Awakening

Awakening

Chapter 11: Unexpected Alliances

Determined not to speak to Jonathan until he decided to speak to her first, Ashimi rushed through Saffron City in a taxi. It was the fastest route to get to Celadon City, though she was tempted to just swim round the peninsula's border. She didn't know if virtual people could swim, but she was probably enough of a good swimmer to carry Zero on her back if she had to, though they could probably get a boat or something. But that would be silly, she refused to metaphorically cross the road just so she could avoid walking directly next to Johnny, but she also refused to get out of the cab until she carefully examined the street to make sure a certain blue-violet haired boy wasn't around. Volt wasn't sure what in the world was going on, but he had a feeling that the cool and confident trainer who had bested him in battle was having a rather childish moment.

Volt didn't have time to give it too much thought during the taxi ride though, as his gaze kept going to Zero and how still he was, as if in a trance. Lights seemed to flash in his odd eyes which he blinked only purposefully and never involuntarily. He stared at the light and thought he could make out the vague silhouettes of ones and zeros. That lasted until Ashimi commented on the video that had been playing on her tablet, looked to him to see why he wasn't replying and realized he had been ignoring her pokemon battle conversation. She preceded to attempt to elbow him in the ribs, which ended up being in the stomach since he was noticeably taller. Thus the trip continued with such little antics taking place now and then, but still, nothing of vital importance occurred during the taxi ride or their inevitable short stops along the way.

Eventually Ashimi, Volt and Zero arrived at Celadon City. Ashimi was thinking about going straight to the gym, but a message on her phone made her pause. Earlier, Volt had received a text that made him cringe, but had gotten over it quickly enough, calling it nothing and not revealing what it was about. Now for Ashimi there were the usual words of encouragement from her parents and grandmother, but also something else, a message from her grandfather. Giovanni only ever messaged her if he had a reason to, and the reason was often very good or very bad. She wondered if her progress wasn't fast enough or if he somehow knew she was going on foot and taxi and disapproved of her inability to work with the Rocket agent that was supposed to be assisting her. Yet Giovanni didn't mention anything about it. She didn't doubt he knew because he found out about everything, albeit he appeared to be ignoring the situation and leaving it up to her to resolve.

Giovanni's message was actually somewhat humorous in tone, which was a pleasant surprise for Ashimi. 'Surge emailed me saying you destroyed his gym and inspired his son to become your follower. Good job on both accounts, here's a reward.' Ashimi laughed and showed Volt the message to see his reaction.

"What? I didn't say that! I told dad I was considering traveling with you to the next city. I figure he'd know who you are since he knows Giovanni and Ash and... Well, there's my brother's job as Team Rocket's military general." Volt wondered just how upset about the mess left behind at the gym his father really was. He gave him a scolding, not really for the result of the battle, but because of the state the gym's floor was left in, which was his job as the official gym leader to repair, but he didn't actually tell him to go back and fix it, instead advising him to make the best of his journey. Volt was on the fence about Team Rocket and the same could be said about his opinion on Ashimi at first. Before their battle, he didn't really know her, aside from knowing of her name and existence, so he didn't judge her until now. When she won he was impressed with her skill and resourcefulness. He began to think she wasn't bad at all, but that wasn't really the point. The point, or rather points, were what his father thought and what Giovanni thought.

What if Surge was allowing this journey to encourage him to join the Rocket military and hopefully achieve a rank like that of his brother? He kept talking about how they couldn't just pretend the Rockets weren't there and how the best they could do was join them and thus help shape them, turn them into something better over time, but Volt wondered if it was possible to achieve that by serving the Rocket empire, rather than somehow facing it. Albeit how exactly it could be faced was not something he knew the answer to. As for Giovanni, was he encouraging Ashimi to try to turn him to their side? Would she try? No, she didn't appear to be sneaky like that and if she had some plans, showing him the message would be counter-productive.

"Well, it's decided!" Ashimi suddenly declared. "We're going to the Celadon City shopping center! I might as well put this reward to good use! Hey Volt, since I couldn't have gotten this without you, I'll get you a present. Oh and Zero, I'm going to get you the cutest gijinka hat!" There it was again, that glow of mischief in her eyes. Zero took an automatic step back, but no one seemed to notice. Ashimi looked at her phone again to see if there were any more messages and found something odd... Blocked messages? Her service provider was Team Rocket, their satellite had the best anti spam technology with real Porygon-Z sorting the messages, rather than a program.

Ashimi didn't need to block anyone, so why was there something other than a zero there? She gasped, suddenly remembering that in a moment of anger she had blocked Johnny. She unblocked him and looked through the messages, but it seemed like he was busy with Rocket business and that she should call him when and if she wanted him to return. The stubborn side of her wanted to just wait for him to show up like he always did, but she knew that wasn't fair. She was the one that told him to leave her alone after all, so she could prove herself. Maybe her battle with Volt and the acknowledgement she received was proof enough. If that was the case then it was time to make peace. She sent a message and put her phone away, glancing at the case as she did. She knew Johnny was probably in the middle of Rocket business and had to get it done before joining her, but that was okay. Then with renewed determination and cheer, Ashimi hurried to the Celadon City shopping center...

xoxox xox xoxox

Two hours later, Volt left the Celadon City shopping center running like a panicked maniac. Ashimi pouted and watched him go. "All I did was ask him to try on a gijinka hat..." Zero walked up next to her and pointed towards someone who happened to be hidden behind a mountain of plush toys.

Ashimi walked around it and found Dorme, giggling and enjoying some pictures on her phone. Dorme looked up from her task and shrugged. "Did you know Volt is Thor's little brother?"

"Thor?" Ashimi inquired.

"General Electro, from Team Rocket," Dorme specified.

"Oh, him..." Ashimi had heard rumors about the general and he didn't sound anything like Volt. "So why were you taking pictures of Volt in hats?"

"If he grows up to be like his brother, I'll have blackmail to defend myself," Dorme grinned victoriously. "He probably noticed the pictures and thinks Thor bullied me into spying on him or something. He was probably afraid I'd report he was lazing about trying on hats instead of training to recover from his recent defeat. The progress report of your journey was meant for Giovanni, but you know how the Viridian pokemon doctor is, Laiki has a talent for intercepting gossip and shared the information with a few of us. Also, pretty good training session before the gym match I'll admit, but I've been training too!"

"Alright, I'll take that as a request for a rematch!" Ashimi assumed, though she wasn't far from the truth. "There's only one problem, Volt left and it's going to be difficult carrying all my shopping bags on my own. If I can just get them to the pokemon center, I can mail them from there."

Dorme crossed her arms with a look of disapproval. "I'm not going to carry your stuff around. Why did you buy so much gijinka stuff anyway? Just look at all this... All those poke-hats and dolls and... An eeveelution charm bracelet, it's so cute! Ehem..." Dorme put on a serious expression again, after her small fangirlish outburst. "I'll help you carry your things for a price..."

"The bracelet?" Ashimi sighed, already knowing the answer.

"Good offer," Dorme smiled.

"Oh, alright... C'mon Zero, we're ready to... go? Zero?" Ashimi spotted the boy staring off into space, tiny lights reflected in his eyes. "Zero, what's up?" She shook his shoulder as if to wake him.

"Oh... Hey... I was just doing some debugging," Zero replied.

"But you did that during the whole taxi ride. Are you okay?" Ashimi frowned in concern.

"It's nothing!" Zero smiled, though it was a lot more than nothing. He was only a prototype and not entirely a successful one. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Ashimi put a Pichu hat on Zero's head, "now we match."

Dorme observed the scene with curiosity. That boy, his hair, his eyes, his chibi-like form. "Aw, what a little cutie, he's like a doll."

"He's a virtual boy made by Team Rocket, not quite a Porygon though, but he does have integrated pokedex functions," Ashimi patted Zero on the head as if he was her brand new toy.

"A virtual being... Made like a Porygon, but human? I had no idea Team Rocket could do that. I want one!" Dorme squealed.

Zero pouted, which only made him look cuter. "I'm not just a doll, you know."

His claim was met with a chorus of "aw!" from Ashimi and Dorme.

xoxox xox xoxox

Ashimi, Dorme and Zero made it to the pokemon center and dropped off Ashimi's purchases, then they went out to find a spot for Ashimi and Dorme's rematch. They found a spot to have their battle in front of the Celadon gym, which was at the moment closed. "Go Hitmonlee!" Dorme released her fighter from his pokeball. "This time I'll win! Ah! Ha ha ho ha ha!"

"I wonder if the gym will be open tomorrow..." Ashimi stared at the sign on the door as if she had momentarily forgotten what she was doing.

"I detect the presence of pokemon inside, though I can only track them if they are outside of their pokeballs. Venusaur and Exeggutor were called out just now," Zero revealed.

Dorme glared daggers at her opponent. "Never mind the gym! You should be thinking about our battle!"

"Huh? Oh right, this should be a good warm up!" Ashimi wondered if she could get Clefable to battle, she hadn't really made any progress, but it couldn't be forced. Thinking better of it, she decided to send out her Meowth. "Furball, I choose you!"

The doors of the gym suddenly opened and a pair of vine whips emerged from the darkness within wrapping around Ashimi and Dorme, pulling them inside. "After them!" Zero hurried inside, followed by the surprised Hitmonlee, Furball and Pichu, who had fallen off Ashimi's head when she was suddenly taken.

The Celadon gym was like a green house on the inside. The scent of flowers was all around and the feeling of humidity hung in the air. The vine whips released Ashimi and Dorme to stand on one side of a pokemon battle arena. On the other side there were two girls. One of them appeared to be the gym leader, Kirameki, wearing one of the elegant kimonos she was known for. Her long straight black hair reached down to her waist and her light brown eyes had a sharp look to them, unlike the gentle kindness she was rumored to possess. "You have selected Meowth and Hitmonlee," Kirameki spoke. "Let the battle commence!"

"What?" Ashimi and Dorme exclaimed in confusion. Zero, Hitmonlee, Furball and Pichu watched the scene, unsure of how to react. However, what shocked them the most was not the gym leader's unexpected declaration of a team battle, but the identity of her partner. "Daala!" Ashimi and Dorme exclaimed simultaneously. They gave each other odd looks, as if questioning how the other knew her.

"I've been investigating Daala's actions. She seems to be an odd combination between mask-less vigilante and pokemon trainer for hire, kind of like a traveling mercenary of sorts, but without the oversized sword," Dorme explained.

"If you've been following her, then you must have noticed she's out to get Team Rocket, especially me it seems." Ashimi realized that would explain why she kept running into Dorme. Even if Daala took on other jobs on the side, Ashimi was her target and Dorme was investigating Daala while taking care of a few other Rocket duties, so it was to be expected that they'd run into each other. However it didn't look like Dorme was trying to directly confront Daala as much as keep an eye on her movements, as if trying to get information from her indirectly. That could only mean that what Ashimi knew was only a part of something bigger.

"Get your head in the game, Ashimi," Zero cautioned.

Ashimi woke from her racing thoughts and focused on the present. Dorme had said something, but she only half heard it and now Kirameki was speaking. "Miss Daala's personal business is irrelevant to me. I have hired her as my partner in battle and that is all there is to it." She giggled cutely, as Kirameki was known to do, but it felt forced, like an act. "Should you choose to forfeit the battle, I shall deny you the chance of obtaining a rainbow badge."

"That's not fair!" Ashimi protested, "it's not like I was going to back down anyway!" She would have the element advantage if she sent out Chari, but Kirameki had already decided that the selected pokemon were Meowth, aka Furball, and Hitmonlee. It didn't matter, Furball was strong, he could still win, but what about Dorme? Ashimi looked at her, the problem wasn't her skill as a pokemon trainer, it was the aspect of effectively working together.

"Looks like they want to take us both out at once. I won't fall that easily, try to stay out of my way, Ashimi." Dorme hastily begun the battle. "Hitmonlee, use jump kick!"

"No, don't!" Ashimi called out, but it was too late.

"I told you not to get in my way!" Dorme snapped. Hitmonlee dashed forward and jumped into the air. It looked as if his kick was right on target.

