The Incredible Poke-Odyssey chapter 13 The Truth About Ash Team Rocket had managed to beat our heroes to a huge castle shaped building which was the abandoned Celadon game center that was actually their old hidden Rocket headquarters. "It's just as how I remembered it", sighed Meowth. "I wonder if Giovanni misses me." "You can be sure that I'll never miss you!" said Jessie angrily as she whacked Meowth with her fan never missing his big head. "Like the ice cream that melts when left out of the icebox too long, shall we go in or do we just stand here and bake in the sun?" asked Reiko wanting to get this over with. "Yes, we must", said Jessie, "Before those rebels come in and bug our ex-boss before we have a chance to seize him" They approached the entrance to the game center and found it was surrounded by yellow tape reading, "POLICE LINE. DO NOT CROSS." "Well, that solves our problem", said Meowth smiling, "When those dumb humans see that tape. They'll have no choice but to not go in." "You dumb Meowth!" shouted Jessie as she whacked him with an even bigger fan. "Haven't you forgotten they have a cop with them? She's sure to let them through! We have to get in there before they arrive!" "But what about all that harmful police tape that's blocking our way?" asked Meowth. "Reiko", said Jessie, "How about protecting poor fragile Meowth from all that deadly tape?" Reiko silently nodded and sliced through the tape with her sword. "She's indestructible!" gasped Meowth while Jessie and Reiko just sighed and then walked in. Team Rocket silently looked around their old game room section where they saw all the familiar sights. The slot machines, the coin exchange booth, and the prize window containing toy Pokemon all old and mildewy. "I'm not sure if this Giovanni is here anymore", said Reiko. "Don't be fooled by abandoned slots and misfit toys", said Jessie, "This is definitely the perfect hideout for someone like Giovanni. You never know how he operates." "Hey look!" called out Meowth, "There's the first slot machine I ever rigged!" and he pounced and hugged a dusty old slot machine with a number 9 on it. "Let's see if it still has the old Meowth charm on it", he said as he took out a coin, inserted it into the slot and pulled the lever. Three Meowths suddenly appeared on the screen and Meowth eagerly waited for his pay. Instead of coins, out came catnip. "Ah, I hit the jackpot!" sighed a dizzy Meowth, "This baby may make humans miserable, but it sure brightens up my day!" and he sniffed it some more. Reiko who was disgusted with Meowth immediately left him and went to look around. "AAAAAH!" screamed Jessie's voice. Reiko and Meowth followed her scream and found Jessie holding onto a big hole in the floor. "What da ya think you're doing?" asked Meowth. "What does it look like you dumb furball?!" shouted Jessie, "Now pull me up unless you want me to fall to my doom!" "Not so fast", smiled Meowth, "What's in it for me?" Jessie just angrily flung up her legs, grabbed Meowth by the neck and was planning on dropping him. "Does this answer your question?" grumbled Jessie. "I guess so", said Meowth nervously as he looked down at the darkness below. Reiko just sighed and pulled them both onto the floor. "Now where do you suppose this ugly thing came from?" asked Jessie. "Why do you always have to insult me all the time?!" whined Meowth. "I was talking about that ugly hole in the floor", grumbled Jessie, "How dare you compare your ugliness to that poor hole's!" "I think I see a much prettier one", said Reiko as she pointed to the ceiling and found another hole leading to the bright blue sky. "Wait a minute", said Meowth, "I remember when leaving this place for good, James and I saw some weird kind of Pokemon blast out of the roof. Maybe Giovanni's too cheap and lazy to have all this fixed." "I certainly doubt it", said Jessie, "He'd usually have one of us fix it for him. And during the holiday season too!" "Shall we go down there and investigate?" asked Reiko as she took out some rope. "No need to go down that dark and filthy hole my dear", smiled Jessie, "We'll just go down by our old secret passageway. Follow me", and she lead them to a painting on a wall that consisted of Growlithes sitting at a table playing poker. She tapped on a Growlithe's tongue and a hidden door right next to the painting started to open. "Come my loyal Rocketeers", smiled Jessie as she marched downstairs while the others followed. The door behind them quickly closed up just as Cameron and friends had entered the game center. "Look at this place", said Brock as he saw all the dust and mildew, "I don't think anyone's been around here for years to clean up this place." "Which means Giovanni might not be here anymore", said Misty, "And neither is Ash!" "But there might be something here that can give us a