Ash Ketchum: Superman, Chapter 9

--

It had been 3 days since Ash/Superman had saved a bus from crashing and stopped an attempted bank robbery. The whole of Star City had suddenly realized that the hero of Summer City was spotted in their city. The whole damn media of the city had picked it up and now it was practically impossible for anyone to escape coverage of Superman. Ash, Misty and Brock, however, ignored it. Sort of. At first the news caught Brock and Misty by surprise—not Ash, of course—but then they got used to it. At the same time, reporters tried to ask Misty for an interview, but she had to tell them that she hadn’t seen Superman lately.

So right now Ash was having a battle with a trainer from Goldenrod City in one of downtown Star City’s parks. Misty was silently reading a book while Togepi took a nap while Brock officiated the match. And tried to hit on some girls, despite his, well, stand with Nurse Joy. And no, none of them said yes.

“Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!” Ash commanded. Pikachu dodged a strike from his opponent, a Seviper, then charged his cheeks and unleashed an electric attack at the poisonous snake. The Seviper screamed in pain of being hit with I’m-not-sure-how-many volts of electricity. When Pikachu finished, the snake dropped to the ground

“Seviper is unable to battle!” Brock said. “Pikachu wins!”

“YES!” Ash cheered. “You give up yet?” Ash asked his opponent.

“Are you kidding me?” The trainer asked. “I’m just getting warmed up! Go, Donphan!” The trainer released a Poke Ball and out popped the elephant-like Pokemon. The Donphan bellowed once it was called, ready to battle.

“Pikachu, return!” Ash called. Pikachu obeyed its trainer and returned to his side. Ash reached for his Poke Ball belt and pulled one out and threw it. “Bayleef, go get ‘im!”

“Bay! Bay!” The grass-type called once it was released.

“Donphan, use rollout!” The trainer called. The Donphan curled itself into a wheel and hurled itself at Bayleef. Without Ash’s command—which was a good thing—Bayleef dodged the incoming Donphan. However, the Donphan was able to just nick Bayleef on its leg.

“Hang in there, Bayleef!” Ash called. “Use Razor Leaf!” Bayleef twirled her head around, also twirling the leaf on her head, then launched some leafs like throwing stars at the incoming Donphan, but they bounced off the elephant-like Pokemon like bullets bouncing off Superman. Bayleef realized that the leaves weren’t doing any good and tried to dodge Donphan’s attack. Unfortunately it was too little too late and bayleef was struck by Donphan and tumbled on the ground a bit. But the stubborn Pokemon got up, determined to continue fighting. “Okay, that’s not going to work,” said Ash. “Use Body slam!”

“Bay!” Bayleef circled the Donphan, trying to find a weak spot. That’s when it saw an opening—attack from the side! Bayleef charged Donphan and with great timing, slammed into Donphan, sending the elephant reeling.

“There you go!” Said Ash. The Donphan struggled to stand up, but Bayleef’s attack must have done something right, because Donphan collapsed. It was over.

“Donphan is unable to battle!” called Brock. “The Trainer is out of usable Pokemon! Ash Ketchum wins!”

“YEAH!!!!” True to his enthusiastic act, Ash leapt in the air and pumped his fist in celebration while Pikachu flashed the ‘V for Victory’ sign.

“You did great Donphan,” said the trainer. “Return!” A red light enveloped Donphan and the Pokemon returned to its ball. “Great battle, Ash!” Said the trainer.

“Hey, no problem,” said Ash. “If you want to battle again, just call me.”

“Wow, Ash, that was some good sportsmanship on your part,” said Misty. “Usually you’re mocking them.”

“You know, I am more of a good sport than you think,” said Ash.

“Guys, how about we not get into any fights,” said Brock. His plan to stop the fight before anything got worse seemed to work because Ash and Misty began to calm down a bit.

“Yeah sure,” said Misty. “So I guess I’ll meet you guys back in the Pokemon Center.”

“Why?” Ash said, confused.

“Because Togepi’s still sleeping, that’s why,” she said, pointing to the egg-shaped Pokemon.

