Chapter 7 – A Night with the Novas ---------------------- -Team Nova headquarters- After leaving their Pokémon at the Pokémon Center to heal, Gary led Ash, Brock and Misty inside the Team Nova base. The gang glanced around, surprised with the base’s interior. The inside was very clean and professionally set up. A few officials could be seen passing by. All of them looked tough, as though they could take on 20 rockets single handedly. As they continued, they could see several training rooms, humans and Pokémon training each other fiercely. Ash was amazed with their level of combat. However, he had other things to think about, like what Team Nova was going to do with him. Minutes later, they arrived in Boss man’s office. Dozens of medals and awards hung vividly on the walls, glowing from the high gloss. There, they saw Boss man sitting at his desk, his fingers pressed together and his eyes in a fixated, unwavering gaze. Ash swallowed hard, feeling extremely tense. Misty and Brock sweated nervously along with Ash. Gary smirked on the side, knowing Boss man all too well. “So Gary, are these the guys?” Boss man asked with low bass in his voice. “These are the guys I’ve told you about. This is Ash, Misty, and Brock.” Gary informed. Boss man’s eyebrow rose slightly. “Ash? As in the Ash Ketchum?” “Yeah.” “I see.” The Team Nova leader stood up and walked over to Ash, making the young trainer even more nervous. “Do you know what I’ve got say to punks like you?” Ash swallowed again, almost cracking from the pressure. “N-no. W-w-what do you say?” “…Welcome to Team Nova headquarters! Bwuahahahaha!” Boss man grinned widely, patting roughly on Ash’s shoulders. “I gotta admit, You got guts!” “Hehehe, yeah. Thanks!” Ash laughed. “I must’ve been the only one to hear you shaking in your boots.” Satoshi commented. “Nope. I heard it too.” Kasumi agreed, chuckling to herself. “Hey, quit it!” Ash chastised telepathically. “Ash, first off…hm?” When Boss man glanced at Misty, his eyes twinkled with interest. Gary caught Boss man’s look and groaned inwardly. ‘Not again….’ He thought irritably. Without a second thought, Boss man swiftly approached Misty and held her hands within his, grinning sneakily. “Why hello cutie. You must be Misty, correct?” “U-um…yes?” Misty squeaked, sweat-dropping. The man was creepy… “A pleasure to meet you Misty. Everyone knows me as Boss man, but you may call me big daddy…hehehe…” Boss man was about to continue when Gary pulled Boss man away by the ear. “I can’t believe I am stuck doing this…” Gary sighed. ‘Where have I seen that behavior before…?’ Ash and Misty thought. ‘I don’t like that guy one bit. He’s way too familiar…’ Brock seethed. After getting his ear loose, Boss man fixed his coat collar. “Quit it Gary, I was only joking. Besides, I’m your superior.” “You sure don’t act like it…” Gary mumbled. “I heard that. Now beat it, I’ll talk to these guys alone.” “Whatever. Later Ash.” Gary shrugged and left the room. “Bah, no respect. Anyway Ash, allow me to properly introduce myself. I’m known as Boss man, the leader of Team Nova.” “What is Team Nova anyway?” Ash wondered. “I’ve been hearing about them here and there, but I don’t know much about them at all.” “Makes sense. We’re pretty picky about who we let know of our presence…well, that’s when are certain group of kids is NOT blowing everything to smithereens! I feel I can trust you kids, so I’ll tell you…” Boss man was about to start explaining when a message appeared on his computer. He glanced over the contents and grunted in annoyance. “Sorry Ash, but the idiots up at the government HQ wants to hear from me. Have Gary take you to meet the rest of the group. I’ll meet up with you guys shortly. GARY!” Boss man’s voice boomed. Gary opened the door, frowning slightly. “You don’t have to yell. I’m right here.” “Take these kids to meet the others. I got something to take care of.” “You got it. Let’s go Ash.” Gary motioned his hand for Ash and the rest to follow him. They walked down a path following to the basement, leading to underground lobby area, where Gary’s teammates often go to hang out. There, Ash saw the members of the Team Nova. Brendan sat at a round table, engrossed in a very complicated looking book. Rui was cheering Wes and Ritchie on, who were playing very competitively in a video game. “Hey!” Gary made a loud whistle, gaining his teammate’s attention. “We’ve got some new guest for the night. This is Ash, Misty and Brock.” He introduced “Ash, I would like to introduce you to the elite members of Team Nova. I’m the squad leader of the group.” Ash noticed the silver haired boy playing the game and pointed in surprise. “It’s you again!” “What’s up Ash? Glad to see you’re still alive!” Wes said. “You’re the one who almost killed me several times!” “Ah, I see you’ve gotten acquainted with Wes. He’s our weapons specialist and