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Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 91: Give me Relaxation

At the Oak research lab, Ash and Comet both released their final pokemon for their two on two battle. The first round had been Ash's Sceptile versus Comet's Gyarados, Shenron. After round one ended with a draw, everything rested on the last two pokemon standing in the designated battle area in the Oaks' vast land. Comet's true style of battle was quite different from the display he made when infiltrating Tempest. This was something Ash was glad for. It made him subconsciously compare Team Rocket with Tempest and other gangs. Though in this case it had been the same person working as an infiltrator, there were many examples when the differences shone through. Team Rocket was a criminal organization, Ash understood that, but life wasn't all black and white.

"Pikachu, stay on your guard, thunderbolt!" Ash found piece in the midst of battle. He was reminded of the friendly battles he had with Jessie and James after they became friends. He would sometimes team up with Misty to train with them simultaneously in a double battle. It was those battles which helped them become closer friends and reach a deeper understanding of each other.

"Rykros, fly up and use focus energy," Comet commanded. His pokemon obeyed and basically disappeared in the vertical distance.

Ash tilted his head backwards as did Pikachu. "That's high," he commented sounding somehow amused.

"Did I break a rule or something?" Comet wondered. "I've never had any official battles."

"Really? No contests or tournaments?" Ash asked in surprised. He knew when someone liked battling and he could sense that Comet did.

"A few tournaments, but those were not really official," Comet explained with a secretive look.

It took Ash a moment to catch on. Any tournaments Comet might have entered must have been internal in Team Rocket or maybe even illegal. His pokemon clearly trusted him, which further reminded Ash that people, and groups were more than just good or bad. "There are no vertical limits in this battle so it's okay. Besides, I've had my pokemon fly really high and out of reach in official matches before. They have to come down sometime."

"And they're all going to have to stop playing shadow tag sometime too, so that the battle can continue," Gary commented from the sidelines. The audience, consisting of Delia, Misty, Pixel, Laiki and Gary, was quite amused.

The two trainers watched as Rykros flew lower, with the two baby pokemon, Swablu and Meteor, the Absol, having wondered into the battle field. They were joined by the green Bulbasaur in trying to 'catch' the Scyther's shadow. The flying pokemon seemed to find amusement in watching them jump on his shadow. Rykros positioned himself on top of Pikachu, which caused the three younger pokemon to jump on him, caught up in their game. Pikachu was left in the bottom of a pokemon mountain, but he was laughing none the less.

Delia smiled at the funny little interruption, "okay you three, come over here so the battle can continue, then afterwards I'll give you cookies." The three small pokemon cheered and rushed to join Delia and the others in the sidelines.

At the mention of cookies, Peachy popped out of her pokeball on Pixel's belt. The sudden red beam made Pixel jump in surprise, though immediately after, she thought she should have known. "Pika!" Peachy exclaimed loudly as her eyes shone.

"Sometimes I think Peachy's mission in life is to eat all the sweets in the world," Pixel theorized, never mind that her primary food was also sugar.

"Do you want cookies too, sweetie?" Delia smiled kindly at Peachy. She seemed close in age to Ash's Pikachu, perhaps a little younger.

Peachy approached Delia with a wide smile, nodding her head eagerly, "pika! Pika!" She cheered as Delia petted her.

"Chu..." Pikachu's eyes traveled to the female of his species, admiring her shiny yellow coat and energetic atmosphere. However, she seemed focused on Delia as she had been the one to mention cookies.

'I bet she's going to make you give her all your treats,' Rykros teased. Teasing other pokemon seemed to be something he liked to do, even if he knew not to tease Purry, that Meowth had quite the temper.

Pikachu's already red cheeks emitted sparks of slight embarrassment as he was caught staring. 'I didn't say anything...'

After the battle field was safely cleared, the battle was ready to resume. Ash saw the sparks flying from Pikachu's cheeks and assumed he was ready for an epic fight. "That's right Pikachu, let's give it our all!"

"Let's do this Rykros, show them your power!" Comet cheered on his own pokemon as well, unaware of the real cause of the male Pikachu's 'blushing' sparks.

Albeit Pikachu's reaction was perceived by all the other humans present, no one really said anything aside from Rykros, who had spoken in pokemon language. Peachy's mind was far from thinking of the opposite gender, as her head was filled with thoughts of food.