“Oh, sorry,” said Ash. “I guess we’ll see you later then,” he said as he walked away.

“Okay, by then,” Misty replied. Now it was just Togepi and her; and some trashy Harlequin romance. That’s right, I sad it! I called it trash, you want a piece of me? Any way, it was just a guilty pleasure for her. The book was about some girl who fell head over heels for some superhero or something of that nature. Standard Harlequin stuff. The names of the characters were Clark and Lois or something like that. The girl couldn’t tell if she was in love with Clark or that superhero—even though Clark was secretly the superhero.

But for some reason, it got Misty to think about Superman. Was she in love with him? Or As—wait, Ash? No, she couldn’t be in love with him!

But that got her thinking, what does Superman have to do with Ash? Her thoughts were broken when Togepi woke up and began to cry. Obviously her book would have to wait a while. “Oh, sorry, Togepi, let’s get you something to eat now,” she said as she took the egg Pokemon inside.

--

Misty walked into the Pokemon Center to see Ash and Brock watching CNN very intently, which was strange, considering they rarely ever paid any attention to the news. And it didn’t look as though they were excited. Actually, quite a few people were watching the broadcast for some reason. “Um, Ash, what’s going on here?” She asked.

“I’m not sure,” said Ash. “The Pentagon is reporting some strange activity, in Colorado, and they’re keeping an eye on it. They’re not sure what it is, exactly.” That was strange. Ash was actually paying attention! To the news! But wait, what did he say?

“The Pentagon?” She asked. The fact that the Pentagon was involved in this made it even stranger and even terrifying.

“Yeah, but they’re not sure what it is,” he said.

“Pikaaa,” Pikachu said in a worried voice.

“I guess you’re nervous, huh buddy?” He asked. Pikachu nodded his head in confirmation.

“Whatever it is,” Brock said. “It looks bad.”

--

As time went by, rumors began to spread about just what exactly was going on. Since CNN or Fox—oh wait, those guys didn’t care—or MSNBC couldn’t tell what was going on, the people in the Pokemon Center began to speculate just what was going on.

“I hear it’s some new Pokemon!” Was one rumor.

“Maybe it’s Team Rocket,” was another.

“That’s silly, it’s somebody else!” Somebody said to shoot it down.

“Maybe it’s Mew!” Said another one.

“Or Celebi!”

“Maybe it’s aliens!”

These rumors spread like wildfire and pretty soon the Pokemon Center was filled with them. At dinner that night, the trio could not escape the rumors, either. Which was getting on Misty’s nerves.

“I swear, if anyone brings up some stupid conspiracy again, I’m going to unleash a Gyarados on them.”

“But you don’t have a Gyarados,” said Brock.

“I’ll catch one just so I can unleash one!” She yelled back. The prospective breeder recoiled at the redhead’s famed temper.

“Wow, Misty, usually you’re not this mad at something,” said Ash. “Unless it’s me.”

“You’d better not be spreading rumors,” Misty said with a glare on her face.

“I’m not!” He said. But I am wondering what in the world is going on. Could it be related to Team Rocket? I mean, their boss does want me dead.

“Hello, Earth to Ash!” Misty said, jolting him out of his thoughts.

“Sorry,” he said. “I got a little distracted.”

“Distracted is looking a coin when the professor’s talking,” said Misty. “You were in a whole other dimension.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said Ash. His statement confused Misty, since he thought he would try to argue with her.

“You know, you’ve been acting strange lately,” she said. “Is something going on?”

“I have?” He asked to keep up the image of stupidity. “I didn’t know that.”

“You’re stupid, you know that?” She asked.

“Hey! I am not stupid!”

“Well, at least you’re acting the same now!” She said.

--

“Those fools in the government, they don’t know what’s going on! We begin the Operation tomorrow!”

--

Once again, Misty had a hard time trying to find Ash. And yes, she did knock on doors this time. She didn’t want to run into Brock and Nurse Joy doing… you know. But again, she slapped herself mentally when she forgot that she did not check the room they were in. She was bad at this!

