Ace was sitting on top of a hill, fooling around with his magic, doing nothing in particular. Making flowers grow quickly and things like that were the high points of his afternoon. He shot a magic bolt at a sapling, 10 meters away. But the bolt reflected off an unseen shard of glass, and flew in the direction where Sparx and Cerebral were relaxing.
"Oh crap...." mumbled Ace. The magic bolt was going so fast that he couldn't stop it. It hit Sparx and Cerebral who vanished into thin air. Ace's eyes went wide.
"That... wasn't supposed to happen..." he stuttered, "It should have just made them grow to twice their size..." Then he gasped, "What if I.... I... killed them?!" he began to panic. "I just wiped out both leaders of the IFF in one fell swoop!" He frantically began searching his memory for whatever he did wrong with the spell. He dashed over to where they used to be lying, and was greeted only by the sight of Cerebral and Sparx shaped scorch marks in the grass.Meanwhile, Sparx and Cer were far from dead, although they wished they were. One second they were resting on the grass, talking about the recent events, and the next they were hurtling through a void, experiencing blinding pain. Both were screaming in anguish, and neither knew exactly what was happening. Then, as quickly as it had begun, the pain ended. Sparx and Cer had fallen out of the void. Even before they made contact with the long grass of the field below, they had already fallen unconscious.
When Sparx awoke, it was to find Cerebral kneeling by her with a concerned look on his face. Sparx was still disoriented, and she noticed that Cer didn't look so well either. Cerebral stood up unsteadily.
"Where are we?" Cer asked, although he already figured that Sparx knew just as much as he did. Sparx, as expected, simply shrugged. Suddenly, out from around a group of trees, three people appeared. "Overlanders.." breathed Cer. The people stopped and stared at Cerebral and Sparx, who had now stood up beside Cer. The younger male took a small red device out of his pocket and flipped it open.
"No Pokémon data file found." a small mechanical voice from the object said.
"No data?? These must be new Pokémon! I've gotta catch 'em!" the boy cried. "Pikachu! Go Thundershock!" he ordered to something unseen in the grass. Quickly, a small mouse like creature sprang up and electricity crackled off it's body. bolts of electric energy flew off of it toward Sparx and Cer. Sparx didn't even react, she simply absorbed the current, but Cerebral went down hard. The boy took out a small ball, one half red and one half white, and threw it at Cerebral while yelling "Pokéball, GO!" The ball crashed against the jewel on Cer's headband and shattered it, then fell to the ground motionless. All three of the 'overlanders' stared in amazement.
"Well...," the older boy said, "They're obviously not Pokémon." He scratched his chin.
"If they're not Pokémon, what are they?" asked the third member of their group, a girl.
"What the hell is a Pokémon?" asked Sparx, kneeling by Cerebral and taking out her sword, "And who are you?"
"A Pokémon is an animal that can be caught or raised to fight. They can also make good pets." came the same mechanical voice, while a blue light blinked on the red device.
"And they also make great prizes!" said a small whiny voice. Sparx looked over to her right, and saw more 'overlanders' and a cat-like creature.
"Prepare for trouble!" said one of the newcomers, a female.
"And make it double!" stated the other, a male.
"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!"
"Jesse!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meeeeeowth! That's riiiight!" said the cat creature. Both the male, James, and female, Jesse, newcomers had on strange uniforms with a red "R" emblazoned on the front. Sparx looked at them, and started to giggle.
"He, he, HA, HA, HA!!!" laughed Sparx. "What kind of, he he, motto, heh, is that?" Sparx helped Cerebral to his feet, all the time snickering and giggling.
"Meowth! Wise guys, eh? Let's teach 'em a lesson!" the cat creature, apparently called Meowth, sneered. Jesse and James both threw out a ball identical to the one that was thrown at Cerebral.
"Time for action, Koffing!" James called.
"Let's go, Ekans!" cried Jesse in her shrill voice. The balls made contact with the ground, and opened up, releasing some kind of energy that began to form into creatures. In less than a second, a pink and gold colored snake and a hovering purple ball had materialized. The two male overlanders that they had met earlier stepped forward and threw out Pokéballs of their own.