"Venusaur, grab him with vine whip!" Daala's pokemon stretched out her vines and caught Hitmonlee in the air.

"Exeggutor, tie up Hitmonlee with grass knot!" Kirameki followed up.

Hitmonlee was tossed aside, wrapped in vines. Ashimi let out a breath with an, "I told you so..."

"Venusaur, charge up your solar beam!" Daala made good use of the distraction to prepare for the next attack.

"Don't underestimate me!" Dorme growled. "Break free, Hitmonlee!" The pokemon struggled for a moment, then drew his legs apart, breaking the vines, and hopped to his feet. "Blaze kick!"

"Use egg bomb, Exeggutor!" Kirameki called out in a hurry. Her pokemon reacted fast and released the explosive sphere towards Hitmonlee.

"Jump over it, Hitmonlee!" Feeling energized and ready for payback, Hitmonlee jumped high, his legs glowing with the heat of the upcoming attack.

"No, don't jump over! Roll under!" Ashimi called out.

"Solar beam!" Daala's Venusaur released the massive beam of energy, which collided with its target.

Hitmonlee fell to the ground in pain. "Hitmonlee! Ashimi, stop meddling and do something!"

"I would if you weren't planning to have Hitmonlee turn on Furball the second I send him out there!" Ashimi shouted back.

"What?" Dorme was taken aback, but she had a hand in the cookie jar expression that revealed Ashimi's theory wasn't wrong. "How did you even know?"

"Easy, that look on your face is like a pokemon using nasty plot," Ashimi replied. "That and the fact that you kept eyeing Furball instead of looking at your opponents. They dragged us here from a distance with vine whip. Plus from her position at the far end of the arena, Venusaur would have trouble aiming low because she'd probably end up hitting the ground before reaching the target, but shifting to the right, left or up wouldn't be much of a problem."

"Oh..." Dorme frowned. She hated to admit it, but those were pretty good observations.

"Incoming!" Zero reminded them that a battle was still actively taking place.

Exeggutor had released a series of seed bombs right at Hitmonlee before he could recover from the solar beam. "Furball, get Hitmonlee out of there!" The Meowth rushed into action, pushing Hitmonlee out of the way. He got hit a few times with the seed bombs as a result, but Hitmonlee was shielded from further damage, the fighting pokemon probably wouldn't have been able to take a hit like that after all he had endured. "Exeggutor's long range attacks are a problem."

Dorme clenched her fists as her sides and looked at the battle intensely. Blaze kick would have the type advantage, but Hitmonlee would have to get close to get a good hit in and then it would have to be a very strong one. "Hitmonlee, meditate and get ready." Though the area was open to attacks, Hitmonlee trusted in his trainer and sat cross-legged, closing his eyes. "I'll take him out, just give me one shot."

Ashimi looked at Dorme unsure, considering her offer for a moment. If she was done playing the rival and ready to battle seriously, could she keep her word? Hitmonlee was strong, but he was at his limit. Daala and Kirameki were on the attack again, there was no time to consider this further. "Alright, one shot. Furball, thunderbolt full power non-stop!" Furball was surrounded by electricity, shooting off one bolt of lightning after another without rest. The power was overwhelming, though it was consequently depleting Furball's energy reserves fast. Daala and Kirameki were forced to go on the defensive, doing what they could to give their pokemon directions in dodging the incoming onslaught. Even Zero was far less quiet than usual, cheering along with Pichu.

Hitmonlee opened his eyes, feeling energized. He got on his feet and looked at the storm of electricity before him. "Go Hitmonlee!" Dorme sent him on the attack. Hitmonlee dashed forward, just as Furball's thunder storm died down. "Blaze kick!" Before Exeggutor could recover, Hitmonlee delivered a devastating blow that knocked him out completely. "Well done, Hitmonlee!"

"No way! Exeggutor return!" Kirameki looked frustrated and angry, her deadly glare a far cry from the delicate and serene expression the gym leader was said to always wear.

"It's not over yet!" Daala's voice rung out furiously. "Venusaur, earthquake!"

The ground began to shake violently. Furball was lightheaded from all the energy he used and couldn't react right away. "Hitmonlee, grab that cat and jump, go for the final strike, hi jump kick!" Dorme urgently commanded. Hitmonlee scooped Furball into his arms, taking the beginning to the earthquake's effects on by himself. Then he jumped and with the last of his energy aimed his final kick at the center of Venusaur's head. Exhausted from the effort and from all the damage he took, Hitmonlee fainted at Venusaur's feet, but his last effort was not in vain.

"Venusaur, finish this, tackle them!" Daala urged.

Furball didn't have any more energy to give after the series of massive electric attacks he released. But he could still use his claws, even if he was exhausted. "Furball, slash Venusaur to bits!" Before Venusaur could recover from the daze of Hitmonlee's kick, Furball went on a relentless attack with the last of his energy. Venusaur cried out in pain, but was unable to defend herself and finally succumbed to defeat. Furball was left breathing heavily, barely able to stand after the great strain, but he was feeling satisfied. "Yes! We won!" Ashimi cheered, her voice mixing with Zero and Pichu, and even Dorme joined the victorious celebration.

Kirameki slipped away while they were enjoying their victory and it was Daala who got their attention. "Well done, but your victory will be short lived. Go Houndour, set this whole green house of a gym aflame!" Leaving a wall of fire to cover her exit, Daala made her escape through the gym's back door.

"Hitmonlee, return!" Dorme hastily called back her pokemon.

"Furball return!" Ashimi recalled her pokemon as well, and called out another one. Squirtle, I choose you!" The flames were spreading fast, with plenty of plants that made perfect fuel for the fire. Squirtle squeaked in fright and retreated into his shell. "You've got to be kidding me, not now!"

"Never mind the gym, we need to get out of here!" Dorme urged, coughing with the smoke. She dashed towards the front doors of the gym only to find them locked. "Why is this closed? Where did Kirameki disappeared to anyway?" They had been so focused on Daala's attack that they haven't thought to look for the gym leader.

"Maybe you can knock the door down with a pokemon?" Zero suggested.

"I can knock it down myself!" Dorme attacked the door with a series of hard kicks and forced it open. "I guess Thor's training paid off after all, but I still hate that guy. Hey, Ashimi, let's get moving!"

"I can't!" Ashimi was heading deeper into the spreading flames, with an uncooperative Squirtle in her arms. "I heard someone calling for help, maybe Kirameki is still in here after all."

"I thought she was the one who ran off and locked us in. Daala went the other way so it couldn't have been her," Dorme rushed to join Ashimi despite her arguments. "We have to get out now."

"Ashimi, are you sure you didn't just hear Daala trying to confuse you?" Zero guessed.

"No, I'm sure I," Ashimi coughed through the smoke. "I'm sure I heard someone. Chari, I choose you!" The Charmeleon emerged from her pokeball. "You're a fire type, so the heat won't bother you as much. There's someone trapped here, could you get them out? I think the voice came from that way." Chari nodded and dashed through the flames in the direction Ashimi pointed.

Fed up with the situation and Squirtle's inaction, Pichu hopped into Squirtle's shell and shocked him out. The little turtle jumped right out of his shell, leaving a surprised Ashimi holding the empty shell. In his panic, Squirtle started shooting his water gun in every direction, soon diminishing the flames. Chari returned from her rescue mission, helping Kirameki make her way to them. Fortunately, Squirtle's wild water gun rampage proved to be strong enough to put out the rest of the flames. Chari looked at the empty shell her trainer held, blinked in confusion, then looked at Squirtle. Their eyes met for a moment before Chari closed her eyes and covered her face. Squirtle turned bright pink, then rushed back into his shell where he hid.

"I didn't even know Squirtle could do that..." Dorme finally voiced.

"I believe it is rare, but yes, a few Squirtle have been found to be able to come out of their shell completely. In this case it's not surprising because the shell is fake," Zero explained.

"Fake?!" Ashimi loudly exclaimed.

"Yeah, maybe his original shell was broken by an accident or a bigger and tougher pokemon who tried to make him dinner," Zero theorized. "Maybe that's why he's so scared."

"A shell-less traumatized Squirtle, you sure got the short end of the stick with that one," Dorme laughed.

"Maybe he'll grow a new shell when he evolves into Warturtle." Ashimi hoped so for Squirtle's sake. She only got a glimpse, but that scar on his back looked nasty, the poor dear must have suffered a lot at such a young age. 'Maybe this Squirtle was given to me on purpose to see how well I could train him,' Ashimi thought. "Don't worry Squirtle, I'll help you conquer your fear and you'll be strong!' With that promise in her heart, Ashimi return Squirtle to his pokeball.

"Well I guess you learned not to hire someone like Daala," Dorme huffed.

"What are you talking about?" Kirameki looked both frightened and confused.

Upon taking a second look, Dorme noticed something that would have been obvious if not for all the oddities going on. "Your kimono is a different color."

Chari gave a short explanation, which Zero translated. "Chari says this girl was tied up when she found her."

"Then the one we battled did escape the gym through the front doors," Dorme realized.

"I don't know what's going on," Kirameki softly voiced. "There was a red haired girl, she attacked me. I tried to fight her off, but she knocked out my pokemon, then she knocked me out too. When I woke up I was tied up and the gym was up in flames!"

"A red haired girl..." Ashimi mused aloud.

"Not like you, her hair was crimson red instead of red-orange," Kirameki clarified.

"She must have been the fake Kirameki, a wig and a kimono was all it took to trick us. I can't believe they got away," Dorme frowned in frustration.

"But we beat them in battle!" Ashimi tried to look at the positive side.

Kirameki let out a tired breath. "At least it's all over. I thank you for saving me and putting the fire out. It looks like I'll have a lot of rebuilding to do around here. It's not much, but please accept these rainbow badges as a token of my gratitude. It sounds like you beat the trainer who was able to beat me, so you've more than earned them." The rightful Celadon gym leader pulled out two badges from the sleeves of her kimono and gave them to Ashimi and Dorme. Though Dorme wasn't there for a badge, she accepted it anyway and just played along, while Ashimi made a victorious pose. The Celadon gym would be closed for a while for repairs, but at least the real Kirameki wasn't injured and her pokemon would recover.

To be Continued

Dorme's mention of an oversized sword is a reference to the various mercenary video game characters who like to carry big swords. In Bulbapedia, Hitmonlee's attack appears listed as hi jump kick rather than high jump kick, it's probably because of the character limit or something, but I decided to go with the name from the game. As with my previous stories, I've been using Bulbapedia for reference information for the battles and some creative license for the attacks like they do in the anime. Many thanks to the people who contribute and maintain Bulbapedia, I wouldn't be able to write pokemon battles with more than a few tired old attacks without it.

Awakening

Chapter 12: I'll Fight For You

Ashimi, Dorme and Zero returned to the Celadon pokemon center, where their pokemon were allowed to rest and recover. The two girls and Zero settled into one of the rooms to talk. "After Hitmonlee is ready to go, I'll be leaving," Dorme announced. "It looks like our rematch will have to wait."

Ashimi looked into the other girl's eyes. "What do you know about all of this?" She glanced at Zero, "and you?"

Zero shrugged, "don't look at me, I haven't been sent to investigate anyone, I just hang around."

Ashimi turned her questioning eyes back towards Dorme, who sighed. "I've been following Daala because of her actions as a sort of vigilante and more so because of her vendetta against Team Rocket. I don't think it's anything personal, but rather she's one of those people who just doesn't want Team Rocket to rule and made it her business to disrupt the organization. We think that Daala is part of a group and I've been tracking her while keeping a certain distance, trying to catch her in the act of contacting her allies."

"Who's we?" Ashimi interrupted, noting the plural when Dorme mentioned the group theory.

"The higher ups at Team Rocket," Dorme revealed. "Of course, something like this wouldn't slip under the radar. I've heard rumors of a gang from Giovanni's past that resurfaced years later and wasn't noticed until they caused trouble. Team Rocket won't make the same mistake twice, the executive board is keeping an eye on this matter."

"Tempest..." Ashimi quietly voiced. "That was the name of the gang from long ago, I've been told the stories. But grandpa made sure to hunt down every last one of them. Plus it was a long time ago, many of them would have passed away by now and the few that are left will spend the last of their days in jail. Do you think this is related to those stories?"

