Ash's Return: A Pokémon Story

Chapter Four: Enemies Again

The morning after their night in the woods, Ash and Pikachu flew on Charizard to the northern edge of Viridian Forest. He decided he wanted to walk through it and battle any wild Pokémon or trainers he found on the way. He encountered a rather angry Beedrill and a hardy Venomoth, both of which chose to attack when Ash's footsteps disturbed them and both of which were left dazed by Pikachu's powerful Thundershock.

They had been walking all day and were approaching the southern border of the forest. Not far into the distance, Ash could see the tall, artistic buildings of the city and he thought he could even make out the dome shape of the new stadium as well. Suddenly Pikachu stopped, and his ears pricked up as he started looking around cautiously at the surrounding trees.

"What is it, Pikachu?" Ash asked, scanning around him. But he didn't need to wait for an answer. A voice above him—a cold, shrill voice that he faintly recognised—slowly exclaimed:

"Prepare...for trouble," and a tall woman dropped from a tree several metres from Ash. Her chest was emblazoned with a red 'R'.

"Make it double," said another voice, and a slim man dropped down next to her with the same red letter on his chest. Ash was shocked; it was his old enemies, Jessie and James from Team Rocket. He adopted a fighting stance, as did Pikachu.

"What are you morons doing here?" Ash said quietly through clenched teeth. The two siblings stood still, looking relaxed.

"Why look, the little twerp is no longer little," said Jessie, laughing.

"So it would appear," added James. "But still slumming it with his precious Pikachu."

"Haven't you guys given up already? Surely failing that many times has gotten boring?" Ash yelled in frustration. He'd dealt with Team Rocket more than enough times.

"Meeeowth, that's right," a new voice purred, and then a large, furry Pokémon leapt from another tree and landed smoothly on the ground next to James.

"Hello Ash, Pikachu. Long time, no see," said the Persian, smiling menacingly.

"Persian. I see you haven't evolved a smarter brain if you're still hanging around with these two," Ash said, glaring at the Pokémon. Small sparks began to fly from Pikachu's cheeks. Persian bared his teeth.

"You're right, twerp," said Jessie. "Stealing Pokémon did get boring. We've decided to set our sights higher. We're no longer interested in small fish like you. However, no harm in a bit of sport." She lengthened the 's' with a sound like knives being sharpened.

"Agreed," said James, "No surrender now Ash; prepare to fight. Let's play." As soon as he said this, all three of them leapt forward—Jessie and James towards Ash, and Persian towards Pikachu.

Ash and Pikachu quickly jumped back and prepared for the attack. Jessie and James both swung their fists at Ash from different angles. He dodged one and blocked the other, then aimed a kick at James's front leg. James swept his leg back but the kick still caught him and he stumbled, but no sooner had Ash returned to a neutral stance than Jessie was unleashing punch after punch towards him. He blocked two and then a third caught him in the chest. He was forced back and lost balance, then came a high kick from Jessie aimed at his head. He didn't duck it in time and he was knocked sideways and collapsed onto the ground. He quickly rolled away and regained his feet, risking a quick glance in Pikachu's direction.

The two Pokémon were locked in a fierce battle, with Persian swiping rapidly at Pikachu, who was only just quick enough to dodge the blows; he had no time to charge some electricity to use a shock attack. Ash's attention was thrown back to the siblings as he narrowly avoided another kick to his head. He growled and caught the next kick aimed at him. He pushed the leg up and swung a kick at Jessie's other leg. She plunged to the floor and Ash quickly threw an elbow at James's stomach as he approached. James bent over and Ash immediately followed up with a hard punch directly onto James's nose; it connected and James was stunned. Ash buckled his knees with a low kick and sent him stumbling on top of the still-downed Jessie. Ash leapt away and looked over at the two Pokémon.

"Pikachu, now!" he yelled. He held out his hand towards Pikachu, who knew what Ash wanted. He somersaulted backwards in the air out of Persian's reach, and with unbelievable speed sent a jolt of electricity towards Ash's hand. The harnesser picked up the charge, and Ash brought his palms together to transfer half to the other device. He spread his hands wide and snarled, both of the harnessers now rippling with dangerous balls of electrical energy. Pikachu screamed at their enemies, his cheeks sparking.

The three members of Team Rocket paused at seeing this new technology. Their apprehension showed on their faces. After a few seconds of silence, Jessie smiled wickedly and spoke.

"You'll be seeing us again, twerp. Team Rocket has never been stronger." She turned and ran into the forest, the other two following close behind. Ash and Pikachu glared after them, not relaxing until their figures could no longer be seen through the trees.

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