If I Could Change the World

Chapter 10: Approach the Beautiful Morning

~*~

Jessie and James returned to their booth.

"Ya think they believed us?" Meowth asked.

"I don't know..." Jessie sighed. "It is awfully unbelievable..."

"I wonder what they'll do when they find out he's a Dragonair?" James mused.

Jessie put her head in her hands. "I wonder if they'll ever KNOW he's a Dragonair..."

"Huh?" James said.

"The boss is awfully tough...What if they...don't get past him? What if he calls the whole team against them?"

James scratched his head. "Well, they certainly kicked OUR butts easily enough..."

"James, we're talkin' hundreds a'people!" Meowth said. "With at least six Pokemon each, and all better than us!"

James sighed. "I forgot how bad we are.."

"Were," Jessie said firmly.

They sat in silence for a little longer.

"Jessie?" James asked. "What are we going to do now?"

"Well..." Jessie sighed. "I don't know..."

"Sey! Blissey bliss bliss sey!!" <Hey! Nurse Joy gave you Pokedexes!>Blissey pointed at one.

Jessie flipped open hers and pressed a button. After a few more buttons, her Pokedex chirped, "Jessie of Rainbow Town. This trainer licensed by Nurse Joy of Rainbow Town. This is an official ID."

"Cooooool," said James, programming his.

Meowth suddenly realized something. "You know what this means?" he asked. "We're--we're LEGITIMATE!"

Jessie and James gasped. "Oh my god!!"

James paused. "Er, what does that mean?"

Jessie whacked him with a frying pan. "It means we aren't criminals!"

"Oh yeah." James sweatdropped.

Blissey was confused. "Sey?" <Criminals?>

"It wasn't our fault!!" Meowth said quickly.

Blissey smiled happily. <Well, I'm glad you aren't now!!>

"So are we," James said.

"Hey..." Jessie said slowly. "Does this mean..."

"We can actually become..." James continued.

"Pokemon trainers?" Meowth finished.

James scratched his head. "I dunno, do they let Pokemon in? What IS Meowth, anyway?"

Jessie paused. "You know, I actually have no idea..."

"Mmmm..."

They sat for a second, staring out to space in identical poses.

Jessie snapped out of it. "Well, Meowth, do you *want* to train Pokemon?"

"Um..." Meowth sighed. "I dunno if I could do that..."

"Well, why don't we all travel around, like we usually do?" James offered.

"Yeah!" Jessie cried. "It shouldn't be THAT different, except we won't be stealing Pokemon!"

"Yeah, even down to da instant noodles," Meowth said dryly.

Jessie and James sweatdropped. "Yeah, the instant noodles..."

<I know how to make pancakes,> Blissey said.

They stared at her.

<And from the way you're talking about instant noodles, you must've been doing something wrong...>

Blissey thought for a second. <You HAVE been getting the stuff with the sauce, right?>

"Sauce?" Jessie asked.

<Yeah, they have these bags of pasta you just add to milk and water and boil for a few minutes... They're only a buck each.>

"Er..." Jessie, James, and Meowth said in unison.

<Er, I'd better be the cook... I know where all the cheap food is. Joy never gets the really expensive stuff for me...She's afraid I'll spill it...Honestly, just because I did twelve times in a row...>

Blissey scowled for a minute in annoyance, then noticed everyone staring at her. <What?>

"Oh, nothing," they said, quickly looking away.

"So we become Pokemon trainers?" James asked.

"Yeah," Jessie said.

"We're all agreed?"

"Yeah," Meowth said.

"Cool!" James said, smiling cutely.

"Cooool!" Jessie said.

"What?"

"Nothing, James."

Meowth snickered.

James raised his drink box. "To tomorrow, then!"

They stared at him for a moment. Then, Jessie rose her glass. "Yeah, to tomorrow."

"To tomorrow," everyone joined in.

They clinked glasses.

~*~

The wave of electricity flew, out of anyone's control.

~NO!~

Misty had no time to react; it took place in less than a second.

Starmie, however, did.

The star-shaped Pokemon launched itself in front of its trainer, taking most of the force of the blast and deflecting the rest.

"Starmie!" Misty yelled, dropping to her knees and hugging her fallen Pokemon. "You saved me!"