clue", said Jenny as she released her Growlithe. "Growlithe", she said, "I need you to sniff around for anything that might lead us to Ash or Giovanni." "Growl!" woofed Growlithe as he started to sniff around. "They say two noses are better than one", said Cameron, "Right Sandy?" "Shrew!" replied Sandy as he started to sniff around as well. Everyone followed Growlithe and Sandy to a huge black hole in the floor with another huge hole in the ceiling. "Someone must've had a blast here", said Stella. "Hmmm", said Jenny, "This certainly calls for some investigating. We need some kind of strong rope to get down there." "Why settle for strong rope when you can use a mighty Onix", smiled Brock as he released his giant rocky python. "Onix", commanded Brock. "How about making us a slide?" Onix roared as it slithered its head down into the darkness while keeping its tail onto the floor. "Last one down is a rotten Exeggcute!" smiled Brock as he slid down first. Everyone slid down Onix's back one by one until they were in complete darkness. "So who's the rotten Exeggcute?" called out Cameron. "I don't know", said Brock, "I can't even see who came down here first." "Clefable, use your flash attack please", called out Seymour. A burst of light filled the room and they found Clefable smiling while glowing brightly. "You always know how to brighten up my day", smiled Seymour as he hugged Clefable but got shocked from her light. "I gotta remember to think before I affectionate." Said a dazed Seymour. "Let me do the thinking for both of us", smiled Jenny as she helped up her man and kissed him. Everyone looked around and found themselves in some huge Pokemon gym. "I predict that some kind of powerful battle took place in this gym a long time ago", said Bill, "That's why there are big holes in the floor and ceiling." "So where do we start looking now?" asked Misty. "I don't see any doors in this gym that'll lead us to anywhere." "Good question", said Cameron. * * * * * * Meanwhile, Team Rocket reached the bottom of the stairs and came across a long hallway with lots of colored tiles on the floor. "I guess it's time to put our best paw forward", said Meowth proudly as he walked forward. But then, Meowth started spinning like crazy all over the room like a small tornado. He was bouncing off walls until he got sent back to Jessie and Reiko all dizzy. "I don't think I was tall enough to get on that ride", said a dazed Meowth. "That's right, I forgot", grumbled Jessie. "These floors are filled with spinning tiles to keep intruders out of Giovanni's quarters. We Rockets had to memorize a special walking code whenever we had to report to him." "Do you remember the code my queen?" asked Reiko. "Well no", said Jessie, "It's been a long time since I've last been here that I've completely forgotten it!" "And it looks like Meowth-san's forgotten it as well", said Reiko pointing to the dazed cat. "So how do we get across now?" asked Meowth. "Like the Diglett that digs tunnels when annoying highways get in their way. I've just devised a way across!" said Reiko as she released her Tentacruel. "Tentacruel", she asked, "I need you to do something different for me." And she started whispering in its ear. "Cruel" replied Tentacruel as it stuck itself onto the ceiling with its sticky tendrils and grabbing Reiko, Jessie, and Meowth with its others. Then Tentacruel started crawling upside-down on the ceiling until they were across that tricky floor. Then it released the two girls down onto their feet while Meowth landed on his face. "I could swear that your Tentacruel hates me", grumbled Meowth as he rubbed his red face. "You are a very hateful creature Meowth", said Reiko while patting Tentacruel on the head. "See that door?" asked Jessie, "Behind that door is Giovanni's office. I can still smell the aroma of money and brass knuckles through the crack." "Shall we go in and brag to him and that stupid Persian about how we're now royalty and they're only loser trillionares?" smiled Meowth. "But first, let's release all our Pokemon", said Jessie, "Just in case he has some thugs, weapons, or Pokemon protecting him." Reiko released her Kingler along side her Tentacruel while Jessie released her Arbok and Lickitung. Meowth took out a nail file and started sharpening his claws. "One, two, THREE!!!" screamed all three at once as they burst down the door. When they all stepped inside, they were in Giovanni's office, but with no Giovanni! There were dust and cobwebs all over his desk, his phone had over a thousand saved messages, and there were even tiny little Venonats nibbling on what was left of the money on his desk. "If Giovanni's still here, he sure has a skilled way of not showing it", said Reiko. "I guess Giovanni's really has abandoned his headquarters" said Jessie as she looked down at the closed trap