come over.  The fire-type squatted down 
and picked Misty's limp body off the ground.  Once Charizard was back at 
a standing position, Richie and Chuchino climbed aboard his back.

"Let's go, Zippo!"

Charizard roared as he flapped his wings and took the air, flying in the 
direction of Richie's camp.

======

"You're just lucky I happened to be in the area," Richie told Misty.

"You mean..."

Suddenly, a loud roar filled the air.  Misty, Richie, Chuchino, and Happy 
turned southward, where Charizard was flying in from.  Charizard came in 
for a landing near Chuchino and Happy, as Richie happily ran over to 
greet him.

"So, how'd it go?"

"Grooarrr!" Charizard roared with approval.

Misty gasped in astonishment as she walked up.  "Unbelievable!  This was 
that Charmeleon of yours!  He evolved... into a Charizard!"

"That's right!" Richie nodded in confirmation.  "This is Zippo.  Zip, you 
remember Misty, right?"

Zippo roared again, signaling that he indeed did.

"Well, I'll be," Misty said with a smile.

She turned to look at Richie, but she was taken aback when she noticed 
that he had developed a serious look on his face.

"We'd better get going."

"Going?  But... where?"

"Why... to go save Ash, of course!"

Misty nearly jumped out of her socks.  "You want to help?"

"Well..." Richie suddenly grew timid, afraid Misty was angry at his sudden 
decision to tag along, "I know you don't need the help.  You're a gym 
leader, after all..."

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!" Misty exclaimed.

"But..."

Before Richie could object, Misty had put one hand over his mouth.  Just 
a foot away, Misty peered angrily into Richie's eyes, as if looking for 
some excuse to not let him come along.  But then, Misty let a smile creep 
across her lips...

And a girlish giggle escape from her lips.

"Pack your things, Richie!" she said with renewed enthusiasm, dropping 
her hand from his mouth.  "You're going to help me save Ash!"

"You... you really mean it?"

Misty arched an eyebrow.  "Do I LOOK like I don't?"

Richie smiled, then ran to start packing up the campsite.  Chuchino ran 
after him to help.  Misty turned about and glanced southward, in the 
direction of Mt. Pyre.

"Soon, Ash.  Soon..."

======

Twenty minutes later, Misty, Richie, Vaporeon, and Chuchino were standing 
outside the entrance to Mt. Pyre.  Richie was offering Zippo's Pokéball 
encouragement on a job well done for the flight there as he placed it on 
his belt, alongside the four others there.  As he did, Misty was in the 
process of completing her own prep, as she had a belt of her own wrapped 
around her waist.  One of them was a green-colored Friend Ball, as 
opposed to the other regular Pokéballs on her belt.  She gave it a light 
kiss before attaching it next to the others.

"What Pokémon do you have in that Friend Ball?" Richie asked.

Misty winked back.  "My little secret weapon.  Let's just say... it's so 
strong, I hope I don't have to use it."

"That powerful, huh?"

Misty nodded.

With that, Chuchino rushed into the cave, but not before beckoning the 
others to follow.  Vaporeon followed close behind, then it was Richie and 
Misty bringing up the rear.

"WE'RE COMING TO SAVE YOU, ASH!" the two trainers yelled in unison.

======

Indigo Plateau

After two quick knocks, the doorknob turned and the entrance into the 
room pulled outward.  In stepped Cassie, carrying a manila folder under 
her armpit, a miffed look on her face.  She had stepped into a sort of 
interrogation room.  Gray walls, minimal lighting, and a small steel 
table in the center of the room.  The table itself had two aluminum 
folding chairs, one in front of her and the second on the opposite side 
of the table.

And it was no surprise to her that Lt. Surge was sitting in that other 
chair, and backwards to boot.

"Well, well," Surge smirked.  "Looks like I've got an unexpected guest!  
And a cute one, at that!"

Cassie closed the door, then walked over and tossed the folder at 
Surge, who reached up and easily caught it.  No surprise there, either.

"Don't try to flatter me!" Cassie exclaimed.  "You called me down here!"

"Indeed I did, it seems," Surge replied as he opened the folder and 
started examining the contents.

"And don't try to fool me, either!  You know what's exactly in there, 
don't you?"

Surge couldn't help but let out a chuckle as he lowered the folder and 
placed it down on the table.

"Your deductive reasoning skills are as good as advertised."

"So you're aware of my past, huh?"

Cassie took a seat in the other chair, without taking her eyes off of 
the gym leader.

"The League was very thorough in its research.  We wouldn't have 
appointed you as the new Junior Master if we didn't think you could be 
trusted."

"Sure helped a lot with Marco," Cassie remarked, sarcastically.

"Despite the 'gray areas' the Pokémon Trainers' Association deals in, we 
decided to place our trust in you..."

"Because you want to use me, right?  Just because I'm from the country 
doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"On the contrary, babe!  I called you in because of the skills you 
developed while part of that organization.  It has nothing to do with 
the formal investigation we're planning."

"Good.  And just so you know... though I do disapprove of some of their 
methods, I would never, ever completely divulge all of their secrets."

Surge shrugged.  "It's not like you know that much anyway.  Even with 
your smarts, sweetheart, there's more to the PTA than you know."

Cassie gritted her teeth.  Sure, she didn't know everything about the 
PTA... but how could an outsider like Surge be more aware of what was 
going on than her?

"But like I said, the PTA's not why you're here."

"I know why I'm here!"

Cassie opened the folder and spread out the material inside.  A bunch of 
research documents, and numerous head shots of very prominent teenage 
trainers.  Among them were Ash, Misty, Brock, and Marco - whom Cassie all 
knew were four of the five blessed, or cursed, with the ability to 
temporarily share bodies with their Pokémon and increase their power.  
But also included were photos of talents like Giselle Gravelpot, Shingo 
Macintosh, and... herself.

"You think I'm one of the five, don't you?  I can read it in your mind 
right now... that's exactly what you're thinking!"

Surge didn't respond.

"I see.  And yet... I don't.  There's a shadow of doubt..."

Surge, once again, didn't say a word.

"You're not sure.  In fact, what little evidence is in this research, 
isn't it?  The research you were entrusted with, which was originally 
compiled and put together by Erika, the Celadon gym leader!"

More silence.

"I may have shown some of these so-called 'symptoms,' but that by no 
means that I'm the fifth that everyone's looking for.  The League, the 
PTA, and Team Rocket!  I don't have to prove it... my instincts are good 
enough to deduce that all on my own!  You're trying to ensure that the 
League finds them first.

"And yet, you're taking a chance on me.  Marco was one of the five, and 
he disappeared.  So was Ash, and he got kidnapped!  Sad as it makes me to 
admit, Gary was next in line, yet the League skipped over him and chose 
me to be Junior Master.  Maybe... you've already figured out he can't be 
the fifth, even though his photo is in this folder as well?"

She pointed out Gary's photo, which was partially covered by a few of 
the others.

"That must be it!"

"ENOUGH!" Surge yelled, jumping out of his seat, slamming his fists down 
on the table, and sending some of the documents inside the folder flying 
into the air.

"Eek!" squealed Cassie.  "Must've... hit a sore spot?"

"How about I ask you this... do you know FOR SURE?"

Cassie blinked, a little confused.  "Huh?"

"DO YOU KNOW FOR SURE THAT YOU AREN'T THE FIFTH LEGENDARY?"

The young trainer fumbled about for a response, but couldn't come up with 
one.

"You think you aren't, when the truth is... you really don't know, do 
you?"

Surge had Cassie pegged.  She really didn't know for sure.

"Aren't you the least bit curious to find out the truth?  I'm sure you'd 
be relieved if you could confidently back up your innocence claim."

"And you think you can help me with that?  Ha!  I find that hard to 
believe..."

"Think about it this way... you've seen first-hand what a person with 
this kind of power is capable of.  You wouldn't want someone like that to 
fall into the clutches of... oh, I don't know... Team Rocket?  Imagine 
what havoc they could wreak if they had one of them working for them.  
What... what if they have two?  They could have both Marco and Ash, you 
know!"

Cassie thought out the possibilities aloud.  "Marco I could definitely 
see, but Ash?  Do I really know him well enough to believe he'd never 
work for Team Rocket, under any circumstances?"

"Do you wanna risk any chance that he is?"

Cassie closed her eyes, and ensnared herself in deep thought.  After about 
a minute, she reopened her eyes and answered Surge's question.

"You're right.  Any chance, no matter how small, is bad for the League 
and all trainers and Pokémon around the world in general."

"So you'll help in my personal investigation?"

"Even if I turn out to be one of the five?" Cassie pointed to herself.  
"I have to.  The fate of the world is at stake here."

Surge smiled.  "I knew you were smart enough to make the right decision!"

With that, Cassie got up and headed for the door.

"Just don't disappear!" Surge shouted.  "I'll let you know when it's 
time to head out, Little Miss Junior Master!"

Cassie decided not to retort as she opened the door and exited the room.

======

Mt. Pyre

The dark recesses of the cavern were slowly being lit up as Chuchino 
used Flash to light the way of a rescue party - one to locate Ash Ketchum, 
who was kidnapped a month ago.  A kidnapping that, surprisingly, nobody, 
not even Team Rocket, claimed responsibility for the vile act.  With only 
the assurance of an old man through an Alakazam about Ash being with him, 
Misty was now at Mt. Pyre to search out her boyfriend.  Accompanying her 
was a fellow competitor from her Novice League Tournament, Richie Sparky, 
who pledged his support to helping find the missing trainer.

But even in the daytime, the caverns were dark and treacherous, as Misty 
and Richie really had no idea what might be around the next corner.

"Pi, ka, pi, ka, pi, ka..." Chuchino chirped in step with his feet.

Vaporeon was right behind Chuchino, keeping her eyes glued to the ceiling 
and to either side of herself and Richie's Pikachu.  Speaking of which, 
Richie was walking at the rear, side-by-side with Misty, who had an 
obvious look of concern on her face.

"You're worried about Ash, aren't you?" Richie asked.

"I know Ash can take care of himself," Misty replied, "but... it's the 
whole bit about me missing the deadline that I'm worried about.  Will 
they back out because I was late?  Or maybe they've left and wandered off 
somewhere else?  Or... or... or..."

"You said Ash can take care of himself!  I'm sure we'll able to tell from 
the minute we find him."

All of a sudden, the sound of ominous, dark laughter filled the cavern, 
causing a startled Chuchino to stop dead in his tracks.  The rest of the 
group followed suit.

"W-w-w-what was... that?" Misty asked, a bit frightened herself.

Richie produced a flashlight out of his backpack and turned on.  He 
quickly shined it all around the surrounding area of the cavern.  But the 
search was fruitless... nothing was there except for the four of them and 
the cave walls themselves.

"That's strange..." Richie scratched his head, confused.

"Vaporeon, do you sense anything?" Misty asked her Pokémon.

Vaporeon stuck her nose up in the air and sniffed around, attempting to 
see if she could detect an unfamiliar smell.  Her ears perked up, noting 
such an odor not too far ahead.

"Vaporeon?  What is it?"

Before Misty got an answer, Vaporeon bolted further into the cavern.

"Vaporeon!" Misty yelled after her.

"We've got to follow her!" Richie exclaimed.  "There's no telling what 
might happen if we all get separated!"

Richie and Misty ran after Vaporeon, with Chuchino leading the way.

