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Assistant: Title: Pokémon XY: Trying Something New
        Author: PredictionPrincessMieru PredictionPrincessMieru 
        Chapter: 1/24 
        Summary: Ash has tried again and again.Serena hasn't tried anything yet.He's certain of his dreams.She doesn't know where to start.He'll lose it all if he doesn't change.She'll never become anything if she doesn't choose.Perhaps, in Kalos, they can both find their way. Perhaps, they can 𝙏𝙧𝙮 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙉𝙚𝙬.
  ~𝒳𝒴𝒵~
When circumstances give Ash and Serena a new perspective on their journey, the two find the direction of their lives radically shifted. Serena seeks to become a Gym Challenger and rival to Ash. Ash seeks to explore new options on his way to the Kalos League. Together, they may just change the Pokémon world.Book 2 Now in Progress
        Contents: Chapter 1: Fight at the Museum
    

    


      
        
          
          (See the end of the chapter for  notes.)
          
      
  

  
  
    
    
  
𝒳𝒴“The Kalos region has a great and glorious history indeed, and what we’ve seen so far was just a small snippet!” The energetic voice of a museum guide cut through the stirring murmurs of her tour group, as she herded them along through bright hallways. Despite her excitement, not everyone was impressed. A boy towards the back of the party grumbled, before getting hushed by one of his companions. Rolling her eyes, the guide continued. “And so now, we enter the Diamond Age!”Excited gasps and breathless whispers escaped the tour group, the sheer decadence of the next exhibit laying them still. All around them, platform after platform of precious gems stood, with paintings of rich noblemen covering each wall, dressed from head to toe in encrusted diamond clothing. In fact, could it even be called that? There were so many gems that it was almost more appropriate to call it armor!By far, the most astounding sight was what stood at the center of the exhibit, the headline artifact. It was a gargantuan gemstone, a few feet tall and in the approximate shape of, well, a diamond. Obviously, it was the most important item in the exhibit, as only it demanded a set of guards standing by its case at all times.The group and its guide soon dispersed across the room, leaving in their wake a party of four. “Ooooh Ash, look at this!” One of them, a girl, called out to the boy in question, tugging on his sleeve as she pointed to the monstrous gemstone. “Could you imagine the crown a gem like that was meant for? It’d be so beautiful!”Ash couldn’t help but smile along with her kid-in-a-candy-shop energy, before he was pulled along a few feet closer to the item in question. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, Serena! Never knew they got that big,” he replied, scratching his nose. “But man, I’m still confused on what shiny rocks have to do with Pokémon.”“Oh come on, Ash.” Their third companion, Clemont, cut in between the two, readjusting his glasses as he looked towards his friend. “Don’t tell me you’re getting bored already. You were so excited to check out the Museum of Natural Pokémon History!” Giving an awkward smile, Ash rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “Yeah, I guess I figured it was gonna be a lot more Pokémon than history,” he said in his defense, earning a frustrated, but still loving, groan from his companions. “Is there anything in your head besides Pokémon?” The littlest member of their little outing, Bonnie, berated Ash, before grabbing onto her brother’s hand and pulling him along. It seemed something had grabbed her attention. With that, it was just Ash and Serena left, side by side as they looked upon the exhibit’s star artifact. “And then there were two,” Serena whispered under her breath, watching Bonnie drag Clemont away. Her hands shook with a giddy delight. Straightening up, she made herself presentable before giving off a fake cough to attract Ash’s attention. “Soooo, just the two of us, huh?”“Yep!” Ash cheerfully repeated, pulling his half-hearted attention away from the diamond. “Just the two— Heeeey, wait a minute.”Ash blinked in surprise before he looked over his shoulder and behind him, confusing Serena for a moment. She then quickly realized what he was looking for.“Pikachu! Where’dya go buddy?” he called out, earning a few stares from the other visitors of the museum, and a stifled laugh from Serena. After a moment, a pitched cry responded to Ash’s call.“Pikapi!” Pikachu rounded the corner of the exhibit entrance, skidding and picking up speed as he went in for a running leap. In an instant, he was climbing onto Ash’s shoulder and taking his rightful spot.“There you are. Where did you get off to?” Ash asked with a laugh, exchanging a few words with his partner before looking back to Serena. “Sorry, where was I?”He gave a cheeky smile as he said that, hoping to excuse his scatterbrain. Serena’s giggle and eye-roll let him know he was forgiven. “Oh yeah, the exhibit,” he said, taking a few steps closer to the central display. “This stuff is pretty cool, but I was hoping we’d get to see some cool stuff about Pokémon. Now I just feel like I’m back in social studies.”“Ah come on Ash, not everything has to be about Pokémon,” Serena defended, joining Ash’s side. Looking over, she grumbled as she found Pikachu parked perfectly between them. Yet, when she looked past Pikachu, and faced Ash once more, what she found surprised her. That polite interest from a few moments ago was gone. A new look was in its place.Anxious wasn’t the word, and even fretting would be a disservice. No, instead it was perhaps, yearning? When Ash noticed Serena looking at him, that expression went away. “Sorry, looking at all these rocks has got me thinking about the next gym again,” he explained with a laugh. Serena soon realized what he meant: Grant, the Rock-Type Gym Leader. “Of course your head is on battles,” she said, crossing her arms, half-frustrated and half-accepting of Ash’s antics. Keying in on Serena’s frustration, Ash put up his hands in defense, Pikachu mirroring him.“H-hey, come on, can you blame me?” he said, putting on an appeasing, cheeky grin. “I’m a one-track mind!”“Pika-Pikachu!” Pikachu repeated. The image of Ash and Pikachu saying and doing the same things back-to-back broke through Serena’s irked mood, as she snorted at the sight of the two. Try as she might, she couldn’t be mad at them, not for long at least.