Chapter 17/Final: Forever Crowning Achievements

(Ash's POV)

Well, here we were again. Back in RainBellian. Kari, Todd, Misty, Duplica, Princess Sarah, Calista, T.K. and I got through the portal, from New York, and made it to RainBellian's North Pole, where Prince Ravors and Princess Crystal were resting in peace, buried beneath the earth. But, this wasn't about the late princess. Instead, it was about the soon-to-be princess: Kari. We traveled up the staircase, to the castle. It was the same castle, we fought Godal, the cosmic dragon. Now, there was no threat on the horizon. Just a choice for Kari, whether or not, she was ready to accept the role as the new pillar. "So, this is the castle of the pillar?" Sarah questioned. This was the first time she and Calista have been here, so they were feeling pretty uneasy. It was understandable.

"Nothing like home, at the Mirage Kingdom, don't you think?" Misty joked. Of course, Duplica, Calista, and Todd hadn't been to there, either. I could brag, if I wanted to, about being in almost every place possible, but then, people would think of me as a global traveler, not a Pokémon trainer. Anyway, Sarah acknowledged the differences, and nodded. Soon enough, we had reached the castle doors. T.K. and I stepped forward, and opened the doors. We entered, with Todd holding his camera, ready to shoot the first thing he'd like to remember. We arrived, soon enough, at the throne room. There, the tiara was resting on the royal seat. It was the illuminating tiara. The Forever Crown.

"There it is," T.K. motioned. The crown, worn by Crystal, awaiting the new chosen. Kari stepped forward. Wait...I thought she wanted to go with me, to the Pokémon World...to Sinnoh. Suddenly, flashes of light shone through the room. Too bright! Okay, the shine was dimming. Let me see...Oh, boy...The guardians of RainBellian appeared. This should be interesting.

"Welcome back, Kari, maiden of the light," Ergaia greeted. "It's a wonderful feeling to see you, in good shape." Kari nodded to the acknowledgment. Ergaia, Holion, Aquos, and Windalyr...the four guardians, that watched over this world, even after their passings. So, why have they shown up, here in the North Pole? Swinging a nod over to T.K. and Misty, we stepped forward, letting the guardians know that we were here, with Kari. Sarah and Calista, obviously, were a bit hindered in the nerves.

"What in the world are they?" Calista asked, while shivering uncontrollably. Luckily, Todd and Duplica were prepared to assist us. Then again, so were Gatomon and Patamon. They were here, a heck of a lot longer.

"They're the guardians of this world," Gatomon answered. "The redhead spirit is Aquos of the Sea. The blond is Windalyr of the Sky. The brunette is Holion of the Heavens, and the raven-haired is Ergaia of the Earth." Thanks, Gatomon, I couldn't have said it better myself.

"They were great guardians, before a wizard turned them into mythical dragons," Patamon added. "They protected RainBellian, until they died, and their fragments were scattered. Those four became the possessors of those fragments. Right now, there's no fragment, but a crown to be decided." Yeah, and to see if she was left no choice, but to wear the crown. Holion seemed to notice an uneasy feeling on Kari, but what? She proceeded to ask.

"Kari, by Princess Crystal's late message, you were chosen to become the next pillar of RainBellian," she stated the obvious. "However, you can choose to wait, and keep the crown preserved." Oh, so she can go with me. This was great news. "However..." Oops. Spoke too soon. "By preserving the Forever Crown, the time, RainBellian's stability without a crown, will be dashed by half." Maybe not. By requesting that she would become the RainBellian pillar, in a later time, the world would last a mere 11 ½ years. So, Kari could take her time, although, not as much as before, and join others for various journeys.

"I think, the next time I come here, it'll be permanent," she announced. "I want to make a journey through the Pokémon world, before I decide to be the next ruler of RainBellian." So, that was it. Her decision, may have shortened the lifespan of a pillar-less world, but her promise to be the pillar was sealed in memory. But, something jumped into my head. What if...I might, as well, ask.

"Ergaia?" I called out. "I'm well aware about what could happen, if the pillar of RainBellian is not there, when the no-pillar time expires. I was wondering, what happens to our worlds, in case of that. Do they suffer the same fate, as here?" The guardians seemed concerned. Even though, Kari's been given an enormous window, over 11 years, the thought of the adjoining worlds never crossed their minds...or maybe they had, but didn't like the turnout. It...it couldn't be...

"The adjoining worlds will not be in any danger," Aquos convinced. "However, anyone, who has stepped in this world, will perish, and all records of their existence will be erased." Gulp! I could die, and none of my winnings will be remembered? That's not a pleasant thing to think about. Misty turned to me, wearing a sinister smirk.