======

Meanwhile, in some major city of the Johto region, a white, non-descript 
moving truck was parked in the alley behind a local bakery.  Cautiously, 
two pairs of Rocket Grunts appeared - one from inside the bakery, the 
other from inside the back of the open truck.  They worked together to 
start unloading the cardboard boxes inside, all of various sizes.  They 
were cleared marked as containing ingredients for the bakery, such as 
dough, flour, sugar, deli meats, cheeses, and confections like chocolate 
and caramel.

Inside the back door, Marco... or Mark, as he was going by these days, 
was sitting on a stool, holding a clipboard that listed all of the items 
the restaurant was expected to receive.  But he didn't seem to be 
checking things off as he was supposed to.  In fact, he seemed to be 
daydreaming as he gazed up at the fluorescent lights above.

He was so far out it that he didn't seem to hear a woman screaming at 
him from about ten feet away.  Or realize she was actually there.

Until she walked over and smacked him in the back of the head with the 
handle of nearby broom.  Hard enough to break it in two, actually.

"Why am I the one doing ALL the work here?"

Mark turned to his left and saw Domino standing there, tapping her feet 
impatiently and giving him an angry glare.

"If anyone should be doing the menial tasks of being a regular paid 
employee, it should be YOU!" Domino shrieked.

"Why are you so uptight?" Mark asked, getting off the stool.  "Oh, I 
know... maybe I need to find you a boyfriend..."

Domino reached for a mop, one with a metal handle, and preceded to 
whack Mark in the head with it as well.  The hit sent Mark to the floor, 
groaning in pain as his face kissed the unclean tiles below.

"HOW DARE YOU JOKE ABOUT SUCH THINGS!"

She tossed the mop aside and dusted her hands off.

"Besides, have you forgotten why we're here?  We're competing for which 
one of us becomes the head of the Johto branch of Team Rocket!  Does that 
NOT matter to you?"

Mark slowly got to his feet, still wincing in pain.

"Why do you care?  Weren't you the one who didn't want to leave the boss' 
side?"

"Well, yeah, but... I figure this is a test to see if I'm worthy.  You 
know, of being a true second-in-command.  He wants me to prove that I 
would make so much of a good leader here that this job would actually be 
beneath me!  And, seeing that, he'll put me where I truly deserve... 
spending every waking moment of the rest of my life next to him, as his 
most trusted employee!  Then I'll rule over the entire organization, 
answering only to him!  Together, Giovanni and I will take Team Rocket to 
heights we've only dreamed of for years!  TEAM ROCKET WILL FINALLY TAKE 
OVER THE WORLD!"

"And, by default, that'll leave me as the Johto branch," Mark said, not 
really caring at all.

"Exactly!  But I can't ascend to the top of the organization unless you 
ascent to the top here.  And that's not gonna happen if you don't get off 
your butt and pursue this position LIKE YOU SHOULD!"

Mark shrugged his shoulders.  "But Johto's boring.  I'd rather be 
traveling the world as a special ops agent... like you.  After all, if 
you're going to be the new second-in-command, wouldn't your current 
position then need to be filled?"

"You've got to be here longer before you can even think about being 
worthy of such a prestigious position, kid."

"The Celadon City incident would prove otherwise.  After all, I AM 
competing against you for leader of the Johto branch, aren't I?"

"Stop being so smug!"

"Stop being so bossy!"

The two stared angrily at each other, hard enough that would could 
imagine lightning bolts being exchanged between their eyes.  But before 
the stare down could degenerate into abusive violence, the bell at the 
front rang, signifying a customer had just entered the bakery.  Domino 
forgot about Mark, for the moment, and headed out.  Mark mumbled something 
incoherent under his breath as he turned around to sit back in his stool.  
It was then that he noticed that the four Grunts who were bringing in all 
the supplies had been standing there the whole time, watching the whole 
incident unfold.

"Just get back to work..." he told them.

Meanwhile, Domino had fetched a white apron and tied it onto her body as 
she walked to the counter and saw a happy Farfetch'd sitting on the 
counter.

"Farfetch'd, far far far!" he squawked as he swayed left, then right, 
then left again.

Behind the Farfetch'd stood his trainer, Giselle, who, for once, had a 
giddy smile on her face.

"The usual, please!  A dozen pieces of caramel-filled melon bread!"

"Far far!"

======

After what seemed like many minutes of running but in fact were only one 
or two, Misty and Richie saw a light at the end of the tunnel, so to 
speak.  The two of them and Chuchino ran through, and were amazed at 
what lied before their very eyes as Vaporeon rejoiced that they had 
caught up; the water-type standing on top of a ridge overlooking a quaint 
in-cavern village.

Chuchino stopped using Flash as he noticed the huge bowl-shaped dome 
covering an enormous light source attached to the cavern's ceiling.  
Below, the foursome noted a small community of about 15 to 20 buildings, 
most of them resembling small huts or tent-like straw cabins.  A handful 
had even been built into the cavern walls!

They also spotted a few adult humans, in the process of farming or 
cleaning or inspecting a nearby patch of ill-formed stalagmites.  There 
also happened to be, towards the group's right, a pair of Duskull and a 
trio of Shuppet in the midst of a game of tag - or something resembling 
the game.

"Those are ghost types!" Richie deduced, matter-of-factly.

"G-g-g-g-ghost?" Misty stuttered.

Misty quickly hid behind Richie, determined to not let the ghost-types 
spot her.

"Oh, come on Misty!  They look friendly!"

"That sounds like something Ash would say," Misty retorted.

"Pika!" Chuchino shouted, as he noticed a Pokémon heading towards them.

Vaporeon reared back in a defensive position as Misty and Richie turned 
to see a light-blue Pokémon with a round body and red-tipped, ribbon-like 
tail casually floating their way.

"What Pokémon is that?" Misty asked.

"You're asking me?" Richie shot back.  "I've never seen that one in my 
life!"

Misty whipped out her cerulean blue Pokédex and aimed it at the incoming 
Pokémon, who continued to lackadaisically wander their way.

"Chimecho, the wind chime Pokémon!" identified the Pokédex.  "A usually 
peaceful Pokémon who normally can be found only in grasslands, though 
they occasionally may be sighted in mountainous regions.  Note that when 
it becomes enraged, its cries may results in ultrasonic waves that may 
send foes flying."

"A... Chimecho?" Richie repeated.

"Wow!" Misty gushed.  "It's such a cutie!"

"Chime chime!" it pleasingly chirped, coming to a stop a few feet away.

Chuchino and Vaporeon hastily leaped in-between their trainers and 
Chimecho, both growling angrily at the little living wind chime.

"Chuchino, what's wrong?"

"Calm down, Vaporeon!"

Richie and Misty obviously didn't see Chimecho as a threat, like their 
Pokémon did.  Chimecho proved the humans wrong as it used Astonish on 
Chuchino and Vaporeon.

"CHIIIIIIIIMEEEEEEE!"

The near ear-splitting sound from Chimecho caused Chuchino and Vaporeon 
to drop to their knees and cover their ears, seeking any relief from the 
paralyzing noise.  Richie and Misty were nearly forced to do the same, 
screaming at their own personal anguish and pounding heads.

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" Misty screamed.

"HOW LONG IS THIS GOING TO LAST?" Richie yelled.

As if on command, the noise did come to an abrupt halt.  The two teens 
glanced forward and saw Chimecho was being drawn into a Pokéball, just in 
front of Chuchino and Vaporeon, who were both flinching and unable to 
move because of the frightful scare.  Richie looked around and noticed 
that they were surrounded on either side by eight adults from the village, 
with a few more on their way up he noted as he peered over the ridge.  
All Misty saw was the Duskull and Shuppet they had saw earlier, who were 
now circling her and the others.

"Eek!" Misty shrieked, ducking behind Richie again.

One of them, the eldest of them all - a bearded man in a red flannel long 
sleeve shirt and jean overalls - stepped forward.

"What do you think you're doing, frightening an innocent Pokémon like 
that?" he demanded.

"Innocent?" Misty exclaimed.  "It was the one doing the scaring!"

"Don't you know that this is private land?  No visitors unless you're 
invited by the Grand Champion himself!"

"The Grand Champion?" Richie gasped in awe.  "Who's that?"

"Humph," the man grumbled.  "If you don't even know who he is, then you 
two are far from worthy from meeting him!"

"Hey!" Misty cried, stepping out from behind Richie.  "I'll have you know 
that I'm the gym leader of Cerulean City!"

"So?  You still have no business here, much less any authority!"

"I was told to come here by someone!  He said... he said..."

Misty had to stop for a second to compose herself, as she was on the 
verge of tears.

"HE SAID THAT 'HE' WOULD BE HERE!"

"'He?'  The only 'He' here is the Grand Champion!"

"HE SAID THAT ASH KETCHUM WAS HERE!  AND IF I DIDN'T COME, I WOULD 
NEVER, EVER SEE HIM AGAIN!"

"You need to watch that tone of yours, girl!" a woman in a gray, 
nondescript robe with an attached brown hood and cape.  "As well as what 
you suggest.  The Grand Champion would never kidnap anyone, much less any 
of us here!"

"If Misty says he's here," Richie stated defiantly, stepping past Misty 
and towards the two adults, "then Ash is here!"

"I said that you are incorrect!" she snapped.

"If you know what's good for you," the bearded one added, "you'll leave 
now before you get into some serious trouble."

"But I swear I'm telling the truth!" defended Misty.  "Look, I was told 
this by an Alakazam..."

"An Alakazam, you say?"

Seeing an opening to convince them she wasn't lying, Misty began reaching 
for a side pocket inside her zipped-up windbreaker.

"I have this picture of..."

"Hold it right there!" the woman exclaimed.

Misty froze, wondering if her sudden movements were seen as threatening.  
The robed woman than clapped, and one of the Duskull came to her side.

"If you would, Duskull."

Duskull nodded, then flew speedily at Misty.  Before she could dodge the 
ghost-type, Duskull flew right through her body and emerged with a small 
photo in hand.  Dazed and a bit freaked at the intrusion, Misty cried out 
with disgust as she fell to her knees.

"AAAAHHHH!  WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

Duskull handed the photo to his mistress.  She then gasped in shock when 
she actually recognized Ash's face.

"This... this is..."

"He's the one!" the bearded man added upon seeing the photo.  "It's... 
Sir Pikachu the First!"

"Wha?" Richie gagged.

"Sir Pikachu the First?" Misty asked, puzzled.

"That is his name... not this Ash that you speak of."

"What?  I've known Ash for several years!  I know him almost as good as 
his mother does... because I'm his girlfriend!"

"Girlfriend?  Sir Pikachu has no need for such trivial things."

"TRIVIAL?" Misty yelled angrily, her head nearly exploding in rage.

"It's her!" somebody else in the crowd exclaimed.  "It's... her!"

Misty calmed down, wondering who was pointing her out as a familiar.  
After a second or two, the supporter came out of the crowd.  Or, rather, 
hobbled his way out.  It was Alakazam... the same one who Misty saw at 
Cerulean Cape.

"It's you!"

"You're... *cough* late!" Alakazam stated.  "You were... supposed to... 
be here... last... *cough* night!"

"I'm sorry, but..."

"No excuses!  *cough* We have work... to... *cough*"

"What about Ash?  When do I get to see him?"

"Bite your tongue!" the robed woman cut in.  "Show the sage's Alakazam 
some respect!"