spearhead for assaults.” Gary informed. “Yep, that’s me!” Wes patted on Brendan’s shoulder. “This here is Brendan Birch, master genius and inventor, also my brother!” “I keep telling you! We’re NOT brothers!” Brendan bellowed. “Don’t worry about it. He always denies the fact, though deep down, he knows the truth…” Wes mentioned on the side to Ash. “That is not a fact!” “Wait a minute, Birch as in Professor Birch from Hoenn?” Ash asked. “Yes. He is my grandfather.” Brendan answered. “Ahem! Don’t you mean our grandfather?” Wes corrected. Brendan sighed tiredly. “Could we finish our introductions? This conversation is going nowhere…” “Anyway,” Gary started, sweat-dropping, “The mech pilot who saved us earlier is her, Rui.” He pointed to the girl who was standing next to Wes, waving cheerfully. “Glad to meet ya!” Rui chimed merrily. Immediately, Brock was starry eyed and introducing himself to the girl. “Hello our precious savior. My name is Brock, and if you aren’t busy later, how about we—” Click-click! Everyone sweat-dropped when Wes pressed his gun against Brock’s head. “How about you two…what?” Wes growled lowly. Brock trembled under the touch of the cold metal on the back of his head. “Err…hehehe…how about we stay as friends from a distance.…?” “That’s what I thought.” Wes guided Brock away from Rui, keeping a laser-like focus on the victim. “Um…perhaps I should’ve mentioned earlier that Wes is kinda protective over Rui.” Gary mentioned. “That certainly would’ve helped.” Brock sighed in relief when Wes put his gun back in the holster. “Wow! Wes is so cool!” Rui cheered. “I don’t think cool is the word for it…” Ash whispered to Gary, who nodded. “Of course, I don’t need an introduction, right Ash?” Ritchie made himself known by waving. “Ritchie!” Ash, Misty and Brock gasped. “The one and only! I’m the long-range support of the group.” “That’s pretty cool.” That’s when Ash remembered something, taking a look at his metal gauntlet. “Oh right, Wes, here’s the thing you let me borrow earlier.” Ash took off the arm guard and handed it back to Wes. “Thanks Ash. I appreciate it.” Wes thanked. Rui was surprised when she saw it. “But Wes, isn’t that…?” “Yeah, but that was a long time ago. Besides, it was for a good cause.” “Say, what is that thing anyway?” Misty pondered. “This?” Wes placed the guard back on his arm. “It’s just an old relic. Nothing special…” “Wes…” Rui knew fully well what the item was, and it was more than just “nothing special”. It was a symbol of the adventures she and Wes been through before joining Team Nova. She decided to say nothing about it, knowing how personal the relic was to him. “I take it these guys are giving you a warm welcome?” Boss man inquired, standing directly behind the group. “So Boss man, how did it go?” Wes asked. “Bothersome. The head council doesn’t understand the meaning of patience.” “Um…could someone please tell me what Team Nova is?” Ash asked. “Oh right. I did promise I would tell you. We’re a special ops group hand picked by the highest government officials to carry out the task of completing critical missions. Each soldier here has an amazing amount of potential and passed all of the most rigorous and difficult test, earning them the title best of the best.” “That sounds so cool!” Ash remembered a certain detail, which made him curious. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me why you guys and Team Shadow are against each other?” “Why that’s quite simple. Team Shadow is nothing but a bunch of annoying chicks, pretty boys, and pansies that constantly get in our way. They often sabotage, assassinate, and steal from many of the big corporations and government installations. They’re nothing but criminals who constantly cause trouble for us. If it weren’t for them, Team Rocket, Magma, and Aqua would’ve been long gone. My advice to you is to avoid them the best you can. You’ll only get screwed in the end.” Unfortunately for Ash, avoiding them was impossible, especially after finding out some of his best friends were a part of Team Shadow. Did that mean May was also an assassin? Those skills and weapons she possessed, they weren’t for show. She could easily kill someone if she wanted to. What was really going on with her? “Hmm…” Brendan glanced at Ash, Misty and Brock’s clothing, eyeing their detail. “Hey, you three are actually going around dressed like that?” The gang looked down at their clothes and then back at Brendan, confused. “What do you mean? We’ve always dressed like this.” Misty informed. “Boss man, may I?” Brendan requested. Boss man knew exactly what he was planning, and liked the idea. “Actually, that’s a great idea. You have my permission.” “You three, follow me.” Brendan motioned for Ash and his friends to follow him. After crossing a few halls, the group arrived in a large room filled with special gadgets, equipment, weapons, and just