The group of four were hiking on their way to Mount. Moon, where many strange things are said to happen. Pikachu was asleep on Ash's backpack, and Charmander was walking besides Laura.
"Mount. Moon! Doesn't the name sound romantic?" Misty said, enthusiastically.
"Kind of." Laura answered.
"People say that a huge meteor once crashed into the mountain back in prehistoric times." Brock said, informatively
"Wow." Laura said, her eyes becoming wide.
"A meteor." Ash commented.
"Is it really true?" Misty asked.
"Probably. This sort of thing happens sometimes." Laura said, shrugging.
"The meteor is called the Moonstone." Brock said, gripping his backpack straps.
"Ah, now that's romantic!" Misty enthused.
Suddenly, an unknown voice was heard, and Pikachu bounced awake. The sound was like a shriek of despair.
"Ahhh!" the voice yelped.
"Look!" Ash said.
"Over there!" Laura yelled, starting to run towards the voice.
As the group approached the voice, they saw a bunch of flying bat-like Pokemon. Laura immediately took out a Pokeball, but Misty grabbed her arm before she could make it expand.
"Chill for a minute, would you? Someone was screaming." Misty said.
Laura sighed, and shoved the Pokeball back into one of her short pockets. Underneath the hoard of attacking Pokemon was a hunched over figure, a man yelling, his hands over her head. He had brown hair, light skin, and a white lab coat on. His face was close to the ground, and unseen. The creatures was a blue, bat-like Pokémon. While it lacked eyes, it had pointed ears with purple insides and a mouth with two sharp teeth on each jaw.
"Charmander, help defeat those Pokemon, and use Ember!" Laura said, as Charmander ran out to help.
"It's a bunch of Zubat!" Ash exclaimed.
"Dexter, analyze!" Ash said, as Charmander helped attack the Zubat.
"Zubat is a flying Pokemon with supersonic powers. Zubat live in caves and hate to fly outside in daylight." Dexter said, informatively.
"What are they doing, then?" Laura shouted over the shrieks of the Zubat, while giving Charmander different orders.
"I'm not sure..." Ash said.
Misty stomped up to Ash in a hurry.
"This is no time for Pokemon information, that guy needs our help! Laura's Charmander can't take all those Zubat!" Misty shouted in Ash's face.
"Yeah, no kidding!" Laura said, a couple Zubat returning to the cave.
"You're right, I'm sorry." Ash started. "Pikachu, Thundershock!" Ash commanded.
Pikachu sat on Ash's head, as his cheeks started to light up, preparing for an electrical attack. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's head, with a hearty squeal, shooting sparks from his cheeks, helping Charmander with the rest. The rest of the Zubat there flew back into the cave. The strange man was in shock, squeaking out random yelps. His face was turned over, and he had blue eyes, with large round glasses. Laura and Ash ran up to the man.
"Are you okay?" They asked at the same time.
"Wow! You guys are the greatest!" the man ranted, pulling Ash and Laura into a hug by their heads. "I'm talking superfantabulistic! I mean two thumbs up, way up! Best rescue I've ever had!"
Laura couldn't breath under his type grip, and Pikachu, who was in-between Ash and the man, let out a shock. Laura yelped in pain, as Pikachu cracked under pressure. The man let go as he was being shocked, and he screeched too, Ash in pursuit of the same antic. The man fell over after Pikachu was done, while Laura and Ash teetered a bit.
"They say mans best friend is a Pokemon, and with the four of you I believe it!" the man said, straitening his glasses and getting up from the ground.
"Thanks!" Laura said with a smile.
"Oh, that's nice." Ash said, more in shock than thanks.
Laura elbowed him, and he changed his tone.
"Yeah, uh, thanks!" he said hurriedly.
"I'm so moved! Such friendship I thought I'd never see! When the Zubat began attacking me, I thought I was done for, when who should arrive, four heroes thanks to whom I'm alive!" the man over exaggerated.
Laura started to sweat, and she gave a sheepish smile.
"How sweet..." she said, nervously.
"I'm alive!" he shouted.
It seemed as though he held the 'I' in alive a bit long.
"Thank you so much! Thank you!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the mountain.
"It was no problem, really..." Laura said, starting to become sick of his ranting.
Tears were streaming down the mans face, as he smiled, his arms wide open.
"He sure doesn't look like the poetic type." Misty said.
"Tell me about it." Laura commented.
"Did I mention how grateful I am?" the man said, standing up and grabbing Laura's wrists.
"Yes, many times." she said, giving him a sheepish smile.
"Anyway, why were the Zubat attacking you, mister?"
The man gasped, and suddenly, Laura became quite afraid.
"Never call me mister!" he said angrily. "My name's Semore, Semore the Scientist."
Laura looked at Semore, and thought of Gary, the rude boy from the beginning of their journey. She wondered if he would stop to help Semore.
"Knowledge. Research. I'm Semore the Scientist!" he exclaimed, his rubber boots glistening in the sunlight.
"We get it..." Laura said, a bit rudely.
...
Soon, the group of four, including Semore, were inside the cave. Lightbulbs were strung on both sides of the walls in the cave, which explained why the Zubat came into daylight.
"See? The cave is all lit up inside. Somebody has strung these lights up in the whole cave. But the Pokemon in this cave need the dark! These lights are upsetting them and making them confused!" Semore said, his face full of grief..
"But why would someone do that?" Laura asked, as Charmander followed by her side.
"I'm not sure. But whoever they are, they should be stopped." Semore said sadly.
"Which is probably why the Zubat left the cave, and attacked you." Brock provided.
"I agree." Laura said with a nod.
"Look here. These Paras are planting their mushrooms everywhere! And the hot lights are drying up these Sandshrew." Semore provided.
Paras was an orange, insectoid creature resembling the nymph stage of a cicada. Its ovoid body was segmented, and it had three pairs of legs. The foremost pair of legs were the largest and had sharp claws at the tips. There were five specks on its forehead and three teeth on either side of its mouth. It had circular eyes with large pupils. Two pink mushrooms grew on its back, and the mushrooms had yellow spots on them. Then there were Sandshrew. Sandshrew was a bipedal mammalian Pokémon, but ran on all fours. Its yellow hide was dry, tough, and blended in with desert sand. It had a brick pattern, but its underbelly and muzzle were white. Sandshrew had blue, almond-shaped eyes, a pointed snout, and triangular ears with white insides. Its tail was thick and conical. It had two long claws on each foot and three sharp claws on its forepaws, which were used to burrow.
Pikachu and Charmander shuddered as they saw the poor Pokemon.
"That's why I'm here. On patrol to protect the mountain from the troublemakers attacking against these caves!" Semore said.
"Troublemakers?" Misty and Laura said at the same time. "Why attack a cave?" Misty finished.
Semore stopped dead in his tracks, stopping the others from going deeper into the cave.
"I'm afraid it's because of the moonstone." Semore said, worriedly.
"I don't get it. Why the moonstone? Is it valuable?" Laura asked.
"Not quite, but to science, it is extremely valuable. The moonstone is an awesome boulder, a million years old, or even older! Deep in these caves, the meteor hides, though no explorer has found the place, of the legendary rock from space! We've studied these fragments from many an hour, and discovered it increases a Pokemon's power. And that is why the attackers are hear, they've come to take the moonstone, or so I fear." Semore poetically said, acting out the different rhymes.
"I almost shed a tear." Laura rhymed along.
"The moonstone?" Ash asked.
"Ever since I was a little boy, I believed that Pokemon came to earth from outer space!" Semore exclaimed.
"From outer space?!" Everyone exclaimed.
"Yes. And where you ask is the spacecraft that brought them to earth? In this cave! It's the moonstone." Semore said.
"Really?!" Laura asked, in awe.
"Yes." Semore said, nodding his head.
"It sure is an original theory." Misty said.
"But don't you see? It means the moonstone belongs to the Pokemon! We humans must not take it from them!" Semore shouted.
Semore eyed Laura, and grabbed her hands, looking into her eyes.
"You agree with me, don't you?!" he asked.
"Uh, yeah." laura said uncomfortably.
Suddenly, a small cute chirping noise sounded from inside the tunnel, and Laura turned to see another Pokemon. The Pokemon was a bipedal, pink Pokémon with a chubby, vaguely star-shaped body. A small, pointed tooth protruded from the upper left corner of its mouth. It had wrinkles beside its black, oval eyes, dark pink, oval markings on its cheeks, two small wings, and large, pointed ears with brown tips. A tuft of fur curled over its forehead, much like its large, upward-curling tail. Each stocky arm had two small claws and a thumb on each hand, and each of its feet had a single toenail. The Pokemon had some sort of rock in its hand, it it was bouncing through the tunnel, smiling brightly.
"Alright, a Pokemon!" Laura said, breaking away from Semore's grasp.
Semore looked at the Pokemon as well.
"That looks like a...Clefairy!" Brock said, enthusiastically.
"It's so cute!" Misty gasped.
Dexter analyzed the Pokemon, as Ash held it out.
"Clefairy. This impish Pokemon is friendly and peaceful. It is believed to live inside Mount. Moon, although very few have ever been seen by humans.
"Neat! I'm gonna catch it!" Laura said, taking out a Pokeball.
"No, I will!" Ash said, taking out a Pokeball of his own.
"You can't! Neither of you!" Semore said, grabbing their arms.
"But why?" asked Laura, a bit disappointed.
Before Semore could answer, Clefairy had hopped out of sight, down a different tunnel.