Meanwhile, Ash lay on the bed in the group’s room. His thoughts were mostly about the strange activity that got the Pentagon’s attention. What in the world was going on? And soon, his thoughts turned to Misty. Yes, it was stupid, but he had such a damn crush on her. But that also got him thinking. Although she hadn’t been showing it lately, she seemed to indicate she was in love with him. As in, Superman. Now that should be exciting, but to Ash, it wasn’t. He wanted her to like him--all of him, both Superman and Ash.

But he also slapped himself mentally. He may be a teenager, but this level of angst? It was too much for him! Especially considering his obfuscating stupidity. He knew he had to get Misty to love both him and Superman. But how?

“There you are,” she said. Speak of the devil. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“Again?” He asked. She must have forgotten he was here in the room the whole time again.

“I guess I forgot,” she said. ‘What are you doing?”

“I’m just relaxing,” he said. He also pointed to Pikachu, who was taking a nap on the desk in the room.

“Are you thinking about something?” She asked.

“Um, why do you ask?”

“Because you’ve acting… smarter lately,” she said. “Are you secretly a genius?” Ash gave her a blank look, as he suspected she was catching on to him. If she did, then that would not be good for his cover. “Forget it, the idea that you’re a genius is the most ridiculous thing imaginable.”

Now since she said that, he was secretly relieved. But in order to play it up, he had to play offended. “Hey! I’m nit that stupid!”

“Oh really?” She said. “Now you’re acting like the Ash I know!”

“I don’t know whether to know if I should be mad or happy,” he said.

“Whatever, Do you mind if I lay down with you?” Ash blushed beet red, as he was caught off guard by Misty’s request. Sure, he had invited her 3 or 4 nights ago, but for her to ask to join him was the surprising aspect.

“Um, sure,” he said. He blushed as she lay down next to him on the bed. He looked over at her and got some relief when he saw he wasn’t the only one blushing, as she was a red as the shirt for Manchester United.

“This is… nice,” she said nervously.

“I guess so,” he said. Unlike the last time, it was a more awkward moment than they wanted. “So, what do you think of Superman?” He asked.

“He’s okay,” she said. “I might be in love with him, though.”

“He’s five years older than you,” Ash said. Obviously a smart move on his part.

“Um, I guess that is a problem,” she said. “But I wonder if it’s just some silly schoolgirl crush though.”

“It might be,” he said.

“But he saved my life,” she said. “Twice. Obviously I’m grateful for that.”

“But if you two got together, he’d be accused of being a pedophile,” he said. He was actually insulting himself! But Misty had to realize that Ash was technically right.

“Wow, that is a bad thing,” she said. “I wonder if it is a schoolgirl crush.”

“But what do you think about me?” He asked. It seemed to Misty that he blurted it out, but he actually had planned on saying it.

“Wow, you are acting different,” she said. Oh great, she was catching on to him! “Are you jealous of Superman?” Then again, maybe not.

“Um, no,” he said to cover it up. “But how would you react if you knew I was smarter than I let on?”

“Why, do you do that?” She asked.

“I’m just asking,” he said defensively.

“Okay, then, I probably would like you a little more. Of course, if you were still the same asshole, then I probably wouldn’t.”

“Did you just call me an asshole?” He asked.

“Maybe,” she said. “But I don’t think you’re an asshole. Just a little hot-headed at times.”

“Thanks for nothing,” he said under his breath. The two stayed silent for a while longer. They got comfortable, strangely comfortable, feeling as though was—gasp—perfect.

“This is strangely romantic,” Misty said. Ash blushed a little bit, as she had essentially blurted the statement out. She also blushed, since she really did not mean to say that. After a while, though, the two fell a sleep and Misty, without even thinking, curled up next Ash and lay her head on his shoulder.

--

Flashback

Professor Samuel Oak, previously of the University of California-Davis, worked in his Pallet Town laboratory examining a sample of cells from a Pikachu’s electric sacs to see how they stored electricity. His finding hadn’t come up with anything yet, and it had taken him some years to figure it out. He took a breath as he moved away from his microscope to get something to eat, probably a tofu and anchovie pizza.