The two trainers knew very well that this round would be fast and strong as both pokemon were blessed with speed and power. The outbreak of commands began with a "thunderbolt" from Ash and a "hyper beam" from Comet. The blasts of energy collided in a bright light, but neither pokemon or trainer relented.

"Quick attack!" Ash called out. That Scyther was very speedy and if Pikachu was going to land a direct hit, he would have to close in fast. "Thunderbolt!"

"Swords dance!" With that attack, Rykros would prevent Pikachu from getting too close as well as deflecting his attack. At least that was what would have happened in most cases. However, Pikachu's electric attack was far too strong for Rykros to deflect. Realizing this after only the very beginning of Pikachu's attacked reached his pokemon, Comet quickly instructed him to use, "hyper beams, from above!"

Rykros caught some of Pikachu's electricity, but he was still able to battle despite feeling the stinging pain of the attack. He conjured a series of beams unleashing them as fast as he could while his target remained hidden in the light of their colliding powers. Neither trainer could see what was going on, nor could the audience. Following his sense of logic, Rykros aimed his beams at the source of the bolts of electricity shooting up at him from the ground. Pausing to catch his breath, Rykros waited for the extreme light to fade away and hopefully reveal his fainted opponent, but it didn't. The light didn't fade at all, instead taking a yellow hue as Pikachu unleashed his final thunderbolt and caused his opponent to faint.

"Rykros..." Comet observed the markings in the burnt grass. "I see, Pikachu used his own electricity as a decoy," he realized. "You put up a good fight, come back and rest." He recalled the Scyther into his pokeball.

Ash rubbed his eyes, which were watery from stubbornly trying to see what was going on, even if it had been impossible until the display of power ceased. "Great job Pikachu!" He cheered. Pikachu had gotten quite a workout and used a large amount of energy. "That was a fun battle. It's been a long time since I've seen Pikachu all out of breath, I thought only Ritchie could do that." The fact that he was able to battle someone who was still actively in Team Rocket without it being a true war, but a friendly test of skill and power, added to Ash's reassurance.

"I say the same that was a really good strategy at the end," Comet complimented. "Now all you have to do is win the next Indigo League."

Misty watched Ash and Comet shake hands and continue their conversation. That was all fine and wonderful; her worries had evaporated upon witnessing the scene. She was reassured again that not everyone in Team Rocket was bad. However, since the Indigo League was brought up, now Ash would probably go on and on about it for the rest of the visit. She found herself laughing unexpectedly. This visit was indeed just like a visit with old friends. Any tension that might have been left was completely gone after the battle.

Among friendly conversation and Ash's speech about how he was looking forward to the Indigo League, the group, joined by Gary, returned to the Pallet House.

xoxox xox xoxox

A few minutes later, Delia, Ash, Misty, Gary, Laiki, Comet, Pixel and their pokemon, were back at the Pallet House. The rest of the pokemon had been let out of their pokeballs to join in having an afternoon snack. Delia and Mimey emerged from the kitchen, heading towards the outdoor table were the group was seated. They each carried a large tray with mountains of cookies for the group to devour.

Pikachu had decided to try to speak to the female Pikachu, who seemed to be the pokemon of that blue haired girl, Pixel. He knew she was a Rocket pokemon, but with Ash being the son of the Rocket boss, he didn't think it would matter too much if he happened to be friends with a Rocket pokemon. Besides, the group of trainers seemed to get along just fine with Ash and his mother. "Pika..." he tried to get her attention. It's not like he didn't have any female friends when he used to live in the wild before he ended up as Ash's pokemon. That was different, he was very young. He had met many other pokemon during his journey with Ash, but this one seemed to stand out. Everything from her presence, to her scent, to the static atmosphere perceivable by other electric pokemon was unique.

The female Pikachu, whom Ash's Pikachu had heard being called Peachy by her trainer, had been occupying her attention with the younger pokemon. Something seemed to spark her interest, quite literally as she smiled brightly and a few small electric sparks escaped her cheeks.

Ash's Pikachu smiled back, feeling flattered at such a seemingly approving reaction. He was about to try to make conversation, perhaps pointing out their mutual liking towards interaction with the young pokemon or speaking of the interesting connections of their trainers. Maybe he would inquire what life was like for her. If her healthy appearance, extra glossy coat and cheery disposition were any indication, Rocket or not, she was treated well. However, his train of thought halted when Peachy dashed right past him, apparently not even noticing him. She proceeded to climb on to her trainer's lap and from there reached the table.

