"Unhappy Anniversary," written by Freedom Fighter

This is Freedom Fighter, and the fic you're about to read is one of three being
released to celebrate the third anniversary of the release of my first ever
fanfic.  It was, of course, "The Pokémon League Challenge," the name it was
called by when it first released on the Pokefanfic mailing list on October 31st,
1999.  Most of you, who might have read it only when I posted here on FF.net,
know it better as the first episode of the "Adventures Series."

Over the course of the nearly three years that the "Adventures Series" ran, I
created a batch of characters.  Some just as one-shot characters-of-the-day,
but most were actually supposed to play a much bigger role.

The two that played the biggest role were Arius McFly and Cassie Banks, two
young trainers who worked for an organization known as the Pokémon Trainers'
Association.  Although its purpose is still unknown by those outside the
organization (other than me, but I have to know 'cause I'm the author), most
came to think of it as an anti-Team Rocket.

Now, some of the diehard "Adventures Series" fans may claim that that's not
entirely true, and to an extent, they are right.  But I shouldn't go into
explaining it all, because most of you have read the "Adventures Series" prior
to this, right?  If not, I would recommend against reading this, as there are
some spoilers.  But if you're not willing to read all 53 episodes, there are
a few tidbits here and there in this very long one-shot to fill you in.

On that note, some of you may also know that the "Adventures Series" was
ended prematurely.  A number of the storylines that were planned for the 20+
episodes that were never written see the light of day at last.  These
storylines will probably never ever be flushed out fully, but you can take it
as a teaser for what might have been.  This also includes mentioning of what
the original ending of the "It's All on the Disk" mini-series was.

The "Adventures Series" may be officially dead, but it's spirit isn't!  I'm
thinking of doing an Arius/Cassie mini-series in 2003, but I won't consider it
if no one wants it!  So if you'd like to see more of Arius and Cassie, or
more of how the "Adventures Series" truly was supposed to play out, review
and tell me so!

And even if you don't want to see a mini-series, review anyway!  The
"Adventures Series" means a lot to me since it was my first published fanfic.
Show me that my first three years as a writer were worth it!

******

Enough with the talk!  In this special one-shot, Arius and Cassie have been
away from the Pokémon Trainers' Association for three whole years now.
Looking back, they discover that they never really left the organization.
Maybe it's because they've never had a happy anniversary.

Disclaimer:  Arius, Cassie, and many of the other characters in this fanfic
belong to me.  Ash and the gang, and all Pokémon and Pokémon related materials
are copyrighted by Satoshi Tajiri and Nintendo.  The song "Unhappy Anniversary"
is the property of Vitamin C and Elektra Entertainment.

For your convenience, lyrics to "Unhappy Anniversary" are provided at the end
of this document.

Fanfic Rating:  PG-13, for intense battle sequences and violence

Author's Warning:  There is a small set of scenes that may prove to be too
much for people still sensitive to the 9-11 attacks, particularly on the World
Trade Center.  I will pop in at the beginning of said scenes to direct those
viewers around the questionable scenes.  I was thinking of cutting the scenes,
but seeing as this is a one-shot, I decided not to.

******

"Unhappy Anniversary"
(10.31.02 - original planned release date; 03.24.03 - official copyright date)

[Saturday, July 10th, 2004 -- Lake of Rage, Johto Region]

It's another beautiful summer weekend, and at the Lake of Rage, that meant that
families of all sorts were coming for a camping vacation.  Away from all the
hustle and bustle of the big cities of the Johto region.

Awaiting visitors at the entrance to the Lake of Rage Camping Grounds was a
sign that read as follows:

Welcome to the Lake of Rage!
- NO Swimming
- NO Disturbing Other Campers
- NO Littering
- NO Feeding the Magikarp & Gyarados
- NO Fishing (October-April)
- Boat in the Lake at Your Own Risk!

A quick look around the southern and eastern shorelines of the lake tells the
picture.  About thirty to forty tents were pitched, rather normal for this time
of year.  People of all shapes and sizes filled the area, intending on staying
the weekend.

In one spot, a small group of Pokégirl Scouts were learning from their
scoutmaster how to start a fire using two pieces of wood.

Two campsites down, a trio of old men were lying down on bendable lawn chairs,
soaking up the sun while wearing only T-shirts and island themed trunks.

Closer to the shoreline, a man is in the process of setting up a bug zapper
as he watches his wife and two boys swat flies and mosquitoes left and right.
He seems to be quite confused, as he brought the type of zapper that required
an electrical outlet.

In the lake itself, a few courageous trainers were sitting or standing inside
boats as they fished for wild Magikarp.  At the same time, they stay on
constant lookout for the occassional Gyarados that might appear and threaten
to capsize their boats.

On the other side of the lake, there was a mass of trees that hugged the
northern and western shorelines.  There were ten to fifteen tents pitched up
in this much more narrow area, as almost all of those who were there wanted
to shield themselves from the unrelenting sun.

In a corner of the tree-lined paths on that side of the lake lies an area
that is rarely occupied because of the lack of more than one escape route.
Once in awhile a Gyarados would appear.  Those that actually attacked people
were very rare, but they were an ever present danger nevertheless.  But when
a Gyarados decided to aim a hydro pump or hyper beam in that direction, the
only route out would be blocked, trapping those in that area and leaving them
for dead.

But two brave Pokémon trainers were willing to take their chances.  One of
them was already up and about, cooking a potato broth in a pot boiling over
a campfire.  This individual had spiky brown-reddish hair and stood at about
6'4".  He was wearing a green short sleeve shirt with yellow words on it.
The words, on the front, read 'Pokémon Master,' while those on the back read
'The Road Goes Through Me.'  It was one of those shirts that just screamed
'expert trainer.'  He also had on a pair of orange shorts with two blue
stripes running down each side.  But neither the shirt or the shorts could
hide the bulging muscles that seemed to pop out of almost every nook and
cranny of his body.

Believe it or not, it was something that 17-year old Arius McFly was used to
by now.  He worked out a lot... both by himself and with his Pokémon.
Speaking of his Pokémon, they were all out and about the campsite.  Beedrill
and Butterfree were interacting with a few of the scant local bugs.  Crobat
and Venomoth were flying up in the air, observing the peaceful lake from
overhead.  Snorlax was satisfied with taking a snooze, especially after Arius
had fed him a big breakfast just an hour ago.  Porygon, meanwhile, was getting
his kicks by continually pecking Snorlax in the stomach.  Not that the giant
sleeping Pokémon would be awakened by something as miniscule as that anyway.

Pulling out a wooden ladle, Arius dips it into the pot and pulls it back out
with a spoonful of broth.  He sticks it in his mouth to give his broth a
personal taste test.

"Just about right," Arius smiled, pulling the ladle out and licking his taste
buds with his tongue.  "Just needs a little salt.  Too bad I didn't bring any."

Arius puts the ladle back in the pot before heading over to a lone tent that
was propped up a few feet away.  He pulls back the flap leading into it and
peers inside.

In the tent were two sleeping bags and two large backpacks.  The sky blue
sleeping bag that lay to his left still had someone inside of it.  The bag
was zipped up so that only the person's head was visible.  The head, and the
body that lay inside the bag, belonged to 16-year old Cassie Banks, Arius's
traveling companion for five years and girlfriend for more than four.