about anything else imaginable. The room was a grayish, metallic color with a few lights illuminating the room. “Whoa…where did you get all of this stuff, Ebay?” Brock wondered. “Actually, I made all of this myself. Everything you see here is custom made.” Brendan answered. Everyone gasped in shock. “You made all of these?” “Yeah. Alright, first off, Ash, come with me.” Brendan showed Ash a machine, which resembled more of a stand with a large ring horizontally placed in the middle. “I’ll need you to stand inside for a moment.” “Okay.” Ash did as requested and stood in the middle of the ring. “Now what?” “Strip.” Brendan requested simply. Ash’s jaw dropped. “Say WHAT?” “You heard me. Everything but your underwear, off.” “Look, I don’t care how many sick fantasies you probably had about guys stripping in front of you, but I don’t swing that way.” Ash crossed his arms defiantly. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” “I don’t care. I’m not dropping my pants for your sick and twisted amusement and that’s final!” Brendan sighed. “I expected as much.” He walked over to one of the tables and picked up a long, thin saber with a red, velvet sheath. “Now, if you don’t stand still, you’ll surely die.” Ash swallowed hard, not liking where this is going. “That’s it, let me out of—” CHING! Brendan’s sword moved in a blur like motion, undetectable by the untrained eye. When he sheathed the sword, all of Ash’s clothes fell apart except for his hat. Unfortunately, that included his underwear. Brendan sweat-dropped. “Perhaps I over did it a bit…” “EEK!” Misty blushed furiously as she covered her eyes with her hands, but not without making just enough room to peek. Brock chuckled at how ridiculous Ash looked, dancing around in nothing but a hat, desperately trying to retain whatever dignity was left. “Ah…! My poor clothes…” Ash cried, feeling cold and humiliated. “Now we can get started.” Brendan stepped over to the machine and pressed a few buttons. For the next few moments, the ring glowed bright yellow and started moving up and down while spinning and scanning Ash. Ash glared at Brendan while still trying to cover himself. “Quit staring at me you sick freak!” “I’m trying to analyze your body for measurements and physical properties so I can outfit you with clothes that’ll protect you better.” “Analyzing is EXACTLY what I want you to stop doing!” Ash yelled. Brendan ignored him as he continued to scan Ash’s body for measurements. “Hehehe, looking mighty cold there Ash.” Satoshi joked, chuckling. “I’ll like to see how you like being in this situation!” Ash shot mentally. “Yeah, I bet you would you sicko.” The spirit scoffed. Misty was peeking through her fingers when she noticed Kasumi staring shamelessly at Ash. “Don’t just stand there gawking at him!” She yelled telepathically. “This doesn’t bother me. I’m used to seeing men naked, this is nothing new.” Kasumi noticed the shocked look Misty gave her and frowned. “I didn’t mean THAT! Men and women dressed in the same locations rather than separate rooms. This is normal.” Misty gave her a sly look. “You’ve been checking guys out in the locker room, haven’t you?” Kasumi averted her gaze, feeling rather embarrassed. “…Can’t a woman look without being labeled a pervert?” After Ash was done, Brendan tossed him a pair of normal clothes, giving him some sense of decency. He then turned to Brock and Misty, bouncing the sword on top of his shoulder. “Alright, who’s next?” Brock and Misty sweat-dropped heavily. They really didn’t want to end up like Ash. Misty was especially uncomfortable with the thought. “You expect me to take off my clothes in front of you!? You’re crazy!” She denied. “There are two separate machines over there. They have covers, so you don’t have to worry about showing anything…” Brendan took a second look at Misty and shook his head. “Well…you don’t have to undress in front of us anyway….” “What’s that suppose to mean!?” Misty interrogated. “Nothing special…COUGH-concave-COUGH.” Brendan coughed purposely. “WHY YOU!!” Both Ash and Brock had to hold Misty back from attacking Brendan. Something Brendan said earlier suddenly clicked in Ash’s head. He gasped and pointed accusingly at Brendan. “You had those machines to cover people up the entire time! I knew you were a sick freak! You just wanted to see me naked, didn’t you!?” Brendan gave Ash a blank stare, blinking a few times. “Actually,” He turned away, scratching the back of his head, “…I forgot.” Ash, Misty and Brock face-faulted. “Yeah, sure, a real convenient time for you to forget!” Ash mumbled. Both Brock and Misty were about to get into the machines when Misty shot Brock a dangerous glare. “Oh, and Brock, if I see a hint of that line you call an eye peek at me, I’ll find those eyes hidden however deep in your eye socket and rip them out!” “Hey, I’m not that bad! Sheesh, you guys