Uno, ZapDos, Tres

"You alright?"

A concerned Ren asks Yoake. They wear boarding the S.S. Marry, a ship that is heading to Cinnabar Island, where the next gym badge is located. Yoake wasn't in the mood to talk after dealing with the stress of what he felt during his time in Leaf's hospital room. The constant stress and regrets that he faces every second made him fearful of what would be the alternative to the event that took place.

His eyes were soaring in tears and a tired loathing face. Claudine decided to step in and be Yoake's spokesperson for the moment as they waited for Yoake to break his silence and talk.

"Well, I'm guessing it's a no." Claudine guessed. as they finally boarded the ship and headed to their seat while continuing their talk.

"I still don't know who shot Leaf and worst of all, why do they want to shoot Leaf?" Claudine asked the trainer as she was curious about who did this.

"They were not aiming for Leaf, they were aiming for Yoake." Ren explained as she sighed knowing the terror that will be mirrored in the 'embrace Pokemon'.

"Wha-? Why? What for? Who?" Claudine demanded answers after hearing the shocking revelation. Ren knows how damaging the truth would be and even if she decided to drop some clues, it's way better to reveal the person and their motives.

"Team Rocket." Yoake stuttered. He has a quavering voice but the hatred towards Team Rocket flows through him and this dangerous essence in the trainer's bowl of thought would forever dampen the people who he cares about the most. Ren looked at Yoake in a state of shock as she began to hear him explain his thoughts about it.

"They know about Battle Bond, they wanted it. They're willing to kill Leaf just to make me join them. They're just monsters, far worse than any Pokemon would be." Yoake stated.

"And here I thought that not only revealing the truth of my father is enough, but they also have to take the only family I have." Yoake continued. Ren noticed that he was clenching his fist as if he was trying to restrain his power.

"If they ever lay any finger to Leaf, my sister, or my family. They're dead meat. Especially that batshit commander of theirs. I've never seen a more punchable face yet here we are." He ranted.

"Ren." She looked at her after being called out by his raspy voice. She took a big gulp after hearing Yoake's rant and Claudine was weirded out by this reaction.

"Yes?" She focused on her rival's words as she doesn't want to get too bizarre from Claudine's perspective.

"After all of this. Can you help me finally put an end to Team Rocket? Leaf told me that they've been disbanded twice in the past six years and I want to finally end it by killing their leader." Yoake offered his rival a plan that was built upon anger and revenge. Ren took a deep breath and analyzed how messed up Yoake's thoughts are. At the moment she has little time to find a good response to his offer so she decided to give an undecided answer.

"I'm not sure, let me think about it." Ren said in uncertainty as she tries to avoid his offer in a more peaceful manner. Yoake nodded as he realized how his offer was out of the blue and decided to chill out by taking a nap.

Ren looked at the horizon with her thoughts being bombarded by the events that just happened recently and last night but there was one moment that haunted her and gave herself a self-reflection.

Earlier that same day, Ren decided to visit the two in the hospital as she was called by Leaf to be Yoake's temporary guardian but unknown to her, Leaf wants her to know something, a piece of important and discrete information that only the two will only know.

When she visited the hospital, she was greeted by Yoake and he immediately escorted her to Leaf's room in this grand hospital.

"She's waiting for you," Yoake told Ren as he opened the door revealing a bedridden Leaf. She was watching a news broadcast on the TV about what happened yesterday. The majority of it was focused on last night's event while the other parts focused on the lives of Kantonese citizens.

As the two walk into the room, Leaf turns off the TV with the remote. She felt pain in her left chest as she tried to move and properly sit up straight on her bed. She looked at them with a regular stare but for a few seconds, she made a cold gaze at Ren.

"Yoake, leave us. Ren, lock the door." Leaf told the black trainer.

"Alright then." Yoake follows her orders as he walks away and leaves the room. Ren locked the door just like Leaf told her to do.

"What do you want?" Ren asked Leaf. She was confused about this sudden change in Leaf's tone and her wanting to talk to Ren privately is off for Leaf's taste. Ren knows that she allows Yoake to be in the room whenever the two talk but this was strange. It's as if Leaf knows something about Ren.

The AC of the room continues to buzz as it coldens out the heat in the room. It was like a stand-off between the two, patiently waiting for the perfect time to shoot the other without getting injured,

"I know who you really are." Leaf said in a cold deep tone. Ren made a Poker face after hearing that statement.

"Do you really think that mask could fool me? I know you're the commander of Team Rocket." Leaf finally dropped the words with her voice exaggerating the word mask. Days worth of investigation and connecting the dots and Leaf finally find out who the commander was and Ren chuckled. Instead of declining it, she decided to play along with the legendary trainer's game.

"And I know that Ren Mirai isn't your actual name." Leaf continued.