Cassie's golden brown hair was in tangles after a night of tossing and turning,
but the few straight strands showed off a few sparkles thanks to the beam of
light that Arius had allowed to enter the tent.  The beam of light was also
large enough to begin to jar Cassie out of her sleep.

"Wha?" Cassie slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.
She was wearing a set of yellow pajamas with a small black swirly pattern
plastered all over the shirt and the pants.

"Time to get up, sunshine!" Arius greeted with a smile.

"What time is it?" Cassie blinked before covering her mouth as she yawned.

"Close to eleven, I think."

"Eleven?!  Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

"I thought that I would let you sleep in.  The less of July 10th you get to
live through this year, the better."

Hearing that today was July 10th really shook Cassie awake.  If there was any
day of the year she dreaded, it was July 10th.  And with good reason.  In
fact, several good reasons.  Arius was well aware of this, because he too
had suffered through the darkness this day has brought him in past years.
So he wasn't surprised when he saw Cassie jump back into her sleeping bag
and pretend to go back to sleep.

"Come on Cassie!  If I have to live through this wretched day, you're going to
live it with me!"

But Cassie wouldn't budge.  Not having any patience, Arius enters the tent,
opens Cassie's bag, and lifts her out of it, making sure to wrap his arms
just below her chest and not over it.

"Arius!" Cassie shouted as she started to kick her way free.

"Just because the past two July 10ths haven't been that good to us, it doesn't
mean that the same thing will happen this year!"

Arius released Cassie as she fell to her knees.  She immediately got back up
and turned to face him.  Cassie stood at 5'9", almost a half a foot shorter
than her much larger boyfriend.  Unlike Arius, Cassie was not as muscular.
She looked more like a young woman, though her less than perfect figure
occasionally raised eyebrows among her peers.  Cassie didn't mind being that
way anyway.  Her pretty face made up for it anyway.  Besides, she wouldn't
have to worry about random guys hitting on her as much.  She could worry
about more important things.  Like keeping random girls from hitting on Arius.

"It's only fair that you live this day with me!" Arius exclaimed.

"You're right," Cassie sighed in defeat.  "Maybe things will be different
this time around."

Arius nodded as he headed out of the tent while Cassie gathered a few things.
Moments later, she emerges with a towel draped over her left shoulder and a
small duffel bag draped over her right.  The bag held the outfit she planned
to wear that day, all of her toiletries, and her hair styling pack.

"Panlene Pro-C," Arius looked at his girlfriend weirdly as he pulled the
bottle of hair conditioner out of the bag.  "You use this junk?"

"This junk," Cassie began as she snatched the bottle back, "is what keeps my
hair flippy and easy for you to thread your hands through when we're cuddling
at night."

"Did I say junk?  I meant that it was the greatest hair care tool ever
created."

"Just make sure Snorlax doesn't eat my lunch," Cassie scowled as she walked
past Arius and towards the nearest bathhouse.

"I'd hurry," Arius shouted.  "Snorlax can only go two and a half hours without
eating while out of his Pokéball!  Better not take one of your patented
hour-long shower escapades!"

"Ha ha!  Very funny!  I do not take that long!"

"I'm not responsible if there's nothing left for you when you get back!"

Cassie flashes Arius a 'whatever' hand signal as she continues to walk away.
Arius doesn't shout after her anymore, but he keeps a close eye on her.

"At least she's her usual self," Arius thought to himself.  "At least that's
normal.  That's all I could ask for anyway.  After all, I'm sure she doesn't
want to be reminded of leaving the Pokémon Trainers' Association.

"We keep doubting ourselves about that decision.  Whether it was the right
one or not.  There were days that proved that we were right.  There were others
that proved we were wrong.  There were days that our decision wouldn't have
mattered.  For that day's consequences were unavoidable.

"It's been a tough road for Cassie and I.  We thought all our troubles were
over after that fiasco with the computer disk..."

======

[Three years, one day ago -- Trovitopolis, Mandarin Island, Orange Archipelago]

"The PTA, Team Rocket, Ash and his friends... we were all after that the disk.
The one that had fallen into the hands of a simple thief and fake Pokémon
enhancement merchandise seller.  Her name was Francine Maple.  But I think
she called herself Green for short."

The showdown begins in the desert as two factions of Team Rocket, Jessie,
James, and Persian making up one and Jane, Calamity, and Pidgeo making up the
other, battle with their Pokémon.

"Pinsir, vice grip!" Jane shouted.

"Kabuto, water gun!" Calamity ordered.

"Arbok, poison sting!" Jessie yelled.

"Weezing, sludge attack!" James commanded.

As the four Rockets' Pokémon battled, Arius was among a group of people that
were watching Cassie carefully as she pleaded with two fellow agents, Randy
Vicardi and Jones McGray.  Arius was standing with Ash, Misty, Brock, Tracey,
Duplica, Gary, and Green all by his side.

"You know as well as I do that the contents on this disk are dangerous,"
she pleaded, "and it must be destroyed!"

"Those were not our orders, Banks!" Randy exclaimed sternly.

"So hand it over," Jones commanded, "or we'll take it by force."

Arius grabs a hold of Green's right arm and starts to squeeze it hard.  Green
winces in pain as she tries to twist out of his grip, but to no use.

"Hey, let go of her!" Brock shouted, shooting forward, with Gary and Tracey
motioning to do the same.

"I don't want to hurt her," Arius said aloud.  "I don't want anyone getting
hurt.  That's why you must give them the disk."

"Why should she give it to you losers?" Gary asked.  "Don't you realize what
will happen if that disk falls into the hands of evil?"

"Yeah!" Ash shouted.  "Like Team Rocket!"

"Team Rocket is of no concern to us.  They've fulfilled their usefulness."

Randy and Jones turn to fire at Calamity and Jane, but at the last moment two
Pokéballs coming flying in out of nowhere.  They hit the guns and push them
upward just as they fire.  The bullets sail over the heads of the two Rockets,
missing completely.

Naturally, the gun shots brought the battle between the Rockets to a halt.

"What are you doing?" Jane asked.

But Randy and Jones weren't focused on the Rockets.  They immediately turn in
the direction of the Pokéball throwers, Arius and Cassie.  The former no longer
holding onto Green's arm.

"We're of higher rank than you two!"

"You're supposed to do what we say!"

"I said I don't want anyone getting hurt," Arius stated again.

"Orders or not, this disk needs to be destroyed!" Cassie exclaimed.  But Arius
wanted to give the disk to them.

"We're giving them the disk no matter what, Cassie."

"Will you think with your heart instead of your head?"

"That's supposed to be the other way around!"

As Arius and Cassie argued over whether or not they should give up the disk,
Ash and the gang were in a discussion of their own.

"We should trust Cassie," Green told the others.

"You've already confessed what's on the disk," Gary added.  "Trust us.  The
disk must be destroyed."

"I think we should listen to Gary," Brock said.  "Gary's on our side.  If he's
fearful about what's on the disk, then we should trust his instincts."

"I guess," Misty said reluctantly.

"You sure about this?" Ash asked.

"What do we have to lose?  Let's go for it!" Duplica agreed.

