Author’s Note: Again, I do not own Pokemon. This is the sequel to another fic of mine, If I Could Change the World. If you haven’t read that, I strongly suggest you do, because without reading IICCTW first, you’ll get pretty lost... ^^;

Most of you, however, probably know exactly what this is--Ah, my six loyal readers. ^^; Anyway, I’m back, so sit back and enjoy the show! ^^;;

~*~

Most people knew her simply as the Pokemart lady--that dark blue-haired woman behind the counter. Few people noticed that she was always there, the only employee; only the young trainers, determined to finally catch that one elusive Pokemon they'd been trying to catch for years, came often enough to know. Only a few of those knew her name was Elissa.

She sat there all day, in the white-walled room only as big as three cubicles, looking out of the window with only a radio for company. And mainly she watched, learning the mysteries of this young town.

There was one mystery she hadn't figured out yet, though it didn't have much to do with the town.

And on this October morning, he walked in.

She smiled at the brown-haired man, wondering why he seemed so _mysterious_, like there was some great power around him he was hiding.

If it was true--if there _was_ something-- he hid it quite well. At first glance, he looked perfectly normal--brown hair, blue eyes, a Pikachu always on his shoulder. It was after you met him that he was mysterious.

"Hi!" she said, jerking out of her reverie. "What’re you doing here?"

He smiled lopsidedly at her. "What do you think?"

"More TMs?"

"You got it."

She smiled. "Great! You're making me the envy of all the other Pokémarts!"

"They're that good?" He raised his eyebrows as she raised her eyes to the sky.

"They're that good, he asks...I can't keep up with the demand from all of the Pokemarts around the world, the Pokemon are thrilled to learn them, and they're the only thing enabling these trainers to survive, and he asks if they're that good..."

He put his hand to the back of his head. "Eh heh..."

"Well, they are!" she insisted. Humility was all well and good, but dang, man...

He took off his backpack, his Pikachu switching sides. "I have three today, all labeled."

"You really should make me pay for these..."

"But I get an account!! It's much easier that way, I don't have to get the money before I spend it."

She sighed. This guy could be slightly annoying in his eternal Boy Scout attitude, but it was cute...

"Anyway, these are three TMs. One's for Rock-type, one Fire, and the other is Normal, or any Pokemon. This one is--"

The bell on the door rang.

"Pikapi!" his Pikachu warned.

He turned around quickly and saw the two people talking at the door. "Oh no!"

He ducked into an aisle as the two came up.

Elissa sweatdropped. "Er, hello, welcome to the Pokemart... How can I help you?"

"Hi," the orange-haired woman said. She was wearing a dark blue spaghetti-strap top and denim shorts. "My name is Misty, and this is Brock." She gestured to the older man beside her, who had brown hair, narrow eyes, and was wearing a brown shirt and pants with a green vest.

"Hi," he said.

The man and his Pikachu edged towards the door.

"We're looking for a friend of ours," Misty said.

Elissa raised her eyebrows.

"He's about Misty's age, with black hair, brown eyes--has a Pikachu. Have you seen him?" Brock said.

"Well..." she said, torn. "I know a guy with a Pikachu, about her age, but he doesn't match the rest."

Misty sighed, raising her eyes. "We'll never find that kid..."

As the looked up, she saw the mirrored hemisphere on the ceiling--and more importantly, she saw the reflection of the guy with the Pikachu hiding at the end of the aisle.

"Hey!" she yelled. The man sweatdropped and ran.

The bell on the door chimed as the man rushed out of the store. Misty and Brock quickly ran after him.

Through the glass, Elissa saw Misty and Brock looking up and down the street. They sighed and walked back in.

"How could he just disappear like that?!" Misty yelled.

"Well, what if he was Ash?" Brock asked.

"That wouldn't explain it!!" Misty yelled, and paused. "Oh no, don't you get on to THIS again!"

"If you'd just listen--"

"Come on, Ash was NOT that Pokemon!!"

"How can you be so sure?!"

"AHEM!!" Elissa interrupted.

They sweatdropped. "Sorry."

Brock walked up to the counter, Misty grudgingly following him. "So, who was that guy?"

Elissa grinned. "He's this strange guy who lives somewhere outside of town. Every so often, he'll stop by and sell me Technical Machines, the ones that teach moves. And these moves--they are completely original, and they all kick major butt. They seem to work with the Pokemon's personality, and its loyalty to its trainer."

"Really?" Misty asked.

"Yep! Hold on, let me copy this..." Elissa took out a chip with three wires extending from it out of all of the machines. She took six more out of a box and inserted them into slots on a strange gray cube. She flipped a switch, and the machine hummed. When it died down, she separated the chips and put them all back into their machines.

"I just made some copies of them," she explained. "By company policy, I have to test all of these out. If you'd like to help, I can pretty much guarantee that these won't be lame attacks like Splash."