Little Meteor began to climb up Comet's leg to get up to the table. Comet quickly picked him up before the small Absol decided to use his tiny claws for a better climbing grip. He placed the baby pokemon on his lap, where he could reach the cookies closest to Comet's side of the table without diving into the cookie mountain head first. Pixel had done the same thing with Peachy, knowing all too well what a bottomless pit she was. Pikachu pouted upon realizing that Peachy had not really given him a second glance, focusing on the food instead.

The baby Swablu had begun to try to fly, learning by instinct. She landed on Ash's head and from there jumped on to the table. The table was becoming quite crowded with pokemon hurrying to get their share of cookies before they ran out. "I better get some more cookies ready," Delia observed the pokemon clear most of the cookies and returned to the kitchen.

"Chu..." sighing softly, Pikachu used Ash as a way to climb up to the table where he found that the cookies were already all gone, save for one. He reached for the last cookie in the middle of the table at the same time that Peachy got loose from Pixel and went to grab the cookie. Their yellow paws touched as they reached for the treat and a few sparks flew with the sudden contact of two powerful Pikachu.

The male electric pokemon looked at the female in front of him and smiled. She took him by surprise with a battle cry of 'my cookie!' And tackled him right off the table. The event was interpreted by the humans as the two pokemon playing. Swablu and Meteor thought that the two Pikachu were no longer interested in the last cookie and they both reached for it at the same time. They both retreated and waited before pushing the cookie towards the other back and forth. They finally resolved the issue by breaking the cookie in half and sharing it.

"So, how are things with Team Rocket?" Gary suddenly asked, which made all the color drain from Ash's face. In a matter of seconds all his blood went to his feet and his face became white as a sheet. Misty had a somewhat opposite reaction, with her face becoming as red as her hair.

Gary was looking right at Pixel. He had been giving her suspicious glances, which were not missed by Laiki. The blond girl was a little jealous misinterpreting the suspicious looks. The cause of those glances was the fact that Gary recognized her as being from Team Rocket. A look of realization overtook Comet's face as he learned why Gary had been looking at Pixel. No one seemed to notice the change in his expression, since they were all focused on Gary.

Delia returned from the kitchen with more chocolate chip cookies, while Mimey followed her with three cake containers on top of each other. Delia placed the cookie tray on the table and took Mimey's load off his hands to place on the table. Before going back to the kitchen to get plates, spoons and a knife to cut the cake, she paused seeing Ash's pale face and Misty's flustered expression. "Did I miss something?"

The movement of time had become frozen upon Gary's question and went back into motion when Delia spoke. The atmosphere unfreezing caused Pixel to exclaim, "cosplay!"

Gary nodded in acceptance, he somehow knew there was little more to be done than to agree to the explanation. "Getting into character, weren't you?" Given the fact that Delia's cooking had helped convert Rockets into good citizens before, Gary considered his thoughts for a moment longer. It wasn't unheard of for Ash to end up being friends with someone who was formerly in Team Rocket. It happened with Jessie and James so who was to say it couldn't happen again? Though he didn't quite believe the cosplay story, he didn't think Pixel had any intentions of carrying out any wrong doings, thus he let it go. "It was a very realistic costume."

"Thanks," Pixel discreetly glanced at the pale Ash, who still seemed to believe that the mention of Team Rocket was somehow related to him.

Misty had begun to regain her normal color. As for Ash, the normal flow of his blood wasn't restored until Misty placed her reassuring hand on his hand under the table and smiled. Though still somehow confused about what had transpired, Ash decided to let it go, since everyone else seemed to be okay with it. Delia returned to the kitchen while the animated conversation about pokemon resumed at the table. It was as if Gary's mention of Team Rocket had never occurred.

All the while, Peachy and Pikachu were rolling around the floor trying to pin the other down to establish ownership of the already consumed cookie or for the sake of self defense. Contrary to Purry, Peachy was generally friendly and only became territorial and possessive when there was food involved. As the second batch of cookies began to be consumed, Peachy bolted back towards the table with Pikachu calling after her, demanding an explanation. Frustrated to be ignored, Pikachu let out a low voltage electric charge that was not meant to pick a fight, but to get Peachy's attention. At that very moment, Ash decided to look over to see what the two yellow pokemon were doing and caught Pikachu in what appeared to be a surprise attack on the back. "Pikachu, what are you doing?"