"Looks like you're responsible for Kari's safety, Ash," she sneered. I get it, I get it. You don't need to rub it in. Some women...what can you do with them? So, with the notice that the Forever Crown would be kept safe, we departed from the castle. Our next destination: Reda, and to the southern section, where the private yacht was located, south of Violet Village. Here was the big issue: there were eight of us, humans, two Digimon, and, from the best of my knowledge, Misty had a Garydos, but how many people could it transport, at one time?

"So, all we need to do, is crossover this ocean, and get to Reda," T.K. pointed to another obvious tip. Can we get across, without a problem? "Pegasusmon and Nefertimon would be able to fly us across, but they can only carry two, at a time. Plus, I bet Misty has her Garydos, right?" Misty nodded. So, she did bring that sea serpent Pokémon, along. "At most, that's six." Suddenly, my mind drifted to Duplica, and her...of course, her Dittos. Her original Ditto could take on any shape, it wanted, and her giant transformer, Dit-ton, would turn into a giant of a small to medium sized Pokémon. I had to address him, now.

"You forgot a couple others," I voiced. T.K., and the rest, peered my way, while I had a huge grin on my grill. "Duplica's Dittos." Now, everyone eyed Duplica. Maybe, putting her in the spotlight wasn't such a bright idea. However, Duplica seemed to have gotten the message. She had the last available rides, and all she had to do, was give the command, "Transform!" "That should take care of the rest." Agreements, all around, we got set. It was a while, since I saw Gatomon as Nefertimon. Kari was ready. She pulled out her D-terminal and pink-handled D3.

"I bet Gatomon needs to stretch out," she issued. Looked like Kari was ready, and so was Gatomon, because she was glowing. "Digi-Armor Energize!"

"Gatomon, Armor Digivolve to...Nefertimon, the angel of light!" was the roar. Gatomon morphed into that same illuminating white sphinx-like creature, with the angel wings on her back. That same head dress, that human-like face and those cat-like paws. "Man, it feels great to be back in this form. Though, I'd feel better, if I could digivolve to Angewomon." Kari chose Nefertimon, so deal with it. Now, it was T.K. and Patamon's turn.

"Digi-Armor Energize!" T.K. summoned. Patamon was shining brightly.

"Patamon, Armor Digivolve to...Pegasusmon, flying hope!" was the call. Finally, Patamon formed into Pegasusmon. So the digitized rides were ready. How about...

"Garydos, I choose you!" Misty called as she threw her Pokéball. When that Pokéball opened, it released the giant blue sea snake, with the wide mouth. Seeing the three arriving creatures, Sarah and Calista were in awe. I believed, they were more awed at the Digimon, than the Garydos, and I couldn't argue. In the meantime, Duplica released her Ditto and Dit-ton.

"Alright, Dit-ton, Transform!" she ordered. Dit-ton did just that. It transformed into Garydos. There was one significant problem: Both Garydos looked exactly alike. No size difference. Did Dit-ton learn to control its sizes with the Pokémon? Didn't really matter to Duplica. She was ready to have her main Ditto transform. "You too, Ditto. Transform!" Well, Ditto did so, but...it transformed into Nefertimon. It still liked to transform into the Digimon, despite Duplica's request to knock it off.

"Hey, I like being a Digimon, once in a while," it protested. "Give me a break!" Maybe, bringing Duplica and her Dittos here and New York wasn't such a good idea. Misty, Sarah, Calista, and Kari were flabbergasted. It was their first time, that they were able to see Ditto change into a Digimon.

"Okay, now I've seen everything," Calista murmured. While there's no such thing as "seeing everything," I did understand where she was coming from. Give them a minute to get themselves collected. Soon enough, we all departed from the North Pole. For, at least, two of us, it won't be the last time. Kari and I, behind her, rode on Nefertimon, T.K. and Misty rode on Pegasusmon, Todd and Duplica rid Garydos, and Sarah and Calista hopped on Ditto. Dit-ton had my Pikachu, Baltoy, and Sarah's Togepi, on it. We rode across the water, anxious to get to Reda. Along the way, Misty was curious about something, when she looked toward Calista. I was aware that she hadn't met Calista. Heck, neither did Max, May and Brock.

"Say, Ash," she called out. "How did you and Calista meet?" Typical. One girl, wanting to know another girl. Oh, well, it wasn't like we had a date. Then we would see something like a Kiri-shipping in the Fanfiction website.

"Didn't you two meet in the Kiri Kiri Mountains?" T.K. pointed out. Great. He just revealed part of the story. Might as well spill it.

"It was after the first journey through RainBellian," I started. "May, Max, Brock and I reached those Kiri Kiri Mountains, where we got caught up in that fog, and separated. That's when I heard someone singing about 'Baltoy's Path.' Little did I realize, that it was Calista, about 20 years in the future, would you say?"