“I guess I can’t,” she said with a small smile, taking a half-step away. “I’ll let you two tinker with your game plan. I’m going to check out more of the gemstones.” “Sounds good to me!” Ash replied, shooting her a thumbs up, which Pikachu did in turn. With one final laugh at the sight of them, Serena stepped away, leaving Ash and Pikachu to themselves. “Man, that was a close one, huh, bud?” he asked, walking off from the central display to one of the less busy corners of the exhibit. “Serena’s scary when she gets mad.”Pikachu rolled his eyes at the suggestion of a teen girl being scary, and then rolled them even harder at Ash not fully getting why Serena was miffed. Ash didn’t notice that, of course, as he paused by one of the lonely display cases. “The diamonds are cool and all, but who can think about shiny rocks when there’s a gym to plan for!” he continued, shooting Pikachu an excited smirk, one his partner couldn’t help but return.“Pikapika!” he shouted in turn. If there was anything the two would always see eye-to-eye on, it was the blood-pumping excitement they felt about a battle. That much was for certain. “Pika?”As the pair passed a small subsection of the exhibit, a sight caught Pikachu’s attention. A memory ticked away in his head before it clicked, and he began to nudge Ash.“Pikapi!” “Huh? What’s up, Pikachu?” Turning, Ash looked to where Pikachu was pointing: One of the exhibit cases, labeled Kalos’s Treasures from Abroad. It seemed to have been overshadowed by the bright and shiny gems that filled the room. Curious, Ash approached.It was then that it all came flowing back to him.“It’s, a time flower,” he said aloud, the crystalline visage of a flower bulb looking back at him. After a moment, he began reading the inscription that came along with it on the case. “A precious item from the ancient kingdom of Rota, in Kanto. It’s said to remind those who ought to forget.”“Pika…” Pikachu mumbled in response, caught off guard by the blast from their past just as well. It’d been many years since either of them had laid sight on one of these things, and just the glance at it alone brought them back to one of their earlier adventures.What a great adventure it was. Ash stood straight, a smile crossing his face while he looked at Pikachu.“That brings back memories, doesn’t it buddy?” he asked, earning a fierce nod in return. Pikachu let out a cry of affirmation, before the two of them left the familiar piece from their past behind them. Ash chuckled. “Heh, yeah, it has been a while.”So Ash and Pikachu returned to walking the exhibit, turning their minds from the past to their future, and the battles they’d be having before long. Soon they’d be facing Grant, and then after that, who knows what else. If they wanted to be the very best, they had to always be looking on to tomorrow. Yet, as Ash did that, as he planned for the next battle, planned for tomorrow, he found his mind being pulled back, again and again. For the first time in a long time, when Ash thought of tomorrow, he thought of yesterday as well.𝒴“Ma’am, the Diamond is quite a wonder of science, what with its incredible mass and size,” Clemont began with a passionate gusto, raising into the air both his regular arm and his secondary Aipom Arm, for extra question-asking effect. “How do you explain such an anomaly?”The tour guide snorted at Clemont’s enthusiasm, perhaps having forgotten that other people might still be impassioned by this subject. She had given this tour so many times, after all.“That’s a great question, in fact,” she replied, stepping up closer to the display case and pointing towards the gem’s clean facet. “We know for a fact it wasn’t formed naturally— The crystal lattice itself is too geometrically perfect, with no contaminants to speak of. But since the technology to produce artificial diamonds didn’t exist when this gem first appeared in history, we can only conclude—”Clemont’s eyes lit up, attracting the attention of Bonnie.“—That it must’ve been created by a Pokémon!” he declared, finishing the guide’s sentence, much to her delight. The two shared a moment of excited chatter as other members of the tour group approached, including Serena. She looked on with a bemused stare, before catching a glance of Bonnie at Clemont’s side. A familiar mischievous grin was crossing the girl’s face. At that, Serena knew what was coming next.“Oh, miss toooour guide! You and my brother get along so well!” Bonnie called out with a sing-song voice, prancing forward before Clemont could put her performance to an end. “You’re surely a keeper! Won’t you please take care of him?” “Bonnie, noooo!” Clemont stumbled forward, trying to cut through the quickly reforming crowd to no avail.The exasperated tour guide could only c@ck her head in confusion at the scene. Some little girl was down on one knee and someone, presumably her brother, was struggling to grab her. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand?” Finally, after a moment, the robotic arm on the boy’s backpack broke through, swiping the little girl off the floor and dragging her away before she could make another heartfelt proposal. Just like that, the whole situation had dissolved.“What an odd shift.”The oddness wouldn’t cease, unfortunately, as before the guide could return to her usual spiel, three new bodies arrived to fill the scene: a new set of guards.“Excuse me, ma’am! But we need you and the crowd to keep at least a meter back from the diamond!” a blue-haired guard declared, surprising the tour guide when he slipped behind her and put his back to the display case. “What? Why?” the tour guide asked, watching while the crowd was shooed back by the other two new guards. “Orders from on high!” declared one of them, a red-haired woman. “There’s been some suspicious figures seen recently, so we’ll need to make sure no one tampers with the case.”Finally, the third, absurdly short guard spoke up, having finally managed to get a particularly large patron to step back.“Yeah! Nows, if youse excuse me, we gots a diamond dat needs protectin’!” he announced, barreling past the guide and taking position. With a rude jab, he pointed at the guards that were stationed there already. “Oi, youse two can go, we’re relievin’ your shift.”Looking on at the display, the guide decided she had put up with enough shenanigans today. She knew when to pick her battles, and this wasn’t one of them.“Alright everyone, why don’t we move on to the next section!”Watching as the tour guide and her group shuffled off, the three guards left manning the diamond snickered to themselves. “What a dope! This was our C-rate material at best!” the red-haired one declared under her breath before the three huddled together. “You said it, Jessie!” the blue-haired one said, pulling off the guard hat they wore and revealing their bob-cut hair underneath. “If this were the theater, I’d give myself three stars, at best!”