Elemental Distortion

Chapter 1

And together...we will win again.::

Two sapphire eyes opened, blinked, and then, a young woman shot up from her sleeping bag with a start. She gasped lightly, looking around nervously, and brushing back her long, crimson hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. She gulped, looking over the campground she and her partners had set up... A single pile of charred wood sat a couple of feet ahead of her, and dead ashes from the dead fire were scattered along the ground. Beside her was another sleeping bag, a green one with little leaf designs on it, and a blue-haired boy in it slept soundlessly. To her left was another sleeping bag, this one smaller...about a foot and a half in length, and it was a faded yellow. In it, a small tail twitched, and the creature sleeping in it grumbled softly. She could dimly make out the word 'tuna' before she shook her head and took in a deep breath.

That voice wasn't familiar to her. It wasn't James', and it wasn't Meowth's...and it wasn't a physical, or vocal voice. It was more like...telepathy? The words still echoed in her mind, and she blinked, shaking off and turning to the charred pile of wood that had been the campfire. She sighed, looking over to James' sleeping bag once more, and smiling softly. James' eyes were closed, and a single lock of blue hair fell into his face, blowing out of the way when he exhaled. He looked serene, and, Jessie admitted, cute. She giggled softly, but inaudibly, and lay back in her sleeping bag, closing her eyes, yawning, then opening them again to stare at the starry-sky...

She couldn't help but feel as if someone's eyes were on her. She shot a glance at James, but he was still asleep, and, when she looked, so was Meowth...

James suddenly gasped, opening one emerald eye and blinking it, then opening the other. Jessie shot another glance at him, and automatically saw the fear on his face. Probably a nightmare...or something... James blinked once more, then sat up, shaking his head and looking over to her.

"Morning, James," she whispered softly, as to not wake the cat Pokémon beside her...but the feline also seemed to be experiencing some type of nightmare. The cat grumbled softly, then snored...then, after a few moments of silence, gasped, and fell back to sleep.

James smiled and nodded, then blinked. "Good...morning to you...too, Jess," he slurred, yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Although it isn't really the morning," she added with a smile, pointing at the still pitch-black sky. It had to be around three or four o' clock or so... The boy blinked, then nodded.

"Yeah...Hey, I had this wierd dream..."

She smiled softly, then nodded, looking over to him. "Same here..."

"Really? The odd thing was...that I was hearing voices...like a conversation, y'know? But not our voices or anything..."

Jessie did a double-take, then sharply replied, "WHAT?!"

Meowth grumbled again, then flipped over in his sleep, murmering something that sounded like 'Damn Persians'. Jessie frowned and looked over to her partner. "I mean...," she whispered, "you had a dream about that, too?"

"Yeah...," he replied, yawning again. "Why? What did you dream about?"

"The same thing..."

"Heh...maybe we lost our minds..."

Jessie gave him a playful whack on the head with her ever-present paper fan, then cocked her head. "The last thing I heard in thhat dream was...oh...what was it? 'We will win again'."

It was James' turn to do a double-take, and he stared at her blankly. "Wow...that's what I heard..."

"I wonder...why we had the same dream?"

"Dunno..."

The boy shrugged and looked over to the cat, who now began to growl and shift in his sleeping bag as if he was fighting with something. He snickered lightly, and Jessie shook her head, grinning, before nodding to him, eyes closed.

"Eh, well go make breakfast, okay? I'll wake combat cat here..."

No response. She opened one eye and stared at where James had sat, only to see him lying back down again, snoring softly. He fell to sleep while she was talking?

A single vain popped out of her forehead in annoyance, and she reached over, grabbing her paper fan and holding it over his face-

-WHACKWHACKWHACKWHACK!

"Owwww...," James groaned, opening one eye. "What...was that for?"

"For falling asleep when I was talking," she hissed in annoyance, then stood up. "Like I said, go make some breakfast, alright? I'll wake up the mangy feline."

James blinked, dumbfounded, and shot up, standing straight and placing one hand over his forehead in a salute. "Yes m'am!" he said before racing over to the fire and beginning to make the blaze start up again.

Jessie turned away, a small smile spread across her face. Yup, he was cute, but of course, she wouldn't say that to him. The last time she got involved with someone...it wasn't so pretty. She frowned, then turned to the cat, who was now scratching at his sleeping bag in his sleep, growling and shouting out sayings like, 'Damn Persian!', 'Take dat!', and so on so forth.

She reached over and picked him up by the ruff of his neck, and held him above the ground, a good distance away from her face. Meowth paused and shivered now that he was no longer covered by the sleeping bag, and wearily opened one eye, then the other, and widened them, gasping. "EAAAAAH! DEMON!!"

WHACK!

Jessie pulled the paper fan back and placed it in her pocket, watching as the cat blinked and stared, dazed by the whack from the almighty fan. The redhead grinned and looked up at him, shaking her head. "Wake up, kitty cat."