"No, that was a lesson learned, this is something new," Dorme explained. "The group is believed to still be very small and Team Rocket's not the only one tracking them. Sabrina's organization, the Espers, has been involved as well, but to what extent, not even the Rocket executives know."

"What about the girl with crimson hair?" Ashimi inquired further.

"She's another suspicious person I've been investigating," Dorme revealed. "Up until now, I had thought she and Dorme were working separately, but I guess my theory was wrong. They're pretty misleading, those two, especially the redhead, really slippery. As if I need another reason to dislike redheads," Dorme half joked.

Before Ashimi could retort, there was a knock on the door, so she instead ended up saying, "come in."

Nurse Joy entered with Pichu and the pokeballs that held the other pokemon. "Here you are, they're all better now. Don't stay up too late," Joy left after hearing a chorus of assurances that they would go to bed early, which she was well aware were not true.

As per her habit during her time of rest before going to sleep, Ashimi let all of her pokemon out of their pokeballs while Dorme clipped her pokeballs to her belt. Clefable didn't attack her trainer this time, instead leaving the room silently through the window. She had heard everything going on at the Celadon gym from her pokeball. Even when Squirtle acted like a useless coward, despite being the best equipped to deal with the fire, Ashimi still didn't abandon him. Then she learned of Squirtle's impairments and instead of giving up on him and focusing on her strong pokemon, she vowed to make him overcome his limitations. Clefable was starting to think that Ashimi wasn't so bad after all. The feelings of sympathy and, she barely dared to think it, admiration, she had developed for the human were confusing. Maybe she'd feel better after she cleared her head, so Clefable decided to go for a walk.

"Where's she going?" Dorme wondered in curiosity.

"Around, I suppose," Ashimi shrugged. "She'll probably be back after a walk, if she wanted to run away she could have done so by now, I don't lock my pokeballs anyway."

Dorme didn't quite understand the situation. Ashimi seemed to have an odd relationship with some of her pokemon. Zero settled into a corner for some quiet debugging time, while Dorme headed to the window. She might as well go out through there instead of having to be seen leaving by Joy and be told she should be getting some sleep instead. "I'll be going now."

"Don't you want to wait until morning?" Ashimi offered.

"Nah, I really don't have a minute to waste. I need to crack this case and get the information back to Team Rocket," Dorme climbed out the window. "I also need to think of what to say in my progress report."

"You know about Daala's connection with the redhead, you know what at least some of their pokemon are and you know about their battle tactics," Ashimi reminded. "You've made plenty of progress right there. I'm sure that must count for something!"

Dorme was surprised by Ashimi's suggestion. Because she hadn't accomplished the main purpose of her mission, to uncover any other members of the supposed anti-Rocket group Daala was thought to be a part of, she hadn't thought about the progress that she did make. "You're right, I'll make sure to mention that."

After Dorme left, Ashimi packed up her purchases, mailing the gifts away to their proper destinations as well as sending her own collectibles home. She carried the boxes out of the room with some help from Zero and her pokemon. Conveniently, the pokemon centers operated a package delivery service. Their logo was an envelope with a pokeball to signify mail and the pokemon center. They also had mail boxes scattered around that could hold small packages. The logo was ironic because no one really used paper to mail written messages anymore and pokemon were transferred digitally, they were stored that way as well since long term digitalization was mastered.

When Ashimi, Zero and the pokemon returned to their room, they found that the glass of the window had been pushed closed, though it was still unlocked. It was Zubat who noticed it first, when he wondered why the breeze that circulated through the room before had stopped. Taped to the window's glass there was an envelope, Zubat pointed it out, finding it to be suspicious.

"Envelope?" Zero looked to the window and spotted the small white envelope. "Ashimi, look at what Zubat found," he pointed.

"Huh?" Ashimi picked up the envelope. "Who left this here?" There was nothing written on the outside. She opened it and found pink fur and nail clippings. "What in Mew's name is this? Why would someone send me shaved fur and nail clippings? Oh there's a piece of paper in there too." She proceeded to read it aloud, "I have your Clefable, I was going to send you a finger as proof, but the fur and nail clippings will just have to do. If you want to see her alive again, come to the bakery in the backstreets of Cerulean City alone. Do not bring your pokemon."

A wave of cries of alarm passed over the pokemon, but Ashimi was quick to calm them. "It's okay, it looks like there's no way I can have my journey separate from my life as a Rocket. I'm sure grandpa just sent someone to give me a test. Relax, neither Clefable, or me, or any of you for that matter, are in real danger. Well, I might be in danger of getting scolded if I fail and that is scary, but I'm not in mortal danger and I have no intentions of failing anyway. Stay here with Zero, everyone. I'll get to Cerulean in a taxi, I'll leave early in the morning and call you when it's all over. Johnny will probably be done with his Rocket business by then, so I'll likely catch a ride back with him. No worries, I'll be back before you know it."

xoxox xox xoxox

The next morning, Ashimi left Celadon City early. Zero and the pokemon remained at the center to await her return. Though she looked confident, Pichu had a bad feeling about this that spread to the other pokemon and Zero. "There is a way to stay informed," the virtual boy realized. "I'll send an email and ask Laiki about what's going on. She has all the latest gossip, so she should know about what kind of test Ashimi will be facing."

With the email sent, it was only a matter of waiting for a reply. The answer did eventually come, but it wasn't what Zero had expected. "I got a reply..." Pichu, Furball, Chari, Zubat and Squirtle looked at Zero expectantly, with various degrees of curiosity. His lack of enthusiasm didn't sit well with the most perceptive of the team.

Zero recited the email he had received, leaving out the silly salutation of 'hi cutie-chibi!' which carried an excessive seven exclamation points. "I haven't heard about Ashimi being tested recently. I thought Giovanni was pleased with her journey's progress and the dedication and resourcefulness she has shown so far. Last I heard he rewarded her with a nice monetary sum to commemorate her victories. Though he is planning to test her later, I have no knowledge of any tests being scheduled for the present time. Has something happened? Be careful, there are some very sneaky anti-Rockets on the loose." Zero stopped there as the ending signature of 'love, aunty Laiki,' didn't add any relevant information to what he was trying to communicate.

The door to the room suddenly opened without warning and Jonathan entered with a greeting of, "hey Ashy, I'm back." He paused, looking around the room and wondering if he had entered the wrong one. But no, it had to be where Ashimi was staying, there was Pichu and her other pokemon.

Chari let out a stream of what sounded to Johnny like repetitions of her species' name with the syllables varying in order in some occasions. Her tone was rather scolding and she waved her clawed index finger back and forth at him. Zero translated, "Chari is saying you can't just barge into a girl's room without knocking."

"Sorry... Where is Ashimi anyway? And who are you?" Jonathan asked.

Zero answered Jonathan's question in the clearest and most summarized manner he could. He quickly explained who and what he was, leaving out the part about his system's instability and got him up to date on the latest happenings about Ashimi's pokemon and her battles. His explanation ended with the discovery of trickery and Clefable having been kidnapped for real. "We just figured that out when you got here."

"Then there's no time to waste, we have to catch up with Ashy!" Jonathan hurried out of the pokemon center along with Zero and the pokemon. Zero put most of the pokemon back in their pokeballs for easier transportation, save for Pichu. They hurried into the indigo sports convertible and rushed out of Celadon City.

xoxox xox xoxox

Passing through Saffron City on their way to Cerulean, Jonathan and Zero found someone they recognized between the two cities. There on the side of the road, Dorme was having a battle against Daala. "Don't give up, Oddish, attack with petal dance!"

"Roll away Donphan, tackle that annoying little plant!" Daala knew that Donphan was badly poisoned and wouldn't be able to continue fighting for long. She had expected to face her Hitmonlee again. Then Dorme surprised her with an unusually strong Oddish. The everstone on the pokemon's circlet had been properly disguised and didn't really look like an everstone.

"Give it everything you have, aim for the sides!" Oddish's sharp petals surrounded Donphan, cutting him on the sides of his body were he didn't have as much tough armor.

The force of the attack combined with the continuous strain of the poison finally pushed Donphan over the edge and he fainted. "Donphan!" The pokemon did not get up and was recalled into his pokeball, to be replaced with a new combatant. "Return... Go Houndour, flamethrower!"

"Oddish, watch out!" Oddish was tired from her battle with Donphan. She had to keep moving constantly and make an effort to get through his armor. Facing the element her kind was weak against was not something she was prepared to do in her condition. She dodged as fast as she could, but Houndour took a big breath and let out another burst of flames that spread out like a fan and finally caught up to Oddish. "Oddish return! Go Hitmonlee!"

"Enough of this..." Daala glared. "Venusaur!"

"That's not fair!" Dorme complained.

"Go Foxtrot, flamethrower!" The Flareon rushed into battle with a massive fire attack aimed at Venusaur.

"Johnny!" Dorme happily exclaimed. Without warning she jumped on him, nearly tackling him to the ground on the side of the road.

Johnny stumbled back, taken by surprise, then steadied his feet, a bit red in the face from the close proximity. "Um... Where's Ashy?" He finally managed to ask.

Dorme pushed him back, holding him at arm's length and glared straight into his eyes. "What did you just ask?" Her hands moved from his shoulders to his neck.

One false move and she'd be gripping his throat with everything she had. "No-nothing?" There was an uncomfortable pause and her fingers twitched. He slowly began to raise his arms to get a hold of her wrists and free himself, but her grip increased and he froze. "Dorme..."

Seeing as Jonathan and Dorme were caught up in their own business and Daala wasn't willing to wait for them to resolve their differences, Zero decided to take action. "Pichu, Furball, double thunderbolt!"

The massive burst of electricity caught Dorme and Jonathan's attention and she finally let her arms fall to her sides. The situation was not in Daala's favor, she was outnumbered and the Rockets didn't look happy.

Jonathan cleared his throat and pretended he didn't just narrowly avoid death. "Daala, where is..." He glanced at Dorme from the corner of his eyes and finished, "Clefable?"

"What?" Both Daala and Dorme expressed a chorus of confusion.

"Didn't you kidnap Clefable?" Jonathan inquired.

"I prefer not to involve pokemon like that." Daala frowned in disapproval, her so called ally had acted on her own, even if Daala had told her not to go through with the kidnapping. Despite sharing a common purpose against Team Rocket, the two girls occasionally had their differences.

"What's this about?" Dorme interjected.

"Clefable got kidnapped and," Jonathan took a step back, away from Dorme before speaking the A name. "Ashy went to look for her, she's heading right into a trap at Cerulean City."

"Clefable was taking a walk alone when I left Ashimi at the pokemon center. I spotted Daala a little further ahead and followed her, she couldn't have kidnapped Clefable," Dorme revealed. "As for Ashimi, I haven't seen her. Go play knight for her if you want, it's not like she appreciates it anyway!"

Daala watched the scene unfold for a moment longer before recalling her pokemon into their pokeballs and breaking into a run. Pichu and Furball looked at Zero, who shrugged and let her go.

"Dorme..." Jonathan's expression turned serious. "I know Ashy doesn't need anyone protecting her. That's what she thought I was doing and that's what we argued about. I trust Ashy, I know she can take care of herself, but I still want to be there for her, and that goes for you too!" Dorme gave him a doubtful look. "I was looking for Ashy, but I would have stopped to battle at your side anyway. Ashy's my childhood friend, that's all there is to it. If the two of you would just get along then I..." He trailed off into silence, would he return Dorme's feelings then? If he did, would Ashimi still continue to hold the first priority even if he was dating Dorme? Would that be okay? He didn't know the answer to any of those questions and he didn't want to think about it right now.

Dorme laughed with a bittersweet tone. She let out a breath, closed her eyes and relaxed her shoulders as if in resignation. "One day a realization will hit you and you'll see her as more than a childhood friend. Then you'll realize something else." She slowly lifted her head and looked into his eyes, "she's unobtainable."

A cold chill ran down Jonathan's spine, he remained silent for a few heavy seconds until he finally snapped out of his trance. "Don't say such silly things, Dorme, you know I don't look at Ashy that way..."

