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

So, let's see... we've made it through four months.  Though it might 
easily seem as if it were four years.

November brings a new twist on the "Three Short Stories" format from 
the "Adventures Series."  This time around, there are four!  One 
starring Celadon City gym leader Erika, one with Ash finally catching 
up to Arius and Cassie in Hoenn, a third featuring Gary, his two 
cheerleaders, and the best-known minor character from Johto (for 
better or worse), and the fourth features Misty on a blind date... 
with someone you'll just squeal with adoration over.  Hopefully...

Don't forget some Team Rocket non-filler along the way, too!

Now, roll the theme song!  Oh, wait, we don't have a theme song... 
well, just roll the disclaimer, title card, and all that junk...

Disclaimer:  All characters and places featured in the Pokémon anime 
series and other productions belong to Nintendo and Pokémon USA!  
That's right, no more mentioning of 4Kids Entertainment!  Oh, wait... 
I guess I just did, huh?  Anyway, original characters such as Cassie 
Banks, Arius McFly, and countless others, are my creations.  Those 
characters are not allowed to be used by anyone else without written 
consent from 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: November (03.03.07)

******

Previously on "The Year of Rocket's Revenge," the world was in shock 
after a surprising event in the first-ever Pokémon Junior Master 
Tournament.  On the way to becoming the first-ever Junior Master, 
Marco Pereira suddenly fell unconscious and his Absol became strong 
enough to take control of the match and help lead Marco to the title.

Since then, the Pokémon League had suddenly become interested in 
individuals like Marco and their existence.  But they knew very little 
about the phenomenon.  Luckily, they knew Erika had been looking into 
it for the past few months, so they decided to contract her to do their 
legwork for them.  Given her curiosity of the subject, she graciously 
accepted the extra workload in addition to her gym leader duties.

Meanwhile, Ash was traveling to the Hoenn Region to catch up with 
Cassie, the unfortunate victim of Marco's 'momentum-changing magic.'  
He wants to inform her of the truth.  But the thing is... he himself 
is one of those gifted individuals.  Will he also take the time to 
reveal that to her and her boyfriend, Arius?

Gary is the last piece of that four-way tussle in Evergrande City.  
He decided to disappear with his cheerleaders after the tournament.  
The rumor is that he decided to head to the Johto Region, but those 
rumors have yet to be confirmed.

Unknown to them all, Team Rocket has their own agenda in reference 
to the 'legendary' individuals.  Apparently, they have an interest in 
them, but only they know exactly what role they want them to serve in 
their latest developing plan to take over the world.  They also have the 
advantage... they have confirmation of four of the special five.  Will 
they control the fate of the world if they find the fifth?

Speaking of which, when will we find out the identity of the fifth?  
Is it someone we've already met?  Or someone yet to be introduced into 
the series?

Let's rejoin the story to find out, starting with the perfume-loving 
Erika... who happens to not be where we expected...

******

Friday, November 2nd, Nordrhein-Westfalen Region, Germany

The sun was rising high into the sun on a morning with clear skies... 
not a cloud to be seen for miles!  Despite the weather, at least one 
young woman was spending the day inside of a brick cottage.  In the 
second floor study, to be exact.

With piles and piles of books stacked on desks, chairs, and the floor, 
she had been busy reading through them all.  All just to find information 
on an old Pokémon legend that had roots of truth to it, if the events of 
the Pokémon Junior Master Tournament two months ago were to be believed.  
But there were many questions about it that still needed answering.  
Where did it originate from?  Who are the identities of those capable of 
attaining this power of legend?  And what long-term side effects would 
it have on the users?

But most importantly... what were they capable of?  And what fate could 
befall the world if they were to fall into the wrong hands?

Unfortunately, it seemed as if the young woman had fallen asleep at 
her desk, face-down in the pages of an old, 19th Century journal.  Her 
blue hair was split every which way, having been knocked out of place 
by some apparent tossing and turning on the 'pillow.'  Green was her 
favorite color, as she was wearing a green short sleeve shirt, green 
sweatpants, and green socks with a Bulbasaur print on them.

Suddenly, a younger, raven-haired girl burst through the door, jogging 
Erika out of her slumber.  Wearing an orange T-shirt, knee-length pink, 
Jigglypuff-decorated shorts, and an apron that read 'Küssen Sie den 
Chef,' which, loosely translated, meant 'Kiss the Chef,' she was in a 
bit of panic at seeing Erika in such an unrefined state.

"Get up, Erika!  You look like a mess!  What would the other girls think 
if they saw you in that state?"

"I guess I fell asleep doing research again," Erika admitted.  "That is 
unbecoming of me, isn't it?"

"Well, get becoming!  Breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes!  Don't 
make me have to drag you down.  You know I will!"

"I'll be down, Maria."

Maria then bolted out of the room to return to the kitchen and finish 
her cooking.  Erika got up out of her chair and stretched her arms up 
towards the ceiling.  She then looked around at all of the books as she 
reminded herself of how she and Maria had gotten there.

"To think... that I'd end up in another country..."

======

Friday, September 7th, Celadon City Gym

Erika was in the process of packing her things in her room.  Just outside, 
two of her assistants, Lisa and Zuniga, were chatting about it.

"So... they accepted the proposal?"

"Yes.  They're covering all of their expenses and everything."

"Their?"

"Maria's going with her.  And Simone's been made interim gym leader."

"What?  How much leave did Miss Erika request?"

"She didn't ask for a specific amount of time.  How ever long it takes 
for her to figure out this thing she's researching."

"Is it really that important?"

"I suppose it is if the Pokémon League is involved."

Suddenly, Erika walked into the room, pulling a suitcase on wheels 
behind her.

"It's nothing you two should worry about.  I mean, only the fate of the 
world is at stake here."

"No offense..." uttered Lisa, "but why you, of all people?"

"I agree," added Zuniga.  "Don't they have some big, strong man to take 
care of this?"

Erika chuckled.  "I appreciate your concern, girls, but this is 
nothing more than a search for information.  And rare information, at 
that."

"If that's the case... why do you have to leave?  That's why we have 
stuff like computers for!"

"Contrary to popular belief, you can't find EVERYTHING on the Internet.  
'Sides, I'm an old fashioned girl... I like doing things myself."

======

"We spent several weeks searching through the finest libraries and 
bookstores in the Kanto and Johto Regions."

Erika and Maria trotted from one place to another, from nearly being 
buried in a book avalanche at the Viridian City Federal Library, to 
becoming lost in the Underground Bookstore of Goldenrod City.  The 
duo were reading, sleeping, and even eating books.  But they didn't 
seem to be making any progress in their search for answers.

"At one point, I was beginning to wonder... what had we seen at the 
Pokémon Junior Master Tournament?  Maybe I was mistaken.  Maybe Marco 
wasn't one of the 'legendary' trainers.  Maybe what had happened 
there at the Indigo Plateau was some other unexplained phenomenon."

Erika was remembering what she had seen on TV that day, with Marco's 
Absol having acted on his own to defeat Cassie's Ivysaur and knock 
her out of the championship match.  A couple of days later, Erika 
and Maria were seen wandering through Vermillion City.

"We tried to track down Marco.  But we couldn't find him.  After what 
had happened, the Pokémon League was supposed to be keeping track of 
him.  It had been a month since he was last seen in Vermillion.  The 
League was getting nervous... with their Junior Master nowhere to be 
found, their public relations department was swamped with phone calls 
and letters wondering what had happened.  The result of his crowning 
was controversy enough..."

Cameras flashed all throughout a press room as Elite Four Leader 
Lance was being hounded into answering tough questions by the media.

"But many were crying foul, that the League was covering the whole 
deal up, as if they were so dissatisfied with the results of the 
tournament that they were trying to pretend that it never happened.  
All the while, I was running out of leads in figuring out the mystery 
of this odd legend.

"That is... until two weeks ago..."

======

Thursday, October 18th, Sweet Suites Hotel, Mahogany Town

It was very late at night in Room 305.  Maria was passed out on top of 
one bed; Erika was leafing through research parchments while sitting on 
the other.  She lifted her hand up to cover her mouth as she yawned, 
exhausted after another day of heavy reading.  She slid off the bed and 
went to work cleaning up the mess of books on it so she could head off 
to sleep as well.  But then, out of the corner of her eye, something 
caught her attention on a small leaflet that was paper-clipped to one 
of those parchments.

Curious, she picked it up and scanned it hastily.  One line stood out in 
particular, to which she read aloud, as if to verbally confirm what her 
tired eyes were seeing.

"I firmly believe that certain individuals have what is necessary to be 
able to temporarily transfer their souls in and out of certain Pokémon, 
given a set of exacting conditions, none of which I have been able to 
discern, though I do have some theories."

Erika's eyes then wandered to the top of the page, where she found 
the name of the document's author.

"Werner Geissler."

======

"Werner Geissler turned out to be a famous Pokémon researcher in the 
city of Düsseldorf in Germany.  Normally, he dabbled in how the 
relationships of trainers and their Pokémon affected their ability to 
work in unison under dire circumstances.  The rumor was that he also 
learned about the so-called 'legendary' trainers and was curious himself 
about how such a thing was possible."

A few days later, Erika and Maria were seen getting off a commercial 
plane at Düsseldorf International Airport.

"After getting approval from the Pokémon League, since they had to fit 
the bill for any of my research, Maria and I were on the first flight 
for Germany.  Getting there was the easy part."

"Ich verstehe nicht," sighed the confused customs agent... in German.

Erika and Maria's jaws hung wide open in shock... they didn't understand 
her, either.

"Figuring out how to get around Germany when, between Maria and myself, 
we knew a total of zero words in German?  That was the hard part..."

======

"After somehow getting through Customs and being guided to the nearby 
Japanese Consulate to ask for a guide and help understanding the 
language..."

Erika and Maria were delighted to meet a Nurse Joy there who understood 
Japanese and could assist them in their journey.

"I guess it helped that it doubled as the city's Pokémon Center."

Nurse Joy handed them a map and pointed out where to find Professor 
Geissler, as well as a translation book for them to use.  Joy even 
went through the trouble to call them a taxi to get them to their 
destination.

"After finding our bearings, we were off to find Professor Geissler..."

======

Erika had made her way downstairs, gasping in mild surprise as she saw a 
plate of seaweed-decorated pancakes on the dining room table.  Seeing 
the stunned look on Erika's face, Maria walked over and guided her 
friend to the table.

"You looked surprised.  I thought you knew I could cook!"

"I did, but..." Erika said as Maria pulled out a seat for her and then 
pushed her under the table, "I didn't know you could make something 
like this!"

"It's nothing special.  But I tell ya... getting seaweed out here 
isn't easy.  Or cheap."

