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Don't Give Me Diamonds

Diamond 92: Give me Accomplishments

Six red beams had invaded the Viridian gym arena for the three on three battle. The confrontation would decide if Comet and Pixel would join the investigation about number three and number ten or not. The teams consisted of Comet, Pixel and Jessie, versus James, Cassidy and Butch. Each trainer had called upon one of their pokemon. Jessie's Seviper, Comet's Scyther, recently named Rykros and Pixel's as of yet to evolve Charmander, Pyro, composed one team. The other team consisted of James' Carnivine, Cassidy's Houndour and Butch's Migthyena.

Pouting deeply and making a sad face, James complained once more before the battle began. "I really don't want to be in the same team as Cassidy and Batch!"

"It's Butch!" The Rocket agent whose name people often changed complained.

James had no reply for the correction, since he soon became busy trying to pry Carnivine off his face. The pokemon had become stronger over time and so had her grip, much to James' pain.

Pyro observed the scene and decided it was as good a time as ever to follow the example and go hug his own trainer. He quickly attached himself to Pixel's leg, while she tried to shake him off. "Let go, we have a battle to take care of!" She tried to pry him off a bit too hard with her long blue fingernails accidentally digging into his skin in the human version of a scratch attack.

Pyro whimpered, though he still didn't let go, since he was following Carnivine's example and she had not let go. It might have been an early random mood swing, despite her condition not yet showing, but Jessie felt compassion for the Charmander and decided to try to help Pixel get him off before she accidentally hurt him. The red haired woman succeeded in pulling the fire pokemon off his trainer, but it backfired. Finding himself in Jessie's arms, Pyro lashed on to her neck and snuggled into her chest. At the other side of the arena, a strangely jealous James witnessed the scene while turning blue from lack of oxygen.

Since Giovanni was looking impatient, the trainers who were not dealing with pokemon troubles went on the attack. "Houndour, use flame thrower on Scyther!" Cassidy shouted.

The command was backed by Butch who ordered, "Migthyena, use take down after Houndour's attack."

Their plan was obviously for Houndour to weaken Scyther and make him lose altitude with the fire. Then Migthyena would charge in to finish him off. "Rykros, quick attack!" Comet called out to his pokemon, watching as he skillfully dodged the flames that were thrown at him as he approached Houndour. When Rykros was close enough, Comet saw and opening and called out, "giga impact!" Rykros quickly changed his pace from flying in rapid zigzags, to a more direct upper approach. He gained a little altitude before slamming his scythe down on Houndour's head. It would have been fatal if not for Houndour's hard skull, which Comet also took into consideration. However, the attack was enough to leave Houndour in a daze before Comet warned, "up!" Rykros quickly flew out of the way, narrowly avoiding Migthyena's take down attack.

Houndour and Migthyena stayed close to each other after that, watching each other's backs. Comet knew that another opportunity like the one that was just cut short, would not present itself so easily. The thought was further confirmed by Cassidy's next order, "Houndour, snap out of it and jump on Migthyena's back."

Once Houndour was on Migthyena's back, Butch followed up on the plan, "jump as high as you can!" Migthyena obeyed with some difficulty due to the extra weight, giving Houndour some extra impulse.

Houndour in turn jumped when Migthyena was in the air and followed Cassidy's next instruction, "fire blast!"

"U turn!" It was a risky move, but Comet had to get Rykros out of the line of fire fast. He also wasn't about to waste the opportunity to get an attack in on Migthyena when he saw an opening. Rykros swung down below Houndour and passed by between him and Migthyena. The bug pokemon held out his scythe to slash at Migthyena. Rykros was soon back in the air on the other side after making a U shape in mid air. It all happened in a split second as Houndour fell on top of the surprised and pained Migthyena, who didn't have time to get out of the way.

"Get out there and fight or I'm sending you to the experimentation lab after I beat you to a bloody puddle!" Pixel yelled at Pyro. She wouldn't really do that, but she was angry at him for embarrassing her in front of the boss. Pyro whimpered and loosened his grip on Jessie long enough for Pixel to grab him. The blue haired girl then literally threw him into the battle field, where he landed face first with a loud undignified thump.