"Onix, GO!" commanded the older one.
"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" called the younger of the two. Now, there were a gigantic snake-rock creature, and a funny looking bird that confronted the Team Rocket Pokémon.
"Koffing, put up a smoke screen!" yelled James.
"Ekans, go underground!" commanded Jesse. The "Koffing" released a brownish-green smoke from it's porous skin, clouding vision in the area. The "Ekans" leapt into the air and burrowed underground.
"Pidgeotto, whirlwind attack, NOW! Blow the smoke away!" Cried the youngest overlander. The bird, Pidgeotto, flew up into the sky and began to flap it's wings at a rapid speed, creating huge gusts of wind. The smoke was soon cleared away. Sparx could feel a slight rumble underneath her. Then, from out of the ground, the Ekans sprung up and knocked Sparx onto it's back.
"AaaaAaAaAAAAaAh!" yelled Sparx, who was being taken for the ride of her life.
"Sparx, get down from there!" yelled Cerebral, who had finally regained his senses. Sparx looked at the snake she was riding and then looked at how fast the ground was coming up. She placed both of her hands firmly on the snake's back and jolted it with electricity. The Ekans fainted, and started dropping, even faster, to the ground. Sparx jumped off and glided safely to where Cerebral was waiting.
"Now it's my turn!" exclaimed Cer. He was going to use his telekinesis to take town the Koffing, but something was wrong. His powers weren't as strong. Then, he remembered that the jewel on his head was shattered.
"Stand back!" warned the older boy. "Onix, bind it!" The huge rock-snake wrapped it's long body around the Koffing and began to squeeze. Team Rocket realized that they were sorely loosing. Jesse and James held out their Pokéballs at arm's length, and commanded their Pokémon to return. A small beam of energy shot from the Pokéballs and upon contact with the Pokémon, it drew them back inside.
"We'll continue this later!" threatened Meowth. Everyone watched as the three members of Team Rocket with Meowth insulting and hitting the other two.
The smaller boy chuckled. "Well, I guess we'd better introduce ourselves, huh? My name is Ash, and these are my friends: Misty," the girl waved, "and Brock." The older boy just nodded.
From the long grass at Ash's feet, a small annoyed voice snapped, "PiKa!"
"Oh, yeah, and then there's Pikachu here!" The small mouse creature that had electrified Cer before sprung up on Ash's shoulder.
Cer glared at it. "That's the little bugger that zapped me! Oohhhhh....!" and he began to reach for its throat. Sparx quickly held Cerebral back.
"Noooo, don't! It's sooooo cute!!" cooed Sparx. Cer snarled, but he backed off and returned his hands to his sides. He then turned his back on the group, leaving Sparx to do introductions. "Well, I'm Sparx, and my annoyed friend over there is Cerebral." Cerebral, meanwhile, was looking out over the grass, and noticed that some of it was on fire. Then, a small dragon like creature popped its head out from under the grass, in front of the flames.
"Now, that looks like my kinda Pokémon!" he exclaimed while pointing in it's general direction.
"What? That Charmander over there? I already have one, so if you want, I can catch it for you!" Ash suggested. Cerebral gladly accepted. "Pikachu! You know what to do! Thunderbolt attack, now!" Pikachu jumped off Ash's shoulder and dashed at the Charmander. It dodged the Charmander's flaming tail and let loose with a tremendous electric attack. The Charmander fell to the ground, and Ash took a small ball off of his belt. He hit a button on it, and it enlarged to the normal size of a Pokéball. Ash called out "Pokéball, GO!" and tossed the ball at the dazed Charmander. The ball hit the Charmander right on the chest, opened up, and sucked it in with a burst of energy. Cerebral realized that Ash had just tried to do that to him earlier. The ball fell to the ground, and a small red light flashed on. The ball began to shake. "The Pokémon is trying to get free...." explained Ash. "Just wait..." After a second, the ball lay still and the red light dimmed out. Ash walked over to the Pokéball, picked it up, and handed it to Cerebral.
