Eight and Beyond!

"Where she is now, she's safe. As long as her hiding spot isn't revealed. When Shadow's squad ambushed her back in Vermilion, he was the one that called off the team and fought her himself. He needed to be the one to take her in. Not Giovanni. To be honest, he thinks she joined the Rockets and is hidden among the millions of members. Thing is, though. He doesn't know her real name. Which made going into hiding easy. However, she's easily recognized just like you are. Claire's training with Shadow to get better at combat. These grunts are ruthless now.

To be honest, the wound I bear on my eye was in a fight with a grunt. He tried to hit my chest, but in my attempt to dodge he nearly blinded me. Fortunately, it's just a cut. They'll do more when given the opportunity, which is one reason why Claire's sticking around with Shadow for now. He knows their routine, and it could give you guys and edge.

She tells me that she thinks about you every day. It's been nearly a week now. I'd take you to her, but with the grunts patrolling the city I can't get out without being noticed. They're lingering around here, you just can't see them in the open. However, she does send her best wishes. Claire does care about you, kiddo. A little more than you know."

JayJay looked at Luna, then back down, shaking his head. He was useless. His best friend was in hiding to try and take down Team Rocket. He didn't know what to do. He knew if he brought enough medicine with him, he could rip Rocket HQ in half. His team was stronger than even he realized. He thanked Luna and turned to leave

"Listen," she said before he left. "If you want to help, which I'm sure you do, you can continue on your Pokemon Journey and gain the badges I know you want. And, along the way, knock out some grunts while you're going. If you get any reason to believe that a town is about to be taken over, just whistle. I'll be here as soon as I can to help you. I must warn you, however, that we'll have to take them all out. If it's discovered that I'm working underground, it could be disastrous towards Shadow back at base. Claire's trying to figure out a pattern to where they're going and we're just reporting information back and forth. If you want to find her again, then you'll need to help us and keep my identity to the Rockets a secret. I'm the only one out of them all that can track you down. You move fast and Shadow can't keep up."

JayJay nodded and turned back around, then took a step forward and hugged Luna. He had one tear rolling down his cheek, not that she could see it

Luna's face turned slightly red, which wasn't visible due to her mask. "I promise you that you two will meet again eventually. I won't let anything stand in the way of that." She didn't know what else to say. It was obvious that much of his feelings were held back in the presence of her alter ego.

"Tell me," she started. "If there was anything you wanted to say to her, ask her, what would you tell her? I know you need to get something off of your chest. And if you don't want me to tell her, I won't."

He broke the hug and Luna could clearly see the tear. He took a deep breath.


"Just tell her I miss her and that she's my best friend. Tell her I'm not mad like she thought I would be. Tell her I'm worried. Tell her that if anything happens to her, I won't let anything stop me from making it right. Tell her I'll keep winning badges and make her proud to know me Tell her Larvitar and Ivysaur evolved and that my team misses her as much as I do. Tell her that her Pokemon are safe, my father is taking care of them until she returns" JayJay said

"I'll tell her," she said. Luna saw her Pidgeot flying. Shadow was calling. "She's not as far from you as you think. I'm sure that if you look up at the stars, or even the moon, every now and again you'll find her out there looking back." Luna jumped back onto the fencing and hopped onto her Pidgeot, heading back to Saffron.

JayJay nodded and headed back to the Pokemon center. He fell onto the bed and passed out

Luna went straight to the training facility after she arrived in Saffron. Shadow met her there when she had started with punching bags.

"Hey, I got word of some new info-- You okay?" he asked.

"No, I'm ticked off. I'm stuck here as this alter ego while Jay goes out there and continues to stay worried about me. And he doesn't know I'm right there in front of him." She hit the bag so hard that it came back and knocked her over. She stayed on the ground, staring up at the ceiling.

"If you go and reveal yourself, the grunts will be all over you two."

"And that's what I freaking hate. He's trying to find something that he'll never get unless I let him, and I hate that too."

"You hate a lot of things, don't you?"

It would be the second night that Luna had no sleep at all, but it didn't bother her. She had to figure out where the Rockets were headed and soon.

At 3:00 AM, JayJay got a call on his PokeGear. He woke up and groggily answered it


"Hello?" He asked, holding back a yawn

"JayJay! Oh dear! I finally got through!" Professor Elm said. He seemed worried beyond belief

"What do you mean, Professor?"

"You haven't heard? Team Rocket is mobilizing to take over Kanto! They already have Vermillion, Viridian, and are half-way through taking over Pewter and Lavender! JayJay, the Pokemon League Elite Four and Champion are trying their best to hold them off, but they can't leave the Indigo Plateau. The Gym leaders have been called into a meeting. They need help! JayJay, your parents want you out of ther- *Click . . . Boop . . . Boop . . . Boop*" JayJay hung up the phone and got up. Three hours wasn't ideal, but it was enough. He got dressed and headed out. He began to head back to Saffron

By late that night, Luna had already gotten more news saying new towns had been taken over.

"They're moving too fast. We have to do something."

"Well, we can't necessarily get too involved in it. If we try to stop them, they'll find us out and it'll be too late."

"It's been one week since JayJay last saw Claire. Do you think...?"

"No, not yet. Saffron is crawling with grunts and you'll be severely outnumbered if they find out both of you are here. Half of them don't care about one alone. But both can bring trouble."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Think like Luna. What would she do?"