"Who is this young lady?" the bearded man asked.  "Do you know her, oh 
great one?"

"Know her?  *cough* You should all... know... who she... is."

"Well, she said she's a gym leader..."

"She is much... more than... that!"

"Huh?"

Richie scratched his head, stumped.  "What's he going on about?"

Alakazam then pointed in the direction of Chuchino and Vaporeon, who had 
recovered from Chimecho's Astonish.  Or, more specifically, rather at 
Vaporeon.

"Don't you see... *cough* *cough*... see it?"

The bearded man trotted over towards Vaporeon, who just stood still as he 
approached.  He knelt down and peered into Vaporeon's eyes, paying close 
attention to them.  When the color of the eyes changed from white to a 
watery blue and the eyes' shape changed from a circle to a spinning 
whirlpool, he suddenly became aware of what the sage's Alakazam was 
getting at.

The man nodded, then got to his feet and turned towards Misty.  The young 
redhead took a step back cautiously, but didn't move another inch as he 
walked calmly over to her.  He came to a stop about five feet away and he 
reached into his pocket.  Vaporeon growled as Misty reached for a 
Pokéball from her belt.  The man quickly pulled his hand back out to 
reveal a 24-karat gold necklace with a whirlpool-shaped charm on it.  A 
little stunned, Misty could only watch as he placed it on the ground and 
took a few steps back.  The rest of the crowd gasped, then quickly 
dropped down to their knees and bent forward, hands outstretched, until 
their upper bodies were all parallel with the ground.  Once the man had 
gotten next to where the woman was, he knelt down and followed suit with 
the others.

Chuchino and Vaporeon gasped at this stunning sight, and Richie couldn't 
believe his eyes as Misty stood there, baffled about why she was 
presented such a gift.

"What's... going... on?" she asked slowly.  "Did Vaporeon do something?"

"On the contra... *cough*... contrary," Alakazam spoke as he slowly crept 
forward.  "They now know, just as you do and I do, that you are one of 
the legendary five."

"The... legendary five?" Richie asked himself.  "Who are they?"

"They do?" Misty confirmed.

"Yes," Alakazam nodded.  "Please, put the necklace on."

Misty looked a little apprehensive, but believing Alakazam, she squatted 
down and picked it up.  Undoing the clasp, she brought that end around to 
the back side of her neck and secured the necklace.  Misty then stood up, 
and Richie noticed how sparkling the charm was as it sat on top of the 
zipper of her windbreaker.

"Presenting..." pronounced Alakazam, "the arrival of Lady Vaporeon the 
Second!"

"LADY VAPOREON THE SECOND?" Misty and Richie shouted simultaneously.

Alakazam then turned to the bearded man and the robed woman.

"Roger and Silvia, please escort Lady Vaporeon to my... *cough* 
quarters.  I need to speak... to her... in private..."

"Before you take her to the Grand Champion," Silvia, the robed woman, 
completed his words.  "Very well."

"Please follow us, Lady Vaporeon," Roger, the bearded man requested as 
he and Silvia got to their feet.

Alakazam teleported away as the rest of the crowd got to their feet and 
cleared a path.  Vaporeon walked over to Misty, half-entranced by the 
charm on her master's necklace, half-prepared to fight should this 
sudden show of good will go astray.

"Will I get to see Ash... uh, Sir Pikachu the First?" Misty asked.

"If the sage believes that you are destined to see each other," Roger 
told her as he beckoned Misty down the path, "then he will."

Silvia led the way, and Misty followed with Vaporeon by her side.  
Chuchino ran over and climbed up onto Richie's shoulder, looking at him 
as for advice as to what to do.  Feeling he should follow Misty, Richie 
took a step in that direction.  But the crowd quickly marched into his 
path, blocking him from proceeding.

"What?  Hey, I'm with Misty!" Richie cried.

"We do not know of this Misty you speak of!" Roger told him.

"What are you talking about?  She's right there!"

Misty looked back when she realized the others weren't letting Richie 
by.  She turned to Silvia for an answer.

"Excuse me, but Richie..."

"He is not one of us, nor is he an invited guest of the Grand Champion.  
Therefore, he cannot come into the village with us."

"But..."

Misty glanced back again as Richie tried to force his way through the 
crowd through pushing.  But they refused.  Seeing the situation get a 
little hostile, Chuchino starting charging up for an electrical attack.  
Unfortunately, the pair of Duskull and the trio of Shuppet quickly 
surrounded them.

"Please don't hurt him!" Misty cried.  "He's a good guy, I swear!"

"Very well," Roger confirmed, nodding for the ghost Pokémon to back off, 
which they did.  "But we still cannot allow him to pass."

Misty seemed a little distraught and was about to let her rage consume 
her again when Richie spoke up.

"It's okay, Misty!" Richie exclaimed.  "I'll just wait for you here."

"I'm afraid you can't do that," Silvia exclaimed.  "When Lady Vaporeon 
learns of why she and Sir Pikachu are truly here, she won't be leaving 
this place for quite some time."

Misty was obviously concerned, as she had no idea what Silvia meant by 
the cryptic statement.  Could she be walking into a trap from which she 
would never escape from?  But the promise of seeing Ash alive...

"Go ahead and go, Richie.  I'll be fine."

"Wait... are you sure, Misty?"

"Vaporeon can watch my back... right, Vaporeon?"

Vaporeon nodded confidently.

"Well, okay... I just hope you get to see Ash again!

"Me too," Misty said, under her breath.  "Me too."

"C'mon, Chuchino," Richie told his Pikachu.

"Chu?"

"It's alright.  Misty knows what she's doing."

He then turned to wave goodbye one last time.

"Let me know how things turn out, okay?"

Misty gave an affirmative nod.  And with that, Richie and Chuchino 
walked out, with Roger going with them as an escort.

"This way, Lady Vaporeon."

Misty turned around and saw Silvia beckoning to continue on down into 
the village, and towards the sage's quarters.  She had no choice but to 
continue on and meet this sage.

======

"So this is the famous Slowpoke Well?"

Shingo and his Scizor, Blade, were standing at the entrance to the well, 
legendary known as the home to a group of Slowpoke who are descendants of 
Slowpoke from four centuries ago who ended a water drought that had 
plagued nearby Azalea Town at the time.

"We're sure to find a lot of stout Slowpoke and Slowbro here, aren't we, 
Blade?"

"Scizor!" Blade nodded in agreement.

Shingo took out his laptop and started it up as he and Blade started 
heading in.

======

After a few minutes of walking, Silvia and Misty came upon the sage's 
quarters.  It was a small hut, separated by quite a distance from the 
rest of the village residences.  Silvia pushed aside the curtain that 
acted as door and stepped inside, with Misty following right behind.  
Once inside, it began to stick out how small the hut actually was.  Other 
than a mini-bathroom in the corner, which was partitioned off only by 
another curtain, the living, sleeping, and eating space was essentially 
the one room Misty was standing in.  The house was lighted inside by a 
few dozen candles, of which Misty saw Silvia going around and seeing if 
any had completely gone out and needed to be replaced.  There were a few 
ground-based cupboards pushed together near one corner of the hut, each 
filled with a handful of plates, bowls, and utensils, as well as a few 
non-perishable food cans and boxes.

And then there was the sage himself, lying on top of a handmade quilt, 
staring up at the ceiling, with a green comforter covering up and a 
half-filled bowl of cold soup lying next to a small pillow that supported 
his head.

"I'll bring you some new candles as soon as I get the chance," promised 
Silvia, who bowed, then turned about to exit the hut.

Once Silvia was gone, Misty was alone in the room with the old sage.  A 
little nervous, she cautiously made her way over to him.  Once she was 
standing right above him, she found herself gazing into his wrinkly, old 
eyes.

"I believe you have questions for me, don't you?" he said.

"Plenty," Misty replied.  "Let's start with Celebi-rus Syndrome.  How did 
I contract it, where does it come from, and how can I get rid of it?"

The old man started to snicker for no apparent reason, much to Misty's 
dismay.  In fact, that quickly grew to full-out, belly-busting laughter.  
And Misty was not too pleased at being ridiculed.

"HEY!  I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO GIVE ME SOME ANSWERS!"

With that, the sage ceased his laughter and grew a serious face.

"I apologize.  I made a bet on the first question you would ask me."

"Looks like I win again!" came a familiar voice from the entrance, 
causing Misty to suddenly perk up.

Misty quickly spun around, and there, at the curtains, stood Ash.  
Flashing a stupid grin across his mug, he was wearing a black T-shirt and 
a pair of brown slacks.  With no hat covering his head, it was obvious 
that his hair had begun to grow out, as some of it reached down to his 
surprisingly stout shoulders.  But the looks weren't what mattered to 
Misty... it was just who they belonged to.

"ASH!"

Tears streaming from her eyes, Misty ran over and wrapped her arms 
tightly around her boyfriend.  After feeling Misty's warm body against 
his, Ash moved to do the same, coiling his arms around her back.  The two 
of them stood there like that for a few minutes, just taking everything 
that had happened to them in the past two months and completely forgetting 
about them.

"Ash... I don't ever want to never be by your side ever again!  In fact, 
I hope I never let you go!"

"T-t-t-t..." Ash stuttered, "that's the way I want it, too."

"Pika!"

Pikachu had just arrived, sporting a sweatband on his head as he had 
apparently run all the way here from somewhere.  Misty quickly released 
her grip on Ash, unaware that he actually looked and smelt as if he had 
done the same, and she ran over to pick up Pikachu off the ground and rub 
cheeks with him.

"Pikachu, am I ever so glad to see you!" she said rejoicingly.

Ash fell over.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu responded enthusiastically.  "Pikachu!"

"Man, that didn't last long, did it?" Ash said as he recovered from being 
'dumped.'

Misty put Pikachu down and, at that moment, noticed for the first time 
that her windbreaker was now sweat-stained just below her neck and around 
her chest area.  It was then that she not only noticed Ash's sweaty 
condition, but what else was different about him beside his long hair.

"Holy moly, you've grown a few inches, haven't you?  And I swear I felt 
a few muscles!  Could it be... Ash Ketchum's finally growing up?"

"C'mon, Mist!" Ash retorted, a little displeased with the teasing.  "You 
know I'm two years younger than you, and I'm a guy!  We start puberty 
later!"

Misty gasped.

"What?"

"Your voice got deeper!  You actually know what puberty is!  And... 
and... and..."

"And what?"

Misty ran over and started tugging at a little hair that was growing on 
Ash's chin.

"You've even got a whisker!"

"AAAHHHH!  THAT HURTS, KNOCK IT OFF!"

Misty let go, and started gazing dreamily up towards the cavern ceiling.  

"That means we can finally start doing REAL boyfriend-girlfriend stuff!  
This is so exciting!  Now I really know what my sisters mean by the joys 
of being a teenager!  I wish I had my diary with me so I..."

"I thought kissing was boyfriend-girlfriend stuff," Ash muttered under 
his breath as Misty continued to talk in the background.

"Pika..." sighed Pikachu.

"Though I have to say..."

As Misty's mouth kept going off, Ash was eyeing up Misty all over.  The 
fact that she was wearing unflattering, skin-covering clothing didn't 
deter him from the thoughts racing through his mind.

"Man, if she looks this good now, I wonder what she'd look like with 
that old yellow shirt and jean shorts on from our old traveling days... 
wait!  What's this feeling that's racing through my body?  It feels... 
really, really good!"