Erika sliced a small piece off and put it in her mouth.  She smiled as 
she chewed on it.

"Wow... this is really good!"

"Thanks!" Maria blushed as she took her seat on the other side of the 
table.

"Now... where was I?  Oh, now I remember..."

======

Erika and Maria were standing in front of the red brick cottage that 
Professor Geissler called home.  It was actually located in a small 
town just outside of Düsseldorf, out in the countryside.  As Maria 
looked around and took in the beautiful sights and the small number of 
houses and cottages nearby, Erika went to the door and knocked on it.

After a few seconds, Professor Geissler opened the door, revealing 
his fragile, 88-year old bald-headed self to the world.  He was 
wearing what looked to be blue hospital scrubs and a while lab coat.

"Yeah?" he asked.  "What do you young girls want?"

Maria laughed nervously as Erika reached into her suitcase and pulled 
out the old leaflet from the library.  She held it up for the old 
researcher to see as she explained everything to him.

"We're in search of answers to a certain legend of Pokémon lore that 
you seem to be quite familiar with.  You see, I have seen a couple of 
individuals who possess the ability that you've described.  The ability 
to loan their souls temporarily to their Pokémon, doubling their agility, 
strength, and power!  I believe there's more than those two, and it's 
of the utmost importance that we find them all before they fall into 
the clutches of evil!"

"Really?"

"Yes, it is!  Any help you could offer us would be greatly appreciated, 
Professor Geissler!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha," he laughed.  "HO HO HO HO HA HA!"

Erika and Maria looked at each other, weirded out by the professor's 
sudden outburst of laughter.

"That's a good one... I haven't been called Professor in ages!  Well, 
not exactly ages... probably good fifteen, twenty years!"

"FIFTEEN?" Maria freaked out.  "TWENTY?"

"And that document?  I wrote that more than sixty years ago!"

"SIXTY?  SIXTY?!"

"Wait a minute!" Erika interrupted.  "The only reason we were able to 
locate you so quickly was by looking at your autobiography!  The one 
that was written three years ago... and in which you state that you 
were only fifty-four at the time!"

"HO HA HA HO HA HA!" Professor Geissler laughed out loud again.

"What's so funny?" chided Maria.  "Don't you know only women are 
allowed to lie about their age?"

"Uh..." Erika cut in, "I don't think that's the point..."

"Well, then, I guess you girls know what you're talking about.  For a 
minute, I was suspicious, with you dressed like a tea ceremony gal and 
you like one of them teenyboppers!"

"At least I don't lie about my age," retorted Maria, a little upset 
over the latter representation.

"Come on in... we've got much to discuss."

The professor stepped aside, giving Erika and Maria room to walk in and 
bring their stuff in as well.

======

Erika and Maria gasped as they glanced all around the house and saw 
books upon books piled up and stacked everywhere.  As well as clothes, 
trash, and uneaten food... all to the girls' disgust.

"I apologize in advance for the mess.  I don't get visitors too often, 
and I'm usually too busy with my research to clean this place."

"Research?" Erika questioned.

"Yeah... sorry, but I lied about the 'not being called a professor in 
ages.'  Well, sort of.  You see, I still do some research these days.  
But I haven't had an assistant in years... thus, no one to call me by 
that title on a daily basis."

"Will you just get to the point?" demanded Maria, tapping her feet 
impatiently.

"Being so young, I suppose you'd all get to my study and read about all 
of my research yourselves.  But seeing as how you're pressed for time, 
I'll give you ladies the short and sweet version."

Erika and Maria waited with anticipation for Professor Geissler's 
answer.

"The short and sweet version is... no."

"N-no?" repeated the duo.

"No as in no, I haven't devised a way to figure out who has this 
so-called special ability.  Been trying for thirty years with no 
success.  So unfortunately, I can't help you find the others.  If there 
are any others."

"What?  YOU MEAN WE TRAVELED HALFWAY ACROSS THE WORLD FOR NOTHING, 
YOU CHEAPSKATE?"

"Calm down," Erika said to her companion.  "You're acting unladylike."

"I apologize, but I can't help you with something I have yet to 
figure out myself."

"Then let us help you!  You've got the material just lying around!  
You've been thinking about this for so long, maybe you're missing 
something that should make sense!  You've got nothing to lose with two 
extra pairs of eyes helping!"

"Wait a minute, Erika... are you suggesting that we stay here, in this 
dump of a cottage?"

"Now now, Maria... I've seen your room."

"Shhhhh!  You don't have to tell the old geezer that!"

"HA HA HA HA!  Well, you're welcome to stay as long as you want.  After 
all, that's the way of a Pokémon traveler, right?  HA HA HA HA!"

Erika nodded in agreement.  "Yes.  Then we'll start right away.  We've 
got a lot to do and very little time."

"I don't mind cooking and cleaning," Maria told Erika, "but if I have to 
help him to use the bathroom... he dies!"

"Maria!  That's not nice of you to say!"

"I'm just setting my limits beforehand, that's all."

======

So Erika and Maria, with some help from the professor, made the house 
neat and presentable within a matter of hours.  From that point on, the 
duo was committed to going through all of the old research documents 
in Professor Geissler's study.  There was tons of information to go 
through, but in the end...

======

Erika sighed.  "Two whole weeks, and we've barely made any progress at 
all!  And none of the professor's theories panned out!"

Across the way, Maria munched on her pancake quietly as she listened 
to her friend and boss continue on.  To her left, on the wall, pictures 
and one-page biographies of about twenty trainers, all aged between ten 
and nineteen, were pinned to the wall.  The first two were of Misty 
Waterflower and Marco Pereira, and both had happy Bellsprout stickers 
stuck on their lower right corners.

"Misty I kinda learned of after receiving a mysterious letter detailing 
it with no return address.  I even told her.  I wasn't sure if she 
believed me, or I believed her.  After all, I've never seen proof of her 
having that ability.

"Then again, I wouldn't have guessed a nobody like Marco would present 
the first sign of concrete evidence of its existence.  And I'm not even 
sure it was intentional.  He looked just as surprised as everyone else 
who saw that tournament battle royale that day.

"The question is... the letter said there were five in total.  Assuming 
Misty has shown signs of being able to do a soul transfer, even without 
her own knowledge of the event, that leaves three to find..."

Among the other photos and biographies were the other three finalists of 
the Junior Master Tournament: Ash Ketchum, Gary Oak, and Cassie Banks.  
Also up were some well-known and talented up and comers like AJ Kamensky, 
Jeanette Fisher, and Richie Sparky, as well as two teen gym leaders 
in Brock Slate and Bugsy Tourou, and a couple of relative unknowns in 
Shingo Macintosh and Kelly Kiki.

"But... we've got no sure-fire way of locating them," stated Maria.

Erika sighed again.  "So... where do we go from here.  Back home?"

"Should we tell Mister... I mean, Professor Geissler went he gets back 
from his morning run?"

"We're going to have to.  Besides, I can't leave Simone in charge of the 
Celadon Gym forever.  You know her... I bet she's having so much fun, 
she won't want to give the job of gym leader back to me!"

"So, I'll get in touch with the Japanese Consulate and have them help us 
book a flight back home?"

"Yes," Erika nodded, "book one for tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Maria whined.  "Whyyyyyy?"

"Well... we kinda made a large mess of our own, between the study and 
the guest bedroom."

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!"

======

The next morning, a taxicab was waiting out front as Maria ran out of 
the cottage, carrying the last of their bags.  Erika and Professor 
Geissler casually trotted out afterwards.

"Thanks for your hospitality," Erika thanked, bowing before the old 
researcher, who blushed a crimson red in response.

"No need.  I'm just sorry I couldn't help you more."

"Looks like we'll just have to wait for the others to reveal 
themselves.  As much I as hate for one of them to end up in the hands 
of someone who'll mistreat them..."

======

Halfway across the world, somewhere in the Viridian Forest, several 
black-uniformed Team Rocket operatives were around a night campfire, 
singing songs and toasting marshmallows.  Suddenly, one of them, a 
blue-haired male, broke up the festivities by shouting in his 
croak-sounding voice.

"Already, you all, quiet down!  It's time to get to the reason why 
we're here.  And that's to welcome our newest recruit!"

The Team Rocket operative, Butch, pulled a younger, blue-haired guy 
up from the ground and brought him up to stand before his peers.

"Congratulations, kid!" Butch said with a smile.  "Welcome to Team 
Rocket!"

"Hip hip hooray!" shouted the operatives.  "Hip hip hooray!"

Butch then handed the kid a Team Rocket Grunt's uniform and beanie 
hat and gave him a pat of the beat.

"Don't let the beanie fool ya, kid... given your talents, it won't 
take you long to become a full-fledged operative like me."

"Heh heh," the kid laughed.  "I'm betting my life on it!  My name 
isn't Marco Pereira for nothing!"

"You do know, for your own protection, you have to lose the last 
name, right?  Now... who's in charge of the post-induction hazing 
this time?"

"Poliwag!" chirped a Poliwag from a small wooden crate one of the 
others pulled out of a nearby tent.  The operatives broke out in 
hysterical laughter... though Butch didn't seem to think it was 
funny at all.

"Not funny!  You damn know that sucking on one of those things 
did irreparable damage to my voice!"

======

Saturday, November 3rd, Mauville City

After two weeks of searching the Hoenn Region, Ash and Pikachu had 
finally arrived in Mauville City.  They were still in the process of 
attempting to track down Arius and Cassie.  But they seemed to have run 
into a little problem...

"I... can't... take... it... anymore!"

Pikachu had once again been charged, against his will, with the task of 
keeping Ash focused on what they had come here to do.  That included 
keeping him from walking into every Pokémon gym they had passed along 
the way.  But Ash was having none of that this time...

"I... must... go in... NOW!"

Ash broke away from Pikachu and bolted for the gym's front door.  
Pikachu gave chase, but Ash beat him there, running smack into the 
door.  But unexpectedly, the door fell forward and started moving along 
some sort of track.  Pikachu hopped on board the moving platform, as 
Ash lied there in an amazement, wondering what was going on.

"Why is this thing moving?  It kind of reminds me of a..."

Just ahead of them, the floor began to slope downward.  Steeply.  Ash 
and Pikachu freaked out as they realized what was going on.

"ROLLER COASTER!"

"PIKAAAAAA!"

A guard rail appeared on either side of the platform, and the duo hung 
on for dear life as the 'coaster car' picked up speed and dropped 
downwards...

======

Just a few miles away, on a hillside just outside of the city, Arius and 
Cassie were in the midst of a training battle.  Arius watched as his 
Snorlax stood fast while Cassie ordered her Espeon to attack.

"Espeon, use Swift!"