pick on me way too much.” Brock complained, getting into the machine. After the two got scanned, they were immediately given new clothes to sleep in. “Alright. By the time you wake up tomorrow, I’ll give you three a parting gift.” Brendan glanced at his watch and grunted. “It’s getting a bit late. I’ll show you three to your room.” Brendan guided the group through another path of corridors, leading them towards their resting quarters. The room had three beds, a closet, dresser and bathroom. It was simple, but better than nothing. “These are the guest rooms. It’s not much, but you can do what you like. You all are probably exhausted from your battle earlier, so I’ll leave you to rest.” He left the three to their own devices, having a lot of work ahead of him for the night. Ash awoke in the middle of the night. He glanced at one of the beds to see Brock, clutching onto a pillow as though his life depended on it. Ash was about to wake up Brock when the tanned breeder started grinning to himself. “Don’t worry Nurse Joy! I’ll never let you go!” Brock declared in his sleep. ‘Err…on second thought. I think I’ll let him sleep.’ Ash glanced at the other bed Misty slept in, only to find her gone. “Satoshi….hey Satoshi…you awake…?” He whispered quietly so no one else would hear him. “…No…please leave a message after the beep…beep…” Satoshi shot flatly. Ash groaned with impatience. “Aw man, I hate these things….hey Satoshi, Misty’s gone from her bed, and if you get this message—” “I’m awake you moron!” Satoshi yelled in annoyance. “Stop calling me names!” Ash hissed Satoshi ignored him as he glanced over at Misty’s empty bed, an unreadable expression on his face. “Maybe they’re restless. If Kasumi’s restless, then she would go outdoors somewhere. Possibly the roof?” “Alright, let’s check there…” -Team Nova Headquarters – Roof- Misty sat near the edge of the building, gazing at the fluorescent lights coming from the buildings of Viridian City. The city was bustling with lights and business, as always. The red head sighed as she hugged her knees and placed her chin on top. “What troubles you?” Kasumi asked, sitting next to her partner. Misty had a serious look on her face as she spoke. “How does it feel to be separated from your past? I mean, didn’t you have family, friends….dreams?” Kasumi was silent for a beat, mentally reflecting on what she remembered of her past. “…Friends, family, dreams…they are all dead, and were so when I used to be alive…” Misty shifted uncomfortably. “Oh…I’m sorry to hear that.” “It’s alright. They were all victims in the war. It couldn’t be avoided.” Misty glanced at Kasumi in surprise. It was astounding how strong the spirit was. The war must’ve toughened her up immensely. “You are very strong.” She complimented. “Well, I don’t know if you can call it strength, but thank you.” Kasumi wasn’t fooled by Misty’s hesitation. “Why don’t you tell me what’s wrong instead of dodging the subject?” Misty sighed in defeat. “It’s kind of stupid, but I’m starting to get the feeling that this journey will get more and more difficult. I remember years back, when I used to travel with Ash for a long while, the battles were pretty simple. A Pokémon battle here, a small situation there, nothing spectacular. However, we’ve been in this journey for only a few days and already had many close brushes with death.” Her gaze was suddenly down cast, smiling weakly. “I must sound like a real coward…” “You’re actually the opposite of that Misty.” Ash said from behind. “Oh, Ash!” Misty gasped in surprise, “Why are you awake?” “I should be asking you the same question.” Ash took a seat next to Misty, looking in the same direction as her. “And what’s this I’m hearing about you thinking you’re a coward?” “Err…well…It’s just that…I mean…” Misty wasn’t expecting Ash to listen in. The last thing she wanted was to have Ash think she’s weak or something. “I mean, you are a really strong person Misty. You never let anyone talk you down, and when they did, you always proved them wrong. When it came to support and being a friend, you’re the best. How does something like that make you a coward?” Misty smiled and closed her eyes. Leave it to Ash to show her the truth that was in front of her face. “You know, that’s one thing I’ve always admired about you.” Ash blinked in surprise. “Admire?” Misty nodded. “Yeah. You have that uncanny ability to bring light into just about anything you put your mind into. Sometimes, I wish I had that ability. I know how short-tempered I can be sometimes…” “More like all the time…” Ash pointed out jokingly. “Watch it Ash! I’m trying to have a moment!” Misty growled. Ash grinned sheepishly. “Ehehe, I was just kidding! Please, continue.” “Hmph! Anyway, sometimes, I just feel like there’s more I can do. I don’t want to be just some helpless girl who can’t help her friends, but someone who you