Ash could see his life flashing before his eyes.

It was funny. The Gliscor was right there, charging towards him, stinger at the ready. And yet that fraction of a second was enough for him to relive everything; the sound of his alarm, his mom’s chastising face, rushing over to Professor Oak’s lab, his first time being shocked by Pikachu, the flock of Spearows drilling into his flesh, and that beautiful rainbow in the skies.

Then there were the faces of his friends and companions throughout the years; every Pokemon he ever caught, every person he ever met, their joys and their struggles, journeying across the world.

And finally, him atop a podium, surrounded by his Pokemon, Pikachu on his shoulder as always and a trophy in his hands. That glorious World Championship trophy.

“Heh. I guess I did become the very best after all… It was great while it lasted.”

The young dreamer closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate knowing that he had done his best and achieved his goals. “I only wish Pikachu will be able to get away. I’m sorry, buddy… I’m so, so sorry… Please, live well and find someone who will love and cherish you as much as I do.”

“Hehehe…”

“DRAGOOOO!!!”

However, before Ash fully succumbed, the giggling of a precocious voice sounded in his head, knocking him wide awake just in time to see a blurry orange silhouette crash into the Gliscor that was about to skewer him.

“Clody on defense! Brinny, support! Brucey, stall! And Espy… Attack!”

“What?” Ash paused his steps in utter confusion before turning around to see a colorful team of Pokemon crash into Giovanni’s, led by a young girl in a bright yellow jacket.

“You alright, Ash? Are you hurt?”

“Wh-What?”

***

Nina could hardly believe it. Ash-flipping-Kechum in the flesh. The ketchup boy himself.

Though to be honest, if Nina hadn’t already known then she would’ve thought that the guy was just some homeless bum trying to cosplay as Ash Ketchum.

Ash looked… mature, destitute; dirty, unkempt clothes, bloodshot eyes wide in shock, and uneven patches of facial hair all over.

But there was no mistaking it — that signature red cap and blue vest combo, alongside that absolutely iconic Pikachu.

“Oh gosh, I can’t believe it. The OG Pikachu in the flesh! I can’t wait to cuddle with him later. But wait, focus Nina! Gotta deal with the big bad in front of us first!”

Nina had seen what would happen if she didn’t make it in time, through a flashback sequence from Celebi. “That heartbreaking sight of Pikachu crying over Ash’s broken corpse. Never again! Not while I have a say in it!”

“Wh-What? Who are you?”

Nina scowled at the flabbergasted protagonist standing behind her. “Get yourself together man! Giovanni isn’t some low level Rocket grunt we can just stomp through. Not with this ridiculous lineup anyway.”

The girl’s scowl deepened as she took in the Pokemon surrounding them. “Rhyperior and Nidoking are a given, but the rest… a Garchomp! Seriously?!”

“Another interloper… Interesting, today is shaping up to be quite the eventful day.” Giovanni chuckled. “Or rather, I should be feeling relieved… to finally be free of this tiresome loop.”

Nina snapped her attention back to the Rocket boss. “You… You knew? All along?”

The man responded with an enigmatic smile. “I had a feeling. A feeling that you were generous enough to validate with your response.” Giovanni laughed, cackling like a madman. “You have been blessed with your ignorance, boy. You have no idea how maddening it is. That incessant itch at the back of my mind, that I had somehow forgotten something — that every move I made, every breath I took felt familiar somehow.”

Giovanni cackled once more. “Haha. HAHAHA! Oh finally, sweet release!” The manic crime boss threw his head back then snapped back around to glare at Nina with an intense gaze. “Tell me girl, who was it? Who was responsible for this prison?”

Nina narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, unwilling to give anything away.

“Ha! You need not be coy, girl. I can smell it on you. The stench of that accursed Mew!”

Nina remained stalwart in her ignorance and reached out to Espy with her mind instead.

“Espy, that Rhyperior shouldn’t be stronger than Forrest’s. Do you think you can shut it down quickly?” A pulse of affirmation came back in response as Espy switched targets from the Garchomp.

“Brucey, Gliscor has very sensitive hearing — a perfect opponent for you to bully, buddy. So go and take over for Nitey.”

“Cro… Kukuku.” With a flap of his wings, Brucey gave up on harassing the Hippowdon and flew over to where Nitey was hulk-slamming the Gliscor into the ground.

“Nitey, that Garchomp and Krookodile’s all you, partner. So go take them out while Clody takes on Nidoking and Hippowdon with Briny’s help.”