"No, more like 30 years," Calista corrected me. Not caring about the two Calistas story, Kari was more interested in that song, and she was going to tell me.

"How does 'Baltoy's Path' go?" she wondered. Well, I don't have a decent knack for singing. I still wanted to give singing a shot.

"I think I still remember the lines," I believed. Here I went. "Listen, listen to what I say," I sang. "Pass, pass on through, as you travel Baltoy's path. Go on ahead, will you ever make it back. Though, you may be afraid to pass on through. Pass, pass you must, Baltoy's path waits for you. Pass, pass on through on Baltoy's path." Hey, that wasn't half bad. Guess I could sing pretty well. How did the others think of the performance?

"Bravo, bravo!" Ditto applauded. I' ll take that as good.

"Well, I know who to count on, the next time I have a singing block," T.K. entrusted on me. Okay, that was another positive review.

"Ash, your a man of many talents, I'll give you that," Duplica acknowledged. "You've got me beaten with vocals." Wouldn't you feel ashamed, if you, boys, were able to sing better than your girls?

"I can't believe he actually remembered the whole song," Calista awed. "When I was with Ash and my older self, that last word was interrupted by something or another. So, for him to recite the song, perfectly, is amazing." That was amazing. Nah, it only made sense, with the song title. Well, we saw land. It was Reda.

"We're here!" Misty cheered. There was a small line of trees, not even a football field long, from where we made our approach. Hey, at least Todd, Duplica and the Pokémon won't have a hard time, getting through. That wasn't the only surprise. There were five horses, and a woman with wavy blood red hair in a gown. D.S., Blaze Hoof, and three others: one brown, one yellow, and one white. T.K. and Kari saw the brown and white horses, happy to see them, once again.

"Snowfight!" T.K. called out. The white horse neighed wildly, hearing the blond, call out.

"Dirtpit!" Kari yelled. The brown horse neighed, too, at Kari's call out. Sarah and Calista were rather suspicious of the new redhead. Misty, as well. I thought, that they believed that she was Jessie of Team Rocket. Well, I mean, I haven't heard anything from that troupe for quite a long time. However, I believed that redhead, was someone else, not Jessie. As we touched Reda land, three of the horses, Dirtpit, Blaze Hoof and Snowfight galloped to Misty, T.K., and Kari, while I walked up to the other redhead.

"Is there something going on, Jerri?" I questioned. That's right. I believed that this was Jerri, who was from Pinkville, also on Reda. She nodded.

"I was on my way to Violet Village, when I heard from Yvonne, that an armored machine was roaming around the continent," she proclaimed. That's not good news. If it was, what the girls suspected, then we would have a problem. At least, to my knowledge, they stopped on suspecting Jerri for any wrongdoing. "The machine had a big cannon, that pivots over the machine, and the divots, it leaves behind, were rectangular-shaped, marking left-to-right. Plus, there was a giant red 'R' on the front, as far as I've studied." I was gritting, now. Team Rocket was here, and they're causing trouble to RainBellian. Todd and Duplica arrived, along with the Pokémon. We needed to find Team Rocket, and tell them about the death of Giovanni, their president of the organization, and my father.

"Well, it looks like-" T.K. tried to speak, but my anger snapped, like I knew what he was going to say.

"I know, I know," I growled. "We need to get going." Without a second thought, the original four of us got on our horses. In addition, Calista hopped on D.S., with me, Todd jumped on Misty's horse, Sarah boarded with T.K., and Duplica got on with Kari, as well as the creatures, too. The five horses raced, like it was the Preakness. Don't ask, I may have spent too much time in New York. Anyway, at Violet Village, people were panicking, as a green tank started to roll toward the village. And low and behold, there was that red "R" on the front. The villagers were running in their state of fear, wanting to run from the tank. In a sudden act of bravery, Yvonne stepped out, confronting the tank. Give that girl, commendations for facing this troubling image, heading her way.

"What is it, that you want?!" she shouted. Her response: the turret turned to where she was standing. No...they wouldn't.

"We just want to know, where the twerps are," gloated Jessie, in the tank. "Just tell us, and we'll leave your town alone." They wanted to know, where I was. Terrific. Looked like I needed to keep Pikachu safe.

"I haven't heard from them, since they went in different directions. Look, I don't want trouble." That was a cue, and believe me, when the word, "trouble," is spoken, Jessie and James, and Meowth, go into their motto.

"Well, since you brought it up, yourself, you don't have a choice, but to prepare for trouble."

"Your point in resisting has made it double," James added, and no, it wasn't Peter's younger brother.

"An evil, as old, as the galaxy..."

"...Sent here to fulfill our destiny!" Now, if I remembered correctly, Meowth should pop in soon.