could always count on to be by your side. After fighting with Leon, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. He was just so powerful; I didn’t think we could beat him at first. I just wish there was more I could do to help…” Ash continued to stare at her with an unreadable expression, as though he was thinking of what to say. Though he wouldn’t say it out loud, he was surprised he managed to survive so far. From escaping a Team Rocket base, chasing Team Magma on the highway, to fighting a freaky looking half human, everything was hectic, and he could’ve easily lost his life. What scared him most was the fact any of his friends could have been killed. “I gotta level with you Misty; I was scared a lot of those times too. There were times where I thought I wasn’t going to make it. But you know, that wasn’t my main concern. During those times, I kept thinking to myself, how would my friends feel if I died? What would happen if I wasn’t there to help them just as they always did for me? I could never forgive myself if anything happened to any of my friends or Pokémon, especially…you…” “Me…?” Misty asked in surprise, reddening slightly. “Yeah. Besides Pikachu, you were my first real friend, and one who traveled with me the longest of everyone. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve never been able to get anywhere near this far. Knowing this, while I fight, I know I have to win, in order to help protect everyone, because we’re all in this journey together…until the end…” Ash extended his hand to Misty. “Together forever?” Misty smiled and didn’t need more than a second to know the answer to that. She gripped his hand and nodded. “Together forever.” They both fell into a comfortable silence. However, the moment their eyes connected, both of them froze, their hearts suddenly going into overdrive. Neither knew what was going on, or how to even respond, except to just continue staring into each others eyes… STOMP! Ash and Misty whirled around to see a huge, rather poorly constructed, robot with four, long, crab-like claws, towering over to two. The mech had four, thick steel legs and a single, glass eye in the middle, revealing three very familiar people. “Thank the gods!” Satoshi praised, “I was about to throw up after listening to the two brats go on and on about crap!” “Satoshi, you primitive jerk! That moment was incredibly sweet, unlike you!” Kasumi insulted. “Now is NOT the time for this!” Ash and Misty chastised. “Prepare for trouble!” “And make it double!” “To protect the world from devastation!” “To unite all people’s within our nation!” “To denounce the evils of truth and love! “To extend our reach to the stars above!” “Jessie!” “James!” “Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!” “Surrender now or prepare to fight!” “Meowth! That’s right!” Satoshi blinked, staring blankly at Team Rocket. “What…the hell…are they talking about?” “I have no clue. Such strange creatures live in this era…” Kasumi thought, bewildered by Team Rocket’s strange behavior. Ash and Misty sighed. “You have no idea…” “Alright brat, hand over your Pikachu!” James demanded. “Sorry, no Pikachu here.” Ash informed them. “Now, if you would be kind enough to leave us in peace, we’ll be going now….” “Not so fast!” Meowth denied. The robot stood in front of the door leading downstairs. “Don’t think we’ve forgotten what you did to us back in Pewter City!” “Oh yeah, that. Actually, that was kinda funny.” Ash admitted, snickering. Slowly, James started chuckling as well. “He does have a point.” “Who’s side are you on!?” Jessie yelled incredulously. “Quit yer dawdling! Let’s just capture these kids and give them to the boss!” Meowth commanded. Jessie and James gave the cat Pokémon a questioning glance. “Give him to the boss? Why?” “Don’t you see? Imagine the look on the boss’s face when he sees his arch enemy before him, and…” While Meowth continued his dreamy rant, Satoshi was disturbed. “Tell me Ash…are you cursed or do you always run into the strangest possible people on the daily basis?” Ash sighed. “I think it’s both…” “And what’s this “boss” I keep hearing about? Who is Team Rocket? And why do they have such ridiculous outfits?” “Giovanni is the boss of an evil organization bent on stealing all the valuable Pokémon in the world and using them as weapons for their own schemes. As for the outfits, you got me on that one…” “That’s all? Tch, I could do better in my sleep…” Kasumi scoffed. She sweat-dropped when she noticed the stares she was getting from her three allies. “Er…I mean, oh no, how horrible!” “Ash,” Misty called, “Are they done yet?” “Let’s see…nope….wait, almost….yeah, they’re done.” Ash answered. “I hope you twerps are ready to lose!” Meowth taunted. “Grr…I told you to stop calling us twerps!” Ash yelled. “Nyah-nyah, it’s not like you’re going to do anything about it!” James