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

Into September we go!  This tournament arc should finally put some 
excitement into this story, and there's lot to catch up on... as you'll 
see from Cassie's point-of-view later this month.  But first... who will 
be the first Pokémon Junior Master?  The journey continues now...

Disclaimer:  The characters and places from the Pokémon anime and other 
Pokémon products all belong to Nintendo and 4Kids Enter... wait, scratch 
that... and Pokémon USA!  Original characters Cassie Banks, Arius McFly, 
and many others too numerous to list here, were created by me, and no 
other writer may use them without written consent from myself.

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: September (10.31.06)

******

When we last left our heroes, they were stranded in what seemed to be an 
alternate dimension.  Stuck in the poverty-stricken town of Chiva, they 
learned about the history between the mayor's daughter, Marina, and the 
gang known as the Rapid Dashery.  Most startling of all seems to be the 
fatal virus that was spread among them, leaving most of them dead and 
making Marina and lone surviving member Anthony 'living' corpses.

Though there was not much Ash and the gang could do for them, they 
finally managed to find their way back home to their dimension thanks to 
Duplica scaring some sense into Professor Schtickly.  For his rescue 
efforts, the researcher got a stern chasing, and maybe even a beating, 
from Misty.

Several weeks past, as the team separated once again to take care of 
matters in their hometowns.  But a chance to reunite them pops up when 
news of a new tournament starting up comes to light.  With Misty and the 
Cerulean City gym sponsoring him, Ash makes his way to the Hoenn region 
and the fabled city of Evergrande, home of the Hoenn Championships.

But he's not there to compete for their league title.  The tournament he's 
in pits the world's best trainers under the age of 18.  This is being done 
in order to fill the Pokémon League's new position of Junior Pokémon 
Master!  But the fight to be the first to claim the title got off to a 
rough start, as the field had to be trimmed down in a battle royale!  Ash 
managed to survive the preliminaries, but only thanks to an unexpected 
assist from his rival and old friend, Gary Oak!

But Gary isn't the only possible trainer standing in Ash's way, as Cassie 
appears to both of them for the first time as an ex-Pokémon Trainers' 
Association member.  And she's just as determined to win the title as 
well.  There's also Marco, the strange individual with the Absol who 
tried to knock Ash out in the preliminaries!  What are his intentions?

It's time to find out the answers, as the 16 survivors of the opening 
round begin their one-on-one matches in Evergrande City...

******

September 1st, Evergrande City

Following a wild preliminary free-for-all round, the 16 surviving 
trainers arise to the start of the official Pokémon Junior Master 
Tournament.  The remaining competitors were gathering at the Pokémon 
Center, which was a cone-shaped building with a semi-spherical dome 
top and large glass, see-through windows.  Sunlight poured through the 
waiting area as it filled with the trainers, who were awaiting the 
draw for the first round.

But the competitors weren't the only ones there, as many spectators and 
other non-competing trainers were in the room too, making it very 
crowded.  A few gym leaders were there too, all to stand by their 
representatives... or just to meet their delighted fans.

Among the gym leaders in attendance was... why, none other than Brock, 
who had just arrived in Evergrande that very morning!

"It's really busy in here," Brock noted as he tried to make his way 
through the crowd.  "I hope I'll be able to find them."

As he looked around the room, he finally spotted Misty off in one of 
the far corners, surrounded by little kids who were jumping around in 
front of her.  Brock started to proceed over there, but he kept getting 
caught in autograph lines for other gym leaders, and not by choice.

"Excuse me... pardon me... watch your feet... coming through here!"

Finally, he made it into a small clearing, which was so only because the 
parents of the kids surrounding Misty were keeping a slight distance, 
only stepping forward to take pictures or to go retrieve their kids.

"Okay," Misty said with a smile as she handed a piece of paper back to 
a little girl, "there you go!"

"Yeah!" the young fan cheered.

"Who's next?"

"Me!" all the kids seemingly screamed simultaneously.

"Mind if someone a little older gets a chance with the cute gym leader?"

Misty turned and shouted with glee when she spotted Brock walking up to 
her.

"Brock!  You made it!"

"Yeah... I was supposed to be here last night, but my connecting flight 
here from Celadon got cancelled.  I was stuck there for a few hours.  
So... what's with the fan club?"

Misty shrugged her shoulders.  "It was a surprise for me, too.  I had one 
boy walk up to me, then two, then suddenly I had a crowd!  Tee hee... I 
never imagined I'd have fans after only a few months as the official gym 
leader."

Brock sagged.  "I've been one for five years... where's my fan club?  
Better yet, where are my fangirls?"

He then felt a tug at his pants leg.  Glancing down, the little girl that 
had just gotten an autograph from Misty was smiling at him.  She was 
holding up that same piece of paper, too.

"You're Brock?  Can... can I have your autograph, please?"

"Well..."

Suddenly, a new group of kids was forming around him, including many who 
already gotten autographs from Misty.  Brock smiled as he took the paper 
from the girl and started glancing around.

"Hey, any fans are better than none.  Say... anybody got a pen I can 
borrow?"

Brock felt a tap on his shoulder.  He turned around and saw Misty offering 
him one of her extras.

"You wouldn't want to disappoint your fans, now would you?"

Brock nodded and then took the pen from Misty.  The noise of the kids 
was near deafening as they both went back to signing autographs.

"So," Brock said after taking a picture with a young boy, "where's Ash?  
Did he make it out of the preliminaries?  I heard it was tough..."

"Thankfully, yes," Misty replied.  "He's around here somewhere, waiting 
for the draw for the first round.  I think I last saw him with Gary."

"Gary's here?"

"Uh huh.  Cassie too."

Brock gasped.  "Really?  But why?"

"She told me this morning about her quitting right after the whole thing 
on the Orange Islands.  She's here just to further her trainers' skill, 
just like everybody else."

"And you trust her?"

"Well... if Ash has forgiven her like Duplica did, then I do too."

======

Closer to the front counter, Pikachu, Umbreon, and Bulbasaur were in the 
midst of a conversation together.  Meanwhile, their trainers, Ash, Gary, 
and Cassie, respectively, observed with interest.

"They look like they've known each other for years," commented Cassie.

"I guess it's easier for Pokémon to get along than their trainers," 
Gary said.

"Well, there has been a lot between us..."

"What's past is past," Ash said enthusiastically, putting a hand on 
Cassie's shoulder.  "What's important is that you get a fresh start!"

"If only I could.  None of my forgiveness has much weight until I make 
up with the one person that matters most..."

"You mean Duplica?"

Cassie nodded in reply.  "Betraying her friendship and her trust was the 
biggest mistake I ever made."

======

August 20th, one year ago, a restaurant in Pewter City

Cassie and her boyfriend, Arius, were sitting down to breakfast with their 
now-ex-boss, Patti, who had a serious look on her face.

"Have you heard the news this morning?"

"About the plane that crashed?" Arius asked.

Flash to a nearby television, where a caption read 'United Indigo Airlines 
360 Crash - No Survivors.'

"You two have been assigned to investigate it."

"What?" Cassie freaked out.  "Why?"

"Sources say that a Team Rocket member on his way to the Indigo Plateau 
was onboard.  We want to find out what his mission is and see if the 
agent is still alive."

======

July 6th, this year, Valencia Island Pokémon Center

Duplica was breaking the news to Ash, Misty, and Brock, that Cassie and 
Arius, who had just shown up there, were responsible for the death of 
her boyfriend, TJ, a passenger on the aforementioned flight.

"Cassie got TJ killed!" Duplica exclaimed in tears.

"What are you talking about?" wondered Misty.

"After they had stolen some top-secret files from Team Rocket, the 
Rockets retaliated by setting off a bomb on the plane TJ was on!"

"So TJ died because of you?" Ash screamed.

After Misty and Duplica had both run off in distraught, Ash directed his 
cold anger towards Cassie, who was trying to apologize for the incident.

"I'm sorry, Ash, but there was nothing we could do.  It caught us 
completely by surprise, just like everyone else!"

Ash was beginning to break down himself.  So he did the only thing he could
think of that would keep him from running over and breaking their necks.

"GO!  Just go away!"

"Another trainer," Cassie thought to herself, crying as well.  "That's 
probably what they're all thinking.  They probably think that we consider 
the life of one trainer insignificant.  That the needs of many outweigh 
the needs of a few.  That no one would miss one trainer."

======

Three days later, Trovitopolis

"I need friends who are willing to support me and cheer me on in whatever 
I do," Cassie told Duplica.  "Without friends who will push me to be 
better, I'll never become the best trainer in the world."

"Friends, huh?"

"Duplica, I know it'll take awhile for me to regain your trust again.  
And... I can't bring back your old boyfriend.  But would you give me just 
one more chance?  That's all I'm asking for.

"If you promise not to hurt anyone else."

"Cross my heart and hope to die," she promised, making a cross over her 
heart with one finger.

Duplica trotted over and wrapped her arms around Cassie to give her a hug.

======

"I may be friendly towards you," Ash said to himself about Cassie, "but 
I'll be keeping an eye on you.  You'd better not be lying about being 
a changed person."

"I hope I'll be able to make it up to her one day," Cassie said 
solemnly.  "I want her to trust me again."

"I'm sure you'll get your chance," Gary said snidely.  "After I knock 
you out of this tournament!"

"Not if I knock you out first!" Cassie retaliated, clenching her fists.

"Hey," Ash cut in, "I think they're ready to announce the first round 
matches!"

The trio turned their attention towards the front counter, where a 
Pokémon official was standing right below the big screen that would 
show the match-ups.

"Good morning, everyone!  The time has come to reveal the results of the 
computerized random draw that will determine whom fights whom in the 
first round.  Remember, all decisions are final!  So... without further 
ado..."

The board lit up, and instantly the brackets were posted.  Ash, Gary, 
and Cassie scanned the board to find their pictures, and if any of them 
were matched up against each other.  Surprisingly, none of them were.

"Looks like we dodge each other for at least one match," Gary said.

"We're gonna have to all do our best!" Cassie stated.

"It's time to become... a Pokémon Junior Master!" Ash shouted with 
enthusiasm.

======

The first round got underway shortly thereafter.  Ash's match wasn't 
for a few hours, so he and the others decided to sit in on Gary's and 
Cassie's matches.  Not that they were sitting for long...

======

"Arcanine, Flamethrower!" Gary yelled.

Arcanine obeyed, letting loose a fire attack that easily flambéed his 
opposition, a Bayleef.

"Bayleef is unable to battle!  The winners of this match are Arcanine 
and Gary!" the field judge proclaimed.

"Told you this would be a piece of cake!" Gary exclaimed as the crowd 
cheered in the background.

======

"Finish it off with Confusion!" ordered Cassie.

"Kadabra..." chanted the psychic type, using enough psychic force to 
sap the last of his opponent's strength and cause him to faint.

The moment that the Grimer went down, Cassie squealed with joy, 
already realizing that the match was over and that she had won.

"Grimer has been knocked out!" declared the judge.  "The match goes to 
Cassie and her Kadabra!"

Cassie pumped her fist with determinate glee.  "Alright!  One down, 
just three more to go!"

======

It's early afternoon by the time Ash finally appeared on a battlefield 
for his first round match.  With Pikachu by his side, Ash looked as 
determined as ever to notch a victory.  But so did his opponent, a 
tall 17-year old young man in... a Miltank suit?

"What the..." Ash nearly fell over in confusion.

"In the name of my hometown gym," he announced, "I will moo you down!"

The entire arena broke out in laughter.  They couldn't believe some guy 
would willingly make a fool of himself in public by dressing up in a 
Miltank.  Over in the center section on the south side of the stadium, 
Misty and Brock, sitting in the specially-reserved 'gym leaders' section, 
were wondering if Ash's opponent had any sense.

"I thought these were supposed to be the 16 best trainers under 18 in the 
world?" Misty told Brock.  "Who let this guy in?"

"Obviously, the guy has a thing for costumes.  Either that, or he lost a 
bet to someone."

"How did you ever guess?" asked the voice of a young woman.

Misty and Brock glanced to their left and saw a pink-haired woman walking 
towards them.  She was wearing a white and red short sleeve shirt that 
resembled a baseball jersey, and a white pair of shorts that left little 
to the imagination.  Brock became instantly blinded by her beauty.

"Where have you been all my life?" Brock blurted out, to Misty and the 
young women's surprise.

Brock reached out and grabbed her hands.  He then got down on one knee, 
as if he was going to propose marriage!

"I want you, I need you, go out with me tonight!" he sang in song.

"Uh..." she stuttered.

Suddenly, Misty reached in and pinched Brock's right ear lobe.  Wincing 
in pain, he was tossed aside by the young redhead.

"Evergrande has voted... you're being sent home!" she said.

"Wow... I wish I knew how to handle men like that."

"Aww..." Misty blushed.  "You get used to it after awhile.  So, I assume 
the guy in the Miltank outfit down there is representing your gym?"

"You'd be correct.  His name's Jimmy... and I'm Whitney, the gym leader 
of Goldenrod City!"

"So, you're from the Johto Region?"

"Yep!"

Misty then pointed out to Jimmy.  "And... that's a custom in your city?"

"Actually, no," Whitney admitted, laughing.  "He bet that he'd beat me 
in a milk-drinking contest!  The loser would have to wear an outfit of 
the winner's choice for a day!"

"And you made him wear that?" Misty sweatdropped.

"I think she has good taste in clothing," Brock commented as he got back 
up.

"You would," Misty said as she knocked Brock back down with one punch.

"Hey, it's his fault for making the bet!  I just played along!"

"By the way, I'm Misty, of the Cerulean City gym!"

"Nice to meet you!  I'm assuming the guy behind you is your boyfriend?"

Misty nearly freaked out at that claim, but this time, it was Brock's 
turn to cut in.

"It might be..." he said sauntily, "if that kind of thing turns you on."

"Keep your hormones in your pants!" Misty shouted, bashing Brock again 
before glancing at Whitney again.  "Actually... Ash down there is my 
boyfriend."

"I thought so.  You two make a cute couple."

"You really think so?"

Whitney then leaned over to whisper something into Misty's ear.  "Say... 
you're not just slinging this guy around because he caters to your every 
whim, right?"

Misty was taken aback.  "What?  What would make you think that?"

"Oh," Whitney chuckled, "no reason..."

Misty and Brock instantly both got what Whitney meant by that.

"You mean he's..."

"Lucky devil..."

Down on the field, Ash and Jimmy 'the Miltank' stared each other down, 
just waiting for the command for the battle to start.

"You're not seriously going to wear that for our battle, are you?" Ash 
asked with curiosity.

"As much as I'd like to take it off..." Jimmy replied I made a promise to 
someone.  So, it's gotta stay on.  Sorry, bud!"

Ash turned to Pikachu.  "Who would he promise something like that too?"

"Pikachu," shrugged the yellow mouse.

"Okay, eh..." the official stuttered before regaining his composure.  
"This is a two-on-two battle with no time limit.  Substitutions are not 
allowed except to replace a fainted Pokémon.  Winner moves on to the next 
round.  As per an official's toss prior to match, the trainer to my right 
will make the first move.  Thus... let the battle begin!"

Ash reached for a Pokéball on his belt and threw it out.

"Let's go with Squirtle!"

"Squirtle!  Squirtle squirtle!"

It was Jimmy's turn to select his Pokémon.  "And I choose Furret!"

"Furret!"

"Squirtle, start off with Tackle!"

"Furret, use Defense Curl!"

Squirtle charged at Ferret, but was bounced back when Ferret curled up 
into a ball to protect itself.

"Now, Furret, counterattack with Fury Swipes!"

With Squirtle still reeling, Furret leapt forward with his claws drawn 
and started slashing at the turtle Pokémon.  Ferret got four good 
swipes in before Squirtle was able to escape.

"You've got him on the ropes!" Jimmy shouted.  "Hit 'em with another 
Fury Swipes attack!"

"Not this time!" defended Ash.  "Squirtle, Withdraw!"

Squirtle complied, withdrawing back into his shell for a defensive 
maneuver of his own.  Furret swiped at the hard shell, but seemed to be 
hurting itself as much as it was Squirtle.  After a few attempts, Furret 
jumped back, allowing Squirtle to come back out.

"Squirtle, Water Gun!"

Squirtle blasted a stream of water right at Ferret, which he promptly 
dodged, much to Ash and Squirtle's surprise.

Meanwhile, up in the stands...

"I'm surprised that Furret and Squirtle seem to be pretty even," Brock 
commented.

"Me too," added Misty.

"It may seem that way," Whitney smiled, "but Jimmy clearly has the 
advantage thanks to his secret weapon!"

"Secret... weapon?"

"Oops..." the Goldenrod leader gasped, covering her mouth.  "I guess I 
wasn't supposed to tell you that."

Not that it mattered, as Jimmy looked as if he was going to use it right 
now.

"Okay, Furret... time for the signature move of the Goldenrod City gym!"

"Signature move?"

"Furret, use Rollout!"

Furret rolled up into a ball again, but this time as an offensive 
measure.  He spun towards Squirtle, picking up speed as he went.

"Squirtle, stop Ferret by using Water Gun!"

Squirtle fired his water blast right at Furret, but it just bounced off 
of the approaching adversary.  With the failed attempt to stop Ferret, 
Squirtle was defenseless.  In one short breath, Furret barreled right 
into Squirtle and knocked him into the air.  Ash's Pokémon flipped end 
over end several times before landing on the ground and on his belly, 
with an impact so hard it knocked him out.

"Aah!  Squirtle!"

The official ran over to check on him, and seconds later, he made it 
clear that Squirtle was out.  "Squirtle is unable to continue!  Furret 
wins the first round!"

Up on the big screen above, the picture of Squirtle, which was right 
below Ash's, faded to black.  The announcer blared over the loudspeaker 
to report what had just happened, for those who had missed it.

"Furret rolls over Squirtle, giving Round 1 to Jimmy and Goldenrod 
City!  Ash, the representative from Cerulean, will have to call out a 
great second Pokémon to get back in this match!"

"What an attack!" Misty gasped.

"He learned that one from me," winked Whitney.

"Does Ash have anyone that can stop that attack?" Brock wondered out 
loud.

"I can think of one," Misty said, "but does Ash really want to use him 
now?"

Ash glanced down to his side and saw Pikachu's cheeks sparking, as if 
he was expecting to be called in to replace Squirtle.  As much faith as 
Ash had in Pikachu, there wasn't any guarantee he could stop Furret if 
he used Rollout again.  In reality, there was only one Pokémon he 
could turn to... but would he listen to him?

"I choose you... Charizard!"

"Grrrrrrrroooarrr!"

"A Charizard?" Jimmy asked out loud.

"Charizard, use Scratch!"

Charizard started flying forward towards Furret.  But instead of rearing 
his arm back for a scratch attack, he decided to use Flamethrower!  Not 
expecting the attack at all, Furret had no chance to escape.  The attack 
instantly engulfed him, pretty much burning him to a crisp.  The burnt 
Pokémon quickly fainted, much to Jimmy's chagrin.

"Aaaah!  Furret!"

"Well, not what I called for, but it worked," Ash commented, scratching 
his head.

"Grrrrrroooooooaaaaaaaarrrrr!" roared Charizard, who started spewing 
flames in a celebratory manner.

The announcer once again confirmed the results of that round.

"Round 2 goes to Ash and Cerulean City, after his Charizard barbequed 
that Furret!  It looks like it's going to come right down to the wire 
with a third and decisive round!"

"Barbequed is the understatement of the year," Misty said.  "I'm really 
worried... what happens if Charizard gets overzealous, Brock?"

"I don't know... but Charizard's next opponent better be up to snuff... 
or else."

"What?" Whitney wondered out loud, breaking up the conversation.  "Is 
there something about that Charizard we should know?  He seems like a 
perfectly trained Pokémon to me."

Misty and Brock sweatdropped... could Whitney really be that dense to 
miss Charizard not performing the same attack Ash had called out?

"Okay, time for my trump card!" smiled Jimmy.

"What?" Ash nearly freaked.  "You have a trump card, too?"

Jimmy nodded.  "I was expecting your Charizard as a possibility, so... 
I'm calling out my Kangaskhan!"

A Pokéball is thrown out, and in comes Kangaskhan.

"Kangas!  Khan!"

Whitney gasped in fright.  "He didn't... no, Jimmy!  Don't use 
Kangaskhan!  She doesn't know how to use... uh...

Glancing to her right, she saw Misty and Brock eyeing her with interest.  
Whitney quickly tried to cover up her near-blurt, but it was too late.

"Know how to use what?" Misty smirked.

"Uh... nothing.  Nothing at all.  Forget you ever heard me say anything."

"Could it be?" Brock thought to himself.  He then started crying out 
loud.  "Ash must be the luckiest guy in the world!"

"What are you crying about?" Misty and Whitney asked simultaneously.

Back on the field, the battle between Charizard and Kangaskhan was 
starting.

"Kangskhan, give Charizard a taste of your Comet Punch!"

Kangskhan nodded, then started charging at Charizard.

"Charizard, use..." Ash blurted out before seeing Charizard already flying 
towards his opponent.  "Wait!  I haven't told you what to do yet!"

The two Pokémon met at midfield, with Charizard actually stopping 
Kangaskhan's attack by catching Comet Punch with his bare hand!  Not 
impressed in the least, Charizard then lifted Kangaskhan off the ground, 
spun her around him once, and then threw her in Jimmy's direction.  She 
landed on the ground, back first.

"Whoa... Charizard's stronger than I thought," Jimmy commented as he saw 
Kangaskhan quickly back up on her feet.  "Okay, let's punch it up!  This 
time, let's try your Mega Punch, Kangaskhan!"