While he was enjoying his pizza, the doorbell rang. “Now who could that be?” He asked to no one in particular. He went to his door and opened the door to see 26-year-old Delia Ketchum, who used to be a student of his at UC-Davis. “Hello, Delia,” he said.

“Professor, I have a problem,” she said. She seemed to have a confused look on her face. Something must have been bothering her.

“Well, what is it?” He asked.

“It’s about Ash,” she said.

“Oh, yes, your son,” he said. “What is it?”

“Well, some strange things have been going on with him,” she said. “Just recently, he sneezed and blew the feathers off a flock of bird Pokemon. Then, he was able to lift my car like a feather!”

“What?” Professor Oak asked, completely dumbfounded.

“Yes, and this is all true, Professor,” she said. “And actually, I never told you this, but he’s not my real son.”

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Well, I found him,” she said.

“Found him?” He asked, even more dumbfounded. “Where did you find him?”

“In a spaceship.”

End flashback

--

The day that changed everything started off like any day. Sort of. Ash and Misty were sleeping in their room in the Pokemon Center peacefully. Had you looked in on them you would have thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Anyway, the were sleeping peacefully until—

BOOM!!!!

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion and the room shaking jolted them awake. Pikachu had fallen off the desk and was just as disoriented as the both of them. Out of instinct, Misty grabbed onto Ash, which the Kryptonian didn’t mind—he was grabbing on to her, as well. “What the fuck is going on?” She asked.

“I don’t know!” He replied. The sounds of more explosions and the sound of people clamoring in the hall told them that something very bad was going on.

“Is it a new 9/11?” She asked.

“I don’t know!” Is this related to the strange activity? He thought. It’s gotta be! There’s no other explanation for this! Determined to find out what was going on, Ash ran to the window. Outside, he could see helicopters getting troops into the city. From what it seemed, this attack had been going on for a while now. He could hear the sounds of gunfire and he could smell the smoke from several explosions. He even saw some explosions. It looked like a war zone outside. “It’s total chaos out there!” He yelled over the noise.

“Guys, are you okay?” Brock came into the room and stood in the door. Outside, several people ran past the

“Brock, what’s going on?” Ash asked.

“The whole city is under attack!” He said. “The army and the National Guard are fighting with some unknown force! And we’re to be evacuated to the bomb shelter underneath the Pokemon Center until further notice, now come on!” He didn’t need to tell them twice. The two scrambled out of the room—save for Misty, whole had to grab a crying Togepi—and headed downstairs to the lobby.

The lobby was a scene of panic. The people in the Pokemon Center tried to scramble for the bomb shelter like a herd of cattle. The people inside clamored about, screaming and trying to speculate just who was attacking. Some said that they had seen what looked like Team Rocket members. Several US National Guardsmen, the police and Nurse Joy were trying to keep people calm, but the confusion and panic was too much. “Everybody hurry, into the bomb shelter!” Said one Gaurdsman.

“Please, stay calm!” Said Nurse Joy. “I know you’re scared, but please stay as calm as possible!”

“Nurse Joy!” Said on Guardsman. “The enemy’s headed this way! Get these people to the bomb shelter!”

“Dude, I saw them!” Said one trainer. “It’s Team Rocket! They’re attacking the whole country!”

“Even LA and New York?” said Nurse Joy.

“I think so,” said the trainer. “I just saw reports of it on CNN!”

“Okay but please, head for the bomb shelter” She said to him/ “It’s the only location in the building safe from attack!

“Ash, come on!” Said Brock. He had fallen behind the two and was struggling to keep up. “Ash, let’s go!”

“I’m trying!” He shouted, struggling against the crowd of people. That’s when he saw the attack on TV and when he knew he had to do something. Now. With the whole place confused, he ran away from the crowd and to the phone booths upstairs. They were the perfect place to change. Pikachu tried to chase after him, but the crowd was so thick that he had no luck at all.

Ash had to hurry to not be seen by any Guardsmen or people. He managed to find the phone booths and got into one.