"You're the real Yugure Katsuragi, Yoake's long-lost twin sister. You have Battle bond and I know that you've been trying to hide it." Leaf finally dropped Ren's true identity and from that, heat and tension slowly breezed in between the two.

"I guess the disguise didn't work after all. Tell me, how do you know that I have battle bond?" Ren sarcastically chuckled as she asked Leaf.

"When Claudine and Gengar fought, Rotom also gathered your and Gengar's data and noticed the connection between the two of you, something similar to when Yoake and Claudine were about to connect yet it immediately stopped when you made Gengar Mega Evolved." Leaf explained.

"You know you're his long-lost sister and you know how to use battle bond. Why are you hiding this from us?" Leaf asked her.

"Why are you doing all of this?"

"I just want to have a family again. I know that if I revealed myself as the leader of Team Rocket, all of you would reject me." Ren sighed as she decided to turn around and avoid making eye contact with Leaf. She knows how Kanto is anti-Semitic to those who were associated with the old Team Rocket.

"That day, I still remember that day. When we were born, a lady mistakenly took me as her daughter but she finds out that I wasn't actually her daughter. Instead of just returning me back to the hospital, she decided to cast me away in some alleyway. I was left there to starve." Ren said as she remembers the pain she felt many years ago. Leaf realized that Ren knows what happened when the two were separated when they were born.

"I was very lucky that I was founded by some Team Rocket goons. They kept me in and showed me to their boss, Giovanni." Ren continued.

"I was adopted by him. He trained me and raised me like his own daughter. I looked up at him." Ren paused for a moment. Leaf was shocked to hear this from Leaf but before letting her anger argue against her, she lets her continue to reveal her backstory.

"Then, one night, I learned that Giovanni doesn't see me as a daughter but as a pawn. He wants to use me as his Battle Bond puppet." Ren turned around to reveal a shattered Ren to Leaf. The all-perfect Ren was just nothing but a mask to hide the dark truth. This is the true her, a broken and desperate little girl whose only family is her Pokemon, and her life being taken away by her because of her cursed ability.

"I just want a good life. A father to ask upon, a mother to be taken care of, a sibling to be guided upon. I just want that. And when I met you two at the city border, all of those rushed into me. And whenever I see you two bond, I always imagine the scenario of what if I wasn't taken away. If Battle Bond didn't exist." Ren cried.

Leaf now fully realized how broken Ren is and she felt bad for everything she has done against her, even if she is the commander of Team Rocket.

"Why didn't you tell us all about it a lot sooner? We could've helped you." Leaf asked the white trainer once more.

"I was but after learning that Yoake was shot by an imposter, I have to hide it." Ren's tone slowly lowered as she tried to calm herself after crying out the truth.

"An imposter? Wait, you weren't the one who shot him?" Leaf asked. She was shocked to hear it from Ren.

"Nope. We managed to find them and it turns out, it's a Ditto." Ren explained.

"Ditto? How can I tell if you're lying or not? Dittos are not that advanced to fully copy someone." Leaf argued as she knows how Dittos work since she has one on her own but unknown to her, the Ditto that Ren was referring to is far more advanced than any average Dittos can be seen in the wild.

"Leaf, I'm a deceiver, not a liar. The two may look similar but they're different in applications." Ren clarified her.

"We still don't know its origins but that thing won't stop until it makes Yoake hate everything about Team Rocket, I don't know why but all I know is that this was done by Giovanni." Ren continued.

Leaf flinched after hearing the devil's name. She was shocked to hear that tarnished name once more, as if the past wasn't ready to be concealed yet. Her spine frozen in fear and her body hair rising like the sudden cold of the room made her stiff as she tries to comprehend that the man they tried to kill and hide has returned and is currently operating in the shadows.

"Giovanni?" Leaf repeated the devil's name as PTSD and the horrors of what he committed gave her flashbacks on what happened 6 years ago.

Back to the current time, Ren continues to look at the sky and notices how it was slowly being covered by dark gray clouds as if the ship was about to head to a storm. She was confused by this since she was told that the weather of their route would be clear but this was odd. Claudine felt something was coming and she knew what it was.

Then, the rain poured in. The people quickly pull out the covers as they try to dry themselves to sudden rainfall. The two trainers were in one of the rear ends of the ship and Claudine immediately stood up and headed outside.

"Claudine?" Yoake called his Pokemon as she headed outside as if she was being drawn by something.

The Embrace Pokemon didn't listen to her trainer as she continued to go outside and saw the heavy storm and powerful waves that were striking the boat. She knows the reason for this sudden change of the weather, the legendary bird is nearby.

"Claudine, what's the matter?" Yoake asked his Pokemon once more as the two, Yoake and Ren, walked outside along Claudine.

The strong winds howl through the gray rough seas with the roars of thunder. They looked around as they tried to understand what Claudine was doing until they heard a cry.