"Meowth, that includes me," he cheered. Now, on with the motto, as we all made it to the scene.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love..," applied Jessie.

"To extend our reaches to the stars above," added James. That's when they made their appearances from the tank.

"Jessie!"

"And James!"

"And Meowth are the names," the cat introduced.

"Whenever there's peace in the universe," Jessie continued.

"Team Rocket..." James said.

"...Will be there," Meowth spoke.

Finally, in unison, they shouted, "To make matters worse!" Then, a blue punching bag-like creature emerged, shouting "Wobuffet," and a mini cute clown creature, playfully going, "Mime mime." That was Team Rocket. Yvonne didn't care about them. She cared about the people. She would be needing help.

"I don't care, if you're a defensive troupe," she hollered. "Get that...that monstrosity out of here!" This was Team Rocket,Yvonne. They're not going to leave like that.

"All we want, is the twerp, with the Pikachu," James tried to clarify. Yep, they wanted me, and Pikachu. Still, Yvonne tried to remain defiant. She gritted her teeth, knowing that she could die by that cannon or the tank treads...wait, what am I thinking? Those guys wouldn't try to kill anybody. Still, the village was in danger, and it was all of us, to think of something.

"Well, they want me," I noted. Let me explain: when I, first, met Team Rocket, they were after rare Pokémon, at the center in Viridian City. When Pikachu helped me blast them off, they were interested in my little friend. They've followed me everywhere...scratch that, they didn't really follow me, into New York City. I think, they would've been killed, if Rally saw them, trying to take Pikachu. Wonder how she and Peter are doing?

"That's a no-brainer," Misty shuddered. "And, was it necessary for such a cheesy entry, with a military tank?" Well, they have made even cheesier entrances, but I won't bother with details. That's when I heard T.K. and Duplica snickering. It appeared that they had a sinister plan, and even the Dittos were fidgeting. How do you make bubblegum shaped copiers fidget? Somehow, I didn't like how it was coming down. Rebbecca, I might need some insight, with these two.

"What's with you two?" Kari questioned. That's when the snickering duo, gave menacing glares at us, including glowing eyes. Gulp! "Why are you looking at us, like that?" I thought the InfiniDevil was bad enough.

"Shall we prepare for the wedding, Duplica?" T.K. glaringly grinned. Wedding? We're only 15 and 14. What about a wedding?

"Oh, yeah," Duplica agreed. We might need new pants. I think they're scaring the waste out of us. Even Misty was scared straight, and it would take a lot to get her to shake from her nerves.

"I think, my fear of bugs, might not be as bad as before," she stuttered. I'm in peril. Meanwhile, Yvonne was starting to crack, under the pressure of Team Rocket's demands. How?

"Alright, they told me that they were in the South Pole, saying that there was a lead," she admitted. "You happy, now?" Team Rocket appeared to be satisfied.

"That's more like it," Jessie smiled. "I guess, we should get going." Meowth and James agreed. They were ready to go look for us, down in the South Pole. That option would not be executed. James turned to the open area, where he saw a huge...HUGE white cake. The cake, stacked five layers high, if layers were five feet high, each, was fitted with streamers, bows, confetti and ribbons. Now, don't bother asking me, or anyone else, about how we got this five-layered cake.

"Please turn to your left, for the sight of a lifetime," he addressed. Jessie and Meowth turned to the huge cake, jaw-dropping in awe, at the size. Hey, can you blame them? They walked off the tank, and approached the big dessert. As they got closer to the cake, they saw five girls, dressed like nuns, or church choir girls, you take a guess. Little did they know, was that Jessie and Jerri were very close to each other, as well, nobody was aware about the hooded captain of the yacht. That's right, Jerri, Sarah, Calista, Misty and Duplica were gowned in black robes and nun hats, humming like they were praying. To Team Rocket, entertainment was getting them, more and more hooked.

"I wonder how much, something like this costs." My guess would be around 50-75,000 dollars. That's when T.K., in a black robe and carrying a bible, stepped forward, and in front of the Rockets. Meowth and T.K. have known each other, so it was a surprise that Meowth didn't recognize the blond. Well, he peeked up to the top, where there was a young girl, wearing a lovely bridal gown, fitted with shimmering white gloves, white stilettos, and a white veil, covering her face, as she held a bouquet of flowers. The other one was in a full white tuxedo suit, with white loafers, white top hat, and a monocle. Guess who it was? It was me and Kari. Look, don't ask about how we got everything set up so fast, or how we all managed to work our plans, in a snap. T.K. opened up the bible. Duplica's operation was underway.

"Dearly beloved, we have gathered here, to unite two young people, in true harmony and wed full matrimony," he recited. "May these children, under the watchful eyes of the guardians, high and above, be protected as their love guides them to eternal happiness." You got to admit, the suspense was getting good, and I was enjoying it. Who knew? "Will you take the bride, as your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and health, until death, do you part?" Hello, this was Kari, my love. Yeah, I still had to follow the plan.