--

Outside the Pokemon Center, a company of soldiers, plus some tanks fired at an incoming enemy. They had detected the enemy force’s movements last night and were able to get to Star City in time to defend it. The commanding officer, Col. Raymond Rodriguez checked his watch. It was 10:00 in the morning. The attack had been going on for two hours now. How the rest of the city had failed to notice it at 8:00, which was making the evacuations all the more difficult. And he did not like the fact that the people in the Pokemon Center were heading for the bomb shelter instead of evacuating. But he had to concede that it was the safest place for them to be. “Hold your positions!” He called to them. It was a futile command, but it had to be said.

To his right, an incoming M1 Abrams Tank fired a round down the street. The shell seemed to hit something because there was an explosion about a mile away.

“Colonel!” Called one soldier, a lieutenant.

“Have any civilians been evacuated?” He asked.

“We’ve just cleared one building out, sir,” said the lieutenant. “The Pokemon Center is completely empty, so we guess the civilians got to the bomb shelter in time!”

“Excellent work, soldier!” The colonel yelled over the noise. He turne to the other soldiers and said, “Now let’s hold these bastards!”

“But they keep advancing, sir!” Said one soldier.

“I don’t care! We stop them right here!” The colonel yelled.

“Colonel, they’re coming into view!” Called another one.

“Alright then, you may fire at will! Fire at will!” The colonel yelled. With that, the soldiers began firing their weapons at the enemy. The enemy continued to advance, despite the fierce resistance from the American soldiers. The colonel winced, seeing the enemy’s tanks approaching despite his soldier’s best efforts.

“Colonel, should we retreat?” Said one officer.

“No!” He said. “We hold them here, dammit!” Just then, they heard a voice as though it was being broadcast via loudspeaker. And in their radios!

“Prepare for trouble!” Came a menacing female voice.

“And make it double!” Came a male voice.

“To inflict the world with devastation!”

“To enslave all peoples within our nation!”

“To denounce the goods of truth and love!”

“To extend our rule to the stars above!”

“Jessie!”

“James!”

“Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!”

“Surrender now or prepare to die!”

“Mee-yowth! Dat’s right!”

“Waaaahhhh-buffet!”

“Team Rocket!” Said one soldier, who was starting to panic.

“Well, colonel Rodriguez, do you surrender?” Jesse said over the radio.

“Never!” Col. Rodriguez replied.

“Oh well, then prepare to die!” She screamed. The advancing Rocket Soldiers didn’t look like the normal ones. They wore professional body armor and helmets that looked much like the ones the US Army wore. They were all heavily armed, carrying weapons that ranged from M16’s to AK-47’s. They were supported by tanks and mechs that had the distinct red ‘R” painted on them. They took whatever hit them from the American soldiers. Nothing fazed them. The biggest difference between these soldiers and the national Guardsmen and regular Army was that they wore black, save for white boots. The red ‘R’ was on the front and on the helmet.

The Rockets began to fire on the National Guardsmen and Army regulars, who returned fire. It turned into a fierce firefight. Several Rockets did go down, but they were only a small amount. “These bastards just keep comin’!” Yelled one soldier.

“Don’t let up!” Said Col. Rodriguez. “Keep the pressure on, they’re sure to break at some point!”

--

In the bomb shelter in the Pokemon Center, Misty and Brock sat among the nervous and frightened people. They heard muffled explosions above them. It was mostly silent, save for some who were saying prayers for whatever religion they were, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Bahai’i, you name it. Just then, Misty realized something. “Oh no, where’s Ash!”

“I’m not sure, I think he made it though,” said Brock. But that wasn’t good enough for Misty. The look on her face showed more than concern, but fear for him. The fact that Ash was not here in this one room scared the living daylights out of her.

“Oh no, maybe he didn’t make it!” She said. Ash, no! “I have to find him!” She yelled out loud.

“Misty, are you crazy?” Brock asked.

“I don’t care!” She said. “Ash may be in trouble!” Before Brock could do anything to stop her, she got up from her seat and took off toward the entrance of the bomb shelter.

“Where are you going?” Asked Nurse Joy.

“To find my friend!” Misty replied.

“Misty, you can’t go out there, it’s too dangerous!” Brock said.

“I don’t CARE!!!” She screamed. “I need to find Ash!”