Suddenly, the old sage coughed, quickly reminding both of them that they 
were still inside his hut and he was still lying there, bed-ridden because 
of his condition.  The two quickly came to their senses and bowed several 
times in remorse.

"We're very, very sorry!" Misty apologized.

"We'll take our shenanigans elsewhere, Master Nero," Ash added.

"Master Nero?" Misty wondered out loud.  "You don't mean..."

Ash snickered.  "Of course not!  He's too old to be Grand Champion, 
silly!"

"SILLY?" Misty yelled, before coming to a realization.  "Wait... how did 
you know that I knew there was a Grand Champion here?"

"Everyone knows the Grand Champion!  Don't you?"

"Well... not really..."

"Then I'll take you to him!  Come on!"

Ash grabbed Misty by the arm, pulled her out of the hut, and tugged her 
along to the cavern exit opposite of where they had come from.  Pikachu 
quickly tailed behind them, though steadily unable to keep pace with 
them.

"Ash, wait, where are you taking me?"

"To the top of the mountain, of course!"

Misty wasn't so sure about being dragged into an unfamiliar situation, so 
she made an attempt to break free.  But, to her surprise, she found Ash's 
grip way too strong to escape from.

"What?!" Misty freaked in thought.  "I've always been able to break free 
from Ash whenever I wanted to before!  But now, not only is he so much 
stronger..."

She never got to finish her thought, as they reached the end of the 
tunnel and Ash pulled her into the white light...

======

Monday, March 11th, Celadon City Pokémon Center

"There you go... all of your Pokémon have been restored!"

"Thank you, Nurse Joy."

With that, a hand reached into the tray and started attaching the 
Pokéballs to a belt, one by one.  Once that was complete, the trainer 
turned about and walked towards the exit.

"Hold on a second, you!"

That last shout didn't come from Nurse Joy...

"I know you from somewhere!"

The trainer froze cautiously, though the voice did seem familiar...

"It is!  It is you!"

The young man turned around, intending to refute the claim, but as he 
opened up his mouth to speak, he recognized the face of the guy standing 
there.

"Number one..."

The guy, though, didn't return such kind greetings.

"You decided to show your face again, huh?"

"What?"

"Perhaps I should refresh your memory.  We were set to advance to the 
A-Level Class as the top two students.  But then... YOU DECIDED TO DROP 
OUT!"

"Hey!" the ex-drop out waved his arms about in defense.  "I was in the 
middle of a badge journey, remember?  I wanted to challenge Erika again, 
and then continue trying to get enough badges to get into the Pokémon 
League!"

"That couldn't wait?  I thought you aspired to be better than me!"

"I did and still do, Jin."

"Is that so, Arius?"

The two stared at each other, with sly grins on their faces, as they 
recalled their most epic battle...

======

"Let's go, Zubat!" Arius exclaimed.

"You're on, Mankey!" shouted Jin.

"Zubat, Supersonic!"

Zubat recovered from the blows and blasted sound waves at Mankey.  Mankey 
howled out in pain as he covered his ears to block it.

"Now, while Mankey's defense is down... go for Leech Life!"

Zubat swooped in once again, baring his fangs.  But at the second, Mankey 
instinctively jumped up and over the charging Pokémon.

"That a way!"

"Rats... Zubat, try again!"

"Mankey, use Karate Chop to knock it down!"

Zubat turned about and made another diving attempt.  This time, Mankey 
leaped in the air early, reared his right arm back, and then stiffly 
brought it forward, towards Zubat's head.

"Zubat... use Razor Wind!"

Jin gasped in shock.  "Razor Wind?"

Zubat suddenly stopped his dive and faced upward at the descending 
Mankey.  Zubat brought his wings back and then snapped them forward in a 
snap, generating two solid razor-sharp blades of wind that hit Mankey 
square in the arms.  The attack also made Mankey spin backwards, as he 
lost control of his descent and ended facing the sky as he hit the ground 
back-first.  Mankey cried out in pain, gritting in pain as he tried to 
get up, using his arms to brace him.  But Mankey was screaming loudly as 
it did so, as his willpower to continue fighting was the only thing 
fueling him at that point.

"A good Pokémon trainer knows when he's beat," admitted Jin.  "Therefore, 
I concede the match to my opponent."

The instructor nodded in agreement, then proclaimed it official.  "And 
with that, the winners of the match are Arius and Zubat!"

======

"Still got that Zubat?" Jin asked.

Arius nodded.  "You betcha.  He's a Golbat now.  And you and Mankey?"

"That's Primeape and I!  And yes, we're still together!"

"Wanna give me another chance to beat you?"

"That sounds like a great idea!"

Arius laughed with anticipation.

"But... the Jin you used to know died a long time ago."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Jin sighed.  "I don't know how to tell you this... but I stopped aspiring 
to be a Pokémon Master quite awhile ago."

Arius was stunned by the news.

"It's... a long story."

"I bet it is.  You gonna tell me it?"

"Yes.  But not here.  I feel it'll go over better if you're having fun 
when I tell you."

"In other words..."

Jin reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card-sized ID badge 
that had a picture of the Celadon Game Corner on it as well as his name, 
Jin Siraguchi, and the letters 'VIP AA' under that.

"Feel like hitting the slots?"

======

Not long after, Arius and Jin were sitting side-by-side inside Celadon's 
famous casino, playing the slot machines hoping to win more coins and a 
prize or two.

"So let me get this straight," Arius said as he inserted a coin into the 
machine.  "Because you work for a local security company, you get free 
access to play here anytime you want?  That sounds like a comfy gig!"

"Well, it's limited... the Game Corner's in the business of making money, 
after all.  And given I'm a regular employee and not a big wig, our 
allowance is 30 free tokens, plus 10 free same-day tokens for one guest 
a month.  Not much, when you think about it."

"You could always win some," Arius stated as he pulled the lever and the 
machine started up.

"Easier said than done..."

The reel came to a stop and Arius saw he had drawn a 7, a cherry, and a 
Pikachu.  Arius took another token from the coin pouch he had rented, and 
put it into the machine.

"So you have a job... that won't prevent you from eventually hitting the 
road one day and becoming a Pokémon Master, right?"

"Yeah..."

"I mean, eventually you'll quit when you realize what's important in your 
life and that your dream matters more than making a few bucks..."

"It's not like that!  I have a sense of duty to stay here in Celadon!"

"Sense of duty?" questioned Arius.

Jin nodded as he lowered his head in sadness.  "Being a local Celadonian, 
I was there at the New Year's Eve celebration downtown..."

"You were there when it all happened, weren't you?"

Jin nodded again.

======

Monday, December 31st, Celadon City Business District

The ball had just dropped, and confetti was blowing all about the area.  
Noisemakers whizzed and whirled everywhere, and shouts of 'Happy New Year' 
could be heard coming from the mouths of practically every human and 
Pokémon that had squeezed into the block for the celebration.

Among the revelers were Jin and his parents, as well as his younger 
nine-year old sister, who were taking in all the joyous sights.

"Happy New Year, son!" Jin's father said as he hugged him.

"Happy New Year too, Dad."

Suddenly, Jin started to feel someone tugging at his shirt.  It was his 
sister, Gwen.

"C'mon, c'mon!  I wanna hug Daddy too!" she protested.

"Wait your turn, sweetie!" their mother said aloud.  "He'll still be here 
when he's done with Jin.  Besides, given how attached you two are, one 
might be led to think you have a thing for..."

She never got to finish her thought, as the sight and sound of several 
explosions on the main stage and the sound of hundreds and hundreds of 
screams filled the air all at once.  Panic set in almost instantly as 
people all around attempted to run off to safety, not caring what 
direction they were going as long as it was away from the chaotic area 
around the main stage.

Jin felt his father hastily let go of him and reach for the walkie 
talkie on his belt.  He immediately began calling for his fellow 
co-workers into it, Jin clearly seeing the word 'SECURITY' in yellow 
letters on the back of his dad's black jacket.  He then felt another 
tug... this one at his arm.

"Let's go, Jin!  We've got to go!" Jin's mom rang out.

Gwen was screaming her head off as she clutched a hold of her mother's 
dress with the intention of not letting go lest someone ripped her off.  
Jin then noticed his dad trying to clear a path into the fleeing crowd, 
heading towards the stage.

"Dad!" Jin and Gwen called out.

"YUI!" Jin's mom screamed, calling out her husband's name in hopes of 
getting him to stop.

"GET THE KIDS OUT OF HERE!" he yelled over the screaming, panicking 
crowd around them.  "I NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED!"

With that, Yui disappeared into the crowd.  Jin's face quickly grew 
seriously... he knew that whatever was happening, it was something big.  
And his dad would need help...

Jin reached into his pocket and pulled a Pokéball out of it.  He tossed 
it to the ground, and out popped Primeape.

"Let's go, Primeape!" Jin told him.  "We need to help these people!"

Primeape responded in agreement, and the two pushed their way through 
the escaping crowd.

"JIN!" his mom cried.

"MOMMY, I'M SCARED!" Gwen exclaimed.

Torn between seeing both her husband and her son barreling head-first 
into the fire and her frightened daughter clinging to her, she had no 
choice but to trust that she would see her husband and Jin alive again 
as she grabbed Gwen by the arm and tried to pull her away from the scene.

Meanwhile, Jin and Primeape ran into the chaos, and immediately spotted 
a pair of Machamp and their trainers trying to lift some heavy debris 
that was lying on top of a guy's back and legs.  They hastily made their 
way over and helped the group get the guy out of there.

Later on, Jin and Primeape were seen helping relay water to help put out 
fires and keeping a few injured people and Pokémon calm and stabilized 
until medical personnel could get to them.  At one point, the two are seen 
even working side-by-side with Jin's father as they searched for anyone 
who might still be buried.

======

"As horrific as that day was, my father, even though I went against his 
wishes, saw the work that I did and recommended me for a job at Mori Lock, 
the private security firm he worked at.  I was hired on the spot, and now 
I'm a guard part-time at several places around the city, including the 
Game Corner and the gym."

"You work for the gym?" Arius gasped in amazement.

"Miss Erika's gym was the pride of the city.  Even though she's gone and 
her replacement hasn't changed a thing in there since taking over, I still 
consider it her gym... and I protect it with my life.  Me and Primeape, 
that is."

"I see."

"So, enough about what I've been up to.  What about you?"

"Who, me?" Arius pointed at himself.  "You know, just the usually.  Went 
out on a badge journey, tried to get into the League a couple of times but 
no dice, hanging out with a..."

"Huh?" Jin wondered, his interest piqued.

Arius shook his head.  "It's just my travel partner.  We... recently went 
our separate ways."

"Things didn't work out?"

"You... could say that."

"He must've been jealous of your awesome battle skills and determination, 
eh?" Jin laughed heartily.

"It was a she."

"You mean... a girl?"

Arius nodded.  "And, trust me, she was a better battler than I ever was."

"You were traveling with a girl and you let her go?  Man, what is wrong 
with you?"

Arius grumbled, under his breath.  "It was what was wrong with her..."

"Oh well," Jin shrugged his shoulders.  "It's one girl out of many.  Your 
girl's out there somewhere... just give it time, man."

Arius didn't dignify him with a response as the slot machine in front of 
him was coming to a stop.

7...

7 again...

Cherry.