"Kan... gas!"

The fire lizard leaned into a defensive position, with the intent of 
stopping this attack as well.  Unfortunately, Kangaskhan did connect this 
time, with Charizard's stomach.  He winced in pain slightly as he took a 
step back.

"Charizard, listen to me!" Ash shouted.  "Use Slash!"

Charizard glanced at his trainer, as if to give a sign of acknowledgement, 
and then he flew towards Kangaskhan again, seemingly recovered from the 
last blow.  Charizard followed Ash's orders this time, slashing at 
Kangaskhan.  But when Kangaskhan dodged the blow, Charizard took matters 
into his own hands, and immediately performed a Wing Attack.  The 
technique served as a clothesline move of sorts, resulting in Jimmy's 
Pokémon landing on her backside once again.

"C'mon, get up!" pleaded Jimmy.

Kangaskhan scrambled back up, but at this point she was obviously tired 
and suffering from some pain.  She winced with one eye closed as she 
slowly started stepping towards Charizard once more.

"Kangaskhan looks like she's about to go out!" Ash mentally noted.  "Why 
doesn't Jimmy call the fight?  Does he still have a trick left?"

"Now!" Jimmy exclaimed with clenched fists.  "It's time to show off the 
Goldenrod City gym's signature move!"

"Wha?  No way?" Ash gasped, a bit confused.

"There's no way that..." hinted Misty, to Brock.

Brock murmured back a response.  "There's no record of such an event."

Whitney was shuddering in fear... she knew very well what was going to 
happen next, and couldn't help but blurt it out for the unwise.

"I don't know how many times I've told Jimmy, but he should know that 
KANGASKHAN CAN'T USE ROLLOUT!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, 
drawing the attention of everyone around her.

Well, except for Jimmy...

"Kangaskhan, Rollout!"

Kangaskhan picked up her pace as she started running at a jogger's pace.  
She then leapt up into the air and attempted to curl into a ball.  But 
she couldn't hold form, and when she hit the ground, she was actually 
parallel to it, facing the sky.  For a third time in the match, the 
motherly Pokémon landed on her back... and this time, it was enough to 
make her faint.

Meanwhile, Charizard, who was charging towards her with a retaliatory 
strike already in mind, stopped the moment he realized Kangaskhan was 
out.  Charizard huffed in disgust, shrugged his shoulders, and then 
lied down on the ground... and started to nap!

Back up in the stands, an embarrassed Whitney blushed as she slowly got 
up out of her seat and started to make her way to the exit.

"I'd love to stay and chat some more," she fibbed, "but I hear my 
Miltank calling me from the pasture."

The Goldenrod gym leader turned about and started to run for the exit, 
but she didn't see the concessionaire that was heading towards her in 
the same aisle.  The two collided with each other and fell down, both 
being knocked out in the process, their bodies sprawled out in front of 
the first row of the stands.

"Aw, geese," Misty cried in disbelief.

"I can honestly say that's the first time a girl's fallen for me while 
running away," said Brock half-jokingly.

"It looks like a case of trying to do too much," the announcer shouted, 
ignoring what was going on in the stands.  "Kangaskhan's attempts to use 
Rollout resulted in enough self-inflicted damage to knock her out.  
Meanwhile, Charizard seemed so bored by its apparent dominance that it 
felt no need to celebrate and instead dropped down for a nap.  Looks like 
Ash will have to do enough celebrating for the both of them as they 
advance to the second round!"

"I guess a win's a win," Ash stated matter-of-factly as he pulled out 
Charizard's Pokéball and recalled him.

"And I thought dressing up as a Miltank was humiliating," Jimmy noted as 
he, too, asked for his Pokémon to return.

The two walked up to midfield and shared an obligatory handshake.

"Better luck next time..." said Ash.

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders.  "I guess I wasn't as prepared for this 
tournament as I thought."

"No worries.  With a little practice, you'll be battling with the best!"

Jimmy smiled, then started glancing around the arena.  "Hmmm... I wonder 
where Whitney went.  I hope she's not ashamed of me for my performance."

"I guess I better go find a doctor..." Misty sighed in the stands as she 
walked off, leaving Brock with the unconscious Whitney and the 
concessionaire.

"If this is as close as I'll ever get to a beautiful girl, then so be it!" 
Brock remarked silently, as he cradled her back with his arms.

"Talk about desperate," some teenage girl muttered as she passed by.

======

Shortly after his first round victory, Ash returned to the Pokémon Center 
in order to begin preparations for his next match.  Misty, Brock, and 
Pikachu were running back with him.  As they ran through the sliding 
doors, Ash spotted Gary and Cassie sitting in the lounge, conversing.

"Hi guys!" Ash greeted, drawing a smile from Cassie and a smirk from Gary.

"Great match, Ash!" Cassie exclaimed.

Gary rubbed his chin.  "Not bad... considering the luck of the draw.  The 
guy was a lightweight compared to the rest of the competition."

"I thought Jimmy was a worthy opponent!" commented Ash.

"All that matters is that you all made it to the next round," Misty cut 
in, before Ash and Gary could get into another one of their arguments.

Brock nodded.  "Now it gets interesting."

"Not really," Gary said, shrugging his shoulders.  "Cassie and I already 
had our draws for the second round.  Seems we all missed each other again."

Cassie nodded in agreement.  "I got the representative from the Leipzig 
Gym in Germany.  Gary drew a guy who is sponsored by a gym in Toronto!"

"So... who am I up against?" Ash asked.

"Nurse Joy'll tell you at the desk while you get your Pokémon healed.  
Better hurry... they're holding the second round today as well."

Ash nodded, then he and Pikachu walked over to the front counter, leaving 
the others to chat for a few minutes.

"I need to have my Squirtle and Charizard healed, Nurse Joy," Ash told her.

"No problem!  Oh, and congrats on your win in the first round!"

Ash blushed with modesty.  "It was just one match..."

Pikachu leapt up onto his shoulder and gave his best friend a pat on the 
head.  "Pika pika," he said with encouragement.

"Let me just take your Pokéballs from you.  In the meantime, let me show 
you who you'll be battling next."

She pointed to the big screen above her, where Ash's face had appeared.  
Then, the faces of the other remaining competitors cycled through on the 
right side at a fast clip.  After ten seconds or so, it came to a stop.  
Next to Ash's face was one of a blue-haired girl in a swimsuit.  Both of 
their names and the gyms they were representing appeared underneath their 
'virtual heads.'

"So I'm battling her?  Shauna of the Dewford Island Gym?  I wonder what 
Pokémon she has..."

Suddenly, a girl who looked like the one on the screen bolted into the 
Pokémon Center in a hurry.  Having skidded to a stop, she reached for 
her pockets to pull out two Pokéballs, even though it was apparent there 
was no room for pockets in her outfit, which consisted of a pink halter 
top and matching-colored biker shorts.

"Whoaaaaaaa..." Brock cried with hearts dancing around his head, "is that 
an angel or am I dreaming?"

But before Brock could make a move, Misty grabbed his ear and started 
tugging him to the door.

"Your dream is my nightmare," she commented as a stunned Cassie glanced 
on.

"Could you please heal my Pokémon?" she asked Nurse Joy.

"Oh... certainly!"

As Joy took Shauna's Pokéballs away, the bluenette peered out of the 
corner of her eye and saw that Ash and Pikachu were giving her odd stares.

"What's your deal?" she shouted, a bit miffed.

"Uh, sorry about that, but aren't you..."

"Yes, I'm single," she said, blushing, "but I'm kinda saving myself for 
someone else..."

Ash scratched his head.  "That's not exactly what..."

Shauna then spotted, out of the corner of her other eye, her picture up 
on the big screen above.  She then turned towards it for a second and 
then looked left.  It was then she noticed the picture of Ash and 
realized...

"Wait... you're my next opponent?"

"That's right!" Ash pointed to himself confidently.  "I'm Ash Ketchum 
from Pallet Town, and I'm gonna become the first Pokémon Junior Master!"

"Doesn't Ash ever stop being overconfident?" Gary mumbled, uninterested.

"Better to have an overabundance of it than none at all... right?" 
Cassie remarked.

"Not if I beat you first, Ash!  You see, I'm Shauna, the first apprentice 
of Brawly, the Dewford Island gym leader!  And I'm just as strong as he 
is in battle!"

"We'll just see about that!" Ash growled, as the two exchanged imaginary 
daggers from their eyes.

Ash then started walking towards the front door and past where Gary and 
Cassie were sitting.  But before he could get there...

"Running away, are we?" taunted Shauna.  A little scared of having to 
battle someone whose better than you?"

Ash stopped for a second, as if to turn around and give a retort.  But 
instead, he squatted down to tie one of his shoes, which had become 
undone somehow.  So, basically, he was ignoring her.

"Hey!" she exclaimed.  "Don't ignore me like that!  You're ignoring a 
top-notch Pokémon gym apprentice here!  Hey!"

Ash finished, then walked out.

"Heh.  Sure showed him."

With an aura of victory around her, Shauna then walked off to the 
nearest vending machine to get a drink.

"I've never seen Ash take something like that so well," Gary noted.

"That's what overconfidence does to you," Cassie said in reply.

"If that's overconfidence... then what's she got?"

Gary directed Cassie's gaze towards Shauna.

"Certainly more than Stephanie's got."

Gary grumbled, then got out of his seat and headed for the door himself.

"What did I say?" Cassie wondered jokingly as she followed him out.  
"Could it be that I'm actually right?  That you're actually trying to 
avoid temptation from a girl who has more 'charms' than yours?"

======

About half an hour later, Misty opened the door to the hotel room she was 
sharing with Ash.  She became startled when Pikachu jumped from the bed 
and into her arms.

"Pika pika!" greeted Pikachu, his eyes shining as if they were jewels.

"Tee hee... it's been awhile since you last did that, huh?" Misty smiled 
before turning her attention towards the in-room computer and Ash, who 
was typing away it.  "So, you're here and not at the Pokémon Center?"

Ash nodded without looking away from the monitor.  "I figure I'd better 
check out this Shauna girl's profile and think of a strategy.  It turns 
out that she's from a gym that specializes in fighting-types."

"And you couldn't use the computer at the Center to find that out?"

"It was a bit too crowded there."

"That's a lie and you know it!" Misty shouted angrily.  "Did something 
happen between you and her over there?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash shot back, finally being drawn away 
from the monitor's glow.

"I bet you were ogling her, just like Brock was!"

"No way, Misty!" Ash pleaded in defense, waving his arms about.  "I'd 
never do something like that, especially with what we've got!"

Misty stomped over and handed Pikachu over to Ash in a shove-like motion, 
then she headed for the door.

"For your sake, it better not seem otherwise on that battlefield!  Or 
else..."

She shook her fist threatingly at Ash before walking out.  With her gone, 
Ash breathed a sigh of relief.

"What's she talking about anyway?  There's no way I find Shauna more 
attractive than her!  Even if they dress in kind of the same way..."

"Pika pi," Pikachu shook his head.

"What am I saying?  That Shauna thinks she's all that!  No way I'm gonna 
let something like this distract me!  I'll take her out... no, down... 
no, uh... I'll just take her, I mean, beat her... wait, no, I got it 
now..."

"Pika," Ash's best friend uttered as Ash continued to ramble on in the 
background.  "Chu cha pika pika pi, pika pi. (You'll never understand 
girls, Ash.)"

======

The crowd cheered happily as the second round was about to get underway.  
Over on Field 1, Ash and Shauna were set to do battle.  The trainers 
hadn't come out yet, but their sponsors had, as Misty and Brock saw Brawly 
already relaxing in the roped-off area.

"I take it that you're the Dewford Island gym leader?" Brock asked as he 
and Misty took a seat next to him.

"That's right, bro," he confirmed.  "Brawly's the name!  Are you the gym 
leader of Cerulean?  Dude, I thought that was run by a girl?"

"Actually," Misty cut in before Brock could reply, "that would be me.  
My name's Misty!"

"And I'm Brock, the gym leader of Pewter City," he added, not wanting to 
be left out.

"So that's a water Pokémon gym, right?" Brawly asked Misty.  "I bet you go 
surfing with them a lot, huh?"

"Not really."

"Then I guess we'd better set up a meeting somewhere down the road!  I'm 
sure it would make a nice addition to your Pokémon's repertoire!"

"Is he hitting on me?" Misty thought to herself.  "Nonsense... he's just 
giving me a tip on how to be a better gym leader.  Nothing more."

"I bet you taught your trainer in the ways of water Pokémon, didn't you?"

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to play around," she pondered to herself.  
"After all, if Ash was lying to me and he did have eyes for Shauna... 
well, this ought to be a fair lesson to get back at him!"

Misty laughed out loud and then answered Brawly's question.

"You bet!  Though Ash doesn't base his line-up on one particular type, I 
can take pride in saying that the few water Pokémon he does have are in 
tip-top shape thanks to my special training regimen!"

"Uh... what regimen?" wondered Brock, oblivious to what Misty was doing.

"Don't be silly!" Misty giggled.  "Ash and I spent time every day 
mastering the powers of water-types!"

"I suspect your apprentice is just as skilled as my Shauna!  It will be 
gnarly to see how this battle turns out!"

The conversation ended there, as the crowd cheered once again.  This 
time, it was for Ash and Shauna emerging from the opposite ends of the 
field to take their positions.  The announcer blared introductions over 
the loudspeaker.

"The second round now begins with all four matches competing 
simultaneously!  Here on Field 1, we have Ash Ketchum, sponsored by the 
Cerulean City gym, taking on Shauna, who's representing the gym of Dewford 
Island!  Let's take it down to the field, where an official will explain 
the rules of this battle!"

Down on said field, the official took that as his cue to begin.

"Okay... this is a two-on-two tag team battle!  That means both trainers 
will call out both of their Pokémon at the same time!"

"What?" Ash cried out loud.  "A tag team battle?"

"I've never been in a tag team battle before," shouted Shauna.

"No substitutions are allowed," the official continued.  "The match ends 
when both of one trainer's Pokémon have been deemed unable to continue.  
All other League rules apply, and the match winner moves on.  Thanks to 
a pre-match coin flip, the trainer on my left will call out her Pokémon 
first!  Thus... let the match begin!"

"Two-on-two is fine by me, as I've prepared for such a situation," Shauna 
said with a smile.  "Let's go... Machoke and Meditite!"

The two fighting Pokémon emerged from their Pokéballs with fire in their 
eyes and a thirst for battle.

"Machoke!"

"Medi!"  Meditite then proceeded to hover about a foot above the ground.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu exclaimed as it stepped forward.

Ash smiled as he reached for his belt and picked out one Pokéball.  "If 
we're calling for two, then I call out two of my best!  Pikachu and... 
Kingler, I choose you!"

"Kooki!" Kingler cried as it took its place next to Pikachu.

"So, an electric-type and a water-type," Brawly commented to Misty.  "A 
very interesting combination the dude's got.  Let's see if they can brave 
the wave from Shauna's fighting-types."

"Don't worry," Misty laughed nervously.  "They can."

Misty then looked down and added to herself, "At least I hope so."

"Machoke, Karate Chop on Kingler!  Meditite, use Confusion on Pikachu!"

"Kingler, use Harden!  Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Both teams separated themselves into one-on-one matches.  Machoke went in 
to lay the Karate Chop, but Kingler used Harden to block it!  Meanwhile, 
Pikachu's bid for a quick strike ended when Meditite used Confusion to 
lift him off the ground.

"Meditite, Hi Jump Kick!"

Meditite leaped into the air, right at the floating Pikachu.  Pikachu 
struggled to break free of Confusion, but couldn't, and as a result, was 
greeted with a hard knee to the chest.  The hit sent Pikachu flying all 
the way back to the other side of the field, where Kingler was still 
tied up with Machoke.

"Quick, Kingler, use Bubble to catch Pikachu!"

Kingler nodded and broke away from Machoke to get an opening.

"Low Kick, Machoke!" Shauna cried, in an attempt to keep Kingler at bay.

Kingler used Bubble, forming a bouncy water mattress that was soft enough 
to catch Pikachu and absorb the entire force from Meditite's attack.  
But using the attack meant he was unable to dodge Machoke's Low Kick, 
which knocked him several feet to Ash's left, close to the out-of-bounds 
line.

"Let's switch it up, guys!  Machoke, Submission on Pikachu!  And Meditite, 
Hidden Power!"

"Pikachu, dodge, then use Thunderbolt!  Kingler, use Harden again!"

Machoke ran over and tried to grab Pikachu, but he was successful in 
dodging and firing off a retaliatory strike of Thunderbolt!  As he did, 
Meditite used Hidden Power to launch an invisible beam of energy at 
Kingler.  Kingler's Harden protected him from getting much damage, but 
the force of the beam was pushing him even closer to that out-of-bounds 
line.

"This isn't working," Ash thought.  "Kingler's about to be pushed out and 
Pikachu can't keep up his speed forever!  There's gotta be a way to get 
out of this mess!"

"Looks like this top-notch apprentice is gonna win this battle," Shauna 
stated aloud, breaking Ash's thought process.  "You didn't stand a chance 
against my powerhouse fighting-type team!"

Pikachu glanced back at Ash, waiting for him to call out the next move.  
But Ash seemed to be lost, unable to figure out what to do next.  
Unfortunately for Pikachu, Shauna did know.

"Meditite, Hi Jump Kick!  Machoke, Cross Chop!  Go after that Pikachu!"

The two fighting-types charged for Pikachu.  With no offensive in place, 
Pikachu turned tail and ran backwards towards Ash.  Despite being on the 
run, Pikachu didn't seem at all to be worried, even with Ash seemingly 
having spaced out.

"What is Pikachu doing?" Ash wondered.

Ash then turned his attention towards Kingler... or he would have, if not 
for the fact that Kingler was gone!

"Hey!  Where did Kingler go?"

Ash had no time to worry about that, for Meditite and Machoke were bearing 
down on Pikachu and about to launch their attacks.  Then, at the last 
possible second, Shauna, as well as the audience, noticed something 
amiss.  Or, to be more specific, not missing anymore.

"Look out!  Behind you!"

But Shauna's yells came too late, as Kingler jumped up and raised his 
large claw up into the air, aiming right at Meditite.  Spotting Kingler 
as the claw began to glow, Ash already knew what attack to call out.

"Kingler, use Crabhammer!"

With one fell swoop, Kingler's Crabhammer hit its mark.  Meditite was 
knocked into a confused state.  With his head pounding, Meditite was 
unable to get his bearings, and was no longer hovering over the ground.  
Rather, it was stumbling about here and there.

"Looks like the tide has turned, man," Brawly observed.

"Really?" Misty asked, eyeing the battle carefully.

"Shauna was starting to show that she understood the key of a tag team 
battle.  But it seems Ash is the one who knows how to apply it."

"You mean the key is... teamwork?"

"Right, dudette!"

A little flustered over what had just happened, Shauna tried to order 
Meditite to perform another attack.

"Time to get back in it!  Meditite, use Recover!"

Meditite attempted to recover his energy, but the move failed!

"Pikachu, Thunder Wave!" Ash exclaimed.

Shauna turned towards Pikachu, thinking the Pokémon was going to attack 
Meditite.  But instead, Pikachu's Thunder Wave hit Machoke, the intended 
target all along.  The move left the muscle-bound Pokémon paralyzed.

"Kingler, use Stomp!  Pikachu, follow that up with Quick Attack!"

Kingler performed Stomp, shaking the ground and causing Machoke to lose 
his footing.  Off-balance, Pikachu stroke quickly, hitting Machoke 
squarely in the stomach and knocking him to the ground.

"Choke!  Machoke!"

Shauna gasped.  "Machoke, get up!  Quickly!"

"Kingler, Crabhammer!"

This second Crabhammer hit in the exact same place as Pikachu's Quick 
Attack, knocking all consciousness out of Machoke and causing him to 
faint.  Pikachu and Kingler backed off as the official ran out to check 
on Machoke's condition.  The swirly-shaped eyes told the story.

"Machoke is unable to continue the match!"

"After a one-two combination thanks to Pikachu's Quick Attack and 
Kingler's Crabhammer," the announcer stated, "Machoke is down and out!  
That leaves Shauna of Dewford Island with a Meditite.  And considering 
its condition, I'd say she's in trouble right now."

"Machoke, return!" Shauna said, pulling out his Pokéball.  Once Machoke 
was out of harm's way, Shauna turned her attention to Ash.  "This isn't 
over yet, Ash!  Nothing's gonna come between me and my chance of becoming 
a Pokémon Junior Master!  Or impressing the man I love!"

Shauna glanced at the stands to her left and stared dreamily at Brawly.  
Her object of affection responded with a cheer.

"Focus, Shauna!  Feel the flow of the battle!  There's still time to turn 
it around and win!"

"Oh, Brawly, you're the greatest!" she giggled.

Ash and Misty both gasped in shock.  "So she likes her mentor, Brawly?"

Brawly seemed to laugh it off, not realizing the whole truth of Shauna's 
admiration for him.

"So it only looked like Ash was ogling Shauna," thought Misty.  "In 
reality, the only thing the two of them have in common is their competitive 
spirits!"

"I guess it's okay if she likes the guy who's helping her train," Ash 
said to himself.  "Hopefully, that convinces Misty that I wasn't hitting 
on Shauna.  Like I said, nothing can compare to her."

"Brawly's right!" Shauna announced.  "This battle isn't over!  Meditite, 
try using Recover again!"

Meditite shook his head, this time apparently regaining his focus.  He 
then proceeded to use Recover, in the process gaining back some of his 
lost HP and gathering enough energy to resume floating again.