“Alright, can it with the performance shtick, James,” the third short one added, bearing claws to make a point. “With all the eyes no longah’ on our prize, my plan’s gone off without a hitch, no lies!”“A Meowth plan without a hitch? Ain’t that a surprise,” Jessie added, completing the rhyme scheme. Giggling maniacally between themselves, Team Rocket readied for what would come next.“I’ll get down to the basement and set up for phase two,” Meowth declared, tearing off his miniature guard outfit and delivering an impressively evil snicker. “Dis place betteh watch out, ‘cause pretty soon it’s gonna be closed for renovations.”𝒳“Grant’s Onix is crazy strong, and that Rock Tomb is killer,” Ash recounted, speaking aloud in a quiet corner of the exhibit. Most of the other guests were already ahead, giving him and Pikachu a perfect opportunity to brainstorm. “Beating him is gonna be a pain. Got any idea, buddy?”Pikachu scratched his head in thought for a moment, before answering with an awkward inflection.“Pika— Pikachu,” he said, a bead of sweat running down his head. Ash laughed, nearly doubling over while he passed by the exhibit’s entrance.“I don’t think the ‘trigger the sprinklers’ trick’ll work again, bud,” Ash answered, earning a snicker from Pikachu then. “Good try though.”Just as Ash said that, an odd sight caught his and Pikachu’s attention: A Pokémon walking around on its own.“A Meowth?” he said aloud, his voice causing the Meowth in question to pause and turn. “A twerp?” With that utterance, both sides froze, as the cat was quite literally out of the bag. “Aw jeeze.”“Team Rocket!” Ash called out, Pikachu dismounting from his shoulder and building a charge to have at the ready. “What are you guys doing here! Where’s Jesse and James!”“Ah, well, you see.” Sweat began pouring down Meowth’s brow before he raised his hands up in defense. “They’re actually— None of ya business!”With that, Meowth sprinted out of the room at top speed, leaving Ash and Pikachu in the dust. “Let’s go after them, Pikachu!” Ash called, a glint in his eyes. “How about we call this training for our battle with Grant!”“Pika!”Racing after the feline mascot of Team Rocket, Ash and Pikachu ducked and dived through the halls and exhibit of the museum, dodging near misses with old suits of armor and about a half dozen display cases. All the while Meowth just barely kept ahead of them, more than willing to employ a few dirty tricks to get them off his tail. “Careful twerp, dis hall’s a fallin’ hazard!” he declared, taking his claws to an antique bead curtain and unleashing a flood of beads into Ash and Pikachu’s path. “Sayonara!”Snickering, Meowth dived down a set of service stairs, leaving Ash and Pikachu skidding past. “Pikachu!” Ash called out, reaching out and prompting Pikachu to jump up onto his arm. “Don’t let him get away!”Still in motion from the beads, Ash spun, punting Pikachu as hard as he could towards the stairs.“Pika!”With perfect aim, Pikachu struck home, bouncing off the wall of the stairwell and flying down after Meowth, Ash soon enough following behind. “Does anyone ever tell youse two that you need a hobby!?” Meowth declared, rolling into the basement and sprinting away. “Cause this persistence is ridiculous!”“Pipi-Kachu!” Pikachu skidded to a stop, immediately surveying the new room for some obvious threat or trap. What he found instead left him gobsmacked.“Yeah, you’re one to talk!” Ash declared, barreling down the stairs next, skipping a few steps on the way down. When he came to a stop at Pikachu’s side, the same sight made him step back. “Whoa!”The latest contraption in Team Rocket’s assorted history stood before them, tall and imposing, reaching from the floor all the way to the ceiling, at least twenty feet up. Yet, unlike all the robots and moving behemoths they’d employed before, this one was different. Gone were the jammable treads or trippable robotic legs— replaced now by a firm and sturdy foundation. The only distinct Team Rocket trademarks were a set of mechanical arms and their eponymous R symbol. Whatever this thing was, it wasn’t going to be leaving its spot. “What are you guys up to!?” Ash said with a fierce shout, shaking off his initial shock just as Meowth reached his perch at the very top of the machine. “Well if you must know— It’s kinda hard to keep the bank account topped up, when you and the rat keep blowin’ up our stuff!” he jeered, leaning over the side of the machine. In an instant, he got to work, sending his tiny hands into overdrive. “But once Team Rocket gets its hands on dat there humongous diamond, den we’ll be rollin’ in dough!”“We’ll see about that! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!” Ash commanded, firing the charge Pikachu had been building up without a moment’s hesitation. It slammed into the machine— A direct hit! “Got it!”“Talk about countin’ your Torchics!” With a snide laugh, Meowth flicked a switch, extinguishing Ash’s elation and Pikachu’s thunder in one fell swoop. The electricity of the attack drained away from the machine, charging up a battery at its base. “Even when on a budget, Team Rocket keeps the essentials! Anti-twerp defenses!”Meowth cackled as he returned to his breakneck speed fiddling. “Now, let’s kick dis baby into motion!” Raising a paw into the air, Meowth slammed down on a big red b@tton, bringing the towering behemoth to life. The frame began to rumble, gears and hydraulics whirring in motion. The robotic arm at its side animated then, stretching and swinging out in one motion, nearly knocking Ash and Pikachu down in the process.“Hey!”Ash’s words fell on deaf ears, however, as the arm flicked, revealing its monstrous attachment and the next step in Team Rocket’s monstrous plan— A saw blade. “Go!” Meowth cried, flicking a lever. The bladed arm whirred to life, flying straight up and carving through the roof in a clean arc. “You can’t make a diamond omelet without crackin’ a few ceilings!”The saw blade arm pulled itself free from the roof and went in for another cut, carving another wide arc. With that, the whole cut section of the ceiling started caving in, sliding down into the machine’s embrace. “Come to papa!” In only a few more moments, the entire thing would be free.It was then that Ash got an idea.“Hey, buddy, why don’t we lend him a hand!” he called out, looking at Pikachu and earning a confused look. After a moment, however, the gears turned in his head as well. “Pika!”