"Blast!" Arius shouted, kicking the machine in the redemption slot.

"Speaking of girls that have problems..."

Jin produced a copy of the local newspaper, the Tamamushi Times, and held 
up the front page.  Right there, dead center, was a full body picture of 
Cassie, wearing a knee-length business-suit dress, in the midst of cutting 
a ribbon being held up by Brock.  It was at the re-opening ceremony for 
the Pewter City gym held two days ago.  The major headline read 'Junior 
Master reopens gym, pushes new initiative against Team Rocket in process.'

"Sure, she's pretty proactive for an unofficial League official... and 
pretty pretty, if you don't mind me saying... but, you know, I think 
she's sticking her nose out a bit too far.  After the first two Junior 
Masters disappeared and were kidnapped, respectively, you'd think she'd 
be smart enough to stay out of the limelight.  It would be a shame if 
someone as cute as her were to suffer an even worse fate, like..."

Jin lowered the paper to look at Arius, but he was no longer sitting 
there.  In fact, he had gotten up and walked away the second he saw 
Cassie's photo.

======

But Arius hadn't walked out of the Game Corner.  He had trotted over to 
the pay phones, where he was in the process of looking up the number to 
Cassie's office at the Indigo Plateau.  Because, being an 'official' of 
the League, she got an office in the League's headquarters.  Locating it 
in the phone book, he proceeded to dial the number.

Arius grew a serious look on his face as the phone line on the other end 
began ringing.  After two rings, someone picked up.  A voice of a young 
woman rang through the receiver, but Arius instantly recognized that it 
wasn't Cassie's.

"You've reached the office of Pokémon Junior Master Cassie Banks, how may 
I direct your call?" the woman asked.

"Yes... I'd like to speak to Cassie, please," requested Arius.

"I'm sorry, but she won't be back in the office until Wednesday, as she's 
on a business trip.  May I take a message?"

Arius hesitated for a second, and then responded.

"No thanks.  I'll try again later in the week."

He then hung up the phone.

"What am I worried about?" Arius thought to himself.  "We're not together 
anymore.  And besides, she never needed my help taking care of herself!"

"HEY!"

Arius turned around and saw Jin running up, a bit out of breath.

"What's the big idea running out on me, almost exactly like last time?"

"Sorry," Arius bowed in apology as he came out of the booth.  "That 
picture just reminded me that there was an important call I had to make."

"Oh.  Well, I had this odd thought that you have something against this 
girl."

"What makes you think THAT?"

Jin shook his head and smiled.  "It is true what people say about me... I 
suck at making hunches and assumptions.  Rely on hard facts, they say.  
That's where I shine."

"I see."

Jin then showed his Pokéball off to Arius.

"Say... I'm feeling a little nostalgic.  You still want that opportunity 
to beat me a second time?"

Arius chuckled, then took out a Pokéball of his own.

"You're on!"

The two then ran out the front doors and started looking for an open spot 
to wage their battle.

"Who needs Cassie?" Arius thought in his mind.  "I can have fun and 
manage without her!"

======

Vermilion City Harbor

Cassie was standing on the docks of Pier 6, glancing about at the fishing 
ships and freighters that littered the harbor, though most of them were 
anchored for the off-season.  Despite sporting a sweatshirt with the logo 
of the Pokémon Fan Club on it - after all, she had just come from a 
personal meet and greet with their members - over a just-above-knee-length 
yellow lace-frilled skirt, she was shivering as the wintry sea winds 
whipped up around her.  But she gritted her teeth and bared it as she 
pulled out a small photo of her and Arius together.  She casually ran her 
hand over Arius, sighing after realizing how much she missed him.

Her thoughts were thrown asunder when she noticed a small motor-powered 
yacht pulled into the pier, and Lt. Surge was standing at the bow, arms 
crossed over his chest and a stern look on his face.  She managed to 
pocket the photo before he noticed it, just as he began to address her.

"Well, well, looks like even the Junior Master can be on time once in 
blue moon!" he chided.

"Says you!" Cassie retorted back.  "You said I was to meet you here half 
an hour ago!"

Lt. Surge laughed heartily.  "That's what I like about you... you've got 
spunk, girl!"

"Just tell me what this meeting's about," Cassie growled, wanting Surge 
to get to the point.

"There's someone I want you to meet," Surge said to her.

The door to the cabin opened, and Cassie turned in that direction.  Out 
of it emerged an old man in a buttoned-up lab coat.

"This is Professor Werner Geissler," Surge introduced.

"Guten tag!" Geissler greeted in German.

"Let me guess..." Cassie said, closing her eyes and extending a palm 
towards the professor.  "He's from Germany?"

"How do you know that?" Surge asked.  "You don't look like you know 
German!"

Cassie shot a sly smile back at the Vermilion gym leader, and he quickly 
got it, slapping his forehead over not realizing it before.

"I forgot... you're like Sabrina, only without that creepy sadistic edge 
she had at one point or another.  So... you probably already figured out 
what he's doing here and what you are as well, right?"

"More or less."

"And... yet you're still here and not running away?"

Cassie nodded.  "I've come to realize how dangerous Ash Ketchum and the 
others may be if they've fallen into Team Rocket's clutches.  I want to 
find these five and have something done about them.  Even if... even if I 
turn out to be one of the five."

Surge knelt down to pull out the gangplank and extend it out to the 
pier.  Once it was secure, Cassie made her way onto the yacht.

"You've done the Pokémon League a great service by willing to assist with 
this search," Surge said as he pulled the gangplank back aboard once 
Cassie was safe on the deck.

"That's part of my job description.  I am the Pokémon Junior Master, after 
all."

With that, the yacht's driver started guiding the ship away from the pier 
and back out to sea.  Surge, Cassie, and Professor Geissler made their 
way down into the cabin.  Once inside, Cassie and the professor took 
seats at the lone table, sitting so they were facing each other.  Surge 
plopped down on a sofa, where he had a good view of both of them.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Surge said, smirking.

Cassie nodded as she started to study Professor Geissler in detail.  He, 
in turn, seemed to be doing the same in regards to her.  Surge just sat 
back, content to just observe as the two interacted before him.

"I see..." the both of them said simultaneously.

"You feel as if you're on the level," Cassie deduced psychically.

"And I can sense your willingness to tell the truth," the professor said 
in return.  "Let us begin..."

======

Two hours later, Surge was up on deck, lounging in the beach chair as he 
fished for Pokémon while his Raichu peered over the side.  Suddenly, Surge 
felt a tug at the other end of the line.  Wasting little time, he pulled 
back as hard as he could, instantly forcing the catch out of the water.  
Leaping into the air, Surge saw that it was a Magikarp.

"Damn it, that thing's not edible!" Surge cursed.  "Raichu!"

"RAI!" Raichu bellowed, charging up and delivering a powerful Thunderbolt 
to the wild water Pokémon.

The attack sent the Magikarp soaring many feet away from the yacht, 
eventually landing fin-first in the sea, weakened and rejected.

"There's never a good meal in the sea when ya want one," Surge stated, 
disgusted.

Suddenly, he heard the cabin door open.  Surge and Raichu both turned 
their attention to it, and they saw Cassie emerge, followed by Professor 
Geissler.

"So?  What's the deal already!" Surge exclaimed, standing up.

"Sad to say..." Professor Geissler replied, "the results of the test were 
inconclusive."

"You mean... you can't tell either way?  Damn it!"

Surge slammed his fist on the railing, angry at not getting anywhere.

"I'd like to say it's a relief," uttered Cassie.  "But I can't relax 
given I'm still subject to frequent fainting spells... one of the most 
telling signs of the syndrome."

"Oh, thanks," Surge quipped sarcastically.  "Your feelings really matter 
to me right now."

"Oh, yeah?" Cassie yelled.  "Well, then, maybe I shouldn't tell you about 
the discovery the professor and I came across while he was analyzing me!"

Surge's ears perked up.

"Discovery?  What discovery?"

"I can answer that question," Professor Geissler jumped in.  "You see, 
using her psychic powers and my inherent knowledge of the syndrome and 
what little the late Miss Erika had found while she was staying at my 
cottage a few months ago, we stumbled a common occurrence that may be 
another detectable side effect!"

"Really?  This I've got to hear!"

"Apparently, every living thing in this world, be it human, Pokémon, or 
plant, gives off an energy signature.  This signature is near darn 
impossible for any normal person to sense..."

"But you see," Cassie cut in, pointing to her noggin, "those trained in 
the art of the psychic can!"

"Yes," the professor nodded as he continued his explanation, "using her 
psychic abilities, she can sense these signatures.  In most living 
organisms, this signature is steady, yet very faint.  But the strength of 
the signal depends on the emotional state of the organism itself.  In 
other words, it can spike to several times its normal size if the person 
or Pokémon is in an adrenaline-powered state."

"Such as when they're enduring in a physically- and or mentally-pushing 
activity," Cassie added.  "Like, say... an intense Pokémon battle."

Surge gasped in amazement.  "I see.  But... hey, wait a minute!  You know 
how many people engage in Pokémon battles every day?"

Cassie coughed.  "Show some patience... we're getting to the point."

"As you already know," Professor Geissler said, referring back to the 
information Surge knew based on Erika's findings, "anyone with this 
'ability' ends up with a Pokémon body that temporarily houses the spirit 
of both the trainer and the Pokémon!"

"I'll make it simple for you," Cassie stated, making sure the idea got 
into the muscle-bound gym leader.  "Two energy signals sharing one body, 
working in tandem..."

"My God!" Surge caught on.  "Their powers combine, meaning an even larger 
energy signature than either of them can produce on their own!"

"Exactly!" Cassie exclaimed.  "And our theory is proved because of what 
happened at the Junior Master tournament!  When Marco fainted and his 
Absol starting glowing red, I noticed how much Absol's energy signature 
grew!  Even though I'm a novice compared to someone like Sabrina, it 
didn't take much to realize whatever was happening, it wasn't normal."

"So... just what exactly are we supposed to do with this?  It's not like 
we can walk up to every person, challenge them to a battle, and have you 
analyze their energy signatures!"

"We don't have to!"

Cassie pulled out photos of the four 'knowns,' Ash, Misty, Brock, and 
Marco, as well as the three 'unknowns,' Shingo, Giselle, and... herself.

"We just have to find one of these seven and run a test battle to find 
them."

"Theoretically," Professor Geissler said, "even if they don't access the 
'ability,' if they come close to it, then we'll notice an abnormal growth 
of that trainer's energy signature."

"I see," Surge smirked.  "Raichu!"

"Rai!"

"Thunderbolt!" he yelled, pointing at Cassie.

"Rai-CHUUUUUUUUU!"

Cassie instinctively threw out a Pokéball, out of which came her 
Ivysaur.  The grass-type took the full force of the attack, but it had 
very little effect given the type advantage over Raichu.

"Saur..." Ivysaur uttered calmly, shaking it off.

"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?" Cassie screamed angrily.

"You said the only way to bring out this abnormally gigantic signature is 
to push a trainer and his or her Pokémon until their 'ability' comes 
out!  And seeing as how you're on the list..."

"How am I supposed to detect my own energy signature, particularly when 
I'm concentrating in a Pokémon battle?"

Surge froze, unable to answer that question.

"Well... uh... you see..."

"That's what I hate about guys like you!  All brawn, no brains!"