"Sorry, but it's best if you just let it stay here. I hope you understand." Semore said, still grasping them.
Laura paused, then nodded, knowing that it'd be difficult to adapt to an on-the-road lifestyle.
"Sure, Semore. We understand." Ash said.
Semore let go of them, and then Clefairy's cry could be hear throughout the tunnel it went down. Everyone gasped, looked that way, and started to run over to the sound. When they got there, Meowth was standing on top of a ledge, while Clefairy was huddled in a corner.
"I should have known Team Rocket was up to this. It's just like them to stoop this low." Laura growled.
"Team who?" Semore asked.
"Eh? What're you doing here?" Meowth asked.
"Looking for troublemakers like you." Ash growled.
Suddenly, Pikachu and Charmander hopped over to Clefairy, and started to socialize with it, probably to get it to run.
"So Team Rocket is causing all the trouble down here. What a surprise." Ash said sarcastically.
"We've got to stop them before they start anymore trouble." Brock said.
"No kidding, wise guy." Laura said, as Brock shrugged innocently.
"Trouble?" sounded Jessie's voice.
"Make that double." James' voice said.
"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."
Suddenly, Jessie and James had slinked out of the shadows, holding a shovel and pickaxe.
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
"They sure are showoffs." Semore said, annoyed.
"Tell me about it." Laura sighed.
"Don't you guys ever get tired of saying the same things over and over?" Ash asked, sweating.
"You're all just jealous." Jessie said.
"Because we won't let you join us." James smirked.
"No, we really aren't." Laura said, shrugging.
"Foolish little girl." Jessie growled.
"Never mock us!" James snarked.
"We'd never join up with he likes of you!" Ash growled.
"You put the lights in this cave, it's you're fault the Pokemon in this cave are so confused!" Brock yelled, clenching a fist near his face.
"What a shame." Jessie said sarcastically.
"How will we ever forgive ourselves." James mocked.
"We want to get our hands on the moonstone so we can power up our Pokemon with it." Meowth said, grinning.
"With the moonstone in our hands, nothing can stop us." Jessie said, holding up a hand as if the moonstone was settled there.
"Too bad!" Laura said.
"Because we won't let you get away with it!" Ash yelled.
"You want a rock? Take one of these and get lost!" Brock said, motioning to all the rocks in the cave.
"Get lost? How rude." Jessie frowned.
"Let's teach him manners." James glared.
In an instant, Jessie and James threw their tools to the floor, and they clattered to the ground with a thud. Brock, Laura, and Ash reached for their pockets and belts, searching for a Pokemon. Laura, only having two, decided upon Weedle, a lesser trained Pokemon. Ash, Brock, and Laura supersized their Pokeballs.
"Keep an eye on Semore and Clefairy." Ash said to Misty. "Run for it when you get the chance."
"Right." Misty said with a nod.
Jessie and James jumped from their positions, throwing their Pokeballs out of their palms.
"Ready or not!" Jessie shouted.
"Butterfree, I choose you!" Ash shouted.
"Here we go!" Brock yelled.
"Weedle, your time to shine!" Laura said.
All three tossed their Pokeballs, and they hit the ground in an instant. Between Butterfree and Zubat, Weedle was small.
"Ah man, you got a Zubat! No fair, I want one!" Laura pouted.
"I captured it right before we entered the cave!" Brock smirked.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Ash asked himself, disappointed.
Ekans and Koffing appeared in front of them.
"Three against one, that's no fair!" James said, angrily.
"It's a dinky Weedle, we can handle it!" Jessie shouted.
"Hey! Lay off my Pokemon and I'll lay off yours!" Laura shouted.
"Koffing, Smog attack!" James commanded.
"Weedle, use Poison Sting!" Laura instructed.
Weedle was slow in movement, but quick when it came to his stinger. He shot the needle from his head, and it clogged itself in one of Koffing's craters. Koffing started to cough, miraculously, and his Smog went everywhere, but thanks to Butterfree and Zubat's wings, the smog was pushed back to the opposite side of the field, surrounding the opposing team. Jessie and James were also clouded in smog.
"Now's our chance!" Misty said, pushing Semore along.
Ekans jumped from the smog, and was headed for Butterfree.
"Weedle, Poison Sting again!" Laura quickly gasped.
Weedle immediately shot his stinger, and it regrew in his head once more. The stinger went for the side of Ekans' neck, and just as the snake was to bite Butterfree, the stinger pierced itself into his neck, sending the snack wild. It didn't poison the Pokemon, but it did inflict some critical damage. Koffing, however, took this chance to bash into Zubat, causing him to fly over to the trainers.
"Zubat, hang on!" Brock yelled. "Go Supersonic!"
Zubat held open his mouth, and sightless waves flew from his mouth, hypnotizing the opposing Pokemon. Soon, they were overcome with confusion and started to attack each other. Ekans wrapped itself around Koffing, while Koffing spilled smoke from it's craters.
"Oh no!" James gasped.
"Ekans, Koffing!" Jessie shouted.
"What's the matter with you weaklings?!" James demanded.
"Ekans and Koffing are getting confused!" Brock smirked.
"Butterfree, Whirlwind, now! Blow them all the way out of the cave!" Ash commanded.
Butterfree flew high, close to the ceiling and started to flap his wings rapidly. The wind knocked over the ball that Ekans and Koffing were in. The wind was so powerful that it even knocked over Jessie and James. Weedle even started to fly too, but Laura jumped up and caught him, hugging him close to her chest while keeping herself planted on the ground.
"Team Rocket blasted off!" James yelled.
"You may have won this round, but we'll be back!" Jessie screamed.
Laura stood, and looked to where Jessie and James disappeared with their Pokemon. She smiled brightly, not looking at Weedle yet.
"We did it! Yeah!" Ash shouted.
Laura ran up to Brock and Ash, as they all did an elbow lock.
"Excellent Teamwork!" Brock commented.
Suddenly, Brock looked at Laura's arms, and his smile disappeared.
"Laura, look!" he gasped.
Laura looked into her arms, and she no longer held a weedle. She held a Kakuna. The brown Cocoon stared at her with big eyes, before closing them happily. Laura gasped happily, and hugged the Kakuna tight, but not too tight in fear of crushing the Pokemon.
"Congrats!" Ash smiled. "Wait, aren't we forgetting something?"
"Yeah..." Brock frowned.
There was a moment of silence as everyone thought. Laura then realized that only Jessie, James, Ekans, and Koffing flew away. But Meowth didn't.
"Where's Meowth!" Everyone gasped.
Brock ran off first, and Ash grabbed Laura's wrist before her started running. Laura soon caught up after returning Kakuna, and Charmander started to dash after her. All the trainers ran past the fellow Pokemon in the cave, skipping over pebbles and rocks. Soon, they found the entrance, not much light flooding into the cave. They ran out, and searched around the area, not finding anything Meowth related. But when they heard the shrieks of Clefairy, they knew something was up. The dashed towards the sound, jumping over sharp rocks, sliding down the mountain side, and arriving at a river, which Charmander was extra careful around. They then found Misty standing in the water, Semore sitting in it, and Clefairy balancing on a rock holding the moonstone.
"Is everybody alright?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, we heard Clefairy's scream!" Laura said.
Misty closed her eyes, smirking.
"We won't be bothered by Meowth anymore, thanks to Misty the Mighty!" Misty announced, shrugging.
...
"What's that?" Ash asked.
Evening had fallen upon the group, and everyone had spent a nice couple hours at the river. They waded in the water, they enjoyed the nice warm sun, and they all conversed, making each other laugh. Now, they were enjoying a nice dinner, prepared by Brock.
"This is Pokemon food, made from my own secret recipe. The ingredients are specially blended for each Pokemon." Brock said, as he fed one of the bite sized cylinders to Zubat.
Brock was holding a canister of what was filled with Pokemon food. Each one was brown, and small. They weren't round, but like I mentioned, cylinder shaped. Brock handed a couple pieces to everybody so they could feed their Pokemon.
Laura let out Kakuna. She gave one of the pebbles to Charmander, who devoured it happily. Although, when she tried to give it to Kakuna, he wouldn't open his mouth, or what she hoped was his mouth.
"Why won't Kakuna eat?" she asked Brock.
"Kakuna is resting. He has no mouth, and needs to relax until he's ready to become a Beedrill." Brock explained.
"Oh." Laura said.
She kept the extra Pokemon pellet in her hand. Ash's Butterfree was happily munching upon one of the pieces of food.
"How does it taste?" Ash asked his Butterfree.
"I've been developing it for years. I keep improving on the recipe." Brock continued explaining. "I'll make a batch for Pikachu and Charmander."
"Thanks." Laura nodded.
"I-I'll try some." Semore said.
He plucked a piece of the Pokemon food from the canister and popped it into his mouth. He started chewing, and soon considered the taste.
"Mm. Not bad." He admitted.
"Really?" Ash asked. "Let me taste."
"I'll try too." Laura said, as she looked at the piece still in her palm.
She and Ash popped it into their mouths, and started chewing. The pellet was crunchy, but easy to bite through. It settled upon Laura's tongue for a minute, before she spit it out in disgust.
"Ew! Sorry Brock, not for me!" she complained.
Ash chewed his for a minute, and his nose went blue, as he started shivering and squelching.
"You guys may not like it, but the Pokemon sure do." Brock said, looking sheepish.