"As long as it ends here and now, I'm fine with the idea," Tracey stated.

The seven of them break their huddle, only to see Arius and Cassie still
arguing.

"Pikachu, get ready."

"You too, Ditto."

Green quickly pulls the case holding the disk out of her dress.  Jones sees
it out of the corner of his eye, quickly catching onto their plan.  Green
takes the disk out and glances once more at Ash and Duplica.

"NOW!" Green yelled, throwing the disk up into the air.

"Pikachu, thundershock!"

"Ditto, transform into a Snorlax!"

The members of the Pokémon Trainers' Association and Team Rocket watched
helplessly as Pikachu shocked the disk, frying its internal circuits.  The
disk finally falls from the sky and hits the ground.  It was scorched, but
pretty much still intact.

"Ditto-lax, body slam!" Duplica shouted.

Doing its best impersonation of a Snorlax belly flop, it jumps up and lands
right onto the disk, breaking it into hundred pieces.

"The disk!"

"It's destroyed!"

"How could you?"

The four PTA members and four TR members were all in shock.  But they
wouldn't be for long, as two helicopters fly out of the city and in their
direction.

"This is the Trovitopolis Police!" Officer Jenny yelled through a bullhorn
and over the sound of the helicopter's propellers.  "Drop your firearms and
stick your hands up in the air!  You are all under arrest!

======

[Present day -- Lake of Rage, Johto Region]

"We all ended up in jail that day," Arius narrated.  "But after everything
was straightened out, most of us were let go.  Except for Randy and Jones,
who had to stay because they were using unregistered firearms.  Leave it to
the PTA to avoid doing that for security reasons.  Oh, and for Team Rocket
too, for obvious reasons.

"Once Cassie and I were out of jail, we took the first flight to Viridian
City.  We then took a shuttle back to PTA HQ, where we told Patti, our
supervisor, that we were throwing in the towel..."

======

[Three days after the last flashback -- Pokémon Trainers' Association HQ]

"You're quitting?" asked the voice of then 25-year old Patti Masters, the
woman who was responsible for looking after Arius, Cassie, and all of the other
under-18 agents in the organization.  "Did I hear you right?"

"Yes, that's right," Cassie said aloud.  "We wish to resign our positions."

"Why?  Is something wrong?"

"Ever since I took this job, I envisioned a future where this organization
would train us to be the best Pokémon trainers in the world."

"Haven't we always done that?"

"Yes, but at the sacrifice of all of the new friends I've met on the road.
There are many things that I've done while I've been here that I haven't been
too proud of.  Things that have cost other people their lives.  Things that
have nearly cost me my life.  I'm only thirteen!  I didn't become a Pokémon
trainer to save the world!  I became a Pokémon trainer because I wanted to be
a Pokémon Master!"

"It's a part of the job I hate too, but sometimes we can't avoid it."

"That's why we want out.  It's the only way I feel is right."

"What about you, Arius?"  Patti turned to face him.  "Do you share the same
views as your partner?"

"To an extent," Arius began, "but I wouldn't be the great trainer I am today
if it wasn't for her.  So I'd like to stay by her side.  I respect her
decision... though I do not know if it is the right one."

Patti bowed her head.  "I'm sorry that you two feel that way.  But, we can't
stop you from leaving under your own power.  I just wish things didn't work
out this way."

"We do too," Cassie nodded.

======

"After we packed our things, we both went home.  First to my hometown, Cobalt,
where Cassie got to meet my parents for the first time.  Luckily, my older
brother Pauly is still stuck in the insane asylum in Saffron City after that
coup he tried to pull.  My parents were happy to meet Cassie.  They made her
feel right at home.  They seemed to be glad to have her as part of the family.

"Of course, it's always the opposite whenever the boy visits the girl's house.
Such was the case when Cassie took me to meet her parents in Poli Town.  They
didn't approve of me at first, but after Cassie convinced them how well I
had taken care of her, they welcomed me with open arms.

"At that point, it was the Sunday before the entry deadline for the Pokémon
League Novice Tournament.  Cassie, with the help of the great Professor Oak,
pulled some strings and got me into the last testing session for that summer's
tournament.  Because of the lateness of the test, they were only allowing the
top four scorers there to compete in the August tournament.

"I don't know how many times I thanked Cassie for all of the tutoring she gave
me to prepare for that exam, because I ended up one of the lucky four.  A
month later, I competed in the tournament.  I did as well as Cassie had in
her first League competition, squeaking into the League with an at-large bid.

"Cassie had almost two full years on me in the League, even though in age I
was older by about seven months.  We decided to be freelance trainers.  You
know, instead of going where the League tells us to, we choose our own
destination.  We researched the possibilities endlessly.  Finally, we decided
to head west and try our luck out in the Johto League."

======

[Present day -- Lake of Rage, Johto Region]

"We've been traveling through here ever since, only returning home for the
holidays and when we had to compete in Pokémon League sponsored tournaments."

"Arius!" Cassie was calling out from afar, finally on her way back from the
bathhouses as Arius checked his watch.

"Thirty-seven minutes," Arius said, reading off his clock.  "Not bad for a
girl."

"Are you insinuating that I'm slow?" Cassie smirked as she playfully hit
Arius with her wet towel.

"Hey!  I'm trying to stay dry today!"

"I find that highly unlikely.  Especially when you said you were planning to
go fishing."

"Fishing?" Arius scratched his head.  "Oh yeah... I did say that."

"Don't tell me you've forgotten!"

Arius runs into the tent and starts searching for his fishing rod.  He comes
out a minute later with a disgusted look on his face.

"My only lure!  It's ruined!"

Arius held up a miniature replica of a Magikarp, modeled to 1:10 scale.  Only
the tail part was missing.

"You must have smashed it last night when you were rummaging through my bag
for a midnight snack!" Arius accused.

"What?  You're accusing me of smashing your lure?"

"That's what I said."

"Your duffel bag was right next to your sleeping bag!  Couldn't you have, by
chance, rolled over onto the part of the bag where you had put it?"

"You have no proof of that!"

"Well, you have no proof that I broke it either!  Look, just go to the
boathouse and buy a new lure.  Or some worm bait.  Or something!"

"Of all of the things that had to happen today..." Arius mumbled as he walked
off, heading towards the boathouse.

"Of all the nerve..." Cassie muttered as she glared at Arius's back with her
hands on her hips.  "He's just as stubborn as the day we wanted to drop back
in on our old friends at the PTA.

"I had a bad feeling about going back there, but he wouldn't listen to me!
He missed the whole organization so much that he was thinking of rejoining.
After he spent a year in the Johto League with me, the least he could have
done was think of all of the training I had given him.

"Now I wish we never returned home that day to begin our training for the
summer season League tournaments.  That day, his stubbornness nearly cost him
his life... and mine."

======

[Two years ago -- Pokémon Trainers' Association Headquarters]

"It was around ten at night when our flight from Goldenrod City landed in
Viridian City.  After successfully defeating Whitney for the Plain Badge,
despite an initial loss by each of us, we were going back home.  We thought it
was natural to train in an environment that we were familiar with.