“That’s the spirit!” Rearing back, Ash got into a thrower’s stance, as Pikachu leapt on for what came next. They only had one shot, so they had to make it count! “Go! Bring it down on him with Iron Tail!” “What’re you doing!?” Meowth cried. With a mighty throw, aided by the spring of Pikachu’s own legs, Ash punted his partner straight into the mechanical mayhem, just as he charged an Iron Tail for impact. In an instant, Pikachu was upon Meowth and the machine, delivering a stone-shattering attack to the section of concrete ceiling. Letting out a mighty cry, Pikachu forced all of the momentum his little body could muster straight down.“Chuuu-Pi-Ka!” And with that, the section of ceiling came free and fell, far too fast and with far too much force for Team Rocket’s contraption to grab onto. It crashed onto the mountain of metal, smashing the arms and control panel to bits, forcing Meowth to leap out lest he get crushed too. “We did it!” Ash called out, while Pikachu expertly leapt off the collapsing contraption and joined his side once more. A plume of dust and debris rained down from the ceiling. “Way to go, Pikachu!”There was little time for celebrations, however, as moments later, Meowth tumbled down the remains of the machine, landing at their feet with an unceremonious splatter. Not giving him the chance to run off, Ash grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. “Gotcha! This is over, Meowth, for you, and Team Rocket!” he declared, giving Meowth a small shake to stir him from his nausea. Jerking his head clear, Meowth didn’t seem to agree, a cocky smirk crossing his lips. “Dat’s what you think! I might be good as done for, but so are youse!” he fired back, flailing his tiny arms around him. With a sharp inhale, he screamed out—!𝒴Back up in the museum proper, panic was rampant. Moments ago something had carved its way through the floor, pulling the exhibit’s main diamond display case down with it! Not only that, but the support beam the case was built into was collapsing too! A thin cloud of dust filled the room, choking the frenzied crowd that surrounded the hole.“Hey! What’s going on!” Serena forced her way through the crowd, trying her best to spot her friends through the chaos. After a moment, she arrived at the edge of the pit that started this, freezing as she saw the dark drop underneath. “Ash! Bonnie! Clemont!”“We assure you, everything is under control!” one of the security guards declared without a hint of confidence in his voice, trying his best to not be pushed into the hole he was guarding just minutes ago. “Alright, lady, why don’t you shove it before I shove you down this thing!” another guard screamed, grabbing onto a woman and pushing her back into the crowd. Then, cutting through the rabble, a cry rang up the hole, alerting the guards and Serena with its message.“Jessie! James! Get your b@tts down here!” With a snide grin, the two guards tore their uniforms off their bodies, shocking the crowd back a few feet and sending Serena’s temper soaring. “It’s you two! Team Rocket!” she called, catching their attention as they faced the hole and straightened their outfits. “I should’ve guessed you’d ruin our day out!”“And we should’ve guessed you twerps would be here to ruin our plans!” Jessie replied. “We don’t all get what we want!”“Not today that is! Today Team Rocket gets everything it wants!” James added with a laugh. With a wave, he leapt down the hole. “Toodle-loo!”“Bon voyage, you good for nothing twerp!” And with that, Jessie followed behind him. “Get back here!” Crying out, Serena reached for the two villains, just barely missing as they disappeared. The frustration in her voice was reaching a fevered pitch now, threatening to boil over while she stared at the deep dark pit leading below. Those two had ruined their nice day out! Stolen that beautiful gemstone! The thought made her consider something crazy, her body moving to act on its own— to jump after them. It took a hand on her shoulder to bring her back down. Whipping around, Serena found Clemont looking back at her, Bonnie in his arms as he shook his head. Behind him, more dust and debris was falling from the ceiling, and the crowd was in a full force panic. “We need to find Ash and get out of here.”𝒳Back in the basement, Ash unceremoniously dropped Meowth, jumping back with Pikachu as the cloud of dust above them cleared. A path straight to the exhibit had opened up, and down from it descended two unfortunate sights.“To protect the world from devastation!”“To unite all peoples within our nation!”“Team Rocket!” Groaning, Ash considered a tactical retreat, grouping up with his friends so he wasn’t facing these pains-in-the-butt by himself. Their annoying tech redirecting Pikachu’s attacks could still be online after all. Yet, as Team Rocket continued their routine, that avenue closed off to Ash. “To denounce the evils—” Jessie grunted while she leaned down and began to lift something. “—of truth and love!” “To fill our piggy banks—” James went in to help her, and the two of them wrenched their motherload into the air. “—to the stars above!”“The diamond!” Crying out, Ash made a fist as their plan returned to his mind.“Pipi-Kachu!” “Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!” Jessie released her grip on the diamond, letting it topple James over with its sheer weight. She reached for a Poké ball then. “Surrender now—” Mumbling, James barely managed to push the giant rock off himself, before he pulled out his own Poké ball and completed the verse. “—or prepare to fight!”Finally, topping off the cavalcade of hijinks, Meowth arrived. He had managed to scramble up the pile of scrap metal when Ash and Pikachu weren’t looking, hopping into view just in time to finish the motto.“Meowth! That’s right!”“Let’s keep this short, twerp, we’re having a good day!” Jessie called, tossing out her ball. “Pumpkaboo! Shadow Ball!”“Inkay! Psybeam!” James followed in turn.Sprinting to the right, Ash and Pikachu just barely dodged the onslaught while they looked for an opening. “Pikachu, Thunderbolt!” Ash commanded, skidding to a stop as a beam of psychic energy flew in front of him. Quick to comply, Pikachu let out a crack of lightning, firing straight toward Team Rocket’s Pokémon——Before it diverted back into the machine once again.“Nyehehe, even past its warranty, Team Rocket tech is as reliable as ever!” Meowth cackled, as another wave of attacks fired from Pumpkaboo and Inkay. “If they’re just going to absorb our Thunderbolts, let’s give them something they can’t!” Ash suggested, smiling while he and Pikachu went on the move again. “Quick Attack to get close, then Iron Tail!”“Chuuu!” Grinning along with his plan, Pikachu took off, closing the distance to Team Rocket and dodging their attacks in turn. He leapt into the air in an instant, his tail lighting up a shiny metallic silver. “Pi—Ka—!”