~Oh, thank God, thank God, I'm so sorry.~ Ash would have been in tears if that was possible anymore.

Giovanni was leaving his psychic Pokemon to direct themselves, smirking.

"Onix! Rock Throw!" Brock tried. The pink bubble deflected everything.

~Oh, no,~ Ash thought as the Pokemon prepared a Hydro Pump to take out all of Brock's Pokemon.

~*~

Behind a pillar, a woman with wavy brown hair pulled into loops watched.

~Why does that Pokemon seem so familiar?~ she asked herself.

It didn't matter. Now was the time to take a stand.

She pulled two Pokeballs from her belt, silently releasing them.

A couple of weeks ago, a Team Rocket member had tried to quit just after catching some Pokemon for Giovanni. The Pokemon he'd caught had never been signed in to the inventory, so when he--disappeared--Serena had been free to take the Pokemon before anyone noticed them.

She'd released them all, but two wanted to stay. And so, a Pidgeot and a baby Articuno appeared on the floor.

She smirked, thinking about how annoyed Giovanni would be if he knew he'd missed the chance to have an Articuno...But now wasn't the time.

"Cunn?" the baby asked.

"A good Pokemon is fighting the bad Pokemon," she quickly explained. "And now, we have a chance to take the other good Pokemon and set them free."

<Free?> The baby said. Serena's heart twisted. Articuno wasn't really all that young. She'd been captured when she was a chick...

~Something like me.~

"Yes, Cuno," she said. "Now, Pidgeot can probably handle anyone who turns up--" Pidgeot smiled--"but if you could get ready for an Ice Beam, that would help."

<Okay!> she said brightly.

<Sweet thing,> the Pidgeot said warmly.

Serena, Pidgeot, and Articuno sneaked down the corridor and into the inventory room. Serena stretched her arm a little. "Here goes!"

Four by four, she tossed Pokeballs into the air. Enormous amounts of Pokemon poured out--water, fire, grass, dragon, psychic...Almost one of every species.

It was slow, considering the many, many Pokeballs in the room, and Serena was afraid that someone would come in. But Pidgeot explained the situation well, and none of the Pokemon made a peep. Any Pokemon that could started teleporting, taking any Pokemon it knew back to its trainer. But there were still so many...

Finally, she got to the end, and was faced with a crowd of Pokemon, all looking at her expectantly.

~Now I know how Moses felt.~ "All right," she said as quietly as possible, "we have to be very quiet if we want to escape from here. Be careful. Okay?"

All of the Pokemon nodded in agreement.

"All right, let's go," she said, hoping that she'd live up to her leader status.

The crowd of Pokemon crept down the hallways. Serena had guessed well; all of the security guards were watching the battle.

As they neared the door, she saw that the security system had been bypassed. She looked back and saw Chansey ducking behind a door.

She remembered the last conversation they'd had: "Chansey, you can come too," she'd said.

Chansey had smiled. <No, I can't. You aren't going to wipe out all of Team Rocket in one try, no matter how good this Dragonair of yours is. And as long as Team Rocket is here, there'll be injured Pokemon. I can't just leave them alone.>

She'd said softly, "I understand."

She opened the door.

All of the Pokemon filed out-- ~into the Promised Land.~ Some ran into the woods and tall grass. Some ran off into the town, hoping to find their own trainers.

And then there was the one who stood behind her. And the one who curled up in her arms.

"You're with me for the long haul, eh?" Serena asked, smiling.

<Of course,> said Pidgeot. <We've been here this far, have we not?>

"You have."

She got on Pidgeot's back, preparing to fly away from there. And as she looked back, she couldn't help thinking about that Pokemon, and about that black-haired baby at the edge of her memory...

"Farewell, Pokemon, Godspeed," she murmured as they flew off.

~*~

Ash wasn't sure what side to be on.

On one side was everybody he cared about...However, it was hard to be against the other side, himself.

Now, he--them--had taken out almost all of the Pokemon against him--them, without even a scratch.

"Onix, return!" Brock called. He sighed. "I can't believe...it...knows Hydro Pump..."

"AND Thunderwave," Misty sighed.

"And Tackle..." Joy said. They turned and looked at her. "What?"