Espeon fired a small wave of stars right at Snorlax, resulting in a 
direct hit on the giant Pokémon's belly.  But Snorlax seemed to phase 
it off as it was nothing, reaching down to scratch his stomach as a sign 
of such.

"Cassie, you're not even trying anymore!  Do you want to stay a 
Second-Level Novice or what?"

"I'm doing the best I can!"

"Well, try harder!"

"Try harder, he says," Cassie thought to herself.  "Espeon's not a 
physical Pokémon, and that makes it even harder to take down a strong 
defender like Snorlax!"

Cassie glanced at her boyfriend across the way, and appeared to look 
as if she was trying to see through him.  In reality, she was just 
trying to read his mind in order to discover his next move.

"I bet she's trying to read my mind right now," Cassie heard from 
Arius' mind.  "Cheater.  How's she supposed to become a Pokémon Master 
if she has to resort to that to gain an advantage?"

"I hate it when he's right," she mumbled under her breath.  "But..."

Cassie closed her eyes and started to concentrate on the battle using 
her other senses.  Arius noticed that, and smiled.

"Snorlax... Body Slam!"

Snorlax started walking over towards Espeon, one ground-shaking step 
at a time.  Espeon stood her ground, waiting for her next command.  
Looking over her shoulder, she saw Cassie deep in thought, trying to 
transmit instructions through telekinesis.

But then, out of the blue, Cassie fell backwards, hitting the ground 
back-first.  Espeon was about to run over and see what was up, but 
then she saw a shadow engulf her.  The shadow of Snorlax.

Who was about to deliver what amounted to a belly flop on her.

"SNORLAX!"

"Oh crap!" Arius yelled as he ran over to check on Cassie.  "Cassie!"

As Arius ran past their two Pokémon, Snorlax got back up on his own two 
feet, only to fall backwards himself... and into a deep sleep.  As for 
Espeon, other than having been knocked out by the attack, she didn't 
look too worse for the wear.

Meanwhile, Cassie had come to, rubbing the side of her head as she sat 
up and saw Arius coming up and going down on both knees in front of her.

"Are you okay?" Arius asked, concerned.

"I think so," Cassie replied.  "That's never happened before..."

"The fainting part?"

"No, no, what caused the fainting!  I was trying to transmit my next 
move to Espeon using my psychic powers.  But, for some reason, I 
couldn't do it.  And now... I've got a headache!  Uhhhh..."

"Maybe we should quit for the day," recommended Arius.  "We need to get 
back to the Pokémon Center so you can get some rest."

Arius then pulled out Snorlax's Pokéball to recall it.  Once that was 
done, he got Espeon's and did the same for Cassie's Pokémon.

"Do you need help walking back?" Arius asked, not even waiting for an 
answer as he draped one of Cassie's arms around the back of his neck.

Cassie nodded, then let Arius lead her slowly back into Mauville.

======

"Ha ha ha!  I see you made it all the way through!"

Ash and Pikachu, a little disoriented after the ride and a battle with 
a robot Raikou, were slow to get up as they were greeted by a man with 
gray hair and beard, dressed in a yellow suit covered by a brown and 
gray sweatshirt.

"By the way, my name's Wattson!  I'm the gym leader here!  I'm guessing 
you've come to challenge me for a Dynamo Badge!"

"That's right, and I will... once the room stops spinning..."

"Ha ha!  Well, when it does, the battle field awaits!  Right, Watt?"

A younger, glasses-wearing man with a lab coat over his green shirt 
and tan slacks sighed over Ash's disoriented state.  As well as the 
fired-up look that Pikachu had on his face.

"I apologize in advance... he insists on his challengers having 'fun' 
before their battles."

======

"CHHHHHHHHHHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Ash returned the 'fun' favor... by having Pikachu knock out Wattson's 
Magnemite, Voltorb, and Magneton without difficulty.  In fact, each 
one had been done in by a single, well-placed Thunder attack apiece.  
As Wattson and Watt stood there, flabbergasted, so did Ash and Pikachu, 
who actually couldn't believe it themselves.

"I guess that's it," Watt said, having acted as referee for the match.  
"With Magneton unable to battle, the victory goes to Ash of Pallet 
Town."

Despite the shocking result, Ash reacted to the win all the same.

"Yes!  I've got myself... a Dynamo Badge!"

"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu added.

"Well, well..." Wattson admitted, shaking a bit as he walked over.  
"Very impressive indeed."

Wattson reached into his pocket and pulled out a Dynamo Badge, which 
he promptly handed over to his challenger.

"Congratulations, Ash!  Now, if you'll excuse me..."

With that, Wattson turned about and slowly waddled out of the room.

"Sorry about that," Watt apologized again.  "I think he's a little 
surprised about how that battle turned out.  We all are."

"No kidding."

Ash watched as Wattson left the room.  He had won a gym badge in the 
Hoenn Region at long last.  But for some reason, the victory felt a 
little hollow to him...

======

45 minutes later, at an ice cream parlor in downtown Mauville, Arius 
was sitting at a table.  His face showed that he had his own reason to 
look stunned in disbelief.  While he had barely touched his single 
scoop of Rocky Road ice cream, which had almost completely melted out 
of its cone and onto his left hand, his girlfriend just across from him 
was finishing off the remnants of a four-scoop banana split sundae, 
covered in chocolate sauce and topped off with two red cherries.

"If you were that hungry, we could've gone to eat at an actual 
restaurant!" complained Arius.

"You're just grumpy because I ordered the most expensive thing off 
the menu," Cassie observed.  "That, and because your ice cream melted 
while you were watching me eat."

"Because I was concerned about you!" Arius said as he used a napkin 
to wipe off what of the sticky substance he could on his hand into 
Cassie's empty bowl.  "It couldn't be because I added it to your tab!"

"Whatever happened to treating a girl?"

"If I want to treat you, it'll be at some fancy shmancy five-star 
place.  Not somewhere like this, just to get a quick, cheap thrill."

"Wow, it's really him!" a customer squealed from another table.

Curious, Arius and Cassie both turned to the counter.  They saw a man 
with a gray beard and hair that only covered the back of his head 
standing there.  He was dressed in a yellow dress shirt and pants, 
with a grayish-brown sweatshirt over that.  And he seemed... sad.

"Here you go!" the chipper girl behind the counter said as she handed 
him a tub of ice cream labeled 'Winning Wattson'.

"Thank you," he said as he paid for his purchase.

"Did something happen?" she asked as Arius and Cassie tried to listen 
in from their table.  "You only order a tub of ice cream when something 
bad happens to you.  And for it to be a tub of the flavor we named after 
you... it must be real bad!"

Wattson sighed.  "I'm sorry, Katrina... but I don't feel like talking 
about it."

"Oh."

After ringing the purchase up and bagging it, Katrina bid him farewell.

"Hope you feel better!  I wanna see you smiling the next time you 
drop by!"

Wattson walked out silently without any sort of reply.

"That's Wattson, the gym leader here in Mauville!" Arius deduced.

"Ya think?" Cassie retorted, a little dismayed he was only now figuring 
that out.

"It's perfect!  What better way to prepare for a Pokémon League 
advancement exam than to challenge a high-ranking gym leader?  That's 
just what you need!"

Arius then jumped out of his seat and bolted for the door.

"Hey, wait for me!" Cassie exclaimed, fiddling around in her backpack 
for some money to leave for a tip.

======

"Hey!  Mr. Wattson, hold on a second!"

Wattson stopped as Arius caught up to him on the street.

"What do you want?" he asked, not turning around to face Arius.

"My name's Arius McFly, and me and my girlfriend want to challenge you 
to a gym battle!  We've heard so much about you, and now we want to 
see if we're strong enough to beat someone as powerful as you!"

"I'm sorry..." Wattson said slowly.  "But I'm afraid I must decline 
your challenge."

With that, Wattson started walking away.

"Hey!" Arius yelled, trying to get Wattson's attention.

"Don't bother," came Cassie's voice, as she had caught up and she had 
put a hand on his shoulder.  "He has his reasons."

"What?  But doesn't he know that generally gym leaders are required 
to accept every single challenge?"

Cassie dodged the question, instead content with watching Wattson turn 
at the next street corner and disappear from sight.

"Hmmmm..." Cassie figured out, flashing a smile all of a sudden.  
"Looks like he finally caught up with us."

Arius was confused.  "Wait a minute... what now?"

"We need to go back to the Pokémon Center," Cassie answered as she 
turned about and started heading the other way.

"I'm glad your psychic powers are back to normal, but how about 
explaining for the mind reading-impaired?" Arius shouted as he 
followed her.

======

That night, Ash was lying awake in bed at his room at the Pokémon 
Center, while Pikachu slept soundly next to him.  As he stared up at 
the ceiling, he picked up his Dynamo Badge from his badge case and 
stared at it for quite awhile.

"I know I should be happy about this.  But..."

Ash quickly replayed the short battle in his head, as Pikachu easily 
bested each of Wattson's Pokémon with just one electric attack 
apiece.  He then remembered something that Nurse Joy had asked him 
when she was checking out Pikachu afterwards...

======

"Pikachu seems a bit overcharged," Joy commented as she hooked Pikachu 
up to a machine to draw some of it out.  "Did anything happen to him 
that may have caused this?"

Ash shook his head.  "I don't think so."

======

Earlier, in the gym's trap-filled entrance hallway, Ash watched as 
Pikachu attacked a Raikou!  But upon touching it, a lot of Raikou's 
electric charge was transferred to Pikachu.  The resulting exchange 
caused Raikou to explode, taking out its own head and sending Pikachu 
flying back towards Ash.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried.

Pikachu managed to land on his own feet okay, though sparks were now 
visibly sparking from his cheeks.  Meanwhile, the Raikou, which was 
apparently a fake if the wires sticking out of its neck were any 
indication, had stopped moving.

======

"THAT'S IT!" Ash realized, shouting at the top of his lungs and 
waking Pikachu up.

"Pi... pika pi?" Pikachu asked sleepily.

======

The next morning, Ash and Pikachu had just ran past the main desk at 
the Center, about to head out for the Mauville Gym.  But out of the 
corner of his eye, he spotted Watt at the desk, chatting with Nurse Joy.

"Oh, Ash, it's you!" Watt stated, relieved.  "Good."

"Watt?  Oh, yeah... I have to tell you something."

"I know," Watt cut him off.  "Nurse Joy and I just kinda figured it 
out a few minutes ago."

"Well, let's go tell Wattson then!  I think it was kind of unfair for 
me to win a gym badge like that.  It would only be fair if I give it 
back and challenge him again... with Pikachu's normal strength."

"Pika!" Pikachu chirped in agreement.