“Wherever he is, he’s probably evacuated!” Said Brock. “Don’t be foolish!”

“I still need to find him!” She yelled as she went for the door. She tried to open it, but it was practically impossible. Misty stopped, fearing that she might not be able to get to him. No, Ash!

--

A soldier fell to the ground, wounded in the crossfire between the National Guardsmen and the Rocket soldiers. “Medic! MEEEEDIIIIIC!!” He cried in pain. A medic rushed to his side to try and help him. Col. Rodriguez winced. These Rockets just wouldn’t die! They needed something.

“Where the hell is our air support!?” He yelled.

“I’m trying!” Called a soldier.

“Keep trying!” Another round came, and another soldier fell to the ground. He was losing soldiers fast! If this kept up, they’d have to fall back and give up more to the Rockets. And he just wasn’t going to do that.

“Colonel!” Called the radioman. “There’s something approaching us at a very high—,” Suddenly, something whizzed over their heads.

“What the fuck was that?” Rodriguez shouted. The UFO flew towards the rockets and smashed into a Rocket mech, tearing right through! The soldiers cheered in response, while Rodriguez looked on in amazement. Then, the figure landed in front of the Rockets, kneeling down. The figure had a red cape on. It was then that Rodriguez knew who it was. “It’s Superman!” The soldiers cheered and hollered in response. They had a chance now!

“Superman!?” Cried Jesse.

“What are you doing here?” James said.

“I’m here to end this,” said Superman. “I suggest you all leave. Now!”

“Nevah!” Said Meowth. “Take this!” He pushed a button on a remote. A mech began to move and opened up its chest cavity, revealing a missile. The Gaurdsmen and Army regulars recoiled in horror, but Col. Rodriguez urged them to stay calm. Superman, however, was unfazed.

“Is that your best shot?” He taunted.

“Hey! Shut up!” Meowth yelled. “Take dis!” He pressed the button again and the missile fired from the mech. Superman just turned around and protected himself with his cape. The missile srtuck the cape and exploded, sending a shockwave that knocked out some windows and knocked down the soldiers resisting Team Rocket. And there was a smoldering crater where Superman was. Meowth sneered, thinking he had killed him. But to his horror, he saw some red within the crater. The soldiers cheered when they saw Superman rise from the ground and stand firm before the Rocket soldiers. “What da!”

“You seem to forget,” said Superman. “Nothing can kill me.”

“Grrrrr, we’ll just see about that!” Screamed Jesse. “Rocket soldiers! Fire at will!” The Rockets proceeded to open fire on Superman, unleashing their entire arsenal. The bullets bounced off Superman easily, and he just had to shake his head. Who ever was in charge of this was completely stupid. Not only is it foolish to simply march down the street without any cover at all, but to try and shoot Superman is another. “Cease fire!” She called again. Superman stood alone, shaking his head. Now it was the Rockets’ turn to panic.

“My turn,” he said.

--

“Dammit!” Misty yelled. “I can’t take it anymore!” She was done waiting for Ash and was now going to try and escape the bomb shelter.

“Oh no, you’re not!” Said Brock as he grabbed her wrist. It was a bad idea, because she just kicked him in the chest. Gently, of course, she wasn’t going to hurt him, but enough to get him to let go of her. She sprinted toward the door with Brock in hot pursuit. “Misty, wait!”

“Where are you going?” Nurse Joy asked.

“I’m getting the fuck out of here!” She said. “I don’t care what Brock says, I’m not going to stay here while Ash is missing!”

“Misty, you already tried to open the door!” Said Brock. “It won’t work again!”

“Well I’m going to try it again!” She said. “And you can’t stop me!”

“Misty!” Brock tired to grab her, but she was too fast for him. Finally, she reached the door. Togepi cried in her bag, which made Misty’s job a little more difficult.

“Sshhh, I’m sorry Togepi,” she said quietly. She grabbed the door wheel and tried to turn it as hard as she could/ She must have been straining her muscles or something, because it was becoming painful to do so. But she had to make sure Ash was okay! She had to get out! She put all of her will power into turning that wheel! She groaned and grunted as suddenly, the wheel began turning!

