5 Chapter 5

*BOOM*

'How the hell did I end up in this mess?'

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth! That's right!"

Tommy was leasurely walking through route 4.. taking in the fresh air and the sights while Zubat and Rufflet played together in the air. Pikachu and Nidoran tried to mess with Alfie who was trying his best to ignore them. Pinsir was collecting berries in a bag for later use because she believed in natural medicine.

Out of nowhere, there was a massive explosion followed by a trio of shouts and a bunch of trees flying towards them. Tommy didn't need to give any commands as his pokemon knew what to do in such situations.

The trees were quickly dealt with only for Ash, Misty and... Brock of all things to coming crashing towards Tommy and his team.

That was when the three stooges appeared on their infamous air baloon and began with their idiotic poetry. Tommy really did not appreciate their appearance ruining his merry time.

"Pikachu, Nidoran... Use thunderbolt on them."

"Huh?! Wai..!"

"Pika-chuuuuuu!!!"

*BZZZZZT*

*BOOM*

"We're flying off agaaaaaain!!"

The team disappeared in the sky like a star. It was weird for Tommy.

Meanwhile, Ash was almost bursting from the bubbling battle spirit inside him. He immediately jumped in front of Tommy and said, "That was awesome! Let's have a pokemon battle!"

Tommy leaned away from the boy who was getting too close. He looked at Misty and Brock who awkwardly waved at him. Eventually, he sighed and pushed Ash's face away before saying, "Sure. Only a one on one battle, though."

"Of course! Let's go, Pikachu!!!"

"Pika-Pi!"

Tommy sighed and looked at his pokemons, ultimately deciding to choose his own Pikachu.

"Let's make it a Pikachu vs Pikachu battle."

"Alright!!"

Brock then volunteered to refree the battle while Misty stood as a spectator, cheering for Ash and his Pikachu. After he explained the rules, he announced, "Start!"

Ash immediately ordered, "Pikachu! Use tackle!"

Tommy raised a brow, questioning his choice of attack and simply said, "Dodge it, then use 'Iron tail'."

Tommy's Pikachu easily evaded the tackle and smashed his iron tail into his opponent's face.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed in concern as his pokemon was thrown away like a toy.

"Use quick attack."

Tommy's pikachu was simply too fast for Ash's partner who was still quite inexperienced. The 'Quick attack' struck like a bat and Ash's pikachu was thrown into a tree, fainting soon after.

"Pikachu!" Ash yelled and ran towards his partner in worry. It was perhaps the fastest beatdown he'd ever gotten from someone.

"Pinsir, toss them an oran berry to heal pikachu."

Pinsir, the mild mannered lady, gently passed three oran berries to Brock who thanked the pokemon. Misty, meanwhile, was trying to climb a nearby tree to escape from Pinsir. The pokemon got sad when she saw Misty scurry away like that.

Tommy sighed and said, "Come on, Pinsir. It's not your fault. She's probably scared of bug type pokemons."

The pokemon was placated and smiled, before placing a berry on the ground for Misty as a peace offering. Pokemons were surprisingly human sometimes.

Zubat flew around Pinsir as the two ladies chatted while Alfie, Rufflet and Nidoran were busy praising Pikachu. Tommy smiled at his pokemon before he started taking to Brock.

"So, you joined Ash, huh?"

"Yeah, I've always wanted to be a pokemon breeder, but, I couldn't because I had to take of the gym. Ash's determination inspired me and my father returned as well to handle the gym. So, I packed my stuff and joined him on the journey!"

I nodded and said, "Good, he needs someone to look after him, or else, the midget will get himself eaten by an Arbok."

"Hey! Not cool! I'm not a midget!" Said the midget while his pikachu enjoyed eating the oran berries.

Tommy blinked and said, "Look around. You're the shortest human around here."

"Still! H-hey.."

Ash pouted and brooded for a few moments before he got distracted by the food Brock was making. Pinsir was helping him which was amusing for Tommy.

They had a hearty lunch and Tommy learnt about different kinds of pokemon food to be better at taking care of my pokemon. It was quite educational. Tommy already knew quite a bit from working with Oak, but, Brock had some valuable insights in terms of pokemon care.

They parted our ways after that. As Ash and his party walked away and were no longer in Tommy's sight, he turned to his pokemon and said, "So, who's up for some training?"