Pokemon: The Journey

(AN: Damn, my quality slipped when writing the previous chapter while I was half-asleep. You think I should revisit the chapter and make the necessary changes? I felt it was rushed, and I was unable to describe the Viridian City and Ash's interactions with the people. Honestly, instead of a new chapter, I was thinking about fixing the chapter.)

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Breeaaakkkk...

The skyline on the roof of the Pokémon Center had been broken, and two balls bounced upon touching down on the floor, surrounded by the still-falling glass shards.

Click...click...

In slow motion, the balls opened as if in harmony, and the Pokédex chimed when the round purple Pokémon began spewing out smoke,

"Koffing, the Poison Gas Pokémon. A Poison-type Pokémon. Several geyser-like protrusions, which usually release a mustard-colored gas, cover this Pokémon's body. Koffing's purple skin is very thin, and over-inflation can cause it to explode. Koffing creates gases within its body by mixing toxins with garbage, and produces more gas in higher temperatures. These gases are malodorous and cause sniffles, coughs, and teary eyes to those around them. The gases are also lighter than air, allowing Koffing to hover. When agitated, it creates a more toxic gas and expels it through the holes in its body. Koffing's gas can be ignited by fire or electricity. It feeds on the fumes of raw, rotting trash found in gas dumps and polluted air."

Upon hearing the words, Poison Gas Pokémon, Nurse Joy, Chansey, Pikachu, and Ash quickly covered their mouths and tried not to breathe in the gas.

Crasshhh...

Whipping their heads with widening eyes, they caught the tail end of something long that hid in the smoke like a shadow behind the smoking and sparking broken computer.

The Center's light flickered with the rattling sounds that came, with the dex announcing, 

"Ekans, the snake Pokémon. A Poison-type Pokémon. Ekans live in grassy savannas and plains, moving stealthily through the grass. It can also be found in forests and desolate wastelands, where it preys on Eggs from Pidgey and Spearow nests but will strike other prey from behind. By flicking its tongue out, it can detect danger and the scent of prey. Its jaw can detach to swallow large prey, but such a meal can make Ekans too heavy to move or become stuck and cause them to faint. It wraps itself around tree branches at night to rest. If not in a tree, it will coil itself up—a position in which it can defend itself from all directions."

Thud...thud...thud...

They heard the sounds of three bodies hitting the floor and saw three silhouettes standing up, two of them looked like adult humans, and one was as small as a child but with a tail. The two Pokémon, Koffing and Ekans, were floating and slithering up to them.

"Ho~ It's just like what the woman said, there would only be a kid with a pathetically weak Pikachu here as a trainer and nobody else, Jessie."

"It would seem that she was correct. Honestly, I was expecting the kid who claimed to have survived a Gyarados to be something more, James."

"That's right, Meowth!"

"W-who are you people coming here to cause trouble?"

The smoke gradually parted to reveal them when music started to play out of nowhere.

"Did he just say, trouble?"

"Hehehe, he did, well..."

"Prepare yourself for trouble," the woman with long maroon hair said.

"Make it double," the man with the blue hair said.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

(AN: I am not going to give their motto again, please.)

They just looked like the photos that he had seen briefly at Jenny's booth when he was nearly arrested.

The Pokedex chimed, "Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon. Meowth is attracted to round and shiny objects and has the unique ability to produce coins. Being nocturnal, it is known to wander about city streets at night and pick up anything that sparkles, including loose change. Upon finding a sparkling object, its eyes will glitter, and the coin on its forehead will shine brightly. Meowth tends to live in urban areas. Meowth is known to sleep with the coins it collects."

"T-team Rocket! And a talking Meowth?!"

Nurse Joy spoke those words with dread, and Ash gritted his teeth.

'We have to do something fast!'

"Pika..."

'Don't!'

'Roshi?!'

'Koffing's gas is not only poisonous but also inflammable. If Pikachu uses his electric attack, the entire Center will blow up by causing the gas to light up! You have to deal with the gas first before fighting them.'

"Hmph! They are so scared that they have been turned speechless."

"Now, hand over your Pokémon!"

Gathering some courage, Nurse Joy spoke, "There are only weak and injured Pokémon here; you will not find any valuable Pokémon."

"That may be true, but that does not mean that there might not be gems hidden among them."

"Nurse Joy, please tell me that you have called for the police, and how long will it take for them to arrive?" Ash whispered to her.

"I can't. They destroyed the only means to contact them, and with every other trainer attending the event, we are the only ones here. Even if I were able to inform, it will still take nearly 20 minutes for them to arrive at full speed."