"Yet," Dorme recalled Hitmonlee and ran off to continue in Daala's pursuit as the first few drops of rain began to fall from the cloudy skies. It wasn't storming, it was only raining.

"Such drama," Zero yawned. Jonathan decided it was best not to comment on the subject any further and silently got back in the car. Furball returned to his pokeball and Pichu hopped on Zero's head. Then once again, they were on their way to Cerulean City.

xoxox xox xoxox

After what felt like the longest trip of her life, Ashimi finally arrived at the bakery in the backstreets of Cerulean City, under a light rain. She didn't take time off during the trip, though she had started out feeling confident and even waited until morning to leave Celadon City. A cold feeling crept into her being along the way and she felt compelled to rush to the scene of the test. It felt like an odd place for a test, but she would find out what it was like in a moment. The taxi left her at her destination and she walked into the bakery which had a closed sign on the door, but it was unlocked. The shelves were notably empty, devoid of the sweet treats they once held.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Ashimi walked around the counter and towards the door behind it. There was a small kitchen area there and a storage closet. She examined the closet and found a ladder leading to the basement. She went down into a dark tunnel, heading towards the light in the end, filtering through the half open door. She pushed the door open and it made a terrible screeching sound as it turned on its hinges.

There she was, a red haired girl with green eyes. Her eyes and hair were different, but she had the same facial features as the fake Kirameki. Ashimi wondered if her current appearance was also a disguise she could remove to blend in. There was something about the way she looked that didn't ring true. Then Ashimi realized it, it was the girl's hair, it was the same color as Jessie's hair, fixed into the same style. Ashimi blinked in confusion, who was this girl and why was she copying Jessie? She couldn't be a part of Team Rocket if she was Daala's ally. This wasn't a test, it was a trap. The mysterious girl grinned with a confident glare. Her eyes were the same color as James, but the look in them was distinctly different, bitter. "So you're finally here," the crimson haired girl spoke.

They stood in a simple basement with gray unpainted walls and a crude table to the side. Next to it there was a level on the wall. On the opposite side there was a stained old cloth covering a section of the wall and it was slightly moving as if breathing uneasily. Switching between looking at the cloth and the crimson haired girl at fast intervals, Ashimi finally asked, "who are you?"

"Jaina Joan Kojiro," the name was spoken bitterly as if it was a reminder of betrayal.

Ashimi stared at the girl. "Kojiro," she whispered. "That's Johnny's last name, it's his father's last name, but you're copying his mother's hair."

"I'm not copying anyone," Jaina insisted. "This is simply what I look like."

"Liar!" Ashimi shouted. "I know you were pretending to be Kirameki. You think you can trick me by pretending to be Johnny's relative? He comes from a family of loyal Rockets! Even his grandmother, Miyamoto, is remembered as one of the greatest Rockets who was there from the very beginning!"

"What about his father? Do you know his story?" Jaina growled as if the issue was personal.

Ashimi hadn't heard anything from James' family. As far as she knew he was the first generation to become a Rocket in his line. But what did it matter? Jessie and James were people her parents trusted and they were loyal, as was their son. "I have no doubts of his loyalty either."

"You know nothing!" Jaina shouted, "it doesn't matter though, you're about to learn the hard way what Team Rocket really is!" She pulled the cloth off the wall to reveal Clefable. The pink pokemon was strapped to the wall with metal cuffs on her arms and legs that prevented the use of her powers. She looked badly beaten and had a very strange collar around her neck with odd lights and circuitry.

"Clefable!" Ashimi ran to her and started pulling on the cuffs in a futile effort to free her. "I'm sorry I took so long to get here, I'm really sorry!" Ashimi cried. 'If only I haven't assumed this was a test, if only I haven't waited until morning before starting out,' she regretted.

"You can't win," Jaina laughed. "You don't have any pokemon with you," she took note of the lack of pokeballs on Ashimi's belt. Her bag had been left behind with Zero as well, since she didn't expect the trip to take too long. "If you want to leave, the price will be that pokemon's life. Show your true colors and sacrifice her for your own sake. If you kill her I'll let you go and if you don't," Jaina pulled out the whip that was wrapped around her waist, as she stretched it out, it became electrified. "I'll kill you."

Ashimi clenched her teeth in frustration, how could she had fallen for this trick? How could she had assumed her enemies would let her rest after their latest battle? "Don't worry Clefable, I'll get you out of here alive, I promise."

"Idiot," much to Ashimi's surprise, Clefable spoke.

"That collar is a special piece of technology, isn't it? I'm sure Team Rocket has their own version, but why would they make it public? They like their pokemon as slaves without the ability to communicate with humans. Sadly, this one couldn't tell me anything useful," Jaina mocked. She saw that Ashimi was tense and trembling. Mistaking the fury for fear, she swung her electric whip and hit Ashimi on the back.

The damage was notable, but Ashimi refused to acknowledge it. "You hurt Clefable to get information?" She was furious. "Information that she didn't even know?!" Jaina's only reply was a cruel chuckle. "You'll pay for this!" Ashimi glared with an incessant fury in her eyes, much like her grandfather in his younger days.

Jaina took an involuntary step back, then steeled her resolve and attacked with her whip while Ashimi charged towards her. The whip caught Ashimi on the shoulder and she stumbled in pain, but regained her balance and continued her attack. Jaina rushed to pull the whip back and swing it again, she couldn't fully do so on time and instead swung it low, hitting Ashimi's legs. The distance between them was closed and Ashimi grabbed the whip's handle with both hands, intent on ripping it out of the other girl's grasp. If she didn't disarm her, she wouldn't be able to last in the fight for much longer.

Jaina let go of the whip and kicked Ashimi away in the stomach. Ashimi fell to the floor completely out of breath, with the whip in her hands. It was a good weapon and the fact that Jaina gave it up so easily made every mental alarm in her head go off. Jaina pulled out a small controller and in the same split second, Ashimi threw the whip back at her. It was too late for Jaina to avoid the hit, she had already activated the self destruct detonator and the weapon exploded as it reached her. "Not bad," Jaina growled. "Now we're both injured, but I'm still stronger."

"Yeah, well I'm faster," Ashimi challenged, "and I have Clefable!"

"That useless creature?" Jaina laughed cruelly. "That thing couldn't save you if it wanted to!"

'Why?' Clefable thought frantically, 'why doesn't she try to escape? Why doesn't she save herself?' For the first time Clefable was willing to fight for Ashimi, but she couldn't.

"That's not true," Ashimi tried to steady her gasping breaths and ignore the pain. "Things look different in the heat of battle, but Clefable has a clear view. Clefable, I'm not as strong as my opponent, but that won't matter if she can't actually hit me, so please guide me and I'll set you free!" Ashimi went on the attack again.

'Guide her?' Clefable stared at her trainer in shock. 'What am I supposed to...' "Watch out for her kick!" Ashimi jumped back, narrowly avoiding having her feet swept out from under her. 'I... I see it, there's a pattern to her fighting style, can Ashimi see it too? No, she's too focused on fighting.' "Dodge left! Dodge right! Punch!"

Ashimi's hit connected with Jaina's face and she stumbled back, but didn't fall. Jaina recovered very quickly and kicked Ashimi away. "I told you, I'm stronger than you, there's no way you can overpower me!"

Ashimi could barely get up, but she pushed herself to her feet. 'Wait a minute, that's it, I understand what Ashimi was trying to tell me!' Clefable realized. "Get up Ashimi, victory is close!"

"Ha! That stupid pokemon is delusional!" Jaina went on the attack again.

"Move to the right, dodge, kick, go back, back!" Clefable called out. Ashimi had managed to get a few hits in with her advantage in speed, but Jaina was simply too strong for her, until she reached her goal. "It's right behind you, kick backwards high!"

When Ashimi followed Clefable's instruction, her true plan became clear. The whole fight had been a distraction to reach the level on the wall. It was the only clearly visible mechanism in the room and the cuffs on Clefable didn't look like they used any type of key. The cuffs on Clefable opened, but Ashimi was trapped in a corner. Before Jaina could strike, Clefable went on an all out attack, punching, kicking and biting. Jaina pushed the pokemon away, only to be lifted by Clefable's telekinetic force that sent her crashing against the wall. The crimson haired girl lost consciousness on impact and slid down the wall to the floor, motionless.

Clefable tried to speak, but the exposed circuitry of her collar was damaged and her words once again sounded to human ears as repetitions of her name. She quieted and tried again, before finally removing the damaged collar and glaring at it in frustration. "It's okay Clefable," Ashimi assured. "I know what you want to say," she smiled.

To be Continued

Awakening

Chapter 13: Siblings

Jonathan dashed into the basement of the bakery at Cerulean City, followed by Zero and the pokemon. Pichu, Furball, Chari, Zubat and even Squirtle rushed to Ashimi in a chorus of concern. "Ashy?" Jonathan asked unsure. To inquire if she was okay felt stupid, given how bruised she was.

"The situation is under control," she pointed at the unconscious Jaina.

Jonathan noticed the girl, his eyes going wide. He remembered her, she got him out of a jam when the police nearly caught him during one of his Rocket missions. He was surprised by her resemblance to his mother and wondered if she was a cousin he never knew about. She was very mysterious and did not give him a name to inquire about, but she did say she would tell him who she was when they met again. Had it all been a set up for a trick that she never put into action, or an elaborate ruse that was yet to come to full fruition? "Did she do this to you?"

"Yeah, but Clefable and I showed her. See? I can take care of myself, even if it may not look it right now, trust me, I'm okay." She was terribly sore, Ashimi had to admit, so saying she was okay was a stretch, but she knew she would be.

"I know... I know you can take care of yourself, but friends take care of each other too," Jonathan reminded.

"Yeah..." Ashimi laughed at the irony. 'So much for proving my competence, I didn't need to after all.'

Jaina began to wake up and found Jonathan staring at her. "I think it's time you told me who you are, like you said you would."

"You've seen her before?" Ashimi was surprised to hear about it.

"I have..." Jonathan admitted. "It was during a mission for Team Rocket. I almost got caught by the police, but she helped me out. I thought she was a Rocket too, maybe even a relative of mine, but then I realized she wasn't a Rocket."

"Not so sure on the relative part, are you?" Jaina slowly got to her feet.

"She's a master of disguise," Ashimi warned. "She pretended to be the Celadon gym leader, Kirameki, and was working with Daala. She tried to kill Dorme and me!"

"Just you, granddaughter of Giovanni," Jaina clarified. "Killing the Rocket girl as well would have been a mere bonus."

"Now I know that no matter what you look like we can't be related," Jonathan glared angrily. "I come from a family of loyal Rockets and you're clearly not one of us!"

"Oh, but I am..." Jaina argued. "I am your twin sister, Jaina Joan Kojiro."

Jonathan's bitterness increased, "liar! My sister is dead!"

"Look at me, brother, I am your twin..." Jaina insisted, her voice turning soft, almost pleading. "Do you not feel it?"

A strange feeling overcame Jonathan and he found himself doubting his conviction. Was this girl really his sister? Had her early death been a lie? No, he couldn't allow himself such thoughts. "I won't fall for your lies!" Jonathan shouted. "You have a lot to answer for..."

Another set of footsteps was heard as Dorme arrived. "It looks like I'm too late. Oh my Mew! Ashimi, look at you! You're going to need ten pounds of makeup to cover up all those bruises. I've got to give you some martial arts training some time."

"Thanks, I'd appreciate that," Ashimi smiled.

"Dorme?" Jonathan blinked in confusion. "Ashy? Did I miss something?"

"What? You really think we can't be both rivals and friends?" Dorme placed one hand on her hip, waving her other index finger back and forth. "I'll have you know we have a respectable rivalry, even though Ashimi is unaware of it."

"I am?" Ashimi tilted her head in confusion. "We're rivals in pokemon training, aren't we? I'm aware of that, what more is there to it?"

"See what I mean," Dorme sighed.

"I don't get it, I only used to dislike you because you kept trying to make me leave whenever you saw me," Ashimi mused aloud. It was actually whenever she was seen with Jonathan, but she seemed to miss that detail. "But you don't do that anymore and you are a good pokemon trainer, so..."