door where Giovanni used to drop his ex-thugs. "I wonder if he took that Gyarados with him?" "Just as long as that Persian's not here either", said Meowth. Just then, they heard a mournful, "MEOW!" "What's wrong with you?" asked Jessie, "Are you still whining that you didn't get chosen for the part of new Morris?" "That wasn't me", said Meowth. They all went over to the back of the desk and found something underneath it. "It's Giovanni's old Persian", gasped Jessie. And sure enough it was. Persian was looking very terrible. His fur was all dirty, his eyes were crusty, he was extremely skinny, and he was eating a small pile of garbage. "It looks like my ex-master dumped you as well." said Meowth concerned. "I feel for you pal. NOT!" and he started laughing out loud. "Now you know how it feels to be the bottom cat! Huh, you little spoiled brat cat!" and he started plucking out Persian's whiskers. Jessie and Reiko both just shook their heads wishing that their partner were a quiet Persian instead of a loudmouth Meowth. Persian could finally take it no more when Meowth grabbed his only wishbone and gulped it down. He jumped at Meowth and started slashing him like crazy. "Lickitung!" commanded Jessie, "Wrap up that Persian!" Lickitung complied by sticking out its long tongue and pulling Persian off of the red scratched Meowth. "Red is my favorite color!" said Meowth looking at his scratches. "What should we do with him?" asked Reiko looking at the poor Persian who was wrapped up tight in Lickitung's tongue. "I'd say we stick him in this low rent Pokeball with no cable, no air conditioning, and no roach motels!" cackled Jessie as she pulled out a brown, dirty, busted Pokeball. "What do you say to that you fleabag?" Persian just smiled and let out a screeching noise. Everyone covered their ears while Lickitung let go of Persian causing him to run out the door. "He's getting away!" shouted Meowth. "Well then let's get after him!" shouted Jessie as she, Reiko, Meowth, and all their Pokemon charged after the Persian down the hallway. However, they did forget about all those spinning tiles and the two girls, along with Meowth, Arbok, Lickitung, Tentacruel, and Kingler started spinning around the hallway knocking each other around like pinballs. "They should really install barf bags on these walls!" cried a spinning Meowth. Luckily for Persian, he knew where all the spinning tiles were located so he was able to escape from them easily. Persian then came across a huge door with a screen and a pawprint on the bottom. He placed his paw on the screen and the door opened. * * * * * * Cameron and his friends suddenly saw a door slide open on the right side of the gym. "Be on your guard everyone!" said Jenny, "Those could be Rocket's coming in!" Everyone got their Pokemon ready for battle. Cameron had Sandy, Brock had Onix, Jenny had Growlithe, Stella had Tangela, Seymour had Clefable, Bill had himself, but just as Misty was about to send out her Starmie, Psyduck immediately popped out of his Pokeball and materialized on the top where the game room was. Psyduck looked down the hole and waved hi and "Psy" to Misty. "What's with you?!" screamed Misty, "Not only do you pop out whenever I don't want you to. You also pop out at the wrong place! I'm right down here you dumb duck!" "PSY-YAI-YAI!" cried Psyduck as he ran around the game room looking for some place to hide until his master cooled down. "Maybe its best he doesn't come down here", sighed Misty. Just then a shadow cast all over the gym's floor and everyone looked cautiously at what was at the other end of that shadow. Everyone then became relieved when they saw what it was. Everyone but Bill that is. "Hey, you're Giovanni's Persian aren't you?" asked Cameron. Persian let out another mournful meow as he staggered into the gym looking for protection. "Oh you poor thing", said Stella as she patted the poor cat, "It looks like you haven't eaten in weeks, or even years." "Let's hope he doesn't have mouse on his menu", whispered Bill as he hid behind Cameron's legs. But unfortunately, Persian did see Bill and he pounced on him very quickly. Then Persian nipped Bill's tail and started to run out of the room with him. "Somebody do something please", called out a nervous Bill, "If anyone doesn't mind!" "Tangela, bind that kitty!" commanded Stella. Tangela complied by shooting out its vines and wrapping Persian up like a green cocoon causing him to drop Bill on the floor. "Stella, you do care about me!" smiled Bill with tears in his eyes. "I care for the human part of you", said Stella, "But the rodent part is a different story." She then approached Persian and fed him a big can of tuna. Once Persian was all filled up, Stella ordered Tangela to release Persian and he walked up to Stella and stroked himself against her legs saying, "Thank