laughed. “We’ll see about that…” Ash reached for where his Pokéballs were….only to realize he forgot them. “Uh…Misty? Do you have any Pokémon on you?” “Nope.” Misty answered in a worried tone. This could be a problem… The mech’s crab arms lunged at Ash and Misty, who rolled out of the way to dodge the attack. Ash growled as he continued to dodge the attacks. He new fully well he didn’t stand a chance against the robot without his Pokémon. Team Rocket was blocking the entrance, preventing escape, leaving Misty and himself with only two options: Dodge Team Rocket long enough, hoping someone hears the battle, or attempt to get through and escape somehow. Both options were only guesstimates, which wasn’t good. “Ash,” Satoshi called, “Perhaps there’s a weakness in the mech somewhere. Try looking for one.” “Okay. You heard that Misty?” Ash asked. “Yeah. I’ll go left, you go right.” With that, the two spilt up and attempted to search the mech while dodging the attacks. Unfortunately, no real weak spot was found. The only spot which could be considered a weak spot was the glass eye, which would give access to inside the mech, it would be impossible to do it with their bare hands. “Gotcha!” Jessie exclaimed. One of the robotic arms successfully captured Misty, putting her in a vice grip. “No, Misty!” Ash cried. “Now why don’t you be a good boy and come quietly, or the girl gets it!” Meowth threatened. The claw tightened on Misty, making her cry out in agony. “Grr…” Ash’s fist trembled with fury. Taking Misty hostage was low, even for them. They weren’t going to get away with it! But what could he do? He only had his hands and feet to take on a giant machine, with no chance of being able to do any damage. “Ash, there is one way to save her…” Satoshi spoke mysteriously. “What can I do?” “I was saving this for an emergency situation, but I guess this situation calls for that. Ash, you must perform a Spirit-synchronization with me.” “Spirit-sync? What’s that?” “There’s no time to explain! Quickly, concentrate as much as you can on me. Picture yourself combining with me!” “Alright…” Ash closed his eyes and tightened of his fist, concentrating on the spirit. He could feel Satoshi’s strength flowing through him, making him stronger! A dark aura swirled around Ash, embracing his body with Satoshi’s power. Suddenly, his skin started changing into a tanned color and the tips of his hair turned red, growing a few inches longer. Ash successfully performed his first spirit-sync! “What the?” Team Rocket stared in surprise as Ash’s body changed color. “Ash?” Misty was just as surprised. Ash looked exactly as he did when he first transformed at the Viridian highway. “Whoa…” Ash stared at his body, surprised. “What kind of power is this?” “I’ve just lent you some of my power. Unfortunately, you haven’t gotten strong enough to make it last long. Hurry and use my power to save Misty!” Satoshi rushed. “I don’t know what’s going on, but this changes nothing!” The mech’s crab hand dove at Ash, ready to capture him. SMACK! Ash punched the mech’s crab hand away and ran at the mech. Suddenly, an attack appeared in Ash’s mind. “Shadow Kick!” His legs suddenly had a black aura around it as he jumped in the air and landed a kick on the glass eye of Team Rocket’s robot. CRACK! “IMPOSSIBLE!” Team Rocket gasped. Ash managed to damage the protective glass of the mech! Ash jumped off the mech and avoided another swung from the mech. “Whoa…I didn’t know I could do that!” Satoshi was equally surprised. Even with the Spirit-sync, Ash shouldn’t have been able to do that at such an early level. The boy amazed him more and more. “Bravo Ash, but the battle isn’t over. You have only five minutes before you lose your hold over the synchronization. You have to hurry!” Ash was on his feet, his fist raised in a boxing stance. Now he and Team Rocket’s robot was on an equal fighting level! “Oh yeah! Now this is a real battle!” With less than five minutes to spare, he had no time to lose! Two of the crab arms swept at Ash from both sides, forcing him to jump over the strike. While he was in the air, another claw lunged at Ash and almost caught him when he maneuvered over the attack and landed on it. Ash jumped off the claw and landed another Shadow Kick on the windshield. CRACK! Ash jumped off and landed on his feet, only to be captured by a claw. “Grr….HAAA!” He yelled as the claw tightened around him. With all of his strength, Ash slowly started to break free and broke the hand in half! Not wasting any time, he ran towards the claw that held Misty captive. “Shadow Kick!” SMACK! “ARG!” Ash was smacked down by one of the remaining claws and crashed hard on the ground. Just as swiftly, he was back on his feet and ran towards Misty from another angle. One of the claws was about to strike Ash from the side. “Ash, to your left!” Satoshi warned. “Thanks! Shadow Kick!” Ash jump kicked the claw with his powered up legs, denting the claw. He then used the pincer to give himself enough momentum to boost towards Misty. When he landed on the claw, he placed his hands inside and started separating the pincers. ‘Come on…open already…!’ The pincers weren’t budging until Misty started trying to free herself as well. With their combined strength, the claw started to separate, allowing Misty to drop down and out of the pincer’s clutches. “No way!” Team Rocket gasped, stupefied. “Ash, you must hurry! You only have one minutes before our synchronization is broken. Finish them off!” Satoshi rushed. “Okay!” Ash turned to Team Rocket’s mech and started dashing for the final blow while dodging all of the attacks Team Rocket could throw at him. “This is it! SHADOW KICK! HAAA!” His legs grew in strength as he performed a powerful drop kick against Team Rocket’s protective shield. SHATTER! The glass shattered into pieces, gaining Ash entry inside. The three members of Team Rocket sweat-dropped in fear as Ash cracked his knuckles, grinning mischievously. “Now…not only did you capture Misty, not only did you interrupt us and cause us trouble, but you just HAD to call me a twerp...heh, I’m going to enjoy this…” Outside the mech, Misty could hear screams and much chaos coming from inside the mech. She gasped when she saw the floor below them starting to crack. This had trouble written all over it… The floor suddenly caved in and the mech plummeted down the building, all the way to the vehicle hanger of the building. CRASH! Team Rocket and Ash fell out of the broken mech, dizzied from the fall. As they regained focus in their vision, everyone gazed upward at the whole they fell, which was very wide. A small rock fell off one of the top floors and landed on Rui’s mech, creating a miniscule scratch on it. SLAM! James, Jessie, Meowth, Ash and Misty turned to the door, seeing Rui with a horrifyingly angry glare and a red aura showing her killing intent. “ALRIGHT, WHO PUT A SCRATCH ON MY PRECIOUS!?” The young girl roared. Ash and Misty stepped a good few meters away from Team Rocket, pointing at them. “They did it!” One look at the girl’s face and Team Rocket knew they were about to meet their fate. “N-n-n- now let’s be reasonable! We’ll gladly clean up that tiny little—eep!” James stopped suddenly and gasped in terror when the angered mech pilot jumped inside her mech and aimed every missile and explosive firepower she had equipped. “YOU’LL PAY FOR SCRATCHING MY PRECIOUS!” The girl screamed, launching her entire payload of firepower upon Team Rocket. BOOM!! Team Rocket was send flying high in the air at breakneck speed. “WE’RE BLASTING OFF AGAIN!!” They screamed, disappearing in the distance. Ash and Misty sweat-dropped at Rui’s display of rage. They really didn’t want to be on that girl’s bad side. “Ash, Misty!” Brock called, followed by a few other people from Team Nova. “What on earth happened?” “Team Rocket, that’s what happened.” Ash answered flatly. When he saw the faces of Team Nova, he was surprised with their stoic attitudes. “Aren’t you guys surprised or shocked that most of your base was just destroyed?” “There was worse. Just like that time Wes made us play his version of hide and seek.” Brendan cringed at the memory, as did the other members of Team Nova. “What’s so scary about that?” Misty inquired. “He hid bombs all over the place and we had to find them.” Ash, Misty and Brock were shocked and speechless. They shot Wes a look of insanity. Wes however, shrugged nonchalantly. “That was over 2 years ago when I was just a rookie. Now we play laser tag!” Ash and co. gave each other a questioning glance. Perhaps it wasn’t best to ask. “Well, if everyone here is done standing around, let’s get to bed already.” Boss man yawned. “I agree. Let’s go…” With that, Ash, along with everyone else, left for their designated rooms to sleep. -Team Nova Headquarters – R&D room- The next day, Ash and the gang met Brendan in his R&D room to get their new equipment. Brendan showed them a table with a fresh pair of clothes and shoes which looked exactly like their old ones. Placed on top of the clothes was a pair of fingerless gloves for them. Ash’s gloves were black, Misty had orange ones and Brock’s were brown. “Now, while these may look like your old clothes, they come with special enhancements. I’ll explain what they do once you put them on. Go ahead.” Brendan said. He frowned when he caught Ash’s glare. “I’m not talking about getting dressed in front of me idiot! Just go over there and change…” He pointed over to multiple stalls for people to get dressed. Ash was about to enter his stall when he started searching all over the place, looking for something. “What are you looking for?” “I’m looking for any secret cameras. I’m not taking any chances with you!” Ash shot. “I don’t care about your