Charmander, Pikachu, and Clefairy were discussing something in Pokespeak upon a rock. Clefairy clutched the moonstone she held protectively. Everyone seemed to be staring at them.
"Pikachu and Charmander make friends so easily!" Ash commented. "I wonder what they're talking about."
Suddenly, Pikachu stood up and raised his hand, Clefairy getting to her feet too. Charmander let out a small squeal to gather the trainer's attention.
"What's up, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
Clefairy then hopped away, and Pikachu jumped after her, followed by Charmander. The group then got up and followed the Pokemon.
...
Night had fallen, and the group had ended up following the Pokemon up a hill.
"Guys, where on earth are you taking us?" Ash asked.
"We've been walking for hours, and I'm tired..." Laura complained.
The Pokemon jumped through a bush, and the group followed them. They looked before them to see a large hole into a stone wall that scoped up.
"It's another cave!" Ash and Laura said.
Before long, they had already started to venture the dark tunnels, and in a matter of minutes, the Pokemon led them to a very large room inside the cave. As everyone saw what was lying in the room, they awed at it. The cave had an open ceiling, and the moon and stars shined through the cave room.
"It's the core of the moonstone!" Semore gasped.
"This feels like a dream!" Misty said, smiling.
"So the moonstone legend is true." Brock mused, still sticking to a straight face.
"It's so sparkly." Laura said, gazing upon the boulder.
"Look, Clefairy's doing something!" Ash said.
Clefairy had hopped up to the stage where the moonstone lay, and around it, Laura noticed, were small smooth stones. They sparkled like the moonstone itself, and they were all aligned perfectly. And there was only one spot missing. Clefairy stopped next to the empty spot, and bent down, placing the fragment of moonstone she was holding into the empty slot. Suddenly, all the stones around the moonstone started to glow a light blue, and the moonstone itself lit the same color in a matter of seconds. As if on cue, bunches of different Clefairy made their way into the large room, chanting as they walked in from different tunnels.
"Awe, I really want to catch one!" Laura whined.
"There's so many of them." Misty said, in a bit of shock.
The Clefairy that the group had befriended had walked to face them, as all the other Clefairy turned to the group as well. The Pokemon seemed to be chanting something, as if talking to the others without eye contact. It waved its arms in the air, and then bowed.
"I think it's saying hello." Ash laughed.
"They're so cute!" Laura mused.
"Yeah!" Brock smiled.
"Oh, look at them!" Misty pointed out.
Laura looked upon the Pokemon, and her eyes went wide. They were all jumping, and seemed to be dancing to a sort of tune they chimed. They all twirled around as they jumped in three large circles.
"Amazing!" Semore commented. "These Clefairy formed their own society. This is an incredible sight!"
Suddenly, it came to Laura's mind that Clefairy, Pikachu, and Charmander had talked a lot, and no one knew quite what it was about.
"Charmander, what have you all been telling each other anyway?" Laura asked.
Pikachu started to wave his arms to the right, and Charmander started t wave his to the left.
"You understand that?" Semore asked.
"Nope." Laura admitted.
"Of course I do! It's my Pokemon." Ash butted in. "The Clefairy collect all of these rocks and...do the macarina!"
Pikachu tensed up, and Laura could tell that was the wrong answer. He fell to the floor, but quickly got back up. Then, Pikachu made an 'X' with his arms, confirming the answer was incorrect. Pikachu grabbed the Clefairy that the group had met, and pointed to her. Then, he picked her up.
"The Clefairy pick up?" Ash questioned.
"A pickup truck?" Brock asked.
Pikachu pointed to Misty, a smile on his face. Misty then pumped a fist.
"Raising! I've got it!" Misty smiled.
Pikachu waved his hands around, and Misty seemed to understand what he meant.
"Sounds like raising..." she said.
"Praising? Praising the moonstone?" Laura guessed.
Pikachu and Charmander clapped their hands, and Laura pumped a fist, happy she had gotten it right.
"Alright!" Brock and Misty exclaimed.
"Is it because the moonstone fell from the heavens?" Semore asked to no one in particular.
"Then maybe the legends are true. Maybe the moonstone really did come from space." Misty thought aloud.
"Yeah." Ash said, looking at her.
"Yeah! I wonder if anything's inside of it?" Laura mused enthusiastically.
"Of course! It all makes sense now!" Semore twirled as he shouted.
"Huh?" Laura asked.
"What does?" Ash asked.
"Outer space! Pokemon, and the human race will ride the moonstone into space! First to the moon, then to Mars, then together to the stars!" Semore awed, his eyes shining.
"There he goes again with the poetry." Laura sweat dropped.
"Stars? That's our cue!" said a scratchy voice.
Laura recognized it immediately to be Meowth's voice. The group turned to see Meowth, Jessie, and James. Meowth was in the middle of them, and both of the teenagers gave the group icy smiles. James had his hand perched on his hip, and Jessie had her hands down by her sides.
"You guys don't know when to quit." Ash said, furrowing his eyebrows.
Laura rolled her eyes at them.
"Tell me about it." she commented, annoyed.
Semore seemed to snort a bit, before stepping forward and throwing his hands to the side.
"You keep away from the moonstone or else!" Semore yelled.
All the Clefairy looked worried, for they stopped dancing and turned to face Team Rocket. Charmander and Pikachu both seemed to want to protect them, so they stood in front of the hoard.
"Or else?" James said, pretending to be offended.
"I think we've been threatened." Jessie smiled icily.
Laura growled and held out a fist.
"Heck yeah, you have! Trust me when I say we can beat you again." Laura snarled.
"How cute, she thinks we can be beaten?" James said, giving Laura an icy smile.
"I'll show you!" Semore shouted, his knees shaking.
He started to yell, and he awkwardly started to run to Team Rocket.
"No, Semore!" Ash yelled.
"Stop!" Laura shouted.
Semore ignored them and closed his eyes as he ran. Meowth took note of this, and stuck his foot in front of Semore. When Semore's foot caught onto Meowth's, he stumbled forward, and fell on his face.
"Ouch..." Laura dragged, flinching.
Meowth just laughed and shrugged.
"Heh! Did ya have a nice 'trip'?" Meowth mocked.
Semore lifted himself off the ground so he was perched on her knees. His glasses were no longer on his face, and his eyes looked small.
"My glasses. I can't see a thing!" Semore panicked, patting the ground.
"Oh, Semore!" Misty said, frowning.
"That wasn't fair!" Ash shouted.
"No kidding, it's Team Rocket!" Laura commented.
"All's fair in a Pokemon match, boy!" Jessie said, ignoring Laura's comment.
"Enough talk!" James smirked.
"I agree! Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash yelled, pointing ahead of him.
Jessie and James already had their Pokeballs ready, and Pikachu was on the battlefield.
"Charmander, you too!" Laura commanded.
"Onix, let's go!" Brock said, run-in up beside the two.
Jessie and James threw their Pokeballs, and out appeared Koffing and Ekans, energized and ready to fight. The Clefairy were whimpering from behind, as they shook and repeated their names. Onix appeared from his Pokeball with a loud roar. Pikachu and Charmander climbed to the top of Onix, and they were perched on his head, towering above Ekans and Koffing menacingly.
"Let's show them that size doesn't matter! Ekans, underground!" Jessie commanded.
"Koffing, smokescreen." James said confidently.
Ekans jumped up, and dove underground, pebbles and rocks parting to let him through the cave flooring. Koffing flew up and sprayed brown gasses from it's craters. Suddenly, the smog surrounded the room, causing Pikachu, Charmander, and Onix to lose sight of everything. Laura and Ash coughed and waved away the smoke with their hands.
"Smoke won't stop us." Ash said in-between coughs.
He pulled a Pokeball from his belt and supersized it. He reeled his arm back, ready to throw the Pokeball.
"Pidgeoto, I choose you!" Ash shouted.
The Pokeball flew from Ash's grasp, and hurled through the air, disappearing into the smog. Laura could no longer see it, but she could see the blue light that struck through the smoke, as if lightening in a storm. Pidgeoto flew from the smoke, and Laura smiled under the hand blocking her mouth. Brock, Misty, Ash, and Laura continued to cough, shooing off the smoke that clouded their sight.
"Pidgeoto, shoo away the smoke!" Ash commanded.
Pidgeoto flew high up into the cave, and flapped his wings frantically, shooing away the smoke. All was clear, and Laura felt satisfied with the fresh air entering her lungs. Laura looked around for Team Rocket, but they weren't in front of her. She looked behind her, where the moonstone should have been. Should have been. The moonstone was no longer sitting in it's spot. A large hole was in the place of the moonstone.
"Huh? The moonstone is gone!" Ash exclaimed.
Laura nudged him.
"No kidding." Laura said.
"Team Rocket stole it!" Misty exclaimed.
"Obviously!" Laura shouted. "Now let's go get it back!"
"Obviously!" Ash mimicked, pulling down an eyelid with a smile on his face.
Laura rolled her eyes at him playfully, and smiled. She didn't even think about anything before jumping in the hole. She slid down the side, gasping at her bad decision. Everyone gasped, and Ash jumped in after her, soaring down to retrieve her.
"Onix, get them!" Brock commanded.
Onix soared down the hole, and as the others were falling, he grabbed the edge of their shirts in his mouth. They collided together, bumping into each other a bit, before Laura immediatley hugged Ash, scared.
"God, I'm stupid...oh God, thanks for trying to jump after me! What the...oh God!" she repeated, horrified.