"Hey!  I'll have you know the Elite Four wouldn't have put me in charge 
of this investigation if he thought I couldn't get to the bottom of it!"

Cassie shook her head.  "Could you at least think before you act?  At 
least ONCE in awhile?"

"Stand down, Raichu!" Surge ordered.  "We'll show Miss Junior Master over 
there what for when we get someone who can do her job for her."

"Hardy har har," Cassie responded in mock jest.

"May I suggest finding a more available candidate?" Professor Geissler 
conjectured.  "Why don't we start with this one..."

He took the photo of Brock from Cassie and walked over to Surge to hand 
it to him.

"The gym leader in Pewter... heh, I like the way you think, old man!"

"Meanwhile," Cassie said, regaining her composure, "I suppose we better 
set someone up on finding the rest of them.  After all, the more test 
subjects, the more accurate our findings will be.  Right, professor?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Your brain, after all?  I am psychic, after all!"

"I know you've associated with a good deal of them, girl, so you'd better 
not try to protect them by lying!"

"I told you, I'm on your side!  The sooner we can find them, the sooner 
we can do something about their condition!"

"Oh, leave that little detail to the professor," Surge told Cassie.  "He 
knows what to do with them after we get through with them."

Cassie looked back at the professor, trying to deduce what that plan 
might be.  But strangely, this time she could pull it out of the 
professor's mind.  Ironically, she also developed a pounding migraine in 
her head.

"Whoa..." she muttered, reaching a hand up to her forehead, "why does my 
head suddenly hurt?"

"The interview must've been harder on you mentally than I thought," the 
professor quickly stated.  "Perhaps you should rest..."

He took a hold of Cassie's other hand and started guiding her back to the 
cabin.

"I guess so..." she admitted.  "Man, my head hurts..."

"Go ahead and get your rest," Surge yelled at her.  "Because once we get 
to shore, we're going after Brock!  At the very least, he'll be able to 
lead us towards the fifth legendary!"

======

As soon as Cassie was lying sound asleep and resting in the cabin, the 
Professor reached for the phone and made a call.  Once someone picked up 
on the other end, he uttered a few simple words.

"Prepare the Dissolution Chamber..."

With that, he hung up the phone and then walked back to the stairs 
leading out of the cabin.  Cassie continued to lay their resting, unaware 
of the events that were about to transpire.

======

Thursday, March 14th, Pewter City Gym

"Hello?  Brock, are you here?"

Cassie had walked onto the rock field that gym challengers would have to 
battle on in order to win a Boulder Badge from Brock.  But having already 
earned the badge here in the past, she was here for a different reason.

Brock was sitting at the opposite end, on a throne made out of stone.

"Oh... it's you!" Brock exclaimed, recognizing her.

"Nice to see you again, Brock!" Cassie greeted in return.

"And wow..." Brock gasped, with hearts in his eyes, "you look old enough 
to flirt with!"

"Uh..."

Cassie froze in place as Brock leaped out of his chair, ran over, and 
cupped his hands over hers.

"Allow me to take you out Cassie, my sweet!"

"Um... I still have Arius, remember?" Cassie quickly lied, just to get 
Brock's affections directed elsewhere.

"Oh, right..." Brock replied despondently.  "You two make a great 
couple..."

"Yeah..." she sighed, before adding under her breath, "...we did."

"So," Brock said, regaining his composure.  "What brings you here?"

"I actually need your help in a little... experiment of sorts."

"Experiment?"

Cassie nodded.

"I don't know... after everything we've been through..."

"You mean you're still sore about everything that happened back there?"

"It's not like you can just forget some of those things, Cassie."

"I... suppose you're right.  Still... I swear, this is on the up and up!"

"You'd better listen to the little lady..." yelled a voice from the gym 
entrance.

Brock and Cassie turned their attention in that direction, as Lt. Surge 
and Professor Geissler walked in the door.

"It's not a request, Brock," Surge said aloud.  "It's an order!"

"An order?  On whose grounds?"

"Mine, on behalf of the Pokémon League!"

"The League ordered this?  Why?"

"I'm sorry, Brock," Cassie apologized.  "We're trying to find out who 
the fifth of the legendaries is, and to do that we have to know what to 
look for.  So..."

"So," Surge interrupted, "we're gonna use you as an observation subject.  
If we know what brings out the 'merged' state, we'll know what to look 
for."

Brock gritted his teeth.  "And you picked me since no one knows where 
Ash, Misty, or Marco are... am I right?"

"Exactly!  Now, are you gonna battle me or not?"

"Wait... gym leader versus gym leader?"

"Don't you want someone worthy of your skills?  Or are you scared?"

"Scared?  Remember, I'm a rock-type trainer!  Your electric-type Pokémon 
will have no chance!"

"So you'll refuse just because you think it'll be an easy fight?  Trust 
me... it won't.  And if that still won't convince you... I'm sure I can 
find other ways."

"Other... ways?  You don't mean."

Surge nodded.  "Your gym may be back up on its feet, but you're still a 
month away from being able to financially operate independently of the 
League.  You could still survive without any more money from the League, 
but I figure it would be six months to a year before you'd be back in 
the..."

"I get it," Brock grumbled.  "Very well then."

Surge laughed.  "That's the spirit!  I know you'd see it my way!"

"I'm sorry," Cassie apologized again.  "But please understand... it's for 
the good of trainers and Pokémon alike!"

Brock ignored her as he reached for a Pokéball from his pocket.

"So... when do we start?"

======

The one-on-one battle commenced, as Brock and Onix take on Surge and 
Raichu.  Although Brock and Onix had the type advantage, Surge and 
Raichu were giving them a run for the money.  All the while, Professor 
Geissler observed while Cassie used her psychic abilities to monitor the 
strength of Brock's energy signature.

"Graorrrrrr!"

"Raiiiiii!"

Onix and Raichu were exhausted, as the battle was beginning to take its 
toll on them.  Brock and Surge both seem to be equally as affected, 
sweating profusely.

"The rumors are true..." Brock thought to himself.  "Lieutenant Surge has 
to be one of the strongest gym leaders in the Kanto region, even if not 
THE strongest!  I don't know how much longer Onix or I can go..."

Unable to stand up to any more stress, Brock lost consciousness, fainting 
on the spot.

"Oh my God!" Cassie cried.  "Brock!"

Cassie ran over to check on the fallen gym leader, right past Onix, who 
seemed surprisingly stunned by this turn of events.  Surge reached into 
his pocket and pulled out a cell phone with which to call for an 
ambulance.

"I need a paramedic at the Pewter Gym, pronto!"

======

"Okay, let's get him out of here."

Brock was awake and aware of what was happening as the gurney he was 
lying on was pushed into the ambulance.  Though he was too weak to turn 
his head... or move any other part of his body, for that matter... he 
knew that Lt. Surge, Cassie, and that professor that was with them were 
watching him being taken away.

"Please be okay..." he heard Cassie plea.

A minute later, Brock was secured inside the ambulance and the doors were 
closed, with his father Flint aboard and by his side, as it pulled away.  
Forrest and the rest of Brock's siblings solemnly made their way into the 
house, leaving Surge, Cassie, and the professor standing outside the gym.

"Do you see what you've done now?" Cassie yelled at Surge.  "We pushed 
him too much!  This isn't safe!"

"And how you do you know he wasn't faking it since he knew what we were 
up to?" Surge shouted back.

"I don't believe it!  You're just like..."

"Actually, I've got a different conclusion," Professor Geissler cut in 
before Cassie could finish her sentence.  "As in a certain side effect..."

"That's it!  That means Brock has gained access to the abilities of the 
Celebi-rus Syndrome not just once, as previously believed, but twice!"

"Which makes it even more troublesome," Surge noted.  "That means if he 
had used it one more time..."

"We would've killed him!" finished Cassie.  "Were you willing to go 
through with this if you knew that were a possibility?"

"Hey, he agreed to it!"

"Only after you practically tied one hand behind his back!  Look, from 
now on, we've got to make informed decisions and make sure to not test 
those who've exhibited to extreme symptoms twice already!"

"And how do you suppose we go about doing that, little missy?  May I 
recall, all three of our fifth legendary candidates have exhibited signs 
of fainting.  One of whom, if you've conveniently forgotten, is YOU!"

Cassie sighed in defeat.  "I suppose you've got a point.  As much as I 
hate to continue on, the risks may be necessary if we're to find this 
fifth person."

Surge smirked.  "See?  I knew you'd see it my way!"

"That doesn't mean I won't stop a test if I think one of their lives is 
in danger!"

"Whatever you say, girl..."

"May I suggest cutting to the chase and locating the other two 
candidates?" Professor Geissler spoke up.

Cassie muttered something about Surge under her breath, then took out her 
Pokédex and pushed a few buttons before reaching the screen she wanted.

"Okay, according to Silph Company databanks, Giselle Gravelpot has taken 
up residence in Goldenrod City, while Shingo Macintosh was last seen a 
few days ago in Azalea Town."

"They're not too far apart..." Surge noted.  "Maybe we can get them both 
in one fell swoop.  Looks like we're heading for the Johto region!"

Surge started walking in the direction of the nearby airport.

"But... what about Brock?"

"He's almost a full-grown man!" he exclaimed without turning around.  "He 
can recover without our help."

Cassie and the professor sadly, though neither seemed enthralled by 
Surge's lack of concern for a fellow gym leader.

======

"C'mon, Misty!"

Using the last of her stamina and strength, Misty gritted her teeth and 
pushed through the pain as she ran the last 100 meters as hard as she 
could and reached the finish line.  Ash pushed the button on the stopwatch 
he was holding, and smiled after seeing the results.

Misty was bending over, hands on her knees, gasping for air - hard to do 
in the somewhat thin air atop Mt. Pyre, even with her wearing just a 
yellow shoulder-less crop top and black biker shorts.  She stayed that 
way for about fifteen or twenty seconds, even as the pain in her legs 
began to become obvious once again.

She stopped when she felt the familiar touch of her windbreaker being 
placed on her back.  She rose to a standing position and started slipping 
one arm, then the other into the sleeves as her boyfriend smiled next to 
her.

"You're... enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Isn't being in such great shape fun?"

Ash reached over and gave Misty a peck on the cheek.  She quickly pulled 
away before he could get into the normal routine of following up with a 
bear hug.

"No wonder you always make me go last... you wanna take advantage of me 
when I'm too exhausted to object."

Ash chuckled.  "I can't help it.  You're a turn-on when you're all sweaty 
like that."

Misty smirked slyly.  "You know, there are OTHER ways of making me 
sweaty."

"Such... as?" Ash raised his eyebrows suggestively.

"ANY WAY THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE ME RUNNING A MILE-AND-A-HALF EVERYDAY!" 
Misty yelled.

She tried to bop Ash on the head, but he avoided it and started running 
down the trail.  Despite her exhaustion, Misty chased after him, nearly 
keeping up in step.  As they disappeared out of sight, Pikachu shook his 
head in dismay from the short stack of bleachers at the finish line.

"Pika pika chu...," Pikachu thought, falsely led to believe that the two 
were past these 'childish antics.'

"Young teen love is hard to figure out sometimes, isn't it?"

Pikachu turned around and look a couple of rows back.  He saw a man with 
blue-green haired sitting there.  A long, flowing white cap was wrapped 
around him, obscuring pretty much the cardigan and the purple pants he 
was wearing underneath.  The ensemble was topped over with a large white 
beret on his head.  Upon seeing the gentleman, Pikachu ran up to him and 
plopped down on the man's lap.  He smiled in response as he began gently 
stroking the fur on Pikachu's back.