“That’s impossible!” Said Nurse Joy. “Nobody can move that, neither man nor woman!”

“Then that’s about to change!” Misty said. Her face was beet red from the strain of the trying to turn the wheel. It was slowly, but surely, turning. It was going to open! Just a little more…

The rest of the people inside the shelter watched in amazement at Misty actually opening the door! She strained as hard as she could to open that door. And then finally, she felt almost no resistance. She had opened it! Through sheer force of will! “Yes!” She said and opened the door and ran out.

Brock, who had been stunned by what just happened, snapped back to reality and realized that Misty had just opened the door and gotten out! “Misty, wait!” He called as he ran after her.

“Pikachupi!” The two ran after Misty, who had gotten up the stairs and into the back room of the Center.

Misty, meanwhile, had gotten inside the main part of the Pokemon Center. The bomb shelter was in the back, and was built in the 1950s. If you know anything about history of that time, you can understand why. But she made it into the main part of the Pokemon Center and found herself in an unfamiliar location. She tried to find a building map before she realized she was in the hallway where most of the examination rooms were. She must have forgotten how the get there.

The Pokemon Center was mostly silent, which was obvious since everyone was down in the bomb shelter. She could hear the faint sounds of the fighting going on outside. Apparently, whoever was attacking was tough enough to deal with the army. She found the way to the main lobby on the map and took off in that direction. About a minute later, Brock managed to show up. But since Misty had already left, he was alone with Pikachu. “Misty!” He called. But it was futile, since Misty didn’t hear a thing he said.

Meanwhile, Misty was panting as she ran to the main lobby. The sounds of guns were getting louder, so she knew she was getting close. And how the Pokemon Center was able to keep its electricity on surprised her, since she though the generators would have been taken out. But that didn’t matter right now. She had to get to the lobby. Finally, she got to the lobby. On the screen was a news report about the attacks going on.

“…The Pentagon is saying that the known terrorist organization Team Rocket is behind these attacks. Already there have been attacks in Los Angeles, Summer City, Star City, Goldenrod City, Saffron City, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Boston and Baltimore. The Pentagon says they’re doing—and we just got this news report now. Apparently, in Star City, Superman himself is helping the army resist Team Rocket!”

Superman? Misty smiled widely. They had a chance now! He could save all of them and stop this! He must be fighting outside right now. Misty began to make her way to the exit, but she stopped when she heard something. “Wigglytuff, Wi-i-i-igglyt-u-u-u-u-ff,” Suddenly, she began to feel sleepy. Oh, no! It was a Wigglytuff using Sing! She tried to fight it, but no matter how hard she tried, the song bore into her head like a drill and made her even drowsier. And what’s worse, Togepi had stopped crying. She must have succumbed to the attack! Misty tried to cover her ears, but it was too little too late, and she was getting sleepy. Soon, she could not resist anymore and fell to the ground. Brock, meanwhile, came in a minute later, and much like her, heard the same Wigglytuff singing. But unlike her, he didn’t stand a chance and he fell down, too. Pikachu came in 30 seconds later and suffered the same fate as his comrades.

But Misty still struggle to stay awake. She would not give in this easily. But the Wigglytuff was still singing and she closed her eyes and went to sleep. But before she did, she saw a pair of white boots coming towards her.

--

“Get I’m! Get ‘im!” The Rockets fired on Superman in a futile effort. How many times must they do this? Meanwhile, Superman fought the Rockets hard, punching and kicking them all the while. And mind you, he’s going easy on them and they’re getting tossed around like a leaf in the wind. He felt a jolt in his back suddenly and turned around to see what it was. A Rocket tank had fired on him and was most likely going to do it again. He flew over to the tank and then, lifted the front of the tank up, before moving towards the middle and lifting it over his head. Inside, the crewmembers panicked and tried to get out, but he smashed it on a Rocket mech before they even had a chance. Fortunately for them, though, they were pretty much unharmed.