"That's all well and good... but Wattson walked out about half an hour 
ago, saying he was going to take a vacation and that he wasn't sure 
when he'd be back.  Oh... and there was an empty tub of 'Winning 
Wattson' flavored ice cream rolling across the floor in his room..."

"WHAT?  We have to go find him!"

"Well, he was heading north..."

Ash grabbed Watt by the arm and pulled him out the door, with 
Pikachu running right behind them.

======

About a mile or so outside the city, Wattson had stopped by the river 
when he had been approached by a wild Electrike.  Wattson was smiling 
and laughing as the playful Pokémon jumped about here and there.  
Electrike then jumped up onto Wattson's lap and started licking the 
gym leader on the side of his face.

"Ha ha, you're full of energy, aren't you?" Wattson laughed.

"Wattson!"

Wattson turned about and saw Ash and Watt running towards him.

"Well well, look who's here!  How are you, Ash?"

"I'm fine... but there's something we have to tell you."

"It's regarding the battle you two had yesterday."

As Watt explained the situation, a smile started appearing on Wattson's 
face.

"Well now... that explains it!  I knew I wasn't losing my touch!"

Ash reached into his pocket and pulled out the Dynamo Badge he had 
'earned' yesterday.  He then motioned to hand it over to Wattson.

"Wattson, I..."

But Wattson rejected Ash's open palm, closing it into a fist and 
pushing it back towards Ash.

"Keep it as a souvenir."

"But... I didn't win this fair and square.  Attacking that robot ended 
up supercharging Pikachu that it gave us an unfair advantage!  I 
don't deserve this badge."

"I applaud your honesty, Ash.  But we all know you didn't plan on 
that happening.  Heck, I didn't plan on it.  It was an accident and 
a case of good fortune on your side.  We couldn't have predicted this.  
As far as I'm concerned, you won that badge yesterday."

"Are... are you sure?"

"As positive as a Plusle!  Ha ha ha!"

"So that means you're not going on vacation?" Watt asked his boss.

"Of course not!  There are others waiting to challenge me!  Besides..."

Wattson started to stroke Electrike's head, to which he smiled with 
approval.

"I've got me another Pokémon to train!"

Ash nodded.  "And I've got something I have to take care of too."

"In that case... I wish you the best!"

Wattson shared a hearty handshake with Ash before bidding him and Pikachu 
farewell.  Ash and Pikachu waved back as Wattson, Watt, and Electrike 
saw them off.

"Thanks again for everything!" Ash shouted.

======

As Wattson disappeared from sight, Ash and Pikachu began plotting their 
next move.

"Well, Pikachu, maybe we should try our luck here in the Hoenn Region," 
Ash told his partner as they walked down the hill.  "I mean, since it 
looks like we're not gonna ever catch up to Cassie and Arius..."

"Pikachu," Pikachu nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the duo heard some applause coming from nearby.  Turning to 
their right, they saw Arius leaning against a nearby tree, clapping his 
hands with joy.

"Congratulations, Ash Ketchum... you've found us."

Ash and Pikachu ran over excitedly.

"Whew... I thought we'd never find you!"

"Pika!"

"We couldn't put our own lives on hold just to wait for you, you know!  
What's so important that you had to come all the way here to Hoenn to 
talk to my girl in person?"

"It's regarding Marco."

"Marco?" Arius asked, scratching his head.  "Oh, now I remember!  The 
kid that knocked her out of the tournament, right?  And unfairly, I 
might add!  I mean, what was up with that strange glow his Absol had?  
And while he was unconscious?"

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

"Then I bet you wouldn't mind telling it over lunch?" Cassie offered as 
she walked up along the path towards them.

======

All of Ash, Arius, and Cassie's Pokémon were off to the side, enjoying 
some Poké-food as the three trainers enjoyed some sandwiches while 
they sat on a blanket on top of the grass.

"Nice to hear about the whole thing with Wattson," Cassie exclaimed.  
"I kinda figured you were in town after reading his thoughts yesterday.  
But I began to doubt myself after we couldn't find you at the Pokémon 
Center!"

"She was getting really worried," recalled Arius.

"Yeah," Ash chuckled.  "My mind was kinda busy at the time..."

"So... what can you tell us about that cheater, Marco?"

"Yes.  There was always something about him I didn't like..."

"Well..." Ash began, "I'm not sure how to explain it.  In fact, I'm 
not sure how much of it I understand myself."

"Um... if I may..."

Cassie leaned forward and pressed her forehead against Ash's.  In an 
instant, she used her psychic powers to find and process everything 
that Ash was going to tell them.  Her task complete, she pulled away.  
But for some reason, Cassie was holding her head in pain again.  And 
apparently, so was Ash.

"Ooh, that smarts..." Cassie remarked.

"Ow!" Ash cried out.  "What did you do?"

"Did you do what I think you just did?" Arius asked.

"Yes... but that's the first time I've tried doing it that way."

"Uh... what did you do?" Ash repeated again.

"I just tried to read your mind," Cassie admitted.

"Wow!  You can do that?"

"I can... but for some reason, I couldn't pull out everything you 
wanted to tell me."

"Is he holding back?" Arius wondered out loud.

Cassie shook her head.  "I don't think so.  It may be that I'm not 
strong enough to get out that much information at once."

"So, what did you find out?"

"You know about what Marco can do now, don't you?" Ash concluded.

Cassie nodded.  "Yes.  Yes I do."

Arius scratched his head, distraught that he's being left out again.  
But Cassie then began to explain it to him.

"Apparently Marco has gained this strange ability where he's able to 
temporarily transfer his soul to one of his Pokémon.  The two combine 
to increase the attacking Pokémon's strength, with the merge signified 
by the appearance of a visible colored aura around the Pokémon."

"What do you mean he's able to do this?  At will?"

"No.  He can't seem to control when it happens.  But the incident in 
Evergrande City wasn't his first.  And it may not be the last.  
Furthermore, he may not be the only one with this 'power.'"

Cassie looked over at Ash, allowing Arius to instantly draw a quick 
conclusion.

"You mean... you..."

"Yeah," Ash admitted.  "Strangely, though, I remember it happening, 
but not what happened when it was going on.  You know?"

"It's true.  Ash has shown that ability once before.  Though I was 
unable to discern where, when, or how from the brief time I was in 
there."

"It was at the Viridian City gym.  Though, like I said, I don't recall 
much about that day..."

"So this means that you could've cheated just like Marco," Arius had 
figured out, "but for whatever reason, you decided not to?"

"I told you, I don't know how to even use these powers in the first 
place!" defended Ash.

"So, why tell us?" questioned Cassie.  "If it's just to justify me 
finishing fourth in that tournament, it didn't work."

"No... you see, I've been having trouble figuring out this thing, and 
neither Professor Oak or anyone else I've asked seems to know what's 
going on with me.  I don't even know if I can do that again!"

"Well... I guess we could look through our networking channels..."

"Psst!" Arius reminded Cassie.  "We're not in the PTA anymore!"

"There are networking channels you're not privy to that aren't 
connected to them, you know!"

"So you can figure this thing out?"

"Well, Ash... considering the great Professor Oak couldn't... it's 
pretty doubtful.  Still, it's worth a shot.  You never know."

Ash smiled.  "I knew I could trust you!"

Cassie blushed in response.  "Well... uh... glad to know that I've 
finally proven myself to you... again."

"I still don't see the point of him coming all the way out here just 
to tell us that," Arius mumbled under his breath.

======

After finishing up lunch, Ash and Pikachu pack their stuff.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Cassie asked of Ash.

"I'll have to talk it over with Professor Oak," he answered.  "Of 
course, I've been away from Misty and Brock for a few weeks, so I bet 
they want to know what I'm up to.  I might go back home."

"You could come with us," Cassie suggested.  "Arius and I are going to 
challenge Wattson for Dynamo Badges tomorrow.  After that, we're heading 
up along Route 111.  Cassie has her Novice Class First Level Exam 
coming up in a few days."

"Ah, I remember that," Ash scratched his chin.  "That was a hard one."

"You mean you passed it already?"

"Heh heh," Arius snickered.  "Looks like the genius is falling behind."

"Rookie Class League members shouldn't be making fun of those above 
him," Cassie chided, reminding Arius to remember his place.

"That's okay... I wouldn't want to get in the way of you two."

"Just remember to call us next time instead of following us halfway 
across the region," Arius said in jest.

"And the next time we do see each other, you better have Misty and Brock 
with you!" Cassie told Ash.  "Especially Misty.  So I can tell her in 
person that I've never had a romantic interest in you."

"What?" Arius gasped in shock.

"How did you..." Ash scratched his head.  "I never..."

Cassie winked playfully.  "At least I'm one less girl she'll won't have 
to worry about.  C'mon, Arius..."

"You mean you never..."

Cassie tugged Arius away.  "You really think I'm the type to keep my 
options open?  Now, we have some training to do..."

"Maybe we can have a battle next time!" Ash shouted as he waved goodbye.

"Pika pika!"

With Cassie and Arius heading off to prepare for their match with 
Wattson, Ash and Pikachu are on their way to the Pokémon Center to 
decide upon their next move... and if necessary, beg to be wired 
enough money for the trip back home!

======

Thursday, November 15th, West Route 29, Johto Region

Meanwhile, somewhere on the road to Cherrygrove City...

"Oh, come on!" shouted a shrill voice.  "When will you admit that 
you're in love with me?  We all know it's true!"

A group of three was walking along the road, but one of them in 
particular was being quite loud about it.

"Please, Gary-poo!"

Loud enough to disturb some Pidgey and Hoothoot, who flew away from 
their nests to get away from the disturbance.

"I thought I told you not to call me by that name!"

"But it's my pet name for you, Gary-poo!  If it makes you feel any 
better, you can call me Stephanie-poo!"

The shrill voice happened to be Stephanie Applegate, who was openly 
flirting with the guy she cheered on everyday, Gary Oak.

"Then again," Stephanie reconsidered, "that sounds funny with my name 
attached."

Ahead of them, their 'third,' a younger girl who was also one of 
Gary's supporters, was frustrated that the duo was lollygagging 
behind.  She was Amber Gyro, who was in a rush to get to Cherrygrove 
City.

"Come on, hurry up!  I so wanna get there so Horsea and I can go 
tryout to become Pokémon cheerleaders for the Seadra professional 
baseball team!"

"Amber's right," Gary said as he started walking faster, leaving 
Stephanie behind.  "Let's pick it up."

"But don't you wanna walk with me anymore?" Stephanie asked as she 
picked up her pace to stay beside him.

Before Gary could answer her question, the three of them started 
hearing music coming from nearby.  Out of genuine curiosity, the trio 
started heading towards the fanciful tune.