"Chaaaa...."

"Ash is right... you do love your back rubs, don't you?"

"Pika," nodded the yellow mouse.

Wallace then turned his attention back down to ground level, as Ash and 
Misty had returned.  They were still running - that is, until they got 
to the finish line, where Misty tackled Ash to the ground.  Once down, 
the two playfully tumbled about, turning one way, then the other, taking 
turns being the one on top.

"I expected it of Ash, but I thought it would take weeks for Misty to 
become just as carefree.  It felt as if she had just arrived yesterday..."

======

Two weeks ago...

"Ash, wait, where are you taking me?"

"To the top of the mountain, of course!"

Ash pulled Misty into the white light and out of the tunnel.  Back out in 
the bright sunlight, they continued onto a mountain path leading up to 
the summit.  Along the way, they passed numerous Pokémon gravestones.  
Many were gathered in a makeshift graveyard on a grassy knoll near the 
tunnel's exit, while a few others were scattered along the sides of the 
trail.  Misty was fearful of where her boyfriend was taking her, but she 
was just as scared of the thin ledge they were on, especially with them 
being several thousand feet above ground level.  Looking back over her 
shoulder, she saw Pikachu slowly catching back up to them.  Misty was a 
little surprised, especially given that at the start of their run, she 
and Ash had initially left Pikachu 'eating their dust,' so to speak.

The moment they reached the top, Ash swung his arm forward.  Catching 
Misty off-guard, she ran right past Ash.  Before the momentum could 
completely become hers, Ash released his grip on her, sending her 
stumbling a few feet more before she came to a skidding halt.  As Misty 
breathed a sigh of relief, Pikachu reached Ash and took an exhausted seat 
next to his best friend.

"That was fun, wasn't it?"

"FUN?  WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA, ASH KETCHUM?"

"You want to know what I've been up to, right?"

"What you've been up to?  Ash, you were kidnapped right before my eyes a 
month ago!  Why are you acting as if that whole thing never happened?"

"That would be up to me to explain," stated another voice.

Misty turned around and saw a gentleman with a white flowing cape 
covering his body casually walk towards them.

"I will start by introducing myself, Lady Vaporeon the Second.  Or should 
I say... Misty Waterflower, the tomboyish gym leader of Cerulean City!"

Misty was taken aback.  "How... how did you know my name?"

"My dear, my name is Wallace.  I'm a master Water-type trainer, the 
ex-gym leader of Sootopolis, and the current reigning Hoenn Pokémon 
Champion!"

"Champion... you mean the Grand Champion that all of those villagers were 
talking about?"

Wallace nodded.  "I am one and the same."

Misty squealed with delight.  "Oh my God... I've heard so much about 
you!  You're an inspiration to water Pokémon trainers everywhere!"

"Thank you, my dear.  Yet, I'm pretty sure you're not here to meet me on 
friendly terms."

Misty blinked, then quickly remembered that she was extremely agitated 
after meeting the man who kidnapped Ash.

"That's right... why did you kidnap Ash?  And did you have me come here 
so I could be part of the plot?  Ash, did he force you to bring me up 
here?"

"Force?" Ash replied.  "I WANTED to bring you up here!"

"It's very complicated," Wallace admitted.  "Perhaps this would be 
better explained over... a little tea?"

======

Wallace, Ash, and Pikachu led Misty to the other side of the mountaintop, 
where she saw a three-story wooden alpine hut adjoined to a fenced-off 
area that resembled an outdoor training facility.  She also saw a strange, 
sombrero-clad Pokémon dancing near the front door.

"I wonder what that Pokémon is," Misty stated, pulling out her Pokédex.

"Ludicolo, the carefree Pokémon!  Ludicolo is a water- and grass-type, 
and is the evolved form of Lombre.  Upon hearing an upbeat and cheerful 
rhythm, Ludicolo can't help but dance for hours and hours."

"So it... likes to dance?" Misty concluded.

"Ludi... Ludicolo!" it shouted as it rocked back and forth.

"Pika, pika, pika," chirped Pikachu, dancing to the same beat.

"Doesn't this make you feel like dancin'?" Ash asked, bobbing his head 
and wiggling his shoulders.

Misty slapped herself across the forehead.

"Maybe we should check to make sure the mountain air hasn't gotten to 
you."

======

A few minutes later, Misty was clenching her fist in anger as she sat at 
a glass dining table with a freshly-poured cup of hot tea in front of 
her.  To her left, Ash and Pikachu seemed to have drifted off into some 
blissful world as they sipped at their cups.  Meanwhile, across from her, 
Wallace sat, still flashing a smile that hadn't left his face since he 
introduced himself.

"I DIDN'T COME HERE TO SIP TEA!  I CAME HERE TO RESCUE ASH!"

"But Misty," Ash spoke up.  "I don't need rescuing.  And besides, the 
tea's pretty good!"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE TEA!"

"My, your temper's just as Ash described it," Wallace admitted.

"YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING YET, BUB!  BETTER START GIVING ME ANSWERS!"

"Uh... very well."

"Maybe I should," Ash interrupted.  "She might believe it more if I tell 
her everything."

"This oughta be interesting," Misty griped as she crossed her arms over 
her chest and one leg over the other.

"I guess I'd better start with the kidnapping..."

======

February 1st, Saffron City

A brown-haired man in a suit emerged from the limo's back seat and 
walked over to the duo.

"I'm looking for Ash Ketchum and Pikachu."

"You must mean me," Ash deduced, glancing at Misty, and then down at 
Pikachu.

"Pika?"

"Your flight leaves in 45 minutes, sir," he told Ash.  "We have to 
leave now if we're going to make it."

"We'd better hurry then... hey, wait!  What about my backpack?"

"We have a second team on the way to pick up your things.  They'll 
bring it with them on the next flight out."

"But my Pokéballs are in there..."

Before they knew it, Ash and Pikachu were shoved into the back of the 
limo.  Seeing this act of roughhousing, Misty began to get suspicious.

"Hey!  Didn't you hear him?  And why are you being so rough on him if 
you're representing the League?"

"We're just in a hurry to make this flight, so if you don't mind..."

"I DO MIND!" Misty yelled defiantly.

The man closed the door, and the limousine pulled away from the curb 
in a hurry, with tires squealing as it barreled down the nearly empty 
street.  Inside the limo, Ash and Pikachu found themselves face-to-face 
with a raven-haired girl dressed in nothing but black, as if she was 
going to a funeral.  Her face was obscured by the black translucent veil 
attached to her hat.

Suddenly, an Exeggcute hopped out from behind her and released a dose of 
Sleep Powder into the air!  Before they knew it, Ash and Pikachu slumped 
down in their seats, both snoring away.

"Exeggcute!" the Pokémon cried, bouncing up and down on the seat.

"Good work," the girl said as she lifted her veil to reveal that she was 
wearing a mask over her nose and mouth to avoid accidentally inhaling the 
powder.  "My mistress apologizes in advance..."

She then reached back and knocked on the glass separating the back from 
the front.  The window opened downward just enough for sound to pass 
between the two halves of the limo.

"We're on schedule."

"Yes, miss."

The window then closed back up and the driver started heading for the 
airport.

======

"You're finally awake..."

Ash Ketchum came to and found himself lying on an examination table.

"Wha?"

Sitting up, Ash noted that he was dressed in nothing but hospital scrubs, 
though surprisingly, his official Pokémon League cap was still on his 
head.  Looking left, Wallace was sitting on a stool about ten feet away, 
leaning backwards against the wall.

"Who are you?  And where's Pikachu?"

"My name is Wallace.  I'm the champion of the Hoenn League!"

Ash gasped in astonishment.  "Champion... you're a champion?"

"As for Pikachu, he's just fine.  My 'partner' is bringing him here as 
we speak."

"Partner?  Wait... you're working for Team Rocket, aren't you?"

Wallace denied the accusation.  "No.  I'd never work with such lowlifes 
who'd want to upset the balance between our world and the Pokémon world."

"Then... you're with the Pokémon Trainers' Association!"

"Wrong again.  They may fight with many of our best interests, but they 
do it in a way that's frowned upon.  They're almost as bad as the 
Rockets.  I, am in fact, working under the guidance of the Pokémon 
League!"

"The Pokémon League?  If that's true... then why..."

Wallace sighed.  "It was a matter of national security.  Unfortunately, 
we're working on a top secret project that only you can help us with."

"Then why couldn't you let Misty come along?"

"Let's just say... we'd have a tougher time convincing her to be part of 
this than you.  We'll let her in on it eventually... but you need to be 
prepared."

"Prepared?"

"Yes.  What you're about to go through will require all your strength and 
determination.  We're being ambitious with this project of ours, hoping 
to find a cure for the Celebi-rus Syndrome.  Which, of course, you have."

Ash scratched his head.  "What?  Never heard of it.  I didn't even know 
I had it!"

"Perhaps this'll convince you?"

Wallace turned on a TV that was sitting on a nearby counter and pressed 
play on the VCR sitting atop it.  Ash was in shock when he saw a familiar 
scene on it.

The Viridian City gym battle.

"How did you..."

"Never heard of security tapes, have you?  Surprisingly, they were found 
intact following the explosion.  Of course, when we saw this event 
unfold, the League think it was best that the public didn't know.  We 
intended to keep it that way until we figured out what condition you 
three had... and could discern out to cure you guys.  Then, of course, 
came the Pokémon Junior Master Tournament."

"Marco..." Ash recalled.

"Exactly.  Though very few people actually know of Marco's condition, 
you, me, Misty, Brock, and Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, and a few 
select others, the general public has been speculating ever since.  The 
League is worried that if the truth was ever revealed, panic might set in 
amongst the populace.  False rumors of how to contract the syndrome might 
be spread, and the curiosity and fear about you and the others could put 
you in grave danger."

"So what does this all have to do with you kidnapping me and Pikachu?"

"We think we might have found a cure.  The problem is, it's untested."

Ash frowned.  "And you want me to be the test subject, right?"

"Yes, though not in the way you think.  It's not your typical cure, 
either.  You and Pikachu will be put through a great deal of strain and 
stress.  But if this works, you won't have to ever worry about 
experiencing something like that on the tape ever again."

"I don't know."

"The door's right there, Ash.  You are free to leave whenever you wish."

Ash got up and took a few steps towards the door.  He then stopped, 
coming to a realization.

"You're determined to find a cure, aren't you?"

"Yes, Ash.  Yes, the League is.  That's how much we care about you and 
your friends, all of you some of the brightest and talented trainers 
we've ever seen."

"So if I go, you'll probably try and get one of them to take my place 
here?"

Wallace sighed.  "It depends on if the League wants to continue to 
pursue this.  So I can't deny that..."

"Then... I'll stay."

"Huh?"

"I said... I said I'll stay!" Ash exclaimed, turning to face Wallace.  
"If the League's endorsing this, then I'm behind you 100 percent!"

The League Champion chuckled.  "So that's your excuse, huh?  So be it..."

The door into the room slid open, and Pikachu came running in, happy as 
can be.

"Pika pi!"

"Pikachu!"

Pikachu leaped up into Ash's waiting arms and the two spun around, 
hugging each other as if they had been apart for months rather than just 
hours.  Then, the person who was taking care of Pikachu walked in.  Ash 
nearly dropped Pikachu in surprise...