you." "Wow, I guess treating Pokemon right does seem to help", smiled Stella, "And it feels good too!" Cameron smiled at what Stella said and looked at the happy Persian who seemed to have lost his evil streak for good. "Maybe he can lead us to Giovanni", he said. "Maybe so", said Jenny as he approached Persian who was being stroked by Stella. "All right cat", she said in her bad cop voice, "We want answers and we want them now. Where's your master located?" "Meow, purr, purr, meow", replied Persian in his native tongue. Everyone had forgotten that this wasn't the talking Meowth they all know and hate. "If we only had an interpreter with us", said Brock. "But we do", smiled Seymour as he sent Clefable over to Persian. She placed her finger on Persian's forehead like she did to James in a recent chapter and all of Persian's meows became translated into pictures above him. START OF FLASHBACK: It showed Giovanni yelling at Jessie, James, and Meowth for bringing them a kid instead of a Mr. Mime. He pushed a button and Team Rocket fell through a trap door. "What did you do to them?!" gasped Ash who was still in the bottom half of the Mr. Mime suit all tied up. Gio quickly calmed down and smiled at the boy. "Oh, don't worry about those three", he smiled, "We'll never have to worry about them destroying the world with their idiocy ever again. HA HA HA!" Ash gulped wondering what was this scary man was going to do to him. "Don't you think it's kind of early for Halloween son?" smiled Gio, "Terrible things could happen to you if you go around pretending to be something you're not! As you can plainly see. Exactly who are you?" "Ash Ketchum", said Ash nervously. "Not thee Ash Ketchum!" said Gio surprised. "The one with that supposedly powerful Pikachu? The Ash that those three simpletons kept going on about and trying to catch? You're that Ash Ketchum?!" "Yes", trembled Ash. "This is truly an honor", smiled Gio as he stroked his Persian. "Please forgive me for my rudeness. I suppose you'd like to stretch your arms out right now. He pushed a button on his desk and Ash quickly shut his eyes thinking he'd get sent down a trap door as well. "Boys, get our little friend out of that restraining costume will you?" smiled Gio. Ash opened his eyes and found two strong Rocket thugs grabbing him, untying him and getting him out of the Mr. Mime costume until he was back in his black shirt, blue jacket, and jeans. He then felt his head and found something missing. "WAAUGGH!" he cried, "My hat is gone!" "Oh dear", said Gio, "I guess it went down with the blunder brigade. But don't despair, the world's full of other great hats." "But I sent in a million postcards to win that hat!" cried Ash. "It's a Pokemon League expo-hat!" "Oh, so you're the one who prevented me from getting that hat!" said Gio a little annoyed, "I only sent in 999,999 postcards. But I suppose the best man won. But as runner up, I deserve a prize as well. Give me his Pokeballs!" The thugs grabbed Ash, removed his Pokebelt from his waist, and handed it to their boss. "No, they're my friends!" he wailed as he was trying to break free from the first thug's grip but with no luck. Gio just silently took out a little x-ray spyglass and examined each of Ash's Pokeballs. "Let's see", he said, "We have here a Pidgeotto, a Bulbasaur, a Squirtle, and a Charizard. Say, where's that famous Pikachu of yours?" "I'd never tell someone like you!" shouted Ash. "We shall see about that", smiled Gio, "Search him some more!" The two thugs searched through all of Ash's pockets and found no Pokeball that contained a Pikachu. "Hey, look boss", said the second thug as he held open Ash's coat, "This kid's got all the gym badges!" "Yes", said Gio as he curiously approached Ash. "Even one of my EarthBadges!" and he yanked the EarthBadge off of Ash's coat. "Hey, I earned that one fare and square!" Ash shouted angrily. "How, by defeating three of my most pathetic Rockets?" laughed Gio, "If you want this badge back, you'll have to defeat the real gym leader of the Viridian gym. And do you know who that might be?" "YOU?!" gasped Ash. "Bingo!" smiled Gio. "You're looking at Giovanni, the all powerful head of Team Rocket, the most dangerous criminal empire in the world. And the leader of the Viridian City gym on weekends to pay off my income taxes. And I'm gonna make you a little deal. If you can beat me in a Pokemon match, not only will I'll give you back the EarthBadge, I'll personally send you back home to your loving mother." "And if you win?" asked Ash. "Then I'll personally send you back home to your loving mother so you can give me your Pikachu!" smiled Gio evily. "There's no way I'm gonna be doing that!" shouted Ash. "You can keep your stupid EarthBadge. Pikachu's more important to me!" "But if you don't battle with me", smiled Gio, "I'll