"There wasn't much time to train though.  Both of us were going to compete
in our first tournament together.  The Pokémon League Amateur Tournament.  It
was the third-highest of the five League levels.  Unlike the Novice and Rookie
level tournaments, the Amateur Tournaments are held only twice a year, instead
of four.  I had already competed in two at that level before.  Both years, I
advanced to the round of 64, good enough to stay at that level.  But I couldn't
get past there.  This was Arius's first attempt at the Amateur Level.  He was
at the Rookie Level, but could be promoted to Amateur if he placed in the
top 64.

"It was very much on our minds.  The two-week tournament began the following
Sunday, so we were going to go to Pallet Town to stay with Professor Oak for
a few days until it was time to travel to the Indigo Plateau.  Luckily,
neither Ash or Gary were at home.  Both were still in the Johto region.  I
didn't even know if either of them were coming back to participate in the
tournament.  I hadn't faced either of them in battle in a tournament to date
and I wanted to have that opportunity.

"But fate would play against us that night, as was evident when Arius first
suggested we visit our old friends at the PTA."

Arius and Cassie were walking out of the airport terminal, arguing about what
to do.

"We need to find the Pokémon Center and rest!" Cassie argued.  "The walk to
Pallet Town takes almost an entire day!"

"What's wrong with dropping by the old nest?" Arius shouted back.  "It's not
like they'll trap us inside and force us to join back up again."

"Maybe not, but I know you've been relishing this opportunity ever since I
told you we were staying in Pallet.  I know you want to go back to the PTA."

"So what if I do?  If I want to go back, then I'll go back."

"Then why don't you already?  You left with me because you felt the need to
protect me.  Well, guess what?  I don't need your protection!"

"Why would I want to protect a whiny baby like you?"

Arius grabbed his things and stomped off, while Cassie huffs angrily.

======

Special Author's Note: If you are still sensitive to the 9-11 attacks, I
would recommend skipping the next two scenes.  The 'questionable' scenes are
contained within the special scene divider *====*.

*====*

"I went to the Pokémon Center.  Arius went off to PTA headquarters.  I decided
to reserve two cots.  I had a feeling that I was right and that he'd come
crawling back for forgiveness.

"Boy, do I hate it when I'm wrong."

Cassie is lying on a cot in the middle of a lounge inside the Center.  There
are about a dozen or so cots lined against the wall, except for two pairs
set up next to each other in the center.  The cot next to Cassie was empty,
reserved for Arius.  But he wasn't in it.  In fact, it had been almost an
hour since they had their little tiff and had gone their separate ways.

Cassie was mentally cursing herself for getting into a petty argument like
that.  It didn't help that while lying there awake, the somber silence of
the room is broken by the sound of an explosion.  The jolts immediately woke
up everyone in the room.  The frightened trainers quickly evacuated the room,
hoping that the explosion wasn't nearby.

They all scurried into the lobby, where Nurse Joy was already on the phone,
calling Officer Jenny.  From the front desk, she had a perfect view through
the glass pane windows of what happened.  Joy wasn't sure exactly what had
caused the explosion, but she definitely knew the result.  There was a huge
fire in the Viridian Forest, only a few miles away from the northern border of
the city.  Even though the Center was directly in the center of the city,
they could see the hilly forest and the fires that leaped up to it.

Cassie finds an empty spot against the glass and glances out.  Seeing the
location, she quickly triangulated in her mind the exact location.  Although
she couldn't be completely accurate, the results were close enough for her
to realize the obvious.

The explosion had come from the PTA Headquarters building.

Quickly realizing that Arius could still be up there, Cassie races for the
front door.  But Joy gets there first, blocking the way.

"I know where you're going young lady, and the answer is no!" Joy shouted
sternly.  "It's too dangerous!"

"But my friend!" Cassie cried.  "I think he may be up there!"

"The police and the fire department are already on their way.  It would be
best if you stayed down here, out of harm's way."

"But Arius..."

"If he's up there, they'll find him."

"Yeah," Cassie agreed sadly, "but will he still be alive?"

======

"79 men and women, 212 Pokémon.  That's the number that died.  Over 1300
humans and Pokémon combined, injured.  When all was said and done, those were
the final numbers.  Only a handful of people and Pokémon were completely
unharmed.  Arius wasn't one of them.

"He had first-degree burns on both of his arms.  Thank goodness it wasn't much
worse.  He told me that he was on his way out of the building when he heard
the explosion.  It had come from the north side, but the impact was so strong
that the ceiling immediately began to cave in even in that part of the building.
Arius was unhurt initially, but the fires that generated from the explosion
quickly covered the whole building.  By the time Arius found the exit, he had
already made his way through a smoke and fire filled hallway.  He was the last
person to use that exit before that hallway collapsed moments later.

"Most of the building did collapse before the Viridian firefighters could get
the blaze under control.  The victims that were still alive, yet fighting for
their lives, were the first taken away from the scene.  Arius told me that
he helped where he could, tending to as many of the injured as he could before
the burns on his arms rendered them too painful to move.

"It wasn't until 1:15 a.m. that I knew Arius was at Viridian General.  He
spent all night among dozens and dozens of victims with minor injuries,
waiting to be treated.  I didn't get to see him until eight in the morning."

Cassie was sitting among scores of family members, waiting to hear the fate
of their beloved relatives.  Many were still on the way, as because of the
secrecy surrounding the PTA, the news had not yet spread to some.

"Terry Mathers.  Cassie Banks."

"A nurse had called out my name, as well as the name of a 28-year old man.
The two of us followed the nurse to the patient ward.  She first directed us
to Terry's younger brother, Matthew.  I didn't know the guy, so I decided to
just move on and let the siblings have their reunion alone.

"Just a few doors down, the nurse led me into a room where Arius was sitting
up on his bed, eating a bowl of cereal while he glanced up at the TV bolted
onto the wall.  I couldn't believe that he was alive!

"Without delay, I ran over and gave Arius a big hug, followed by a peck on
the cheek.  I honestly thought I had lost him, regretting having that argument
with him in the first place."

*====*

Special Author's Note 2: 'Questionable' scenes over... resume regular reading!

======

"They wanted to keep Arius in the hospital overnight for observation.  After
some begging, they allowed me to stay too, as long as we didn't bother the
guy Arius was rooming with.  His roomie was in much worse shape, but thankfully,
still alive.  He had second-degree and third-degree burns so bad that he was
practically bandaged up all over so that he looked like a mummy.  I truly felt
sorry for the guy, but I couldn't help but snicker at seeing a real life
mummy.

"All joking aside, Arius was discharged the following morning.  We decided to
stay in Viridian an extra day to see the sights and give Arius time to forget
about the incident.  Not that it was easy.

"He told me that Team Rocket was responsible for the explosion.  Some agents
had set up two bombs on the north side of headquarters, undetected.  Arius
had heard from another agent that had survived that the bombs were found by
two guards just one minute before they went off.  By the time they had
radioed in to evacuate the building, it was too late.

"Of course, it took nearly three days before one of the survivors were
willing to divulge that piece of information to Officer Jenny and the rest of
the Viridian City Police.  An all-points alert was put out to arrest any Team
Rocket member on site.  In just a week over 200 Rockets were arrested.  Most
of them did know about the planned bombing, but none were directly involved in
the plot.  And of course, they spilled the beans on the now defunct PTA.