Jessie gasped and pointed at the fallen, but still conscious Charmander. She turned her head towards Giovanni who was watching the show from the sidelines. She searched for any hints of disapproval, but he was quietly chuckling in an almost imperceptible way, as if he was amused.

"What's his problem?" Pixel wondered with sincere confusion. "I've seen Purry jump down from much higher distances and land easily enough. Besides, whenever I throw Peachy like that, she makes good use of the opportunity to use a powerful thunderbolt in mid air. She never complains, she always looks like she's having fun."

"Purry is a feline," Comet pointed out, "and Peachy is... Peachy is special, with all the food she eats, all that energy must make her very strong." That was the same Pikachu that could be squeezed in a tight hug like a plush toy and be unconsciously used as a pillow by a sleeping Pixel without waking up until someone mentioned food. The good news about Pyro's entrance was that Rykros was given a moment to rest. The bad news was that Houndour and Migthyena were ganging up on the Charmander.

Jessie placed her hand on Pixel's shoulder like a mentor to a student, "you need to remember that Pikachu are virtually indestructible. You can't compare them to anything else."

Pixel nodded, "if you say so." She grew up as a computer geek, not a pokemon trainer. Thus she had by far the least experience in pokemon training out of all those present. She didn't obtain her first pokemon until she joined Team Rocket, right after graduating from college at the age of twenty-one. That left her with at least a decade less of experience than most of the others.

Jessie nodded and, free of the glomping Charmander, she sent her own pokemon into action. "Seviper, poison fang on Houndour!" The amount of venom in Jessie's voice was comparable to the attack itself. Seviper rushed forward to join the action.

Cassidy was quick to react, "Houndour, fire blast!" Before Houndour could respond, Pyro let out an ember attack at him. He was still a bit dazed from his entrance to the battle field and the small fire attack was not very effective in terms of damage. However, the attempt did serve as a distraction, delaying Houndour's counter attack long enough for Seviper to sink his fangs into Houndour's throat. With a sharp cry, Houndour stumbled even after Seviper let go, he was badly poisoned.

Seeing Cassidy's angry face, Butch knew he better back her up soon, "Migthyena, knock out that troublesome little Charmander with take down!"

"Pyro, use flame thrower on Migthyena!" Pixel urged him to respond to the attack.

"Rykros!" Comet began to call out to his pokemon to back up Pyro if needed. He stopped upon realizing that Pyro was glowing.

Pyro was surrounded by a bright light. Before the light even faded, while his shape was still changing, he charged forward with a flame thrower attack that stopped the already injured Migthyena in his tracks. He ran around the dark pokemon and bit his tail, unleashing a breath of fire as he did. He had thought that he really would be abandoned, though Pixel wouldn't do that. He wanted to prove himself as more than just a flirt; he wanted to show he could be a competent companion. Letting out a loud pained cry, Migthyena started to run in circles around the arena with the recently evolved Charmeleon attached to his flaming tail.

Cassidy growled in frustration and glared at James. He was on his knees at the sidelines, trying to catch his breath after his near death experience. Carnivine was still cuddling against him, though in a less deadly way. "Do something!" Cassidy yelled.

James jumped to his feet and tried to get Carnivine to battle. "Carnivine, go help Seviper fight Houndour!"

"Not that!" Cassidy reproached.

"Oh, right, sorry..." James backed away, "Carnivine, attack Seviper, let's get back at Jessie for abandoning us with Cassidy and Botch, leaf tornado!"

"It's Butch!" Migthyena's trainer corrected.

Confused with her trainer's contradicting commands, Carnivine decided to aim her attack at everyone. She spun around throwing leaves in a massive tornado that overtook the quarreling Seviper and Houndour. When the tornado ceased and the leaves cleared out, only the dizzy tangled up Seviper was still conscious. The poisoned Houndour had too much and lay knocked out near Seviper.