They coughed and quickly turned back around.

"This grows tiresome," Giovanni commented.

<OH YEAH?! Well, YOU'RE tiresome, you pompous, arrogant, STUPID--> Sandstone yelled hoarsely.

"That Pokemon keeps yelling," Joy noted.

"It's cussing Giovanni out."

"Huh? Brock, how'd you know that?"

Brock coughed again, and, luckily for him, he was interrupted.

"Finish them off!"

~WHAT?!!?~ Ash screamed mentally. ~I will NOT!!~

"Oooooh, boy," Brock said nervously, backing away.

<YOU SORRY LITTLE--> Sandstone screamed. His voice gave out, and he was reduced to whispering, <Mali viri est inimicum...>

"Pika?" <You know LATIN?>

Sandstone sweatdropped. <No... Well, a LITTLE...>

The psychic Pokemon, still listening to Giovanni, formed a quite large ball of energy. ~NO!~ Ash yelled inwardly.

"PIKAPI!!" Pikachu screamed. ~No, Ash, no, please, no, I will not let him do this to you--~

A bright, white light...

Ash recognized it, from--only fifteen minutes ago?

~I really need to change my lifestyle...~

The psychic Pokemon were distracted, and Ash hurled his mental energy out with all his might.

~*~

A certain arrogant trainer with a cape was walking down the forest with his Umbreon.

"Ha ha, another beautiful day, Umbreon, fresh and ripe for the picking!" He assumed a demi-heroic stance. "Are we winners?!"

"Bre, breoon!" <Yes, yes!>

"Are we the best trainers in the galaxy?!"

"Bre, breoon!" <Yes, yes!>

"And WHAT is our mission on this fine day?!"

<To seek out new life and new civilizations! To boldly go where no man has gone before!> Umbreon chirped happily.

Gary sweatdropped. "Er, yeah. Actually, we're trying to fill up our Pokedex, but I GUESS you could put it that way....If you're demented..."

"Bre!" Umbreon said happily.

"Yeah..." Gary looked up and rubbed the back of his head. "Gee, I have a headache..."

<Probably from getting up too early!! In Viridian City it's five AM!>

"But here, it's seven."

<Mmmm...>

"Oh look! Drowzee!"

Umbreon assumed an attack position and Gary's day went on as usual.

~*~

With a small explosion, the light receded, and in its place stood a Pikachu with wings.

~Pikachu evolved!~ Ash said happily to himself.

He fired a hyper beam at Pikachu. It grazed him, but he still stood.

~That--is--IT!!!~

The Pokemon formed a huge ball of psychic energy--and aimed it at his friends.

~No! Not again!~

Pikachu thought quickly. ~If he hurts us, it'll tear him apart, I won't let that rat do this to him--~

It came to him in a flash of memory.

<Hey, you stupid Pokemon!!> he yelled. <You couldn't read a Magicarp’s thoughts if it sent them to you!!>

He twitched his ears, ran a little, and continued. <You couldn't bend a spoon made of Jell-o!>

Ash suddenly realized what Pikachu was doing and withdrew as far into his mind as possible.

The Pokemon turned and fired a Hyper Beam at Pikachu, who easily dodged it. He laughed. <You couldn't block a Solar Beam at midnight!!>

The Pokemon fired several shots at him. Pikachu dodged all but one, which grazed him. He grinned and ran a little further.

<I don't think you could disable Splash!! Come on!! Give me your best shot!!>

The psychic Pokemon created a huge ball of energy.

~No!~ Ash mentally yelled, as sincerely as he could. ~Don't!~

He could've sworn they smirked at him as they fired the psychic cannonball.

Pikachu jumped as high as he could--it seemed like slow motion as he managed to direct his fall to miss the sphere.

The energy blasted through the wall and exploded on the ground. Pikachu ran and looked through the jagged hole in the wall, smirking slightly.

A room full of psychic Pokemon had been scorched by the blast. Many Pokemon were fainted; those that weren't were badly hurt.

Pikachu pulled down his eyelid and stuck out his tongue. <Nyaah!> A Hypno glared poisonously at him before it toppled over.

Ash threw off the last vestiges of control from his mind. <Pikachu!> he yelled.