"Arius and I both lost a lot of good friends that day.  Sadly, one of them
happened to be Patti, the woman who had raised us to be great trainers.  She
never made it out of the building."

======

"We went to Pallet Town anyway, but we were in no mood to train.  We both
decided to withdraw from the Amateur Tournament.  Arius was in no condition
to battle physically.  I was in no condition to battle mentally.  It's sad
that Arius had to meet Professor Oak for the first time under such
circumstances.  But Oak actually ended up helping Arius recover from the
burns and from that frightful night.

"After spending a few days there, we both went to Cobalt Town, where his
parents were more than happy to see him alive, in person.  The hospital did
have to call them, but because the 'rents had been on vacation the past few
days, having only returned hours before we got there, they had no idea that
their son was among the injured.  But they were glad that he was still alive.

"At that point, Arius and I decided to part ways for the time being.  As much
as we regret having that argument that nearly doomed Arius, we thought that
we needed time apart to consider our options.  Both as Pokémon trainers and
as lovers."

======

[Present day -- Lake of Rage, Johto Region]

Cassie is now sitting Indian style on the ground as she sips down the last
of her soup.  She gets up and walks to a nearby trash bag, in which she dumps
her styrofoam bowl into, and then she heads for the tent.

"We ended up spending about a month apart.  I stayed home for two weeks, he
for three.  But we both decided to head back west to the Johto League to
resume our quest for gym badges there.  Arius eventually caught up to me in
Ecruteak, and after we each won a Fog Badge, we shared a happy reunion through
a romantic dinner.

"Arius had fully recovered from his physical injuries, though his mental ones
still lurked about.  So did mine.  But we agreed that the best way to get
rid of them was to be with each other.  To realize that we are stronger
together than apart.

"We reconciled our differences that day.  We've never been apart since."

Cassie walks back out of the tent with her Pokébelt in hand.  Picking the
Pokéballs off one by one, she throws them out, releasing the Pokémon inside.
Out of them came a Bayleef, a Raticate, a Bellossom, a Persian, an Espeon,
and an Aipom.

"Rise and shine, time to eat!"

The Pokémon cheered as they ran over to the campfire... only to find Snorlax
already there, awake and gulping down the last of the potato broth.

"Looks like I'll have to do some cooking," Cassie said as she sighed out a
mushroom cloud.

======

"Hey, I'm back!"

"Took you long enough!"

All of Arius and Cassie's Pokémon were out eating lunch.  Including Snorlax,
whom Cassie had managed to keep under control.  She was in the process of
cooking some instant noodle soup for lunch, hoping she could get a bowlful
before Snorlax ate it.

"It takes half an hour just to walk there!  But at least I have some bait!"

"I hope you brought some food with that bait, because at the rate your
Snorlax is eating, we'll having nothing to eat come dinner time."

Arius gulped.  "And then he'll start searching other campsites for more food.

He pulls out Snorlax's Pokéball and recalls the large Pokémon.

"Why do you keep that Snorlax around?  It's costing us a bundle just to keep
him well fed.  It's not like we have rich parents to pay for that."

"I know that!  But everytime I try to trade it, nobody wants it.  Not to
mention Snorlax doesn't want to be traded either."

"Then what are we going to do?  Even if we get to Blackthorn City, we won't
have any money to eat, sleep in a hotel, or fly back home after we beat the
gym leader.  We've got to cut back somewhere!"

"What about..."

"Don't you dare suggest that I cut back on the hair products!"

"Oh, come on Cassie!  You spend over 3000 coins per month on that stuff alone!"

"We'll figure out something!  But I'm not cutting back!"

"Then why don't we just eat less?  We don't eat breakfast except on weekends
and on days when we challenge a gym leader.  Okay?"

"That's fine by me."

"Good.  So, shall we eat lunch?"

"As long as you promise not to eat so much."

======

After enjoying a healthy lunch, Arius gathered the rest of the fishing gear
and prepared to leave.

"I'm heading over to the boat rental place," Arius muttered.  "Care to join
me?"

"No thanks," Cassie replied.  "I'm going to see if I can catch some wild
Pokémon."

Arius shook his head.  "Again?  Don't you have enough Pokémon as it is?"

"You can never have too many Pokémon.  After all, I gotta catch 'em all!"

"Just how many do you have now?  Sixty?  Seventy?"

"Well, let's just see what my Pokédex says."

Cassie went through her bags and pulled her Pokédex out.  Opening it, she
pressed the 'Pokémon Count' button.

"Pokémon total for trainer Cassie Banks.  172 Pokémon seen, 102 Pokémon
caught."

"A hundred and two?" Arius was a little surprised that the number was so big.
"Most trainers only get about ten or twenty, but you..."

"I guess I've just got the right touch.  That's all."

"How... how do you take care of them all?"

"Professor Oak manages my Pokémon, remember?  He takes care of most of my
Pokémon, particularly the ones I have, well, just to have."

"With all those Pokémon, many people would think your Pokémon aren't leveled
up.  I mean, the time it would take to get all of them to the same level!"

"That's how dedicated a trainer I am!  And it was my dedication that kept me
going after what happened at Indigo last year."

"You mean... after..."

Cassie sadly nods.  "Yes.  Another July 10th that I'd like to forget, but
can't..."

======

[Last year -- Indigo Plateau]

It was a hot summer day as Cassie was among several trainers performing mock
battles with their Pokémon, away from the actual battles at nearby Indigo
Stadium.  Currently, her Alakazam and her Espeon were dueling each other.

"Alright Alakazam!" Cassie yelled with confidence.  "Our next opponent has
an Umbreon, and since you have little experience against dark-types... we
need to prepare for the worst!"

"Alakazam!" the psychic-type proclaimed proudly, flexing his muscles.

"It was a well-known fact that psychic-types have a disadvantage against
dark-types," narrated Cassie.  "And although I could easily use one of my
other Pokémon in the battle, I wanted Alakazam to be available because it was
one of my strongest.  That, and the psychic link between us got better and
better with each passing day.

"But the bond between us wasn't strong enough to detect what was about to
happen."

Cassie turned towards her Espeon and ordered it to attack.

"Let's try a weaker attack first.  Espeon, bite!  Alakazam, I want you to
block it!"

Espeon went into action, fading away from her current position and reappearing
right in front of Alakazam.  She then bit her opponent, sending him reeling
back a little.

"Alakazam!  We won't win if you defend like that!"

Cassie concentrated hard, as she was trying to figure out what her Alakazam
was thinking.  Nowadays, they could read each others' minds.  But today, for
some odd reason, Cassie could not get into her Pokémon's head.

"What's going on?" she thought.  "I thought I had the whole 'mind reading'
thing down pat already."  She then yelled out a command to Alakazam.  "On
the offensive, Alakazam!  Confusion!"

Alakazam regained his footing and raised his two spoons in front of him.  The
psychic-type began summoning energy for the confusion attack.

"Kazam!" the Pokémon shouted, aiming the 'invisible to the human eye' attack
at Espeon.  The psychic-type Eevee evolution stood there, taking the full brunt
of attack.  But afterwards, there was no noticeable difference in her behavior.

"You can do better than that, Alakazam!"  Cassie began to think again.  "Espeon
is a psychic-type just like Alakazam, but Alakazam should be a few levels
higher than Espeon.  Espeon, at the very least, should have felt the attack."