Looking around for any way for the gas to disperse, he looked at the broken skyline from where they entered, and saw the Meowth-themed hot-air balloon hovering above them in the air.

'If only the gas were lighter... wait!'

Reaching for his belt, he quickly pulled out Spearow's ball and enlarged it.

"He has lost so much hope that he is going to return his useless Pikachu. Hahaha..."

While they were laughing and distracted, and Nurse Joy was losing hope, he sent out Spearow and remembered what extra information the Pokédex had told him.

"This Spearow is male. His ability is Sniper. His moves are..."

"Spearow, use Whirlwind and blow up the gas through that broken window. Pikachu, Quick Attack on Koffing, and use Agility to dodge out of any attacks."

Ash said to Spearow while pointing at the broken skylight.

Spearow used Whirlwind on the lighter-than-air toxic gas that Koffing was spewing out. The relatively strong STAB-boosted wind had Team Rocket cover their eyes, while Pikachu used Quick Attack and landed a hit on Koffing, making it stop producing the gas.

Pikachu used Agility to dodge out of Ekans' lunge and bite that followed, and ran back to Ash.

He was panting. He was still healing from today's ordeal, even if he recovered and his physical shape was not in top condition. Changing the type of aura used will also have a drain on stamina.

Ash noticed that and Team Rocket was glaring at him.

The gas was receding through the skylight. They could now use electric moves and breathe properly.

"Koffing, use Tackle on the rat!"

"Ekans, Poison Sting on that bird!"

"Pikachu, slide down under Koffing and use Thunder Shock. Spearow, fly down and dodge the attack. Use Quick Attack to close in and use Peck on Ekans."

Pikachu, using his enhanced speed, ducked and narrowly slid under Koffing's attack so much that the attack only grazed him, and there was a static in the air as he unleashed Thunder Shock.

Spearow dive-bombed down to increase his speed and dodged Ekans' Poison Sting. Using the momentum, he used Quick Attack to close the distance and activated Peck. The Sharp Beak and STAB boosted Flying-type attack hit Ekans with critical accuracy, which was further boosted by his Sniper ability to produce massive damage to the snake.

During the battle, Ash's adrenaline surged.

Nobody noticed his eyes turning a shade of blue.

He could sense and see the battle.

He felt Pikachu's determination, Spearow's excitement, and bloodlust, the annoyance and frustration of Team Rocket, and the fear and hope of Nurse Joy and Chansey.

He felt his fear and excitement bubbling with the beats of his heart.

Fear of getting defeated.

Excitement at fighting a Pokémon battle.

(The combination of the emotions here was so strong and close that it prevented him from feeling the fear, pain, and hopelessness that was far yet so close.)

"Koffing, use Poison Gas!"

"No, Ekans! Use Poison Sting again and hit the bird."

"Pikachu! Use Thunder Wave on Ekans, and use Thunder Shock again. Spearow, use Whirlwind to blow away the smoke and finish Koffing with Peck."

Before Ekans could use its move, Pikachu hit it using Thunder Wave, thus paralyzing it. Having taken a big hit from before, Ekans' body's muscles were tense, which the Thunder Wave capitalized on to lock its muscles. Pikachu used this time to prepare a Thunder Shock and let it rip on the snake. Ekans was barely able to resist before falling unconscious.

Spearow used Whirlwind to disperse the poisonous gas surrounding the floating Pokémon Koffing and used Peck to do the deed of beating it.

"Curses! That woman was lying when she said that he only had a weak Pikachu."

"She will pay for it in the future, that I promise!"

'Wait. Where's Meowth?!'

It was his senses heightened by the aura that let him dodge out of Meowth's Scratch attack.

He was unable to prevent Meowth's attack from continuing, and hit Chansey on her face, though.

"CHANSEY!"

Without thinking, he kicked Meowth away from them to Team Rocket.

Team Rocket was gaping at him.

"Hey! That's cheating! Humans cannot hit Pokémon in a battle! It should be the other way around!"

"First, you are criminals. Rules do not apply to you. Second, Pikachu, use Thunder Shock, and Spearow, use Whirlwind on them to send them flying!"

The combined attacks hit Team Rocket. The Thunder Shock ended up in Koffing exploding and sending them to their hot air balloon via Whirlwind, which exploded again when they hit the burner.

The ones in the Center saw them moving through the sky.

Nurse Joy and Chansey looked grateful and thanked him and his Pokémon. While with Ash...

'You figured it out, too, huh?'

Thinking gravely, 'Yeah. We need to prepare.'

Ash looked serious and called for both of his Pokémon. He held Pikachu in his arms and had Spearow on the ground.

He whispered something to them and gestured with his hand and his head, and sent away Spearow through the skylight.