personally send you back home to your loving mother as a big bowl of chili! No doubt she'll die of a heart attack, not to mention heartburn when we force her to eat you." Ash realized he had no choice. He had to battle for his mother's sake and he had to win for Pikachu's sake as well. "You're on!" he said. * * * * * * Next, we find Ash and Gio inside a huge gym, which happened to be the same one that our heroes stumbled into. Gio had given Ash back his Pokebelt and was sitting in his luxury chair stroking his Persian while Ash was on the other side. "All right Ash", said Gio politely, "We'll each use 4 Pokemon, no time limit. What do you say?" "Do I have a choice?" asked Ash. "No, not really", said Gio, "Just making conversation. Now go ahead and release your first Pokemon." "Okay, I choose Bulbasaur", shouted Ash as he was about to turn his hat around but then remembered he didn't have it anymore. A little frog like Pokemon with a huge seed on its back materialized onto the floor. "Bulba!" it shouted. "Ah, the mighty Bulbasaur", smiled Gio, "But can it handle the even mightier Rhydon?!" and he released a gigantic rhino with a horn that looked like a drill. "Rhydon", commanded Gio, "Use your horn drill!" Rhydon's horn started to spin around ready to burrow into the tiny Bulbasaur. "Bulbasaur, use your leech seed!" shouted Ash. Bulbasaur concentrated hard and shot a tiny seed from its back and it plopped right onto Rhydon's horn. Vines started to sprout out of the seed covering up Rhydon's face while sucking the very energy out of it. "Now give it your solarbeam!" commanded Ash. Bulbasaur started to glow a bright sunny color and then let loose a powerful beam hitting Rhydon in the stomach causing it to roar and faint. "Not bad kid", said Gio as he called back his Rhydon. "But can you handle Kangaskhan?!" and he released a huge monstrous kangaroo who howled out, "Kangas-Kangas-Kangaskhan!!!" "Bulbasaur, use your vine whip!" commanded Ash. "Bulba!" shouted Bulbasaur as it shot out some strong vines and wrapped them tightly around Kangaskhan's wrists. "Kangaskhan", said Gio, "Dizzy punch now!" Kangaskhan started to spin around like a top while sticking its arms out. Bulbasaur couldn't hold on anymore and it ended up hitting the wall. "Bulbasaur!" cried Ash. He quickly pulled the knocked-out Bulbasaur back into its ball and took out another one. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!" and he released a large pigeon who made a loud cooing sound. "Kangaskhan", said Gio, "Give it your comet punch!" Kangaskhan started shooting fists of energy from its hands while the quick Pidgeotto easily dodged each blow. "Pidgeotto, use razor wind now!" commanded Ash. Pidgeotto flapped its wings very hard and released two strong blades of air knocking Kangashkan onto the ground. "Congratulations again", said Gio as he sucked Kangaskhan back into its Pokeball. "You truly are something. Maybe I was wrong to punish Jessie, James, and Meowth for all the trouble you put them through. Oh well, it's too late to make it up to them now. And we still have a match to finish. Go Marowak" and he released a reptile like creature with a skull on the outside of its head and carrying a huge bone in its hand. "Marowak?" asked Ash as he took out his Pokedex named Dexter. "MAROWAK. The bonekeeper Pokemon, the evolved form of Cubone", replied Dexter. "The bone it holds is its key weapon. The Marowak throws the bone skillfully like a boomerang to KO its targets." "Marowak, use your bonemerang attack!" commanded Gio. "WAK!" shouted Marowak as it threw its bone at Pidgeotto. "Quick Pidgeotto, get out of the way!" shouted Ash. Pidgeotto cooed and flew out of the bone's path. But unfortunately, Pidgeotto didn't count on the boomerang technique of the bone and it hit Pidgeotto on the head knocking it out. "Oh no, not again!" cried Ash as he put another unconscious Pokemon back into its ball. "Squirtle, I choose you!" shouted an angry Ash as he released a tiny turtle with a cute curly tail. "Squirtle, squirt!" it replied. "Marowak, take care of that little squirt with your bone club", said Gio. "WAK!" shouted Marowak as it charged up to Squirtle ready to conk it flat. "Squirtle, withdraw now!" shouted Ash. Squirtle quickly ducked into its protective shell just before Marowak could bonk it on the head. "That's it Marowak", said Gio, "Keep conking it until its protected no more!" Marowak started to conk on Squirtle's shell non-stop until it looked like it was about to crack. "I've gotta do something!" thought Ash, "Squirtle, give it a quick bubble attack in the eyes!" he shouted. Squirtle managed to pull its head out and shoot a few tiny bubbles into Marowak's eyes. "MARO!" cried Marowak who became blinded and dropped his bone. "Okay Squirtle", said Ash, "Finish it off with skull bash!" Squirtle