"Augh, I hate dat name, Jess!" the cat growled, struggling out of her grasp and landing on the ground, shaking himself awake and staring up at her. "Yeah, well, mornin' to youse, too!" And as he walked away and towards the now crackling fire that James had made and was cooking something over, the cat whispered, "Demonic Jess."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Jessie tackled the cat with her fan, whacking insanely while the Pokémon started to scratch her, yelling out and shrieking. James, in the meanwhile, sweat-dropped and shook his head, giggling softly. Yup...this was a normal day.

**********

"Ash?"

Misty shook the boy softly, a worried look in her eyes. She brushed back her orange hair and shook him again, shivering softly. She had heard voices, a conversation, rather, in her sleep...but something about it had scared her. If that wasn't bad enough, she had the feeling that she was being watched...by something dark...something...something forbidden, and she couldn't shake the feeling. Behind her, Togepi, who was wrapped tightly in a blanket, chirped softly, looking up at her owner and blinking. Pikachu, who was curled up beside Ash's head, groaned softly and yawned, then settled back to sleep again.

"Ash? Please wake up..."

He grumbled softly, and, in a sleeping bag nearby, Brock mumbled and flipped over, eyes twitching as if he was having a dream. Misty shook Ash again, and, finally, he cracked one eye open to look at the girl, then yawned.

"W-Wha? Mist...?" he whispered groggily, shaking his head and groaning. Beside him, Pikachu stirred, whispered something, and fell back to sleep.

"Ash...something's wrong," she hissed. "Voices...I swear I heard voices..."

"You too?" he said slowly, blinking. "So did I...something about winning again and stuff..."

Misty froze, then growled softly. "Ash...that's what I heard..."

Ash shot up, blinking. Pikachu, disturbed by the sudden movement, opened one eye and growled wearily, sending a small shock of electricity at the two before passing out again. Ash shivered and looked at Misty. "Really...I...wow..."

"N-no...," Brock was mumbling behind them. "W-what do you mean, win again?....Why won't you answer me?...Who said that?!"

The older boy shot up, gasping softly and rubbing his head. He looked up wearily at the other two, then crawled over. "Ash...Misty...you wouldn't believe the dream I had..."

"Did you hear voices?" Misty asked, looking nervous.

"I...yeah...how did you know?"

"We had the same dreams..."

Brock froze, and all fell silent, save for Togepi's frantic chirping and Pikachu's slurring grumbles. The electric rat looked up at them, eyes narrowed in anger, but simply shook its head, then sat up, cocking its head and wondering what was wrong.

Ash broke the silence, looking over the two and sighing. "Ah...well, forget it. Since we're awake, should we get going?"

Brock nodded. "Good idea. There's probably some nocturnal Pokémon out now."

Ash smiled and nodded, then stood up, beginning to pack his equipement again, while Brock did the same. Misty just stared, shivering suddenly as she felt eyes on her once more, but she shoved it away, then turned towards her own sleeping bag and beginning to pack, picking up the little egg Pokémon as she did.

**********

"Cu...Cubone?" the little creature whispered, prodding his trainer in the side with its bone in worry. Only a few minutes ago, the girl, his trainer, had begun to whimper in her sleep, whispering things inaudible and uncomprehensive. The Cubone backed up cocking his head and staring at the girl, then poking at her again. The girl murmered something, then twisted around, gurgling something, gasping...

That worried Cubone the most. FInally, he rose the bone above his head and chucked it at the girl's head...and that caused an immediant reaction, for the girl shot up and gasped, clutching her head and groaning. Her silver-green eyes fell on the little Pokémon, and she blinked in confusion, then rubbed her wound, wincing.

"Ouch...," she murmered, looking down at the creature. "Hey...that hurt, y'know."

"Cu bone bone cubone!" it cried out, leaping into her arms and sighing softly. The girl looked down at the Pokémon, then smiled softly.

"You were worried?" she asked, then shook her head. "There was nothing to worry about. I was just having a nightmare..."

If hearing a conversation really is a nightmare...What was that dream all about?

"Bone bone cu!" the Cubone cried again, cocking his head. The girl smiled, and picked the little Pokémon up, stroking its head and watching.

"Ah...nevermind. You hungry?"

"Cu!" the little creature cried, nodding, expressing its hunger by letting its stomach growl. The girl laughed out, then nodded, heading off to start a fire, to make breakfast, and feed herself and her Pokémon.

**********

Team Rocket had now trecked their way into a mountain range, still in pursuit of the Twerps, as they usually were. It had grown lighter out, and the sun was shining brightly. Jessie, James, and Meowth were huddled behind a group of bushes, watching as Ash and Co. walked past, the Pikachu the Boss wanted so much perched on the younger boy's shoulder. In Misty's arms, Togepi chirped and smiled, watching the clouds roll by, as if there was not a care in the world...