Alakazam's eyes seemed to become unwavy, but because Cassie couldn't read his
mind or see his eyes from where she was, she didn't notice it at all.

"Maybe this would be better if I had a pure dark-type.  Then I could really
test out Alakazam's abilities.  Still, I didn't expect a widely common
dark-type move like Bite to have so much effect."

Espeon reared back on her hind legs and prepared to receive her next command.

"Espeon!" Cassie shouted.  "Use bite again!  And this time, give it all you
got!"

Espeon leaped at Alakazam, ready to sink her teeth deep into the psychic-type's
skin.  Alakazam didn't even move as Espeon bit his arm.  Cassie began to
rejoice slightly when she saw Alakazam resisting the attack psychically.

"That a way, Alakazam!"

But Cassie stop celebrating once Espeon let go and Alakazam was still standing
perfectly still.

"Alakazam?"

The psychic Pokémon did not respond.  Cassie walked over to try and figure out
what was wrong.  She waved her hands in front of him, but no response.

"Alakazam?  This is no time to be fooling around!  At least let me read your
mind so I can figure out what you're thinking!"

Cassie closed her eyes and concentrated, attempting to read her Alakazam's
mind.  Once again, her attempts to get in were denied.  But this time, she
was able to figure out why...

======

Thirteen minutes later...

A group of four Chansey wheel in a stretcher, to which Alakazam is strapped
into.  An IV is already patched into his left arm as the Chansey push him
towards the Emergency Room.  Nurse Joy, Cassie, and Espeon followed right
after, with the young girl obviously filled with worry.

"You just have to help Alakazam!  I don't know what to do!"

"Don't worry, Cassie!  I'll do my very best!"

Cassie and Espeon then stopped following as Joy and the Chansey entered the
ER.  Cassie just stood there, stunned at what was happening.

======

Cassie is sitting in the waiting room with her head resting on the palms of
her hands.  Espeon was by her side, rubbing against her leg in hopes of
cheering her up.  She was there alone, as most trainers were at Indigo
Stadium watching the last set of third round matches.

"I sat there for what seemed like hours," Cassie narrated again.  "Just
Espeon and me.  I didn't know if Alakazam was alright or not.  Neither Joy
or any of the Chansey had come out of the ER since they went in.  I was
beginning to fear the worst."

Suddenly, the light above the ER turned off as Nurse Joy exited.  She
stepped out solemnly, and strangely, without a smile on her face.  Cassie knew
this was not a good sign.

"Cassie?"

The young female stood up, hoping that Joy wasn't about to say what she thought
she was going to say.

"I'm sorry," Joy began, bowing her head.  "Your Alakazam passed away a few
minutes ago of a heart attack."

Cassie's mouth hung wide open.  She was in total disbelief.  She had never
gone through something as tragic as this.  Sure, some of the missions she had
as a member of the PTA resulted in human and Pokémon casualties.  Even the
destruction of PTA headquarters was a heavy blow.  But it was nothing
compared to this.

Cassie did the only thing that came to mind.  She ran over to Nurse Joy's
side and began to cry into her blouse.  Joy wrapped her arms around the
sobbing trainer and rubbed her hands along her back, trying to comfort her.

"Just let it all out," the nurse said as Cassie continued to cry.

======

After what seemed like an eternity, Cassie went to pay her last respects to
her dearly departed Pokémon, Alakazam.  Espeon, her only other psychic-type,
was also heartbroken as she and Alakazam were very close friends.  Trainer
and Pokémon bonded as one of their friends-for-life passed into the afterlife.

======

[Present day -- Lake of Rage, Johto Region]

"I withdraw from the tournament even though I had gotten to the round of 16.
I couldn't bear to continue on after losing one of my most beloved Pokémon."

Arius jumped in at this point.  "I know you miss Alakazam a lot.  It's sad to
have something like that happen."

Cassie nodded as she tried to hold back tears.  "Sometimes I doubt that
decision.  I could have gone far... farther than anyone had expected.  But I
just couldn't do it without one of my best by my side."

Arius walked over and wrapped his arm around Cassie's shoulder.

"The most important thing of all though, Cassie, is that you moved on and
continued with your career as a trainer."

"I had to," Cassie commented, turning her head to look into her boyfriend's
eyes.  "Alakazam would have wanted it that way."

"I would have as well."

Cassie smiled happily.  She was glad to have someone like Arius with her.

"You can never dwell on the past for a long time.  If people were so concerned
about the past, we wouldn't have a future.  In fact, why do we even remember
things?  Shouldn't we be still looking ahead, instead of behind?"

"Well," Cassie began, "if that were case, we'd lose a lot of most memorable
moments together.  The first time we met each other in PTA boot camp.  The
first time we were assigned to work together.  And the first time we kissed."

Arius scratched his chin.  "You know, I don't remember our first kiss."

"Ah!" Cassie smirked slyly.  "Does someone need a little reminder?"

The two lean in towards each other with their lips puckered, ready to relive
this moment of the past.

Wouldn't you know it... a plethora of screams fill the air.

Arius and Cassie quickly glance towards the lake, where a Gyarados has
emerged and has begun to attack several of the tourists in the water.
Several trainers were on the shoreline, launching Pokémon to stop the
rampaging Gyarados.

"Looks like we've got some work to do," Cassie said, reaching for her Pokéballs.

"Why do these things happen when things get good?" Arius asked rhetorically.

======

"Dewgong, aurora beam!"

"Tentacruel, poison sting!"

"Vileplume, sleep powder!"

"Fearow, wing attack!"

"Haunter, night shade!"

From both sides of the lake, trainers were hard at work trying to bring down
the Gyarados before anyone got hurt.  Even the park ranger had arrived and
gotten into the act, calling forth his Venusaur to the battlefield.

"Venusaur, solar beam!"

The grass Pokémon shook his body all around as he gathered solar energy for
the beam.  Meanwhile, the other Pokémon's attacks were having little or no
effect on the Gyarados, only to make it angrier.

"Fire, Venusaur!"

"Saur!" the Pokémon cried as the solar beam flew towards Gyarados.

Gyarados roared loudly as it moved just enough to avoid Venusaur's attack.
Meanwhile, Arius and Cassie each had a Pokéball out, ready to join the battle.

"Bayleef, go!" Cassie shouted.

"Butterfree, you're up!" Arius exclaimed.

The two trainers threw out their Pokéballs and their respective Pokémon
emerge, shouting their traditional battlecries.

"Bay!"

"Free!"

"Bayleef!  Razor leaf attack!"

"Blow it away with gust, Butterfree!"

The two launched their attacks simultaneously, yet the end result was the
same as the others... practically nothing.

"Okay... just how strong is this Pokémon anyway?" Arius asked aloud.

The Gyarados was about to give his answer... with a Hyper Beam!  Many of the
trainers and Pokémon were running for cover as fast as they could.  Cassie
was about to follow Arius and the others when she noticed the group of
Pokégirl Scouts huddled around their scoutmaster in fear.

Not even thinking about the risks involved, Cassie and Bayleef ran over
towards the group.

"Are you crazy?" Arius asks his girlfriend, stopping in his tracks.

