Evolution at Heart "Prepare for Trouble!" a woman's voice said. "Make it Double!" a man's voice said. The smoke began to clear, revealing a man with shoulder length purple hair, and a woman with red hair that went down to her waist. They both wore white suits with a red 'R' printed on their chests. "To protect the world from devastation!" the woman said. "To unite all peoples within our nation!" the man said. "To denounce the evil of truth and love!" the woman said. "To extend our reach to the stars above!" the man said. "Jessie!" the woman said. "James!" the man said. "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!" Jessie cried. "Surrender now or prepare to fight!" James exclaimed. A cat Pokemon jumped into view in front of Jessie and James, saying, "Meowth! That's right!" Chris, Misty, Ash, Nurse Joy, Charmander, Pikachu and Pichu all burst out laughing. "What?" Jessie frowned, "Why are you laughing?" "I-I-" Nurse Joy choked, "I can't believe these... clowns blew a hole in the Pokemon Center roof!" "Clowns!?" James spluttered. "What are ya' talking about?" Meowth asked. Wiping away some tears in his eyes, Chris rasped, "What was that thing you just did?" "Ahhh," James said, pushing his chest out proudly, "That was our motto!" Once again, laughter filled the air, this time making Chris fall to the floor, clutching his stomach. "They actually thought it was good!" he choked, making the laughter rise in sound level. The three Rocket members fumed. "Shut it!" Meowth growled, "We're Team Rocket! And our main purpose is to bring in powerful Pokemon to build up our future army!" Recovering a little, Chris staggered to his feet. Still chuckling, he said, "Well, you're not getting any of these Pokeballs." In the corner of his eye, he saw the last Pokeball transport to Pewter City. So did Team Rocket. "They sent them away!" Jessie cried. "Awww man!" James moaned. "You messed with us!" Meowth growled, "And when you mess with us- you mess with the whole of Team Rocket!" "Yeah!" Jessie said, grinning, "So we gotta make you pay! Ekans, GO!" She threw a Pokeball which released a purple snake Pokemon. "Now that's quite cool." Chris muttered, taking out his Pokedex. "Ekans," the Pokedex began, "A Poison Type Pokemon, it is said to thrive in both forests and deserts." "Koffing!" James yelled, throwing a Pokeball as well, "GO!" A purple ball Pokemon that floated off the ground appeared. "Koffing," the Pokedex said, "A Poison Type Pokemon. It likes dark and cold enviroments." "I never pass up a battle!" misty said, grinning, throwing a Pokeball, "Go!" A small blue dinosaur-like Pokemon appeared. "Totodile," the Pokedex said, "A water type Pokemon, it is used as a beginner Pokemon in the Johto region." "Water Gun, Totodile!" Misty yelled. Totodile looked up at Ekans and Koffing. Ekans hissed and Koffing growled. Totodile yelped and jumped back in it's Pokeball. Misty let her head drop. "Aww, Totodile..." she groaned. "Well, " Chris said, "That was a great battle an all, but I think I might just have a go." He turned to Charmander. "Ready for our first true battle?" "Char!" Charmander grinned, showing sharp teeth. He jumped down from the stretcher and flung itself at Ekans, only to be smacked away by Ekan's tail. "Oh no..." Chris muttered. "Pikachu!" Ash yelled, "Let's have a go! I Choose You!" "Pika!" Pikachu said, jumping after Charmander. "Thundershock!" Ash yelled. "PikaAAAHHH!" Pikachu yelped as Koffing head-butted him. Pichu growled and jumped down from the stretcher, but Chris picked him up. "Not you, little guy." He said. He looked to Nurse Joy, and asked, "Any Pokemon?" She shook her head. "Damn it." Chris muttered. Grinning, Jessie yelled, "Ekans! Poison Sting!" Ekans let loose a torrent of little white needles. They ripped into Chris's jeans and blood sprayed from the ripped seams. "HOLY- OOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!" Chris screamed. Chris lay, clutching his bleeding leg, and looked up at Team Rocket, who laughed. "Let's finish 'em!" Meowth said. "Yeah!" James and Jessie said, in perfect unison. Ash knelt beside Chris, and Misty stood, sweating, beside Nurse Joy, who's face was set. Then, out of nowhere, when Ekans and Koffing were about to attack, Charmander stood before them. He was glowing. "Charmander?" Chris whispered. "Attack!" Jessie yelled. "You too, Koffing!" James yelled. Charmander roared, and went completely white. Everyone cried out. Through the light, Charmander's shape began to change. His body became thicker and broader. Eventually, when the light faded, a taller, more muscular version of Charmander stood in between Team Rocket and Chris. The new version of Charmander gave a huge, ground shaking roar. Ekans and Koffing backed away from him. "Charmeleon," Chris's Pokedex said, "A fire type Pokemon, Charmeleon is the evolved form of Charmander. Charmeleon's flames on the tip of it's tail is stronger than a Charmander's, but is still weak to rain and other types of water." "Oh yes!" Chris exclaimed, a broad grin spreading across his face, "Charmeleon!" He looked at Team Rocket, who were clutching each other, backing away. He pointed, then said, "Let 'em have it! Flamethrower!" "Char!" Charmeleon said, and let loose a red-hot torrent of flames that engulfed Team Rocket and their Pokemon. "HOT-HOT-HOT!" they screamed. There was a mini explosion, and Team Rocket were blasted out of the Pokemopn Cenetr and into the air. As they flew away into the sky, James cried, "I can't believe we lost!" "I can't believe Charmander evolved right at that second!" wailed Jessie. "Life's unfair!" sobbed Meowth. "We're blasting off for the first time ever!!" they all cried. Then they were out of sight of Viridian City. * Once Nurse Joy had bandaged Chris's bleeding leg, Chris and Ash, with Pikachu, who now trusted Ash, on Ash's shoulder and Pichu and Charmeleon walking alongside Chris, left Viridian City, to make for Pewter City. There, Chris looked forward to registering for the Pokemon League Challenge, and Ash looked forward to becoming a Pokemon Coordinator in Pokemon National Contests. As they left town, they turned to look at Viridian City, and saw Police at the Pokemon Center. "I hope we didn't cause too much trouble for Nurse Joy," Chris said. "Hey, you just saved us all!" Ash replied. "Well, it wasn't exactly me," Chris looked down at Charmeleon, who looked back. Now, he felt, nothing would be able to stop them in the world of Pokemon. They grinned at each other. "Hey! Chris! Wait up!" Misty appeared running up the hill. "Oh, no!" Chris groaned. "You still owe me for that bike, Ketchum!!" Misty yelled . "What do you wanna do?" Ash asked. "Run like hell!" Chris said. And that's just what they did. With Misty close behind.