ducked its head down and charged at high speed slamming Marowak in the stomach causing it to faint. "Good job Squirtle!" called out Ash. "Squirtle, squirt!" called out a proud Squirtle. "You're even tougher than I thought", said Gio smiling his most evilest of smiles. "Let's see if you're good enough to take on the world's most strongest Pokemon!" He pushed a button on his chair and a door slid open. Out stepped some kind of new Pokemon. It was 6 feet tall, colored white with a purple stomach along with a long purple tail. And it had the head of a cat with scary glowing eyes. Ash and Squirtle stood in fear at the sight of this new monster. "What is that?!" asked Ash as he nervously aimed his Pokedex at the beast. "Pokemon cannot be identified", was all that Dexter could say. "Awestruck, aren't you?" smiled Gio as he stood up and approached his Pokemon. I'd like you to meet Mewtwo. The world's first genetically cloned Pokemon. My scientists have finally made my evil dream come true and created the ultimate fighting machine. Mewtwo, show them your magic!" Mewtwo just silently lifted Ash up in the air with his psychic powers and started to spin him around like a ballet dancer. "What kind of Pokemon is this?" shouted a helpless Ash. "SQUIRTLE!" cried Squirtle as it grabbed onto Ash's foot trying to pull him back down. Then Ash suddenly found his mouth getting pulled back until his gums and teeth were showing. "No Mewtwo, don't turn him inside out today", said Gio, "I just had the floor cleaned." Mewtwo set Ash and Squirtle back onto the ground a little shaken up, but unharmed. "Shall we battle now or do you surrender?" laughed Gio. "Never!" shouted Ash, "Squirtle, use your water gun now!" Squirtle quickly shot a jet of water at Mewtwo, but Mewtwo just used his psychic powers to split the water gun in two firing it back at Ash and Squirtle knocking them into the wall. "Squirtle, return", said Ash as he called back the poor waterlogged turtle. "You've got one Pokemon left", smiled Gio, "This better be your best one. For your sake!" Ash looked at the Pokeball that contained Charizard. He hated to call out that disobedient lizard, but he had no other choice. "Charizard, you've gotta win this one for me!" shouted Ash as he released the giant winged lizard. But Charizard just ignored Ash and plopped down on the floor with no intention of battling. "Charizard!" cried Ash, "This is no time to be a jerk! This is a life and death situation for all of us!" "Char", scoffed Charizard showing that it didn't give a Raticate's butt. "I think this is the perfect time to test out that new attack of yours. Eh, Mewto?" smiled Gio. "Give it your mindjail attack!" Mewtwo quickly shot a psychic beam at Charizard causing it to become paralyzed. It roared as it started to shrink down into a tiny lizard no bigger than an ant. Ash looked in fear as Mewtwo pulled the tiny Charizard into his forehead. "Mindjail is a complete success!" laughed Gio out loud. "You're witnessing Pokemon history kid." Ash just charged up at Mewtwo teary eyed and started banging on his stomach. "What did you do to my Charizard?!" he sobbed, "Give it back! I demand to see it now!!!" Mewtwo smiled and decided to grant the boy his wish. He shot his mindjail beam at Ash and started to shrink him down as well. "NOOOOOO!" Ash screamed as he got pulled into Mewtwo's head. "Excellent work my friend", smiled Gio as he patted Mewtwo on the back. "Now you can release the boy. I need him to take me to a valuable Pikachu. But Mewtwo turned his back on his master for he didn't want to release Ash. "What are you doing?!" demanded an annoyed Gio. "I gave you a direct order!" Mewtwo just ignored Gio again and it looked like he was about to leave. "It looks like I'll have to teach you some discipline!" Shouted Gio as he was about to pull Mewtwo into a Pokeball. Mewtwo sensed what his master was about to do and shot a psychic blast at Gio knocking him back into his chair. Then he used his mindjail beam on Gio adding him to his collection of prisoners. Feeling satisfied, Mewtwo suddenly blasted off like a rocket shooting a hole through the roof of the gym and through the roof of the game center as well. Everybody in the game center screamed in panic wondering what that thing was that disappeared into the sky while down below the gym, a sad Persian watched his beloved master disappear forever. END OF FLASHBACK: "So that's what happened to Ash", said Brock quietly as Clefable took her finger off the now sleeping Persian. "Trapped in that awful Mewtwo's mind for five years?!" gasped Misty. "And with that horrible Giovanni too! I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. Not even a little creep like Ash!" and a tear ran down her face. "Well now that we know what happened to Ash", said Seymour, "All we have to do is find this