"Gyarados will be open to attack!" ordered Cassie, not paying too much
attention to Arius's worries.  "Use Butterfree to put it to sleep!"

"Cassie!  Damn it!"

Arius reluctantly forgot about Cassie and Bayleef for the moment and turned
towards his Butterfree.

"Butterfree!  Prepare to use sleep powder on Gyarados!"

"Free!" Butterfree nodded without objection.

Meanwhile, Cassie and Bayleef were now standing in front of the scouts just
as Gyarados turned to fire the Hyper Beam in their direction.

"You can do this!" Cassie shouted, encouraging her Pokémon.  "On my mark!"

"Bay!" Bayleef nodded as she stared down the giant water-dragon Pokémon.

Finally, with all of the required energy gathered, Gyarados fired the Hyper
Beam from its mouth.  The humongous, bright yellow beam of light headed
straight for Bayleef, Cassie, and the girls.  Arius, about two hundred feet
away, focused on Cassie worriedly.

"I hope you know what you're doing..." he thought.

"Bayleef!" Cassie yelled.  "Reflect the Hyper Beam!"

Using the defensive move Reflect, Bayleef managed to raise a barrier just in
time.  But the Hyper Beam was not bounced back.  Instead, it continued to
push against Bayleef.  The grass Pokémon dug her claws into the soil beneath
her and attempted to do her best to hold her ground.

For a few seconds, Cassie's strategy seemed to be working, as some of the
Hyper Beam's energy began to deflect upwards into the sky.  Cassie, shielding
her eyes from the bright light, squinted to see how Bayleef was doing.  It
was then that she noticed that the superior attack was starting to push back
Bayleef's body.

On the sidelines, Arius continued to express his resentment for the plan.

"Cassie!  This isn't going to work!  Get out of there!"

He tried to wave his hands around to get his girlfriend's attention, but to
no avail.

"Free!" his Butterfree interrupted.

"What?" Arius said, turning to look at his Butterfree.  Butterfree responded
by pointing towards Gyarados.  It had finally expelled the last of the
energy for the Hyper Beam, and was now open to attack.

"Sleep powder!" Arius shouted, pointing at Gyarados.

Butterfree flew off to complete his assigned duty.  Meanwhile, Bayleef was
getting ready to collapse under the pressure, as the energy from the Hyper
Beam began to be absorbed by the Reflect barrier instead of, well, being
reflected.  Suddenly, the grass-type felt someone pushing against her
backside.  But by feel alone, she could tell that it was her trainer.

"Hang in there!" Cassie yelled, barely able to keep her eyes open yet using
all of her strength to help keep Bayleef propped up and on her feet.

"Bay bay!"

With her trainer holding her in place, Bayleef began to pour all of her
strength into keeping the barrier up.  Instantly, energy once again began
to reflect away from them.

"That's it, Bayleef!  Just a few... ugh... more seconds!"

Even with Cassie's help, the remaining amount of energy was still pushing
forward.  She and Bayleef held up as long as they could, but finally the
Reflect broke.  The two were sent flying back, with Bayleef taking the brunt
of what was left of the Hyper Beam attack.

Gyarados, watching the whole incident, was not pleased with failing.  It knew
that the Bayleef was not down and out, and it had to finish the job.  But
needing rest, it was unable to attack.  Or defend itself either, as Butterfree
hovers above Gyarados and seeds it with sleeping powder.

The giant water dragon's eyes slowly close until it begins to sink back into
the lake.  Once it is completely submerged underwater, all of the hiding
trainers and Pokémon come out, cheering happily.  The Pokégirl Scouts are
all gathering around Cassie and Bayleef, who each have a few bruises here
and there, but are otherwise fine.

Arius recalls Butterfree and then runs over to Cassie's side.  He smiles
when he sees the gathering she has attracted... as well as Bayleef happily
licking the side of Cassie's face.

"Bay bay!" Bayleef chanted over and over with glee.

"You were great, Bayleef!" Cassie told her, wrapping her arms around the
grass-type's neck and giving her a hug.

"Thank you!" one of the girls shouted.

"Your Bayleef's so cute!" chimed in a second.

"And strong!" added a third.

"I wanna grow up to be just like you!" exclaimed a fourth.

"Looks like someone's got a fan club," Arius said with a smirk.

"It's nothing, really," commented Cassie, blowing the whole 'fan club'
notion off.  "Any trainer would've done the same thing.  I just happened to
be the one to volunteer this time around."

"You really had me worried."  Arius helped Cassie to her feet.

"You didn't doubt my plan, did you?"

"Well..."

"Come on!  I wouldn't have tried it if I thought it would fail!"

Arius snickered.  "That's never stopped you before."

"Hey!" Cassie playfully punched Arius in the arm as the scoutmaster, a woman
in her early 30s, came up to the duo.

"How can I ever repay you for protecting me and the girls?" she asked.

"Nothing," Arius replied.  "Nothing at all."

"Just knowing you're all safe is thanks enough for us," Cassie added.

"That was just incredible!" the park ranger exclaimed.  "Usually Venusaur and
I don't have too much trouble in these situations, but that Gyarados was
really wild and crazy today!"

"Any idea why?" queried the curious golden brown-haired girl.

"The rest of my staff from Mahogany Town is on the way up here now.  We'll
find out the problem, if any.  In the meantime... wow!  That's one strong
Bayleef you have there, young lady."

Cassie blushed.  "Aw... thank you.  Bayleef and I have been together for a
long time."

"I bet you two work for some secret superhero organization or something!"

Cassie chuckled nervously.  "Heh heh... whatever gave you that idea?"

"We're just two ordinary Pokémon trainers," Arius added.  "Just like everyone
else."

======

A few hours later, Arius and Cassie were sitting on a hill overlooking the
northern end of the lake.  The sun was beginning to set in the western sky.
The two young trainers were relaxing as another July 10th started to wind
down to an end.

"You think that Gyarados will be alright?" Cassie asked Arius.

"With all those rangers and Nurse Joy looking after it?  I'm sure it'll be
fine and back in the lake by morning."

Cassie smiled as she interlaced her left arm with Arius's right arm.  She
then leaned over and rested her head on his right shoulder, to his delight.

"You know... this day wasn't so bad after all!"

"Don't jinx it!  A lot can happen between now and midnight!"

"After we saved the resort and stopped that Gyarados, I doubt we could face
much worse."

Arius began to laugh, but quickly stopped when he saw the serious look on
Cassie's face.

"You're right.  I guess we shouldn't relax just yet then."

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with relaxing.  Let's just stay here and watch
the sunset.  And if something happens, then it happens."

"Always the logical one, eh Cassie?"

"Gotta have one around with a muscle-bound hunk like you here."

"Is that an insult?" Arius asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a compliment!  Haven't you ever heard that expression that says brains
and brawn have to stick together?"

"I was talking about the hunk part!  I'm definitely no hunk!"

"Well, you're hunk enough for me."

Arius smiled again.  "So... if I'm your hunk, how about giving me that
reminder of our first kiss?  Like you promised."

"I guess for believing in my plan, I owe you that much!"

"Hey!"

This time, it was Cassie's turn to laugh.  "I was going to give it to you
anyway!"