"That's okay, I know how the story will go, it's fine, I can wait my turn." Leaving the statement hanging for only Jonathan to understand, Dorme turned her attention to the crimson haired girl. "As for you... You've crossed the line and I'm taking you in, I'm sure the Rocket interrogators will have fun with their new assignment."

"I don't care," Jaina frowned in hopelessness. "I would never tell you anything even if I knew, but there's nothing to know. Tornado has no base of operations, no list of members. We are identified by our hatred for Team Rocket and nothing more. We know each other by our actions, we are not a mere organization, we are a state of mind!"

"A state of brainwashing I would say," Jonathan differed.

The sound of sirens outside caught their attention. "The police!" Dorme exclaimed, "such bad timing!"

"Do you think Kirameki sent them to investigate Jaina?" Ashimi referred to her as such, since she didn't know her by any other name.

Dorme did not correct her, if Jaina had another name, she was not aware of it. "Maybe, they must have gotten tips from people who saw her coming this way. They'll probably want to arrest her and maybe even us."

"Lets retreat," Ashimi decided. She could hear several sets of feet shuffling about upstairs. "Chari, weaken the walls with your fire until they give way!" Chari did so, until one of the walls was no more. The room was a basement, thus underground, hence beyond the wall there was the ground. "Squirtle, soften up that dirt with your water just enough to make it easier to dig through. "Squirtle got to work, at least the situation wasn't as scary as the last time he was asked to do something. "Chari, Pichu, Furball, Clefable, Squirtle, all together now, dig a tunnel! Zubat, give them direction, detect the best path to the surface."

"Go Foxtrot, help them out!" Though Jonathan had only called out his Flareon, Nya, the young Purrloin, popped out of her pokeball also, wanting to help. She began to dig and threw a bit of mud up, the mud ball landed on her head, making her squeak in surprise, as if the law of gravity wasn't an everyday thing. She began to wipe the mud off but only succeeded in spreading it.

"Hitmonlee, Oddish, dig too!" Dorme looked back at Jaina, who clearly wasn't invited to tag along in their escape, they didn't have time to try to make her cooperate along the way. Jaina doubted the police could hold her for long, the crimson haired girl wasn't obstructing their escape because she knew she would have an easier time getting away if she went with the police alone.

"Foxtrot, cover our escape with fire!" Just as Jonathan's Flareon closed off the tunnel at least temporarily with a curtain of fire, Jenny and a few other officers made it to the basement, along with a few police trained Growlithe. They didn't know if there was an armed ambush waiting for them, so they had proceeded slowly and carefully.

Leaving Jaina behind to be arrested, Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme, Zero and the pokemon reached another wall within the tunnel, following Zubat's directions. The wall was broken in a similar fashion to the one before and they stepped into another tunnel. The new tunnel had walls and flooring, though it was dirty and smelled very bad. Foul smelling pipes ran along the tunnel, further confirming the fact that it was a sewer. "It's only a matter of time before the police comes this way, lets get out of here!" Ashimi urged.

"Ugh, you don't have to tell me twice, this place stinks!" Dorme covered her nose.

"Approaching Muk and Grimer detected!" Zero announced. "They're coming from both sides of the tunnel."

"All the more reason to move!" Jonathan hurried along with the group. He had picked up Nya and held her at arm's length by the scruff of her neck, "Meowth would fury swipe me into ribbons if he saw how dirty you are." The police would certainly get a nasty surprise once they got past the firewall and investigated the tunnel.

A big stinky Muk approached, growling at the group. Nya let out a stream of words that sounded like variations of Purrloin and feline noises, but came out as words to pokemon ears. The Muk smiled, gave an enthusiastic reply and stepped aside to reveal a ladder leading up to a manhole on the street above.

The group recalled their pokemon and climbed up to the street, grateful that they didn't have to deal with the Muk after all. "I wonder what the deal with the Muk was. I thought he was going to attack us," Ashimi took in a big breath of fresh air, now that they were finally out of the stinky sewers.

"Nya asked him politely to let us through," Zero explained. "The Muk said, sure, anything for a cute little Grimer like you."

"I don't know if I should laugh at how clueless that Muk is or grimace at the fact that I'm not the only one who thinks Nya's dirty enough to look like a Grimer," Jonathan's expression was distinctly sour. "It's going to take forever to clean up her fur."

"We're not exactly presentable ourselves," Dorme frowned at the amount of mud and dirt that clung to her. "Let's get to the pokemon center and get cleaned up, or maybe Ashimi's place?"

"Pokemon center," Ashimi insisted. "I don't want mom to see me like this, she'll make a big fuss about it and it'll only make her worry."

"Alright, the pokemon center it is, you better clean your cuts before you get an infection. I can help out with that and Johnny can clean the pokemon in the mean time," Dorme suggested.

"You just want to get out of bathing the muddy pokemon," Jonathan noted. Dorme made no efforts to deny it and only grinned. They looked to the sky as they walked. It wasn't raining anymore and there was a rainbow over the sunset. Things felt as if they were getting complicated, but somehow they knew they could face whatever came their way.

xoxox xox xoxox

At the Cerulean pokemon center, Ashimi, Jonathan, Dorme and Zero excused themselves with the local Joy by saying they had a nasty encounter with a gang of Muk and Grimer. Though she was clearly disgusted by their dirt and odor, the nurse felt sorry for them and let them get cleaned up. They settled into a guest room to rest, resorting to continue the journey in the morning. Ashimi had so far won four gym badges: boulder, marsh, thunder and rainbow. The earth badge would be the last and the cascade badge the second to last, as per her plans, so the next logical step would be to head towards Fuchsia City for a soul badge. "Let's take the Lavender Town route this time around, I haven't been in Lavender for a long time," Ashimi decided. She was all cleaned up and bandaged, though the blackened bruises were still clearly visible.

"I have to be on my way again in the morning to try to get information from Daala. I'm starting to think that the whole thing about Tornado not having a base of operations or a physical list of members is true. That would explain why I haven't been able to find much. I wonder if they even have a leader," Dorme theorized. "Anyway, someone has to make you presentable," she pointed at Ashimi. "I'll have to teach you to do your own makeup for when I'm not around. I'll get a good supply tomorrow morning, that way people won't ask too many questions until you stop looking so black and blue."

"I guess that would be useful," Ashimi admitted. "It was a pity her soreness couldn't be covered up so easily. She recalled something from earlier which she had been wondering about. "Johnny, about earlier, about Jaina..." Ashimi wasn't sure how to ask, and in the end decided to take the most obvious direct route and just say it. "Was there actually a real Jaina Joan, did you have a sister?"

"Yes," Jonathan replied.

Dorme's jaw dropped. "You have a sister?" She voiced in disbelief. "I thought I knew all the basic details about you, like your middle name being Jancen. How come I never knew about your sister? Actually, it sounds like Ashimi didn't know until recently either."

"Because I don't have a sister," Jonathan corrected. "I had a sister," he emphasized the past tense. Ashimi, Dorme and Zero silently waited for him to elaborate further. "Jaina was supposed to be my twin, but only I lived in the end. She was still-born, no one knows why, she was fine in all the tests, but her heart stopped beating around the time mom went into labor. Some doctors say mom's blood pressure went too high because of the urgency and nerves, some say Jaina tried to breath before she was out and choked and some say she was simply not ready, since mom gave birth a bit early. I just don't know what that girl wants to achieve pretending to be Jaina and dressing up to look like she's related to me."

"I don't get it either," Ashimi breathe. "I thought I was her target, and so far she's made that clear. If she had some sort of plan to get to me by pretending to be your sister, why didn't she just do it from the beginning?"

"Um..." Dorme shifted uncomfortably. "There is no possibility that she could be your long lost sister, right?"

A heavy silence overtook the room until Jonathan finally spoke, "I don't think so..." To be perfectly honest, he didn't have a way to be certain. "I know the real Jaina has a grave in Lavender Town. Honestly, there are way too many grave yards there. I guess that doesn't really prove anything. They could have buried some other baby or maybe the grave is empty. But why would something like that even happen?"

"If you could test her DNA the answer would be clear," Zero logically suggested.

"And if she refuses the test, the answer will be clear too," Dorme continued. "Although, if she really wanted to use that to her advantage, she might go out of her way to make sure fake results are delivered."

"Honestly, I do get an odd feeling from her, a strange sense of familiarity. If I went with that I'd be inclined to believe her," Jonathan confessed. "But her actions speak too loudly, she's not a Rocket and my family are Rockets." The doubts haunted him, what if that girl was the real Jaina, what if she had been stolen from the hospital and pronounced dead for convenience's sake? What kind of life did she live? "If it were true... If it were actually true, and I found out who took her, who stole her life from her and turn her into what she is now..." He let the statement hang, but it was clear that the culprit would not meet a pleasant fate. Then he shook his head and reiterated, "I guess it doesn't really matter, because she's not my sister," she couldn't be... "She's just a liar," he wasn't sure why he even needed to convince himself of a fact that should have been clear. "She's definitely not related to me."

"Do you still want to go to Lavender Town?" Ashimi asked after a long silence.

Jonathan blinked as if the question came out of the blue. "Of course," he paused and smiled. "Relax, Ashy, I'm not going to suddenly be afraid of graveyards just because I saw my so called sister's ghost," he joked to lighten the mood. No more discussion was done that night save for pokemon battle small talk. They were all very tired and went to sleep early.

xoxox xox xoxox

When morning rolled around, Dorme did Ashimi's makeup as promised. She did a pretty good job of hiding her bruises with thick foundation and powder. Ashimi admitted she felt a bit off with so much stuff on her face and the visible portions of her arms and legs, but she let it be. It was certainly easier to blend in by looking like a preteen who couldn't wait to look grown up, than like one who looked like she got on a Machoke's bad side. After some the girl time, Dorme left, once again parting ways with Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero, who headed towards Lavender Town.

To be Continued

Awakening

Chapter 14: Resentment (Part 1)

Fortunately, the trip to Lavender Town went without interruptions. Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero arrived at the gloomy town without any problems. The sun might have been shining on that day, but the town's atmosphere remained dreary, as if a sad cloud constantly hung over it. There wasn't much to do there since the town had no gym, but Ashimi did get to challenge a few people to pokemon battles. Just as she was ready to take a break, someone suddenly called her name.

"Lady Ashimi, I found you!" The boy collapsed on the street in front of her, as if he had been running non-stop for a very long time. "It looks like paying off Dorme to reveal your location was a good plan after all, I can't believe I didn't think of that sooner!" The light green haired teenager picked himself off the ground and glared at Jonathan, "of course you had to be here too, always getting in the way. The future madam boss only needs one knight at her side and that's me!" He very loudly declared.

Ashimi looked around, the people passing by were giving them odd looks. "Keep it down, Cloud, people are staring!"

"Cloud?" The boy shook his head. "That's not my name, but that's alright, you can call me whatever you like as long as you make me your right hand man! By the way, you look different, more grown up." Though it was probably just the makeup, as she couldn't have changed that much since the last time he saw her. He still saw it as an opportunity to score extra points and decided to compliment her. Cute was a girlish compliment and beautiful sounded more grown up but unoriginal and he needed something over the top. After a short pause, an idea finally hit him, "you look like the most badass supreme overlord-er-lady, the world could ever have!"

Ashimi didn't even know how to respond to that, in fact, she wasn't even sure if it was meant to be a compliment or an odd kind of insult. Jonathan shook his head hopelessly, a certain amount of indignation reflected in his eyes. "I see you haven't changed, Tidus, always trying to climb the ranks in any way you can."

"That's not my name either!" The green haired boy growled. "But I don't care if you don't remember my name, you're an unworthy Rocket anyway. I should be the one taking on the role of Princess Ashimi's personal servant and body guard!"

"I'm neither of those things!" Jonathan argued.

"Ignore him, madam, allow me to prove myself to you!" The boy whose name no one could remember got down on one knee as if he was about to be knighted.

Ashimi took a step back. "I think you're over doing it."

"I think he's funny in a pathetic sort of way," Zero smiled in a manner that was too cute to match the meanness of the statement, which was also ironically spoken in a cheery tone.

