"Prepare for trouble!" "And make that double!" "TO protect the world from devastation!" "To unite all peoples within our nation!" "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" "To extend our reach to the stars above!" "Jesse!" "James!" "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!" "Surrender now or prepare to fight!" "Meowth, that’s right!" The trio of outlaws jumped from the balloon and landed in front of them. "So, you’re back for more, eh?!" Ash shouted, enraged. "Oh yeah...sorry about the gun thing. Can’t disobey orders! But we’re not here for Pikachu. We’re here for your friend there." Jesse pointed at Ecthros. "And how exactly to you plan to take me?" "like this!" Someone shouted from behind them. They heard Misty cry out. They all spun around to see another Team Rocket member holding a gun to Misty’s head. "Alright, take me! Just let the girl go!" Ecthros commanded. "Hahaha! With pleasure!" He threw Misty back at them and Ash caught her. The four Team Rockets held Ecthros and started to lead him to the balloon when the one with the gun immediately turned and shot at Ash and Misty. "NO!!!!!" Ecthros flung them off and ran as fast as he could at Misty and Ash. He managed to, with unbelievable speed, jump in front of them and take the bullets in the chest. "Ecthros!" Misty cried. "Fool! The boss wanted him alive!" Jesse shouted at the other member of Team Rocket. Ecthros was on the ground. "You’ll pay for this, Team Rocket!!!" Ash shouted. The man cocked his gun and aimed at Ash. Everyone froze. Then Ecthros stood up. He wasn’t bleeding, but the skin showing was black. "YOU....MONSTERS!!!" He shouted, enraged, "YOU WANT ME?! YOU’VE GOT ME!!!!" Suddenly his trenchcoat burst and huge black wings came out. His gloves practically exploded, revealing razor sharp black claws. what was left of his trenchcoat fell off, revealing the rest of his black skin. He had huge muscles. He threw his hat off, revealing his face. He bared his teeth, each sharp. His ears went up and looked more like a dog’s perked ears than humans. His hair was spiky and yellow, and looked a lot like a Jolteon’s fur. Everyone was too afraid to move. He lunged at Team Rocket and kicked the one with the gun in the teeth, sending him flying off into the horizon. He opened his mouth and a huge blast of fire charred the other three. he threw them into the balloon and popped it, sending it flying off. Jesse and James were too afraid to shout out ‘looks like team rocket’s blasting off again!’ Instead, they just looked at each other in fear. Ash and Misty were holding each other, and everyone there’s jaw dropped. "Wonderful. Now I need a new trenchcoat." Ecthros said, casually. Then he looked at them. "Sorry for the shock, but I think now you’ll understand why I didn’t let you see me like this earlier. I couldn’t allow them to hurt you, I had to do something." They all calmed down, a little. "W-well, you’re still the one who s-s-saved my life, so I don’t care that you look like this." Ash stammered, trying to sound unafraid. "Well, at least this explains a lot." Misty said, "You were Giovanni’s first experiment, weren’t you?" The big black thing nodded. "He wanted to create a Team Rocket member with the strength and power to do anything he wanted. His scientists mixed my DNA with that of several Pokémon." Pikachu walked up and climbed up to Ecthros’ shoulder. "Pikapipikachupikachuchu!(Well, becoming more like a pokémon could only have been an improvement for a human!)" Ecthros smiled and petted Pikachu. "You seem pretty human to me, Pikachu." Ecthros told him. Pikachu pretended to take that as an insult and ran back to Ash. Ecthros smiled, revealing all his fangs. "briii! togie togie briiiii! (Why does uncle Ecthros have Charizard wings and Jolteon hair?)" The baby Togepi asked. Ecthros disappeared suddenly. Misty squeezed Ash’s hand hard. "A combination of human and Pokémon....is it possible?" Brock wondered. "You have to ask?" Misty said, raising an eyebrow. "Did you notice how he could understand what pikachu said?" Ash asked. They all talked about it for a few minutes more when Ecthros reappeared, in a new trenchcoat and gloves. "Now, onwards! Team Rocket must be stopped!" Ecthros said. They all followed him. As they walked, Ecthros fell into memories. He had been an honest person, he had never once stole. He had known his best friend, Anna, practically since they were born. Then she got involved with Team Rocket. He begged her not to, but she ignored him. Finally, he joined as well, just so he could watch out for her. Giovanni had given him a modest job, with a partnership with Anna. He was happy, then, even if he had to steal some Pokémon every now and then. He was with Anna every waking hour, and soon their friendship grew into passion. They would hold hands in public without realizing it, they would flirt in front of their friends, things like that. And then Giovanni had announced a special project. He said that the person chosen for the project would be given large amount of cash if he did what he was told. A month later, Anna handed him an envelope. He opened it. It was a letter from Giovanni, saying simply: you have been chosen to participate in our special project. Come to the Headquarters with your partner tomorrow night. Giovanni His heart skipped a beat. After Anna congratulated him with a small flurry of kisses, they went to tell their best friends about it. They met up with Jesse and James in a small park. They were congratulated, and James whispered in his ear to be careful. When he asked why, James had just said that Giovanni was known to betray people, even if they worked for him. That got him a little worried, but he shrugged it off. The next night he and Anna went to Headquarters as Giovanni had instructed. A net had fallen on them, and they were separated. He threw the net off and rushed to Anna. They Kissed each other on the lips and held it until they were both pulled away. That was the last time he had ever saw her. "Hey, Ecthros! What’s