“Inkay, look out!” James called, throwing his arm out from atop the platform, too slow to realize what was happening. “Ink—” With a slam like a thunderclap, James’s Inkay was sent spiraling down to the ground below, crashing at the feet of Team Rocket’s machine and sending out a barrage of Psybeams. “Ink-k-k-kay!”“Whoa!” Ash just barely sidestepped one of the stray attacks, reeling back as he watched the aftermath of his move. Pikachu leapt back as well, landing at Ash’s side. Inkay, scrambled by their surprise encounter with the ground, was sending attacks aimlessly, ricocheting them off the walls, the ceiling, and even back at Team Rocket themselves. Their perch up on the remains of their machine was soon becoming compromised, the whole structure shaking under their feet.“Inkay, darling!” James cried out, leaning over the edge of the platform while rogue Psybeams flew by. “Are you okay!?”He wouldn’t receive an answer, however, because in that next moment, the platform of scrap metal they stood on began to rumble. It wasn’t like it was moments ago, where Inkay’s smattering of attacks shook the mountain of metal and stone. No, instead the machine’s remains itself shook. “Oh. Oh, dat’s, not good,” Meowth muttered, a paw going up as he scratched his head.“Not good?” Jessie paused. “Why not good?”“Well, youse see, we could only afford the standard Pikachu-protection-package,” he clarified, while the platform they stood grew more and more unstable. “None of the fancy stuff, like shieldin’ for rogue Psybeams.”“Get to the point, man!” James called out, dangling down the side of the machine in an attempt to get his Pokémon. After a moment, the disoriented Inkay floated back into his hands and allowed him to pull them to safety.“The point is—!”“That I’ve had it with you three!” Ash’s voice cut through the rabble, all three turning to face him as he butted back in. “Pikachu, let’s finish this. You heard them, we knocked out their defenses with Inkay’s attack!”Meowth’s eyes widened at Ash’s order, before he shot forward and called out.“Wait, twerp, the defenses aren’t down, they’re overload—”“Thunderbolt!” At Ash’s command, Pikachu unleashed his strongest bolt of lightning yet, which zoomed across the battlefield. It slammed into Team Rocket and their machine, sending the lot up in a brilliant display of sparks while they screamed at the sudden shock. Finally, overwhelmed by that ultimate blow, the remains of the machine exploded, sending each and every member of Team Rocket flying into the air.“Team Rocket’s blasting off—!”Team Rocket flew out of the basement at lightning speeds, up to the exhibit above, before they crashed into the ceiling. A chorus of screams rang out, which did not cease as the whole building rumbled after the collision. Ash’s proud expression from handling Team Rocket by himself quickly faded. Things weren’t done. Even as the cloud of smoke from Team Rocket’s blastoff parted, more and more dust and debris was descending down the hole from the exhibit above. “Oh jeeze.” The whole room was shuddering— no, the whole building. “We gotta get everyone out of here, Pikachu!”“Pikapi!”Taking a running start, the two of them sprinted towards the hole and the remains underneath it. Team Rocket’s machine was truly now just a mountain of concrete and scrap metal, and that made it the perfect jumping-off point. With quick footwork, the two scaled up the tower of junk, up the hole left from Team Rocket’s plan, and back into the Diamond exhibit. “Guys!?”The room was in utter chaos. Above them, the ceiling was slowly caving in, the double trouble of losing a support beam and subsequent crash pushing it beyond what it could support. The exits they could see were blocked off by fallen rubble, and a thick cloud of debris filled the air, choking out any chance of the crowd handling this in an orderly fashion.Oh jeeze, the crowd.Panic was the kindest word to describe it. All around Ash and Pikachu, people screamed in terror and hysteria, unsure of where to go or what to do. A full force stampede seemed inevitable, that’s how infectious the panic was. “Serena?! Clemont?! Bonnie?!” Whipping his head around, Ash tried to find his friends, but couldn’t parse them through the screaming masses. That left him with one option. He took a deep breath. “Hey everyone!”“Pika!”Ash and Pikachu’s cry was like a thunderclap, the way it shocked the screaming crowd out of their stupor. With their attention at hand, Ash called out. “We’re gonna get you out of here!” he declared, Pikachu speaking in turn as Ash pulled out a Poké ball. “I’ll open up that exit, get moving!”Without a moment’s hesitation, the crowd found a vague sense of direction, running back towards the entrance of the exhibit. With that, Ash called out another Pokémon. “Froakie, you—”Froakie didn’t even need the command, already leaping into action once the situation became apparent. With a cry, he sprinted off to begin securing the building with his frubbles. Ash couldn’t help but grin at that, how in sync the two were.“Ash!” Whipping around, Ash breathed a sigh of relief, finding his friends finally at his side. Serena grabbed onto his arm and pulled.“Where were you!” she cried, looking around as things began moving. Behind her, Clemont paced nervously in place, Bonnie in his arms. “Team Rocket—”“Tried stealing that diamond!” Ash exclaimed, assuring her he was up to speed. “The building is—”“Collapsing!” Serena said, assuring him of the same. With both their sentences completed, the two paused, before speaking together in unison.“We gotta help people get out of here!”“I’ll go up ahead and get Bonnie to safety,” Clemont said, breaking in and speaking over the rumbling of the collapsing building. Just as he did, Bonnie broke from his side and looked to the other two. “Please, please be safe!”“We will!” With that, the group split, Clemont taking Bonnie and following the bustling crowds out, while Ash and Serena stayed behind. “I’m going to help my Pokémon open the entrance,” Ash explained, turning and running. “Let’s try to help people get out!” “Right!” 𝒳Off to the side and out of sight, under a particularly large pile of fallen rubble, groans of pain rolled out, before the pile itself began to fall apart. A roughed-up, gloved arm burst through the dust and debris, followed by a voice.“Prepare, for trouble…” it said, before a different hand pushed rubble away.“And make it, double…” another voice muttered. Finally, the whole pile of shattered concrete spilled away, revealing who lied underneath: Team Rocket. Stumbling to her feet, Jessie was the first to speak, as she cleared pebbles from her length of hair. “You’ve really crashed and burned this operation, Meowth!”