======

TWEET!  TWEET!  TWEET TWEET TWEET!
TWEET!  TWEET!  TWEET TWEET TWEET!

In a clearing just ahead, a blue-haired girl was in the midst of 
showing a display of team spirit as a boom box played at her feet 
the introduction to her favorite team's fight song.  She was 
dressed the part of her team, too, decked out in yellow jacket 
with black pinstripes, white baseball shorts, and a white cap with 
a lightning bolt insignia front and center on the bill.  She also 
had a miniature plastic yellow bat, which she was swinging to and 
fro.  Next to her was her lone Pokémon, Chikorita, who was bobbing 
her head up and down to the beat.  Chikorita was also decorated 
similarly, sporting a yellow and black headband with the same 
lightning bolt insignia in the center.

TWEET!  TWEET!  TWEET TWEET TWEET!

"Okay, Chikorita, you know what to do!" the girl exclaimed.  "Say 
it loud, sing it proud!"

"Chika!" Chikorita chirped.

With that, the girl and her Chikorita started singing.

"Let's all cheer Electabuzz, greatest team of all!
The players charge the field and double-team the ball!
They're the crew with Mega Punch when they are in a crunch!
Metronome, safe at home, Hyper Beam too!
Win!  Win!  Through thick or thin!
Electa-buzz, it's you!  YAAAY!"

"YAAAY!" Amber repeated, applauding as she ran out into the clearing.  
"A Pokémon cheerleader, in the flesh!"

"Huh?" the girl blinked, noticing Amber but unable to hear her 
because of the loud music.

Chikorita used her vines to stretch over to the stereo and push 
the 'stop' button, bringing calm back to the surrounding forest.

"That's better.  Now... what were you saying?"

"So you're a Pokémon cheerleader!" Amber gasped with excitement, 
beginning to talk faster and faster.  "What kind of cheers do you 
do?  How much do you get paid?  Do you really get to meet the 
actual players?  Anyone tell you that your Chikorita is adorable?  
Is that the actual uniform a cheerleader has to wear?  I guess 
shorts are preferred to skirts, huh?"

"Uh..."

"Silly me, where are my manners?  My name's Amber."

"And I'm Gary Oak," Gary introduced himself as he appeared in the 
clearing.  "Perhaps you've heard of me?"

"And I happen to be the beautiful Stephanie Applegate," Gary's other 
'friend' proclaimed, "here to tell you that Gary-poo here is taken!  
Oh, and to ignore Amber.  Before you know it, she'll want to be the 
next Pokémon Idol or something like that.  She's trying to figure 
out what to do with her life."

"Like you have any reason to talk!" Amber shot back.

"And I thought we agreed that you'd stop calling me by that name!" 
Gary objected.

"Details, details," Stephanie shrugged.

"My name's Casey," the blue-haired girl told them.  "Pleased to meet 
ya!"

"Likewise," Amber replied cheerfully.

"So... you don't look like you guys are from around here.  Where ya 
headed?"

"To Cherrygrove City!  My Horsea and I are going to try out to be 
Pokémon cheerleaders for their professional baseball team, the 
Seadra!"

"The... Sea... dra?"

"What?  Is something wrong?"

"You're a Seadra fan?  Oh, no no no!  We can't have THAT!  Don't you 
know that the Electabuzz are the greatest team in the land?"

"Electabuzz, 6th place out of 6 teams, with a record of 57-80-3," 
Gary read from the Cherrygrove Chronicle, one of the local 
newspapers.  "Finished 20.5 games out of first place, sixth season of 
last seven in which team has finished in last."

"I don't know much about baseball," Stephanie admitted, "but that 
sounds bad."

"We've just had bad luck and horribly-timed injuries and stuff," 
defended Casey.  "Next season, we'll take the pennant and everything, 
JUST YOU WATCH!"

"Whatever you say, kid."

"All I'm sayin' is, that when it comes to team spirit... the Electabuzz 
are better than the rest!"

"Is being a cheerleader for the Electabuzz really that much better?" 
asked Amber with curiosity.  "The only reason I picked the Seadra 
was because they were the closest team to New Bark Town, and I really 
wanted to get into it while the getting's good."

"Well, my friend, allow me to introduce you to everything being a 
fangirl of the Electabuzz entails!"

"Like, how to cheer a team that totally sucks!" interrupted Stephanie.

"They don't SUCK!"

"I bet they're so stupid that they'll kick a ball into their own net 
on purpose!" Stephanie said, imagining said event with two small 
Electabuzz posing as the players.

"That's not even the right sport!"

Stephanie then imagined five miniature Electabuzz grappling with a 
large Snorlax, to the cheering of thousands of spectators.

"Or they're so weak that the entire team gets pushed out of the ring 
by one big guy, all at the same time!"

"That's not it, either!"

Stephanie's thoughts turned to an Electabuzz struggling against a 
Pichu in a game of Go.

"They're so pathetic, they can't win even with a nine stone handicap 
and a komi of eight points!"

"THAT'S NOT EVEN A SPORT, AND KOMI CAN'T EXCEED FIVE-AND-A-HALF AT 
THE PRO LEVEL!"

"Do you understand what they're arguing about?" Amber asked Gary.

Gary shrugged his shoulders.  "Eh... I stopped listening when 
Stephanie started talking."

"And you're my squad mates!" Stephanie yelled at Amber and Gary.  
"You should be helping me show this poser her place!"

"Two members don't make up a squad," Amber told her.

"And last time I checked, I'm not a cheerleader!" Gary defended.

"Poser?" Casey shouted.  "Only a real poser would call somebody else 
a poser!"

"Oh yeah?  Only a poser would come back with some lame law like that!"

"You're just jealous because you can't comprehend what it means to 
cheer for such a great team like the Electabuzz!"

"I comprehend that they're horrible, and you don't have what it takes 
to admit it!  If you're a real cheerleader, you need to stand behind 
someone who understands what it takes to be the best.  Someone who's 
always on the top of his game.  Someone who doesn't take kindly to 
losing!"

"Please don't tell me you're talking about yourself," Casey said, 
rolling her eyes.

"I'm talking about Gary Oak!" Stephanie exclaimed, pointing at him.  
"He's a member of the Pokémon League, has collected over 60 Pokémon, 
and is the fastest trainer on record to reach the 1,000 and 2,000 
win career mark!  You should be worshipping Gary like the God he is!"

"Even I don't like to get THAT carried away," Gary muttered.

Casey snapped her fingers.  "I knew that name sounded familiar."

"That's right, you little rookie!  The best team in town is in the 
hands of Gary Oak!  And you're looking at the official cheerleading 
squad of the Gary Oak Fan Club!"

"Steph, really, two people does not equal a squad," Amber reiterated.

"Now, it's time to show you the official Gary Oak Fan Club cheer!  
Usually, we only do this when Gary's whooping the butt of some 
pathetic trainer.  But we'll do it for free, just this once!"

Stephanie reached into her backpack and pulled out her purple 
pompoms.  She went into her normal cheerleading routine, swinging 
them around and jumping about.

"Gary, Gary, he's our man!  If he can't do it, no one can!  YAAAY!"

Casey just stood there, her jaw having figuratively dropped to the 
ground in shock.  Stephanie then shot an angry glare at Amber, who 
was shyly hanging by Gary and trying to stay out of it.

"Amber, get your butt over here and help me show this brat up!"

"But..."

Stephanie pulled out a second set of pompoms out of her backpack 
and tossed them at Amber, who instinctively caught them.

"No buts!  Except for the one you should be shaking!  Now..."

Reluctantly, Amber walked over and joined Stephanie in reciting 
their cheer.

"Gary, Gary, he's our man!  If he can't do it, no one can!  YAAAY!"

Only Amber didn't have any enthusiasm in her cheering or her 
pompom swinging... which Stephanie duly noted.

"This is Gary Oak you're cheering on here, girl!  Shake it like 
your life depended on it!"

And so, once more...

"Gary, Gary, he's our man!  If he can't do it, no one can!  YAAAY!"

Casey sighed.  "Talk about striking out.  No wonder Gary didn't win 
the title of Pokémon Junior Master.  He just didn't want it bad 
enough."

"YOU TAKE THAT BACK, YOU LITTLE MUNCHKIN!"

"OH YEAH?  MAKE ME!"

"GARY!" Stephanie shouted at the spiky-haired one.  "MAKE HER TAKE IT 
BACK!"

But Gary was in the midst of checking something in his Pokédex.

"Hmmm... according to this map I downloaded, we're only about two miles 
away from Cherrygrove."

"WHY AREN'T YOU TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY, GARY-POO?"

"Because I have better things to do then to get mixed in the middle of 
a girl fight."

"I agree," Amber said, walking over to Casey and interlocking arms with 
her... to Casey's surprise.  "Besides, Casey's got me all excited 
about becoming an official Electabuzz fangirl!"

"But you wanted to be a Pokémon cheerleader just a minute ago!" 
Stephanie reminded her.  "Besides, the only person you should be a 
fangirl of is Gary!"

"Amber knows where it's at!" Casey smiled.  "Give me a high five!"

Amber smiled back and did high-five the Electabuzz fangirl.

"THAT'S IT!  It's one thing to steal a fellow squad member, BUT NOW 
YOU WANT TO STEAL GARY FROM ME TOO?"

"What?" Amber asked, a bit confused.

"WHAT?" Casey added, in rage.

"I don't belong to her," Gary stated nonchalantly as he pulled out 
the Cherrygrove Chronicle again and started reading.

"I challenge you to a one-on-one Pokémon battle!"

"What?" Amber gasped.

"WHAT?" Casey questioned as she glanced at her Chikorita.

"But you don't have a Pokémon of your own," Gary admitted truthfully, 
his face covered by the paper.

"That's okay!" Stephanie smiled as she held up a Pokéball.  "I'm 
secret borrowing Amber's for this."

"What?" Amber freaked, searching her pockets and finding her lone 
Pokéball missing.

"WHAT?" Casey growled.

"Seriously," Gary dittoed.  "enough with the repetitive gags 
already!  Next person to start one gets a bat upside the head!"

"If I win," Stephanie said to Casey, "you hop along your merry 
little way and promise to proclaim the greatness that is Gary Oak!  
While simultaneously promising never to have any romantic feelings 
for him ever again!"

"But I don't have any..."

"If you win, you can... I don't know, get a free peck or something.  
Oh, and I'll allow you to teach Amber how to be an Electabuzz 
fangirl."

"But I wanna be an Electabuzz fangirl no matter what," Amber said 
pleadingly.  "It's my life long dream!"

"Some dreams were meant to be broken," Stephanie told her.

Amber reached over and plucked Casey's hat from her head and put it 
on her own.

"Hey!" Casey objected.