It was a Pokemon's cry but they couldn't tell what it was, the two trainers flinched after hearing it but Claudine stood firm and answered her trainer's question.

"It's here." Claudine said.

The two were confused until they heard another roar of thunder at a distance and saw a golden Pokemon flying through the sky, soaring away through the heavy rains, it was the legendary Bird, Zapdos.

"Zapdos…" Ren said the name of the Pokemon.

"I have to capture it." Yoake muttered as he looked at the 'Electric Pokemon'. He was mesmerized by the beauty and strength this Pokemon exerts and he wants to capture it at all cost.

"Wait what?" Ren was startled by Yoake's confidence.

"Claudine, use Psychic."

He told his Pokemon as he pointed his finger to the legendary bird. She followed his orders and quickly formed a purple ball on her hand and threw it towards Zapdos, managing to land a hit. This altered Zapdos' level, the Pokemon turned around to find who hit him, he looked below and saw the tiny boat floating in the large seas. It flew below as it tried to go near the boat and take revenge on those who attacked him.

"WHaT THe HeLL aRe You TRYiNG To Do?!?!" Ren called out her rival.

"Gonna capture the Zapdos, Claduine, are you ready?" Yoake confidently said.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Ren cried. She knows how delusional Yoake can be but fighting and trying to capture a Legendary Pokemon with no proper training is way too ahead of his league.

"Yes." Yoake stated as Claudine jumped from the ship as she teleports at the same altitude as Zapdos, which was a few meters above sea level.

Yoake and Claudine immediately connected themselves with one another and soon enough, Battle Bond was already activated. The battle begins as Claudine prepares her stance while Zapdos calls out the wind to draw more tension between the two. The wind formed three waterspouts as a way to intimidate Claudine but Yoake's determination to capture it wouldn't be altered. The raging waves flattened as the spouts turned this small area of the sea as a small arena between Claudine and Zapdos.

Ren couldn't do anything but watch Claudine and Zapdos clash out in the air while the storm rages the rough seas. The other passengers took out cameras and began to take pictures of this very rare event. She sighed as she watched this battle surge.

"Now. Use Psycho Cut!"

Claudine charged to the Electric Pokemon with her blade ready to slice it but a powerful gust from Zapdos' wings emerged and knocked back Claudine to the flat surface. She used her telekinetic powers to land on the surface like any other floor. She was in a Close left position as her blade's edge pointed towards Zapdos.

"Try it again!"

Claudine rushed to Zapdos once more but the gust of winds being fueled by the waterspouts were too strong and knocked her back once more. Yoake noticed this and decided to tell Claudine to focus on the Waterspouts.

"Claudine, change of plan, focus on the waterspouts. Take them all out!"

After hearing what her trainer told her to do, she didn't hesitate and ran towards the watersprouts on her left. Zapdos noticed this and began to form yellow electro balls and rapidly threw them to the Embrace Pokemon.

She dodges all of them but Zapdos didn't allow her to easily get away from its attack. It released another gust of wind to Claudine but instead of getting knocked back, she used her shield. She hasn't been using her shield for a very long time since she was trained to be aggressive on her offense and was taught to block with her sword not her shield. She blocks the gust with her shield, getting pushed but not enough to be knocked back.

She then uses her telekinetic powers once more to solidify the waterspout and begins to slashes it with continuous damage. The waterspout dispersed back to the flat surface and Claudine jumped towards Zapdos as she tried to finally hit it. Zapdos tries to defend itself once more by knocking her back with another gust but with a weaker wind from the 2 waterspouts. It wasn't enough and Claudine managed to land a hit.

"Great!" Yoake cheered for his Pokemon. He then grabs one ultimate ball and throws it to Zapdos. The ball hits Zapdos and a light beamed to the Electric Pokemon as it tries to capture it. Thinking that he would be able to capture a legendary Pokemon but in a few seconds, Zapdos immediately pops out from the Ultimate ball and in spite, it makes another powerful squall and violently pushes the boat.

The two trainers nearly lost their balance but they held firm on the rails as they continued to watch the battle between Claudine and Zapdos.

"Take out the other two!"

The two waterspouts begin to revolve around Zapdos as a means to defend itself and to maximize the wind. Claudine charged to the nearest waterspout while Zapdos formed another round of Electro balls and lunged it to her.

With the yellow orbs falling upon her, she begins to slice them one by one, not by her sword but by her shield as her shield is slowly becoming her second blade, making her more aggressive than before. Zapdos boostens up the wind by making one of the waterspouts closer to her. The rush of wind is pulling Claudine towards it. She tries to hold on but she is lifted by the powerful gust that will swallow her whole.

This was for the first time, Claudine felt what her species' blackholes can do but instead of a blackhole, it was a waterspout's wind. She was slowly getting dragged by it until she snapped and teleported out of her position. She concentrated her psychokinetic power to accumulate the waterspout and finally, slicing it. She watches the second water pillar fall, giving her the opportunity to attack Zapdos once more.