“Me?! What did I do!” he shouted back, shaking a paw. Before he could get another word in edgewise, however, a slab of concrete crashed onto his head. “D’oh!”“Oh no!” Whipping around, the situation began to settle in for James, panic reaching his voice. “The building is coming down!”“We need to get out of here!” Jessie cried.“Yeah, let’s jet!” Meowth agreed. With that, the two did an about-face for the exit and took off——Before coming to an abrupt stop.“Stop!” James cried out, grabbing the two by the scruffs of their necks and pulling them back. “Don’t you see we’re partially the cause of all of this chaos! Team Rocket lies, cheats, and steals, but it does not hurt people!”“And what exactly do you suggest we do about a collapsing building!?” Jessie roared back, as James dropped the two of them. “We help!” he answered, making a fist and pointing to the smattering of people still lost in the chaos. “It’s time for Team Rocket to save the day!”Jessie looked up at James, at the sheer boisterous confidence he gave that answer with, before sighing. “Alright, just for today,” she said with a smile, standing proud. “Team Rocket saves the day!”𝒳𝒴Back up at the exhibit entrance, the panicking crowd lied in wait, as Ash, his Pokémon, and Serena worked on clearing the rubble from the exit. A large slab of concrete had sealed off the entryway, and it’d take everything they had to move it.“Lift!” Ash called out, putting his back into it alongside Pikachu and Serena. “We, can, do, this!”“Pika!”With a united roar, the pair of them plus Serena just barely got the slab moving, clearing a way just large enough for a few people to pass through. Light filtered in from the outside as the crowd cheered.“Froakie, frubble!” Ash called out, gritting his teeth and looking up to the rafters.“Seal it with Ember, Fennekin!” Serena followed. “Froa!” Swinging into action, Froakie appeared, unleashing splatterings of his signature frubbles across the concrete, sticking them in place. Moments later, Fennekin leapt up onto the concrete gate, unleashing a fiery ember to bake the frubble hard. With that tag team job done, the exit was secured.“We did it!” Ash cheered, hopping out of the way and allowing the panicked crowds to begin rushing out. Letting Pikachu jump onto his shoulder, he called out to Froakie. “Good job, buddy!”Serena slumped to the floor, utterly exhausted by the hero work Ash and Pikachu seemed so accustomed to doing. Just how much could those two lift?!“You should stay here and help people get through,” Ash suggested, breaking Serena from her stupor as she rose to her feet. “Me and Pikachu and Froakie are going to see if there’s still people who need help!”On that note, Froakie saluted before leaping back into the exhibit. A frog’s work was never done it seemed, and neither was his trainer’s. Ash was just about to follow him, if it wasn’t for Serena grabbing his hand.“Wait, Ash.” she paused, gulping. “Are you sure—”“You’re going to be fine,” he reassured with a smile, squeezing her hand before taking off. “Let Froakie help if anything goes wrong!”“But Ash—!” Groaning, Serena turned back to the remaining people, just as they continued to bustle through. There was no arguing with that boy it seemed. Still, she sighed, speaking to herself while she began to direct the panicking crowd. “Who’s going to help you?”𝒳Ash skidded around a hard corner, venturing deeper into the collapsing exhibit as more and more debris rained down from above him. The building was really in a bad state, with dust and chunks of concrete pouring from the ceiling. It was only by Froakie’s frubbles that the roof was even close to standing. They wouldn’t last much longer.Ash considered going back.“Heeeeelp!” A pitched voice cut through the rumbling and Ash’s doubt. Someone needed help, and Ash was it.“Hey, we heard you! Call out again so we can find you!” he said, head whipping side to side as he looked for the last straggler.“Pikachu!” Hopping off his shoulder, Pikachu began searching himself. “Oh no…” That was a second voice, Ash realized, eyes widening as he narrowed down the direction. Returning to a full sprint, he and Pikachu turned down another corner.“We’re here—!” Ash and Pikachu froze, skidding to a stop at the sight that came to greet them. For a moment, his blood began to boil. “Team Rocket!?”The trouble-making trio stood before him. Well, more like lied before him, pinned beneath another pile of rubble that had fallen free from the ceiling.“H-hey there, twerp,” Jessie stuttered, her nerves rising at the arrival of their supposed saviors. Ash and Pikachu’s brows were awfully furrowed.“What are you three doing here?! I thought you’d be the first to high-tail it!” Ash declared, falling to his knees and parting some of the rubble.“Hey, cut us some credit!” James shot back. “Team Rocket’s on the side of good today!” “Pft, yeah, sure.” Rolling his eyes, Ash quickly cleared enough rubble to free Jessie, as Pikachu moved just enough to free James. After that, Meowth popped out from the middle of it all. “Meowth! That’s ri—” The whole building shuddered at that word, louder and more violent this time. “Mottos are bettah when savored for later, survivin’ is the sweetest when fresh!”“No need to tell me twice!” Without another word of protest, Ash and the others went on a full force sprint. They booked it through the museum, past the collapsing ceilings and crumbling walls. Ash and Pikachu could just barely avoid slabs of concrete crashing down behind them. Team Rocket, meanwhile, seemed only able to survive by pure miracle. Making it by the skin of their teeth was the tamest they could describe it. “Froa!” Swinging in from the ceiling, Froakie crossed Ash’s side. “Froakie! There you are!” Ash beamed, shooting his Pokémon a thumbs up as they rapidly approached the front of the exhibit. “Get up ahead, make sure there’s no one else!”“Oakie!”Not much longer now, just another corner!“Pikachu, jump on up, we’re going to go through together!” Ash explained, skidding around the bend and taking off again. In the next moment, he felt Pikachu leap onto his shoulder and hold on tight. “Let’s go!” “Wait up twerp!”They could see it now, up ahead, the exit! Two concrete slabs, held up by a splattering of Froakie’s frubbles— They just had to make it in time! “Ash!” From up ahead, Serena called out, the lone person standing there still.“Go! We’ll be right behind you!” Ash called out, as Froakie arrived and perched right above the exit. “Go!”Without a word of protest, Froakie dived through the exit, leaving Serena there, gripping her chest with worry. “Please hurry, Ash!” she cried, unable to push herself to go just yet. Ash couldn’t help but smile at that, at her misplaced worry. Didn’t she know, this was Ash Ketchum they were talking about?