"I do," I answered.

"And will you take the groom, to be your lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and health, until death, do you part?" Team Rocket, other than Meowth, had no idea who Kari was. Well, soon enough, they will. Right now, it would start with her voice.

"I do," she answered. Now, came the time for a bust.

"These two have committed themselves, as husband and wife, and the gods above have accepted their pleas for happiness. Anyone who has probable cause, of why these two cannot be together, speak now or forever hold your peace." Well, no one proclaimed anything wrong. Then again, our faces were covered. "If there are any final words from the newlywed couple, speak now." You got to love what we did.

"Prepare for trouble, for falling into our trap," I started.

"There's more than double, compared to your little gap," Kari continued. Team Rocket was so caught off-guard, they froze...badly. We leaped from the top of the cake, and landed on the ground, smoothly.

"When evil threatens the galaxy..."

"We get the call of urgency." With that, the girls circled the trio, as T.K. resided with Misty.

"To denounce the goodness of truth, justice, and love."

"To extend our reach, to the heavens above." Yeah, we robbed Team Rocket's motto, re-worded it and added a few extra features. Meowth realized that they were in deep feces.

"We've been tricked," he cried. The girls and T.K. were first, as they tore off their robes, re-emerging in their normal attire.

"Misty," Misty started the merry-go-round of introductions. Next...

"Duplica," Duplica added.

"Calista," Calista called.

"Jerri," Jerri continued.

"Princess Sarah," Sarah proceeded.

"T.K.," T.K. finished. Team Rocket was severely rattled. Here they were, four of the six people, they've encountered, angered and now, ready for payback. Revenge was tasting sweeter than candy canes.

"They must have been lying in wait for us," James figured. "How else were we captured so easily?" Try being really gullible. Still, for them, the bigger surprise was on it's way. Us.

"Well, they did lure us in, hook, line and sinker, I'll give them that much credit," Jessie complimented. That's when Meowth's brain pondered something. T.K. and Misty were here, so he'd suspect something.

"If you two are here," he realized. "Then...that means..." They turned to us, as we wore huge grins. This was excitement to the max.

"About time you figured out the situation, Meowth," Kari sneered. That was when we tore off our formal dresses. Don't worry folks, we were still clothed with our normal attire.

"Ash," I announced as we continued our motto.

"And Kari." While they did the rest of the motto, still with who they had, guess what we did to our version? Everyone got a part in it.

"Whenever peace is shattered in the universe," Misty, Sarah and Jerri played on in unison.

"All of us will be here, there, and everywhere," T.K., Calista and Duplica continued together.

"To remove the curse," Kari and I finished, like the "couple" we were. Surrounded, Team Rocket was afraid to make a certain move. I'd say that this was pretty much textbook.

"Jessie, I believe that we're done for," James shivered. How were they getting out of this? That's when Jerri walked up to Jessie, catching the stunned Rocket and the young Pinkville resident. So, this was what it looked like, with both carbon copy counterparts together.

"What are you suppose to be, the good side of me, gone awry?" That could be a good way to describe the differences. Jerri smirked, like Jessie's rant was nothing.

"Are you saying that I should consult a life of crime?" Jerri mocked. "It's gonna take more than mere reconstruction of my consciousness to revert me." That's for sure. Jessie wanted no more of this. She wanted to get back into the tank.

"James, Meowth, back to the tank!" They had planned to retreat to the tank. T.K. had a little surprise, in store.

"I'm afraid, you don't have that option," he gloated. I never said anything about Pegasusmon and Nefertimon, reverting back to Patamon and Gatomon. Here they came, on the tank.

"Star Shower," Pegasusmon yelled. It fired several stars from it's wings. The stars began to wallop the tank, heavily. Nefertimon was next.

"Rosetta Stone!" it summoned. A pink ray of light shot out of Nefertimon's back, before a large slab of stone was shot out. Dead aim. The stone slammed into the tank. The tank blew up, sending scraps of metal, flying in all directions. So much for military weaponry. In dismay, as big as Texas, Team Rocket was cornered, with no way out. However, leave it to a stubborn Jessie to show little quit.

"You'll pay for that," she growled. "Seviper, Haze!" She threw her Pokéball, and released a violet zig-zag snake-like creature. The snake had a crooked blade as a tail, and it's fangs were blood red, like a vampire, immediately after feasting on its victims. Let's not forget that gold plate over its red eyes. Well, that snake blew out a smoggy screen of smoke. Calista was quick to counter.