"Uh oh!" Ash shouted.  "This isn't good!"

"Let's see what you've got now!" dared Shauna.

"Pikachu, use Agility!  Meanwhile, go with Vice Grip, Kingler!"

Pikachu used his speed to go in first, with Kingler following right 
behind.  Meditite stood his ground as Pikachu dashed behind him and 
waited while Kingler attacked as expected, squeezing him in his claws.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!"

"Pika-CHUUUUUUUUU!"

Pikachu fired his electric attack at the trapped Meditite.  But suddenly, 
Meditite's eyes began to glow a mystical blue.  Shauna clenched her fist 
with excitement and called out a new attack.

"Meditite, Reversal!"

"Reversal?" Ash asked, befuddled.

Using his mental energies, Meditite switched positions with Kingler, 
leaving the crab Pokémon in the path of Pikachu's Thundershock.  Meditite 
then let go, leaving Kingler with no time to dodge.  The attack ended up 
hitting its mark, electrocuting Kingler and knocking it out instantly.

"Kingler!  No!"

"Cha..." Pikachu cha'd, having had no intent on harming his battle partner.

"Kingler is unable to continue!" the official proclaimed after checking 
Kingler out.

"Meditite gets back into the match after pulling a Reversal on Kingler, 
resulting in Pikachu KO'ing his own partner!" the announcer said, 
describing the fall.  "It's down to a one-on-one match!  The next fall 
will decide it!"

"Righteous, Shauna!" shouted Brawly.  "Now, ride the wave home to 
victory!"

Noting that it was no time to be worrisome, Misty yelled out her own 
words of encouragement to her trainer.

"C'mon, Ash!  This battle's far from over!  You've got Pikachu!  No one 
can beat him!  Absolutely no one!"

"This is for Brawly!" Shauna exclaimed proudly.  "Meditite, Confusion!"

As Meditite prepared to use the attack, he noticed Pikachu standing just 
a few feet in front of him, on his hind legs.  And his arms were raised 
up to the sky, where dark clouds were already gathering.

"Heh," Ash chuckled.  "Looks like Misty's right.  Pikachu's already one 
step ahead of me... and this battle is just about over!"

"Nonsense!" objected Shauna.  "There's still plenty of fight in me and 
Meditite!"

"Not after this... Pikachu, Thunder!"

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

A gigantic bolt of electricity rained down from the sky, striking 
Meditite despite his best efforts to use Confusion to try and stop it.  
Shauna thought she was done for, but was glad to see Meditite still 
standing when the smoke cleared.  Even though he was panting heavily 
in exhaustion.

"I must become the Pokémon Junior Master, I must!" Shauna kept yelling, 
as if to reassure herself she was still in it.  And her next move would 
ensure she would still be in it.  "Recover, Meditite!"

"Quick Attack!"

Shauna hadn't noticed that Pikachu had been charging at Meditite just 
as the previous attack had dissipated.  Pikachu was already leaping in 
to perform Quick Attack before Shauna had even noticed him.  The 
electric mouse bowled into Meditite, zapping the last of his opponent's 
strength in the process.  With no more will to fight, Meditite fainted.  
The official ran over to check, but it was a foregone conclusion.

"Meditite is unable to continue!  The victory goes to Ash Ketchum, the 
representative from Cerulean City!"

"And that's it, folks!" the announcer shouted loudly.  "Pikachu took 
advantage of a weakened Meditite and shocked his way to victory!  Now 
it's on to the semifinals, just two victories shy is Ash of becoming the 
first Pokémon Junior Master!"

"Pika pi!" Pikachu screamed with glee as it ran back to Ash.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed as he knelt down with open arms, which Pikachu 
promptly jumped into.  The two shared a thankful hug, happy to have 
fought their way into the semifinals.

Meanwhile, a depressed Shauna recalled Meditite, disappointed in not 
living up to her expectations... and Brawly's.

"You fought a good fight, Meditite.  Thanks for giving it your all."

She then glanced back up at where Brawly was sitting.  Or where he had 
been sitting, as at that very moment he was hopping over the stands and 
running towards her.

"He does care," she smiled happily.  "He REALLY does care!"

Shauna ran with open arms towards her crush, the Dewford Island gym 
leader, Brawly.  She was hoping to share a warm embrace with him.  He, on 
the other hand, just ran by her and made his way over to Ash.

"That was an incredible battle!" complimented Brawly.  "I've never seen 
a trainer so in tune with one of his own Pokémon!  You and that Pikachu 
of yours look like you're unstoppable!"

"Well, we do make one heck of a team," Ash admitted as he glanced at his 
partner.

"Pika pika!" thanked Pikachu.

"Wha... what about me?" Shauna wondered.  "I fought just as hard as Ash 
did to win that battle!"

"And it definitely showed," Brawly smiled, placing a hand on her shoulder.  
"Your determination was awesome today!  You'll surely one of the best 
trainers I've ever seen."

"Really?"

"And who knows... one day, you might be good enough to be a gym leader 
like me!"

Shauna's face lit up with stars, joyful of the praise her mentor had 
bestowed upon her.  "Oh thank you, thank you!"

Then, regaining her composure, she turned to Ash and gave him a look of 
determination.

"One day we'll meet up again, Ash, and hopefully next time, I'll beat you!"

Ash laughed.  "I look forward to a rematch with you, Shauna!  Any time, 
any place!"

Shauna nodded, then led Brawly out of the arena.  The two were applauded 
loudly by the crowd as the duo made their exit from the field.  As Ash 
watched them leave, Misty and Brock had made their way down from the 
stands and were now by his side.

"Looks like you've gained another friend for life," Brock said.

"Ash seems to have a way of making friends with people he beats," Misty 
stated with a smirk.

"What can I say?  They enjoy battling me, and I with them!"

"I guess we'd better go see how Gary and Cassie are doing," suggested the 
Cerulean gym leader.  "There's a very good chance you could be battling 
one of them in the next round."

"No matter who's next, I can't wait... because now I'm only two wins away 
from becoming the first ever Pokémon Junior Master!"

======

Typhlosion hit the ground with a thud and was knocked out instantly.  
The crowd watched as the official ran over to confirm it.  Seconds later, 
he did so by raising a red flag up in the air, to the delight of the 
crowd.

"Typhlosion is unable to battle!" the official proclaimed.  "The match 
goes to Gary Oak, the representative from Ecruteak City!"

The crowd cheered as Gary smiled with confidence.  His Pokémon, Arcanine, 
howled with delight and satisfaction of his performance.

"Arcanine's repeated uses of Flamethrower were too much for even the 
similarly-typed Typhlosion, and Gary moves on to the Final Four!" the 
announcer stated.

Up in the stands, Ash, Misty, and Brock were standing by the rails near 
an entrance, and they had arrived just a minute ago, in time to see the 
end of Gary's match.

"So it looks like Gary won," Misty stated matter-of-factly.

"Maybe you two will get your match after all," Brock suggested to Ash.

Ash nodded in response.  "I can't wait!"

======

A few minutes later, Gary emerged from the battlefield and was surprised 
to see Ash, Misty, and Brock waiting for him.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," he remarked with sarcasm.

"Gary, that was awesome!" Ash exclaimed.  "Your Arcanine is really 
strong!"

"Not to brag or anything, but with all the time Arcanine and I have been 
spending together, it would've been a disappointment if we had lost.  
Say... if you're still here, then that means..."

"Yep!  I won and now I made it to the semifinals!"

"Heh... you better hope you don't draw me next, 'cause I'd whoop you 
easily!"

"Oh yeah?  You won't be so smug when my team takes the field!"

Misty shook her head in dismay.  "You two and your rivalry."

"Well, at least we know the match'll be good if they end up facing each 
other," Brock noted.

"So, Gary, I noticed the announcer said you're representing Ecruteak 
City."

Gary nodded at Misty's observation.  "Yep.  I'm doing it as a favor for 
the gym leader, Morty.  Seems he's been having trouble drawing 
challengers for his gym, as well as students for his battle training 
school."

"He runs a school?" Ash asked.

"Yeah.  It's mostly on ghost-type Pokémon, since that's what his 
specialty is.  He's worth the time even if you don't have a ghost 
Pokémon.  His techniques can work for pretty much any type."

"Maybe I'll look him up when I get back to Johto."

"You do that.  I'm sure he'd love the publicity.  Of course... you'll only 
give him said publicity if you win the tournament, which I'm here to win 
myself."

"We'll just see about that!"

Gary started walking in the direction of the Pokémon Center.  Ash and the 
others followed him, as they headed in the direction of the spectators as 
they had funneled onto the sidewalks.

"So, up for some dinner?" Gary asked.  "My treat!"

"Can we really?" Misty asked happily.

"We're always up for free food!" Ash agreed.

"Pika pika!" added Pikachu.

"Okay then.  We can go after we make a stop at the Pokémon Center.  Gotta 
make sure my team's ready for the rest of the tournament."

"No problem!  That's where we headed too, right guys?"

Misty, Brock, and Pikachu nodded.

======

At the Pokémon Center, Ash and Gary handed their Pokémon over to Nurse 
Joy to be healed.  They then walked back to the lounge to wait with Misty 
and Brock, who were just relaxing on the couch.

"Joy said it should be about half an hour," Ash told them.

"In the meantime," Gary said, "I guess we'd better decide upon where we're 
gonna eat then."

Brock produced a guidebook from his backpack and started flipping through 
it.  Ash, Misty, and Gary all gathered around him as they tried to sneak a 
peek over his shoulder.  Finally, Brock had turned to the section that 
listed all of the area restaurants, and the picture of one grabbed Misty's 
attention.

"Hey, that looks like a good place!" Misty exclaimed, reaching over and 
pointing at a picture of a bowl of hot ramen on the page.

"The best noodle shop in Evergrande City," Brock said, reading the 
description aloud.  "You won't find a better option anywhere else; 
satisfaction guaranteed!"

"That's got me convinced," Gary said.  "A hot bowl of noodles is just 
what we need to get ourselves motivated for a late-night study session."

"Study session?  But they haven't even announced the pairings for the 
semifinals yet!"

"And they won't until tomorrow morning, Ash!  I need to be prepared to 
battle anyone, including you!"

"Looks like Ash'll have to do the same if he hopes to make it to the title 
match," Misty remarked slyly.

"I guess you've got a point," admitted Ash.

"Hmmm..." Brock muttered, drawing the other's attention.

"What's wrong, Brock?"

"I'm just curious about Cassie.  I haven't seen her come back from the 
match.  Do you think she lost?"

"I knew she couldn't compete against us serious trainers," Gary commented.  
"I mean, she spent all of that time doing all those missions that she 
sure had to have slacked off in keeping her Pokémon in shape.  I wonder if 
whomever is representing her knew what they were getting into."

"I guess you've got a point."

"She just didn't have what it takes.  I'm sure the guy who beat her isn't 
crying over her loss."

"Maybe so," Misty cut in, "but I'm not sure we should be ragging on 
her when we don't even know how she did."

"Especially when she's sitting right next to you," Brock suddenly pointed 
out, as Gary looked to his right and did see Cassie there.

"Wha?" Ash freaked out.  "When did you get here?"

"And how much did you hear?" Gary added, a little frightened.

"I heard enough," answered Cassie.  "And though I admire you for making 
some fair assumptions, Gary... that's all they are.  Assumptions."

"So does that mean you made it through to the semifinals too?" Misty 
guessed.

"With flying colors!" Cassie said, pumped with excitement.  "I've never 
felt this good about being a Pokémon trainer in a long time!"

"Good," Gary smiled, "because I want you to be at your very best when I 
knock you out of the tournament tomorrow!"

"How do you know if you're facing me?  The draw won't be done until 
morning.  For all we know, you could get matched up with Ash here and 
you two will somehow take each other!  That'll leave me with the sorry 
patsy that'll have to battle me for the title.  I guess this is all in 
the bag, now."

"Let's not count our chickens before they hatch," Gary quipped.

"I say let's just let everything shake out and whatever happens, happens," 
Ash said to the both of them.

"Agreed!" Cassie and Gary shouted simultaneously.

"So, since we've got all of that 'let's see who's the best of the best' 
stuff out of the way," Misty stated, tired of all of them trying to sell 
themselves on being top dog, "why don't we invite Cassie along with us 
for dinner?  It would make for a nice, relaxing get-together before 
tomorrow's matches."

"That, and Gary's paying," reminded Brock.

"Gary's paying?" Cassie said excitedly as she looked at her rival.  "This 
I got to see!"

"Hardy har har," Gary laughed mockingly.  "If you didn't want to come with 
us, a simple 'no' would've sufficed."

"Well, I was going to spend the evening prepare for tomorrow so I could 
get to bed early, but I can put that aside for an hour or two.  All just 
for you, Gary!"

"It's settled then!" Brock clapped his hands in confirmation.  "Once all 
of the Pokémon are healed, it's off to dinner!"

"Hurray!" the entire group cheered.

======

A few blocks of walking later, the entire gang was sitting down at the 
aforementioned ramen restaurant, having a good time while stuffing their 
faces.

"So, you dump that muscle-bound boyfriend of yours or what?" Gary asked 
Cassie.

"If you're not willing to talk about you and your cheerleaders," Cassie 
shot back, "what makes you think I'm gonna spill on my guy, huh?"

"I thought this was supposed to be a friendly dinner," chuckled Misty.

"Even great trainers need to talk about stuff other than Pokémon," Ash 
said in reply.

"Well... I wish you'd do that more often yourself."

"Yeah," Cassie added.  "I thought you and Misty were an item."

"Ummm..." Ash hesitated for a response.

"Unfortunately, Ash struggles to express himself in that department," Misty 
said, a little irate.

"It doesn't look like you're doing any better," chided Gary.

"Yeah," jabbed Cassie.  "Shouldn't you be in the 'staring into each other's 
eyes longingly' phase already?"

"Ash is too busy trying to win this tournament to worry about that right 
now," answered Misty, blushing.  "Becoming the first Pokémon Junior Master 
is no easy task.  Plus, what would people say if they heard that a gym 
leader was dating the young boy she picked to represent Cerulean City in 
the tournament?"

"Heh," Gary chuckled.  "She's just as chicken as Ash is.  No wonder they 
belong together."

Too embarrassed to respond, Ash and Misty turned away from each other, 
their faces colored a beet red.

"Romance is for saps," commented a voice from afar.

"Who was that?" Brock wondered out loud.

"Pika?"

The group glanced all over the restaurant until they saw Marco and his 
Absol at a table near the front door.  Marco had just paid the bill and 
was about to head out when he had overheard the conversation.

"If you guys weren't so fixated on romance, maybe one of you three would 
stand a chance of beating me tomorrow."

"Let me guess," Cassie growled as she jumped up out of her seat.  "This 
is the guy that jumped you in the forest, Ash?"

"That's him alright," confirmed Ash through gritted teeth.

"Surprised to see us still in the tournament?" Gary asked.

"You and the girl... yes.  But Ash... well, I would've had no reason to 
continue on if Ash had been eliminated in the early rounds.  After all, 
that's the sole reason that I'm competing in this tournament.  Now, I've 
got a one-in-three chance of drawing him in the semifinals.  Once I've 
beaten him, I'll know that I'm the best Pokémon trainer here!"

"Oh yeah?  Well, you've got a one-in-three chance of drawing me, too... 
and it should me you should be worried about!  Not Ash!"

"Me too!" exclaimed Cassie.  "I'm far from a pushover myself!  I'd like 
to see you try and get past my team!"

Marco took that moment to yawn loudly, making both Gary and Cassie even 
angrier.

"That's all you two are... talk.  Ash here is the real deal.  Which is 
why I'm going to thoroughly enjoy decimating him in front of the entire 
world tomorrow."

"We'll see who takes out who, you!" Ash yelled.

"Indeed we will," Marco said before turning to Absol.  "Let's go... 
we've got some preparations for tomorrow that need attending."

Absol made an evil smirk in Pikachu's direction before following his 
master out the door.

"What a jerk!" Misty exclaimed.

"I'll say," Cassie agreed.  "Somebody needs to be humbled... and I'm just 
the person to do it!"

"Not if I get to him first, you don't!" argued Gary.

"What is up with this guy?" Ash thought to himself.  "Something tells me 
I'm going to have to be especially careful tomorrow."

======

A few hours later, back at the hotel, the four semifinalists returned to 
their rooms to isolate themselves and prepare for the next day.  In the 
room shared by Ash and Misty, the Cerulean gym leader was already sound 
asleep, having turned in early.  So was Pikachu, who was resting on the 
desk next to Ash, who was typing away at the computer.

He pulled up the profiles of the remaining trainers, starting with 
himself.  Each of the profile had a head shot of the trainer along with 
pictures of the six Pokémon he or she had currently registered for the 
tournament.  Next to Ash's portrait were Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, 
Muk, Noctowl, Kingler, and Charizard.

"Tomorrow will be my toughest day ever," he thought to himself.  "I've 
gotta make sure I'm ready for anything the others might throw at me."

He then clicked on Gary's picture to examine his lineup.  Gary had 
registered Dodrio, Umbreon, Blastoise, Arcanine, Nidoking, and Scizor.

"I didn't know Gary had a Scizor!  That's the evolved form of a Scyther, 
I think.  Hmmm... and his Umbreon's going to be tough, based on how he 
saved me in the preliminaries."

Ash then checked out Cassie and her team.  She had Ivysaur, Kadabra, 
Raticate, Gloom, Meowth, and Eevee.

"That seems to be the same line-up she had back when we qualifying to 
become Pokémon League members almost a year and a half ago!  Only her 
Bulbasaur and Abra have evolved since then..."

Ash finally proceeded to glance at the fourth and final semifinalist.  
It happened to be Marco, the guy who nearly took him out in the prelims.  
Ash growled as he looked over Marco's lineup... Slowpoke, Cyndaquil, 
Sudowoodo, Sableye, Girafarig, and Absol.

"That's a weird team... I'm not sure I even know half of those Pokémon.  
I better be especially careful of him.  Who knows what he'll throw at me."

Elsewhere in the hotel, Gary seemed to be doing the exact same thing as 
Ash, as his Pokémon ate their supper on the floor around him.  Having 
already figured out her strategy, Cassie was silently meditating with her 
Kadabra, Eevee, and Ivysaur.  Speaking of already being prepared, Marco 
was outside in the courtyard, practicing some moves with his Absol.

Ironically, the courtyard happened to be a great vantage of Ash to look on 
from his room window.  And he took this opportunity to really study his 
opponent.

"I don't know what this guy's deal is, but I WILL beat him tomorrow!"

======

Night passed quickly, and soon enough the sun was rising in the sky.  The 
Pokémon Center was abnormally quiet for this time of day, as it seemed 
most of the trainers and other tourists had slept in.  In fact, other than 
Nurse Joy and her Chansey assistants, the only other people in the Center 
were Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu.

The quartet were all gathered around a videophone, where Ash was chatting 
with Professor Oak.

"Ah, so you want to switch out one of your Pokémon?" inquired the 
professor.

"Yes, da... uh, Professor," Ash stumbled before recovering.  "I want to be 
able to get a jump on the competition.  They're all really tough."

Suddenly, the sliding doors into the Center opened, and Gary entered.  
Misty and Brock spotted Ash's rival walking over towards them.  Ash quickly 
moved to cover the screen so Ash wouldn't see what he was doing.

But Gary already knew.

"Making a last-minute substitution?" Gary asked.  "You know what they 
say... those with indecision about their team will surely fail to win!"

Ash laughed.  "Well... I've got a secret weapon that'll surely turn the 
tide!  And I'm not letting you see it ahead of time, so there!"

Gary shrugged his shoulders.  "You can pull out whomever you want.  It 
won't matter anyway.  See you at the stadium!"

Gary gave Ash a two-finger salute, then headed back out the door.  Ash 
grumbled loudly under his breath.

"No way I'm letting Gary beat me!" Ash exclaimed.  "We're going to win it 
all... right, Pikachu?"

"Pikachu!"

"So," the professor cut back in.  "Are you ready for the switch?"

Ash nodded happily.  "Gary and the others won't know what hit them."

======

Half an hour later, Ash entered a rocking stadium, which exploded with 
loud cheering as he appeared out of the tunnel.  Up in the stands, Misty 
and Brock were already seated with two of three other gym leaders who had 
a semifinalist.  One was Cissy, who ran the Mikan Island Gym in the Orange 
Islands.  The other was Morty, the ghost master from Ecruteak City in 
Johto.

"So you're the young woman that took over the Cerulean Gym," Morty noted.  
"I have to say, I doubted your skill when I first heard you took over the 
gym.  But seeing your representative make it this far is beyond belief!  
You really trained him well!"

"Thanks, I think..." Misty said in response.

"On behalf of all of the Orange Island gym leaders," Cissy spouted, 
"you're an inspiration to us all!"

"Wow, really?  All of the Orange Island gym leaders?"

"A lot of people are surprised you and your representative are still here," 
Morty said.  "Not just the spectators, but many of the gym leaders too."

"It's safe to say the Cerulean City gym isn't the worst the gym in the 
Kanto region anymore!" added Cissy.

"All of this just because of how good Ash is?" Misty wondered.  "Did the 
League really think that lowly of my sisters and our gym?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Brock suddenly stated, out of the 
blue.

"But you never told me at all!  How long did you know this?"

"A... a couple months..." Brock stated meekly.

"It doesn't matter," Cissy said, reaching in before Misty could lose her 
temper at Brock.  "What matters is that everyone respects you now!"