The boy looked up, scowling, "and here I thought I had odd eyes. He looks like a possessed doll, creepy!" He shuddered visibly.

"Hey!" Ashimi stepped forward in Zero's defense. "Little Zero is adorable and don't you dare insult him." She threw her arms around the little virtual boy, "he does look like a doll, that's part of his charm." Though Zero wasn't particularly happy to be referred to as a doll, he stuck his tongue out at the nameless teen and gave him a smug look anyway.

"I can be a doll too!" The boy argued. "I can be anything you want me to be, my lady!"

"Weirdo, try being normal," Ashimi grumbled.

"I am!" The boy insisted pleadingly.

"Why don't we just battle?" Without waiting for a reply, Jonathan called out his Flareon. "This way we can settle this once and for all, what do you say, Locke?" Jonathan finally suggested, his patience for the nonsense coming to an end.

"Fine! Let's battle, and my name's not Locke!" He threw a pokeball into combat, the red beam revealing a Tentacool. "Ha! I have the type advantage!"

"And I have every other advantage," Jonathan countered. "Foxtrot, fry that Tentacool, flamethrower!" The Flareon fearlessly attacked, with a burst of massive flames.

"There's no way fire can beat water! Tentacool, water gun!" The boy whom everyone constantly called by a different name attacked with confidence.

"Go all the way, Foxtrot, keep the flames strong!" The fire pokemon intensified his attack and thus the amount of steam that came as a result was multiplied. Jonathan grinned, this had to be one of the oldest tricks in the book when it came to fire versus water. "Quick attack and tackle!"

"What?" Tentacool's trainer looked all around, but the steam was so thick that he couldn't see the battle. "Dodge, Tentacool! Or better yet, give that Flareon a water gun to the face!" As much as Tentacool wanted to do what he was told, he couldn't see a thing in the middle of that steam, as his water gun went off in every direction without reaching the fast moving target. Foxtrot's location only became apparent for Tentacool when he was tackled painfully. The steam dissipated, but it was already too late, Tentacool was already pinned to the sidewalk. "Water gun! Water gun! Water gun!" The trainer urged, waiving his arms around in desperation, as if the silly action would somehow make his pokemon stronger.

"Finish this, Foxtrot, use strength!" Jonathan watched in satisfaction as the battle continued to unfold. Tentacool tried to take in a breath to use a water gun, but Foxtrot kept smashing him against the floor and kicking him around, preventing the water pokemon from attacking.

It all got to be too much and Tentacool soon fainted from all the punishment he received. "No way... You must have cheated!" Jonathan's rival accused. "How else would you explain this?"

Zero spoke up with an explanation that any current pokedex app could give, provided that the phone it was installed on had a power sensor. "On a scale of one to one hundred, Foxtrot is about twenty levels above Tentacool."

"But he's a fire type and Tentacool is a water type and... and... and..."

"Give it up, Seifer, I'm not cheating, my pokemon is stronger than yours," Jonathan insisted.

"Just you wait!" He recalled Tentacool into his pokeball. "I'll train hard and get stronger and become Ashimi's right hand man!" He began to run away, only to stop a few steps away from the group and call back, "and my name is not Seifer either!" Then he continued to run away non-stop until he could no longer be seen in the distance.

An awkward silence hung in the air until Ashimi finally spoke. "Okay, who's up for some food?"

"I am!" Jonathan and Zero piped in at the same time.

"Some electricity would be really nice too," Zero added.

"Let's go to that cyber cafe down the street, we can get food and find an outlet there," Ashimi suggested.

As the three walked to the cafe, they talked about all the odd creepy pasta stories surrounding the establishment and its supposed haunted computers. "Did you hear the one about the insanity inducing melody?" Jonathan began the tale. "If you're really quiet and listen closely, you'll hear an annoying little tune in a frequency you wouldn't normally notice with other sounds around. If you keep focusing on it, it'll slowly drive you crazy..."

xoxox xox xoxox

Overall, the day had gone well. Maybe Daala had her share of the action for a while and Jaina was taking a little longer than expected to escape from the police. That was just fine as far as Ashimi was concerned. She had enough on her mind remembering the tricks Dorme taught her to hide her bruises until they healed, if she thought about it as secret spy camouflage instead of makeup it felt cooler. At least she wasn't as sore anymore, as she was energetic and quick to recover. Ashimi, Jonathan and Zero had a long way to go to Fuchsia City, so they settled into the Lavender Town pokemon center and got some rest.

It was well into the night when Ashimi felt a whisper in her ear, it turned progressively louder and more high pitched until she suddenly sat up, looking in every direction. She caught some movement from the corner of her eyes and looked over the bunk bed's headboard. There she saw a Gastly, the ghost laughed and floated away towards the window. She went through the window and then back into the room with a soft murmur of "gastly..."

"Hey girl, do you want me to follow you?" Ashimi whispered and the Gastly nodded. "Be right there," Ashimi yawned. She peeked over the edge of the bed to the bunk below where Jonathan was fast asleep. "Hey Johnny!" She called to him, "Johnny, Johnny!"

"No dad, I didn't use your special edition premium bottle cap to scrape gum off my skateboard..." The voice calling him finally became loud enough to wake Jonathan from his slumber and the first thing he saw was Ashimi hanging upside down from the bunk above his, her red-orange hair spilling out like a fiery curtain. He sat up so quickly that he bumped his head on the bed above his. "Ow..." He rubbed the affected area and laughed it off as if he wasn't just startled out of his skin.

"What's up? Is it that bad?" Ashimi poked at her own face. Dorme had told her time and time again, and made her recite it to ensure that the message was drilled into her head, that a lady must never sleep in her makeup. Ashimi had washed it all off before going to bed, so any hint of black and blue on her face was uncovered for the world, or at least for Jonathan and Zero to see.

"Nah, I think you're getting better," Jonathan encouraged. Then he whispered very quickly in a quiet tone, "I thought you were the floating flaming disembodied head from that creepy pasta story Zero looked up online when we were eating at the cafe."

"What's that?" Ashimi didn't quite understand the last sentence as it was spoken so quiet and fast.

"Nothing... Anyway, what did you want to say in the middle of the night?" Jonathan assumed it was something important, as Ashimi usually slept like a rock through the whole night.

"Oh, right, the Gastly!" Ashimi made her way down the bunk's ladder to the floor. "I have to catch her!"

"She's still there," Zero suddenly spoke. Though there were two bunk beds, which meant that four people could comfortably sleep in the room, Zero was sitting in a corner next to a power outlet.

"That's right, you can sense pokemon like a pokedex, so you knew she was there since she came in," Ashimi realized. "Do you even ever sleep?"

"I don't need to, I just debug," Zero replied. "But I can simulate sleep."

"That's a lot of debugging..." Jonathan commented.

"Weren't you going to catch the Gastly?" Zero reminded, changing the subject.

"Yes!" Ashimi cheered. Pichu was on her head, but didn't seem to want to fully wake up. He pulled his ears down and kept his eyes closed. "Pokeballs," Ashimi put on the belt with her pokeballs, though she was still in her pajamas, which looked like a long bright pink t-shirt that went just below her knees, with the word 'boss' written across the chest in glittery silver letters. The outfit was completed with Pikachu slippers. "Let's go!" She started towards the window without waiting to hear any protests, which she wouldn't listen to when there was a pokemon waiting to be caught anyway.

"Just like that, there she goes." Jonathan was sure he didn't like the idea of running around at night in Growlithe slippers, light gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt with the words 'keep calm and Rock on' in white letters, save for the R which was red and bolded. Yet despite his reservations, he took his pokeballs and followed Ashimi out the window anyway.

"I might as well," Zero followed along too. He was wearing Buneary footy pajamas that Ashimi insisted he put on, even if he saw no need to wear anything different during the night. Most of his clothes were part of his graphical interface anyway and the extra layer of actual fabric felt unnecessary .

Outside, Jonathan and Zero saw Ashimi running further down the street after the Gastly. "Does this look suspicious to you?" Jonathan asked Zero as they dashed after her.

"Yup," Zero chirped. "But if we don't pretend we're clueless we won't be able to draw out whoever is behind this."

"I thought so," Jonathan agreed, hence why neither he nor Zero had protested towards Ashimi's seemingly rash actions. Surely she had learned her lesson after the latest trap and that's why she didn't run off alone. Jonathan saw her glance over her shoulder to make sure they were following her, while pretending to be engrossed in the chase. She was now willing to accept her friends' backup without the need to prove herself. She still had that need, but not to the point where she'd act too foolishly.

The streets of Lavender were deserted, as even those who had spent years living there found the town to be far too creepy to venture out at night. The Gastly led Ashimi to a graveyard with a tall rusted fence with metal bars. The gates were slightly parted, the lock long since unusable due to its age. But who would dare to venture into a graveyard in Lavender Town in the middle of the night? Ashimi looked at the gates and slowly walked through them. Her pause gave Jonathan and Zero enough time to catch up with her.

The three of them ventured into the graveyard together, into the thick fog that floated over the gravestones. This was a human graveyard, the same one were Jaina was buried, Jonathan realized. He had been here before, when his parents deemed him old enough to be told the story of his lost sister and accompany them to put flowers on her grave a week before the anniversary of her death. They never went on the anniversary because that was his birthday, a time to celebrate life rather than solemnly recall the loss of it.

The fog became thicker, so much that they couldn't see, or at least Ashimi and Jonathan's human eyes couldn't. "This way, hurry," a female voice called.

Jonathan paused and looked around. "Ashy?" He tried to follow the sound, but it was faint. "Let's stay together," he reminded the group, "we don't want to get lost in here," 'and get ambushed,' he mentally added. "Ashy? Zero?" There was no reply.

"This way..." The female voice called out again. "I'm over here... I'm waiting for you..."

Jonathan walked in the direction of the voice as if pulled by an unseen force. The fog began to clear around him and a figure became visible. He walked towards it until he saw that it was a girl and Gastly was floating next to her. "You..." Jonathan recognized the crimson haired girl. He saw the familiarity in her eyes. "So you did escape from the police after all. I knew they couldn't hold you, but I thought you'd take a little time off before causing trouble again." He looked at the Gastly. "You can talk, can't you?"

"I can..." The Gastly replied. "But it is not my words that you should hear, listen to the words of your sister."

Jaina held up a pokeball and the ghost willingly retreated into it. She looked at the grave next to where she stood. "It was fifteen years ago that I was stolen away. Fifteen years ago that I was pronounced dead." Jonathan recognized the grave, the name Jaina J. Kojiro displayed on it. "RIP, rest in peace... That's the last thing I've done."

Jonathan wanted to argue with her. He wanted to call her a liar, but when he looked into her green eyes, he couldn't. "What happened to you?" He finally choked out, his voice barely anything more than a whisper.

"I was stolen away to be trained as the perfect Rocket agent. I was to follow in our grandmother's footsteps, to live for Team Rocket and die for Team Rocket. The name I was given was Miyamoto, after the one whose reputation I was expected to live up to, but my true name was Jaina Joan, yet that name was dead to the world. It was all done by Giovanni's orders, he decided that Jessie and James didn't need to know. In fact, he only let them keep you so that Ash wouldn't suspect his foul play and start a fight over it. My life and my family was stolen from me by Team Rocket. It was all done so that Giovanni's heir could have a loyal agent to make all the sacrifices necessary for her rise to power. Ashimi didn't exist at the time, but Ash and Misty were engaged to be married and Giovanni knew that sooner or later an heir would follow. I must end Team Rocket, they've enslaved our family for too long. That's the exact same thing that she's doing to you!" Jaina cried. "Please brother, don't let another tyrant like Giovanni continue to live. Ash might be the exception, but his daughter isn't like him, she'll take over Team Rocket and you'll never be free." Tears streamed down her face as she stepped closer to Jonathan and gripped his shoulders as if trying to shake some sense into him. "Brother, please, I only want to save you, to free you, please don't hate me for caring about you."