"Baltoy, Rapid Spin!" she ordered. Like back on the time machine, Baltoy performed the super fast spin, rotating so fast, people would vomit ten times over. That Rapid Spin was very useful. The hazing smoke was sucked up, and cleared out. Where Baltoy came out from...my lips remained sealed. Jessie was wondering why James hadn't joined in the fight, yet. They did act like a team...demented, perhaps, but a team, nonetheless.

"James, I, sure, could use some help." James looked like the will to battle was lost, when their tank was demolished.

"We're in a different world, surrounded by stronger trainers, and our tank's no more than scrap metal," he listed. Well, T.K. and Kari weren't trainers, per say. "I give up." Jessie and Meowth wanted to slap some sense into their cowardly, but honest teammate.

"Get a hold of yourself, Jimbo," Meowth roared. James had already surrendered, and was ready to be sent packing. Before we provided the ride, I stepped up. I had news for Team Rocket.

"Before you guys blast off, again," I started. "I have some news about your boss, Giovanni. You see, he was my father, and recently...he was killed." James was horrified. Meowth was dumbfounded. Jessie, on the other hand, tried to stay defiant. Girl, get a clue.

"What happened to our employer," Meowth wondered. It was my right to inform them.

"He was skewered in the heart, by an evil person, as a way to deny an offer, your boss invested." James had the best way to act, about my dad's passing. He collapsed to his knees, distraught by the news. He figured that he was, now, unemployed, with the death of Dad, or Giovanni. Jessie had to be the stupidest person in the area. She actually wanted to ignore me.

"I'll tell you, who's gone and who's here," she arrogantly replied. "Seviper, Poison Tail!" Seviper was ordered...but it just stood there...No, wait, it turned to Jessie, and shook it's head, no. "Don't fight my orders, Poison Tail, now!" That snake shook again. It didn't want to fight. Hearing enough from the callous Rocket, Kari decided to take action, but...

"Ash, is it all right, if I expel her?" she asked me. I smiled. I knew what was coming.

"Absolutely," I responded.

"Pikachu, let her have it. Volt Tackle!" Hey, she just acted like me. Pikachu spring boarded from the top of the cake, and dove straight at the obnoxious redhead and Pokémon, in a streaking comet of lightning. On contact...KABLAM! An explosion rocked the land, but Jessie and Meowth were airborne. Have a nice flight.

"This looks like we're out of a job," Jessie complained. Well, with the death of the president, yeah, you'd be unemployed.

"We may also be out of this trilogy, but I still need to talk to the author, and see if I can work a deal," Meowth noted. A deal with the author? I bet he's working on story lines for the final leg of this series.

"What's the title of his last story, 'Tales of Fallen Rockets,' like us?" No, not even close. That's when, in unison, they streaked toward the sun, yelling, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off once more!" Finally, their true exit, which was fading off as a speck of the horizon. Well, that had taken care of Team Rock-what the heck? James was still here. Why didn't he go with them?

"Uh, dude, weren't they with you?" T.K. wondered. James stood up...and peered at the setting sun. It seemed, to me that his mindset had been reseted.

"I don't care about Jessie or Meowth anymore," he teared out. "Giovanni's gone, Team Rocket's gonna buckle at the loss, and where does that leave me?" Alone? Abandoned? Tell us. "Free." Dude, how many times have you received blows to your head?You say that all that bad stuff, and make it sound like all the access weight was lifted from your shoulders. I missed something. I need to know. "I don't need to rely on others to help me. I need to stand on my two feet, and go, where I deserve to go." Then, he undressed his Rocket shirt, his gloves, and chucked them to the ground, littering Reda...and jerked his head to Pikachu. "Pikachu, I want you to use Thunderbolt on this, and incinerate it." He wanted my Pikachu to torch his uniform? What kind of statement was he making? Pikachu leaped up, and performed the Thunderbolt. It didn't take long, but the uniform was on fire. "To the grave, with Team Rocket, I won't join. To this second, my life of a Rocket has died, joining Giovanni. Pikachu, like I am, you are a free Pokémon." So, that was his statement. Because Team Rocket was after Pikachu for a long while, this nightmare was over.

("Thank you, James,") my Pokémon accepted. That was when the yacht captain walked over to James...wait a second! I know that there was one person, who was outrageously obsessive about James, named Jezebel, who had a similar resemblance to Jessie and Jerri, but she was something out of a horror movie...well, the way she showed her affections for James, that was. But was it, who I thought it was?

"Then, will you join me, back in Rissen Village, James?" she proposed. Wait...Rissen Village? Max said that village was southwest of Fallarbor Town. There was no way, that our yacht captain was Jezebel. When she had taken her hood off, it revealed a young woman with long, tangled dark blond hair, and jasmine green eyes.

"Creepy Jezebel, she's not," Misty observed. Still, who was this Hoenn resident?