wrong?" Ash asked suddenly. Ecthros remembered where he was. He had stopped automatically, without thinking. "The building is just beyond that patch of trees." He replied. They walked up slowly and peered past the trees. A large building was right in front of them. Ecthros showed them where the window was, and they crept in. Ecthros followed them. Once inside, Ecthros gave them a map. "You’re on your own from here," He told them, "I have some...business to take care of." "What?! But...but..." Ash stuttered. But before he could get out anything intelligible, Ecthros was gone. "How does he do that?" Brock wondered. Then he looked at the map Ecthros had given them and groaned. "Wonderful. We always get lost, especially when we have a map! What’re we going to do?" They studied the map and tried to figure it out. Just then, Jesse, James, Meowth, and the boy who had shot at them walked in. Ash wasted no time. "Charizard, go!" The gigantic fire Pokémon appeared. The Team Rocket members were startled by the sudden appearance of the creature, and Ash took advantage of this. "Charizard, knock them out! And make sure to hit the younger one especially hard!" Ash ordered, smiling. Charizard whacked them over the heads, leaving them unconscious. "Charizard, return!" "We need to get into their clothes before they wake." Brock said. They nodded, and got to work. Ecthros walked into an all too familiar room. "So, you’ve come back" Ecthros had already seen Giovanni in the corner. Ecthros had nocturnal vision, and often couldn’t tell when it was night just by looking. "Yes, I’ve come back to seal your doom." Ecthros replied. Giovanni gave a cold, emotionless laugh. "You can’t kill. Never could. Much like your friends, Jesse and James. They were so sad when I told them you had been killed when the building collapsed." "I don’t kill for evil, you monster. I kill in the name of Good and Love, while you only kill for your own gain." "Good? Love? Ha! What difference does it make killing for Love than it does to kill for evil? It doesn’t matter what you kill in the name of, you still don’t have the guts to kill someone like me." They stared at each other for a while. "Let me show you a few things about killing." Ecthros growled. He extended his claws and they tore through his gloves. "You don’t want to kill me. If you did, how would you be able to find...Anna?" Ecthros stiffened. "I knew that’s what you wanted. Well, follow me, she’s waiting." Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu walked through the halls of Team Rocket HQ unnoticed. Pikachu was holding Meowth’s charm, which he had pried off the cat’s head. Brock was looking at the map. "According to this map, the lab should be..." he turned the map upside down, then left, then right, "somewhere in this building." Ash and Misty fell back Anime style. "Thank you for clearing that up, Brock," Misty said sarcastically. A man walked down the hall. Misty smiled and walked towards his. "Let me handle this my way." She said. When the man was about to walk by her, she ‘tripped’ and fell into his arms. This mad Ash grit his teeth, but he remained silent. "Whoa there! Gotta be more careful, miss." The man said, helping her to her feet. "Yes, how lucky I was to have a big strong man like you to save me." Misty replied seductively. The man was turning a little red. "C-can I help you in any other way, m-miss?" He stuttered. Ash was disgusted. He thought. "Well, if you could be so kind as to tell me where the lab is, I’ve got an appointment with the boss." Misty said gently. The man gave her directions, and they walked off. "W-wait!" He called, "Will I see you again?" Misty shot him a look of pity. "Probably not. Sorry." They all walked off. Once around the corner, They al cracked up. "Did you see the look on that guy’s face?" Brock laughed, "Man, have you guys ever seen someone so desperate for a girl? hahaha! Hey! Why are you looking at me?!" This caused them all to laugh harder. In a much lighter mood than before, they headed in the direction the love-stricken man had pointed. Ash squeezed Misty’s hand and looked at her to make sure that was all just an act. She kissed him on the cheek for an answer. Ecthros followed Giovanni, remembering all that had happened after he had awakened from his transformation. Furious and heart broken, he had torn off the restraints like paper, and then used energies within himself to cause a huge explosion, destroying the lab. The explosion weakened him, and he had to escape somehow. That was when he noticed the wings. It struck him finally what had happened, and he had been in tears. He flew away from there and hoped never to return. He had named himself Ecthros, the Latin word for evil. He hated his very existence. He learned more and more, and grew stronger as well until he had become a very different person in the end. It had never occurred to him that Anna was alive, and the idea made him nervous and overjoyed at the same time. But he knew that once reunited, Giovanni would try to betray them in some way again. He would have to be ready. Ash and the gang approached a door with a large sign saying "LABORATORY: STAY OUT UNLESS ORDERED OTHERWISE". Brock turned around to walk away. Misty grabbed his shirt. "And where do you think you’re going?" She demanded. "W-well...you read the sign, guess we have to leave..." Brock said nervously. Misty took out her mallet and whacked him on the head. "Don’t chicken out now! We’re barely just starting!" Misty said. "That’s not very reassuring..." Brock muttered. "Just think of Misty seducing that guy!" Ash said, smirking. Brock laughed. "Ok, I feel better." He said. "You guys are never going to let me forget this, are you?" Misty asked playfully. "Nope. We’ll make sure to tell your sisters..." Ash teased. They approached the door again and looked inside through a window. They gasped. Inside were Giovanni and Ecthros, talking about something. They listened and found that they could easily make out what they were saying.