"To get your Pokémon out of the ball, simply toss the ball in the direction of your opponent and call
on it. It will come out, ready for action." He pulled out the red device that they had seen earlier. "This is my Pokédex, Dexter. It serves as my I.D. and also helps me identify and learn about Pokémon." Ash explained. Then he said to the Pokédex, "Dexter, list Charmander's attacks."
"Charmander, Fire Pokémon. Attacks Listing Now." The mechanical voice read off a list of all the possible attacks Charmander could learn, all the while it's blue light blinking as it does while it's talking. After instructions from Ash, it also told Cerebral about Charmander's evolutions. "Charmander evolves into Charmeleon at level 16. Charmeleon is stronger that Charmander, and his tail flame is brighter and hotter. Charmeleon evolves at level 32 into Charizard. After this evolution, Charizard receives wings, and the ability to fly."
"This Charmander is loyal to you now, Cerebral." Ash told him. "Once they're caught, they obey their trainers."
"Cool!" Cerebral exclaimed as he looked at his new Pokéball. "Thanks, Ash!"
"No probl--" Ash was cut off as Sparx emitted a shriek that made everyone turn to look at her.
"What's wrong Sparx?" asked Cerebral, concerned.
"A Pika! Pika-chuuu!" she said, pointing to a Pikachu in the grass. She started jumping up and down, arms flailing.
"I'll get it for ya, if you really want it--" Ash was cut off this time by Cerebral.
"No! Let me test out my trainer abilities! Besides that, I have a score to settle with Pikachus!" Ash's Pikachu looked embarrassed and hid in Ash's backpack. Ash nodded, and Cer tossed out his Pokéball. It spun in the air and hit the ground, releasing his Charmander. "GO, Charmander! Whip it's tail!!" he called to his new Pokémon. "Flamethrower attack now!" The Charmander nodded, and turned to the Pikachu, who has happily eating a fruit and failed to notice the Charmander appearing behind it. Charmander opened it's mouth and spewed flames in the Pikachu's direction. Pikachu felt them coming just in time to avoid being completely fried, but was now quite angry. It dashed at Charmander and shocked it, but not as powerfully as Ash's Pikachu could do. Cerebral told Charmander to use his ember attack. Charmander began to spin around, using it's tail flames to startle and damage the Pikachu. Ash grabbed another Pokéball from his belt.
"Pokéball, GO!" the Pokéball hit the Pikachu on the head, and it was sucked inside. Sparx ran up and grabbed it, despite the fact that it was still shaking. It calmed down in her hands, and she happily thanked Ash and a sullen Cerebral, who had hoped to knock the Pikachu unconscious first. Ash again took out his Pokédex, but this time had it list Pikachu's attacks and evolutions.
It finished with: "Pikachu evolves into an electric Pokémon called Raichu, who is stronger than Pikachu and carries more voltage, but is slower. Pikachu only evolves when it comes in contact with a Thunder Stone." The blinking blue light went out, indicating that it was done with the information.
"It's good that you got your Pikachu and Charmander so early after getting here. Although your powers are strong, you'll need to use your Pokémon to fight around here. Anyways..", Brock said, "Where are you from?"
"The Floating Island." replied Cerebral.
"Huh?" asked a confused Misty.
"Waitasec.... what planet is this, Misty?" questioned Sparx.
"Well, it's Earth....." replied Misty, getting even more confused. Comprehension dawned on Sparx.
"I get it, when Ace hit us with his magic bolt, we were transported to a parallel universe!! Just like what happened to me a while back!" exclaimed Sparx. they told Ash, Misty, and Brock about Mobius and their theory on the parallel universes.
"Pika, Pikachu!" cried Pikachu happily.
"Well, we have to find a way to get you back...." muttered Ash, "But, in the meantime, we had better get your two Pokémon to a Pokémon Center if you expect them to protect you properly."
Prompted by the confused looks on Sparx and Cerebral's faces, Brock offered, "Pokémon Centers are like hospitals for Pokémon. Your Pokémon are weak and need to be healed. Otherwise, they don't fight as well as they can, and might get seriously injured."