Ash simply patted her back, sweating a bit.
"Uh...there there..." he murmured.
Onix had retrieved them, and brought them back up. Laura and Ash hit the ground with a small thud, and Laura got up.
"Laura!" Brock said, running over to her. "Don't just jump in a deep hole! You could've been hurt!" he exclaimed.
Misty strutted over to Laura with her hands on her hips. When she was in front of the slightly small girl, she raised her hand, and swiped it, slapping Laura's face.
"Ow!" Laura shouted grabbing her cheek.
"You're so stupid! You could've been killed!" Misty shouted.
Laura rubbed her cheek.
"I get it, I get it!" she repeated. "But we're wasting time! We need to find team Rocket!"
"Alright, Onix! Follow the tunnel underground!" Brock commanded.
The Pokemon slithered through the entrance of the hole, leaving a trail of rubble and pebbles after him. Ash and Laura ran to the entrance they came in, followed by Misty and Brock. Pikachu, Charmander, and Pidgeoto quickly followed behind their trainers.
"There's still a chance to catch them!" Ash exclaimed.
"Semore, come on!" Laura shouted, stopping in her tracks.
"I-I'll stay here and protect the Clefairy!" Semore said triumphantly.
Laura nodded, before running to catch up with the group she almost left behind, Semore looking for his glasses still.
...
Ash, Misty, Laura, Brock, and the Pokemon had seen Onix burst from the ground, Team Rocket and their escape vehicle startled as they crashed into the rocky Pokemon. The sled they used as their escape burst into pieces, and the moonstone flew away from Team Rocket, still in one piece.
"Got 'em!" Ash exclaimed.
"Nice work, Onix! Grab them now!" Brock commanded.
Laura ran as fast as she could, tracing ahead of the group to the moonstone. Team Rocket lay on the ground dizzily, their Pokemon all unconscious due to the shock. Onix hurdled toward Team Rocket, after James regained sight.
"Koffing, counter attack!" James requested.
Koffing, carrying his permanent creepy smile, flew from his Trainer's side, and bounced off of Onix's head. Onix reacted so immensely, and he fell to the ground, hurt. Like a David and Goliath story, but Goliath was the hero. Laura ran to Onix, and pet his head gingerly.
"Onix!" Brock said, worriedly.
Brock quickly returned his rock Pokemon.
"Hey, look!" Ash said.
"It's-" Misty started.
"Semore!" Laura said, looking up.
Semore sat in a hole, looking around confused. His head and shoulders had popped from it, and he seemed to have found his glasses, for they were on his face. But Semore wasn't alone. Behind him, all the Clefairy that had lived in the cave, popped out from the hole, jumping around with smiles on their faces. They started to line up, facing Team Rocket, and in front of Semore.
"Meowth! What's going on?!" Meowth said to nobody in particular.
The Clefairy in the center raised his scrawny arms into the sky, followed by all the others. A lone finger pointed to the stars, from every Clefairy's hand. Suddenly, they started to wave their arms back and fourth, singing a tune out of their chant.
"Clefairy, Clefairy, Clefairy..." They went on.
"What are they doing?" Jessie asked, annoyed.
"Waving their fingers." James said, as if it was ineffective.
Just after he said the, Team Rocket started to move their upper body in beat with the chants and the waving of the Pokemon's fingers.
"This way, and that way, this way, and that way." Meowth said, following the movements.
Suddenly, Ash, Misty, Brock, and Laura started to do the same thing. Laura was a goof, so she spun in circles in her room whenever she was bored. The dizziness she received at the moment was nothing compared to that of the spinning in her room.
"I'm getting dizzy..." Misty said wearily.
"I'm used to it." Laura said, in as normal a voice as could be used.
"This is an attack that the Clefairy use called the Metronome." Semore said, clearly dizzy.
Pikachu and Charmander followed in with the head and body movement. Pikachu seemed unfazed by the movements, but Charmander had a dizzy look on his face.
"I've never seen the Clefairy use the Metronome before, who knows what'll happen." Semore said dizzily.
The Clefairy suddenly stopped with their movements, and put their arms down. Suddenly, a bright glow was emitted from the Moonstone that Team Rocket tried to make away with. With that, the Clefairy started to glow as well, and their brightness forced Laura to cover her eyes. Suddenly, the ground beneath them started to shake, and she could feel the movements of the earth below her. She could hear the earth crack before her, and she refused to look. And that's when the explosion took place. The Clefairy were shot into the sky, and Team Rocket with them, due to how close they were standing together.
"Well it looks like we're." Jessie started.
"Blasting off again..." James muttered in defeat.
"Thanks too the Metronome!" Meowth shouted.
"I give it two thumbs down." Jessie stormed angrily.
"Me too!" James approved.
"Meowth three!" Meowth finished.
A large hole was planted in the ground where the explosion took place. Laura had some ash on her face, and she wiped it away with her arm a bit. Suddenly, something fell from the sky. Upon seeing it, Laura thought it was snow.
"Is it snowing in the summer?" she asked.
"No, it's the moonstone." Semore corrected her, amazed.
"It must've exploded in the explosion." Laura thought aloud.
Laura couldn't take her eyes off the moonstone, and she was in awe as it slowly fell to the Clefairy. The Clefairy looked so utterly happy to see the moonstone, and they all eagerly waited for it to touch them. It suddenly touched a single head, and the Clefairy lit up. It touched another head, and one by one, all the Clefairy were glowing. Then, they weren't Clefairy anymore. They were Clefable! They all started to turn into Clefable, and Laura watched in awe. Clefable was a tall, pink Pokémon with a vaguely star-shaped body. It had long, pointed ears with dark brown tips and black, oval eyes with wrinkles on either side. A curled lock of fur hung over its forehead, much like its long, tightly curled tail. There were dark pink wings on its back, and each wing had three points. Its hands had three fingers each, and its feet had two clawed toes and dark pink soles.
"The Clefairy are..." Brock started.
"Evolving." Misty finished.
"I see." Laura stared in awe.
Ash took out his Pokedex, and scanned one of the Clefable.
"Clefable. And advanced form of Clefairy. These unique creatures are among the rarest Pokemon in the world." the Pokedex announced.
"Rarest in the world?!" Laura enthused. "So cool! And we get to see a bunch right in front of us!"
"The power of the moonstone did this." Semore said.
Their were quite a few Clefable, and still a couple Clefairy also there as well.
...
The Clefable and Clefairy were back in their cave, what was left of the moonstone back in it's place. They were all jumping around and dancing happily, and it made Laura feel all warm inside. Semore seemed to smile a bit, and then turned to the trainers.
"I decided to live here with the Clefairy!" he announced.
"Huh?!" everyone said, shocked.
"It's been my life's dream to find the moonstone. Someday I will travel to the stars with the Clefairy." Semore said, proudly.
"Wow." Misty said in awe.
"When you do visit outer space, I hope you remember to send us a postcard!" Brock half-joked.
Laura still thought Semore was a little looney, but liked his plan.
"Let us know when you're ready, so we can see space too!" Laura said with a smile and a thumbs up.
Everyone just stopped to look at the Clefable and Clefairy, including Pikachu and Charmander. They all looked very happy around the moonstone, and Laura knew that the Pokemon - and Semore - would live here happily together. And this simple thought filled her with joy, and made her smile.
"You know what? I think you'll enjoy it here." Laura said to Semore, without looking at him.
She just smiled while looking at the Clefairy and Clefable.
"I think so too." Ash said, smiling at Laura.
Laura turned to Ash, the very slightly taller boy grinning at her. She smiled at him too, and wrapped her arm around his friend, as they continued to look at the Pokemon. Ash, wrapped his arm around Laura too, both of them watching the Pokemon.
...
The next morning, the group of Trainers were ready to set off on their journey again.
"So long, Semore! Goodbye, Clefairy!" Ash shouted happily, waving.
"I'll miss you Semore! Take care of the Clefairy and Clefable!" Laura said, waving frantically.
"Goodbye Ash and Laura! Goodbye, Charmander and Pikachu! And thank you all!" Semore shouted.
Everybody waved their goodbye's, smiling.
"Do you think the Clefairy really came to earth from outer space?" Ash asked, as the group walked away.
"It's fun to imagine they did." Misty said enthusiastically.
"I guess we'll find out someday!" Laura said cheerily.
...
Ash, Laura, Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Charmander were all walking simply along the path. They reached a path that cut into two, and a sign on the left side of the path. Brock read it aloud for everybody to hear.
"This road leads to Cerulean City." he read.
Misty seemed to have an unpleasant look on her face after Brock read the sign, something Laura noticed and took note of.
"Well, I guess we're headed the right way." Brock said, pleased. "There's something else scribbled here..."
Laura shrugged.
"I'm sure it was some stupid trainer, thinking that vandalism is so cool." Laura said, rolling her eyes, and looking at it.
She read it aloud.
"Gary was here...Ash and Laura are losers!" Laura said, shocked.
She growled angrily, and Ash did the same.
"Well, I got the stupid part right!" Laura yelled.
"Aw, that Gary!" Ash snarled. "We'll show you!"
Ash grabbed Laura's wrist, and started to dash down the path, clutching onto her as she caught up. Pikachu and Charmander were following behind them.
"What a jerk, that Gary!" Laura screamed.
"What's the hurry?!" Misty called.
"They'll never learn." Brock said, shaking his head.
And so, Ash and Laura raced towards their rival, ready for the next adventure, and their journey to the top.