“Don’t worry!” he called out, shooting her a grin. “Everything’s going to be okay!”Dramatic irony was not lost on the universe today. Rumbling had long faded into the background noise of the crisis by this point. What came next, however, wasn’t a rumble. What came next was a scream— The scream of metal on metal, concrete on concrete, before the whole building above them began to topple down all at once. The ceiling was falling, the ceiling was falling!“Ash!” Serena leapt forward, intent on pulling him from danger before it could befall him. Yet, it was far too late. She jerked to a stop, as a hand grabbed hers and pulled her back to the exit. “Who—”She froze at the sight of Clemont. Time slowed for Ash, his breath going silent as he saw the whole of the ceiling collapse before him. The path between him and the exit was quickly thinning, and even on his best day, he could never make the distance. Even Pikachu couldn’t move that fast.Pikachu. “Sorry buddy.” With a heavy heave, Ash tore Pikachu from his shoulder and tossed him, faster than his partner could even realize what was happening. Time sped up once more. “Pikapi!”“Keep them safe, Pikachu!” The last thing Ash saw was his partner flying safely through the exit. Then, it all came tumbling down. 𝒳Ash awoke to chatter, which fell silent as he groaned out in pain. His head was killing him, absolutely aching. He could almost appreciate the quiet. “Ughhhhh.” Rubbing his head, Ash sat up, slowly coming to before he began to process his surroundings— His dark, cramped surroundings. “Huh?”“Ah, good, the twerp’s awake.” The snippy voice of Meowth caught Ash’s attention, keying him in that he wasn’t alone. Gritting his teeth, he turned.“Team Rocket.” Jessie, James, and Meowth sat huddled across from him, around one of Jessie’s Pokémon: Pumpkaboo, who was providing the light for the whole of— wherever they were.“Where are we?” Ash asked, rising to his feet and banging his head. The ceiling was shallow and crooked, leaving the space cramped, almost suffocating. “A buildin’ fell on us, so I think we’re somewhere in Unova,” Meowth answered, rolling his eyes. When Ash just gave him a confused look, he groaned.“The museum collapsed— Where do you think we are?” Jessie cut in, clearing away Ash’s confusion and leaving his irritation behind. “Oh great, so we’re stuck?” Looking up, Ash began banging against the slab of concrete that made up their roof, hoping to feel some give. None came. His head pulsed again with pain at that realization. “Jeeze.” “Don’t bother, twerp,” James added then, crossing his arms and pulling back at Ash’s attention. “Team Rocket are worldly connoisseurs at impromptu tunneling and escape attempts. We are well and truly trapped.”“Our resources have been sapped,” Jessie followed in rhyme. “And that’s a wrap,” Meowth finished. Ash groaned, unsure if that was his headache or Team Rocket’s rhyming that hurt more. “Well we can’t just sit here, we’ve got to try to do something— Signal to the outside!” he suggested, turning back to the low-hanging ceiling and knocking against it. “Hey! Is anyone out there!?” “Oi, can it with the screamin’, twerp!” Meowth demanded. “This nook of ours happens to be the echoin’ kind!”“What do you expect me to do!” When Ash turned, he found the trouble-making trio writhing as they covered their ears. He lowered his voice. “Just sit tight, wait for someone to come save us?”“As well you should!” James replied, looking between his team mates. “It’s what we do best when the going gets too tough!”“We let the tough get going!” Jessie added, earning a sneering laugh from her compatriots. Ash wasn’t laughing.“I can’t believe this,” he said under his breath, turning away again and looking at the twisted concrete that met his gaze. “I can’t just wait around— I need to get out of here— see if the others are okay.”“Relax twerp, you did a good job playing hero,” Meowth reassured. “I’m sure your little posse is doin’ fine too. Relax a little, have some fun!”Another pang of pain shot through Ash’s head, exasperated by a thirst he was just noticing. He could kill for a drink of water right about then. “Fun? How can you guys be having fun after all this?” he shot back, rubbing his head and looking back up to the stoney ceiling. “Look, all I’m sayings is you got an oppo’tunity to lean back and relax now after all the theatrics,” Meowth offered back. “Ain’t that why you and the other twerps even went to the museum, to relax?”Ash gritted his teeth as his headache drove further inwards.“I didn’t even want to go on this trip!” Ash said with a snap, making Team Rocket jump in surprise. “I just wanna find my friends, my Pokémon, Pikachu. I want to get out of here!”The pounding in his head was unceasing now, only made worse by how uncomfortable this whole situation was. The chamber was cramped, stuffy. His mouth was dry, he was covered in sweat. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to be with his friends, he wanted to get back to his journey, he wanted to get ready for—A realization struck Ash all at once,“Oh, darn it!” Groaning, Ash dragged his hands down his face before balling them into fists. “And now I’m going to be late for my gym battle with Grant!”The chamber went quiet for a moment, as Ash’s roar rang alone in the stuffy air. The look Team Rocket was giving back to him wasn’t exactly shock, more closer to confusion, a confusion that then spread back to Ash.Jessie’s face furrowed before she stood up, just barely avoiding knocking her head against the ceiling. “How can you possibly be worried about that in a time like this!? Everything that’s happened to us, and that’s your biggest concern!?” she screamed, surprising Ash with her fervor. “Isn’t there anything in that head of yours besides battling!?”The accusation reignited the anger in Ash’s mind. For just a moment, the pain in his head was gone. “You don’t get it! Don’t get me! You never did! All you care about is Team Rocket!” Ash roared, throwing his arm out to his side and scaring Jessie back. James and Meowth leapt at his cry, confusion fully turning to shock now. For a split second, that shock became fear. That fear made Ash pause. “I… You…” He pulled back, the anger draining from his face before he sighed. Pressing his back against the wall and sliding down, Ash shook his head. “You guys just, don’t get me…”Silence reigned over the room then, as Ash looked down to the ground between his feet and remained quiet. He was ready to spend the next few hours like that, assured that when they got out of there, Team Rocket would have a whole new reason to dislike him. So what happened next really surprised him.