Pikachu whirled. <Ash!> he yelled, running towards him. <Is that you?!>

He ran into Ash, hugging him.

<Yeah, it's me!> Ash said.

<Hey, Ash!> Sandstone said hoarsely, tunneling towards them. <This the Pikachu you were telling me about?>

<Yeah!! Pikachu, meet Sandstone. Sandstone, meet Pikachu.>

<Charmed,> they both said, and laughed.

<Giovanni!> Ash suddenly remembered. He turned--to find no one.

<Well, I better go before Lucifer comes back,> Sandstone said. <Call me when things settle down.>

<I will! Goodbye!> Ash called as Sandstone burrowed away.

<What on earth happened to you, Ash? I mean, for heaven's sake, a _Mew_...>

<I think I'd better tell that to all of you at once,> Ash said, turning to face Brock, Misty, and Joy.

"Darien!!" Misty squealed.

Ash froze and Pikachu paled as Misty ran into Darien's arms. "What are you doing here?"

"The building's gonna collapse!" he yelled. "You have to get out of here!!"

"What about all the other people in here?" Brock asked.

"I saw a lot of people leave by the side door! They'll be fine!"

There was a rumbling--and a wall came down, revealing the dark forest outside. Without its support, the roof fell, barely missing them.

<She--she loves him?> Ash asked brokenly.

<She thinks so.>

Another wall fell, and the sun rose over the horizon, turning the bottom of the storm clouds bright pink--one of the prettiest sunrises Viridian had ever seen.

<Ash, we should leave..>

<I can't go back, Pikachu, at least not now...I can't face Misty, and they wouldn't take a hybrid Mew as a Pokemon Master... IF they believed me...>

<Brock and Joy would...>

<Pikachu.>

<I'm following you, Ash, if you like it or not...>

<Okay, then. I guess it's time to follow.>

Brock and Joy trailed Misty and Darien out of the building as the last walls collapsed.

"It didn't have a good foundation," Joy whispered.

They held each other as two Pokemon, too fast and small to see, flew into the grey clouds of the horizon.

If I could be king,

Even for a day,

"That was Ash, wasn't it?" Joy whispered.

Brock simply nodded.

"He can't run away forever..."

"We'll find him." Brock stated it as a fact, and it was. He would follow tat kid to the ends of the earth; he owed him at least that much.

I'd take you as my queen,

I'd have it no other way,

"Hopefully, he'll figure out to stop running..."

"And if we're lucky, Misty will too."

"Hmm, you actually figured that out. Laudable."

"It's pretty obvious..."

"Still, not many men can see that kind of thing. You're special, Brock."

And our love would rule,

This kingdom we have made,

A crowd of people was showing up, some still in nightwear, to see the crumbled gym. Some were sifting through the rubble, helped by a mysterious Chansey. Officer Jenny was running around crazily, arresting Team Rocket members who'd dawdled too long and grilling people for information.

"Joy...in a year or two, when I have a ring...Will you marry me?"

Joy gasped. "Brock!"

"Because, Joy, you're special too, and I love you..."

"I love you too, Brock. And I accept."

"Now if we can only get everyone else's life together..."

'Till then I'll be a fool,

Wishing for the day,

"Joy! Brock!" Jenny ran up to them. "What happened?"

"The building collapsed, and Ash is still missing," Brock said.

"Was Ash there? Why did the building collapse? Come on guys, I have to have SOMETHING to tell the reporters!!" Jenny pleaded.

Joy laughed. "Okay, it happened like this..."

And the sun rose over Viridian City.

That I could change the world,

I would be the sunlight in your universe,

You would think my love was really something good,

Baby if I could,

Change the world......

~*~

Author's note: To my six devoted readers... ^^;; No, this is not over! Look for a new book titled "Sunlight in Your Universe" relatively soon! And after that, ten more... ^^;; And the AAMRN? I'm getting to it... There'll be a whole book of fluff for you soon enough...And the book before that? Pure Saliormoon R... For those of you who've seen that... --;;

And so, for a little while, I bid thee farewell--but I shall be back. Knowing my way of coming up with this stuff, you should be supplied until I'm in a nursing home... ^^;;;

~Meredith