"Jaina..." Jonathan could hear the beating of his own heart echoing in his ears, faster and faster, in shock of the revelation. Then another rhythmic sound, another heartbeat in tune with his, like twins. He didn't know how he could hear it, but as the sound faded what happened next surprised him even more. He felt a deep sorrow, an unbearable pain; was their bond as twins truly that deep despite having been raised apart? Was he feeling the pain and suffering she felt? "Jaina..." His arms moved on their own, wrapping around the girl crying on his shoulder. "Sister... I'm so sorry..."

To be Continued

As usual, no one can get that poor boy's name right. The names he gets called are once again from Final Fantasy. Lavender Town wouldn't be the same without creepy pasta stories, so I had to reference that too. XD

Awakening

Chapter 15: Resentment (Part 2)

Ashimi was making herself bait as she walked deeper into the Lavender Town graveyard, that was the unspoken agreement Zero understood. He assumed that Jonathan was watching her just as closely as he was, but then a thought formed into the variables of his programming. Jonathan, or Ashimi or humans in general couldn't see as clearly as he could. "Johnny?" He took his eyes off Ashimi and looked around for his other companion, but he wasn't there. He looked towards Ashimi again, the fog was too thick, too unnatural. Even with his eyes, he would lose sight of her if she went too far, but not of Pichu, he could still detect Pichu. That was it, if Jonathan ran into trouble and called Foxtrot out, Zero would be able to detect him with his pokedex functions and figure out their location. None the less, Ashimi was the target, but he couldn't leave Jonathan to get further away and be ambushed at a distance where simply knowing his location didn't mean Ashimi would be there on time if he fell into a trap. Likewise, he wouldn't be able to make his way to Ashimi on time if he was too far, even if he somehow figured out her location. It was time to end the act. "Ashimi!"

Ashimi stopped and looked around, but she couldn't see were Zero was. His voice echoed unnaturally, a strange effect of the peculiar atmosphere of the graveyard. She felt the cool touch of a hand that wasn't quite human on hers. She stretched her fingers, feeling the soft fabric of the Buneary pajama's sleeve and looked into the foggy darkness. She could see a pair of glowing doll-like eyes staring right at her. Anyone else might think it's creepy, but Ashimi still found it to be cute. She grasped his hand tightly with a protective look in her eyes. "Where's Johnny?"

"I lost him, sorry, I was too focused on keeping track of you," Zero admitted. "But if he gets into trouble and calls Foxtrot out to fight, I'll be able to sense him," the virtual boy quickly added.

"Okay, we should still try to find him though, I lost track of Gastly," Ashimi voiced. "There's honestly not much I can do in this fog if... ow!"

The pained yelp came out of nowhere and Zero was instantly alertly looking around. "What happened? I don't see anything suspicious and I don't detect any pokemon nearby save for Pichu."

"No, it's Pichu," Ashimi removed the yellow pokemon from her head. "He started trembling when he came into the graveyard and just now he was pulling my hair for no reason." She cradled the electric mouse, trying to soothe him.

"Relax, Pichu, if there are enemy pokemon here, I'll detect them," Zero offered.

"Really Pichu, get it together, being a scardy-cat is Squirtle's department," Ashimi joked. Yet nothing seemed to work to make Pichu open his eyes. He just trembled in fear and buried his face on her chest, holding tightly to the pink fabric of her pajamas. If one of her bravest pokemon was acting this way, she didn't even want to think about letting Squirtle out of his pokeball, the poor dear would have a heart attack.

"Pokemon detected!" Zero suddenly called out, there was something off putting about the alarm in his voice.

"What is it? Is it super strong?" Ashimi should have been worried if that was the case, yet she couldn't help it but to express excitement at the prospective challenge.

"No, but I didn't sense him coming until he was very close," Zero frowned at the admission. Even with the bugs that came with being a discontinued prototype, a mere experiment, his pokedex functions shouldn't be affected. That was the only thing about him that worked as it should, and the thought of a failure in that area bothered him immensely. Was no part of him properly functional? It was frustrating.

"Maybe this fog is interfering with your signal or something," Ashimi consoled. The disappointment in Zero's voice was palpable. Pichu was in no conditions to battle, so Ashimi called out a different pokemon. "Furball, I choose you! You're pretty good at seeing in the dark, though this fog is in a class of its own. It's okay, Zero will guide you, so please listen to him. Sorry, but I can't see a thing, so I wouldn't be of much help."

"Me?" Zero stared at Ashimi in surprise. But he soon snapped out of when he realized there was no time to question her decision, Haunter was on the attack. 'C'mon pokedex, don't fail me now...' "Attack identified, shadow punch, calculating ideal counter attack..."

Furball hissed as the shadow punch hit him, it came out of nowhere and it creeped him out. Ashimi would have warned him if not for the fact that she didn't see it coming. "Zero, I know the latest pokedex come with the option of identifying attacks and suggesting the ideal counter attack, but that's just for studying. You can't rely on it in the heat of battle, there's no time so just go with your gut and don't forget to warn Furball of what's happening. This fog is too thick even for his eyes."

"I can't do this. My pokedex and email functions are the only parts of me that aren't riddled with programming bugs and even that might not be the case after all. My AI is... it's a total unstable mess!" Zero exclaimed, the admission bothering him more than he thought it would. It was the truth and he knew it from the start. "I don't know why Pixel didn't scrap me, I don't know why she told me to travel with you and find the spark of life, whatever that is, I'm nothing but a walking drive of errors."

Haunter made a loud noise like a battle cry. "Zero, what's happening?" Ashimi urged. Pichu let out a whimper as he began to cry. "It's okay Pichu, it's okay." What was wrong with him? He was usually so brave, Ashimi didn't understand. "Do you want to go in your pokeball?" Pichu paused then whimpered a sound of ascent. Ashimi was surprised by this choice, but did as he asked, the pokeball was not locked, so he could come out if he wanted. None the less, Pichu's reaction was very unsettling to Ashimi.

Zero watched as the Haunter formed a ball of ghostly energy in his hands and threw it. "Furball, dodge to the right!" Though the feline still had his doubts, he obeyed and was spared the hit from the shadow ball. "Now charge forward, jump and night slash!" Furball couldn't see where he was going, this fog was definitely not a normal type of darkness. He followed the instructions and landed his attack, the Haunter crying out in pain. The ghost had enough and quickly retreated into the fog. Zero was only able to detect him for a few more seconds before the wild pokemon dropped off his mental radar. "Haunter is gone, or rather out of range. I can't sense anything beyond a few feet's distance."

Ashimi knew what that meant. If Jonathan was facing an ambush and already had his pokemon out, Zero wouldn't know unless he was close by. Furball whimpered and Zero directed Ashimi to him. The feline reached for his trainer and rubbed against her leg, he was trembling and it wasn't simply because the night was chilly. "There's definitely something wrong about this fog, it looks like it induces fear the longer the pokemon are exposed to it, the longer anyone is exposed to it," she admitted. "Though it looks like it works a lot faster on pokemon. I can still keep a clear head for now, I think. I just have to keep telling myself there's nothing to fear, but what if there's truly something terrible here? What if some of the creepy pasta tales of Lavender Town are true?"

"Let's not think about that now," Zero half pleaded. 'Disable fear element... disable... I know it interferes with the proper running of the AI, but disable it anyway... There, I think that should do it,' Zero fought against his programming to end any simulations of fear, because that's all he had for emotions, simulations, he mused. Yet his AI was made to replicate the human psyche and fear could not be so easily shut down. Instead the fear piled up in his background processes and his system continued to accumulate more bugs and contradictions, more errors.

"This isn't good," Ashimi recalled Furball into his pokeball. He should be protected from the fear inducing effects of the fog in his pokeball. "We have to find Johnny and finish this, we need to turn this trap around."

"Or we could find Johnny and retreat," Zero suggested.

"No," Ashimi frowned, her eyes determined. "This time we stand together, we can watch each other's backs, there's no way we can fail. Well we're not together now, but we'll find Johnny. His pokemon, my pokemon and you directing them, we can turn this around!"

"Pokemon detected!" Zero warned. "It's Gengar, a really strong Gengar! I actually detected him from further away this time, probably because he's so strong, but he's getting closer!"

"It's okay, we can do this!" Ashimi tried to stay positive.

"No, we can't, we have to retreat, that Gengar is too strong and he's in mega form!" Zero argued.

Ashimi remained unconvinced, she groaned in frustration, why couldn't everyone just be motivated like she was? "I left my cell phone in my bag at the pokemon center, what does your pokedex program say about his power level?" The fog was clearing up and Ashimi could see the imposing silhouette of the Gengar. The ghost approached with a confident stride.

"It's over ninety!" It was Ninety-two to be precise, but everyone knew that anything above ninety was huge and almost never attributed to non-legendaries. Zero felt his systems overwhelm, error messages flashed through his mind in rapid succession and before he could do anything about it the words came out of his mouth on their own accord. "System crash," and the world went blue.

"Zero?" Ashimi catch the virtual boy before he hit the ground. She weighed her options and despite her fighting spirit telling her to stay, she took the wiser path. "Retreat!" She picked up the motionless Zero and ran for dear life.

Though Ashimi tripped and stumbled along the way, the fog eventually cleared up enough to allow her to see by the light of the full moon and star filled skies. Zero was still unconscious, but at least it didn't look like the Gengar had followed them. She really would have loved to catch it, but she had to admit he was too strong. Zero's eyes opened all of a sudden, but where the gradient went from black, up to blue, it now went from black to golden. Ashimi wondered if he had restarted in a sort of safe mode, but his wicked grin made him look anything but safe.

Before she could speak, Zero's small hands went to Ashimi's throat. She tried to pull him off, but he was surprisingly strong for such a small boy. Of course, he was not a normal boy by any means. "Ze... ro..." Ashimi felt the world start to fade, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't speak, she couldn't think. Darkness threatened to reclaim her and never let her go. Her arms fell motionless at her sides, she couldn't fight any longer. Then, when she felt as if she would die, a warmth invaded her, as if a dim light buried deep within her had suddenly ignited. She opened her eyes with an odd glow reflected in them. Her hand reached out and gently rested on the boy's head, then she smiled and fainted.

The gradient colors in Zero's eyes went back to black and blue. He pulled his arms back and saw the unconscious Ashimi. "Ashimi?" He didn't know what was happening. He didn't remember what he did. "Ashimi?" He called out again, panic rising in his voice. He didn't think about suppressing the fear this time, it was simply too strong. "Ashimi!" He shook her, trying to wake her up, "Ashimi! Ashimi!"

"Ugh..." Slowly, Ashimi opened her eyes and saw Zero's frightened and sad expression. "Zero? Are you okay now?"

"Me? I'm not the one who's lying on the ground!" Zero hugged her, an overload of data passing through his systems at higher speeds than he could analyze it. "Please don't scare me like that again."

Ashimi hugged him back. It didn't look like Zero remembered what he did. Maybe some sort of deeply buried defense program was triggered. She might have to find a gentle way to ask about that later. But for now, she would hold him and reassure him that everything was okay. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that they ended up back close to the entrance of the graveyard. "Zero, I want you to go back to the pokemon center."

"What? No!" Zero immediately refused. "I can't leave you here to go look for Johnny alone! What if the fog comes back?"

Ashimi sighed, there was no easy way around this. She didn't want to make Zero feel bad, but it looked like she had no choice but to tell him the truth, or at least part of it. "You don't remember, do you? You crashed..."

"I know," Zero knew that much, but he didn't remember his initial restart. "When I rebooted you were on the ground. What happened?"

Ashimi frowned as she looked into Zero's eyes. He was genuinely concerned for her. So what if he was virtual, so what if he was full of errors? He was real to her, he was a precious friend. "You rebooted before that and your actions made no sense. I'm sorry Zero, but I can't protect you and myself, and look for Johnny at the same time. The fog is clearing up, I'll be fine. If you stay here, your system will get worse. I don't want you to feel bad, but you really do need to debug, please Zero, you're my friend and I don't want to lose you!"

Zero looked sad. "Alright..." He couldn't argue, he was a burden. A part of him knew that's not what Ashimi was saying, but even if she didn't see him like that, it didn't make it any less true. "I'll be waiting at the pokemon center for you and Johnny to return."