"Where did Spearow go?"

"He is looking out for Team Rocket and sees if they have gone. Pikachu here is tired after fighting them off."

With him finishing saying that, he heard the front doors of the Center open to let in a motorcycle that skidded to a halt.

"I heard that Team Rocket had attacked the Center, so I had rushed to get here as fast as possible."

Nurse Joy sighed in gratitude and spoke, "I am afraid they had run away. If it were not for this young trainer here and his Pokémon, then they would have stolen away all of the Pokémon."

"Tsk. It would seem that I was late in coming to arrest the two and Meowth. Thanks for the good work, young man."

'Well, that just confirms it.'

'Yup'

Ash said with seriousness that caught the attention of everyone else present there, "Officer Jenny. I believe there is something we need to discuss."

"Is it important?"

"Yes. It would be better to have Nurse Joy and her Chansey as witnesses."

At this, Nurse Joy asked, "Witnesses for what?"

"I had a suspicion which had turned into the truth after I connected some dots. There were mistakes you made.

One, I found out from a citizen whom I had asked for directions to the Center that you had been announcing the presence of Pokémon poachers for the last six months, but there had not been a single incident suggesting otherwise in that time. You had also been arresting random people, but due to a lack of evidence, they had to be released. This led to the people losing their sense of paranoia and had them relax.

Two, you had also arranged and proposed the idea for an event that would take place on the other side of the city tonight. The event also entailed the presence of Pokémon-themed hot air balloons in the night sky of Viridian City, where they would roam. Team Rocket also used a hot air balloon, specifically, a Meowth-themed balloon that would not look out of place for the event."

He saw Officer Jenny tensing a little and narrowing her eyes.

"Nurse Joy?"

Nurse Joy had yet to catch up to what was happening.

"Can you recall what the Team Rocket members said upon seeing me?"

"I believe it was about them telling that a woman had informed them that you had a pathetically weak Pikachu only, and you had supposedly survived a Gyarados?"

"That comes to my next point.

Three, they knew about my Pikachu and that I had escaped from it. I had talked with a total of 5 people after arriving in Viridian City. Out of them, all of them had seen my Pikachu. I had only told about my escape from Gyarados to two people, and only one of them was a woman. You.

Four, Nurse Joy said that it takes at least 20 minutes for you to arrive here, even at top speed. You came here in 10 minutes as if you were expecting the attack to happen, but wanted to at least not make you look suspicious.

Five, Nurse Joy only said about Team Rocket. Not about how many there were. You had said that there were two and a Meowth. You should not have known them at all, but you knew the exact number of members and a member, too. Weren't they the same people whose pictures were hung in the wanted board of your booth, and had pictures that could not have been taken exactly that way under normal conditions of a police officer taking the photos of running criminals?

So, Officer Jenny, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Nurse Joy and Chansey had their faces pale in realization at what Ash was hinting at, and it made sense. They both looked at Jenny with looks of betrayal and still hoping that it was just a coincidence.

Their hopes got dashed when Jenny scoffed and pointed a gun at them and said, "I should have arrested you and put you in prison that time, kid."

Widening their eyes at the gun, all of them looked at her in disbelief.

Chansey, still trying to understand what her other human friend was doing, stepped forward to talk to Jenny.

Crack.

Jenny had fired a bullet at Chansey's feet and hit the floor.

 Chansey stumbled back in shock and fear, her eyes filled with horror and betrayal.

Seeing her friend nearly get hurt, Nurse Joy looked with anger at Jenny...

Thwack.

Only for a bullet to hit her right arm, near the shoulder.

"Now, now. I cannot have either of you try to do something stupid."

Ash, gathering his voice, asked, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

Scoffing at something only she would know, she said, "Do you know how frustrating it is to get a promotion? I am stuck here in a city where the crime rates are shit. I want to do stuff in the bigger important cities, not here. I had struck a deal with Team Rocket that they would send some members to attack the Center, and I would arrest them in exchange for me striking some of their criminal records off. I was not expecting a kid to destroy my chances at a promotion. Your Pokedex would have fetched a high price from Team Rocket if it had been stolen. Only police officers and Professors know how to make a Pokedex reset to no identity of the user. I can always place the blame for the attack on the kid and say that he killed you, and he died after getting shot by me, as there was no choice."

"You will not get away with this!"

Nurse Joy said with anger.

"I will get away with it, alright."

"The league will never let you get away with this! They will take action against you!"

Rolling her eyes and pointing the gun at them again, Jenny said, "Please. Who will they believe? I, an officer with credible records, or two soon-to-be dead people and their Pokémon? Now, be good people and die for me."