Jessie grinned and nodded, and James smirked, while Meowth just slapped his forehead, exasperated. They had once again gone with one of their old plans...diggin a hole in the Twerp's path. But this time, the hole was deeper than normal. Those kids would have a hell of a time trying to get out...at least that's what they thought.

They huddled up together, watching as the three children walked towards the covered hole, over it...and...

Nothing happened.

James blinked, and Jessie growled, looking over to her partner with a look of agitation on her face. "I told you you put too may twigs on there!"

"Me?" James hissed softly, as to not get the Twerp's attention. "You put too many leaves on it!"

"Shut up, youse two!" Meowth snapped, swiping them both across the face with his claws. He growled, pointing back to the three children, then smirked. "Here dey come! Just watch!"

Frowning, they turned to watch the three children walk across the trap, and they were almost out of the danger zone-

-CRASH!

The ground gave out from under them, and the group fell, screaming as they did, and hit the ground with a loud thud. Meowth cheered out, grinning madly and trotting down the hill, towards the hole, while Jessie and James exchanged victorious glances and followed the cat.

"Oww....Ash, you okay?" Misty was asking, looking over at her friend and watching as he rubbed his back in pain.

"Nnngh...yeah, I think..."

"I bet you I know who did this...," Brock hissed angrily, standing up and cracking his knuckles, then stretching his agitated legs.

"Yeah...a certain trio that calls themselves thieves...," Misty growled, standing up straight.

"We happen to be great thieves!" Jessie and James screamed as they stood at the edge of the hole, frowns on their faces. Meowth scratched them across the face for making an early introduction.

"Yeah...," Ash said. "That's why you haven't succeeded in getting Pikachu for a loooooooong time."

"Ahh, forget it, twerpo! You'll regret this! For now, prepare for trouble!" Jessie was grinning. She looked over to James, and he nodded.

"Yeah, and make it double!" he yelled out.

"Good Gods no," Misty groaned, rubbing her head in irritation. After all, hearing that same introductory poem for two or three years straight would have its effects on you.

"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!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meeowth!" the cat Pokémon hissed, jumping in front of the two and flashing an alien peace sign. "Dat's right!"

"Nice poem," said a voice from behind them, making everyone jump. "Odd, but cool."

Jessie and James exchanged glances of confusion, then swung around to look at the interrupter, blinking. There stood a young girl, looking a little younger then the two Rocket members. She had long, brown hair that went below the shoulder blades, and had silver-green eyes that stared at them blankly. She was wearing typical clothing...baggy blue jeans and a blue tee-shirt. Beside her right leg sat a little Pokémon, a creature that had a skull on its head, and clutched a bone in its hand. A Cubone, and it watched them with a blank expression.

James blinked, as did Jessie. "Thanks," they said in unison. Meowth, in the meanwhile, lurched forward, claws drawn and ready to battle.

"What do youse want?!" he hissed, making a swiping motion with his claws.

"Ehhh...just walking by...," she said softly, blinking and shaking her head.

"Goodie. D'ya got any rare Pokémon on ya?!"

"Oh yeah," James whispered, standing straight and clutching a pokéball in his right hand. "I forgot! Weezing! Come out!"

A red beam shot out of the red and white ball, and it hit the sky, letting a creature materialize there. A Weezing hovered there, grumbling softly and looking at the girl, who, on instinct, reached for her pokéballs and removed one from her belt. She held it in the air, stared for a minute, then tossed it. In a flash, a small Vulpix appeared, growling softly. Jessie and Meowth nodded to James, and he rose a hand, pointing at the fox Pokémon.

"Weezing!" he yelled. "Use sludge!"

"Vulpix!" the girl yelled out, pointing at Weezing and frowning. "Use Fire Blast!"

Weezing hissed and growled, opening its mouth and firing a blob of sludge at the Pokémon, and, at the same time, Vulpix reared up and fired a blast of fire at the floating creature...but there was one problem-

-BOOM!

An explosion rocked the ground as the sludge met the fire attack. Jessie, James, and Meowth wound up losing their balance because of that quake, and they fell backwards, into the pit they had dug. Weezing, who was now on charred and weakened, flew down after them, concerned for its trainer, and the girl quickly recalled her Vulpix and picked up the Cubone, running to the edge of the hole and staring down, wondering if they were all right...

...but there was another quake, a more powerful one, but nothing could have caused it...unless it was a real earthquake...but nonetheless, she lost her balance as well, and she fell down into the pit, clutching Cubone tightly and crying out in fright.

Team Rocket landed hard on the ground, and winced, looking over to the Twerps, who had now risen and clutching their pokéballs, ready to battle. The Rockets huddled together in fright...but when the second tremor came, the ground beneath them suddenly gave out, and they were falling...

...but none of them knew when they would hit the ground, much less where...