"You idiot!" Cassidy screamed in frustration, about to grab James by the neck.

"Hey!" Jessie shouted from the other side of the earth arena, "you leave James alone! Meowth, fury swipes on Cassidy!"

Meowth, who had been witnessing the battle from the sidelines, jumped in surprise upon being called. "What? Me?"

"Now!" Jessie roared, leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, ma'am!" Meowth rushed out to James' rescue, baring his claws at Cassidy. At the last moment, Cassidy let go of James and pushed Butch towards Meowth. The man stumbled forward, falling on top of the pokemon, causing Meowth to drop the attempted attack. "Get him off! Get him off! I'm being flattened by Betch!"

"It's Butch!" He complained again as he tried to get back on his feet.

"I think this battle's as good as won, Rykros, but just in case, charge up a hyper beam," Comet instructed his pokemon. Rykros had since flown over to his trainer, hovering near by as the battle played out, waiting for the next move to make. Comet whispered something, to which Rykros nodded. He flew across the battle field, exchanging a few quiet words with Carnivine, before flying up high. He prepared to fire the hyper beam from above on Comet's signal.

Migthyena had finally freed himself from Pyro's grip on his poor abused tail. The dark pokemon whimpered as he licked his burnt and bitten tail. Charmeleon stood proud, happy that he had evolved, waiting for the command to finish the battle. Seviper was still somewhat busy untangling himself from the knot Carnivine's attack had left him in. At least the long poison pokemon was almost free.

"Well done Pyro, finish him off with a fire blast!" Pixel encouraged. Exhausted from all the punishment he had received, Migthyena whimpered and flopped to the side before Pyro could let out his attack. "No way," Pixel found it suspicious. Cassidy didn't believe it either if her yelling at Migthyena to get up was any indication. "Stay on your guard, Pyro. Keep that fire blast ready just in case and attack if Migthyena moves." Pyro nodded and stood ready. Migthyena didn't move, so he didn't use the attack, but he kept the fire on standby anyway.

"That just leaves Carnivine; let's finish this Rykros, hyper beam!" Comet called out to his pokemon to carry out their plan. Seviper finally got untangled and considered helping Carnivine since they were friends, but stopped, witnessing the scene. The hyper beam collided with the battle arena ground below and apparently with Carnivine. The grass pokemon moved her left leaf arm as if clutching her heart, with her right leaf dramatically over her head. With an agonized gasp that she shouldn't have had time to make, she collapsed where the burn mark of the hyper beam on the ground was.

Seviper blinked and slithered over to join his teammates, Rykros and Pyro. They seemed to have decided to do a victory pose to further emphasize their triumph. The pose was actually not part of the plan. Charmeleon spun around and held out his right arm, with two claws forming a V shape. Rykros flipped in the air, then landed next to Pyro, raising one of his scythes in victory. Improvising, Seviper coiled up like a spring and hopped, then stretched out tall and proud on Pyro's other side. The three winning pokemon stayed that way for a moment until Seviper lost his balance and fell on Pyro. The newly evolved fire pokemon then fell on Rykros, leaving the winning team like a pile of dominoes.

"That was not my idea," Comet felt the need to express his disclaimer for the silliness. He chuckled in amusement none the less.

"The battle is over," Giovanni announced officially.

The certified acknowledgement of the end of the match made James react. He had been staring at the unmoving Carnivine anxiously because she was yet to even twitch after she dramatically fainted. He rushed to her side with worry, apparently being the only one present who didn't realize that the hyper beam had purposely missed. Carnivine knew James didn't really want Cassidy and Batch, Botch or Betch, whatever his name was, to win. Thus she took the fall to end the battle, which was looking favorable for Jessie and her teammates anyway. "Carni-" James couldn't even finish his worried statement before Carnivine tackled him in another bone crushing, suffocating affectionate hug.