Mewtwo, defeat him, and make him give back Ash." "But we don't even know where this Mewtwo is right now", said Stella, "Cameron, would you know from your TV show or game where he might be hiding?" "I don't know about the cartoon", replied Cameron, "But I did hear from my Gameboy strategy guide that Mewtwo hides out in the Unknown Dungeon in Cerulean City." "I think that might be a problem", said Misty, "Many years ago, the Unknown Dungeon got filled up with cement by order of the city. There were complaints about too many dangerous Pokemon popping out and terrorizing the citizens." "If I could only find some clue that could lead us to this Mewtwo", said Jenny. "Haven't you forgotten how powerful Mewtwo is?" asked Bill, "I don't think all our Pokemon combined are a match for this psycho-menace!" "I know", smiled Cameron, "We can ask Sabrina the psychic. Maybe she can use her powers to locate Mewtwo and also come along with us. Maybe her powers, along with her psychic and ghost Pokemon can defeat Mewtwo." "Yes, that's right", said Seymour happily, "Psychic attacks would be great against Mewtwo's own and ghost Pokemon are completely immune to psychic attacks." "Well shall we all head off to Saffron City to see if we can recruit Sabrina?" asked Jenny. Everyone said "Aye", while Misty and Brock stood there nervously. They remembered when they last met Sabrina. She was a cold and scary girl who turned people into dolls if they lost to her. Misty could still feel the cotton in her veins. "All opposed?" asked Jenny. "NAY!!!" shouted three voices. They all turned around and found Team Rocket who just burst into the gym with the help of all their Pokemon. They made their usual motto while Cameron stared at the lovely Reiko. "Hi Reiko", he said shyly. "Oh shut up you four-eyed geek!" shouted Reiko in a mean voice then winked at him. Cameron became a little hurt but then realized she only said that so her teammates wouldn't suspect that she had a thing for him. "So you poor little things weren't able to find Giovanni", said Jessie wickedly. "Yeah, and all you found was the booby prize", laughed Meowth, "That grungy little Persian." "He's not grungy!" protested Stella as she stroked the Persian's head while he made a happy purring sound. "Oh no!" wailed Meowth, "I'm watching him getting pampered again! And this time by a pretty human girl! WAAAAAH!" Stella just blushed at what Meowth said about her while Jessie whacked him again with a king-sized fan. "Get over yourself!" shouted Jessie. "Cause no one will be pampering this Persian ever again. It'll be going into a little cramped cage along with our little rebel friends." "That's what you think!" shouted Jenny. "Let's all attack together!" Sandy, Starmie, Onix, Tangela, Growlithe, Clefable, and even Bill charged at the Rockets and their Pokemon ready to defend their masters. "Arbok, toxic attack!" commanded Jessie. Arbok leapt in front of the seven Pokemon and sprayed a toxic cloud all over the group. Everyone watched in horror as they saw their Pokemon faint one-by-one. "I regret that I only have one life to give to my country", coughed Bill, "Actually I have two lives cause I'm sharing my life with my Rattata." And then he fainted. "Now let's say we take care of the human population. Right guys?" asked Meowth. Jessie and Reiko commanded all their Pokemon to seize everyone. Arbok wrapped up Brock and Stella, Lickitung tied up Misty with its gross, sticky tongue, Kingler clamped onto Seymour and Jenny, and Tentacruel seized Cameron. "HA HA HA!" cackled Jessie, "It looks like your days of freedom fighting's finally over!" Reiko walked up to the wrapped up Cameron and whispered in his ear. "I'm sorry Cameron-san", said Reiko, "This is not how I wanted us to meet again." And she gave him a quick private kiss on the cheek. "Neither did I", Cameron whispered and kissed her back. "Hey Reiko, what are you telling that brat?" asked Meowth. "Oh nothing", said Reiko, "I'm just telling the little fool about the torments we have planned for him and his friends the minute we get back. I like putting the fear of Rocket in pathetic rebels." "Hey, will you look at that?" said Jessie. They all saw Persian coughing up a pile of gold coins. "That Persian knows pay day!" she shouted with dollar signs in her eyes. "Don't just gawk there you two, we gotta collect all that currency!" "I could learn pay day too if I wanted to", sighed Meowth as he gathered up the coins, "I just don't feel like it right now." The truth was he couldn't learn pay day for he used up all that energy just learning how to talk. As they were gathering up all the coins, Reiko's keen eyesight suddenly saw Persian jump onto the boss's old chair pushing a button on the armrest. She had this feeling and immediately stepped away from the coin pile. Suddenly a trap door opened and all