"You could, of course, get a whole lot more if your guy wins the whole 
tournament... but, my boy Gary is fighting for my gym's livelihood!  He 
won't let anyone beat him!"

"And Cassie's one of the most amazing trainers I've ever seen!" praised 
Cissy.  "She's smart and good!"

"Well," Misty huffed, getting into the act, "no one's going to beat Ash!  
He's the best trainer I've ever seen!  He will be Pokémon Junior Master!"

"That's the spirit!" Cissy patted Misty on the back.  "Realizing that no 
one in the crowd will back her trainer up unless she's backing him!"

"Speaking of backing," Brock wondered out loud, glancing at the empty 
seat next to Morty, "where's the gym leader for the other guy?  You know, 
for Marco?"

"Refused to show up," Morty said.  "Don't know why."

"That sure won't look good in the eyes of the Pokémon League," Cissy shook 
her head.  "Especially given the hot water he's already in."

Before Misty or Brock could ask for the identity of the missing gym 
leader, the voice of the announcer started to boom throughout the stadium 
to begin the next match.

"Welcome, Pokémon fans and enthusiasts, to Evergrande Stadium, site of 
today's championship match!  Very soon, we will be proud to crown the 
first-ever Pokémon Junior Master!  Before we begin, let's introduce the 
four trainers that have survived to this point of the tournament!

"First up, representing Morty and the gym of Ecruteak City, we have Gary 
Oak, grandson of the famous Pokémon researcher, Professor Oak!"

Gary waved to the crowd as they gave him tons upon tons of cheers and 
applause.  He then turned to look at Cassie, who seemed to be a little bit 
miffed about all of the attention he was getting.

"Next up is the only female left, and the only trainer represented by an 
Orange Island gym in the entire tournament!  Here's Cassie Banks, 
sponsored by Cissy and the gym of Mikan Island!"

Surprisingly, Cassie got an even bigger response for the audience.  She 
waved at them all before glancing back at Gary and sticking out her 
tongue at him.  If Gary didn't like that, he sure wasn't showing it.

"Up third is the surprise of the tournament so far, only because not many 
are aware of his record, which is on par with both Gary and Cassie.  
Introducing Ash Ketchum, the delegate of Misty and the Cerulean City gym!"

Ash raised his hand up in the air and flashed a 'V for Victory' sign for 
the audience and his fellow competitors alike to see.

"Last but not least is a fellow not known much either, but also has a 
intriguing League résumé.  From the Viridian City gym, run by Giovanni, 
this is Marco Pereira!"

As Marco waved to the crowd, Misty and Brock gasped with shock in the 
stands.

"Viridian City?" they yelled together.  "You mean the gym run by the 
leader of Team Rocket?"

"That hasn't been proven as fact, yet," Cissy stated.

"But Brock and I know!" Misty claimed, as Brock nodded in agreement 
behind her.  "I've already petitioned the League several times regarding 
it!"

"I think a lot of gym leaders have," Morty noted.  "But apparently 
there's not enough proof to substantiate any sort of action against him."

"Okay... but what about Marco?  He's probably a Team Rocket agent, 
especially since he's representing his gym!"

"Background check came up clean," Cissy shot Misty down again.  "I should 
know... I was one of the gym leaders asked to do that for all of the 
competitors."

"And he could just be some young promising talent he found on the street," 
argued Morty.  "I think we should give the kid the benefit of the doubt."

"You can if you want to.  But I'm not!"

"Me neither," Brock agreed with Misty again.

"And now for the biggest surprise of the tournament!" the announcer said.  
"There will be no semifinal round!"

"What?" Ash, Gary, Cassie, and Marco all shouted in surprise.

"Instead, we will be having one final match... a four-trainer battle 
royale!  All four trainers will be battling at once, with one Pokémon 
apiece, three total.  The last trainer standing will win the tournament 
and become the first Pokémon Junior Master!"

As the crowd murmured amongst themselves over this shocking development, 
at least one gym leader didn't see this coming.

"No way!" Brock cried.  "A one-on-one-on-one-on-one?"

"It was Lance's idea," Cissy admitted.  "He wanted a wild Pokémon battle 
final like no one's ever seen!"

"He wants everyone to remember this battle," chipped in Morty.  "That, 
and establish that the title of Junior Master is just as important as the 
one of Master!"

"And how come we didn't see this coming?" Brock asked Misty.

"Well, actually..."

Brock gasped.  "You knew!  And you didn't tell me?"

Misty giggled.  "Well, Ash and the others weren't supposed to know ahead 
of time, anyway.  Telling you would've given you a chance to blurt it 
out!  Besides... the League couldn't tell you since you didn't have a 
trainer in the Final Four!"

"You know how sad that makes me feel?" Brock turned away and sulked.

"Shouldn't you..." Cissy started.

"He'll get over it," Misty finished, ignoring Brock and turning her 
attention back to the battlefield.

During that conversation, the four trainers had been paired up and told to 
go to opposite sides of the battlefield.  Ash, with Pikachu accompanying 
him, climbed up one side, with Gary right behind him.  As they reached the 
top of the steps, they saw Cassie and Marco appear on the other side.  
The foursome began to mental prepare for the battle as the announcer 
explained the rules of the match.

"In this match, all four trainers will start by calling out one Pokémon.  
They will battle as per normal League rules.  When one Pokémon faints or 
is knocked out of the arena, that Pokémon's trainer has one minute to 
recall their Pokémon and call out a replacement.  Failure to do so within 
the time limit results in an automatic forfeiture.  Only in extreme 
circumstances will the time limit be extended.

"Also, during that one minute time limit, the battle will not be stopped 
by the official!  Trainers and/or their Pokémon, at their own discretion, 
may continue to battle.  Also during that period, any other trainer may 
substitute their current Pokémon for another one.  Note, though, that 
each trainer will be limited to two substitutions for the entire match.

"The battle will be stopped after five, and if necessary, ten total 
Pokémon have fallen, in order to change the field.  The first break will 
be 15 minutes long.  If a second is needed, that will last five minutes.  
The field will be chosen at random via computer.  The battle will start 
with a grass field.

"Finally, the battle will begin once all four trainers have called out 
their first Pokémon and the officials give them the signal to start."

Two referees were standing, one on each side at midfield, ready to 
officiate the four-trainer battle royale.

"With that all said... let the championship free-for-all begin!"

"Ladies fir..." Cassie began to motion to throw out a Pokéball, but a 
speechless Marco beat her to the punch, tossing his out first.

"Duskull!" Marco's Pokémon cried.

"A ghost-type Pokémon?" Morty smiled.  "I've gotta cheer him on now!"

"But he's your opponent," Misty and Cissy chided, sweatdropping.

"The best always go first," sneered Marco, scowling at Cassie.

But Cassie was unfazed by the scare tactic.  "Ha!  I'm gonna make you pay 
for your first choice!  Let's go... Kadabra!"

"Kadabra!"

Cassie's psychic-type came out next to Duskull, and the two shot each 
other evil glares.  As they did, the other two Pokémon came out to remind 
them that this was a four-mon dance.

"Scizor, come on out!" Gary shouted.

"Alright, Pikachu, you're up!" Ash exclaimed, as Pikachu ran out onto the 
field.

Gary and Cassie both shot odd glances at Ash, curious as to his motives 
for calling out his favorite Pokémon first.

"Is he trying to win this all from the start?" Gary thought.

"Just what could he be up to?" Cassie said to herself as the possible 
strategies raced through her mind.

The audience started yelling for the referees to begin the match.  Pikachu, 
Scizor, Duskull, and Kadabra eyed each other over, as they also tried to 
think of what attacks they might employ to outlast the others.  The four 
trainers themselves to be just as much on edge, with none of them wanting 
to be the first to be down one Pokémon.

Eyes were on the refs as they raised their flags and then quickly dropped 
them, officially beginning the match in earnest.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack on Scizor!"

"Pika!" Pikachu cried, charging towards Gary's Pokémon.

"Agility, Scizor, then counter with a Quick Attack of your own!"

"Scizor!" chirped the half-bug, half-steel Pokémon.

"Alright, Kadabra, we're going after that Duskull!  Use Confusion!"

Kadabra nodded, then began chanting a spell.  Duskull stood firm, as did 
Marco, who apparently didn't seem interesting in calling out any sort of 
attack or defense.  As Kadabra fired Confusion at Duskull, Pikachu and 
Scizor started exchanging blows as they ran all over the field.

The blast of Confusion hit Duskull dead on, knocking the ghost Pokémon 
back a few feet.  Despite the direct hit, though, the Duskull didn't seem 
to be showing any ill effects from the attack.

"Blast it with Confusion again!" Cassie ordered.

Kadabra raised his spoon into the air, and channeling his psychic energy 
through it, created another Confusion attack to send Duskull's way.  This 
one too, also hit its mark.  Duskull didn't hold up as well against it as 
he did the first time, made apparent this time as he screamed in pain.

"Duskkkk!" it cried.

"You've got Duskull on the ropes!" Cassie exclaimed.  "But..."

She turned to her right to glance at Marco, who had remained almost as 
motionless as a statue since throwing out Duskull's Pokéball.

"I have this feeling that you're toying with me!" she shouted at him.  
"Why?  Why don't you have Duskull fight back?"

Marco remained stoic, not even acknowledging Cassie's question or what 
was happening on the battlefield before them.

"He's acting as if he wants to lose on purpose!" Cassie said to herself.

"Pikaaaaaaaa!" Pikachu shouted in agony as one of Scizor's Quick Attack 
strikes had gotten the better of him and knocked him to the ground.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted.  "Hang in there!"

"Scizor, use Slash!" Gary quickly ordered.

"Sci... ZORRRRRR!"

"Ash's Pikachu may be tough," Gary thought, "but if I can take it out now, 
I'll surely take Ash's confidence out with him!"

Pikachu quickly regained his composure and managed to dodge Scizor's Slash 
without any prodding from Ash, who was already contemplating his next 
move.

"Okay, Pikachu, use Thunder!"

"Pika... CHUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

A humongous bolt of thunder rained down from the sky and struck Scizor 
square on the noggin.  The attack resulted in chipping away a good portion 
of Scizor's HP.  But Gary's Pokémon was far from finished.

"Time to step it up, Scizor!  Use Swords Dance!"

A strange light surrounded Scizor as he boosted his attack strength.

"And now, for an even bigger boost... use Metal Claw!"

Scizor charged at Pikachu, and, before he knew it, Scizor had landed a 
haymaker of a closed claw-fist from underneath Pikachu's jaw.  The punch 
sent Pikachu flying into the air and back down.

"Pikachu!" Ash gasped as he watched Pikachu, covered with dust and 
bruises, struggle to get back to his feet.

"One more attack!" Gary yelled.  "Scizor, Metal Claw again!"

Scizor ran towards Pikachu once again, but this time both Marco's Duskull 
and Cassie's Kadabra had come into sight.  And both seemed unaware of the 
danger approaching them, especially with Cassie yelling for Kadabra to 
attack one more time.

"Kadabra, Confusion!  If this guy doesn't want to put a fight, then so 
be it!"

Kadabra tapped into his psychic powers and launched the third blast of 
Confusion of the match towards Duskull.  If it connected, it would 
surely knock the ghost Pokémon out of the match.

Unfortunately for Cassie and Kadabra, Marco and Duskull suddenly decided 
to produce a counter move.

"Duskull, use Destiny Bond!"

Cassie gasped, knowing immediately what that attack did.  She watched 
as a pink ring of energy was fired at Kadabra.  It passed Kadabra's 
wave of Confusion, which continued on its direct course for Duskull.

"Quick, Kadabra, use Teleport now!"

Kadabra followed his master's orders and, in an instant, teleported 
himself to a safe spot elsewhere on the field.  At that moment, the 
Confusion he had fired previously hit Duskull.  And the Destiny Bond 
ring which had originally been fired at Kadabra?  Well, it had kept 
going and ran straight towards Scizor, who was about to connect his Metal 
Claw on Pikachu again.  Both of their trainers motioned for their 
Pokémon to dodge.

"Pikachu, get out of the way!"

"Stop, Scizor!"

Pikachu jumped up, but not soon enough to avoid getting a piece of 
Scizor's Metal Claw.  Meanwhile, the Destiny Bond ring had hit a mark, 
surrounding itself around Scizor's waist.  About thirty feet away, 
Duskull had just fallen to the ground, being knocked out thanks to 
Kadabra's Confusion.  Pikachu came back down to Earth, but he had hit 
the ground hard.  As for Scizor, it began feeling the effects of 
Destiny Bond and he suddenly fainted as well.

"Unbelievable!" the announcer yelled with the crowd cheering in the 
background.  "Three Pokémon, in a strange twist of events and attacks, 
have taken themselves out of this match!"

"What was that?" Misty asked.

"I've never seen anything like that before!" concurred Brock.

"It's a move called Destiny Bond," explained Morty to the three gym 
leaders, including Cissy, who also shot him a curious look.  "When the 
Pokémon who casts it is knocked out, the Pokémon that was hit by 
Destiny Bond is also taken out."

"Whoa..." the Pewter gym leader uttered.  "That's a killer move."

Ash was a little confused, to say the least, as the judges went to go 
check on the three fallen Pokémon.  Ash, Gary, Marco, and even Cassie, 
who had the only active Pokémon left on the field in Kadabra, were a bit 
stunned as to what had just occurred.

"Duskull is unable to battle!" noted one judge after his examination.

"Scizor is also unable to continue!" stated the other.

The attention then turned to Pikachu, who was still conscious yet had a 
look of desperation on his face as he tried to get back on his feet.  
Ash looked on with great concern as his best friend fought with himself 
to stay in the match.

"The trainers of Duskull and Scizor must now recall their Pokémon and 
call out a replacement within the next minute!" the first judge stated 
as he ran back to his officiating spot.

The second judge kept an eye on Pikachu, who grimaced and cried in pain 
as he tried to muster all of his will to stay up.

"Pikachu..." Ash uttered softly as he saw a flash of red light out of the 
corner of his eye.

"Scizor, you did a great job out there!" complimented Gary as he patted 
the Pokéball in his hand.

On the other side of the field, Cassie and Kadabra watched solemnly as 
Pikachu continued to fight.  Marco, though, was having none of that, as 
he had finished recalling Duskull and was throwing out his second 
Pokéball.

"Girafarig, come on out!" Marco shouted.

The giraffe-like Pokémon made her appearance on the field, both of her 
heads, the second being the one on her tail, grinned as if they were 
ready to battle.

"Okay, Girafarig... let's Stomp on Pikachu!"

Girafarig made a beeline for the struggling electric mouse, which had 
finally managed to get up on all fours.  But Pikachu was definitely in no 
position to put up any sort of defense.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried, running out onto the field.

"Arcanine, go and use Extremespeed!" Gary exclaimed, tossing out his 
second Pokéball.

Upon emerging from the Pokéball, Arcanine immediately zipped by Ash and 
went to stop Girafarig from getting to Pikachu.  Girafarig kept charging 
anyway, despite any attempts to stop her.  And no one did stop her, as 
Girafarig got to where her target was and executed a Stomp attack.

Everyone, including Ash, Gary, and Marco, gasped when they saw that it 
wasn't Pikachu taking the hit, or Arcanine, who had gone in to protect 
him.  It was actually Kadabra, who had teleported in to take the Stomp.

"Dabra!" the psychic-type gasped as he had been knocked to the ground, 
and out as a result.

"Kadabra and Arcanine both wanted to protect Pikachu?" Ash wondered out 
loud as he looked at each of Pikachu's savior's trainers.

"The nerve of that guy," Gary noted mentally.

As Ash ran past the official who was going out to check on Kadabra, he 
yelled out for him to stop.

"Hey, what are you doing out on the field?"

"I'm exchanging Pikachu for another Pokémon!  It's within the rules, 
right?"

The second official, who was near Pikachu, stepped back as Ash knelt 
down to cradle his best friend in his arm.  Arcanine barked and nodded 
to Pikachu's trainer, then turned his attention back to the Girafarig 
standing just a few feet in front of him.

"Kadabra is out and unable to continue!" yelled the first official.

"It looks like Girafarig tried to immediately go for the weakened Pikachu, 
but both Arcanine and Kadabra jumped to his defense, with the latter 
sacrificing himself for a fellow opponent!  This is just unbelievable, 
folks!"

"That was low, you know!" Cassie yelled angrily at Marco.

Marco smiled and looked at her.  "The battle doesn't stop for a fainted 
Pokémon.  I didn't break any rules attacking like I did."

But apparently, the crowd thought otherwise, as Marco was showered with 
boos and hisses from the sympathetic crowd.

"What a jerk!" hissed Misty.

"Apparently, the guy needs to learn some manners," chided Cissy.

"Don't worry, Pikachu," Ash told his best friend, patting him on the 
head.  "You're going to be just fine."

"Cha..." Pikachu chirped weakly.

Ash then got up and ran back to the trainer's podium on his side of the 
field, Pikachu cradled safely in his arms.  As he did, Cassie recalled 
her Kadabra and reached for a second Pokéball.

"Espeon!" Cassie cried.  "Let's show 'em what we're made of!"

"Spe!" the psychic-Eevee evolution called out as she appeared onto the 
field.

"So your Eevee finally evolved," Gary shouted as Ash arrived by his side.

"You like it?" Cassie shot back.  "She evolved before my eyes last night!  
It's the perfect foil for your Umbreon!  Too bad it's not out on the 
field!"

She then turned towards Marco and raised a clenched fist at him.

"But for right now, I'll be content with keeping your dishonorable self 
from winning this tournament!"

Marco smirked, then returned his attention to Girafarig.

"Agility!" he called out.

Girafarig started running at high speed towards Espeon.  But Cassie's 
second Pokémon reared back on her hind legs, ready for a fight.

"Match up with Quick Attack, Espeon!"

Espeon complied, running for and leaping at Girafarig before she could 
defend herself.  The resulting attack forced Girafarig to take a few 
steps back, startled out of her wits.

Back on the other side of the field, Ash gingerly placed Pikachu down on 
the ground next to him.  As Pikachu tried to get some rest, Ash glanced 
back at Gary, who seemed to be concerned for him.

"You... didn't have to do that, Gary," Ash said to his rival.

But Gary shook his head.  "But I did.  It's no good if this isn't a fair 
fight.  Besides, how will we know how good we all are if someone cheats 
to get an advantage!  I can't let that Marco guy, or anyone, do that!"

"Thanks, Gary.  You're the best."

Gary was taken aback, a little surprised they were getting so chummy.  
"Don't take it the wrong way... I still wanna win this match!"

Ash smiled.  "Then you're going to have to get past me!  But first..."

Ash reached onto his belt and prepared to call forth his second Pokémon.

"Okay... I choose you... Heracross!"

Out of the Pokéball came out a giant blue beetle Pokémon, one that came 
as quite a shock to both Gary and Cassie.

"He managed to capture one of those?" Cassie said with amazement.

"Impressive," Gary nodded.  "So, is this that secret Pokémon you were 
getting from my grandpa this morning?"

"Yep!  And now, he's going to get his first true test... by knocking out 
that Girafarig!"

Up in the stands...

"So we finally get to see his Heracross in action," gasped Brock.

Misty nodded.  "He said he caught it in the Johto region.  Though... I'm 
kinda freaked because, well..."

"It's a bug Pokémon?" finished Cissy.

Misty nodded again, a bit scared to do anything but that at the moment.  
Other than curl up in a ball and having started to whisper happier thoughts 
to herself.

"Is she really that afraid?" Cissy asked.

"Afraid so," confirmed Brock.

Back down on the field...

"Heracross, let's go with Tackle!"

"Cross!" Heracross chirped as he flew towards Girafarig.

"Follow Heracross and hit Girafarig with a Take Down attack!" ordered Gary 
to Arcanine.

The two Pokémon followed orders, with Heracross hitting first.  Having 
knocked Girafarig off-balance with Tackle, Arcanine then followed with 
Take Down, which sent Girafarig down to the grassy field beneath him.

"Your turn, Espeon!" exclaimed Cassie.  "Psybeam!"

With Girafarig down, she was unable to avoid the Psybeam, which scored a 
direct hit.

"It looks like it's three-on-one down there!" observed the announcer.  
"Displeased with the unfair attack on Pikachu earlier, Ash, Cassie, and 
Gary have teamed up to take out Marco!"

"Hold on, it ain't that easy!" Marco screamed.  "Girafarig, Astonish!"

"Oh yeah?  Espeon, use Swift!"

"Arcanine, Ember!"

"Heracross, Horn Attack!"

Girafarig's eyes glowed a strange red as her three opponents prepared 
to launch attacks.  But as they motioned to do so, Espeon, Arcanine, and 
Heracross all flinched.

"What?" the trio of trainers shouted in surprise.

"Now... use Shadow Ball on all three of them!"

Screeching loudly, Girafarig let out three Shadow Balls in succession, 
one right after the other, one for each of her opponents.  All three hit 
their marks, with the flinching Pokémon unable to dodge.  Cassie's Espeon, 
though, seemed to shake off the hit as if it were nothing.  Both Arcanine 
and Heracross were more visibly hurt by the attack.

"Focus Energy, Espeon!"

Espeon glowed a bright orange as she worked on gathering her strength back
and her wits.

"Girafarig, Shadow Ball on Espeon!"

"No way!" Ash yelled.  "Heracross, Take Down!"

Heracross flew over and stopped Girafarig before she could fire Shadow 
Ball.  He then proceeded to, well, take her down, as he drove his entire 
body into hers, knocking her off her feet.

"Arcanine, finish it off with Flamethrower!"