"And..." prompted Misty, "The nearest center is back the way we came! We'd better get a move on." The unusual group turned around and started to retrace Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu's steps.
"Uhhh, won't the people in the town be surprised to see us??" worried Sparx.
"Most likely not," mused Brock, "They'll just think you're some new type of Pokémon, like we did. Just don't talk to anyone, and act somewhat like we're your owners, and we should be fine." Everyone reached the town with Sparx and Cer trailing behind and Ash and Brock giving them mock orders. Upon entering Viridian city, they stopped for a moment. Without warning, a Pokéball smacked Sparx in the back of the head. Sparx turned around, furious, and glared at the person who had thrown the ball.
"You stupid idiot!!!!" she screeched at the top of her lungs. Realizing, too late, that she was supposed to keep her yap shut and act obedient, she quickly quieted down and turned to face Brock. The kid that had his Sparx looked from her to Cerebral. Terror dawned on his face, and he ran into Viridian Forest screaming. Ash turned to watch him as he ran away, then stooped to pick up the Pokéball he had left in panic. The journey through town to the Pokémon center was otherwise uneventful. Cerebral's Charmander and Sparx's Pikachu were soon at full strength, and the group hastily left town, in case anyone decided they wanted to attempt to 'steal' Sparx or Cer.
They entered Veridian Forest, and sat down in some hollowed logs. Ash, Brock, and Misty laid out some food for everyone to eat. Pikachu happily ran up to the food and snatched an apple to munch on.
"This food is delicious!" mused Sparx, munching on some of the offered nourishment. Cerebral nodded in agreement.
"Brock's a good cook, isn't he?" commented Misty. Brock simply nodded in agreement and thanks.
"Hey, I just thought of something, when, or if, we get back home, we know nothing about healing Pokémon. If they'd get hurt, we'd have no way to help them in at all!" noted Cerebral.
"That's true...." commented Brock, "But I can't think of any way to quickly train you for that...."
"I know!!" exclaimed Ash, while snapping his fingers, "Professor Oak can help us! Maybe he's invented a healing device or something... Of, course, we'd have to walk all the way back to Pallet Town..."
"You have a tree for a Professor?!?!" asked Cer.
"No, no, Oak is just his name, he's human, like me!" replied Ash with a laugh, "Although he can be quite absent-minded at times." They all agreed that going back would be the best course of action. The five set off back through Veridian Forest. On the way, Ash pointed out certain Pokémon to Cerebral and Sparx. He also attempted to catch a few, but failed each time. "That one is a Caterpie," he said, pointing. "One of the bug-type Pokémon that I already caught!" Sparx and Cer looked, not stopping. Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu continued looking ahead, and didn't notice when the two furries, distracted by the Caterpie, took the wrong path at a fork in the road. The Caterpie moved alongside Cerebral and Sparx, who never averted their gaze from it. Suddenly, Cer tripped over something lying in the road. Sparx bent down a nd picked up a familiar looking cat-like creature.
"Meowth, what are you doing here??" questioned a surprised Sparx.
"None of your business!" snapped Meowth, squirming. "Get 'em, you idiots!" he called. Suddenly, Sparx felt a sharp pain in the back of her head. She quickly dropped Meowth and fell to her knees. She heard Cerebral cry out in pain. Black spots blotted out her vision. She fought against the blackness. She mustn't black out. She staggered, dizzily, to her feet, but the blackness won and she fell forward right on top of Meowth.
"Ahhh! Get her offa me, you numbskulls!" whined Meowth.
"Just a minute, the other one is still awake..." grumbled James. He went over to where Cerebral lay, barely conscious, and kicked him in the head. Jesse lugged Sparx off of Meowth, and threw her into a cage hidden in the foliage. Cerebral went in, as well.
"Ugh... what do those things eat?? They must way a ton!" complained Jesse.
"You're telling me..." moaned Meowth, who still felt a little flat after having Sparx fall on him.Meanwhile, the rest of the group was still on the correct road to Pallet Town. Eventually, Brock noticed that Sparx and Cerebral were missing.
"Team Rocket must have them!" exclaimed Ash.