"That's cheating!" Cassidy stammered, "Migthyena didn't faint and neither did Carnivine! They should both be able to battle... Houndour too!" She looked at Houndour, whom she had not yet recalled. Her pokemon was just beginning to stir. Migthyena looked pretty beat up and would probably take a while to recover.

"Unable to battle or unwilling to battle, either way, you lose," Giovanni spoke and no one dared to question him. "Cassidy, Botch, clean up the arena," he ordered.

Cassidy considered protesting, but wisely decided against it, "yes, boss." Butch frowned but didn't dare to correct Giovanni in the incorrect use of his name.

Jessie cheered, feeling especially accomplished that they had beaten Cassidy. James was still busy trying to get Carnivine to let him go, while all the others recalled their pokemon. The trainers gave their respective pokemon a few words of gratitude for a good battle, except Butch, who remained silent and Cassidy, who kept grumbling and growling in frustration.

xoxox xox xoxox

It was after that three on three battle that Comet and Pixel hung out with Laiki for a while. Then the three of them ended up going to Pallet Town to see Delia. After Ash and Comet's battle and some yummy sweets from Delia, it was almost evening.

"We should get going soon," Delia gently noted.

"Yes," Ash was smiling as if any left over tension was completely gone after having such a good time with everyone. He was now looking forward to seeing his father again.

"Going somewhere?" Gary curiously asked.

"Yeah, we're going to..." Ash paused looking for a truthful but not too revealing reply, "to Giovanni's place for a while."

"I see," Gary smiled, he was aware of Delia's relationship with the Viridian gym leader, everyone was, even if no one knew of Ash's true connection. "Have fun," he was sincerely glad that Ash was adapting to the whole situation so well.

"We should get going too," Pixel reminded. She had a technology related conference to attend at Razzo Albergo. She intended to travel to Cerulean City by train, although it wasn't really open to the public. None the less, Rockets sometimes got a ride with the crew of Antilles Oceanus' cargo train that went all across Kanto. The conference was not required, nor was it Rocket business, but Pixel thought it might bring some useful knowledge. She would go as a civilian and keep her link to Team Rocket hidden from the other attendees.

Comet remembered Pixel mentioning her plans earlier and knew what she was getting at. Besides, Ash and Delia were going to meet Giovanni soon anyway. "Yeah, it was fun."

"Absolutely!" Laiki squealed in delight.

After saying their goodbyes, Delia decided to go talk to Professor Oak for a few minutes before leaving, since she didn't see him earlier. Ash stayed behind talking to his new friends while Gary and Delia walked down the street to the Oak research lab.

The group of undercover Rockets recalled their pokemon into their pokeballs. Before leaving, Peachy tackled Pikachu to the ground harshly and gave him a slightly painful electric hug. Then she hurried over to Pixel and jumped into the red beam of her pokeball. Pikachu was left to figure out her farewell, but decided to take it with an open mind and think positive. Maybe they would meet again sometime soon.

"I should head back to Cerulean City," Misty thought aloud. Ash would probably need some time alone with his parents to sort things out and she wanted to give him that.

"I'm heading to Cerulean too, I wonder if they'll let you on the train," Pixel mused.

Laiki nodded in affirmation, "other people have been allowed on the train before. It should be fine." There was nothing secret on the above ground train. It was just regular cargo for the most part, plus the crew area.

"What train?" Misty inquired in curiosity.

"The Antilles Oceanus train, it will be leaving from Viridian to Cerulean soon," Pixel replied. "It's a cargo train, but people can ride in the crew wagon."

"If you're sure they'll let me get on, that sounds like a good way to get back home," Misty agreed. She looked at Ash with encouragement in her eyes, "call me later, when you can, alright?"

Ash smiled back, "I will." After a few more words were exchanged between the group, Ash watched the brown car disappear in the horizon away from Pallet Town. Misty had joined Comet, Pixel and Laiki, since she would be riding the Antilles Oceanus train from Viridian to Cerulean City along with Pixel.