“Den why don’t you explain it, twerp,” Meowth said, broaching the silence and pulling Ash’s gaze upwards. Jessie was sat back in her spot by Pumpkaboo, still a little upset but not at all angry. None of Team Rocket was angry. At best, Ash could call it concerned. Meowth spoke up again. “Not like we gots anywhere else to be. Why are youse so concerned about some gym battle?”Ash contemplated it for a moment, thinking over the subject for what must’ve been the first in forever, in ever maybe. He’d never had the words for it, for that feeling he’d had on his mind for a while now. His headache was almost gone.“Do you ever, have something you love, something you really love, that you just want to spend your whole life doing it?” he began with a question, both for Team Rocket and himself. “But no matter how long you practice, no matter how hard you try, you never, get good at it?”Team Rocket paused, looking between themselves. The same thought was crossing their minds.“I love Pokémon, I love battling with Pokémon. I want to be a Pokémon master one day!” he exclaimed, a smile crossing his face before it slowly faded. “But, I feel like I’m always falling short.”Scratching the side of his face, Ash snorted, as the words finally came to him.“I’m in such a hurry, because I’m worried if I don’t keep training, keep beating gyms, I’m never going to be good enough. I’m worried I’m never going to be the best.”The conclusion wasn’t given a moment to breathe, before Jessie leapt up from her spot once more. “What are you talking about, twerp!?” she shouted, blowing out James and Meowth’s eardrums again. “I have half a mind to smack your stupid hat off for that!”“Huh—?”“You’re great at battling, amazing even!” she declared, throwing her hands down as James joined her.“Do you think we would be following you and your Pikachu all this time if you weren’t?!” he cried, Jessie nodding in agreement. “Yeah! Where’s dis whole self-doubt schtick even come from!” Meowth added then, hopping up between them. “You’re the most hard-headed and stupidly confident twerp we know!”“I—” Ash couldn’t get a word in edgewise before Jessie spoke up again.“So what if you’ve lost some dumb league a few times? Look at us!” “We lose every single day!” James followed up, pointing to himself and Jessie.“We’re certified losers!” Meowth shook his paw at Ash, as he stared at Team Rocket’s attempt at a pep talk. “But no matter how many times you blow us away, Team Rocket comes back!” Bringing it back to herself, Jessie prepared to tie a bow on the point. “Are you about to say you’re not as good as us!?”She pointed to Ash with that, leaving the floor to him for the first time. “I— Uh—” He shook his head. “No, I guess not?!”“So quit it with this whole downer routine!”“Okay!?”“Good!” A self-satisfied smile crossed Jessie’s face. “Don’t ever let me catch you skulking like that again. Being sorry saps is our job.”Huffing, Jessie crossed her arms and sat down, joined a moment later by James and Meowth. A calm silence took the chamber, before Ash shook his head and did a double take.“What, just happened?” he asked, looking at his trouble-making trio with a stare of pure confusion. “Did you guys just, help me?”“It may be hard to believe, twerp, but we don’t hate youse,” Meowth answered, leaning back and turning his gaze to the shallow ceiling. “We wanna take your Pokémon, not make you sad or somethin’.”Ash groaned.“You’re right,” he said. “That is hard to believe.”“Well, believe it!” James replied, getting a word in. “Well, I can say this.” Smiling, Ash sat forward. “I don’t hate you guys either. You’re not evil. You’re just, annoying.”“Hey, we’re totally evil!” Jessie cried in protest.“You’ll regret that slight!” James added, followed shortly by Meowth.“Meowth! That’s right!”Ash broke out with an uproarious laugh, cutting through the tension immediately, setting Team Rocket at ease as he petered out. “Thanks guys,” he began, wiping a tear from his eye. “It was nice, getting to say that to people who kinda get it.”The kind expression Jessie held moments ago weakened.“Way more than kinda, twerp,” she grumbled, earning a look of confusion from Ash.“Huh?”Glancing from Ash to the others, Jessie cocked her head, waiting for a response. Ash could just barely catch James mouthing out might as well. “We much more than kinda get it, twerp. Though it may be hard to believe, Team Rocket knows exactly where you’re coming from,” Jessie answered.“What do you mean?” “What you said, about loving something, but never getting good at it.” Jessie crossed her arms, before Meowth spoke up next.“We’ve been at dis game of chasings youse for how many years? And we’ve never gotten much betteh at it!” he explained. “Somedays it feels like we do dis just ‘cause we don’ts know anything else.”“Why don’t you try doing something else then?” Ash gave that suggestion with a blithe tone, almost not thinking about it. Yet, it left Team Rocket silent, an air of apprehension standing between them. Realizing they wouldn’t reply, Ash continued. “Like, you don’t have to work for Team Rocket, do you?”“But, what would we do if not work for the boss?” James asked, as if there was no other way to do things.“Whatever you want!” Ash answered. “You guys get by well enough, except now you don’t have to waste all your money on gadgets for me and my friends to blow up.”Looking between themselves, Team Rocket remained quiet, a thought working through their minds as well as their faces.“We’d, have to think about it,” Jessie replied first. “I’ve thought about bringing in your Pikachu for so long, I don’t even remember what I was going to do after we finally did the deed.”“It was always somethin’ about sleeping on the boss’s lap for me,” Meowth said, scratching his cheek. “Though nowadays, I think any lap will do.”“Give it a try!” Ash suggested with a laugh. “If it gets you guys out of my hair, I’d appreciate it, heh. Try anything, try something new!”With that, Team Rocket turned inwards, talking amongst themselves with a quieter tone from before. This was an inner Rocket matter now, and Ash had no place in that conversation. So he was left to his own thoughts.His smile weakened as he looked down, his own words ringing in his mind as he got ready for the upcoming wait.“Try something new, huh?”
  
  

    
      
        
        
          Credits to @Pedanti_Cat, @Mo1eculeMan, and @BCMonteiro1 over on twitter for their lovely help over the course of writing this fic!Expect new chapters every Tuesday at 3PM!'
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