"What makes you so sure that they did it, Ash?" asked Misty.
"Well.." murmured Ash, "I found this note on the ground and it says 'We have your odd friends. Give us Pikachu or they'll never live to eat another chili dog ---- Team Rocket'. That was enough of a clue for me..."
"PiKaChU!" yelled Pikachu.
"What's wrong, Pikachu?" asked Brock.
"Pika, pi, CHA, pi, pikachu!" replied Pikachu, pointing behind Ash.
"What??? Team Rocket's behind us, with a cage hidden in the bushes??" translated Ash, then turned to look behind himself.
"Prepare for trouble!" came the female voice of Jesse.
"And make it double!" threatened James.
"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!"
"Jesse!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth said in his high pitched voice. Everyone could now hear a soft giggling in from the bushes.
"Shut up, back there! The Team Rocket motto is not something to be mocked!" yelled Meowth in the direction of the sound.
"He he, I can't help it! Your motto is so stupid!" laughed Sparx. Cerebral were sitting slightly behind Team Rocket, and off to the side, in a specially made cage. It was designed to absorb any energy coming from the inside, making Sparx's lightning useless. With a sly look on her face, Sparx nudged Cer and rolled her Pokéball out between the bars of the cage so it stopped moving behind James. Cer snickered, and did the same, so his ball was resting behind Jesse.
"Well, come on, hand over your electric mouse, or they get it!" taunted James. Ash looked at Team Rocket, them behind them, to the Pokéballs opening up and releasing their captured Pokémon.
"Uhhh, you guys had better look behind you!" warned Ash, while pointing at the now empty Pokéballs behind them.
"You actually expect us to fall for that?" asked James, baffled.
"Yeah, we're too smart, and cunning, and beautiful, and brilliant, and --- " started Jesse.
"CHAR!"
"PIKA!" The words froze in Jesse's mouth, and Team Rocket turned to look at the Pokémon who were standing behind them.
"What? How did THEY get there?" asked Meowth, confused.
"Charmander, flamethrower attack now!!!" commanded Cerebral.
"Pikachu, go Thundershock!!" ordered Sparx. The two Pokémon let their special attacks fly. The electricity and flame collided and exploded. Team Rocket was blown into the air and zoomed off into the distance, while crying feebly out "Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off once again!!!"
"And I thought we had monotonous villains." joked Cerebral. "but, guys, can you get us outta here??"
"No prob. ONIX, GO!" yelled Brock, as he threw out one of his Pokéballs. It contacted the ground, and Onix appeared in a flash of energy. Onix, on command from Brock, grabbed the cage in his massive jaws and simply snapped the top off. Brock called back Onix, then moved to help Sparx and Cerebral out of the cage. They, too, returned their Pokémon to their Pokéballs. Ash glanced around at his surroundings, and a smile crossed his face.
"Hey, guys!! We're almost to Pallet Town!!" he happily announced while dancing around. The group continued their trek, and quickened their pace. Sparx, with a thoughtful look on her face, took out her Chaos Emerald, and looked quizzically at Cerebral's headband.
"What's that for?" Cer asked, wondering what was going on in Sparx' head at the moment. Sparx reached up, too quickly for him to react, and yanked the headband off his head. "Hey!" he protested, but Sparx simply put up her hand and continued to work. She jammed her Chaos Emerald into the gold fitting that his old gem had been in. She took her sword and, channeling her energy through it, sliced the emerald off, leaving a smooth piece stuck in his headband. She handed it back to him, and Cerebral fitted it snugly back on his head. In one second, Ash, along with the others, were hovering above the ground, encompassed by a blue, crackling glow.
"It's back, and better than ever! Thanks, Sparx!" joyously cried Cerebral. He explained his telekinetic abilities to a bewildered Ash, Brock, Misty, and Pikachu (if he was even listening). Then, directed by Ash, he quickly flew everyone the rest of the distance to pallet town.
"Wow, that was really fast!" remarked Ash as they landed.
"Yeah, faster than before..." mused Sparx. "I also noticed that the color of your abilities changed now that you're siphoning your powers through my emerald." she noted.