"You?  It's... you?!"

======

March 1st

After regaling Misty with the rest of the long story, the gym leader was 
convinced as to reasoning behind Ash's 'kidnapping' and what was trying 
to be accomplished here on Mt. Pyre.

"So..." Misty concluded.  "If I go through all of this, I'll be cured?"

Wallace nodded in cautious confirmation.  "It won't completely cure you, 
but you should be able to make the symptoms and side effects go away 
until the syndrome completely dissipates normally on your 21st birthday."

"Think about it, Misty!" Ash exclaimed.  "We won't have to worry about 
that Viridian City incident anymore!  We can get to a point where it was 
nothing but a silly little nightmare!"

"And no longer having to keep our emotions in check?"

"Well... yeah."

Misty looked as if she was about to cry, but she wiped the tears away 
from her eyes before they could dribble down her face.

"Fine.  I'll do it!"

"That-a-girl!" Ash rejoiced with delight, jumping up and wrapping his 
arms around Misty.  "I knew you would make the right call!"

"Pika!" added Pikachu.

Wallace smiled.  "Okay then... I guess we'll have to prepare the other 
guest room.  And then... Misty, we'll get started!"

======

Present day

"Just a couple more weeks... a few more and Ash's training regimen will 
be complete.  Misty soon after.  I'm sure they'll be glad to get to go 
home real soon."

Wallace then looked down and seen that Pikachu had decided to take a nap.

"I guess that applies to you too, Pikachu."

"C'mon, we're gonna be late!"

Wallace turned his attention down to the field again, and saw that Misty 
had gotten free and was now trying to pull Ash up off the ground.  He was 
stubbornly refusing to, though.

"We're supposed to be improving our bodies AND minds, Ash!"

"But I hate studying!"

"No buts!  You wanna remain dumb for the rest of your life?  Let's GO!"

This time, Misty used enough force to dislodge Ash from the track and 
pull him to his feet.  This time, Misty did the pulling as she grabbed 
Ash by the wrist and dragged him back towards the alpine hut.

"I swear, I thought you had matured..."

======

Friday, March 29th

Somewhere deep in an underground laboratory, a room was filled with 
scientists as they were scattered amongst several control panels, all 
making final preparations to conduct an experiment.  In the middle of 
the room were two pods: one human-sized and one Pokémon-sized.  At 
that moment, the two individuals that were going to be placed inside 
them stepped through the swinging doors that led into the lab.  They 
were followed by a second human... an adult male.  He stepped past the 
duo and into the bright lights surrounding the machine, the control 
panels, and his fellow scientists.

"They... are ready!" he announced.

"So are we, Professor Geissler!" one of the others shouted in response.

"Very well."

He then turned to the human and the Pokémon behind him.

"Are you ready?"

"Wak!  Maro, marowak!" exclaimed Marowak, stepping forward.

"Of course I am!" exclaimed his trainer.  "Someone as talented and 
beautiful as myself shouldn't be hindered from rising to the top because 
of some rare health condition!"

The beautiful maiden stepped into the light... it was Giselle.

"I still don't understand a lot about this disease," she stated aloud, 
"but it stands in the way of me achieving my place as Pokémon Master!  
I'll do anything to be cured!  And Marowak too!"

"Maro!" Marowak nodded in agreement.

"The Pokémon League greatly thanks your participation in this 
experiment," the professor told her.  "Good luck."

======

Minutes later, Giselle and Marowak were giving the thumbs up from inside 
the two pods, where they were strapped in.  A couple of scientists were 
keeping an eye on their vitals while the rest stood in a 'ready' position.

"START THE DISSOLUTION CHAMBER!" Professor Geissler shouted.

The many scientists started pulling levers, pushing buttons, turning 
knobs, and other sorts of actions as they got the machine quickly 
running up to full capacity.  A visible amount of electricity funneled 
into the pods, and Giselle and Marowak felt it coursing through their 
bodies.

"Maro maro maro!" Marowak cried in pain.

Giselle was gritting her teeth, desperately trying to keep her composure, 
though it was visibly obvious that she was hurting as well.

"Remember, this is all normal!" the professor yelled to them.  "We're 
trying to force you into going into the 'merged state!'"

"AAHHH!" Giselle whelped.  "It... OUCH!  This isn't... EEEEEEEEE!"

"Sir, something's gone wrong!" one of the scientists exclaimed.  "The 
voltage regulator's gonna kaput!"

"What?"

"I can't steady the voltage flow!  It'll be in the overload region in 
seconds!"

"We've got to shut it down!" a colleague added.  "We're putting their 
lives in danger!"

"Fine," the professor agreed, though regrettably.  "Shut it down."

"Shutdown procedure initiated... access denied!"

"Try the override code!"

After a few seconds...

"Negative!  Access denied!"

Suddenly, a high-pitched, ear-piercing scream filled the room.  The 
electricity flowing through Giselle's body was too great for her to 
withhold her cries of pain anymore.

"I'm going to get her out of there!" yelled one of the younger 
assistants.

Reaching for Giselle's pod, the young man got a shock of his own when he 
discovered first-hand that electricity was flowing along the outside of 
the chamber as well.

"Vitals are dropping rapidly for both subjects!"

Then, without warning, all of the power went completely out in the room.  
Surrounded in pitch black darkness, no one could see what was going on.

"I think the lab's internal power surge protectors kicked in!" someone 
yelled.

"Anyone have a flashlight?" asked another.  "We need to get the subjects 
out of the pod before the back-up generator kicks in and the chamber 
restarts!"

All of a sudden, there was a ripping sound.  A ripping of metal.  A 
strange aura of light... silver light... emanated from about where the 
pods were.  It took awhile for the figure to come into focus, but once it 
did, Professor Geissler instantly knew what was going on.

"They did it!"

"Did what, Professor Geissler?" a nearby assistant asked.

"They made it into the 'merged state!'  The silver aura?  It's coming 
from Marowak.  He and Giselle are currently sharing the same body!"

"But without the pod and the electricity countering against their powers, 
that means..."

Marowak turned in the direction of where Giselle's pod lied and started 
using Thrash on it.  The sounds of the pod being bashed and banged at 
filled the air.

"What's that Marowak doing?  He could set off an explosion if he bashes 
in the wrong place!  He could kill us all!"

At that exact moment, the back-up generator finally kicked in, bringing 
the lights back on.  The chamber, though, had overloaded and, thus, did 
not turn back on, and neither did any of the related control panels.  
One thing that did work, though, was the pod's own safety mechanism, as 
it opened up, allowing the door to unlock and open.  Unconscious, there 
was nothing to hold Giselle's limp body up as it fell forward, the life 
support electrodes and other attachments coming off in the process.  The 
silver-glowing Marowak caught Giselle's body with his own two paws, 
keeping her from hitting the floor.  He slowly guided the body to the 
floor, lying her face-up and safely next to the body of the lone assistant 
who had made an attempt to get her out - he was also knocked unconscious 
because of the heavy dose of electricity that he had received.

Marowak then growled in anger as the Pokémon turned towards Professor 
Geissler and the other scientists, who were anticipating what was about 
to happen.

"You don't think they would..." one said aloud, still hoping against the 
worst.

Then, as if a higher power answered the prayers, the silver aura around 
Marowak disappeared, and the Pokémon fainted.  Sensing the danger to be 
over, Professor Geissler and a few of the others slowly walked towards 
the three unconscious bodies.  They quickly checked the trio for vital 
signs.  It didn't take them long to deduce what needed to be done.

"Get me some medics in here, NOW!"

Many of the scientists immediately bolted from the room for various 
reasons, others tried to assist those already around the three bodies on 
the floor.  Professor Geissler was among them, determined to not let this 
test go down as a failure.

"Do whatever you need to keep her and the Marowak alive!" he shouted at 
them.  "Damn it, if they die, so do our careers!"

A medical team of four rushed in and quickly analyzed the situation.  
Noting the varying conditions of each of the three, they turned their 
attention towards Giselle.

"I think we're losing her!" one of the medics yelled after taking 
Giselle's pulse and noting it fading away.  "Get me the defib!"

One of the others pulled out a manual defibrillator, switched it on, and 
prepped the metal paddles for application.  The lone female in the group 
started to unbutton Giselle's blouse so that the head medic could apply 
the paddles directly to her skin, right above her heart.

"Set!"

The paddles were passed to the head medic, who rubbed them together and 
then pressed them against Giselle's chest.

"CLEAR!"


******


End Session: March
Storyline to be continued in Session: April!


******


Author's Notes for 'Session: March':
I told you the ending would be shocking!  Worth the wait, right?  Oh, 
right... I guess I shouldn't be so excited given what just happened...

Anyone expected to see Richie again?  I didn't... the return of Richie 
came as a last-minute add during the writing process, as I didn't want 
to have to come up with a random character-of-the-day to assist Misty.  
Then again, as one sees in Part 2, he exits as abruptly and awkwardly as 
he entered.  Sorry 'bout that.

Do you guys like the slightly more aggressive tint Ash and Misty's 
relationship has taken?  Given all they've been through, it does seem as 
if they're making up for lost time while making sure that they would 
never become separated again.

But while Ash and Misty's relationship has taken a turn for the better, 
you're all probably wondering... why are Arius and Cassie now willingly 
apart?  Did the events of 'Session: February' really lead to the end of 
their romance?  You'll have to stay tuned to find out the answer!

Did you recognize Professor Geissler?  Or the girl in the limo in which 
Ash and Pikachu were taken away?  Both have appeared in this fic before 
this session!  There is a common thread that connects the two of them, 
and possibly... Wallace, the Hoenn League Champion?  If you have been 
paying attention like you should be, you've probably figured out the 
connection.  If not... shame on you!  The answer will be revealed next 
month!

On that note, it was interesting characterizing Wallace since he never 
appeared in the anime series.  Does mysterious, yet friendly sit well 
with you guys?

Another question to be answered... who is the person that Ash recognized 
after reuniting with Pikachu?  Hmmmm...

Okay, be honest... how many of you deduced Giselle as being the fifth?  
If you noticed, I haven't given her a whole bunch of small scenes 
checking in on her throughout this fic for nothing!  Biggest clue that 
should've tipped you guys off?  Remember when a certain trio found 
Giselle lying unconscious in the middle of nowhere and Marowak was 
protecting her?  Yep, that was the biggest clue pointing towards Giselle 
as the fifth!

Speaking of that 'certain trio,' hasn't it been awhile since we've seen 
them?  Hmmm again...

For those of you reading this at FF.net, don't forget to check out the 
uncut version when it comes out on my website in a few weeks!  Lots of 
material had to be cut, including scenes with the 'fifth candidates' 
Cassie, Shingo, and Giselle!  It'll also include an extended ending!


******

'Session: April' Trailer:
The last two months have given me time to think.  I wonder if Giselle is 
still with Joe.  Hopefully, she's finally forgotten about the whole 
Pallet Town deal.  And I hope Gary's doing a good job as the new Junior 
Master.  He finished behind me, in third place, so the League would've 
picked him as my replacement.  Oh, and you know who I haven't seen in 
a long time?  Team Rocket!  As in Jessie, James, and Persian.  Have they 
finally given up on Pikachu?

In 'Session: April,' I, Ash Ketchum, will get a harsh dose of reality...