"Mount. Moon! Doesn't the name sound romantic?" Misty said, enthusiastically.
"Kind of." Laura answered.
"People say that a huge meteor once crashed into the mountain back in prehistoric times." Brock said, informatively
"Wow." Laura said, her eyes becoming wide.
"A meteor." Ash commented.
"Is it really true?" Misty asked.
"Probably. This sort of thing happens sometimes." Laura said, shrugging.
"The meteor is called the Moonstone." Brock said, gripping his backpack straps.
"Ah, now that's romantic!" Misty enthused.
Suddenly, an unknown voice was heard, and Pikachu bounced awake. The sound was like a shriek of despair.
"Ahhh!" the voice yelped.
"Look!" Ash said.
"Over there!" Laura yelled, starting to run towards the voice.
As the group approached the voice, they saw a bunch of flying bat-like Pokemon. Laura immediately took out a Pokeball, but Misty grabbed her arm before she could make it expand.
"Chill for a minute, would you? Someone was screaming." Misty said.
Laura sighed, and shoved the Pokeball back into one of her short pockets. Underneath the hoard of attacking Pokemon was a hunched over figure, a man yelling, his hands over her head. He had brown hair, light skin, and a white lab coat on. His face was close to the ground, and unseen. The creatures was a blue, bat-like Pokémon. While it lacked eyes, it had pointed ears with purple insides and a mouth with two sharp teeth on each jaw.
"Charmander, help defeat those Pokemon, and use Ember!" Laura said, as Charmander ran out to help.
"It's a bunch of Zubat!" Ash exclaimed.
"Dexter, analyze!" Ash said, as Charmander helped attack the Zubat.
"Zubat is a flying Pokemon with supersonic powers. Zubat live in caves and hate to fly outside in daylight." Dexter said, informatively.
"What are they doing, then?" Laura shouted over the shrieks of the Zubat, while giving Charmander different orders.
"I'm not sure..." Ash said.
Misty stomped up to Ash in a hurry.
"This is no time for Pokemon information, that guy needs our help! Laura's Charmander can't take all those Zubat!" Misty shouted in Ash's face.
"Yeah, no kidding!" Laura said, a couple Zubat returning to the cave.
"You're right, I'm sorry." Ash started. "Pikachu, Thundershock!" Ash commanded.
Pikachu sat on Ash's head, as his cheeks started to light up, preparing for an electrical attack. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's head, with a hearty squeal, shooting sparks from his cheeks, helping Charmander with the rest. The rest of the Zubat there flew back into the cave. The strange man was in shock, squeaking out random yelps. His face was turned over, and he had blue eyes, with large round glasses. Laura and Ash ran up to the man.
"Are you okay?" They asked at the same time.
"Wow! You guys are the greatest!" the man ranted, pulling Ash and Laura into a hug by their heads. "I'm talking superfantabulistic! I mean two thumbs up, way up! Best rescue I've ever had!"
Laura couldn't breath under his type grip, and Pikachu, who was in-between Ash and the man, let out a shock. Laura yelped in pain, as Pikachu cracked under pressure. The man let go as he was being shocked, and he screeched too, Ash in pursuit of the same antic. The man fell over after Pikachu was done, while Laura and Ash teetered a bit.
"They say mans best friend is a Pokemon, and with the four of you I believe it!" the man said, straitening his glasses and getting up from the ground.
"Thanks!" Laura said with a smile.
"Oh, that's nice." Ash said, more in shock than thanks.
Laura elbowed him, and he changed his tone.
"Yeah, uh, thanks!" he said hurriedly.
"I'm so moved! Such friendship I thought I'd never see! When the Zubat began attacking me, I thought I was done for, when who should arrive, four heroes thanks to whom I'm alive!" the man over exaggerated.
Laura started to sweat, and she gave a sheepish smile.
"How sweet..." she said, nervously.
"I'm alive!" he shouted.
It seemed as though he held the 'I' in alive a bit long.
"Thank you so much! Thank you!" he shouted, his voice echoing through the mountain.
"It was no problem, really..." Laura said, starting to become sick of his ranting.
Tears were streaming down the mans face, as he smiled, his arms wide open.
"He sure doesn't look like the poetic type." Misty said.
"Tell me about it." Laura commented.
"Did I mention how grateful I am?" the man said, standing up and grabbing Laura's wrists.
"Yes, many times." she said, giving him a sheepish smile.
"Anyway, why were the Zubat attacking you, mister?"
The man gasped, and suddenly, Laura became quite afraid.
"Never call me mister!" he said angrily. "My name's Semore, Semore the Scientist."
Laura looked at Semore, and thought of Gary, the rude boy from the beginning of their journey. She wondered if he would stop to help Semore.
"Knowledge. Research. I'm Semore the Scientist!" he exclaimed, his rubber boots glistening in the sunlight.
"We get it..." Laura said, a bit rudely.
...
Soon, the group of four, including Semore, were inside the cave. Lightbulbs were strung on both sides of the walls in the cave, which explained why the Zubat came into daylight.
"See? The cave is all lit up inside. Somebody has strung these lights up in the whole cave. But the Pokemon in this cave need the dark! These lights are upsetting them and making them confused!" Semore said, his face full of grief..
"But why would someone do that?" Laura asked, as Charmander followed by her side.
"I'm not sure. But whoever they are, they should be stopped." Semore said sadly.
"Which is probably why the Zubat left the cave, and attacked you." Brock provided.
"I agree." Laura said with a nod.
"Look here. These Paras are planting their mushrooms everywhere! And the hot lights are drying up these Sandshrew." Semore provided.
Paras was an orange, insectoid creature resembling the nymph stage of a cicada. Its ovoid body was segmented, and it had three pairs of legs. The foremost pair of legs were the largest and had sharp claws at the tips. There were five specks on its forehead and three teeth on either side of its mouth. It had circular eyes with large pupils. Two pink mushrooms grew on its back, and the mushrooms had yellow spots on them. Then there were Sandshrew. Sandshrew was a bipedal mammalian Pokémon, but ran on all fours. Its yellow hide was dry, tough, and blended in with desert sand. It had a brick pattern, but its underbelly and muzzle were white. Sandshrew had blue, almond-shaped eyes, a pointed snout, and triangular ears with white insides. Its tail was thick and conical. It had two long claws on each foot and three sharp claws on its forepaws, which were used to burrow.
Pikachu and Charmander shuddered as they saw the poor Pokemon.
"That's why I'm here. On patrol to protect the mountain from the troublemakers attacking against these caves!" Semore said.
"Troublemakers?" Misty and Laura said at the same time. "Why attack a cave?" Misty finished.
Semore stopped dead in his tracks, stopping the others from going deeper into the cave.
"I'm afraid it's because of the moonstone." Semore said, worriedly.
"I don't get it. Why the moonstone? Is it valuable?" Laura asked.
"Not quite, but to science, it is extremely valuable. The moonstone is an awesome boulder, a million years old, or even older! Deep in these caves, the meteor hides, though no explorer has found the place, of the legendary rock from space! We've studied these fragments from many an hour, and discovered it increases a Pokemon's power. And that is why the attackers are hear, they've come to take the moonstone, or so I fear." Semore poetically said, acting out the different rhymes.
"I almost shed a tear." Laura rhymed along.
"The moonstone?" Ash asked.
"Ever since I was a little boy, I believed that Pokemon came to earth from outer space!" Semore exclaimed.
"From outer space?!" Everyone exclaimed.
"Yes. And where you ask is the spacecraft that brought them to earth? In this cave! It's the moonstone." Semore said.
"Really?!" Laura asked, in awe.
"Yes." Semore said, nodding his head.
"It sure is an original theory." Misty said.
"But don't you see? It means the moonstone belongs to the Pokemon! We humans must not take it from them!" Semore shouted.
Semore eyed Laura, and grabbed her hands, looking into her eyes.
"You agree with me, don't you?!" he asked.
"Uh, yeah." laura said uncomfortably.
Suddenly, a small cute chirping noise sounded from inside the tunnel, and Laura turned to see another Pokemon. The Pokemon was a bipedal, pink Pokémon with a chubby, vaguely star-shaped body. A small, pointed tooth protruded from the upper left corner of its mouth. It had wrinkles beside its black, oval eyes, dark pink, oval markings on its cheeks, two small wings, and large, pointed ears with brown tips. A tuft of fur curled over its forehead, much like its large, upward-curling tail. Each stocky arm had two small claws and a thumb on each hand, and each of its feet had a single toenail. The Pokemon had some sort of rock in its hand, it it was bouncing through the tunnel, smiling brightly.
"Alright, a Pokemon!" Laura said, breaking away from Semore's grasp.
Semore looked at the Pokemon as well.
"That looks like a...Clefairy!" Brock said, enthusiastically.
"It's so cute!" Misty gasped.
Dexter analyzed the Pokemon, as Ash held it out.
"Clefairy. This impish Pokemon is friendly and peaceful. It is believed to live inside Mount. Moon, although very few have ever been seen by humans.
"Neat! I'm gonna catch it!" Laura said, taking out a Pokeball.
"No, I will!" Ash said, taking out a Pokeball of his own.
"You can't! Neither of you!" Semore said, grabbing their arms.
"But why?" asked Laura, a bit disappointed.
Before Semore could answer, Clefairy had hopped out of sight, down a different tunnel.
"Sorry, but it's best if you just let it stay here. I hope you understand." Semore said, still grasping them.