She teleported behind Zapdos and landed a hit. She immediately jumped away as she tried to not to get a retaliation from the Legendary Pokemon quickly. With only one waterspout left, Zapdos decided to use its electric moves in full use knowing how annoying this battle has become.

A powerful thunder bursted out from the sky and it headed to Claudine. She blocked it with her shield once more but with the amount of water that was covered throughout her body, the electricity flowed through her and entered the water, electrocuting the Pokemon underwater.

The sudden blitz of the thunder over and Claudine went to an Inside right sword stance form as she continued the duel against Zapdos.

"Let's end this." Claudie growled.

A Continuous shot of thunder hits the water surface as it tries to attack Claudine but with her ability to teleport, she can dodge all of it with ease. She then tries to flatten out the waterspout but another gust of wind tries to knock her out but she has had enough, she concentrates the spout and slashes it, splitting the column into two and watches the water fall to the seas. Without the waterspout, the arena they're in slowly rejoins with the rest of the seas as waves begin to form once more.

Without the flat surface, Claudine now had a hard time focusing on her target and Zapdos took advantage of it. As they continue their battle, Ren notices a patch of bubbles popping up near the rear of the boat. Then a tentacle appeared from the bubbles, it was attacking the ship, trying to pull it down or pulling itself up. A pod of Tentacool appeared and began to attack the ship, they were disturbed by their sudden electrocution through the slumber. Thinkin that it was the ship who interrupted their peaceful sleep, they attacked it in spite of revenge.

The two trainers heard the screams of the passengers as they were being attacked by the Tentacools. Knowing how focused Yoake is on capturing Zapdos, Ren decided that she'll handle it on her own.

"I'll take care of this." Ren assures her rival as she walks to the rear, pulls out her Pokeball and calls out Leafeon.

"Leafeon, use Leaf Blade!"

Leafeon formed a grassy sword and placed it in its mouth. It charged towards the Tentacools, lashing them out with deadly blows and kicking them off the ship. However, there was more to come as these Tentacools began to fight back.

Meanwhile, Claudine teleported to a higher altitude and on-par with Zapdos' height. She was about to attack Zapdos with her blade but a Gyarados popped up from the raging sea, like the Tentacools, it was disturbed by Zapdos' thunderous attacks. The enraged Gyarados twirls its body as it forms a waterspout on its own but it was stronger and deadlier than Zapdos'.

From this newly powerful waterspout, it slowly dragged the boat towards it. Leafeon managed to kicked out the last Tentacool on the boat but the terror of seeing the boat being pulled to the waterspout made the every passenger and the captain cried for mercy, some prayed and began texting their love ones thinking that this will be the end for them. Yoake, knowing that he dragged these innocent lives to danger because of his actions, had enough of this. He has to make Claudine use her full strength.

"Claudine, climb on to the waterspout and take out Gyarados."

With her trainer's thoughts being embedded to hers, she immediately ran to the top point of the eye and jumped towards it. Seeing the Dragon Dance Gyarados, she draws out her sword and when she was a few meters above it, everything became slower and slower, her full power was unleashed.

She begins to slash her sword to the Atrocious Pokemon, landing deadly blows one after the other. Each damage was critical and the pointy edge of the blade managed to pierce the scaly skin and made the Pokemon bleed. Claudine stopped her full might as she reserved it for Zapdos. Time and everything else returned to their usual speed. Gyarados fainted and fell to the seas, killing off the waterspout and the danger it had brought.

Zapdos released another powerful gust as a means to stop Claudine from getting closer, the sky roared with yellow lightning as the anger from the Electric Pokemon continued to flow through. She blocked the thunder once more and teleported on top of Zapdos, and just like what she did to Gyarados, she used her full strength to finish the battle.

Swinging her blade from left to right as she lands a critical hit. She doesn't want to faint Zapdos since Yoake has to capture it. With her restoring everything else to normal speed, Yoake threw another Ultimate ball to the weakened Zapdos. The ball hit the Electric Pokemon, and everyone looked at it as everyone was anxious. It shook for the first, the second and finally, third.

The Electric Legendary Pokemon is finally captured.

Claudine retrieved the Pokeball and handed it to Yoake. With the clouds slowly dispersed and the sun pierce through after the heavy storm. Everyone rejoiced as they were alive and the boat managed to stand up against this rugged scenario. Ren walked towards Yoake and instead of congratulating him, she gave him a punch on his left shoulder.

"Oww." Yoake groaned in pain.

"That's for being careless and nearly killing everyone because of it." Ren justified herself. Cladine returned to her original form as she took a sigh of relief.

"Alright then. Take us to the shore captain." Yoake told the captain as all of them headed inside and waited for their arrival to Cinnabar Island.