"Kate, what are you doing here?" James asked. "What about the villagers, and the Murkrow situation?" What was this? A Murkrow situation? And this Kate? Now, I know I miss something important.

"The villagers are fine, and the Murkrow haven't caused us any any problems, since you've scattered them. I left the village to look for you, and since I heard from Prof. Birch, that you were after Ash and Pikachu, I, recently, rented a yacht and had Ash join me on his way to the Sinnoh region." So, I was some sort of decoy for Kate? Fantastic. "I never expected to end up in this world, see actual thoroughbred horses...and...and Digimon. I wanted to see you, and you alone...because..." I knew where Kate was taking this confession, and Misty and T.K. were holding hands. Kari grasped my hand, too. We saw it coming, and, as a matter of fact, I was going to like this turnout, a lot better than with Jezebel. "...Because I love you." Bingo! James smiled. It was like a call from the heavens, and this girl would be a better person, overall, for James. In a mild, but passionate reply, he hugged the girl.

"I want nothing more, than to be by your side, Kate." Come on, everyone, 3...2...1...Aw! James and Kate, together. Okay, enough stalling. What about Sinnoh?

"Okay, you two," I voiced. "Let's save the real romance for when we get going, all right?" James and Kate turned to me, and nodded. Finally, I could get going, as well as everyone. Suddenly, I heard a shrill...Pikachu's shriek! I turned to the shriek, and saw Pikachu in a net, yanked up by a redhead girl in a black Team Rocket uniform. No!

"Well, James, since you've given up on being a Rocket, I guess, I can take over," she sneered. "And this Pikachu will start a new climb in the organization." How dare she take Pikachu from me. Now, we were all mad at this new girl. That's when something clicked in Misty's mind, about the new girl.

"You wouldn't be, by any chance, Joshua's ex-girlfriend, Jen, would you?" she guessed. Well, this is new. Joshua had an ex, before Trina?

"That loser. What a joke." She laughed maniacally, at the sound of Joshua...he was a great person! How dare she call him a loser. More importantly...

"Give me back Pikachu, right now!" I ordered. Yeah, I was angry at Jen. She callously snickered at the retort.

"Make me!" With that, she stuck her tongue out and pulled her eyelid down, with her free hand. Did I deserve that mock? No. Pikachu tried to launch a Thunderbolt. The net lit up with electricity, but the netting appeared to have absorbed it.

("I need help here!") Typical. Another ploy that involved one of my Pokémon, and Team Rocket trying to get away. Jen grinned her face at my trapped friend.

"Soon enough, Pikachu, you'll be in Giovanni's hands." She didn't know that Giovanni was dead. We were going to let her know.

"Newsflash, Jen, he's passed away," Kate mentioned. Jen shot a surprised look to us. You could say, it was a slap to her face. Mildly denying the news, Jen looked like she knew where to take Pikachu, next.

"Oh, well. Dr. Namba's the next in line. I bet he'd pay me millions for this rare Pokémon." She can't get away with Pikachu. I was in so much anger, I wanted to hurt her, with my bare hands. However, as she laughed again, something was coming to relieve me, and it wasn't coming from the sky. Suddenly, the lands began to shake. Kari and I felt it, and got down to a knee, trying to steady ourselves from this earthquake.

"What's going on?!" Calista shouted. I had a feeling, and if I was right, then, not only would Jen be in trouble, but Misty might be scared out of her wits...again. The quaking did do something to Jen: she fell off the cake and lost her grip on the net, fumbling Pikachu. I wanted to go and save him, but the quake left me without a thing to do, but scream...

"Pikachu!" I yelled out. No! I didn't want to see Pikachu become a pancake. That's when Nefertimon swooped down, and caught the net. Yes! Pikachu's safe. Thanks, Nefertimon. Jen, however, had tumbling trouble. She fell down and off the giant cake, head first, smacking into each layer. Yeah, so what if the cake wasn't real. Talk about a win-win situation for us. That's when three giant worms emerged from beneath the earth. Once risen, they peered at all of us. Misty was freaking out, at the sight of the giant worms. Who could blame her, these things were a lot taller than the "cake." That's when one saw me, and smiled.

"Ash, it's good to see you," the head worm greeted in a deep manly voice. Oh, yeah, I knew those worms. I helped them when they were being controlled.

"Ingo, thanks. We needed that." Ingo, the head worm from Yelkow. The worms were, not only huge, but immune to decapitation. You cut the head, and another will grow. Misty, and T.K., and yes, everyone else was dumbfounded by this. "What are you doing in Reda? Got bored of the soil, over in Yelkow?" Another worm chuckled at that, and it laughed with a Russian accent. That worm was Irma. The other worm had an Austrailian accent. That was Dingo.