Laura paused, then nodded, knowing that it'd be difficult to adapt to an on-the-road lifestyle.
"Sure, Semore. We understand." Ash said.
Semore let go of them, and then Clefairy's cry could be hear throughout the tunnel it went down. Everyone gasped, looked that way, and started to run over to the sound. When they got there, Meowth was standing on top of a ledge, while Clefairy was huddled in a corner.
"I should have known Team Rocket was up to this. It's just like them to stoop this low." Laura growled.
"Team who?" Semore asked.
"Eh? What're you doing here?" Meowth asked.
"Looking for troublemakers like you." Ash growled.
Suddenly, Pikachu and Charmander hopped over to Clefairy, and started to socialize with it, probably to get it to run.
"So Team Rocket is causing all the trouble down here. What a surprise." Ash said sarcastically.
"We've got to stop them before they start anymore trouble." Brock said.
"No kidding, wise guy." Laura said, as Brock shrugged innocently.
"Trouble?" sounded Jessie's voice.
"Make that double." James' voice said.
"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."
Suddenly, Jessie and James had slinked out of the shadows, holding a shovel and pickaxe.
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
"They sure are showoffs." Semore said, annoyed.
"Tell me about it." Laura sighed.
"Don't you guys ever get tired of saying the same things over and over?" Ash asked, sweating.
"You're all just jealous." Jessie said.
"Because we won't let you join us." James smirked.
"No, we really aren't." Laura said, shrugging.
"Foolish little girl." Jessie growled.
"Never mock us!" James snarked.
"We'd never join up with he likes of you!" Ash growled.
"You put the lights in this cave, it's you're fault the Pokemon in this cave are so confused!" Brock yelled, clenching a fist near his face.
"What a shame." Jessie said sarcastically.
"How will we ever forgive ourselves." James mocked.
"We want to get our hands on the moonstone so we can power up our Pokemon with it." Meowth said, grinning.
"With the moonstone in our hands, nothing can stop us." Jessie said, holding up a hand as if the moonstone was settled there.
"Too bad!" Laura said.
"Because we won't let you get away with it!" Ash yelled.
"You want a rock? Take one of these and get lost!" Brock said, motioning to all the rocks in the cave.
"Get lost? How rude." Jessie frowned.
"Let's teach him manners." James glared.
In an instant, Jessie and James threw their tools to the floor, and they clattered to the ground with a thud. Brock, Laura, and Ash reached for their pockets and belts, searching for a Pokemon. Laura, only having two, decided upon Weedle, a lesser trained Pokemon. Ash, Brock, and Laura supersized their Pokeballs.
"Keep an eye on Semore and Clefairy." Ash said to Misty. "Run for it when you get the chance."
"Right." Misty said with a nod.
Jessie and James jumped from their positions, throwing their Pokeballs out of their palms.
"Ready or not!" Jessie shouted.
"Butterfree, I choose you!" Ash shouted.
"Here we go!" Brock yelled.
"Weedle, your time to shine!" Laura said.
All three tossed their Pokeballs, and they hit the ground in an instant. Between Butterfree and Zubat, Weedle was small.
"Ah man, you got a Zubat! No fair, I want one!" Laura pouted.
"I captured it right before we entered the cave!" Brock smirked.
"Why didn't I think of that?" Ash asked himself, disappointed.
Ekans and Koffing appeared in front of them.
"Three against one, that's no fair!" James said, angrily.
"It's a dinky Weedle, we can handle it!" Jessie shouted.
"Hey! Lay off my Pokemon and I'll lay off yours!" Laura shouted.
"Koffing, Smog attack!" James commanded.
"Weedle, use Poison Sting!" Laura instructed.
Weedle was slow in movement, but quick when it came to his stinger. He shot the needle from his head, and it clogged itself in one of Koffing's craters. Koffing started to cough, miraculously, and his Smog went everywhere, but thanks to Butterfree and Zubat's wings, the smog was pushed back to the opposite side of the field, surrounding the opposing team. Jessie and James were also clouded in smog.
"Now's our chance!" Misty said, pushing Semore along.
Ekans jumped from the smog, and was headed for Butterfree.
"Weedle, Poison Sting again!" Laura quickly gasped.
Weedle immediately shot his stinger, and it regrew in his head once more. The stinger went for the side of Ekans' neck, and just as the snake was to bite Butterfree, the stinger pierced itself into his neck, sending the snack wild. It didn't poison the Pokemon, but it did inflict some critical damage. Koffing, however, took this chance to bash into Zubat, causing him to fly over to the trainers.
"Zubat, hang on!" Brock yelled. "Go Supersonic!"
Zubat held open his mouth, and sightless waves flew from his mouth, hypnotizing the opposing Pokemon. Soon, they were overcome with confusion and started to attack each other. Ekans wrapped itself around Koffing, while Koffing spilled smoke from it's craters.
"Oh no!" James gasped.
"Ekans, Koffing!" Jessie shouted.
"What's the matter with you weaklings?!" James demanded.
"Ekans and Koffing are getting confused!" Brock smirked.
"Butterfree, Whirlwind, now! Blow them all the way out of the cave!" Ash commanded.
Butterfree flew high, close to the ceiling and started to flap his wings rapidly. The wind knocked over the ball that Ekans and Koffing were in. The wind was so powerful that it even knocked over Jessie and James. Weedle even started to fly too, but Laura jumped up and caught him, hugging him close to her chest while keeping herself planted on the ground.
"Team Rocket blasted off!" James yelled.
"You may have won this round, but we'll be back!" Jessie screamed.
Laura stood, and looked to where Jessie and James disappeared with their Pokemon. She smiled brightly, not looking at Weedle yet.
"We did it! Yeah!" Ash shouted.
Laura ran up to Brock and Ash, as they all did an elbow lock.
"Excellent Teamwork!" Brock commented.
Suddenly, Brock looked at Laura's arms, and his smile disappeared.
"Laura, look!" he gasped.
Laura looked into her arms, and she no longer held a weedle. She held a Kakuna. The brown Cocoon stared at her with big eyes, before closing them happily. Laura gasped happily, and hugged the Kakuna tight, but not too tight in fear of crushing the Pokemon.
"Congrats!" Ash smiled. "Wait, aren't we forgetting something?"
"Yeah..." Brock frowned.
There was a moment of silence as everyone thought. Laura then realized that only Jessie, James, Ekans, and Koffing flew away. But Meowth didn't.
"Where's Meowth!" Everyone gasped.
Brock ran off first, and Ash grabbed Laura's wrist before her started running. Laura soon caught up after returning Kakuna, and Charmander started to dash after her. All the trainers ran past the fellow Pokemon in the cave, skipping over pebbles and rocks. Soon, they found the entrance, not much light flooding into the cave. They ran out, and searched around the area, not finding anything Meowth related. But when they heard the shrieks of Clefairy, they knew something was up. The dashed towards the sound, jumping over sharp rocks, sliding down the mountain side, and arriving at a river, which Charmander was extra careful around. They then found Misty standing in the water, Semore sitting in it, and Clefairy balancing on a rock holding the moonstone.
"Is everybody alright?" Ash asked.
"Yeah, we heard Clefairy's scream!" Laura said.
Misty closed her eyes, smirking.
"We won't be bothered by Meowth anymore, thanks to Misty the Mighty!" Misty announced, shrugging.
...
"What's that?" Ash asked.
Evening had fallen upon the group, and everyone had spent a nice couple hours at the river. They waded in the water, they enjoyed the nice warm sun, and they all conversed, making each other laugh. Now, they were enjoying a nice dinner, prepared by Brock.
"This is Pokemon food, made from my own secret recipe. The ingredients are specially blended for each Pokemon." Brock said, as he fed one of the bite sized cylinders to Zubat.
Brock was holding a canister of what was filled with Pokemon food. Each one was brown, and small. They weren't round, but like I mentioned, cylinder shaped. Brock handed a couple pieces to everybody so they could feed their Pokemon.
Laura let out Kakuna. She gave one of the pebbles to Charmander, who devoured it happily. Although, when she tried to give it to Kakuna, he wouldn't open his mouth, or what she hoped was his mouth.
"Why won't Kakuna eat?" she asked Brock.
"Kakuna is resting. He has no mouth, and needs to relax until he's ready to become a Beedrill." Brock explained.
"Oh." Laura said.
She kept the extra Pokemon pellet in her hand. Ash's Butterfree was happily munching upon one of the pieces of food.
"How does it taste?" Ash asked his Butterfree.
"I've been developing it for years. I keep improving on the recipe." Brock continued explaining. "I'll make a batch for Pikachu and Charmander."
"Thanks." Laura nodded.
"I-I'll try some." Semore said.
He plucked a piece of the Pokemon food from the canister and popped it into his mouth. He started chewing, and soon considered the taste.
"Mm. Not bad." He admitted.
"Really?" Ash asked. "Let me taste."
"I'll try too." Laura said, as she looked at the piece still in her palm.
She and Ash popped it into their mouths, and started chewing. The pellet was crunchy, but easy to bite through. It settled upon Laura's tongue for a minute, before she spit it out in disgust.
"Ew! Sorry Brock, not for me!" she complained.
Ash chewed his for a minute, and his nose went blue, as he started shivering and squelching.
"You guys may not like it, but the Pokemon sure do." Brock said, looking sheepish.
Charmander, Pikachu, and Clefairy were discussing something in Pokespeak upon a rock. Clefairy clutched the moonstone she held protectively. Everyone seemed to be staring at them.