"Win!  Win!  Through thick or thin!" Amber cheered.  "Electa-buzz, 
it's you!  YAAAY!"

"You gave me a great idea!" Casey said as she giggled with delight 
over Amber's cheer.  "If I win, then you, Stephanie, have to learn 
the entire Electabuzz fight song and promise to sing it all the way 
through at Gary's next televised battle!"

"Ha!  I suppose I can live with those terms!  Not that I'm gonna 
lose to begin with!"

"We'll see who's laughing when the final out is recorded!"

======

Minutes later, Casey, who had gotten her cap back from Amber, and 
Stephanie were at the opposite ends of a battlefield that had been 
horribly rushed together, with nearby tree leaves and branches used 
to mark the field boundaries.  Gary had somehow been roped into 
being the battle judge, with Amber too enamored with the Electabuzz 
fight song that she was on the sidelines, trying to create a cheer 
routine based on it.

"Okay, let's see... left, right, pivot step, right, left, pivot 
step, pelvic thrust forward..."

"YOU TRAITOR!" Stephanie yelled at her.  "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE 
CHEERING FOR ME!"

"I'm only doing this since I don't care who wins," Gary said 
truthfully.

"AND HE'S SAYING THAT BECAUSE HE HAS TO BE IMPARTIAL!"

"Stop yelling and throw your first pitch already!" Casey 
exclaimed.

"Fine then!  I choose Horsea!"

Stephanie throughout her Pokéball, the one she 'secretly 
borrowed' from Amber, and out came Horsea, a little confused 
about why her trainer was over on the sideline.

"Just do whatever she says, please!" Amber pleaded to her Horsea.

"And I'm sending Chikorita up to bat!" Casey announced, as her 
Chikorita stepped forward.

"Chika!"

"This battle is a one-on-one match between Stephanie and Casey!" 
Gary proclaimed.  "There is no time limit.  The match ends when 
one trainer's Pokémon is unable to continue!"

"Since I'm older, prettier, and wiser," flaunted Stephanie, "I'm 
going first!"

"Fine with me!" Casey shot back.  "We'll knock it out of the park!"

"BEGIN!"

"Now, let me see..." Stephanie thought aloud.  "Which attacks does 
Horsea know how to use?"

"BOOOO!" Casey jeered.  "Bring in a relief pitcher!"

"Ah, I got it!  Horsea, use..."

Casey and Chikorita leaned back in defensive positions, ready for 
the first attack.

"Hydro Pump!  Blast that grass thing of hers into the next region!"

Horsea blinked her eyes several times, then glanced at Stephanie 
with a blank expression on her face.

"Horsea?"

"Steph!" Amber exclaimed from the sidelines.  "Horsea doesn't know 
how to use that move yet."

Stephanie facefaulted.

"Ball one!" called Casey.

"Well, then," she recovered, getting back to her feet.  "Horsea, 
let's go with Water Gun!"

Horsea nodded, then wrinkled her mouth as if she were going to fire 
a stream of water from it.  She tried, and tried, and tried again, 
but nothing came out.  Despondent in her failure, Horsea sighed 
disappointedly.

"Horsea..."

Stephanie facefaulted again.

"That's ball two!"

"DAMN IT, AMBER, DOES SHE KNOW ANYTHING?"

"Well," Amber thought aloud.  "There is Bubble."

"BUBBLE?"

"Don't blame me!" Amber apologized.  "I just caught her three days 
ago!"

"Fine!  Horsea, use Bubble!"

Horsea finally succeeded in pulling off a move, letting loose a 
stream of bubbles towards Chikorita.

A stream that consisted of three... yes, three, bubbles.

"Finally, a hittable pitch!" Casey exclaimed.  "Chikorita, Razor Leaf!"

"Chika CHIKA!" Chikorita screamed.

Chikorita's Razor Leaf easily destroyed Horsea's Bubble and drilled 
right into Horsea, sending her flying into Stephanie's arms.

Where Horsea promptly fainted.

"Horsea is unable to continue!" Gary decided.  "The match goes to 
Casey!"

"Perfect game!" Casey shouted with joy.  "Chikorita pitches a perfect 
game to lead the Electabuzz to victory!"

Amber ran over and retrieved Horsea's Pokéball, recalling her lone 
partner back to safety as Stephanie bawled her eyes out, dropping to 
her knees.

"If I knew I was going to stink this bad, I would've challenged her 
to a cheer-off... WAAAAAAA!"

"You should've 'secret borrowed' from Gary," Amber chided.

"This calls for a celebration!" Casey stated.  "Amber, hit it!"

Amber nodded, then bolted back over to the boom box and hit the 'play' 
button on it.  In seconds, Casey was singing her heart out.

"Let's all cheer Electabuzz, greatest team of all..."

Amber enthusiastically joined in on the second line...

"The players charge the field and double-team the ball..."

"I can't believe I'm being reduced to singing a fight song... that 
doesn't praise Gary Oak!  WAAAAA!  This is the worst day ever!"

======

Two hours later, Gary, Stephanie, and Amber were getting ready to 
depart, as sunset was fast approaching.  Casey had a smile of 
satisfaction spread across her face as she prepared to bid them adieu.

"Now remember your promise!" Casey glared at Stephanie.

"I know, I know!" Stephanie nodded.

"And ya have to sing it like ya mean it!"

"Of course I will!"

"I guess going to Cherrygrove's a waste now," Amber said.  "Truth be 
told, I knew it wasn't worth it."

"Why not?" Casey asked.  "I know it's not the Electabuzz, but 
still..."

"Well," Amber bonked herself lightly on the head as she pulled a flyer 
from her backpack, "it's only November.  Cheerleading tryouts aren't 
until early February.  Oopsie!"

Stephanie facefaulted to the ground.

"You mean I battled that girl for NOTHING?"

She then turned to her right and saw Gary gritting his teeth angrily 
as he brandished a wooden baseball bat.

"Uh... Gary-poo?" she chuckled nervously.  "Is that what I think it 
is?"

"What did I say about repeated gags?"

Gary swung at Stephanie's head, but she ducked under it.  She then 
began to high-tail it towards Cherrygrove, with Gary in hot pursuit.

"This won't do wonders for our relationship!"

"We never had one to begin with!"

"Won't Mothers Against Wailing on Women sue us or something?"

"I'm sure they'll excuse this case because of your horrible sense of 
humor!"

"That's mean, Gary-poo!"

"AND STOP CALLING ME GARY-POO!"

As they disappeared over the horizon, Casey and Amber hugged each 
other, as Chikorita cheered them on.

"Say," Amber smirked, "you never did get that free peck."

"That's okay," Casey blew it off.  "I'm not into boys yet."

"How about next time we meet, you treat me to an Electabuzz game?"

"Count on it!  Then I'll show you the true meaning of being a fangirl!"

"Take care!" Amber said as she waved goodbye, heading in the direction 
Stephanie and Gary were running in.

"Bye bye!  Electabuzz rule!"

Casey and Chikorita waved goodbye as Amber disappeared into the sunset, 
hoping to catch up with Gary and Stephanie before both of them ended 
up doing something they would later regret.

======

Thursday, November 22nd, Cerulean City Gym

It was a typical afternoon at the Pokémon gym in Cerulean City.  
Okay... typical for a gym leader.  Which was not what the three 
elder Sensational Waterflower Sisters were used to.  Violet and 
Lily were in the main battle arena, which also doubled as their 
performance arena, partaking in a rare day off by offering a 
battle clinic for new trainers.

"The idea of having a water-type is to use the surroundings to, 
like, your advantage!" Violet told the group.

In front of her, sitting on a floating platform in the pool, was 
a Dewgong, which was spending his time looking around.

"Like, the key is to jump out when and where your opponent least 
expects it!"

"Seaking!" Lily called out from the other side of the pool.  
"Use Horn Drill from underneath!"

Without warning, a Seaking leaped out of the pool, the horn on 
her head spinning as she aimed straight for Dewgong.

"Dodge, then counter with Headbutt!"

Dewgong followed Violet's instructions, leaping over Seaking and 
then headbutting the fish Pokémon in the back.  That attack sent 
it crashing hard back into the water.

"Like, Violet, that's not how we rehearsed it!"

"Remember to always expect the unexpected!" Violet told the kids, 
ignoring her sister's cries of foul play.

"You're the best, Violet!" the kids screamed with joy.

"STOP BEING SUCH A GLORY HOG!"

======

Meanwhile, over in the main office, Daisy was busy balancing the 
gym's books as she fielded phone calls from prospective gym 
challengers and questions regarding tickets for Sensational Sister 
synchronized swimming shows.

"Hello?" Daisy answered one phone.  "No, I'm afraid our traditional 
synchronized shows are on hiatus for the time being!  Tickets for 
next season don't go on sale 'til the second week in January.  But 
thanks for your inquiry!"

As she was about to hang up, another line started ringing.

"Cerulean City Gym, home of the Sensational Sisters!  Uh huh... 
we don't take appointments for gym challenges.  The gym is open to 
challengers weekdays from 8:30 to 12 noon and 1:30 to 5:30.  All 
challengers must complete a pre-screening process, which includes 
a battle with either myself or one of my sisters, before being 
allowed to face the gym leader herself..."

======

Speaking of the official Cerulean gym leader, Misty was actually 
sitting at the front reception desk, going over some forms for 
prospective challengers for tomorrow.  To her right was a sign that 
read 'No Afternoon Challengers Today - New Trainer Clinic in 
Progress.'  And on her desk sat Togepi, who was content with rocking 
back and forth and chirping her name over and over again.

"Toge-prriiiii!"

Misty sighed.  "I'M SO BORED!  Ugh... I'm the gym leader here.  
Why aren't I in there talking to those new trainers?"

She then leaned forward and buried her face in the stack of papers 
before her.  She proceeded to scream, though the forms served as 
a heavy muffler of it.  Once she finished having her mini-tantrum, 
she sat back up and took a deep breath or two to calm her nerves.

"Well, at least I know I'll be able to see Ash and Brock again real 
soon.  They promised to spend the holidays with us!  Well... at 
least they said they would..."

======

Over in Johto, Brock was ecstatic as he arrived at the Olivine City 
International Airport, where the city's gym leader, Jasmine, was there 
to greet him.

"Brock's going on that month-long Gym Leader Retreat in Olivine 
City, and knowing him, he might be too busy ogling the female gym 
leaders to remember!"

Sure enough, Brock went right to work professing his love to 
Jasmine.  She seemed to be a little frightened of him, though.

======

Meanwhile, Ash had worked his way back to Dewford Island, where he 
was in the midst of a battle with the gym leader there, Brawly.