"Pi pika chu!" Pikachu defended himself pointing his accusing paw at Peachy.

Peachy pouted and looked into Ash's eyes, ignoring the small painless jolt of electricity that barely tickled. She moved her ears down and gave him a sad expression. This was something she did when convincing humans to give her food. "Aw," instantly feeling sorry for her, Ash picked up Peachy and offered her a cookie. "It's okay, don't cry." He looked at Pikachu with disapproval, "what was that for? You're usually better behaved than this."

"Chu! Pi pika chu!" Pikachu argued to no avail. Ash offered Peachy another cookie which she happily ate as well. For the time being, she seemed comfortable sitting on Ash's lap as long as he kept feeding her. Pikachu kept pouting in exasperation until he saw Peachy... did she just wink? Was she just playing before? Of all the confusing things to do...

Though Peachy wasn't particularly violent, Purry was rather aggressive. Pyro liked to glomp and cling to just about any female he laid eyes upon. Then there was the fact that at times Pixel literally threw Peachy into battle, giving her an edge by allowing her to attack from above. She also often slept with Peachy as if she was a plush toy, rolling around and somehow not causing Peachy to wake up. To summarize, a bit of rough treatment was nothing but harmless playfulness for Peachy, who saw little difference between a hug and a tackle. Thus despite being indeed possessive of food, in the end she was only playing.

Delia returned with the dishes and utensils just as the cookies ran out. The cake was served and she rejoined the group at the table. The conversation remained on the topic of pokemon and Team Rocket didn't come up again. There was a story about a three on three battle involving Jessie and James. That story also told the tale of how Pyro evolved from a Charmander to the Charmeleon he now was. Delia, Ash and Misty suspected the story was edited in terms of how it came to be, but kept all the real elements of the battle itself. Gary had no suspicions about it, since as far as he knew, Team Rocket was ancient history for Jessie, James and apparently also for Pixel.

xoxox xox xoxox

Comet and Pixel stepped out of the elevator after his origin was revealed to him. He was quiet for a moment before finally asking, "why did you name your pokemon?"

Pixel didn't really expect the question and her answer was a rather simple one. "Because I felt like it, I suppose and it's kind of cute. Besides, it felt more original to give them names than to call them by their species. Calling them by their species would be convenient and maybe even necessary for someone who intends to catch many. I never planned on having many and I'm satisfied with what I have now. One that's tech because you know I like technology, one that's electric to provide power for electronics, and one that can fly for easy transportation. That's what I thought, practicality, but somewhere along the way I got attached to them."

Comet was surprised at just how familiar it all felt. He knew Pixel didn't like what she described as an anti-climatic history and thus insisted that the past was nothing. Though she did consider the future, she was happiest living the moment. He had always lived the moment before, he could continue doing so. "I think I'm going to name mine." He paused in front of his room's door, where he had automatically headed. He entered followed by Pixel and they both sat down on his bed. The sheets were a simple dark blue with a big Blastoise shaped pillow that he had for years.

"What will you name them?" Pixel inquired, not asking about the seemingly sudden choice to name them. She had an idea where Comet's decision came from.

Comet thought for a moment before concluding, "I guess it's not really the name that matters but what's attached to it." To name them wasn't really a necessary action. It was the training and appreciation that went to the pokemon that truly mattered, as he had learned from his father, Luke. "I'll still do it though, something cool." He took Gyarados' pokeball in his hand, "Shenron, just like that legendary super long green Gyarados that grants wishes when the seven magical orange pokeballs are collected in that show."

Pixel chuckled, "it's a classic!"

"Scyther will be..." Comet paused in thought, holding the pokeball in his other hand. The blades Scyther had, reminded him of the blades of legends such as the Master Sword, Masamune, Dual Blade, Reverse Blade, Espelancer, Elsydeon and others, but they didn't seem to fit. That last one reminded him of something else, "Rykros, after the original."

"Another classic," Pixel agreed.