The powerful fire attack blasted over Girafarig's body, burning the last 
of her HP away and causing her to faint as a result.

"Girafarig is unable to battle!" remarked one of the officials.

"The team-up has proven successful as Girafarig is now out of the 
battle and Marco is down to his last Pokémon!" the announcer stated.

The crowd went up in cheers of glee thanks to Marco's Girafarig being 
taken out of the battle.

"Yeah!" Ash cheered.

"That'll teach him to mess with an 'amateur' trainer," Gary stated, 
remembering the insult Marco had delivered back in the prelims.

Cassie giggled, tentatively taking her eyes off of Espeon as she finished 
charging up with Focus Energy.  She turned to look at Marco, and nearly 
jumped back in surprise as she saw him fuming with anger.  Marco had 
Girafarig return, then he went for his third and final Pokéball.

"You're all in for it now!" he yelled.  "Absol, let's go!"

"Absol, sol," stated the white fur Pokémon as it made his appearance.

Ash and Gary both gritted their teeth in disgust.  They already knew 
first-hand how strong Marco's Absol was, and they weren't looking forward 
to having to take it down.  Especially since Absol hadn't exactly 
revealed all of his moves yet.

"Double Team!"

The opposition watched as one Absol quickly became three.  Espeon, 
Arcanine, and Heracross took a second to observe the situation.

"Hey, there's three of them and three of us!" Gary yelled across to 
Cassie.

Getting the point, Cassie smirked and replied, "That means there's a 
100% chance one of us will hit the real Absol if we attack all three 
simultaneously!"

"Sounds good to me," agreed Ash, catching on a little late.

"Espeon, Swift!"

"Arcanine, Flamethrower!"

"Heracross, go for the Take Down!"

Espeon and Arcanine fired off their projectile attacks, while Heracross 
moved in for one up close.

"Heh," Marco chuckled, drawing the attention of his opponents.  "That's 
a sound strategy you three came up with..."

Swift and Flamethrower hit their marks... or do they, as both Absol 
disappear before taking the full brunt of the attacks.

"But you need to check your math!"

The two Absol suddenly appeared at opposing angles behind Heracross, with 
the third coming in from the front.

"Absol, Razor Wind!"

From each Absol came two horned blades, all heading directly towards 
Heracross.  The bug-type was trapped with nowhere to go.

"Heracross, Counter!" Ash yelled in desperation.

Heracross moved to Counter the Razor Wind, but he suddenly came to a 
realization.  Heracross... didn't know how to use Counter.  As a result, 
all three Razor Wind attacks hit Heracross, and combined they do enough 
damage to knock him out.

"Heracross, no!"

The official ran over to check on Heracross.  He was out cold.

"Heracross is unable to continue!"

"Marco strikes back with his Absol, using a combination of Double Team 
and Razor Wind to take Heracross out of the battle!  With that, five 
Pokémon have fallen in this championship match, and all four trainers 
will now retreat to the locker rooms for a 15-minute break while the 
field is changed."

Marco called back his Absol and immediately headed down from the podium 
and off to the locker room, boos being directed at him as he departed.  
Ash, Gary, and Cassie just watched for a second before recalling their 
battle partners and too withdrawing from the stadium.

"That Absol seems to be tough," observed Brock from the stands.

"Maybe so," Morty chipped in, "but being Marco's last Pokémon, he's gonna 
need a lot of stamina if he hopes to make it to the end."

Misty, who had recovered from her fetal state now that Heracross was gone, 
concurred with Morty's theory.

"I don't think Ash and the others will have to worry about Marco much 
anymore.  He's done for."

======

Down in the locker room, Ash was taking care of Pikachu, prepping him to 
go back out again if Ash needed him.

"Are you sure you're up to battling again so soon?" Ash asked his best 
friend.  "I don't want you getting hurt or anything."

Though not fully recovered, Pikachu nodded and replied, "Pika pi!  Pikachu 
pi pika, pikachu!"

"You're saying you're willing to do whatever it takes to win?"

"Pika!"

"Okay then... if you're confident, then so am I!"

Elsewhere in the locker room, Cassie was sitting on a bench while 
contemplating what to do next... where to stick with Espeon or start fresh 
with her third Pokémon.  Lost deep in thought, it took her awhile to 
notice that Gary was standing behind her, leaning against the lockers.

"You know, you could've said something instead of just staring at me all 
that time," she said to him.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're cute when your mouth's closed?" Gary 
observed.

"You trying to get me to go after you first in the second half or what?" 
Cassie shouted, believing Gary was insulting her.

"Shhh!" Gary shushed, raising a finger up to his lips.  "Quiet, will ya?  
I'm trying to keep that jerk Marco from hearing us."

"Why?  What's up?"

"You and I both agree that what Marco tried to get away with was wrong, 
right?"

"Of course!  The guy was playing dirty!"

"Then I propose we call a temporary truce.  Obviously, we don't like each 
other..."

Cassie rolled her eyes.  "Understatement of the year, much?"

"But we agree that Marco's gotta go, right?  So, let's agree to take him 
out first.  Once that guy's out of the picture, it's every trainer for 
themselves!"

"Okay, I'm in!  But what about Ash?"

Gary shrugged his shoulders.  "Ash has enough to worry about.  Besides, 
once he realizes what's going on out there, he'll side with us.  After 
all, he's not exactly best friends with the guy."

"Fair enough."

Gary and Cassie shook hands, sealing the deal.

"To seeing Marco go down!"

"To seeing Marco go down, yeah!"

Ash and Pikachu stared down the way at Marco and Absol, who were keeping 
to themselves and ignoring everyone around them.  They sensed something 
odd about the pairing, who were in the midst of mentally preparing for 
the match's resumption.

"I don't trust this guy at all, Pikachu.  We need to get him and Absol out 
quickly, before he has chance to pull out another trick."

"Pikachu," agreed his battle partner.

======

The crowd cheered as the four trainers emerged from the tunnels and 
took their places in the boxes on either end of the battlefield.  They 
noted that a field favoring rock-types was now in place.

"The championship battle royale will now resume with a Rock Field for the 
trainers to battle on," stated the announcer.

"Absol!" Marco quickly stated, telling the Pokémon, who was by his side 
when they had come out, to run onto the field.

"Time for another round, Espeon!" shouted Cassie, tossing out Espeon's 
Pokéball.

"Here's my third Pokémon, Umbreon!" exclaimed Gary, substituting to 
start this portion of the match.

"And that leaves me and... Charizard!" proclaimed Ash.

Espeon, Umbreon, and Charizard joined Absol on the battlefield.

"So Gary called out his Umbreon, huh?" Brock noted.

"It looks like he's complimenting Cassie's Espeon," Cissy said.  "Maybe 
they've decided to team up!"

"Or, given the type advantages, Gary's bent on getting Cassie out right 
here and now," Morty chimed in.

"I doubt that," Misty said, reassured.  "Those are probably their 
strongest Pokémon.  Combined with Charizard, they might be looking to 
take Marco out!"

"I guess we'll just have to wait to find out," deduced Brock.

"The match resumes... NOW!" the two officials stated aloud.

"Absol... power up with Swords Dance!"

Cassie gasped.  "He's trying to raise Absol's attack strength!"

"Not if I can help it!" Gary yelled.  "Umbreon, Quick Attack!"

Umbreon moved in for a quick strike, but Absol was ready for it.

"Now, Double Team!"

Absol split into three once again, and just in time, as Umbreon hit one of 
the Absol head-on.  One of the copies, that is, as it disappeared within an 
instant.

"Time to get in it, Charizard!  Use Flamethrower!"

"GRRRRROOOOOOOAAARRR!" roared Charizard, before letting out a gigantic 
blast of fire towards one of the two remaining Absol.

"While he's distracted... Espeon, use Bite!"

Both Absol moved to dodge Charizard's Flamethrower, but one of them ended 
up right in the clutches of Espeon's fangs.

"Sollllll!" Absol screamed in pain.

"Yes," Cassie pumped her fist with glee.  "I found the right one!"

Cassie was so busy being excited she missed the dark smile forming on 
Marco's face.

"Okay... Taunt!"

Absol glanced up at Espeon and started taunting her.  As a result, Espeon 
lost concentration on what she was doing and focusing more on how much 
she wanted to attack Absol.  In the process, she released Absol from her 
grip.

"Now... run towards Charizard!"

Absol did as he was told, and started bolting for Ash's Pokémon, bouncing 
off of rocks as he did.  Espeon followed suit, chasing Absol.

"Wait a minute... Espeon!"

"What's going on?" Gary asked as he glanced towards the unfolding scene, 
then towards Umbreon, who had turned about and was also following, and 
then to Ash.

"If he wants to battle head-on..." Ash gritted through his teeth.

"Wait!" Gary shouted, suddenly catching onto Marco's plan.

"Charizard!  Wing Attack!"

Charizard roared again, then started flying towards the oncoming trio of 
Pokémon with wings glowing white, just barely getting over the rocks that 
jutted out of the ground.  Absol continued charging forward, with Espeon 
chasing without fail, and Umbreon bringing up the rear, but trying to 
stop them.

"Umbreon... use Faint Attack on Espeon!"

"Bre!" Umbreon nodded, as he directed his gaze towards Espeon.

Using the power of Faint Attack, Espeon began to slow down and turn her 
attention towards the closing Umbreon.  Meanwhile, Absol ran head first 
into Charizard, nearly getting his head knocked off as Charizard pretty 
much tried to fly through him.  Charizard's momentum kept him flying 
right at the nearly-at-a-standstill Espeon.  Espeon herself was about to 
be blindsided, yet she had her head turned towards Umbreon... who suddenly 
leapt at her!

Umbreon tackled Espeon out of the way, just in time to save her.  But that 
left him ripe for a near-beheading of his own by Charizard.

"Charizard, stop!" Ash shouted.

It was in vain, though, as he had waited too late to try and stop him from 
hitting another target.  As a result, Espeon was knocked off his feet the 
same way Absol was.  When all was said and done, Charizard had stopped 
flying on the far side of the field and was celebrating like the match was 
over, roaring and spewing fire left and right!  Absol and Umbreon were 
grimacing in pain as they made their way back to their feet.  Espeon was 
not so lucky... that last attack, which was meant to save her from 
Charizard's Wing Attack, ended up knocking her out anyway.

Much to Cassie's chagrin and dismay.

"Hey!" she yelled, pointing a finger at Gary.  "I thought we just agreed 
in the locker room that we were working together until we defeated 'dark 
boy wonder' over here!"

She pointed a second finger at Marco to emphasize her point.

"You could show some gratitude..." Gary responded.  "I was saving your 
Espeon from getting clocked by Charizard, thanks to you trying to tail 
Absol!"

An official was already on the field, examining Espeon.  The news for 
Cassie wasn't good...

"Espeon is unable to battle!"

"Unbelievable!" screamed the announcer.  "It looks like Absol pulled a 
misdirection or two to shake things up, and even if it took massive 
damage, I guess for Marco it must be some kind of success if one of his 
opponents did lose a Pokémon.  Even if it was risking his chance of 
winning the whole match!"

"He really doesn't care if he wins this match or not!" Cassie thought to 
herself as she shot another glare at Marco.  "That's not why he's here!  
He's here for something else..."

Suddenly, Charizard roared and took to the sky once again, as he set his 
sights on picking out his next target.  He glanced at Umbreon, then at 
Absol, and then back at Umbreon again.

"Future Sight!" yelled Marco.

Ash froze in his tracks.  Having experienced the attack firsthand back in 
the preliminaries, he knew Charizard was in danger.  Especially if he was 
about to try a high-risk maneuver.  Trying to counter, he went for an 
attack that was low-key.

"Charizard... use Slash on Absol!"

As Absol employed Future Sight, Charizard dive bombed towards Absol.  Gary 
and Umbreon took a wait-and-see approach, while Cassie recalled Espeon 
and fumbled around for her third and final Pokéball.

"Folks, with this unbelievable battle, who knows what'll happen next?" 
egged the announcer, adding to the tension everyone in the crowd had as 
Charizard descended upon Absol.

"GROOOOOAAARRR!" roared Charizard, bringing his right arm back in 
an anticipation.

"Absol... dodge!" shouted Marco.

At the last possible moment, Absol dodged, resulting in Charizard's claws 
coming down and slicing apart a large rock that had been behind Absol.

"What?" Ash yelled in surprise.

After the successful dodge, Absol quickly leapt back into the fray, 
jumping in and biting Charizard in the left wrist.  Absol's fangs were in 
pretty deep, and Charizard bellowed out in pain.

"We won't be able to take down that Absol without help!" exclaimed Gary.  
"Umbreon, let's get to it!  Use Confuse Ray!"

Umbreon nodded as his eyes glowed bright yellow as he gazed at Absol.  
The silver colored Pokémon immediately loosened his grip on Charizard, and 
the fire lizard responded by hastily casting Absol aside... and into 
a nearby rock.  A large crack appeared on the rock as Absol yelped.

Suddenly, one of the referees turned his attention away from the action 
and pointed his red flag directly as Cassie.  He then made a 'come on' 
motion, moving the flag towards him, or, as the actual intent may be, to 
the battlefield.  With the audience somewhat confused, the announcer 
filled in what was happening.

"Apparently, Cassie Banks has yet to call out her third Pokémon, and one 
of the judges has given her the 15-second warning!  If she doesn't call 
it out before then, she will be disqualified!"

What was even more surprising was that Cassie had her Pokéball in hand, 
ready to throw it in... but she was just standing there, smiling.  For 
some reason, that act actually brought Marco to fire some words in her 
direction.

"What are you, deaf?  Throw your Pokémon in there, you dumb broad!"

But Cassie ignored him.  Ash seemed perplexed by the act...

"Why does she not want to battle anymore?"

While his Charizard charged towards Absol, apparently having called in 
his own 'next move.'  Gary had noticed Cassie's hesitation too, but was 
too focused on also getting Absol out to notice.

"Quick Attack!" he called out to Umbreon.

Umbreon ran towards Absol as fast as he could, while out of the corner of 
his eye he spot Charizard getting ready for another attempt at Slash.  
He also noted that the fire lizard was going to get to Absol first.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" Ash said, suddenly aware of what was going on.  
"Charizard, switch to Flamethrower!"

Gary gasped.  "Ash, no!"

Charizard stopped flying instantly and searched in his belly for the 
energy needed to perform Flamethrower.  The lapse in time put Umbreon in 
position to attack first.

But Absol, this time without a command from Marco, dodged the attempted 
attack.

"Three... two... one..." the judge counted down.

"Ivysaur, Razor Leaf!" Cassie suddenly yelled as she finally tossed her 
third Pokéball onto the field.

"Ivy... SAUR!" the grass-type exclaimed as it emerged and immediately 
fired Razor Leaf at Absol.

Absol saw Razor Leaf coming and was about to attempt a dodge of it as 
well.  Unfortunately, he had forgotten about Umbreon, who hit him hard 
from the side.

"Umbreon, get out of there NOW!" cried Gary.

But it was too late.  At that exact point, Charizard fired Flamethrower.  
The fast-moving mass of flames went to where Absol and Umbreon were.  
As the Flamethrower was about to connect, it met with the Razor Leaf 
from Ivysaur.  As a result of the collision of the two attacks, Absol 
and Umbreon were surrounded by a spinning wall of flames, with the 
leaves spinning around and about the duo within the fire, though they 
were disintegrating as they did.

The audience watched intently as the fate of Absol and Umbreon were 
unknown, hidden behind the spinning tunnel of flame.  Suddenly, a loud 
noise was heard, followed by the sound of a Pokémon screeching.  Nobody 
knew which Pokémon it was coming from... until one of the trainers 
suddenly burst out, aghast.

"Umbreon!"

Ash turned to look at Gary, who looked to be in some pain of his own as 
the flame wall dissipated.  And sure enough, Absol jumped out without too 
much damage on him.  Umbreon, though, had fainted.

"Leech Seed, followed up by Vine Whip!"

Despite Umbreon's apparent state, Cassie proceeded to have Ivysaur continue 
to battle with Absol.  Charizard, meanwhile, seemed a bit angered that the 
Pokémon he had fired at was still standing.

Ivysaur leeched Absol, then quickly wrapped him up.  As he struggled to 
break free, one of the officials braved the battle conditions to check up 
on the unconscious Umbreon, caught in the middle of the field.

And right in the midst of Charizard's flight pattern towards Absol.

"Charizard, look out!" Ash yelled.

The official dove for the dirt, ducking down just in time to avoid getting 
clocked by Charizard.

"Good going, Charizard!  Now, use Fire Spin!"

Charizard roared with approval, then launched his Fire Spin Attack.

"That Absol's not getting out of the way this time!" Ash thought.

Cassie smiled as Ivysaur was keeping Absol tied up and unable to move.

"Heh," she secretly chuckled.  "Baiting for time worked!  I waited for the 
absolute last second to call Ivysaur, making Absol forget about us!  By 
taking advantage of situations thanks to Ash and Gary, he doesn't 
realize how much of a threat me and my Ivysaur are!"

Too focused on how much of an advantage she had over Marco and Absol, she 
hadn't noticed the disadvantage she and Ivysaur were to Ash and his 
Charizard's Fire Spin attack.  Though it performed the desired effect and 
ensnared Absol, it also put Ivysaur's vines aflame.  Ivysaur quickly 
pulled them out and started running around comically, raising a ruckus as 
it frantically tried to put herself out.

"Aye, what the... Ivysaur, stop, drop, and roll!"

As Ivysaur followed her master's commands and, indeed, did stop, drop, and 
roll, the official had finally rendered a verdict on Umbreon's status.

"Umbreon has been knocked out of this match!"

By that point, Gary, who was upset over what had happened to his Pokémon, 
quickly recalled Umbreon and then turned to the source of his anguish... 
Ash.

"Thanks a lot!" he remarked sarcastically.  "Thanks to you, I've only got 
one Pokémon left!"

"Me?" Ash shot back.  "How is it my fault?"

"If you had better control of your Charizard, that Absol would've been 
out instead of my Umbreon!  Learn how to be a good trainer instead of 
dragging the rest of us Pallet Town heroes down, you loser!"

"WHO YOU CALLING A LOSER?"

"THE LOSER IN FRONT OF ME, THAT'S WHO, LOSER!"

"It seems Ash and Gary are in a shouting match over there!" noted the 
announcer, as out of the corner of the shot the official scampers back 
to the safety of the sidelines.

"Don't they know this isn't the time?" Misty wondered out loud, sighing.

"Ash!" Brock yelled.  "Forget about Gary!  Focus on Charizard!"

Brock's words rang true as Charizard, noticing that his trainer was 
'preoccupied' at the moment, he decided to once again take matters into 
his own hands.  Getting enough energy in his wings to make them glow, 
he then flew towards the ring of fire, and the Absol entrapped inside.

Meanwhile, Cassie noticed that Ivysaur's vines had indeed been singed, 
and that she was taking on burn damage.  Thankfully, it was being negated 
thanks to Leech Seed, which was sapping HP from Absol.  But Cassie knew 
the seed would burn out before Ivysaur's burnt condition went away.  
She had to make a move.

And apparently, Marco smiled next to her, ready to make one too.

"Ivysaur, Sunny..."

"It's time," Marco interrupted, as Cassie huffed at being cut off again.

Inside the cylindrical wall of fire, Absol nodded.  Outside, Charizard 
roared once more, grabbing everyone's attention, including Ash and Gary's, 
as he flew towards the outer wall face, in the vicinity of where he 
believed Absol was.

But to his surprise, Absol was no longer in the ring of fire.  Charizard 
flew through it, stumped.  And then he looked up, where Absol's horn was 
glowing, the dark-type glaring.

"How the..." wondered Ash.

"He used Future Sight, remember?" Gary reminded harshly.

"Now, Absol, use..."

"No, you don't!" jumped in Cassie, this time doing the cutting off.  
"Ivysaur, Sunny Day!"

"Bah, that won't do anything!  Absol, Razor Wind!"

Absol fired two flashing horns of energy, which both hit Charizard square 
in the noggin.  Charizard fell to the ground, nearly shattering the field 
dirt beneath his back.

"Charizard!"

Gary snickered.  "Here's my chance..."

Gary pulled out the Pokéball containing Arcanine, and called it back out.

"Arcanine, Agility!"

Arcanine quickly increased his speed as he charged into battle.  As he 
did, the few clouds that were in the air disappeared as the sun shone 
brightly overhead.  Absol had just landed on the ground, Charizard was 
loudly disapproving of Absol's sneak attack, and Ivysaur was... smiling?

Yes, smiling, and energy particles seemed to start gathering around the 
bulb on her back.  Her trainer happened to be smiling gleefully as well.

"Time to play knockout!"

======

Meanwhile, at the Celadon City gym...

"And that's how a group of Pikachu saved the world from the Invaders of 
1969!"

A group of young boys and girls clapped in applause as the gym leader, 
Erika, closed the storybook she had been reading to them.  Over in the 
far corner, their parents watched as their children got off of the 
ground and started running towards them.

"Remember, next Sunday is BYOB... bring your own book!"

Erika waved goodbye to children, who happily waved back.  She watched as 
two of her assistants help guide the guests out of the gym.  Erika then 
started walking back to the lounge room, where three more assistants were 
all huddled around the gym's 16" television.

"Why are you guys so close?" she wondered out loud, grabbing their 
attention.

"We're watching the Pokémon Junior Master finals!" one of the girls 
responded.

"That still doesn't answer my question," Erika replied, shaking her head 
as she walked on over to check it out as well.  "And why don't you turn 
up the sound?  I can't hear anything!"

