Pokémon: A New Ash, Starting from Hoenn

Jessie and James were locked in battle with Rico, while Meowth was gritting his teeth through an electric shock, trying to disable a lock.

"Ugh! Fearow, use Drill Peck on that Meowth!"

"In your dreams! Arbok, use Iron Head!"

Bam! Fearow was knocked out of the sky.

Click! "I got it, nya!" Meowth shouted as the cage door popped open, freeing the trapped Ekans and Koffing.

"Awesome! Operation success!" Jessie cheered, throwing her arms up.

"You pests! I've had it with you! Go, Pupitar!"

As soon as Pupitar emerged, its body was engulfed in blue-white light — it was evolving! In seconds, a massive Tyranitar stood tall, and a sandstorm kicked up around them.

"What?! It evolved?!" James gasped.

"I knew it was close! Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam!"

BOOM! The Team Rocket trio was blasted backward.

Another Hyper Beam fired just after — "Wobbuffet, counter with Mirror Coat!" Jessie ordered. But before it could retaliate, Wobbuffet was hit hard and went down.

With grim determination, Team Rocket made their decision.

"Arbok, Weezing, get those guys to safety! We'll hold him off!"

"That's right! Take this — Meowth's Fury Swipes!"

"Fury Swipes from me, too!" James shouted.

"Behold the power of our unbreakable bond — Fury Swipes Trio Attack!" they yelled, charging fearlessly.

Arbok and Weezing glanced back with tears in their eyes before turning and fleeing into the forest with the rescued Pokémon.

"You pests! How dare you ruin my hunt — go to hell! Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!"

Just then—"Pidgeot, use Protect!"

"Pidgeot!" A huge bird soared in, shielding Team Rocket from the blast.

"Are you guys okay?!" Ash and his friends ran in, concern etched on their faces.

"I didn't think you'd be that brave," May said softly to Team Rocket, genuinely moved.

Brock and Max nodded in agreement.

"Thanks for your help. I owe you one," Officer Jenny said before turning to Rico. "Pokémon Poacher Rico — you're under arrest! Surrender peacefully!"

"Surrender? Not a chance. Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!"

[Tyranitar – Male]

Type: Rock/DarkAbility: Sand Stream (Summons a sandstorm on entry)Level: Early Elite TierMoves: Hyper Beam, Crunch, Stone Edge, Earthquake, Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse Terastallization Type: Ghost

Ash's eyes widened. This Tyranitar is perfect… its strength, its build, everything! No wonder it reached Elite level so quickly.

"Let's go! Pikachu, Iron Tail! Pidgeot, Steel Wing!"

"Hmph! Tyranitar, sweep them aside with Hyper Beam!"

Tyranitar fired again, forcing Pikachu and Pidgeot to retreat under pressure.

"Is Hyper Beam the only thing you know?! Pikachu, cover with Thunderbolt — Pidgeot, now!"

Ash inserted a Z-Crystal into his Z-Ring and activated it. A blinding light surged.

"A Z-Move?!" Max exclaimed.

"Pidgeot, Supersonic Skystrike!"

"Pidgeot!" Pidgeot soared high and dove like a missile, smashing straight into Tyranitar.

Tyranitar collapsed, unable to continue the battle.

"You brats! This isn't over!" Rico yelled, turning to run without even recalling Tyranitar.

"Not so fast! Pikachu, Thunder Shock!"

"Pika-chu!"

ZAAAP!

Aron fell flat, unconscious. Officer Jenny quickly cuffed him.

"Thanks again, all of you," she said gratefully.

"We couldn't just stand by," Ash replied. Then, turning to Officer Jenny, "Hey, do you think… maybe I could catch that Tyranitar?"

"Well…" she paused. "Technically it's League property now, since it belonged to a poacher. But considering how you stopped him—and if you can earn Tyranitar's trust—I'll pretend I didn't see anything."

"Really?! Thank you, Officer Jenny!" Ash beamed.

He walked up to the recovering Tyranitar. "What do you say? Wanna be my partner? Let's get strong together!"

"Pika~!"

Tyranitar growled softly, then gave a nod. It had no attachment to Rico—it had been stolen, used as a weapon, not treated with care. Now, it had a choice.

"Awesome! Friend Ball, go!"

Ash destroyed Rico's Poké Ball, then captured Tyranitar in a Friend Ball to deepen their bond.

"I caught Tyranitar!" Ash shouted triumphantly.

"Pika-pi!"

Meanwhile, Team Rocket huddled off to the side.

"We're… Team Rocket. How could we possibly go to a police station and claim a reward?" Meowth asked nervously.

"You sure about that? The bounty on Rico was a hundred thousand," Officer Jenny mentioned casually.

"…A hundred thousand?!" Jessie blinked.

"Aha-ha! What are we waiting for?! Take us straight to the station!" Meowth cried. "That reward is ours!"

And so, Team Rocket happily jumped into the police car, heading to claim their hard-earned prize. As for Ash, he was content with the real reward — his new partner, Tyranitar.

Later that evening…

After leaving the police station, Jessie, James, and Meowth wandered into a forest.

Carrying the food they'd just bought, the trio sat under a tree, reminiscing about Arbok and Weezing.

"I wonder if they're okay…" Jessie said, nibbling her sandwich.

"They've got what it takes to protect the others," James replied confidently.

"No need to worry, nya. They've gone toe-to-toe with Ash's team tons of times. They'll be fine," Meowth assured them, chewing contentedly.

"Wobbuffet!"

"You're right!" Jessie and James smiled.

Just then, they heard rustling in the grass.

"Huh?" They turned to see a cactus-shaped Pokémon emerge.

"It's… a Cacnea!" Meowth identified it.

"Are you hungry? Here, try this," James offered some food.

"Cacnea~!" It munched happily and kept eating with a big smile.

"How about joining me?" James asked gently.

"Cacnea~!" It jumped into his arms enthusiastically.

"OW! It's hugging with spikes!" James laughed in pain. "But I caught Cacnea!"

And with that, Team Rocket gained a new member — their first real combat Pokémon in a long time.

Elsewhere, in a dense forest...

"Ugh! This is all your fault, May! We're totally lost!" Max groaned.

"My fault?!" May snapped.

"I said turn right, but you insisted on going left! Now look where we are!"

"But that path had pretty flowers! And you're the one with the PokéNav — you should've guided us properly!"

"We're out of signal range! Still your fault!"

"What was that?!"

"Alright, alright! Getting lost is part of the journey," Ash stepped in. "Besides, if we followed the map perfectly, we'd never stumble upon rare Pokémon."

"Exactly!" Brock nodded. "Getting lost in Kanto used to be a daily thing for us."

Just then, a flurry of movement passed through the trees…

To be continued…