It broke Ashimi's heart to see Zero so sad, but she honestly thought this was the best choice to make. Zero couldn't be exposed to any more critical situations, especially if they made him lose himself. She was afraid for him a lot more than for herself. As for her own actions, Ashimi didn't remember much except being choked and fainting. She had no idea what had began to be unlocked as a consequence of her first true near death experience. Unaware of the presence watching her, Ashimi stood by as Zero disappeared down the street. She gathered her courage and ventured back into the graveyard. She still had her pokemon in their pokeballs and perhaps now that the fog was less they wouldn't fall victim to their fears. Even so, Ashimi hope that she wouldn't have to face that Gengar again. In the controlled setting of an official pokemon battle, playing by the rules, it would be epic, but the more rational side of her knew that in the wild it would be fatal.

The power of a pokemon was measured in a standard scale of one to one hundred. In that context, one hundred wasn't the maximum amount of power a specific pokemon could reach, but rather the highest power recorded, which was typically attributed only to legendary pokemon. Not all pokemon had the same kind of power, thus even with intensive training, not all would reach a power level of one hundred, or even ninety. Anything above ninety was extremely strong and rare to come by. Such a level was very uncommon in the wild, as the strongest wild pokemon usually only reached up to fifty and even that was not easy to come by in a pokemon that had not been trained specifically for battle by a human.

xoxox xox xoxox

Meanwhile, Jaina had spent some time talking to Jonathan, who seemed convinced by her story. "I know it must be difficult to think badly of someone you and your parents so deeply respect, but that's how it is. Ultimately, I didn't live up to Giovanni's expectations, I didn't become the next Miyamoto, and I was pushed to run away."

Jonathan wasn't sure what to do. He didn't know how his parents would react to something like this, but he knew it wouldn't be good. What if they panicked? What if his mother's temper surfaced and she confronted Giovanni? What if they both did? They would be branded as traitors and... Who knows, he didn't want to think about their terrible fate. No, he couldn't tell them, at least not yet. Maybe if he somehow resolved things, once it was all said and done he could tell them gently, but not yet. Although, if he was honest, he didn't know how things could ever be resolved. "Don't tell mom and dad. I know it's selfish of me to ask you this, but please don't tell them or they might do something they'll regret, and we'll regret."

Jaina nodded, "alright, I'll respect your judgment. I know it's hard to accept, but that girl," she referred to Ashimi. "No matter what Giovanni does, she's going to be on his side, she's going to justify him, and that will make it all the easier for him to make her his true heir."

Jonathan did not reply. He knew that Ashimi was strong, determined and brave, but she sometimes blurred the lines, claiming to want to have her journey separate from Team Rocket, and occasionally accepting help from them as long as it didn't directly interfere with her training. He saw no real problem with it so far, but would she become more open to such advantages later down the road? He had always admired how she wanted to earn her place in the world, rather than inherit it from her Rocket boss grandfather, or her pokemon master father, or gym leader mother. Yet she did often justify Giovanni's actions and paint them in an almost heroic light, she respected him, but then so did Jonathan. Was it wrong?

Jaina let out a tired breath, looking emotionally strained. "I'll give you time to let it all sink in. We'll meet again soon, until then, farewell, brother." Jaina walked away, disappearing into the light mist of the night.

"Be safe... sister," Jonathan whispered into the night. He went down on his knees in front of the grave marked as belonging to his twin. His hand reached out to touch the tombstone. "Why... Why did it have to be this way?" His parents, betrayed by the man they admired and served for decades, the one he had been trained to work for, the king of the empire he called home. It was frustrating, it was heart breaking, it was infuriating. The first time he had visited the grave he was old enough to understand the meaning of life and death. Enough time had passed for his parents to bring flowers without breaking down, without crying. It was a solemn, but not a desperate occasion and there were no tears that time, only gentle hugs and words of comfort. But this time, he did cry.

xoxox xox xoxox

"Johnny!" Ashimi called at the top of her lungs. She shivered, she had been in that graveyard for far too long. "Johnny!" Her worry increased with every moment that passed without a reply. She was putting herself at risk by continuing the search, but she didn't know what else to do. It was kind of like when Jonathan put her safety before his own health, she felt that she now fully understood and was thankful for his loyalty, which was all the more reason to find him. "Johnny, answer me!" The fog became darker. "Not again!" Soon, Ashimi couldn't even see her own hand in front of her face. She tried to move forward and stumbled. "Johnny!" There was no reply from the one who she was calling, but she did hear a voice howling in laughter. "Gengar..." She gasped in a breathless whisper. Maybe she could run away from him again, maybe he wouldn't chase her. Her hopes were dashed into pieces when the face of the pokemon appeared a mere inch from hers. Ashimi yelled and stumbled back, falling to the ground.

Up close, Ashimi could see that the mega Gengar was a darker color than most, with odd ghostly ripples flowing through his being. There was something about him that spoke of an experienced power and somehow she knew that this ghost was quite old, older than her and older than her parents at least. Yet the pokemon's age had not diminished his power, all the opposite, the passing of time had made him stronger. It would take nothing short of a legendary pokemon to defeat this fearsome foe!

Another figure appeared before Ashimi, if possible more imposing and eerie than the ghost. The cloaked figure approached her, floating in the air. "By this time your father's aura was stronger than yours. You have more sense, more rationale, though you still have his impulsiveness, your grandfather made sure you were also properly educated as a strategist. You think more, a valuable quality to have as the head of an organization, but there is no benefit without a consequence, for you also sense less. That is alright, though, you cannot believe that everything will work out in a situation such as yours, realism is just as valuable as optimism. "

"Sabrina..." Ashimi whispered the name in an uncomfortable gasp. That fog, that darkness, it must have been her who was causing it. No wonder it was so hard to see, it wasn't a physical barrier that could be penetrated with sharp eye sight or even a flashlight if she had one on hand, it was a mental state that numbed the senses and prevented images from being properly interpreted. Yet Zero was a program, Sabrina couldn't invade his psyche in the same magnitude as with a living creature. He would still be affected, as he was meant to function as a human, but his systems couldn't emulate the trance completely and in this case, the inaccuracy of his technology turned out to be beneficial. Yet, it was only a matter of time before his system was overloaded by the nonsensical data it received from the supernatural.

"Your technological doll is a very peculiar thing, it was ironic that it did what Gengar set out to do," the psychic laughed. As she leaned over Ashimi, the young girl could just barely make out the shadowy features of the woman's face in the darkness within her hood, Sabrina's eyes were glowing. "To push you to the brink of death." The crimson haired girl had nothing to do with her and was not considered important enough to delay Sabrina's plans. The psychic sensed a state of heightened emotion in Ashimi as she fought for Clefable, then the energy had faded away and she was once more at peace. Sabrina grew impatient, she decided that the next time she felt an emotional high on Ashimi's part, she would take the chance to push her all the way, to awaken the aura that was so deeply buried, that the girl had not managed to awaken it herself. That time came when Ashimi thought she was about to face an ambush in the graveyard and was filled with memories of her last experience with Clefable's kidnapping and the trap she walked into.

Ashimi stared into the glow of Sabrina's eyes, unable to move. "Why? Why would you want to kill me?" She didn't understand. Had she not passed Sabrina's test? Did the marsh badge not prove that?

"I don't, I only needed you to be close to death so that your aura would have no choice but to come out to save you," Sabrina explained.

"Aura..." Ashimi echoed the word quietly. She had seen her father control the mysterious power freely, but she could never do what he did. Time and again she tried to conjure an orb of light in the palm of her hand, but it wouldn't come. She tried to sense things, to know what couldn't be picked up by normal senses, but it always turned into a guessing game. "Dad said every living creature has some aura in them, but it might not be enough to project it in every case. Is mine really enough?"

"Barely," Sabrina's voice echoed with a hint of disappointment. "Your aura is as dormant as the aura of most. It's alright though, it can be made stronger and more usable. All you have to do is open your senses and feel the world around you. Experience the aura until that sense becomes something that feels natural, until you feel like one of your senses is missing without it, then you can prevented from becoming dormant again and train to use it."

"I want to be able to use it," Ashimi admitted, though her voice sounded more shy than eager. She couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that clung to every inch of her being.

"It doesn't matter if you want it or not, your aura will be motivated to grow by the need to survive," Sabrina voiced ominously. "You will feel it, you will loathe it and if you wish to keep your sanity, you will master it." Sabrina's index finger touched Ashimi's forehead and the redhead felt her whole body begin to glow. A sound like shattering glass echoed in her mind and the world spun rapidly around her. Sabrina moved her hand away and stood, leaving Ashimi on the ground on her hands and knees. The psychic recalled her Gengar into his pokeball and disappeared, teleporting away to a location unknown to the girl left behind.

Ashimi felt herself tremble, strange echoes filled her ears and she could see foggy currents that were not there before. Her breathing was ragged and uneven and her heart felt like it would burst. Tears flowed down her face as she was filled with a strong sense of mourning, of helplessness and of pain. Her eyes were wide and frightened, everything looked scary, everything sounded scary, everything felt disturbing and wrong. "Sabrina?" She called out in a shaky voice. "Sabrina!" There was no reply. "Don't... Don't leave me here!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "Johnny! Zero! Mom! Dad! Grandma! Grandpa! Anyone!" An ear splitting wail escaped her throat, she screamed until her voice cracked and she fell to the floor. Her pokemon popped out of their pokeballs and tried to comfort her. The fear inducing unnatural fog was gone, but seeing their trainer break down in desperate fearful tears scared them even more. Squirtle was the first to break down in tears and wail desperately.

"Ashimi!" Jonathan arrived, running towards her. He saw the pokemon huddled around Ashimi, but saw no sign of any enemies. That worried him even more, it made him think the attack had already come and gone. "Is she injured?" He examined the trembling girl, but saw no signs of blood, in fact, though there were some minor tears in her clothes, he didn't see any of the bruises she had earlier. It didn't make sense that she would heal so fast, unknown to them it was an effect of the aura. "Where are you hurt?" He looked her over once more, unable to locate any injuries. Then he noticed something, all the pokemon were out of their pokeballs crowded around Ashimi, they seemed to be physically unharmed, but there was someone missing from the group. "Where's Zero? Did something happen to him?" A million terrible theories ran through Jonathan's head. Zero was a virtual being, why would anyone target him? Had he been kidnapped? No, Ashimi would be running off to save him if that was the case. Her cries were so desperate and sad, had Zero been murdered before her eyes? Somehow deleted into a nothingness that was his version of death?

"He's at the pokemon center," Ashimi choked out. "I... I need to see dad, please, I need him," somehow she knew that her father was the only one who could get her through this. She fought to calm down, but it was extremely difficult. The shadows and the dim light both felt like predators to her. She was even afraid of her pokemon and of Johnny. Her pokemon's desperation was hurting her and from Johnny she felt pain, doubts, confusion and worry. "Stop... Stop making me feel so awful!" She screamed.

"What do you mean? What's attacking you?" Jonathan still saw no one. Was it some kind of mental attack? Who could be capable of that? "Let's get out of here, let's go back to the pokemon center." He wasn't sure why Zero had gone back without Ashimi, but assumed there must have been a good reason that he would inquire about later. For now, the only thing he could think about doing was getting Ashimi out of the graveyard and taking her to the relative safety of the pokemon center.

To be Continued

Zero's "it's over ninety!" quote is a reference to Vegeta's famous "it's over nine thousand!" When someone faints it is said the world went black, or dark, since they close their eyes as they lose consciousness, in Zero's case it's blue because he's virtual and rather than shutting down completely, he got a blue screen of doom. For those who have read Don't Give Me Diamonds, Sabrina's Haunter, now Gengar, appeared there as a pokemon belonging to a Rocket agent called Aayla in an era before Ash's birth. Various circumstances led to him living at the tower in Lavender Town, where Ash later met him in the events taking place in the first season of the anime. He ends up as Sabrina's pokemon in the anime and is once again seen here as one of her strongest pokemon. The Alakazam Sabrina used against Ashimi at the gym in earlier chapters was actually one of her younger pokemon, not nearly as strong as her Gengar.

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