"Well, we were afraid we'd disturb your weekly storybook reading time!"

Erika reached into a drawer and pulled out the TV's remote control.  She 
then proceeded to turn the volume up.  As she did, the commentators' 
voice got louder and louder.

"...having just called Sunny Day, Cassie sees her Ivysaur gathering some 
sort of energy from the bright sun."

"Say, why didn't you send anyone to that tournament?"

Erika shrugged her shoulders.  "It kinda came up on me.  I didn't have 
anyone I could send."

They turned their attention back to the screen, as the action continued...

======

"Okay Arcanine, time to use Flamethrower..."

Gary stopped for a second before declaring his target to Arcanine.

"On Charizard!"

Arcanine used Flamethrower, which not only hit, but easily drew the 
attention of the enraged Charizard.

"Oh yeah?" Ash yelled, enraged as well.  "Charizard, fight back with your 
own Flamethrower!"

Charizard used Flamethrower on Arcanine, which proved just as effective.  
The two fire-types continued to exchange Flamethrowers, each one 
unwilling to back down.

"It looks like the battle has degenerated into a free-for-all once 
again!" observed the announcer.

"No matter," Cassie said, unworried.  "I'm not focused on them anyhow!  
Like I said before... it's time to play knockout!"

Next to him, Marco suddenly gasped.  He had just realized something 
horrible as he stared at Absol, panting heavily in the middle of the 
field.

"Crap!" he muttered under his own breath.  "Absol's very weak!  If that 
girl's about to call out what I think she is, it's over!  And I'm sure 
Absol doesn't have the energy to dodge!  What do I do now?"

"The energy's all here!" Cassie screamed in pompous joyful glee.  
"Ivysaur, KNOCKOUT TIME!"

Suddenly, the energy that had slowly been gathering around Ivysaur's 
bulb was now changing into a controlled state, as if it were about to be 
fired.  Which was exactly what was happening.

"SOLAR BEAM!"

"SAAAAAAAUUUUUUURRRRRRR!"

The energy beam of concentrated sunlight fired at Absol.  Cassie could 
already tell that it was moving too fast for Absol to dodge.  With no 
other protective measures in place, Cassie knew this was going to be it.

"Oh no, not again..." Marco sputtered before fainting.

"Wha?" Ash, Gary, and Cassie screamed in surprise.

On the field, Absol began to glow a strange color of red.  The solar beam 
looked as if it was going to hit its market, and then... it suddenly was 
stopped by a shield of some sort that was blocking its way.

"That's Light Screen!" Cassie gasped.  "But can an Absol use that?"

Charizard and Arcanine ceased fighting and noticed the fight Absol was 
putting up.  As well as the strange color Absol was glowing.

"I've never seen an Absol glow red before..." Gary noted.

"Wait!" Ash objected.  "Why does this scene feel familiar?"

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Misty and Brock asked each other 
simultaneously.

"Are you two gonna fill us in?" wondered Cissy.

"Do you know what's going on?" added Morty.

======

Misty and Brock weren't the only gym leaders who knew what was up...

"That... that's it!"

The three gym assistants were taken aback when they spotted the shocked 
look on Erika's face.  She was pointing at the TV, right at Absol and 
then, as the screen changed to look at his trainer, Marco.

"That... is... it!"

======

November 18th, a year and a half ago... Erika was seen sitting at a 
table at a fast food joint in Celadon, and across the table from her was 
Misty, who at the time was on her Kanto Badge journey.

And she seemed to be telling her about a familiar legend...

"Team Rocket is after a group of kids... kids who may possess the power of 
being the greatest in their particular field of Pokémon."

"So who are these kids?" Misty asked.  "Do I know any of them?"

"Believe it or not, one of them is sitting right here at this table."

Misty gasped, stunned over the revelation.  "Me?  But why me?"

Erika shook her head.  "I don’t know.  All I know is that I received this 
anonymous letter which mentioned five kids, and it mentioned that the 
first kid has a good head on her shoulders."

======

A month and half ago, the Celadon City Public Library...

"I'll need to borrow one of your private reading rooms and get a list of 
all of the books you have on 'Ancient Pokémon Legends.'"

"But... that's over a few thousand books," Bridget, the frantic librarian, 
stated.  "And that's just counting the fiction half of the library!  Are 
you sure you don’t just want to take a couple back to the gym at a time?"

The gym leader shook her head in disagreement.  "No... I need peace and 
quiet and loads of time.  I'm trying to figure out this puzzling query of a 
mystery that's stumbled into my lap."

======

"So..." Erika said coldly.  "The second has been revealed!"

"Uh..." the three assistants said, confused about what she was referring 
to.

======

"Erika told me about this legend of five kids," Misty told Cissy and Morty.  
"Five kids with extraordinary powers.  Their identities are unknown, but 
the legend goes that they will be the greatest in their field."

"I'm not following you any," Cissy told them.

"Marco's one of those kids!" Brock exclaimed, pointing at the kid who had 
fainted on the field and was now being checked out by one of the officials.  
"Somehow, the soul of a trainer is temporarily absorbed by his or her 
Pokémon, and said Pokémon gets amazing powers!"

"How do you guys know about all of this?" interrogated Morty.

"Well..." Misty hesitated.

======

July 8th, one year ago, Viridian City Gym...

Pikachu and Golduck suddenly perked up.  They glared at their trainers 
strangely.  Meanwhile, Vulpix escaped from her Pokéball, and she followed 
suit for her trainer, Brock.

"What is this?" screeched the irate Giovanni, Viridian's gym leader.  "Call 
back your Pokémon!"

"Pikachu, what are you doing?" asked Ash.

Brock did likewise.  "Vulpix, why are you out here?"

"Golduck, why are you staring at me?" she asked, exchanging glares with 
him.

Ash, Misty, and Brock suddenly fainted on the spot, to the surprise of the 
rest of their traveling posse.  Giselle, Todd, and Mikey ran over to check 
up on them, but they found themselves turning their attention towards the 
battlefield, where a superpowered team consisting of Pikachu, Golduck, and 
Vulpix were taking down Speartrio, a cross between a Spearow and a Dugtrio.

"What's going on?" wondered the usually know-it-all, Giselle.

"It's like the Pokémon have the mind of their own," observed Todd.

"This is so weird!" exclaimed Mikey in awe.

"How can this be?" the shocked gym leader said in shock.

The three Pokémon glowed strange colors: Pikachu black, Golduck cerulean 
blue, and Vulpix brown.  They then proceed to perform a triple threat 
attack.

The trio cried out, in human language, "Hydro-thunder flame blast attack!"

A beam made out of electricity, water, and fire launched from the three 
Pokémon, easily knocking out the crossbred Speartrio.

======

Cissy started freaking out.  "You mean... the Viridian City Gym collapse... 
that was all you guys?"

"I would've never guessed," stated a much calmer Morty.  "So... why 
haven't you gotten that checked by some sort of professional?"

"Because we still don't quite understand it," Misty stated.  "That, and 
it hasn't happened since then.  That is, until now..."

Brock nodded.  "So, that's at least four of the five.  Interesting... we 
might want to keep an eye on him.  Team Rocket could go after him, like 
they did us!"

"But he's not exactly friendly with us!  And, who's to say they haven't 
already got him working for them?"

Down on the field, it had finally come back to Ash as well.  But he had
no time to relive the moment himself, as Absol suddenly went into attack 
mode, heading right for Ivysaur.

"Wait... is he allowed to do that?" Cassie asked as she glanced at the 
official that's examining Marco.  "His trainer's not even awake!"

The official reached for one Marco's eyelids and lifted it up.  He then 
saw that, somehow, his eyeball was moving as if he were awake.

"Whoa!  Creepy!"

"This some kind of new meditation technique that I don't know about?"

But by drawing all of her attention towards Marco, Cassie was no longer 
paying any to Absol, who vaulted himself up and onto Ivysaur's back.  
Before she knew what hit her, Ivysaur was grabbed by the bulb by Absol's 
fangs and was being shaken as if she were a rag doll.

"SAAAAUUURRR!" it cried out in pain.

"Ivysaur!" shouted Cassie, powerless to do anything.

Absol then spun around twice before, using all of his strength, tossed 
her in Charizard's direction.  Charizard caught Ivysaur, but the force 
from the original throw pushed him all the way to the edge of the field.  
Charizard then glanced down at Ivysaur's face, only to see her passed 
out.  He shrugged, then placed her down on the ground.

Charizard then turned his attention towards Absol, ready to give a 
response to his overwhelming display of power.  But the red glow around 
Absol began to fade.  As it did, Cassie looked as if she was in disbelief.  
Not only did Absol take out her Ivysaur, but the Absol's trainer had done 
it all without seeing it at all.

Cassie was now out of the tournament, but she wasn't going down alone.

"The Pokémon attacked without an order from his trainer!" she claimed to 
the official who was watching Marco.  "It should be disqualified, as per 
the rule that all Pokémon must be under the complete control of his or 
her trainer!  And there's no way he had any control over that Absol!"

As Cassie debated a case for Marco and Absol being eliminated, the other 
official ran out to check on Ivysaur, who was clearly unconscious.  Ash 
and Gary looked dumbfounded at the display, and apparently, Charizard 
and Arcanine felt the same way.

"It's gotta be... but how... how did a jerk like him..." Ash mumbled, 
clenching his fist.

"What are you blabbering about now?" queried Gary.  "I'm intrigued to 
see how he pulled that off.  Look at Cass over there... jealous because 
she got outplayed."

"Gary... this isn't what you think it is."

"So, you're defending the ex-secret agent now?"

"That's not what I..."

"Ivysaur is unable to continue!" the examining official interrupted.  
"Cassie Banks has therefore been eliminated from the match!"

Marco slowly rose to his feet and was being questioned by the other 
official.  Cassie stewed in the background as she recalled Ivysaur 
and waited for her chance to get a few choice words in.

That wait lasted barely two seconds...

"Hey!  How did you control that Absol without even being conscious?"

"Excuse me, miss, but that's none of your concern!" shouted the official.

At that moment, Marco raised a hand to signal the official to step aside.  
He did, then Marco gave Cassie a reply to her question.

"I'm... psychic."

Cassie was flabbergasted.  "What?  Psychic?  As if!  I'm a psychic 
myself, and I spent two weeks training under Sabrina, the Saffron City 
gym leader!  I know a psychic when I see one, you faker!"

The official, though, believed otherwise.  "Since using psychic powers 
is admissible as long as he is only suggesting to Absol what moves to 
make and not actually taking possession of Absol, Marco and Absol will 
therefore remain in the match!"

"A strange decision made by the field judge," stated the announcer, "but, 
according to the rules, he is correct!  And with no proof to show Marco's 
actions were inadmissible, he will remain in the match!"

The crowd booed with displeasure over the call.

"What kind of rule is that?" Cassie yelled angrily as the aforementioned 
judge escorted her off the playing field and to a sideline bench.

"That wasn't psychic, that's for sure," Ash thought to himself.  "But I 
can't prove it.  I don't even know if I could explain what happen, much 
less get them to understand it."

"With that..." the other judge said, "the match will now resume!"

"Now with Cassie out of the way, the rest should be a cakewalk!" Gary 
said.  "First things first... Arcanine, Extremespeed on Charizard!"

With a super quick burst of speed, Arcanine slammed right into Charizard's 
gut.  The fire lizard bellowed very loudly before bumping his head into the 
side of the field and then falling flat on his face!  The crowd gasped in 
shock as Charizard had amazingly been knocked out!

"Charizard!" Ash cried out.

"Heh... looks like Charizard couldn't take the heat," quipped Gary.

"Absol, Razor Wind!" Marco suddenly called out.

Hearing the attack call, Gary quickly turned his attention back to the 
field and Arcanine.  The two projectile horns hit their mark, knocking 
Arcanine off his feet and out cold as well.

"No way!" Gary yelled.

The other judge ran in Arcanine's direction.  As he arrived by his side, 
the verdict on the other downed fire-type was revealed.

"Charizard is unable to battle!"

Seconds later, the second judge came to the same conclusion about 
Arcanine.

"Arcanine is also unable to battle!  Thus, Gary Oak has been eliminated 
from the tournament!"

"Just like that, two more Pokémon are down!" the announcer screamed.  
"And so it comes down to two trainers and two Pokémon!"

"Charizard, return!"

"You too, Arcanine!"

Once Arcanine had been withdrawn, Gary silently made his way down the 
stairs.

"Gary..." Ash tried to stop him.

"Don't," Gary said back.  "That was my fault for letting my guard down."

Gary then continued his 'walk of shame,' going to join the still 
distraught Cassie over on the bench.  With Gary gone, all that was left 
on Ash's side of the trainers' box was him and Pikachu, who had been 
resting the entire time, and for once, unaware of what had transpired.

"Pika pi?" he asked curiously of the match's outcome.

"It's not over yet, Pikachu," Ash told him, pointing across the field.  
"There's still one more left."

Ash was pointing at Marco, who was greeting Absol.  Absol was slowly 
making his way off the field, and he looked as if he had nothing left.

"Don't worry," Marco said to his Pokémon.  "I'll figure out a way to 
win.  No matter what it takes, buddy... we will WIN!"

"At this point, we will be taking a five-minute break in order to change 
the field once more," the announce told the crowd.  "We ask you to please 
be patient!  In the meantime, the officials will examine each of the 
remaining Pokémon to ensure that they can continue."

"That's so unfair!" cried Cissy.  "Having to make us wait to see how it 
all ends!"

"I bet Lance and the Elite Four are really enjoying this great battle," 
commented Morty.  "Looks like everyone's going to get their money's 
worth.  Their experiment surpassed all expectations.  I wouldn't be 
surprised if they decide to have these every year!"

"I agree," Brock nodded, "and you couldn't have picked two tougher 
trainers than Ash and that Marco guy."

"Why does it have to be Ash and him?" wondered Misty.  "Especially after 
that acts he's pulled.  And him being one of the 'legendaries?'"

"Something tells me the League officials are gonna be all over him after 
this match, win or lose."

"Maybe you guys should come clean too," suggested Morty.  "After all, 
don't you have the same powers?"

"Yeah, but it's not like we can call them out of the blue!" Misty shouted 
in defense.  "We don't even know if we CAN do them again!"

"Regardless," Brock said, rubbing his chin.  "Life's about to change... 
for all of us."

Down on the field, one of the officials was closely checking Pikachu's 
vital signs as Ash observed.   But it seemed apparent that the short 
rest he had gotten had managed to get him to recover some energy.  Not a 
lot... but maybe enough to survive one last fight.

"It's gonna come down to who has the strength left to stand up!" Ash 
said to Pikachu.  "You've been resting for about 20 or 25 minutes now, 
Pikachu.  That Absol's been fighting for almost that entire time!"

Ash then glanced across the field to the ailing Absol, who was also being 
checked out, and his trainer, Marco.

"Absol must be strong to be able to hang in there that long.  But there's 
no way he can have much left, if anything!  One shot might be all we 
need to win this thing!"

The official turned to Ash.  "Pikachu's exhausted, but he may be able to 
hold up for a few minutes more.  Are you still willing to continue?"

Ash nodded, clenching his fist.  "As long as Pikachu's willing to, we 
have to!  Especially since I don't expect Marco and Absol to just throw 
in the towel, either!"

The official gave a thumbs up signal to the crowd as he walked away from 
Ash and Pikachu.  Moments later, the other official followed suit after 
having completed his check-up of Absol.  Then, the Rock Field began to 
sink down into the ground, and everyone waited with baited breath to see 
what would replace it for the final one-on-one showdown.

On the sidelines, Gary and Cassie had their own commentary on the final 
match.

"Ash has got his work cut out for him, that's for sure," Gary said.

"I hope Ash wins just so I can see the look on Marco's face when he 
loses!" Cassie said, still bitter about how she had been taken out.

"The way the crowd's behind Ash, I bet they would all share the same 
sentiment."

With the trainers and their Pokémon ready, Ash and Pikachu engaged in a 
stare-down with Marco and Absol as the new field set in front of them.

"Looks like we're wrapping it up with the treacherous Ice Field!" stated 
the announcer.

"This is gonna be tricky," Brock thought aloud.

"Come on Ash and Pikachu!" Misty said worriedly.  "You've gotta win!"

Pikachu slowly made his way onto the field, while Absol did the same. 
Both treaded lightly, trying to get a feel for the slippery surface.  But 
any learning time they had been given had already expired, as the 
officials raised their flags to start the final showdown.

"Pikachu versus Absol... begin!" they shouted in unison.

"Let's make the first and last move!" Marco shouted, pointing at Ash and 
Pikachu.  "Absol, Future Sight!"

"Sol!" Absol cried, focusing on Pikachu straight ahead.

"I'll show you a first and last move!" Ash shot back.  "Pikachu, Thunder!"

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Marco smirked.  "Heh... not so fast there..."

The huge strike of thunder struck the spot just a few feet in front of 
Marco, blinding him.  But luckily, Absol had already long dodged the 
blast.  In fact... Absol was right behind Pikachu, leaping in with claws 
drawn.

"Pika?"

"Sol!"

"Wha?"

"Now Absol... finish it!"

Absol hit Pikachu head-on, knocking the electric mouse off of his feet and 
sliding all the way to the outer edge of the field.

"No way!" Gary shouted.

"Way," Cassie nodded as she analyzed the move.  "Remember, Future Sight 
predicts an opponent's move before he uses it and counters it.  Even if 
the predicted move is the first one called out!"

Absol made his way over to Pikachu, as to check on his condition.  Ash had 
to be concerned... what if Marco was going to order Absol to beat up even 
more on Pikachu.  The officials appeared to think likewise, as they both 
ran along the edge of the field in an attempt to assess the situation 
before things could get out of hand.

"C'mon Pikachu, get up!" Ash yelled as he tried to give his friend the 
strength to continue.

Absol and the officials got to Pikachu at the exact same time.  Right 
away, both sides could already tell in what condition Pikachu was in.

The electric Pokémon was out cold, swirly eyes and all.

"Pikachu has been knocked out!" one of the officials proclaimed.  
"Therefore, the match is over!  Your winners... Marco and Absol!"

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted, running onto the field and towards his unconscious 
best friend.

"Ash lost?" Misty and Brock exclaimed.  "No way!"

Absol turned towards his master and started trotting over there slowly.  
Marco ran over to meet his exhausted Pokémon halfway.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Marco shouted enthusiastically, proud of 
what his Absol had endured.  "I told you, we would win!"

"Absol!"

Marco knelt down and gave Absol a hug.  While he did so, he drowned out 
the crowd around him, most of them displeased that he had won given his 
dishonesty at times during the match.  Marco was instead focused on Ash, 
who had picked Pikachu off the ground and was cradling him like a baby.

"It's okay, Pikachu," consoled Ash.  "You gave it your all."

"Pika," Pikachu muttered weakly, exhausted.

"As much as I hate that Absol," Cassie stated, "that bugger's sure got a 
lot of endurance.  That, and it seemed that rest period did nothing for 
poor Pikachu."

"This Marco guy plays to win, that's for sure," Gary commented.  "I'm not 
sure I want to know what kind of training regimen he keeps that Absol on."

Marco recalled Absol, then made his way over to his opponent.  Ash growled 
as he noticed Marco approaching.  Sensing a confrontation, Gary jumped up 
from the bench and ran towards the stairs leading up to the battlefield.  
A little surprised by Gary's actions, Cassie had no choice but to follow.

"I guess I accomplished my goal for this tournament," sneered Marco.

"So?  What else do you want, anyway?  You won!"

"Exactly.  My goal here was to prove I wasn't just your 'equal,' Ash 
Ketchum.  It was to prove I'm the best of the chosen ones!"

"Chosen ones?" Gary asked, running up beside Ash.  "What's he blabbering 
on about?"

"What's with the stare-down?" wondered Cassie, also coming up behind them.  
"The match is over, you guys!"

"Looks like we're getting a couple of unwanted busybodies," Marco stated as 
he turned about and started walking away.  "Now that I've determined your 
strength, be warned, Ash!  Next time, I won't be holding back!"

"Holding back?"

Cassie gasped.  "You mean that wasn't his full power?"

"Stop being melodramatic!" objected Gary.  "He's just playing mind games.  
The guy thinks he's the toast of the town now that he's the first Pokémon 
Junior Master.  The power's going all to his head, the nutcase."

As Marco left the battlefield, still ignoring the boos and jeers of the 
crowd, Ash shot a cold, icy glare at his back.

"This isn't over," Ash said to himself.  "Not by a long shot..."

======

About thirty minutes later, Ash was sitting by himself at a table inside 
the Pokémon Center, deep in thought as he waited for Pikachu and the other 
Pokémon to be healed by Nurse Joy.  On a television about him, the award 
ceremony had just gotten underway.  President Goodshow was getting ready 
to officially announce Marco as the tournament winner.

"It is with great pleasure to award the title of Pokémon Junior Master to 
Marco Pereira, representing the Viridian City gym!"

President Goodshow seemed accepting of the declaration, even with the 
crowd at the stadium still showering boos and jeers.  Marco was still 
ignoring them, though, as he waved almost jubilantly at the crowd, happy 
to have survived the most unique tournament in Pokémon League history.

"What did he mean by that?" Ash wondered out loud.  "Why was he so 
focused on beating me?  And that he won't hold back 'next time?'"

"Those types of questions are better left to be discussed with your 
friends..."

Ash turned around and saw Cassie standing a few feet away.  She had been 
casually listening as she watched the ongoing events on the TV.

"Whom you should be with, you know.  Even if the guy's a jerk, you've 
gotta take the high road.  You should be there as a gesture of you being 
gracious in defeat."