Though they were inside their pokeballs, the pokemon could still hear what was being spoken around them. "Is that okay with you two? I guess if you're not popping out to protest, its fine," Comet concluded.

"So... go on, say everything that's on your mind, as if this was a verbal blog. Get it out of your system," Pixel grinned, reading Comet as easily as she would read a computer codes.

xoxox xox xoxox

After the brief stop and the pokemon naming, Comet and Pixel went to find Giovanni. They found him at the gym's arena just as he was finishing off another relatively easy battle against a Rocket grunt. On the side of the arena, there were another four Rocket agents, also in uniform. They were Jessie, James, Cassidy and Butch. After the grunt excused himself and left, Jessie and Cassidy started to loudly argue about who would battle the boss next.

While the next battle was delayed due to the argument, Comet approached Giovanni with his request. "Boss, I want to be added to the investigation of three and ten." The words were direct, to the point and not particularly revealing to anyone who didn't already know what it was about.

"Me too," Pixel added.

Giovanni observed them both, "that is still in the tracking stage," he didn't want to make an obvious move that would make number three and ten harder to catch by going into hiding. Or they could also react by suddenly becoming more active upon feeling threatened. That could bring numerous casualties that would not only upset Delia, but possibly cause trouble for Team Rocket's general operations.

Number three wasn't much of a problem in terms of power anymore. He was old, much older than the time that had actually passed. However, that gave some of his victims the opportunity to escape and live to tell the tale. Though the legendary Bloody Killer was about to die, he would go after getting a lot of attention. For the time being, the police was waiting it out, occasionally moving to try to catch him when he was weak. Thus far, he had evaded the authorities. As for number ten, that was another story. He was still a young adult, still in his prime, he was inhumanly strong and dangerous. Team Rocket had been on the look out for him since he disappeared from the lab. So far they had no significant clues, not even from interrogating Iblis.

Giovanni finally gave a more direct reply to the two Rockets. "You can join if you win a battle. All of you will battle three on three." After battling so many grunts, Giovanni was tired of battles he could easily win and opted instead for a little entertainment. He raised his voice for the last sentence; it was enough to silence Jessie and Cassidy. Jessie and James were just there for a brief visit to take care of some minor routine business at the Viridian headquarters. They didn't expect to find the boss taking on challengers and were quick to volunteer.

Jessie, James, Cassidy and Butch quickly became aware of their situation, though they were not sure how it came about. Apparently, they would need to divide themselves into two teams of three people each. Comet and Pixel were on the same team. The realization sunk in for Jessie, that she might end up stuck in a team with Cassidy if either James or Butch was chosen as the third teammate for their opponents. With that in mind, Jessie bolted across the earth arena and stood between Comet and Pixel with her arms around their shoulders. "Teammates?" She gave them a big grin.

Comet decided to go along with it, "sure."

James' eyes widened in realization, "I don't want to be on the same team as these two!" He protested with great agony.

"Enough," Giovanni made it clear that he was not in the mood for further stalling, "begin the battle, three on three."

"My money's on Jessie's team," Meowth commented from the side lines as the trainers took their positions. It only made James pout more and give Jessie a sad face.

"Take it like a Rocket!" Jessie called out in response from the other side of the arena. Six red beams were unleashed almost in perfect unison. Six shapes appeared, three on each side of the earth arena, and the battle commenced.

To be Continued

Remember that collection of deleted scenes I mentioned a few chapters back? I revised it, rearranged it and added new stuff. It can be found at Pirates Board Fiction (link in my profile) with the title of "Paradox".

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon or the other video games, anime series and movies referenced here. If you're curious about where the swords are from, here are the answers. Master Sword (Legend of Zelda, in practically every version), Masamune (Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger, Sephiroth and Frog's swords respectively), Dual Blade (Lufia II and others in the Lufia series), Reverse Blade (Rurouni Kenshin), Espelancer (Legend of Heroes: Tear of Vermillion and others in the Gagharv trilogy), Elsydeon (Phantasy Star IV: End of the Millennium). Rykros is named after the legendary planet from PSIV (the one where Le Roof inhabits) not the one from Portable, hence why Comet mentions it being the original. In case Laiki's rubbing off on you and you're wondering if Com and Pix made out after Comet was done ranting... yeah. :P That's not central to the story so I skipped it, it wasn't lemony anyway, too soon for that.