"And Ash apparently has become so fascinated with Hoenn that he's 
planning to stay there to try and get into the Hoenn League!  I 
bet he's barely got enough money to buy food and supplies, much 
less find a way to fly back home!"

Ash cheered his Heracross on as it butted heads with Brawly's 
Makuhita.

======

"Darn it... those two are out there seeing the sights and being free, 
while I'm stuck here, forced to keep my sisters from driving us 
into debt!"

"Oh, come on!" Daisy whined as she walked up to Misty.  "We're not 
that bad!  And it's not like we're keeping you here!"

"Maybe so... but without me keeping this gym's reputation intact, 
we would've lost the property to some schmoe who'd probably 
bulldoze the place and put a new shopping mall or something."

Daisy gagged.  "Don't even joke about THAT!"

"Well, if one of you would actually buckle down and take charge 
like a gym leader's supposed to, maybe I could go and join Ash on 
the road again."

Daisy crossed her arms over her chest.  "I still say it was wrong 
of him not to invite you.  What kind of boyfriend is he, anyway?  
He should be taking every opportunity to be alone with you.  You 
know, to snuggle up and let him have his way with you... hee hee..."

"We're not like that!" Misty blushed.  "Besides, you're one to 
talk since you've never..."

Daisy reached over and covered Misty's mouth with her hand.

"Quiet!  You're gonna ruin my image!"

"I'm not sure that's an image any girl would want at 21."

"Anyway, the point is," steered Daisy, as she moved away from her 
youngest sister, "since he's not around and you guys aren't exactly 
committed, maybe it's time to take a peek back into the pack.  You 
know, see if there are any better options..."

"Are you suggesting I cheat on Ash?"

"It's not cheating!  It's a tactic I call 'making your boy jealous.'"

"Why would I wanna do that?"

"Think about it!  He's out in some foreign land, and as pathetic as 
he can be at times, you can bet some pretty little thing will try 
to take advantage of him, given the opportunity..."

"What?  Ash would never..."

"Maybe he wouldn't, but the girl might!  You see, every second the 
two of you spend apart is another second someone can steal your man's 
heart away!  Before you know it, BAM, he's asking to break up with 
you!"

"So... you're telling me I need to cheat on him before he cheats on 
me?"

"I told you, Misty, it's not cheating!  When girls do it, they want 
to get their guy's attention.  'I kinda like what Dreamy Guy A 
brings to the table... can you do better than that?'  But when guys 
do it, it's because they've found something better.  'Gasp... she's 
got bigger ones than the one I've got!  So long, old girlfriend!'"

"Ash isn't like that," Misty kept trying to reassure Daisy.  
"Besides, have you looked at me lately?  Given what I've got now, 
I'm sure even Giselle of all people would be jealous of me!"

"But you're still only 14!  Technically, you still qualify as 
jailbait!  Even though... wow, I wished I looked that good at 14!"

"Daisy!"

"Besides," Daisy countered, showing off her figure.  "No one's 
hotter than me!  I'm single, legal, available, and I have to beat 
guys off me with a Snorlax!  I'm grade-A, bonafied wo-MAN!"

"You always flatter yourself around me, don't you?"

"But that's the point!  There are thousands of women out there my 
age who do the exact same thing!  And I can't believe I'm saying 
this... they're even more bangin' than me!"

Misty sweatdropped.  "Please don't say bangin'.  That puts an 
unpleasant image in my mind."

"Well, if you don't want to see unpleasant images of Ash and some 
other floozy, then you need to go out there and show him you're 
worth it!  Dangle yourself over some other guy so he realizes that 
you're losing interested!  Then he'll do everything he can to keep 
you!"

"If you think it's the right thing to do..."

"Trust me, it is!  And don't worry about looking for potential 
targets... I've already got one all gift-wrapped and ready for ya!"

"Are you serious?"

Daisy nodded.  "You'll meet the guy tomorrow."

With that, Daisy started to walk away.

"Hey!  What's that supposed to mean?  I don't even know the guy... 
you're setting me up on a blind date?"

"Well... that's not what I'd call it exactly.  But yeah, let's go 
with that!"

"But... but..." Misty started to freak out.  "What do I wear?"

"I don't know... what about that ensemble Duplica bought you on the 
Orange Islands?  You know... the one that accentuates your figure?"

"You better not be setting me up with some 18-year old with dirty 
thoughts!"

Daisy laughed.  "You'd like that, wouldn't you?  Sorry... but I'll 
have to keep you in suspense until tomorrow night!"

"It's not one of your hand-me-downs, is it?" Misty asked as she 
picked up Togepi and ran after her sister.  "I don't need to get 
that close to your fan club!  Are you even listening to me?"

======

The next night, Daisy was speedily driving Misty through the streets 
of Cerulean, as they were rushing to pick up some last-minute items.

"Tell me again why we're buying gifts for him when it should be the 
other way around?" Misty asked.

"Well, this guy actually loves it when people buy him gifts," Daisy 
replied.

"And tell me why are you driving us all over the city to do it?"

"You wanna be all huffy and sweaty by the time we get there?"

"One last question... WHY ARE YOU DRESSED LIKE THAT?"

Misty pointed out that her form-fitting orange top, which showed off 
some cleavage and her belly button, and her knee-length jeans were 
being outdone by Daisy's red bikini-like top and barely thigh-length 
aquamarine skirt.

"You're not the only one with a date tonight, Misty dear."

"With that outfit, you'll not only steal my date, but the heart of 
every single guy in Cerulean!  And please don't tell me that's what 
I think it is under there..."

Daisy snickered.  "Well... I was trying to not be obvious..."

"Obvious?  OBVIOUS?"

"Excuse me for trying to NOT be the last sister in the family to..."

"La la la la!" Misty yelled, covering her ears with her hands.  "I 
SO DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT!"

======

A few minutes later, Daisy and Misty had arrived at their first 
stop, the florist.  Once Daisy had put the car in park, Misty 
immediately hopped out of her side, grabbed her orange buttonless 
jacket, and ran across to the driver's side before her sister could 
open her door.

"What the..."

Misty motioned for Daisy to take her jacket.  "Take that and wrap 
it around your waist."

Daisy rolled her eyes, then did as she was told.  "Fine."

"I swear," Misty said as she walked towards the shop entrance.  "I 
feel like the mother of this family sometimes..."

======

Shortly thereafter, Daisy and Misty made their way to their other 
stops.  Soon, Misty had cradled in her arms a corsage, a small box 
of chocolates, and a Teddiursa plush doll.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're setting me up for a 
prom.  Or Valentine's Day.  Or both!  And in November!"

Daisy smiled.  "It'll all make sense soon.  We're almost there."

======

It wasn't long until Daisy skidded her way into a parking spot at the 
Cerulean Hills Shopping Plaza.  After fixing Misty's hair, Daisy went 
to work on checking her own.  Followed by a round of applying an 
additional layer of lipstick.  As she did, Misty got out of the car 
and started walking forward towards Rhoda & Rhonda's, an American 
restaurant.

"You got enough money for a 3500 Poké meal?" Daisy shouted without 
looking away from the car mirror.  "Try again, sis!"

Misty then glanced to her left, where a line was forming to get into 
the Cat's Meowth Club.  Daisy shook her head.

"You know better, Mist!"

"But... that only leaves..."

Misty turned back to the right, past Rhoda & Rhonda's and towards 
the end of the plaza.  It was there that she spotted...

"Oh no!  You don't mean..."

======

"...Pika A Pi-sies!" Misty groaned as Daisy pushed her inside.

Inside the kids' restaurant, there were young children running all 
over the place, playing games, watching the live animatronic puppet 
show, or indulging in a slice of deep dish pepperoni pizza.

"Where a child can be a child!" Daisy shouted the restaurant's 
motto.  "Hmmm... you know, that's not all that catchy, now that I 
think about it!"

"Daisy!  I look out of place in here!  Heck, you look out of place 
even more!  Gimme back my jacket!"

Misty put her gifts down on a nearby table, then quickly snatched 
her jacket from Daisy's waist and was about to slide it back on when 
she noticed once again how short Daisy's skirt was.  In fact, if she 
didn't know any better, it looked like it had gotten even shorter!

"Then again..." Misty said as she got behind Daisy, to her surprise, 
and retied the jacket back around her sister's waist.

"There you are!"

Daisy squealed with delight, while Misty gawked as she saw the 
blue-haired Rainier walk up.

"You mean... one of the Battling Eevee Brothers is my date?"

Daisy giggled.  "You got it!"

"Damn, look who became a woman since the last time I saw her!" 
Rainier whistled.  "If it weren't for the gorgeous Daisy here, I'd 
swear you were my date for tonight!"

"Like, you so know how to butter a girl up!" Daisy complimented.

"Wait... you mean... then I..."

"Oh come on, Misty," Daisy chided her little sister.  "Rainier's 
way out of your league.  And, coincidentally, so are Pyro and 
Sparky."

Misty gasped.  "You mean... they're here too?"

"Well, actually, they're waiting for us at the club next door!  I'm 
spending the night with all three of them!"

"You mean you brought me all the way here just to watch you try to 
get lucky?"

Rainier smiled.  "Well, Daisy, if that's all you wanted, there is my 
car..."

Daisy stuck her hand in his face and pushed him away.  "Ahem... kids 
around!  And Misty, remember, there's still one Battling Eevee 
Brother that's unaccounted for!"

Misty gasped.  "You don't mean..."

"Big brother!" yelled the fourth brother, running over with some 
tickets in hand.  "Look how many tickets I got off of one game of 
skeeball!"

"Good for you, Mikey!" Rainier said as he squatted down to pat Mikey 
on the head.

Misty froze up and instinctively covered her chest up with her arms.

"I'm dating Mikey!" she thought to herself.  "What's he now, like, 
only ten?  More importantly... I can't let him see me dressed like 
THIS!  I've got to sneak out of here before he sees me.  But... why... 
can't... I... move..."

"Hey, Mikey, you remember Daisy, right?" Rainier asked, pointing out 
the blonde wrapped around his arm.

"Great to see you again, little one!  And it looks like you've grown 
since I last saw you!"

Mikey nodded.  "Yep!  A whole two inches!"

"Good boy!"

"And I know you remember Misty."

Rainier was about to point out Misty, but she was no longer standing 
where she had been a second ago.  At first, he glanced towards the 
exit, but on the way, his eyes spotted Misty had taken another course 
of action.

She was hiding behind Daisy.

"Wha... wha... what kind of sick joke is this, Daisy?"

Daisy laughed nervously as she scratched her left cheek.  "Well... 
it's not a blind date.  Or a date date, for that matter.  You see, 
I set you up on a play date with Mikey."

"Play date?"