"And why aren't you there?" Ash raised an eyebrow with suspicion.

"This isn't the type of tournament where you get recognized for being 
fourth, you know!  And like I said... the guy's a jerk.  He's not even 
worth booing at."

Cassie plopped down right next to Ash, breathing a deep sigh of relief as 
she could comfortably relax for the first time today.  They sat there 
for some time, awkwardly silently as they watched the events unfold.

"So..." Cassie spoke up, "what are you going to do now?"

"Why?  Are you going to follow me?"

"No, I... well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  You're still a bit 
suspicious of me, aren't you?"

Ash didn't respond, but Cassie took that as an affirmative.

"I don't blame you for feeling the way you do, Ash.  I'd probably feel the 
same way if I was in your shoes."

"I'm not sure I believe you."

Cassie sighed.  "I guess it's going to take a lot more to earn your trust 
this time around compared to the last time."

"You and your organization have done a lot of things... some that have 
changed the lives of myself and all my friends.  In ways none of us ever 
dreamed of... or wished upon us.  You've made enemies out of people that 
trusted you."

"I know, and I'm really sorry!  I never realized just how much what we 
were doing was wrong until it was too late.  You have to understand... if 
I knew everything I did wasn't for the greater good of Pokémon and Pokémon 
trainers alike... I wouldn't have become part of the PTA in the first 
place."

Cassie fumbled around in her pocket for something.  After a few seconds, 
she produced a notepad and a pen.  Ash watched with interest as she 
scribbled something onto it.

"What are you..."

Cassie ripped the top piece off and handed it to Ash.  Confused, the 
young trainer read the words on it aloud.

"10 East Perimeter Drive, Poli Town, Kanto Region."

Cassie nodded.  "Yep!  That's my home address!"

"Your home... why would you give me that?"

"Well, I kinda figured..." Cassie said, calmly brushing her hair.  "If 
you got to meet my parents and see where I grew up, maybe then you would 
all realize what I'm really like.  Maybe then you'll all understand that 
I really wanna get off to a fresh start."

"You want me to meet your parents?"

"I want all of you!  You, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock!  Gary too, if you can 
get that sourpuss to tag along."

"I don't know..."

"I understand.  You guys don't have to drop by if you don't want to.  It's 
totally up to you.  But my offer still stands.  I want you to come see my 
house.  You can visit anytime of the day, any day of the week!  We'll 
welcome you as if you're family!"

"Gee... that's very nice of you, Cassie."

Cassie then got up and started heading for the door.

"Hey... don't you wanna tell the others about your offer yourself?"

"I'll leave that up to you!" she said, stopping and glancing at Ash once 
more.  "I don't want to be around to influence you guys to come.  If you 
guys drop by my hometown, it's because you want to, not because I want 
you to.  Besides... I bet it'll be more fun hearing about you trying to 
explain all of this to them."

Ash blinked his eyes, not exactly knowing what to make of what Cassie had 
just said.

"Tell them I said goodbye to them!  And tell that schlub Gary that he 
still owes me a formal rematch!"

Cassie waved farewell as she walked out of the Pokémon Center.  Ash was 
still a bit stumped about what had just transpired.  All he knew is that 
he had a piece of notepad paper in his hand, and it had Cassie's address 
on it.

======

Elsewhere in Evergrande City, the Elite Four was secretly meeting in a 
hotel room.  A meeting regarding the outcome of the tournament.

"So it turns out Erika wasn't making things up after all," stated Agatha.

"That means these 'legendaries' she was researching may actually exist," 
Lance concluded.  "The problem is... we don't know how many of them 
actually exist.  Or how to find them."

"Unless the trainers go all fainty and their Pokémon suddenly fight with 
renewed vigor," commented Bruno.  "I mean, seriously, how are we gonna 
keep track of thousands and thousands of trainers?  This is ridiculous!  
It's a wild goose chase!"

"They'll reveal themselves soon," Lorelei stated coolly.

"What are you, able to see the future now?" quipped Agatha.  "That's my 
job, dearie!"

"Nevertheless, we need to keep an eye on the one we're sure of until we 
know what we're up against," Lance told his companions.  "We have to 
put him in some kind of role that allows us to monitor him 24/7."

"Well, the duties of a Pokémon Junior Master weren't exactly set in 
stone.  We could easily convince young Marco to partake of a job in the 
League that keeps him close to the Indigo Plateau."

"Then make it so.  I don't know what kind of powers these 'legendaries' 
are said to have... or what they might come to have.  We have to make sure 
they don't fall into the wrong hands."

======

That night, Evergrande City was alive with the sound of music, as trainers 
and spectators alike took part in an end-of-tournament festival.  There 
was food and fun for all, and our heroes were taking the time to take in 
all the sights and sounds.

"This is awesome!" Misty exclaimed, holding onto a Teddiursa plush doll 
that she had won in a game.

"Leave it to the Pokémon League to spare no expense when it comes to 
throwing a big tournament," Brock stated matter-of-factly.

"Pi pikachu!" chirped Pikachu, who was enjoying some cotton candy.

The trio then turned to look at Ash, who seemed a little bit despondent, 
even with the hot dog he was holding with one hand.

"Ash, is something wrong?" Misty asked.

"Huh?" he replied.  "Oh, sorry... I guess I have a lot on my mind."

"You're still sore about losing to Marco, aren't you?"

"Yeah... but it's more than that!  Marco having similar powers like those 
we had in Viridian City.  Gary suddenly bolting for the airport without 
so much as a goodbye.  And then Cassie..."

Ash reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumbled piece of paper.  
The piece of paper that had Cassie's home address on it.

"It's an address!" gasped Misty.

"Is it her address?" wondered Brock.

Ash nodded.  "Apparently, she's still trying to make amends for what 
she did, so she wants us to go to her hometown and meet her parents."

"She wants us to meet her family?  Why would she want us to do that?"

"I don't know, Mist... but she seemed generally sincere about it all.  
Like she really wanted us to trust her again."

"Hmmm..." Brock hummed out loud.  "And you're not sure if we should 
willingly accept her back into our 'fold,' so to speak?"

"Pretty much.  I mean, she never proved that she left the PTA.  She 
could honestly be lying to us."

"So why didn't you confront her about it?  If you have doubts, why not 
make her prove that she's telling the truth?  I mean... I've never 
trusted her all that much to begin with.  After all, she did spend all 
that time with you, doing who-knows-what."

Ash raised an eyebrow angrily.  "She never thought of me that way!"

"And how do you know that, Ash Ketchum?"

Brock quickly stepped in to break the two up.  "Hey, hey, let's not be 
hasty!  It's not like we know for sure what she thought of Ash.  I mean, 
he never asked her, did he?"

"Well..." relented Misty.  "Okay, fine.  But still... Ash, how do you 
expect to know if a person's trustworthy if you don't ask them any 
questions!"

"Because I'm not used to it.  I'm used to judging people on looks first, 
and then what they do."

Misty sighed and shook her head.  "One of these days, you're really going 
to find yourself on the wrong side with that mantra."

"So... are you going to go to Poli Town?" Brock asked Ash.

"I don't know.  I haven't decided yet.  After all, she said we could drop 
in whenever we wanted."

"You'd better decide soon," chided Misty.  "You know it's bad manners to 
keep a girl waiting!"

"Fine, fine... after I get home to Pallet Town, I'll plan a day trip to 
Poli Town.  That is... if you guys want to come along with me."

Brock thought about it for a second, then replied.  "Well, I don't mind 
taking a day off from the gym.  I'm in!"

"In that case," Misty said, "I guess Daisy and the others could handle 
the gym for one day... okay, I'll come too!"

"And I know you're coming..." Ash smiled as he looked at Pikachu.  "Right?"

"Pikachu!"

"So we'll go home in the morning, check our schedules, and pencil in a 
visit to Poli Town on a free day!  Then I'll finally get to see what this 
Cassie girl is really like!"

"We'll all get to see, Misty.  We all will.  But for now... a little..."

Out of the blue, Ash grabbed the plush doll from a surprised Misty and 
started running away.

"Betcha can't catch me!"

Misty growled and stomped her foot.  "Give me back my Teddiursa, Ash 
Ketchum!"

Misty then ran off after Ash, both of them screaming back and forth as 
they chased each other all around the festival grounds.

"No matter how much time we've spent apart recently," noted Brock, "it 
always seems that when we get back together, it's as if we pick up right 
where we left off."

"Pika pika," sighed Pikachu, sweatdropping.

======

Seventeen days have passed since our heroes left Evergrande City.  Since 
then, they've returned to their hometowns to resume their normal lives.

Brock and Misty have taken up their roles as gym leaders once again.  
While Brock balanced helping keep his family under control with his 
tendency to flirt with every girl that passed him by, Misty did her best 
to stomach her sisters' sometimes stubborn water ballets while tackling 
some of the more advanced problems of being a relatively new gym leader.

Meanwhile, Ash and Pikachu were back in Pallet Town, training for 
whatever challenge the wind might blow their way next.  All the while, 
between discussing new Pokémon training techniques from his father, 
Professor Oak, and learning how to better take care of himself on the 
road from his mother, Delia, Ash was kept pretty busy.  Not just 
physically, but mentally as well.

The thought of losing to Marco at the Pokémon Junior Master Tournament, 
as well as the events of that final match, weighed heavily on him.  
There was still much he didn't know about what had happened to Marco on 
that day.  Or the similar incident at the Viridian City gym back when 
Misty was trying to earn her eighth badge.  What was up with this 
strange ability of theirs?  Will they ever figure out where it came 
from?  And how would they call upon it if they ever needed it?

Since it seemed to be Pokémon-related, Ash figured that maybe Professor 
Oak would know what was going on...

======

"Hmmm..." Professor Oak said as he typed away at his computer, Ash and 
Pikachu standing behind him.  "I'm surprised you didn't tell me about 
this earlier when it actually happened."

"Well, dad, to tell you the truth... we didn't know what to think of it.  
Even back then when I was home right after the incident, back when 
Giselle made me help her train for the Novice Tournament.  But I guess 
that's because she always kept me so busy."

Professor Oak laughed nervously.  "You weren't the only one.  Remember 
how many times she applauded my work and hounded me for battle and 
raising tips?"

"Not to mention how much she loved to praise her skills."

"And herself.  In front of you.  A lot."

Ash tried to remember that part... since Misty had pretty much made him 
erase it from memory after he told her about it.

======

"Well, well, well... I thought I'd find you here!"

Ash, in the midst of feeding Pikachu and the rest of his Pokémon, 
turned about and saw a smiling Giselle standing before him.

"What do you want now?" he said, irritated.

"Excuse me?  What kind of attitude is that for a host to address his 
guest with?  You're supposed to cater to my every whim and request!"

"Since when..." Ash mumbled under his breath.

"Aww, don't be like that!  Don't you know worrying about others causes 
wrinkles?"

"What can I help you with today, Giselle?" Ash uttered in the nicest 
tone he could manage at the time.  "I have work to do for my dad."

"Well, to be frank, I'm actually about to head home for Celadon City."

"Really?" Ash suddenly brightened up.

"Why, yes!  Apparently, there's a few things I have to pick up at home 
before I travel up with you guys to Indigo."

"With a week to go before we have to leave," Ash said, turning Giselle 
around and starting to push her off of the preserve grounds, "I guess 
you'd better go now so you have enough time to get there and back!"

"But it's not like I really need to..."

"Nonsense!  You need to go back, go back!  See ya in a week!"

"But there's so much I want to ask Professor Oak..."

"You've asked him so much, you ought to be as smart as he is by now!"

"You know, there's so much I can still teach you..."

"I can manage without you!"

"But..."

"No buts..."

"Hey!"

"No heys either..."

"Hasn't the last few weeks meant anything to us?"

"Yeah.  It makes me wish I never agreed to bring you here!"

"Fine then!" Giselle exclaimed, finally deciding to hold her ground and 
stop Ash from pushing her an inch further.  "If you're going to be that 
way... but just remember, I won't forget you!  Or this!  All of this!  
I'll make sure you never forget any of it and then some!"

"Yeah yeah," Ash said, practically ignoring her at this point.

Giselle walked off, presumably heading for the town's outskirts.  As she 
disappeared from sight, Professor Oak walked up behind him.

"Giselle finally left, huh?

"Good riddance," Ash said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Rather thirsty for knowledge that girl is.  And apparently that wasn't 
the only thing she was thirsting after..."

Professor Oak shot a sly glance at Ash.  Ash reacted... well, like Ash.

"I don't get it.  But, whatever... I just hope I never see her face 
again..."

======

"Is... this what she looks like?"

Ash popped out of his dream after being greeted with the sight of a 
sketchbook in his face.  A sketchbook opened to a just-drawn picture of 
Giselle.  A surprisingly near-accurate picture, to Ash's surprise.

"I'm guessing I did pretty well, considering the look on your face," 
watched Tracey, who pulled the sketchbook down to reveal himself.

"Pika?" Pikachu gasped in amazement.

"When did you...?  And how did...?  And you met...?" Ash mumbled 
incoherently, buried with many thoughtful questions.

"Pretty good likeness," noted Professor Oak, glancing over the drawing.  
"Especially considering you've never met her."

"Wha?" Ash freaked out.  "What'd you do, pick out her image from my 
flashback?"

"No, silly, I got it from this photo!" Tracey replied, holding up said 
4-by-6 framed picture with Ash and Giselle in it.  Well, mostly Giselle, 
as she looked as if she was using her body to block most of Ash in the 
shot.

"Where'd you find this?  Even Misty doesn't know about this!"

"I found it in Professor Oak's desk while I was cleaning yesterday.  He 
told me the story about your relationship with her, and I thought she 
looked so gorgeous that I just had to make a sketch of her!"

Professor Oak blushed.  "I've been kinda keeping that picture... I mean, 
it was the first ever photo taken of you that wasn't at your mom and 
mine's wedding.  I wanted to keep it for the photo album, but haven't 
had time to take it out of the picture frame."

"But do you know what Misty will do to me if she finds that photo?"

Ash's dad winked.  "Don't worry... Delia and I have sworn to secrecy.  
Besides... we wouldn't want to ruin the special thing you and Misty have."

"Besides," Tracey added, "the Professor told me he's not keeping it as 
well-hidden for another reason."

Suddenly, Professor Oak's computer started to chime.  Ash watched with 
interest as he trotted over to see what was going on.

"That would be the reason," Tracey said, grabbing Ash by the arm and 
tugging him over to the computer.

They got over there just as Professor Oak started typing away.  The 
beeping they had just heard was a signal that there was a new message in 
his inbox.  Ash gasped in surprise as he saw that it was from Giselle!

"Giselle?  She's sending messages?"

"Like clockwork," Tracey answered.  "One every day."

"Let's see what she wants to know today," Professor Oak sighed, typing 
to open the message.

Ash and Tracey waited patiently as the professor accessed Giselle's 
message.

"Hmmm..." he said, reading the e-mail aloud.  "Apparently today, she 
wants to know the best way to approach a battle with a Jynx if she's 
using her Marowak."

"But didn't she graduate from Pokémon Tech?" Ash asked.  "Shouldn't 
she be able to figure that out by herself?"

Professor Oak shrugged his shoulders.  "Apparently not."

"And here I thought the girl was supposed to be a tactical genius!" 
Tracey exclaimed.

"Hmmm..." Professor Oak thought out loud.  "I'm not sure, but for some 
reason I feel she's sending all of these messages just for a chance 
to talk to Ash."

"So basically," Tracey deduced, "she'll probably stop if Ash actually 
responds to one of her messages."

Professor Oak and Tracey then both turned to Ash... who seemed to be 
confused as to why they were indeed looking at him.

And then he got it...

"Oh, so you want me to answer it?  Okay..."

The professor got up from his seat and Ash took his place in front of 
the monitor.  He sat there, trying to think about how to respond to 
the message.

"Uh..." he uttered, "any ideas on how to respond?"

"Just respond like you normally would," his dad told him.  "After all, 
she's asking you for your advice."

"Okay then," Ash nodded.

Ash quickly produced a reply and sent it off.  Professor Oak was a 
bit disappointed in what Ash had sent off, while Tracey seemed to be 
in plain disbelief.

"When I said 'respond like you normally would,' I didn't mean tell 
her something simplistic like 'use your most powerful attack over 
and over again!'"

"Well," Tracey sweatdropped, "maybe at least this way she'll know it's 
not Professor Oak replying to her this time."

"She usually doesn't fire a response back, so..."

"If she sends something back, then she knows it's me, and then maybe 
she'll stop sending you e-mails, Professor!"

Ash, Tracey, and Professor Oak waited for a few minutes to see if 
Giselle would indeed catch on to their ploy.  But after more than half 
an hour, there was still no response at all.

"Guess it didn't work," figured Ash.

"Maybe she's not as smart as I've been led to believe," cried Tracey.  
"Maybe she isn't the one!"

"How was she ever the one if you've never even met her?"

Professor Oak then coughed loudly, in order to bring the matters about 
Giselle to a halt for now.  They had a more present issue to take care 
of, anyhow.

"Anyway, back to your predicament, Ash," said the professor.  "I think it 
would be best if I run some tests.  I may have to check out Pikachu too."

"Okay... I'll do anything to figure out what's going on," Ash agreed.

"Pi pikachu!"

"First, we'll need a full body scan for the both of you.  Tracey, prep 
the machine!"

"Yes, sir!" Tracey said, running off.

"Ash, I need you to take off everything except your boxers."

======

A few minutes later, Ash was standing in nothing but his boxers, inside a 
glass cylindrical tube, with a laser panning up and down his body really 
slowly.  His face was flush red with embarrassment, as both Professor Oak 
and Tracey were just silently watching him.  Pikachu, as well.

"Uh... could you guys not stare so intently?"

After they were done with Ash, he rushed out to put his clothes back on 
while Pikachu stepped inside for his scan.

"Pika!" he said, flashing a 'V' sign to indicate he was ready.

Later on, Ash and Pikachu were seen recounting the story behind what 
happened for the computer to have a record of.  Professor Oak then gave 
each of them a basic physical exam, including testing all of their 
senses and checking all their measurements.

======

After all that was done...

"Okay, we're done!" the professor announced.

"So what are the results?" Ash wondered.

"Well, if this so-called phenomenon you and the others had happened to 
you, then none of my tests show any proof of it.  Oh, and Pikachu's fat!"

"What?  No way!"

"Pika?  Pi pika, pikachu!"

"So that means..." started Tracey.

"That we need to put Pikachu on a strict low-fat diet!"

"What about our powers?" yelled Ash.

"Well... to tell you the truth, I don't know.  I mean, if it's the same 
as what happened to that kid at the tournament..."

"The one we saw on TV?" Tracey said, finishing his thought.

"Yes.  If it's the same power or illness or whatever, then it has to 
exist, that's for sure.  Finding proof of that is another matter."

"Yeah," Ash said sadly.  "And I said none of us have been able to activate 
those strange powers since, whether we wanted to or not."

"Hmmm..." Professor Oak tapped his foot as he thought out loud.  "Perhaps 
it's time to do some research.  Figure out if anyone else has come 
across this before.  Maybe it's some kind of rare disease that no one 
has really studied in detail."

"I don't think we should go that far, dad."

"As far as we know, nothing's too far since we haven't any clue of what 
we're dealing with."

Tracey sighed.  "I guess we're gonna be running back and forth to the 
library to get books."

"Maybe we won't have to!" Ash said, getting an idea.  "There's someone 
who might know something!"

"Who, son?"

"Cassie!"

"You mean that girl that you all hate because you found out she was some 
sort of secret agent?  The same one that was at the tournament?"

"That girl from the Orange Islands who was worried about that disk?"

"I thought you wanted to forget about her!"

"Well... she is trying to make up for what she did.  And it's not like 
she's all that bad.  After all, she said I could drop by her house 
anytime."

Ash produced the piece of paper with Cassie's address on it and showed 
it to Professor Oak and Tracey.

"Girls give out phone numbers way before their home address!" Tracey 
shouted.  "You already on first base with this girl or what?"

"It's not like that!  She... she just wants to prove she's trustworthy, 
like we all thought she was at first!"

Professor Oak rubbed his chin.  "You know, despite her past actions, 
I'm willing to believe she's trying to get a fresh start.  Plus, after 
the times I've seen her in action at a couple of televised tournaments 
makes me think she's an excellent strategist.  Very smart for a girl 
her age.  Plus with her former connections... it could be worth the 
effort to give her an inquiry."

"So you're saying..." Ash stated hopefully, "that I can go?"

His dad nodded.  "Of course."

"Alright!" Ash pumped his fist in the air.

"Ooh, ooh, can I go?" Tracey asked, as giddy as a schoolgirl.

"If you go, Trace, who's gonna carry my books to and from the library?"

Tracey sweatdropped.  "I was afraid you were gonna say that."

"It wouldn't be a journey without Misty and Brock!" Ash said excitedly.  
"Maybe I should give them a call.  After all, Cassie wants them to 
forgive her too.  And they did want to go..."

======

"I'd love to Ash," Brock told him over the videophone.  "But I can't right 
now!  We're in the middle of giving the Pewter Gym a face-lift.  The 
whole place is falling apart and I have to stay here to make sure that 
reconstruction goes along as planned."

"Sorry about that.  I'll make sure to say hi to Cassie for you."

"Oh, and Ash?"

"If she's broken up with that boyfriend of hers, tell her to give me a 
call!"