"Pikachu and Charmander make friends so easily!" Ash commented. "I wonder what they're talking about."
Suddenly, Pikachu stood up and raised his hand, Clefairy getting to her feet too. Charmander let out a small squeal to gather the trainer's attention.
"What's up, Pikachu?" Ash asked.
Clefairy then hopped away, and Pikachu jumped after her, followed by Charmander. The group then got up and followed the Pokemon.
...
Night had fallen, and the group had ended up following the Pokemon up a hill.
"Guys, where on earth are you taking us?" Ash asked.
"We've been walking for hours, and I'm tired..." Laura complained.
The Pokemon jumped through a bush, and the group followed them. They looked before them to see a large hole into a stone wall that scoped up.
"It's another cave!" Ash and Laura said.
Before long, they had already started to venture the dark tunnels, and in a matter of minutes, the Pokemon led them to a very large room inside the cave. As everyone saw what was lying in the room, they awed at it. The cave had an open ceiling, and the moon and stars shined through the cave room.
"It's the core of the moonstone!" Semore gasped.
"This feels like a dream!" Misty said, smiling.
"So the moonstone legend is true." Brock mused, still sticking to a straight face.
"It's so sparkly." Laura said, gazing upon the boulder.
"Look, Clefairy's doing something!" Ash said.
Clefairy had hopped up to the stage where the moonstone lay, and around it, Laura noticed, were small smooth stones. They sparkled like the moonstone itself, and they were all aligned perfectly. And there was only one spot missing. Clefairy stopped next to the empty spot, and bent down, placing the fragment of moonstone she was holding into the empty slot. Suddenly, all the stones around the moonstone started to glow a light blue, and the moonstone itself lit the same color in a matter of seconds. As if on cue, bunches of different Clefairy made their way into the large room, chanting as they walked in from different tunnels.
"Awe, I really want to catch one!" Laura whined.
"There's so many of them." Misty said, in a bit of shock.
The Clefairy that the group had befriended had walked to face them, as all the other Clefairy turned to the group as well. The Pokemon seemed to be chanting something, as if talking to the others without eye contact. It waved its arms in the air, and then bowed.
"I think it's saying hello." Ash laughed.
"They're so cute!" Laura mused.
"Yeah!" Brock smiled.
"Oh, look at them!" Misty pointed out.
Laura looked upon the Pokemon, and her eyes went wide. They were all jumping, and seemed to be dancing to a sort of tune they chimed. They all twirled around as they jumped in three large circles.
"Amazing!" Semore commented. "These Clefairy formed their own society. This is an incredible sight!"
Suddenly, it came to Laura's mind that Clefairy, Pikachu, and Charmander had talked a lot, and no one knew quite what it was about.
"Charmander, what have you all been telling each other anyway?" Laura asked.
Pikachu started to wave his arms to the right, and Charmander started t wave his to the left.
"You understand that?" Semore asked.
"Nope." Laura admitted.
"Of course I do! It's my Pokemon." Ash butted in. "The Clefairy collect all of these rocks and...do the macarina!"
Pikachu tensed up, and Laura could tell that was the wrong answer. He fell to the floor, but quickly got back up. Then, Pikachu made an 'X' with his arms, confirming the answer was incorrect. Pikachu grabbed the Clefairy that the group had met, and pointed to her. Then, he picked her up.
"The Clefairy pick up?" Ash questioned.
"A pickup truck?" Brock asked.
Pikachu pointed to Misty, a smile on his face. Misty then pumped a fist.
"Raising! I've got it!" Misty smiled.
Pikachu waved his hands around, and Misty seemed to understand what he meant.
"Sounds like raising..." she said.
"Praising? Praising the moonstone?" Laura guessed.
Pikachu and Charmander clapped their hands, and Laura pumped a fist, happy she had gotten it right.
"Alright!" Brock and Misty exclaimed.
"Is it because the moonstone fell from the heavens?" Semore asked to no one in particular.
"Then maybe the legends are true. Maybe the moonstone really did come from space." Misty thought aloud.
"Yeah." Ash said, looking at her.
"Yeah! I wonder if anything's inside of it?" Laura mused enthusiastically.
"Of course! It all makes sense now!" Semore twirled as he shouted.
"Huh?" Laura asked.
"What does?" Ash asked.
"Outer space! Pokemon, and the human race will ride the moonstone into space! First to the moon, then to Mars, then together to the stars!" Semore awed, his eyes shining.
"There he goes again with the poetry." Laura sweat dropped.
"Stars? That's our cue!" said a scratchy voice.
Laura recognized it immediately to be Meowth's voice. The group turned to see Meowth, Jessie, and James. Meowth was in the middle of them, and both of the teenagers gave the group icy smiles. James had his hand perched on his hip, and Jessie had her hands down by her sides.
"You guys don't know when to quit." Ash said, furrowing his eyebrows.
Laura rolled her eyes at them.
"Tell me about it." she commented, annoyed.
Semore seemed to snort a bit, before stepping forward and throwing his hands to the side.
"You keep away from the moonstone or else!" Semore yelled.
All the Clefairy looked worried, for they stopped dancing and turned to face Team Rocket. Charmander and Pikachu both seemed to want to protect them, so they stood in front of the hoard.
"Or else?" James said, pretending to be offended.
"I think we've been threatened." Jessie smiled icily.
Laura growled and held out a fist.
"Heck yeah, you have! Trust me when I say we can beat you again." Laura snarled.
"How cute, she thinks we can be beaten?" James said, giving Laura an icy smile.
"I'll show you!" Semore shouted, his knees shaking.
He started to yell, and he awkwardly started to run to Team Rocket.
"No, Semore!" Ash yelled.
"Stop!" Laura shouted.
Semore ignored them and closed his eyes as he ran. Meowth took note of this, and stuck his foot in front of Semore. When Semore's foot caught onto Meowth's, he stumbled forward, and fell on his face.
"Ouch..." Laura dragged, flinching.
Meowth just laughed and shrugged.
"Heh! Did ya have a nice 'trip'?" Meowth mocked.
Semore lifted himself off the ground so he was perched on her knees. His glasses were no longer on his face, and his eyes looked small.
"My glasses. I can't see a thing!" Semore panicked, patting the ground.
"Oh, Semore!" Misty said, frowning.
"That wasn't fair!" Ash shouted.
"No kidding, it's Team Rocket!" Laura commented.
"All's fair in a Pokemon match, boy!" Jessie said, ignoring Laura's comment.
"Enough talk!" James smirked.
"I agree! Let's go, Pikachu!" Ash yelled, pointing ahead of him.
Jessie and James already had their Pokeballs ready, and Pikachu was on the battlefield.
"Charmander, you too!" Laura commanded.
"Onix, let's go!" Brock said, run-in up beside the two.
Jessie and James threw their Pokeballs, and out appeared Koffing and Ekans, energized and ready to fight. The Clefairy were whimpering from behind, as they shook and repeated their names. Onix appeared from his Pokeball with a loud roar. Pikachu and Charmander climbed to the top of Onix, and they were perched on his head, towering above Ekans and Koffing menacingly.
"Let's show them that size doesn't matter! Ekans, underground!" Jessie commanded.
"Koffing, smokescreen." James said confidently.
Ekans jumped up, and dove underground, pebbles and rocks parting to let him through the cave flooring. Koffing flew up and sprayed brown gasses from it's craters. Suddenly, the smog surrounded the room, causing Pikachu, Charmander, and Onix to lose sight of everything. Laura and Ash coughed and waved away the smoke with their hands.
"Smoke won't stop us." Ash said in-between coughs.
He pulled a Pokeball from his belt and supersized it. He reeled his arm back, ready to throw the Pokeball.
"Pidgeoto, I choose you!" Ash shouted.
The Pokeball flew from Ash's grasp, and hurled through the air, disappearing into the smog. Laura could no longer see it, but she could see the blue light that struck through the smoke, as if lightening in a storm. Pidgeoto flew from the smoke, and Laura smiled under the hand blocking her mouth. Brock, Misty, Ash, and Laura continued to cough, shooing off the smoke that clouded their sight.
"Pidgeoto, shoo away the smoke!" Ash commanded.
Pidgeoto flew high up into the cave, and flapped his wings frantically, shooing away the smoke. All was clear, and Laura felt satisfied with the fresh air entering her lungs. Laura looked around for Team Rocket, but they weren't in front of her. She looked behind her, where the moonstone should have been. Should have been. The moonstone was no longer sitting in it's spot. A large hole was in the place of the moonstone.
"Huh? The moonstone is gone!" Ash exclaimed.
Laura nudged him.
"No kidding." Laura said.
"Team Rocket stole it!" Misty exclaimed.
"Obviously!" Laura shouted. "Now let's go get it back!"
"Obviously!" Ash mimicked, pulling down an eyelid with a smile on his face.
Laura rolled her eyes at him playfully, and smiled. She didn't even think about anything before jumping in the hole. She slid down the side, gasping at her bad decision. Everyone gasped, and Ash jumped in after her, soaring down to retrieve her.
"Onix, get them!" Brock commanded.
Onix soared down the hole, and as the others were falling, he grabbed the edge of their shirts in his mouth. They collided together, bumping into each other a bit, before Laura immediatley hugged Ash, scared.
"God, I'm stupid...oh God, thanks for trying to jump after me! What the...oh God!" she repeated, horrified.