With a furious roar, the Dragonite and his stalwart paladin shifted into position. Meanwhile, Azzy the Haunter remained hidden in Nina’s shadow, in case Giovanni tried to ambush the two humans like he did with Ash during the time loop.

“We’re not gonna fall behind, Pikachu! Let’s give them a hand!”

“Pika-pi!”

The yellow mascot Pokemon charged into the fray and jumped on top of the Krookodile to help distract it for Nitey.

Nina smirked, this battle was all but won.

The first to fall was the Gliscor, having already been worn down by Nitey’s initial assault. Nina’s wily Crobat easily tanked its Poison and tore it to shreds with a combination move of Wing Attack and Steel Wing.

Nina then commanded Brucey to reinforce Sir Clodington who was in a stalemate with Giovanni’s Nidoking and Hippowdon — most of his efforts being focused on neutralizing the Earthquake that the two Ground Types kept spamming. The only reason why he hadn’t been overwhelmed yet was thanks to Brinny the Brionne who kept harassing the duo with her Water Type and utility moves.

The second to fall was naturally Rhyperior. The drill Pokemon was absolutely helpless against Espy’s direct mental attack. Against the future seeing Espy, escaping underground was useless because the Espeon could just track its whereabouts and continue to hammer at its mind.

At some point, Rhyperior tried to use a Meteor Beam as well. But Espy had already experienced a more powerful version of that move and was able to Deflect it back with barely any effort. And naturally, none of Rhyperior’s more physical ultimate moves like Rock Wrecker landed either — Espy just calmly dodged around them with her Quick Attack.

“Impressive retinue and flawless teamwork.” Giovanni remarked after he returned his Rhyperior. “I noticed you haven’t uttered a single command either. A telepathic network, perhaps? To be able to commune with a full team of Pokemon in such a seamless manner. Bravo!” The man clapped. “Tell me girl, is every member of your generation as accomplished as you are?”

Nina stayed mum as usual, unwilling to engage with whatever mind games the criminal mastermind was playing.

“Ha. A child who knows how to hold her silence. Very good! Excellent indeed... unlike the one you’re trying to save — did you say his name was Ash? A familiar name, though I can’t quite tell if that familiarity is due to my past memories or the result of this time loop. How vexing…”

By the time that Giovanni was done musing, his Garchomp fainted. Thanks to a combined effort from Espy and Nitey, prompting the duo to further shift their attention towards the Krookodile.

Giovanni chuckled at the sorry state of his remaining Pokemon. “Alright, that’s enough. I surrender!” He declared as he returned his Pokemon back into their Ultra Balls one by one.

“Heck yeah! Take that, Giovanni!” Ash cheered, even though Nina and her team were the ones who did the bulk of the work.

Ash’s saviour, however, was not convinced as she maintained a suspicious glare at their opponent. It might not have been properly portrayed in the media of her past life, but Giovanni was a mastermind who had somehow managed to run the largest criminal organization of Kanto-Johto while moonlighting as a Gym Leader under the Pokemon League’s collective noses.

This was not someone to be taken lightly. Nina was convinced that the man wasn’t out of schemes just yet and that this was just a ploy to get them to let their guard down.

Giovanni smirked. “Not convinced? Why don’t you hold on to my Pokemon then?” The man then proceeded to roll his Ultra Balls on the ground towards Nina.

Nina frowned and looked towards Espy for confirmation that the Balls were indeed loaded and not empty.

“Feel free to do a cavity search if you’d like. I’m sure all your highly capable Pokemon are more than enough for the task.”

Nina scoffed before twisting into a sinister grin. “You know what? I’ll do you one better. Hey, Ash! Got any spare clothes in that backpack of yours?”

“Errr… Well I’ve got some dirty laundry with me. I haven’t exactly had the chance to wash them yet.”

The girl smiled, looking more evil than Giovanni at that particular moment. “Heh. Even better…”

***

Author's note:

Sorry for the slightly delayed release. Had a really bad day yesterday -- the sort that just won't stop kicking you in the shins. And I kinda crashed out a little.

I had a bunch of notes I wanted to leave for this chapter but I can't for the life of me remember right now. I'll include it in the next chapter if I recall.

Oh! Giovanni wasn't trying at all in this battle in case it wasn't obvious enough. Which seems to be quite common with his character both in pretty much eveyone's depiction of him. Might have something to do with the anime.