Next, a Rocket mech. Superman flew at the mech and used his x-ray vision to locate the machinery. He found the main motor in the robot’s torso and thrust his hand into the robot’s torso. However, that didn’t work so he grabbed on the side of the robot and used his heat ray vision to cut the robot’s armor. Once he was done with that, he peeled the robot’s armor back as though it was a can of sardines. With the motor now in sight, he grabbed it and ripped it out of the robot’s chest. The robot fell backwards, now a simple pile of junk.

“You bastard!” Screamed a Rocket member. He ran up to Superman and held up a rocket launcher. This should be interesting. The Rocket soldier aimed his rocket launcher at Superman and fired from close range. Once again, Superman took his cape and shielded himself using it. There was an explosion and the Rocket soldier smiled, thinking he had succeeded. But to his horror, Superman was still standing there, shaking his head. Then he reached for the Rocket soldier. The Rocket was scared stiff, thinking Superman was going to kill him. But he was in for a surprise when he instead grabbed the rocket launcher he had and bent it like a pretzel. The Rocket soldier, not wanting anything else to happen, simply ran away.

Jessie, meanwhile, was furious. “How dare you make a mockery of Team Rocket!” She yelled. Too bad she wasn’t in much of a position to say that. Superman had essentially laid waste to the Rocket army. The mechs, the tanks, the soldiers were all in disarray after he had done his work. There was just no way they could stop him.

“You’re the ones attacking!” Said Superman. “I suggest you stop now. You’re clearly beaten! If you don’t I’ll have to--,”

“Silence, you!” She cried.

“Um, Jessie, I think it’s been established that he’s much better than--,” James was cut off when a tank round flew past his head. Inspired by Superman, the National Guardsmen and army Regulars, were beginning to fight back. And now they were getting some air support. “Jessie, maybe we should retreat!” James said.

Jessie growled, unhappy with the situation, but she was forced into a corner. Superman was handing their asses to them on a platter and the army was beginning to fight back. “Fall back!” She called. “Fall back and regroup!” But there would be no regroup for her, James and Meowth, because a tank round hit the mech they were standing on, sending them flying.

“We’re blasting of agaaaaiiiiiiin!”

“Waaaahhh-buffet!” The trio flew through the air at a high speed before disappearing.

Meanwhile, Superman watched the trio fly before turning tot he Rocket soldiers. Without their leaders, they began their retreat. Meanwhile, Col. Rodriguez ordered his men after the Rocket soldiers, leaving Superman behind. That was when he saw the opportunity to head back to the Pokemon Center.

--

When he arrived, he made sure no one saw him turn back into Ash. The Pokemon Center was a good distance from the combat area, so the Center had escaped relatively unscathed, save for some clear damage, possibly from unexploded shells. It was deceptively quiet, but that was understandable since everyone was in the bomb shelter. But how would he make it seem as though he was inside the building the whole time? He could get to those phone booths and pretend to hide in there and play up the coward act.

He slowly entered the Pokemon Center, looking to see if there was anyone inside. Luckily, no one was there and he flashed a smile. In the distance, there were still sounds of fighting, and his super hearing could pick up some celebrations by National Guardsmen. Apparently, things were going well. He crept silently into the Center, hoping he wasn’t seen or heard by anybody. So far so good. If could make it to—then, he heard it. “Wigglytuff…” A Wigglytuff! Oh, no!

He tried to cover his ears and make a break for the staircase at the end of the lobby, but his super hearing picked up the sound of the Wigglytuff’s song anyway. He searched for the location of the Wigglytuff desperately, only to realize that it was coming from the speaker! While the TV showed images of battle and the occasional jubilant soldier, the song of the Wigglytuff bore into his brain. Try as hard as he might, he could not resist the lullaby and dropped to the floor. But he tried to stay awake as long as possible, but only managed to catch a glimpse of white boots before he fell asleep.

--

“Excellent. The Boss will be pleased once he finds out we got all of them.”

--

End chapter

Notes

SEVEN FRICKIN’ MONTHS!!! It took me so long to finally get to work on this thing, and now, chapter 10! So, what did you think? I think it might be one of the best chapters so far. And there’s approximately 3 chapters remaining! So stay tuned for updates!