"Amusing, but we thought you were in trouble," she proclaimed. Okay, yeah, we did need some help. Thank goodness that they came by. Nefertimon landed by Kari. That, she untangled the net, freeing Pikachu, who hugged her, for that. Well, it was her Digimon, so I can't pose a statement. Jen started to get up, despite any injuries that she may have suffered from. I've heard of tough girls, but I had to give kudos to her endurance...but not for long. Duplica, Sarah, Misty, Calista, Jerri, and Yvonne got to Jen. They were mad at this uncaring individual. She broke up with Joshua for a reason that, if I heard about, might be stupid, joined an organization, not worrying about a collapse, and trying to take Pikachu without a plan. She was going to understand...excessive pain.

"My father said that I have a decent cross," Sarah gloated. Jen's cocky attitude must have been drained. She was rather scared.

"Please, understand," Jen began to plea. "I was only following orders. I meant no harm." Yeah, right. You claim that Giovanni told gave you orders, and that you were ahead of plans to go to the next in line, in case of anything happening to Giovanni.

"Yeah, we understand," Calista acknowledged before...the beat down. Kari and I watched as the other girls gave Jen, quite a beating. I would tell them to let up, but she did try to take Pikachu from me. After a minute of pounding, Yvonne and Jerri lifted Jen, bloodied and torn.

"I guess, I can deliver her to Red Town," Jerri offered. "Marian's mother is the continent's federal judge, and we'll testify to her crimes." Right, Marian was May's counterpart, here in RainBellian. I agreed to the idea...with some assistance.

"Hey Dingo," I called up to the worm. "You think you can give Jerri and Jen a ride?"

"You bet, gov," Dingo cheered. It lowered its head, allowing the tied-up Jen and Jerri to board. With that, those three were gone. Let's hope that's the last I see of that bone-headed girl, and I could say double for Joshua, who now has my dad's Persian, and other Pokémon, he had.

"So, this is the warrior-troupe that helped save RainBellian," Irma guessed. On instinct, Sarah, Calista, Duplica, and Yvonne backed off, allowing the worms to see the four. Kari, T.K., and I were calm as steady streams. Misty was very shaky at the sight of the worms. So shaky, she clung on to T.K. There was a fourth huge worm, named Jingo, but he was devoured by Vendetta Masqurn's giant bird.

"How've you guys been dealing with the loss of Jingo?" I questioned. While the other two were puzzled, Ingo knew what I was talking about.

"It's difficult," Ingo answered. I would imagine. "I do admit, even though we've been mighty earthworms of RainBellian, it hasn't been the same without our party animal." So, Jingo was rather a free-spirited worm. No wonder why Ingo was serious, all the time. T.K. and Misty felt that their abandonment was costly. Misty, I can't really blame, but T.K. had little excuse, except for making sure that the rest of the gang, we had, made it to safety.

"I did wish that there was more, that we could've done, than runaway," he apologized.

"Ash told me that you were concerned for your friends, so accusations aren't the issue." Well, we're not looking for anyone to accuse. "By the way, I had received wind that there was some sort of vessel, nearby." The yacht...Kate stepped up, ready to explain that.

"I was taking Ash and friends to a new adventure," she mentioned. That adventure to Sinnoh. Everything in RainBellian and New York was returned to when I arrived there.

"Well then, Ash, and the rest," Irma addressed. "RainBellian wishes you the best of journeys. May the spirit of Princess Crystal, protect you." We appreciate that guys. With that, except for Yvonne, we decided that now, was the time to go, and left. We all got to the yacht, which looked like what it was, before we deserted it. We hopped on, and Kate undocked the boat from the land. So now, there was a bunch of us, heading to the Pokémon world. I had to admit. I never thought that my trip to Sinnoh was this exciting, and I haven't even set foot in it. However, I'll never forget Joshua, Peter, Kimberly, Travis, Trina, Diego, Pat, Rally, May, Rebbecca, and plenty of people, in New York. As the portal opened in the upcoming distance, there was another adventure. That would mean new people to meet, more places to visit, more recipes to taste...sorry, my stomach was talking for me. However, I would going to Sinnoh, with the one person, now holding my hand.

"Ash, do you think, I'll enjoy the Pokémon world?" my love asked. She was worried, though, the tone wasn't of anxiety. She just asked a question.

"Kari," I started. "My world can be one exciting adventure." Little would I realize, soon enough, how big, I would need Kari, in my new adventure...and how she would need me. We entered the portal, exiting RainBellian...and entering a journey, that would change the lives of everyone. For now, I'm happy to find the light in my heart.

THE END...BUT WAIT FOR THE FINAL PART OF THE TRILOGY "TEST OF FINAL DESTINY." THAT IS ALL THAT I WILL REVEAL.