the coins fell through it along with Jessie and Meowth. Arbok and Lickitung heard their master scream as she fell down the trap. They released their captives and jumped down into the trap after her. "Yes, there's nothing like a loyal Pokemon", said Reiko as she ordered Tentacruel and Kingler to release their captives as well. Then she pulled them back into their Pokeballs. "You're setting us free?" asked Misty. "But aren't you an evil Rocket?" "Like the vegetarian pizza that secretly hides a pepperoni under a large mushroom. Things aren't always what they seem", said Reiko. "Maybe Reiko is on our side after all", said Brock. "What are you going to do now Reiko?" asked Cameron, "Join us I hope?" "No I can't Cameron-san", sighed Reiko sadly, "I must go after them for I'm still under ninja's oath to serve my queen. But it still was great to see you again Cameron-san." "Well, I'm going to make sure that you two stay together through this entire journey", smiled Jenny as she took out her handcuffs. "Reiko, you're definitely under arrest." "Sorry, but nothing is ever definite", smiled Reiko as she took out a smoke bomb and covered everything in a black cloud. Cameron felt a quick kiss on the cheek and then the smoke cleared. They found Reiko gone, the trap door shut, and Jenny with a discouraged look on her face. * * * * * * Reiko had jumped down the trap door, slid down a long slide and landed in a pool of shallow water. She saw Jessie and Meowth holding each other in shock staring at the face of the Gyarados that tried to eat them five years ago. "Why are you frightened?" asked Reiko. "That is only a skeleton of a Gyarados. It must've died since Giovanni wasn't around all these years to feed it." "It's not that", whined Meowth, "It's just that all our coins fell down that tiny drain on the bottom!" and he and Jessie let out a mournful, "WAAAAAAAH!" Reiko just sighed as she dragged them into the nearby sewer pipe that lead them to freedom. * * * * * * Our heroes were busy healing their poisoned Pokemon thanks to a jumbo pack of full restore potions. "Are you all right Sandy?" asked Cameron. "Shrew!" smiled Sandy who gave him his trademark claws up. "How about you Bill?" asked Misty who just gave him a sip of potion. "I thought I saw my whole life flash in front of me", gasped Bill, "I was the eighteenth child of a family of a hundred so I could hardly get any of my mother's milk, so I had to raid this girls' dorm... No wait!" said Bill blushing, "That was my Rattata's life, not mine." After Stella got her Tangela healed, she felt something rub against her arm. It was Persian. He purred happily at her and offered her a gold coin. "Aw, that's so sweet of you", smiled Stella, "It is kind of sad that you have a great pay day attack but no way of spending it for food. Would you like me to adopt you so you'll never grow hungry again?" "PUUUURRR!" said Persian. "You got it kitty", smiled Stella as she hugged both her old Tangela and her new Persian. "Is there room in that hug for one more?" asked Brock winking at her. Tangela thought that Brock was talking about it so it grabbed Brock with its vines and hugged him hard. Both Stella and Persian just giggled. * * * * * * Onix had just lifted our heroes back into the game center above. "I guess it's time all we head to Saffron City to see Sabrina", said Jenny. "I hope you don't mind if Giovanni's Persian comes with us", said Stella as she held up the ball that contained him. "Just let me know when you're about to release him", said Bill, "I don't need a near-death experience every day!" "Don't worry Bill", smiled Stella, "I'm gonna feed him so much he won't ever require a taste for you again." "Speaking of bad taste", said Misty, "Where's my Psyduck?" "Over there", said Cameron. They saw Psyduck at one of slot machines gambling and losing a lot of coins. Misty approached the duck with a red boiling face. "Why do you always do this to me?!!" she screamed while shaking him around, "While we're all getting our butts kicked by Team Rocket, you're up here gambling away all my hard earned cash! Do you delight in making me miserable all the time?!" "PSY-YAI-YAI!!!" cried Psyduck as coins dropped from his body from all that shaking. "Psyduck?" said Misty surprised. "You mean those coins were yours all along? You know pay day too?" "I believe he does now", said Seymour as he found a device on the floor and picked it up. "This is TM 16, the pay day device. Your Psyduck must've found it and activated it." "Oh, you wonderful duckling!" smiled Misty as she hugged her Psyduck. "I promise I'll never yell at you again. At least for today!" "Psy", smiled Psyduck. After that, our heroes left the game center and were on their way to yet another new quest. To find the dangerous Mewtwo and rescue Ash. Can they do it? Let us pray!" TO BE CONTINUED