Cassie quickly leans in and pecks Arius on the lips.  Arius obviously enjoys
it, but doesn't seem satisfied.

"That's it?  Wasn't that short for a first kiss?"

"We weren't even teenagers the first time!"

"But we are now, aren't we?  How about a more... teenage kiss?"

"Oh, really?"

Arius closed his eyes and puckered up, waiting for Cassie's lips to meet his.
The only thing he got was a push to the ground.  As Arius reopens his eyes,
Cassie is giggling as she runs away.

"If you want this kiss, you'll have to earn it!"

"Cat and mouse?  I'm game!"

Arius got up from the ground and chased Cassie around the campsite.  The two
giggled and frolicked happily as the sun sunk slowly over the horizon, leaving
the couple to have some fun.

And at least on this July 10th, the 'anniversary' wasn't so unhappy after all.

******

"Unhappy Anniversary" Lyrics

You ask me, how am I?
Well I'm still standing, aren't I?
That's something, that's one thing that's gone my way
It's so hard, to go out, like everything ok now
When inside, I still cry for yesterday

This is my unhappy anniversary
But I lie, saying it's just another day
This is my unhappy anniversary, oh

I know it's so stupid to feel brokenhearted
I wonder if you know just how much I hurt
I drink up and think up a toast to numb the hours
To get through without you is so hard today
Cause it's

This is my unhappy anniversary
But I lie, saying it's just another day
This is my unhappy anniversary, oh

And now it's near midnight, a few minutes and I
Return to get back to my former life
Pretending our ending was not so bad, I know that
It's time to escape you until next year
When it's

This is my unhappy anniversary
But I lie, saying it's just another day
This is my unhappy anniversary, oh

This is my unhappy anniversary
But I smile like it's just another day
It's just my unhappy anniversary
It's just my unhappy anniversary

******

Additional Author's Notes:

Ah... comradery, romance, action and adventure... didn't this have it all?

For those of you who remember Arius and Cassie from the "Adventures Series,"
you notice that the versions of them here are slightly different.  First of
all, they are older now.  After all, this does take place three years after
the end of the series, if you all remember.  You also notice that their
Pokémon are a little different.  A few have evolved, while others have joined
the line-up.  Especially Cassie, who follows the game mantra instead of the
anime.  In other words, she actually catches a lot of Pokémon, as opposed to
the characters of the anime.

Besides telling backstory, this one-shot allowed me to reshape their
personalities to their true ones.  The ones they would normally have had they
not have been part of the Pokémon Trainers' Association.  Of course, I'm
doing as best as I can to avoid the 'Mary Sue' syndrome.  But after everything
Arius and Cassie have gone through... you know by now they're less than
perfect.

There is actually another, more gruesome version of the 'original' Episode 53
ending that was shown here in this one-shot.  In that, Jane and Calamity are
not captured by Officer Jenny, but instead during the battle are blown by
an attack off the cliff and presumed dead.  Also, Arius gets his hands on one
of Team Rocket Orange's guns and threatens Cassie to hand over the disk or
he'd kill her.  I decided not to do that ending because, well, I wanted Arius
and Cassie to stay together as a couple, as intended in the series.  That
decision was influenced by the fact that some readers thought that the duo
were not an item at all, just working partners.

A tidbit about that... that draws back to the whole 'Cassie dies in Episode
53' vibe that was going around at the beginning of Season 3.  For the record,
Cassie does convince Arius to drop the gun and no one is hurt.  The two do
quit the PTA afterwards and spend some time recovering from the ordeal.

Other small notes... remember that in this universe, they are five levels of
Pokémon League tournaments.  More explanation can be found back in the first
season of the "Adventures Series"... check out the 'Tournament' arc.  Novice
and rookie tournaments are held seasonly, amateur tournaments biannually,
and expert and master level tourneys annually.

For obvious reasons, I did not go deeper into the PTA headquarters explosion.
Plotwise, this event was actually among a cluster of several that involved
Team Rocket attempting to completely take over the Kanto Region.  Which means
that this was part of the regular series.  If the series had continued, this
probably would have occured around Episode 70 or so.

I'm not one to rant about the Pokémon body.  So I can't honestly tell you if
Pokémon can have heart attacks just like humans can.  Probably, though.

For those who don't remember or are wondering... is Cassie psychic?  Somewhat.
It depends on how you look at things.  Cassie had raised Alakazam all the way
back to when it was still an Abra.  As many of you probably know, a la Sabrina,
you have to be psychic yourself to control a psychic-type Pokémon.  But Cassie
definitely was not raised by psychics, or trained with psychics.

So how can she have a psychic link with her Abra/Kadabra/Alakazam?  The
answer, in trainer terms, is so simple even Ash would know it.  It's the bond
between trainer and Pokémon that allows them to know what the other is
thinking.  With psychic Pokémon, it may actually be possible for the trainer
to hear their Pokémon's thoughts and vice versa.  Of course, like all bonds,
it takes awhile for a link to develop.  Evidence is shown back in the series,
as Cassie did struggle in the early days while training Abra/Kadabra.

Of course, we could then ask why Cassie doesn't have a similar bond with
Espeon (or any other psychic-types she may have)?  Once again, that draws
back to the whole bonding issue.  Her bond with Espeon is not as strong as it
was with Alakazam.  Maybe someone does need to spend more time training
certain Pokémon...

For those of you lost... in Gold/Silver, the defensive attack Reflect halves
the damage received by physical attacks for 5 consecutive battle turns.  It
is effective here because Hyper Beam is a normal-type attack.  Now, if
Gyarados would have used an attack like Surf, a special attack, Bayleef would
have had to use Light Screen instead of Reflect to get the same effect.

******

Whew!  I'm glad this is finally over and out for the world to see it.

Or is it?

At the beginning, you remember me asking if anyone wanted an Arius/Cassie
mini-series.  Well, here's your chance to sound off!  Curious about their
early days as trainers?  As part of the PTA?  How they became so close?  If
there's enough response for it, I'll do a mini-series later this year.

There is one definite though...

The one-shot you just read gave you a little insight about what happens
post-series.  But only from Arius and Cassie's side.  What about Ash and the
gang?

Here comes "The Year of Rocket's Revenge."

The last 20 episodes and the fourth and fifth feature movies of the "Adventures
Series" covered an entire year of action.  A lot happens to Ash, Misty, and
Brock in that year, along with Duplica, Tracey, Gary, and others as well.
"The Year of Rocket's Revenge" will be my attempt to compress all of that into
a mini-series and bring about the series' true ending.

It will probably be the last chance for me to pen a story related to the
"Adventures Series."  Unless I go back and actually do the feature movies, but
that's very doubtful.  Hopefully, this will also be my greatest work to date.
Tentatively, I have slated the mini-series to run late Summer/early Fall.

In the meantime, I will focus my Pokémon writing efforts on the 'Pokémon
Girls' series for the time being.  Actually, I'm not sure how much longer
I'll be writing Pokémon stories, 'cause frankly I'm running out of ideas.

Unless Haruka/May sparks some in the fall... but we'll have to wait and see.

Anyway, if you spent this long reading and are a dedicated fan of the series,
at least leave a review and/or send me an e-mail!  Show me that you're all
still behind me in this, my first and longest fanfic to date!

- Freedom Fighter