inferior body! Just get in there and change already! There are no cameras inside!” “Hmph, yeah right…creep…” Ash mumbled as he stepped inside the stall. After a few minutes, everyone emerged from the stalls in their new clothes, shoes and gloves. “As you notice, your clothes are heavier than normal. This is because your clothes are now outfitted with special protection equivalent to a bullet proof vest, not to mention woven with silk for extra comfort. If you take a look at your gloves, you’ll notice a silver plate on the back of your gloves. This is a special alloy which is best use for defense against blades and attacks. It can double as a knuckle guard to make your punches more damaging. What’s really special are your shoes. These are actually infused with the latest in aero technology. Not only do they allow maximum comfort, but increase your agility and give you a special ability. I’ll demonstrate.” Brendan jumped high in the air and across a table. He was about to land on the floor when he performed another jump in mid air, and then landed on the other side of the second table that was ahead of the first. “As you can see, I’ve performed a double jump. To do this, you must simply press the X button to jump, and then press X again to perform the double jump.” Ash, Misty and Brock gave Brendan a confused glance. “X button?” “Oops, wrong tutorial. My bad.” Brendan apologized abashedly. “Alright, when you jump in the air and start to fall, the special tech in your shoes create a miniature hover effect when your feet accelerate past the normal gradual speed of falling, thereby giving you the ability to step on the air temporarily. Simply, if you want to double jump, just do it as though you were jumping from the ground. Ash, why don’t you try?” “Um…okay.” Ash took the same position behind two tables and made a long jump over the first. Taking Brendan’s advice, he thrust his feet downward and could feel himself hover over the ground slightly. He used this advantage to make himself jump again and over the second table. “Whoa…how cool! Thanks Brendan!” “It’s no problem. Consider it a gift from us. Now that that’s settled, you should go ahead and pick up your Pokémon from the center. Everyone else is a bit busy with their task, so they can’t see you off. I wish you the best of luck on your quest.” Brendan extended his hand. Ash smiled and grasped it firmly. “Yeah. I hope things go well for you here. See ya later!” With that, Ash left with Misty and Brock towards the Pokémon center. After picking their Pokémon up from the Pokémon center, the gang started towards their next destination: The Viridian forest! “Wait a minute!” Ash exclaimed, stopping in mid stepped. “…Brendan called my body inferior!” Misty and Brock face-faulted. “Ash, you just now realized that!?” Misty sighed in agitation. Ash was about to storm back to the Team Nova base when Misty grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him towards the forest. “What am I going to do with you…?” -Team Nova Headquarters – Boss man’s office- “Hm? What’s this?” Boss man heard a ping sound from his computer, detecting a message for him. After reading the contents, he immediately picked up the phone. “Gary! Get your team to my office immediately!” Minutes later, Gary, Wes, Rui, Brendan and Ritchie were lined up in front of Boss man’s desk. “What’s with the hurry Boss man? Got us a new mission?” Wes asked. Boss man nodded. “Yeah. The people up at the head council made a decision, concerning Ash and his friends.” “Huh?” The five teens glanced at each other curiously. “What decision?” “It would seem that they’ve heard about Ash and his accomplishments throughout the years he’s traveled. All of his success leads the council to believe that he has great potential and could help in our aid to safeguard the world. Of course, so does the enemy. Gary, you said some powerful guy was chasing after Ash for the shards, right?” “Yeah.” Gary nodded. “That’s another thing. Apparently, Ash is rather important in everyone’s eyes, and they either want him for themselves or want him dead. This is where the decision comes, along with our new assignment, a Level S mission.” “A Level S assignment!?” Everyone gasped. Level S assignments were the highest ranked missions. While Team Nova was famous for completing high ranked missions, this would be their first Level S assignment. “What’s the new mission?” Boss man chuckled under his breath. “It’s going to be our toughest one…” Team Nova’s Level S mission: Safeguard Ash and company through their quest to collect the shards! ------------------------ And that’s the end of chapter 7. Whew, this chapter took a while, so I hope you’re happy with the results. I promise that the next chapter will be more promising. Disclaimer: This will stand for the rest of this fic. I do not own Pokémon or any songs that I use in this fic.