"Well..." Misty said. "What are they?"

"That's what I still need to find out." She took one of the original machines and read the tag attached to it. "Rock Field, for a rock type."

"What does it do?" Brock asked.

She shook her head, bemused. "You'd never believe me until you saw it..."

"Well... I suppose I could test it..." Brock said.

"You could always make your Pokemon forget it," Elissa said. "That guy gave me a special potion for that. Much easier than having to always go to that shack on Blueberry Mountain...That's what we used to do."

"All right, if my Pokemon agrees." He stepped outside, the others trailing him. "Onix, go!"

Onix roared as it came out.

"Onix, this woman has a machine that will teach you a move. Do you want to learn it?" Brock asked.

Onix put his head near Elissa. <What IS it? I mean, that's kind of nice to know before you get a move etched in your head...>

Elissa read the description of the effects to Onix, who nodded.

"All right, then..." Brock gave him the machine.

"How do we test it?" Misty asked.

As if on cue, a Tauros leaped from the bushes.

"Never mind..."

"Okay, Onix, let's see how this works!" Brock called. "Rock field!"

Onix tunneled underground as they all watched.

The ground started to glow slightly.

"What the..." Brock said.

All around the Tauros, rocks rose up from the ground, all shapes and sizes. They hovered there for a second--then sped towards the Pokemon.

The Tauros was out like a light.

Brock's eyes were as wide as they could be. "Wow."

Elissa nodded. "We have a lot of young trainers in this town who have low-level Pokemon, given to them by their parents or befriended in their youth. Unfortunately, the Pokemon around this town are at a really high level, and the Pokemon don't stand a chance. Because they don't win, the Pokemon can't learn quickly. And all of the trainers who come through are even better than the wild Pokemon. With these new TMs, level doesn't seem to matter very much; it's heart, will, the bond between Pokemon and trainer that determines the power of the attack. And nothing helps strengthen your bond with your Pokemon like continually losing."

"Wow," Misty said softly. "How does he do it?"

Elissa shook her head. "I don't know."

A few moments passed before they shook off their spell of silence. "So...What are the other ones?" Brock asked.

"Lessee..." she said, looking at another one. "Starfire, for a Fire type. Effects... you _still_ wouldn't believe me."

"Vulpix, go!" Brock called.

"Vulpix, vul!" <Free, free, sweet freedom!>

"Sorry I haven't been able to let you out as much lately...But how'd you like to learn a new attack?"

"Vulpix, vul vul!" <ANYTHING is better than Growl!>

"Especially this," Elissa commented. She handed the machine to Vulpix, then kicked one of the bushes alongside the road.

A very large, quite angry Raticade popped out.

"Vulpix, try your new attack!" Brock yelled.

"Vulpix, vul!" She concentrated for a moment.

The air above the Pokemon turned red, then burned--a wall of fire. It formed into a ball, then a many-pointed star that shot high into the air.

Then suddenly the star fell, with a cometlike trail of fire, towards the Raticade.

When the smoke cleared, Raticade had fainted, and Vulpix was looking quite pleased with herself.

Brock and Misty just stared.

"I told you you wouldn't believe me," Elissa commented.

"And the last one?" Misty said finally.

She checked the label. "For any type, Harmony. Let's see...Whoa, even _I_ don't believe this!!"

"Togetic, go!" Misty called, throwing her Pokeball.

"Toki! Tokitokitokitokitokitokitokitokitokitokitokitoki--"

"Togetic!!"

"Tick?"

Misty sweatdropped. "Want to learn a move?"

"Toki!!! Tokitokitokitokitokitokitoki--"

"HERE IT IS!!" Elissa yelled, tossing the machine at Togetic and hitting a tree with her mallet.

A Scyther emerged from behind the tree, greatly annoyed.

"Togetic! Harmony!" Misty called, worried.

"Toki!" It held its arms up.

Two spheres of energy, one black, one white, formed. "To-ki to-ki to-ki to-ki..."

The air began to sing as Togetic chanted. "To-ki to-ki to-ki--Toki!!"

The lights shone brighter then combined and shot at the Scyther, creating a huge explosion.

Misty, Brock, and Elissa shielded their eyes from the wind, then looked.

The Scyther had fainted.

"Toki!!" Togetic said happily.

None of them said anything for a good five minutes.

Finally, Elissa pulled herself together. "Wow."

~*~

Two figures crouched in the bushes, watching the three people.

"So, they work. Cool," Ash said brightly.

"Pikapi, pikachu pika chaaa," Pikachu said, steering Ash onto the true topic at hand. <Ash, you can't run forever...>

"I know, Pikachu, I know." He sighed. "But it's pretty much all I can do for now..."

They sat in silence.

~Someday, Ash, this will all work out, I swear to you,~ Pikachu thought. ~And then, things can be NORMAL again...~

~*~