======

"I couldn't possibly go right now, Ash," Misty replied sadly.  "With 
Togepi at the point where he needs the most tender loving care, Vaporeon 
down with the fever, and my sisters being sued for trying to make a play 
based on 'The Little Mermaid' for the 12th time, there's no time for me 
to travel!  Add to that trying to keep up the stamina to battle two dozen 
challengers a day, make sure the tanks are all clean..."

"I get it, Mist... you're too busy."

Misty groaned.  "I know you're all set on seeing Cassie and her family 
and having her trying to prove she's loyal and all.  I'm sure she'll 
understand us not being able to come with you.  It's not her, it's..."

"Don't worry.  I'm sure she'll understand."

"Just don't go trusting of her too quickly!  I don't want to find out 
that you two turned into an item or something of the sort!"

"Why does everyone think I'm turning into Brock all of a sudden?" shouted 
Ash as Misty signed off.

======

With no traveling partners, Ash and Pikachu hit the road to Poli Town 
alone early the next morning, waving goodbye to Professor Oak, Delia, 
and Tracey as they left.  Ash was happy as he held a map in hand, 
checking out the route that lay before them.

"Poli Town's not too far," Ash told Pikachu.  "Two or three hours... 
we should be there with plenty of time to spare before lunch!"

"Pika!" Pikachu's eyes lighted up, even though he was not riding on Ash's 
shoulder but instead walking next to him.

The two ventured along, hoping this was one time they wouldn't get lost.

======

Meanwhile, somewhere along the streets of Vermillion City, a familiar 
blue-haired teen was wandering about the marketplace.  He seemed to be 
ignorant of the people around him, especially the merchants, who were 
yelling all over each other in an attempt to attract tourists and 
customers to their stands.  But the teenager was only interested in 
going to one place.

"Newspaper," he said, walking up to a magazine stand.

"Three coins," the attendant said in return.

After the young man relinquished the currency, he was given the paper.  
He smiled as he read the headline on top of 'The Vermillion Ledger.'

The headline read 'More Team Rocket Jail Escapees.'  And it under it 
was a black-and-white photo of Jessie, James, and Persian running with 
the Viridian Forest in the background.  The teen smiled, then continued 
walking down the street, reading the paper as he did.

======

Coming out of the small thicket of trees, Ash and Pikachu started to 
see the small houses and farms of Poli Town come into view.  They had 
made it without any detours or side trips, amazingly.

"Is this it?" Ash said aloud.  "Are we in Poli Town already?"

Happy to finally see the town at last after a very long walk, Pikachu 
excitedly decided to run the rest of the way.  Ash had no choice but to 
follow him.

"Hey, Pikachu!  Wait up!"

======

Once the duo had reached the town limits, they had reduced their speed 
back to a slow walk, as they were both panting over the unneeded 
exertion.  But even as they caught their breath, they were looking at the 
nearby street signs, trying to find their way to Cassie's house.

"Let's see... East Perimeter Drive..." Ash mumbled, glancing at the 
piece of notepad paper he was holding.  "Where is... aha!"

He pointed at a sign with the words 'East Perimeter' on it.  Ash and 
Pikachu proceed down the street, keeping an eye on the numbers of the 
houses around them.  To Ash's surprise, most of them seemed to have 
berry bushes in their front yards.

"They sure grow a lot of fruit around here, don't they?"

"Pikachu," the mouse nodded.

Eventually, the gang did make their way to 10 East Perimeter Drive.  
Upon spotting Cassie's house, Ash and Pikachu noted that it was very 
similar to the others on the street.  Small, two floors, with berry 
bushes scattered on all sides of the house.  There was also a tool shed 
sitting in the northwest corner of the property.

"So... I guess we just walk up to the front door and knock?"

Ash and Pikachu took one step onto the property, and were suddenly 
greeted by a Bulbasaur, who without warning used Vine Whip on them, in 
an attempt to capture them.  Caught off-guard, Ash and Pikachu were 
ensnared before they knew it.

"Ugh... unnnhh!" Ash winced as he struggled.

"Pika... PIKA!" Pikachu chirped, mighty uncomfortable at how tight the 
vines were.

"What's going on out there, Bulbasaur?" a man yelled from inside the 
house.

A man and his wife, both in their 50s and with some grey hair starting 
to develop amongst their natural brown, ran out of the house and over to 
where Bulbasaur was holding Ash and Pikachu captive.

"Who are you and why are you trespassing on our property?" the man asked.

"We're... we're friends of Cassie's!" Ash shouted.

"Really?  What's your name, son?"

"Ash... it's, aaahhh, Ash Ketchum!" he managed between squeezes.

"Pi pika, pi PIKACHU!" cried Pikachu, who was being squeezed even tighter.

"Ash Ketchum and Pikachu?" said the wife.  "Cassie did say she had friends 
by that name that might be dropping by."

"Okay," the husband confirmed.  "Bulbasaur, let 'em go!  They're 
friendly."

"Saur!" the plant Pokémon complied, leaving Ash and Pikachu able to 
breathe normally.

"I apologize for the rude welcoming.  My name's Nigel."

"And my name's Arlene.  Pleased to meet you!  Won't you come inside?"

======

Inside the house, Ash and Pikachu were seated at a dining table in the 
kitchen.  Nigel sat across from them conversing while Arlene went to 
work preparing lunch for them.

"Once again, sorry about Bulbasaur," Nigel apologized again.  "He doesn't 
take kindly to intruders... but otherwise, he's a pretty friendly guy."

"Normally we wouldn't resort to having a guard Pokémon," Arlene told 
Ash as she glanced over from beside the oven.  "Usually, he's inside 
with us, but with the recent rash of berry thieves, we have to protect 
our investment, you know?"

"I understand.  Is there anyway Pikachu and I can help?"

"I'd appreciate it, though it's not like this is a big deal.  With the 
watchful eyes of everyone in the neighborhood, someone's bound to catch 
the thief one of these days."

"That's good.  So... the Bulbasaur belongs to Cassie?  I could swear at 
that tournament in Evergrande that it had evolved into an Ivysaur just 
before the finals..."

"Nah... this one's mine.  Caught it about three months ago.  Not as a 
guard, originally, just as a helper.  I'm 57, young man... I ain't 
getting any younger!"

"And the cute darling just loves our Oran Berries.  Then again, so do 
we!  Which is why I'm making you my specialty!  A peanut butter and Oran 
berry jam sandwich!"

"That's great!  I'm hungry after all of that walking from Pallet Town!"

"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu agreed... or his stomach did, anyway.

"So..." Ash glanced around the kitchen.  "Is Cassie around?  I really 
need to speak to her."

"'Fraid not," answered Arlene.  "She's back on the road traveling, like 
she always does.  She brought her boyfriend home for the first time 
about a month ago."

"He seems nice enough," Nigel said, though Ash noticed he was visibly 
cracking his knuckles.

"Uh..." Ash uttered nervously.

"Oh, don't worry about ol' Nigel," Arlene reassured him.  "He's just 
being overprotective of our girl.  That's what fathers do, after all."

"I don't mind the guy... as long as he doesn't try to get fresh with 
her!"

"Get... fresh?"

Arlene laughed.  "I'm sure you'll understand that when you're a bit 
older."

"So, is Cassie around?" Ash asked politely.  "There's something I need 
to ask her about."

"No," replied Nigel.  "You know how kids on their Pokémon journeys are.  
They come home just to reacquaint themselves with their family and their 
bed, and then they're back on the road for another year or two."

"She said she wanted a new challenge," added Arlene.  "So she told us 
that she and Arius were heading to Littleroot Town in the Hoenn Region.  
And that was ten days ago."

"Hoenn?  I don't even know where that is!  How am I supposed to find her 
now?"

"Well..."

"Well?  Well what?"

Arlene sighed.  "We usually don't do this.  Even though you're one of 
Cassie's friends, we really don't know all that much about you.  Not 
enough to trust you."

"Aw, come on, Arlene!" objected Nigel.  "The boy's got the good stuff.  
I can tell just by lookin' at 'em!"

"Alright," Arlene relented, getting up to write down something on a piece 
of paper.

"Pokédexes are marvelous devices, aren't they?  You can even call a 
trainer from hundreds of miles away!"

"This is her Poké-Com number," Arlene said as she gave the slip to Ash.

"Poké-Com?  Oh, right..."

Ash pulled out his Pokédex and accessed the program 'Poké-Com 4.1.'  
He then started dialing the number, then got up to walk out of the room.

"Excuse me," he said as he pardoned himself from Cassie's parents.

Ash walked outside as the Poké-Com rang Cassie's number.  Ash took a 
seat out on the front steps while Pikachu ran off to talk to Bulbasaur, 
who was standing by the Oran bushes.  After a few rings, Ash heard it 
being answered.  A holographic mini-image of Cassie appeared before him.

"Who is this?  Oh... is that you, Ash?"

"Cassie!"

"How did you get my Poké-Com num... wait, is that my house behind you?"

"Yep!  Guess where I am?"

Cassie smiled.  "So, you took me up on my offer, huh?  You really do 
trust me!"  She then glanced around.  "Hey... Misty and Brock aren't 
with you?"

Ash scratched the back of his head sheepishly.  "Yeah... they're too 
busy taking care of stuff at their Pokémon gyms."

"Oh yeah... almost forgot they were gym leaders.  Oh well... you can 
pass on my good praise to them for me!  Anyway, what do you think of the 
place?  I know it's not much... but hey, that's country life for you!  
And I'm a country gal!"

"It's just like Pallet Town, sort of.  Oh, that reminds me of why I 
came..."

"You mean it wasn't to test my trustworthiness?" Cassie puffed in dismay.  
"You sure know how to put a girl down.  You're just lucky Arius is out 
searching for firewood..."

"Remember Marco and what had happened to him in the finals?"

"How could I forget?  The guy cheated and relegated me to a fourth-place 
finish!  I still wanna figure out how he did that magic trick of his."

"Uh, Cassie?  It's not a magic trick."

"Huh?  What do you mean by that?  Do you know what he did?"

"Well... yes and no."

Cassie raised both eyebrows at that, her interest piqued.  "What exactly 
does that mean?  You've seen someone else do that before?"

"It's kinda hard to explain... and I'd rather tell you it in person."

"In person?  Do you know where I am?  Can you even get here?"

"Well, I'm sure Professor Oak'll find me a way."

Cassie sighed.  "Well, if it's that important that I can't stop you... 
we're in the Petalburg Woods, just outside of Petalburg City.  Try to 
meet us in Rustboro City.  Arius and I should be there in a few days."

Ash nodded.  "Okay, got it!  Pikachu and I will meet you two there."

"Just don't keep us waiting, okay?  I'd rather not sit in one place for 
too long..."

======

After finishing his phone call with Cassie, Ash grabbed Pikachu and 
the two headed back inside.  Waiting for them was a plate full of 
peanut butter and Oran Berry jam sandwiches, and the two of them were 
starving.

"Thank you!" complimented Ash he gave one sandwich to Pikachu and then 
took one for himself.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu chimed in.

Nigel and Arlene smiled as they calmly watched Ash and Pikachu eat.

"This is really good!" Ash exclaimed.

"Arlene was always a great sandwich maker," commented Nigel.

"I do what I can," Arlene replied.

"You've got a healthy appetite, I see.  That's good for someone your 
age."

"Cassie used to be just like you when she was younger.  But then she 
got to that age when she started to care about her body image.  Girls 
tend to do that long before boys do."

"So... what was Cassie like before she decided to become a Pokémon 
trainer?"

"A perfect angel!" Cassie's parents replied in unison.

"She was always curious of the world around her," continued Nigel.  "The 
sky, the ground, and everything in between.  Even the Pokémon had 
wonders about them that she wanted to figure out.  Cassie had a thirst 
for knowledge that apparently was never satisfied."

"If she wasn't running about with all of the wild and housebroken 
Pokémon around town, she was at the library reading books about them," 
Arlene told Ash.  "The town hadn't seen anyone with her enthusiasm 
about Pokémon in years."

"It was kind of scary.  Sure, most of the townsfolk do have Pokémon 
that live peacefully with them.  But because of our isolation from the 
main roads to Pokémon gyms and the like, we didn't have anyone in the 
entire town who wanted to travel like a real Pokémon trainer."

"The adults didn't feel it was right to leave their families behind for 
an extended period of time.  We also thought that kids could get into 
trouble if they wandered out on journeys as such a young age.  So 
we've always been apprehensive of making someone a trainer."

"So... if that's the case, then how did Cassie end up going on one?" 
Ash asked.

"We didn't want to stifle her curiosity," admitted Nigel.  "Cassie was 
so bright and so into learning about Pokémon that she was about to 
exhaust all of the knowledge our library could give her."

"But Cassie was aware of our town's tradition," continued Arlene.  "She 
figured she would never get to explore the world because of it."

"So, about four months before her tenth birthday, Arlene and I decided 
to bring up making an exception for her case at the town meeting."

"We were expecting a lot of opposition, but it was quite the contrary.  
Everyone knew about Cassie, and agreed that we should prepare her to 
go on a journey if she wanted to."

"So, while the town began to prepare for the send-off and to make sure 
Cassie was ready for the outside world, we mailed a letter off to 
Professor Oak.  We knew it was a long shot, but we were hoping he 
could send us a starter Pokémon instead of making her trek to Pallet 
Town without a partner.  We probably could've found a wild, low-level 
Pokémon to give her if that didn't work out, but we were hoping the 
professor would pull through for us so Cassie would get a Pokémon that 
didn't have to be prepared to work with an inexperienced girl."

"We didn't even know if Professor Oak had gotten our letter, much less 
decided on whether or not to fulfill our request.  But, three days 
before Cassie turned ten, we got a surprise phone call from him!"

"He had read our letter, and he was more than happy to let us have 
first pick at the newest batch of starters."

"Thing was, Cassie didn't not yet that we were doing this for her, 
and we also wanted her to be able to pick her own Pokémon.  Like any 
other trainer that went to Professor Oak's lab would do upon receiving 
their first Pokémon."

"So he ended up sending us all three starters, and we promised to send 
back the two she didn't pick.  Cassie ended up picking Bulbasaur."

"And the rest, they say, is history.  After she got Bulbasaur, she 
was so overjoyed to go on our journey that we had to hold her departure 
back a day to make sure she was aptly prepared for the dangers beyond 
the town borders.  After all, this was my baby... our only child, 
leaving us to make a name for herself."

"We know she'd do us proud.  Looks like she has, especially if she has 
friends like you and Pikachu."

"Cha!" Pikachu responded with gratitude.

"I guess they don't know about her being with the Pokémon Trainers' 
Association," Ash thought to himself.  "Maybe it's best if it stays 
that way."

"You must've battled her at least once," Nigel said, scratching his 
chin.  "She's pretty good, isn't she?"

"She knows how to battle well, that's for sure," Ash replied.

"Good for her!  I knew she was destined for greatness!"

"Cassie's a good girl," Arlene reassured Ash.  "She's got a good head 
on her shoulders.  I know she faces hardships every day, but I'm 
confident that she always makes the right decision."

"She always does," Ash said, embellishing the truth a little.  "She 
always does..."

======

After finishing lunch, Ash and Pikachu decided that it was time to head 
back, especially with nothing more to learn about Cassie here.

"Thanks for everything!" Ash shouted, waving goodbye to the Bankses.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu said, doing likewise.

"You're always welcome to come back and visit us!" Nigel yelled to him.

"And good luck on your journeys!" added Arlene.

With that, Ash and Pikachu began the trek back home to Pallet Town.

======

"So, what did she say?" Professor Oak asked as Ash and Pikachu reentered 
the lab just before sunset.

"She wasn't there.  She's traveling about in the Hoenn Region."

"Oh my, how amazing!  And I guess you wanna go track her down, correct?"

"I guess so.  If she knows anything that can help us, it'll be worth the 
trip.  We'd better start preparations for your journey immediately!"

And so, it had been decided.  Ash and Pikachu were headed for the Hoenn 
Region, hoping to hook up with Cassie and Arius.  With their past 
connections, maybe they would be able to find a clue to solving the mystery 
behind the strange powers.  Nevertheless, it's off on a new adventure for 
our plucky hero.

But who knows what awaits him in the distant land of Hoenn!


******


End Session: September
Storyline to be continued in Session: October!


******


Author's Notes for 'Session: September':
Wow.  Seven parts was actually a whole lot more than I expected, and 
that's not counting the stuff cut out for those of you seeing the edited 
version.  That's at least enough for an eighth part!  Yeah, for a 
tournament that only lasted three days, it sure took up a whole lot of 
writing space and time.

Let's barrel through some notes, shall we?

So, those of you who didn't read 'The Adventures Series' are seeing 
the biggest reason that led Cassie to want to leave the Pokémon Trainers' 
Association, bringing her boyfriend Arius with her.  She's indirectly 
responsible for the death of the passengers and crew of a flight headed 
for the Indigo Plateau.  A flight that included a boy named TJ Smith, 
who had just recently before that had fallen in love with our Ditto 
girl, Duplica.  Sad to say, Duplica's the one who harbors the most ill 
will towards Cassie.  She hasn't totally turned her back, though, so a 
reconciliation may eventually be possible.

Yeah, another patented Whitney appearance!  If you're not aware of my 
love for Whitney, well... you don't know me!  She had an interesting 
non-competitor role in 'Roomies' and also got her own story as the 
lead-off in my short-lived Poké-Girls series with 'Plainly Tested.'  
Here, I took the liberty of creating yet a different version of Whitney.  
This one is basically a mix of the anime version and the game version.  
The 'Rocket Revenge' version of Whitney also has the characteristic of 
using her looks to get men to do whatever she wants.

Given that her gym's delegate, Jimmy, didn't know that Kangaskhan 
couldn't use Rollout... next time, she better pick a man that's a lot 
more knowledgeable about these things.

Now honestly, given my love of redheads, I was very tempted to go for a 
tri-fecta and have Ash's next opponent represent Lavaridge Town, thus 
bringing Flannery into the story.  But I figure that was playing too 
much into my personal pleasures and instead decided to borrow a 
different character from the anime.  Namely, young Shauna, Brawly's 
apprentice at the Dewford Island Gym.  Only in the anime, she wasn't 
established as one until the end... I kinda skipped over that part.

I didn't skip over Shauna's love for Brawly, though.  I just had to play 
that up!

If you hadn't guessed, as an homage to Evergrande City, I had Ash and 
the gang eat at the same restaurant that May suggests they dine at in 
the anime episode "Like a Meowth to a Flame."

Ash's analysis of the selectable Pokémon of his and his opponents for 
the finals is to give you all a rough idea of some of the Pokémon they 
have.  This is especially true for those of you who didn't read 'The 
Adventures Series,' extra true if you're a fan of Cassie and want to see 
who her favorite battlers are.

Since I'm on Cassie... you'll notice there's no explanation given as to 
why Arius wasn't there with her.  You'll find out next session, but 
just know basically that he couldn't make the trip.

I knew ahead of time that I wanted the final to be a four-person battle 
royale, but I didn't expect to take so much time to writing it, especially 
since I didn't want to cut any action out.  Things are a little simplified 
compared to how I played it out, but it still needed to be long enough to 
avoid it being full of one-hit KOs.  That's something I abhor in the anime 
gym battles and wanted to avoid here.

I did cut corners in not explaining how two of Cassie's Pokémon came to 
evolve... Bulbasaur to Ivysaur prior to the tournament, and Eevee to 
Espeon the night before the finals.  Maybe I might reference back to the 
events, but at this point I didn't consider it worth mentioning in full.

Lovers of Heracross, rejoice as he joins the series!  You'll see a few of 
Ash's other Johto Pokémon appear later on when he gets to capturing 
them.  Misty and Brock might get some of theirs too...

Ah, here's the true reason this tournament was written... to showcase 
Marco's 'secret power.'  For those of you with good memories, remember 
that Ash, Misty, and Brock found out they have similar powers back in 
Episode 32 of 'The Adventures Series.'  But you should've seen this 
coming with the hints in this story so far.  Watch for this mystery to 
slowly be unraveled over the course of the next few sessions.

Before anyone asks... yes, I never had intention to have Ash win this 
tournament.  Never.

On that note... also yes to the Elite Four already knowing about Erika's 
search for the 'legendary' trainers and yes to not saying where Gary 
went after the tournament.  For the latter... well, you'll find out 
where Gary is eventually.  But not for awhile...

Ah, more goodness from 'Love Affair in Pallet Town,' the unfinished 
first feature-length story of 'The Adventures Series.'  Ash and Giselle 
make a cute couple, don't they?

I'm kidding, kidding!  Anyway, you're finally going to get the full 
story of everything that happened there in a much later Session.

Here's an actual change from the original script... Cassie and Arius 
going to Hoenn.  Don't expect a lot of action from them anytime soon, I'm 
practically getting rid of them save for an upcoming chapter that dives 
into exactly how they met and their early days at the Pokémon Trainers' 
Association.  A chapter which was originally scheduled to be in this 
Session, but as is now apparent, I didn't get to.  I was originally going 
to shuffle them through Johto, but in terms of the story, Ash would have 
to backtrack, as he's already had been through two Pokémon gyms there.

That's all for the notes!  Next up is 'October Session!'

******

'Session: October' Trailer:
We've seen very little of our favorite Rockets so far.  No more!  It's 
a whole lot of Jessie!  It's a whole lot of James!  Even a whole lot of 
Persian!  Wha... Persian?  New to the series and ya don't know how 
Meowth evolved into the Pokémon he hates the most, even more than 
Pikachu?  Relive the heartbreaking story, plus see the gang once again 
run not only from the law, but from their very own Team Rocket as well!

No 'The Fugitive' references in 'Session: October!'  Now... we run!