For the moment, Ash was left alone in the Pallet House with his pokemon. He considered catching up to his mom and talking to Professor Oak, but decided that he would talk to him after he sorted things out with his father. Ash and Delia's pokemon were all in the house since she would be back in a few minutes anyway. Swablu had fallen asleep in one of the restaurant's chairs.

Ash petted Pikachu, who had climbed back on to his shoulders. "I somehow feel like I've accomplished something." He didn't know what it was he accomplished, but he had conquered his doubts and was ready to face the truth that lay before him.

xoxox xox xoxox

Gary had gone to tend to a few things around the Oak land. He began to serve the pokemon some dinner so that he wouldn't be out too late feeding the many pokemon that lived there. Delia had gone to talk to Samuel, who had previously been caught up in a few articles in the lab. He had focused on his research so much that he lost track of time. Delia reassured him that everything was progressing very well, for which the elderly professor was sincerely pleased in the end.

After talking to Samuel, Delia returned home, where she knew Ash was waiting. As she walked, she thought she heard something from beyond the brick fence around the Oak land, but disregarded it. More noises followed and she distinguished Gary's voice yelling for someone to stop. Perplexed, she halted and listened for any other suspicious sounds coming from beyond the red brick fence. She looked towards the Pallet House. From her angle, she couldn't see Ash behind the structure, though she knew he was there. Of course, he couldn't see her either.

Suddenly, a human shape jumped over the fence and landed in front of Delia. She could still hear Gary's voice yelling for someone to come out of hiding. He must have been chasing the person in front of her, but he slipped away. The man looked to be around Comet's age. His eyes were the same brilliant blue of Comet's eyes and his hair, albeit longer, was the same red color. His clothes had tares that indicated he might have been running through the wilderness recently and unidentified blood stains. Delia's face revealed her realization, "you're..." she gasped. The being that Delia theorized was the missing number ten stared right at her, tensing at the sound of her voice.

Delia remained completely still so as to not frighten him. He didn't seem quite as aggressive as Giovanni described. She then realized it must have been Iblis' doing and suddenly it all made sense. Giovanni had told her about Iblis' capture and the fruitless interrogation about number ten's whereabouts. Delia didn't know what to expect. If Iblis had given him some kind of training or hypnotized him, it would make perfect sense that he was after Delia. But what was he instructed to do? Would he go through with it?

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," Delia tried to soothe the being before her. Though his features were human, there was something very different about him. The way he jumped over the fence was something else to consider, his physical capabilities were beyond those of even a very well trained human. "You'll be alright, we can help you." She wasn't sure what to do or say to keep him calm, she wasn't even sure if he was capable of understanding her at all.

Suddenly, Gary emerged from the house and went down the stairs. He arrived at the street and spotted Delia a few steps away. Before he could even say anything, his mere presence caused number ten to become more aggressive, since Gary had yelled at him before. Number ten charged past Delia at Gary as the young researcher hurried to call out a pokemon. "No!" Delia's sudden loud voice turned number ten's attention back to her. Instead of trying to rip Gary to shreds, he hurried towards Delia and picked her up. With Delia harshly thrown over his shoulder, number ten made his escape.

"Let her go!" Gary released Fearow from his pokeball and jumped on the pokemon's back in pursuit of the kidnapper.

All the noise alerted Ash that something was wrong. He hurried to the street just as number ten dashed past him at an inhuman speed, carrying a screaming Delia. "Mom!" Ash quickly released Charizard from his pokeball and jumped on his back, joining Gary in the pursuit.

To be Continued

Disclaimer, I don't own Pokemon. I don't hate Cassidy and Butch; they're just lots of fun to pick on. :) Just when things have calmed down, something happens. What else is new? By now you must be used to me disturbing the peace.

Those of you reading the latest volume of Nafatali's Inheritance series, Black and White, must have already read Comet and Pixel's second visit into the series (and if you haven't go read it right now! All the volumes are epic!) As a bonus, I wrote a little one-shot centered around Comet and Pixel in Unova before they meet up with Kair. It's the story of how they got their pokemon. :)