"Hey, that's right. Cool. I always liked the color blue.." Cerebral mumbled. The group walked up the pathway to a large house, Prof. Oak's laboratory. They entered without a sound, and saw a man hunched over at a counter. Glowing sparks were flying out from something he held in his hand.
He was just putting the welding gun down when Ash cried out his name, to get his attention. Oak started, and burned his finger on it. He quickly stuffed his swelling finger into his mouth.
"Asd! rgjd rey ary eodfn awet??" he mumbled, speaking with his finger still in his mouth. He stuck his injured hand into his pocket and repeated, "Ash! What are you doing here?" Then he pointed his good finger at Cer and Sparx. "And what're those!?" Ash summed up the situation as quickly as possible, and Oak looked again at his strange visitors. They stared back. "Well, you've arrived just in time! I just finished creating two prototype healing Pokéballs. I was planning to present them to Ash, here, and Gary, my grandson, but given the circumstances..." Oak considered. He reached onto the counter where he had been working and presented two Pokéballs to Sparx and Cerebral. They looked exactly like normal Pokéballs, but had an "H" on them. The two happily accepted the gifts and transferred their Pokémon to them. They returned the original Pokéballs to Ash. "As for getting you back to your own dimension, well, I don't know how..." the Professor's face looked as if he were in deep thought. Then he brightened up. "Gary just recently caught a Kadabra," everyone turned to look at Ash as he let out an exasperated sigh and hung his head. Oak shook his head, then continued. "Maybe, since you're from a different dimension, his psychic rays will transport you back." Oak searched around for a bit, then took out a Pokéball from a large, almost full, bin marked 'GARY OAK'. Sparx noticed that the one marked 'ASH KATCHUM' had only three lonely Pokéballs in it. Oak pressed the button on the Pokéball, and the Kadabra formed before their eyes.
"Kadabrrrra!" it said, rolling the 'r'. It started to emit a psychic beam at Cerebral and Sparx. They felt dizzy for a second, then were suddenly snapped back to familiar territory. They looked at each other, a silent message passed between them. "We're Home!"
Upon returning to Sparx' hut, Cerebral and Sparx were approached by a frantic Ace.
"Sparx, Cer, you're ALIVE!!!" he cried, running towards them.
"Uh, yeah, why wouldn't we be?" asked Cerebral, faking innocence.
"Well, I..... erm....... I sorta hit you with a stray magical bolt and I figured you were Kentucky Fried Furries by now..." Ace replied, looking embarrassed to have admitted his fault.
"Which reminds me," began Sparx with an evil grin on her face, "I have something I want you to see." She held out her Pokéball at arm's length, in Ace's Face, and pushed the button on the side of it. Cerebral also clicked the button on his Pokéball, but kept it at his side.
"Pika, Pikachu!"
"Char-man-der!"
Ace looked blankly at the creatures that had appeared in front of him. "And...?" he asked, slightly annoyed to have his time seemingly wasted.
"Oh, and Charmander, Fire Spin attack now." Cerebral tried to sound casual while saying it.
"Yeah, Pikachu, go and do a thunderbolt." Sparx mentioned to her Pokémon. Pikachu and Charmander looked at each other, then at Ace, who was still staring at them, and they both grinned. Both Pokémon walked non-chalantly up to Ace, who was fascinated by them. At his feet, they looked up at him, and let loose with their destructive abilities. Ace, astonished, quickly teleported away, but not in time to escape getting slightly singed and electrocuted. Sparx picked up her Pikachu and gave it a big hug. Cerebral and Sparx told their Pokémon to return to their balls. All this was done in complete silence. Then, Sparx and Cerebral burst out laughing. They were only able to compose themselves after a few minutes, and they split up, Sparx entering her hut, and Cerebral heading towards his.
"How sweet it is.." Sparx commented as she lay down on her sofa.
"Revenge, gotta love it." snickered Cerebral, as he levitated and flew off towards his hut.
DISCLAIMER: Sonic the Hedgehog and all related characters are © SEGA. Pokémon, Pikachu, Ash, and all related characters are © Nintendo. NO copyright infringements are intended.