Ash simply patted her back, sweating a bit.
"Uh...there there..." he murmured.
Onix had retrieved them, and brought them back up. Laura and Ash hit the ground with a small thud, and Laura got up.
"Laura!" Brock said, running over to her. "Don't just jump in a deep hole! You could've been hurt!" he exclaimed.
Misty strutted over to Laura with her hands on her hips. When she was in front of the slightly small girl, she raised her hand, and swiped it, slapping Laura's face.
"Ow!" Laura shouted grabbing her cheek.
"You're so stupid! You could've been killed!" Misty shouted.
Laura rubbed her cheek.
"I get it, I get it!" she repeated. "But we're wasting time! We need to find team Rocket!"
"Alright, Onix! Follow the tunnel underground!" Brock commanded.
The Pokemon slithered through the entrance of the hole, leaving a trail of rubble and pebbles after him. Ash and Laura ran to the entrance they came in, followed by Misty and Brock. Pikachu, Charmander, and Pidgeoto quickly followed behind their trainers.
"There's still a chance to catch them!" Ash exclaimed.
"Semore, come on!" Laura shouted, stopping in her tracks.
"I-I'll stay here and protect the Clefairy!" Semore said triumphantly.
Laura nodded, before running to catch up with the group she almost left behind, Semore looking for his glasses still.
...
Ash, Misty, Laura, Brock, and the Pokemon had seen Onix burst from the ground, Team Rocket and their escape vehicle startled as they crashed into the rocky Pokemon. The sled they used as their escape burst into pieces, and the moonstone flew away from Team Rocket, still in one piece.
"Got 'em!" Ash exclaimed.
"Nice work, Onix! Grab them now!" Brock commanded.
Laura ran as fast as she could, tracing ahead of the group to the moonstone. Team Rocket lay on the ground dizzily, their Pokemon all unconscious due to the shock. Onix hurdled toward Team Rocket, after James regained sight.
"Koffing, counter attack!" James requested.
Koffing, carrying his permanent creepy smile, flew from his Trainer's side, and bounced off of Onix's head. Onix reacted so immensely, and he fell to the ground, hurt. Like a David and Goliath story, but Goliath was the hero. Laura ran to Onix, and pet his head gingerly.
"Onix!" Brock said, worriedly.
Brock quickly returned his rock Pokemon.
"Hey, look!" Ash said.
"It's-" Misty started.
"Semore!" Laura said, looking up.
Semore sat in a hole, looking around confused. His head and shoulders had popped from it, and he seemed to have found his glasses, for they were on his face. But Semore wasn't alone. Behind him, all the Clefairy that had lived in the cave, popped out from the hole, jumping around with smiles on their faces. They started to line up, facing Team Rocket, and in front of Semore.
"Meowth! What's going on?!" Meowth said to nobody in particular.
The Clefairy in the center raised his scrawny arms into the sky, followed by all the others. A lone finger pointed to the stars, from every Clefairy's hand. Suddenly, they started to wave their arms back and fourth, singing a tune out of their chant.
"Clefairy, Clefairy, Clefairy..." They went on.
"What are they doing?" Jessie asked, annoyed.
"Waving their fingers." James said, as if it was ineffective.
Just after he said the, Team Rocket started to move their upper body in beat with the chants and the waving of the Pokemon's fingers.
"This way, and that way, this way, and that way." Meowth said, following the movements.
Suddenly, Ash, Misty, Brock, and Laura started to do the same thing. Laura was a goof, so she spun in circles in her room whenever she was bored. The dizziness she received at the moment was nothing compared to that of the spinning in her room.
"I'm getting dizzy..." Misty said wearily.
"I'm used to it." Laura said, in as normal a voice as could be used.
"This is an attack that the Clefairy use called the Metronome." Semore said, clearly dizzy.
Pikachu and Charmander followed in with the head and body movement. Pikachu seemed unfazed by the movements, but Charmander had a dizzy look on his face.
"I've never seen the Clefairy use the Metronome before, who knows what'll happen." Semore said dizzily.
The Clefairy suddenly stopped with their movements, and put their arms down. Suddenly, a bright glow was emitted from the Moonstone that Team Rocket tried to make away with. With that, the Clefairy started to glow as well, and their brightness forced Laura to cover her eyes. Suddenly, the ground beneath them started to shake, and she could feel the movements of the earth below her. She could hear the earth crack before her, and she refused to look. And that's when the explosion took place. The Clefairy were shot into the sky, and Team Rocket with them, due to how close they were standing together.
"Well it looks like we're." Jessie started.
"Blasting off again..." James muttered in defeat.
"Thanks too the Metronome!" Meowth shouted.
"I give it two thumbs down." Jessie stormed angrily.
"Me too!" James approved.
"Meowth three!" Meowth finished.
A large hole was planted in the ground where the explosion took place. Laura had some ash on her face, and she wiped it away with her arm a bit. Suddenly, something fell from the sky. Upon seeing it, Laura thought it was snow.
"Is it snowing in the summer?" she asked.
"No, it's the moonstone." Semore corrected her, amazed.
"It must've exploded in the explosion." Laura thought aloud.
Laura couldn't take her eyes off the moonstone, and she was in awe as it slowly fell to the Clefairy. The Clefairy looked so utterly happy to see the moonstone, and they all eagerly waited for it to touch them. It suddenly touched a single head, and the Clefairy lit up. It touched another head, and one by one, all the Clefairy were glowing. Then, they weren't Clefairy anymore. They were Clefable! They all started to turn into Clefable, and Laura watched in awe. Clefable was a tall, pink Pokémon with a vaguely star-shaped body. It had long, pointed ears with dark brown tips and black, oval eyes with wrinkles on either side. A curled lock of fur hung over its forehead, much like its long, tightly curled tail. There were dark pink wings on its back, and each wing had three points. Its hands had three fingers each, and its feet had two clawed toes and dark pink soles.
"The Clefairy are..." Brock started.
"Evolving." Misty finished.
"I see." Laura stared in awe.
Ash took out his Pokedex, and scanned one of the Clefable.
"Clefable. And advanced form of Clefairy. These unique creatures are among the rarest Pokemon in the world." the Pokedex announced.
"Rarest in the world?!" Laura enthused. "So cool! And we get to see a bunch right in front of us!"
"The power of the moonstone did this." Semore said.
Their were quite a few Clefable, and still a couple Clefairy also there as well.
...
The Clefable and Clefairy were back in their cave, what was left of the moonstone back in it's place. They were all jumping around and dancing happily, and it made Laura feel all warm inside. Semore seemed to smile a bit, and then turned to the trainers.
"I decided to live here with the Clefairy!" he announced.
"Huh?!" everyone said, shocked.
"It's been my life's dream to find the moonstone. Someday I will travel to the stars with the Clefairy." Semore said, proudly.
"Wow." Misty said in awe.
"When you do visit outer space, I hope you remember to send us a postcard!" Brock half-joked.
Laura still thought Semore was a little looney, but liked his plan.
"Let us know when you're ready, so we can see space too!" Laura said with a smile and a thumbs up.
Everyone just stopped to look at the Clefable and Clefairy, including Pikachu and Charmander. They all looked very happy around the moonstone, and Laura knew that the Pokemon - and Semore - would live here happily together. And this simple thought filled her with joy, and made her smile.
"You know what? I think you'll enjoy it here." Laura said to Semore, without looking at him.
She just smiled while looking at the Clefairy and Clefable.
"I think so too." Ash said, smiling at Laura.
Laura turned to Ash, the very slightly taller boy grinning at her. She smiled at him too, and wrapped her arm around his friend, as they continued to look at the Pokemon. Ash, wrapped his arm around Laura too, both of them watching the Pokemon.
...
The next morning, the group of Trainers were ready to set off on their journey again.
"So long, Semore! Goodbye, Clefairy!" Ash shouted happily, waving.
"I'll miss you Semore! Take care of the Clefairy and Clefable!" Laura said, waving frantically.
"Goodbye Ash and Laura! Goodbye, Charmander and Pikachu! And thank you all!" Semore shouted.
Everybody waved their goodbye's, smiling.
"Do you think the Clefairy really came to earth from outer space?" Ash asked, as the group walked away.
"It's fun to imagine they did." Misty said enthusiastically.
"I guess we'll find out someday!" Laura said cheerily.
...
Ash, Laura, Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Charmander were all walking simply along the path. They reached a path that cut into two, and a sign on the left side of the path. Brock read it aloud for everybody to hear.
"This road leads to Cerulean City." he read.
Misty seemed to have an unpleasant look on her face after Brock read the sign, something Laura noticed and took note of.
"Well, I guess we're headed the right way." Brock said, pleased. "There's something else scribbled here..."
Laura shrugged.
"I'm sure it was some stupid trainer, thinking that vandalism is so cool." Laura said, rolling her eyes, and looking at it.
She read it aloud.
"Gary was here...Ash and Laura are losers!" Laura said, shocked.
She growled angrily, and Ash did the same.
"Well, I got the stupid part right!" Laura yelled.
"Aw, that Gary!" Ash snarled. "We'll show you!"
Ash grabbed Laura's wrist, and started to dash down the path, clutching onto her as she caught up. Pikachu and Charmander were following behind them.
"What a jerk, that Gary!" Laura screamed.
"What's the hurry?!" Misty called.
"They'll never learn." Brock said, shaking his head.
And so, Ash and Laura raced towards their rival, ready for the next adventure, and their journey to the top.