"You didn't tell her?" Rainier asked Daisy, who shook her head.  
"Sigh... well, Misty, the thing is, we needed someone to watch Mikey 
while we got our groove on.  Daisy suggested you, knowing your great 
history together, so we picked you to be his babysitter!  Oh, wait, 
'cuse me, I mean, play date."

"C'mon, Misty!" Mikey ran over, tugging Misty out of her hiding 
place.

"But... but..."

"Wow!" Mikey gasped in amazement.  "You've grown up too, Misty!  
And I like it!"

"Heh heh..." Misty laughed hesitantly.

"Are you any good at skeeball?" he asked as he started pulling her 
towards the gaming area.  "I bet you can't beat my high score!"

Misty took one look at Mikey's giggling, innocent face, and quickly 
forgot about her outfit.  She pulled herself out of Mikey's grip 
and then started walking on her own.

"I bet you a slice of pizza I can!" Misty shouted with a smile.

With that, the two disappeared into the depths of the restaurant, 
leaving their elder siblings behind.

"Isn't that sweet?" Daisy cooed.

Rainer nodded, then started to lead Daisy towards the exit.

"You know... she's gonna kill you after this."

Daisy shrugged her shoulders.  "She'll be too busy gabbing about 
the great night she had."

She then added, in a seductive voice.

"As will I..."

======

The next morning...

"Ohhhh!" Daisy moaned.  "My head!"

Misty handed her sister an ice pack, which Daisy proceeded to place 
on her forehead.  She laid back onto the bleachers, as she sat on 
the bottom row, her head aching after last night.  Misty's Horsea, 
Staryu, and Starmie observed the scene from the arena's pool.

"That's what you get for drinking yourself under the table!" 
reprimanded Misty.

"And the worst part is... I STILL DIDN'T GET ANY!"

"Shush!  You want the challengers outside to hear you?"

Unfortunately for Misty, they already were, as the door leading 
in from the waiting room was wide open, and two teenage male 
challengers were drooling with anticipation.

"I guess this is my LUCKY DAY!" gleamed the first.

"The only one that's gonna get LUCKY is ME!" cried the other.

The two started punching, kicking, and wrestling each other, 
fighting for the right to see who would get the chance to be 
lucky with Daisy first.  Violet and Lily glanced on from the 
receptionist desk; Violet was steamed, while Lily looked 
disappointed.

"Awwww..." Lily whined.  "I broke up with my boyfriend of six 
days to put myself back on the market!  Why aren't they 
drooling over me?"

"She's always got to play THAT card!" growled Violet.  "That's 
a blatant lie, and nobody else sees it but ME!"

The two young men had made their way to the arena entranceway, 
where they continued to fight, sticking themsleves there.  
Violet continued to burn with jealousy, Lily moped, Daisy was 
doing her best to relax, and Misty sighed as she said the 
same thing she had gotten used to saying every morning.

"It's gonna be another one of those days..."

======

Monday, November 26th, Team Rocket Headquarters

Deep within the bowels of Team Rocket HQ, failure permeated 
throughout the research laboratory department, where scores of dead 
Pokémon were in the process of being removed from their cages.  
Many were common test subjects like Pidgey, Spearow, Caterpie, and 
other small Pokémon.  There were a few larger ones, like Graveler 
and Jynx, that had to be disposed of as well.

But what was most unsettling were the dead yet successful subjects 
of Project CB.  Those that Team Rocket's scientists had managed to 
combine into a Pokémon which normally couldn't be achieved through 
traditional breeding, but whose development and life span were 
tragically short.  Among the rest of the Pokémon lied one which had 
the head of a Horsea but the body and tail of a Poliwag, another 
which was half Sandshrew and half Cubone, and a third was a Voltorb 
with Jigglypuff's facial features and ears.

All of the dead Pokémon were being wheeled out in a cart to be 
disposed of.  As they were, Giovanni shook his head in disgust as 
one of his researchers relayed the facts to him.

"In the 22 months since work on Project CB began, we've have 
succeeded in creating 15 cross-bred Pokémon.  Unfortunately, the 
average life of said subjects is about five days.  We've had one 
that only lasted three minutes past the experiment's completion.  
We've also had one that survived 17 days, though most of the latter 
half was fighting off severe illness."

"And what's even more degrading is the fact one has actually made it 
into my hands for use in a real battle!" exclaimed Giovanni.

"That was our first subject, Speartrio.  Man... he didn't last 
long."

"22 months!  22 MONTHS!  Give me one good reason why I shouldn't 
have the whole research team taken to the FIRING SQUAD!"

The researcher reached into his pocket and pulled out a green 
Pokéball, which he held out for Giovanni to take and examine with 
his own eyes.

"What... is this?"

"That, sir, is Number 16.  And the first to officially make it 
through all of the field tests.  It's been alive for 14 days, and 
all of its vitals are in good shape."

"So... which two Pokémon did you use for Number 16?"

"Uh... about that, sir... there's something I have to show you..."

======

He led Giovanni to one of the indoor practice arenas, where Number 
16 was engaged in a battle with an Onix.  But the dim lights in 
the room made it very hard to see what Pokémon made up 16, even 
though the two onlookers were observing from a skybox.

Giovanni then gasped in surprise when he saw 16...

"What in the abomination..."

Down on the field, the Pokémon's two 'trainers' continued on 
without being aware of their newest audience member.

"Onix, use Rock Throw!"

"Grroooaaarrr!" Onix roared as he charged for his opponent.

"Take Down," the opposing trainer calmly stated.

Number 16 leaped forward and shoulder rushed Onix with a huge 
amount on force.  So much, in fact, that it was enough to send 
Onix flying clear across the room.  His 'trainer' had to leap out 
of the way to avoid being crushed as Onix sailed to the wall.  The 
impact knocked Onix out and left a huge indentation of his body in 
the wall.

It also left an impact on Giovanni, as he peered on from above.

"Well well..."

"So... you're impressed?"

Giovanni smirked evilly.  "It looks like we're ready to begin 
our grand operation at long last..."


******


End Session: November
Storyline to be continued in Session: December!


******


Author's Notes for 'Session: November':
Werner Geissler, the professor Erika and Maria go looking for, are 
named after two famous German inventors.  Werner von Siemens was the 
inventor of the first electric-powered elevator, while Heinrich 
Geissler was the creator of the geissler tube, which, when filled 
with gas, would light up when an electric charge is applied to it.

I should note that the Nurse Joy the duo meets in Düsseldorf, Germany, 
has the primary job of assisting Japanese visitors, rather than the 
typical Joy profession of caretaking for Pokémon.

Pancakes are actually an often enjoyed breakfast food in Germany.  
But to give it a 'home Japanese' feel, Maria has wrapped them in 
seaweed.  And as you know, a certain Japanese delicacy is also wrapped 
in seaweed.  It's called a rice ball... perhaps you've heard of it?

When I was writing this part, I was fresh off finishing "R.O.D. the 
TV," and the condition of Professor Geissler's house is an obvious 
reference to one of the show's characters, Yomiko Readman.  Who, if 
you didn't know, is such a lover of books that she cares about them 
more than anything... including herself!  And she usually buries 
herself in them!

I hope you paid attention to the portraits pinned to the professor's 
wall... could the fifth be among them?

And just in case you can't remember certain characters... Shingo is 
the guy who fought battles analyzing his opponent using a laptop 
computer (as seen in the Johto episode "Wired for Battle"), and Kelly 
is the Grumpig-owning, Pokéblock maker May befriends in Hoenn (as 
shown in "Pokéblock, Stock, and Berry!").  Obviously, as the first 
mention of them in this fic, they haven't appeared here before.

If you think Ash's battle with Wattson sounds familiar, it is.  It's 
pretty much the same battle he had in the anime in "Watt's with 
Wattson?"  The aftermath differs slightly, though, to fit in more 
with the current storyline of this fanfic.

And as much as I hate to admit it, I kinda copped out and had Cassie 
try to read Ash's mind rather than him actually telling her and 
Arius about Marco's, and consequently, his secret powers.

As some of you may or may not know, the team Casey has so much love 
for, the Electabuzz, are based off the Hanshin Tigers, one of the 
twelve teams in Japan's professional league, known as the NPB (Nippon 
Professional Baseball).  The league is split into two six-team leagues, 
the Central and the Pacific.  The Tigers are part of the Central 
League, and the record recited by Gary was the actual finishing 
record for the Tigers in 2001.  Sad, huh?

Also, though they have extra innings (they play a normal nine to start, 
just like here in the U.S.), a game is recorded as a tie for both 
teams if the score is tied after the twelfth inning.

Yellow and black are the colors of the Tigers, thus, why Casey wears 
those colors and, why in the anime series, she especially adores Pokémon 
that have only those colors as well.

To play off the rivalry factor, the team that Amber is trying to make 
the cheer squad for is based upon the neighboring Orix Blue Wave.  
They play in the Pacific League, and finished 70-66-4, good enough for 
fourth place there.  Their colors are blue and yellow, and the closest 
Pokémon I could come up with to match that was Seadra.  (Starmie would 
have been better, but that's already taken, as seen in the 'Pokémon 
Chronicles' episode, "A Date with Delcatty," by Cerulean City.)  The 
Orix Blue Wave merged with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in 2004 to 
become the Orix Buffaloes.

In case you couldn't guess, Stephanie was mistaking baseball for, 
respectively, football (soccer in America), sumo wrestling, and go.

For reference, at this point in time Misty is 14, Lily is 19, Violet 
20, and Daisy, the eldest, is 21.  The reason I point that out, 
especially for Daisy, is the fact that the only stuff that was cut 
from this entire session involves dialogue exchanges between her 
and Misty regarding... more adult matters.  It's only suggestive, 
nowhere near enough to endanger the fic's PG-13 rating... but just 
to be safe... if you want to see those missing scenes, go check out 
the uncut version at my website!

Rhoda & Rhonda’s is named after the two sisters from the restaurant 
in the episode “Hail to the Chef,” which takes place in the early 
stages of the anime’s Battle Frontier saga.  It should be easy to 
guess what real-life restaurant Pika A-Pisies is named after, right?

Those of you who had read the "Adventures Series" might remember 
Mikey traveled with Misty for awhile in the latter half of the 
first season of that series.  So their bond, originally established 
back in the Eevee Brothers' one and only appearance in the Pokémon 
TV series, has strengthened since then.

That ends the notes.  The 'December Session' preview is next!

******

'Session: December' Trailer:
The holiday season is notorious for bringing family and friends 
together.  Some you may not have seen in a long time, while others 
are always waiting for you upon your return home.  But be careful... 
it only takes a little bit to turn best friends into worst enemies.  
Then again, how much does it take to make an enemy into a bigger 
enemy?  We're going to find out...

'Session: December' is coming, and the year will end with a bang!