By dawn, JayJay had arrived in Saffron City. He took a deep breath and focused, then spotted a Grunt in a cheap disguise. He walked toward the Grunt and garbed him by the arm with his vice-like grip, dragging him away. One they were in an alley, JayJay clobbered the Grunt and lifted him high above his head.


"Where is Rocket HQ!?" JayJay roared at the Grunt. The Grunt was terrified, and after another minute being held up a few feet off the ground, spilled the beans. JayJay knew where to go, but he knew it wasn't time yet. He made his way to the roof top where Luna and he had met before and waited. He knew he was being watched from all angles, but that was what he wanted. he wanted Giovanni to make a move

Luna wanted to head out, but she had no idea where he'd be.

"I told him if he needed me then to whistle. That Pigeot would alert me."

"When he's in danger, he'll call you."

JayJay took a deep breath, and let his team out. They all stood fierce and ready. This was it.

Grunts from all angles came out of the shadows within.

"You are the one that disrupted a major part of our plan at Mount Moon, and our leader has requested that you be contained. Come with us and we won't have to fight you."

"Screw it, Guy. Let's just get a move on with it."

A dozen Pokemon had to have been sent out, but some grunts had a more physical approach. Rather than battle, they wanted to contain him right away.

JayJay charged, yelling at the top of his lungs while his team raced into combat. JayJay knocked the first Grunt back with a solid uppercut while his Pokemon wiped out the competition with ease. JayJay Spartan kicked one Grunt into his Pokemon and slammed his fists into another's chest. His Pokemon were dealing incredible damage and taking names. Suddenly, Pupitar began to glow as his final evolution took place. From the blinding light burst Tyranitar and he wasted no time getting back to work. JayJay had defeated all the Grunts who wanted close combat, and his Pokemon weren't even phased by the fight with the Grunt's squad

Down the hallway, Luna heard a whole troop of footsteps coming down the hall.

"All right, get out there and catch that menace!" Giovanni shouted. He came in the dorm of Shadow. "Shade, you and your roommate get out there. We're calling all of our strongest troops out now. That Jay-whatever-his-name is out there and we can finally catch him while Saffron is ours. Now, move!" The two had to quickly dash out of the room, wanting to hurry before a huge brawl started. JayJay may have an army of Pokemon, but she knew he couldn't take them all on forever.

"Oh, JayJay..." she murmured.

After more than 60 Grunts and four executives, JayJay was beginning to tire, and so were his Pokemon. He skull bashed a Grunt only to be jabbed in the kidney and dog piled. He fought his way out, but could feel his muscles tearing and feel his fists bleeding. It was 8:00 and the sun shown down on them. His Pokemon fought with all their might, but there were too many. JayJay recalled his Pokemon to fight alone. He couldn't bear the thought of them getting hurt. He smashed and bashed as many more as he could before a Scizor slashed at his back. JayJay hit a knee. The Grunts were on him in a heart beat, but couldn't seem to take him just yet

The second set of grunts, the ones Giovanni sent out, were now merely moments away. Luna and Shade ran with them, trying to get a view of what was going on. The rest of the grunts continued on as they stopped at the small cliff. Tears of anger ran down her face.

"Should we interfere?" Shade asked. "We're running a risk."

"You stay back and watch. If you're discovered, we might as well give up now." Luna jumped on a rooftop, higher than the Pokemon Center, and watched. She waited for JayJay's call.

"I can't interfere until you let me, JayJay," she said to herself. Anger was building up inside of her. Every instinct in her body said to fight, but she knew it wasn't her place until he called.

Something twanged inside of JayJay and he roared out, He couldn't stop. He couldn't! He had to save Claire. The grunts who were piled on him smirked and were about to celebrated, when they felt a rumble coming from beneath them. JayJay had begun to push up with all his might and in a show of great might, he threw the Grunts off of him and roared out. He smashed another Grunt, then whistled with an ear piercing pitch before turning to face the Scizor who slashed at his back.

Luna's head perked. That was her cue. She stepped back a few steps and then dashed to the edge and jumped off the building. "Make way, kiddo! This bird's coming in for a landing!" she yelled from the sky. Shade smiled from the distance. From below, she looked almost like a bird soaring and then shooting down like a rocket.

JayJay had a split second to see Luna coming before he moved in and attacked The Scizor. He called out his team who were ready to fight once more and Typhlosion attacked the Scizor.

The back of her cloak caught wind like a parachute and slowed her descent. She joined JayJay below. "Told you I'd come. Now, you handle the Pokemon. I've got the grunts situated."

Luna started attacking grunts one by one, though she was slightly weakened by her exhaustion. One of them caught her eye. He asked, while in combat, "I've seen you around before. Who are you?"

"Remember my name as Luna. The one that kicked your butt." She sweep kicked him as he ran back to catch his breath.

The Scizor's trainer appeared and JayJay got hit like a freight train with the memory. It was the same Pokemon that gave him his scar. He raged and tore of his ripped vest, the sunlight making his scar glow crimson as he directed his Pokemon to crush the enemies. His back was bleeding heavily and his scar throbbed, but he wasn't able to comprehend pain at that moment

When Luna realized what had happened, she turned back to JayJay. "Oh no..." she said. The man was throwing multiple hits at him and she knew something dark about him had angered JayJay. "Get off of him!" she yelled. She let out a battle yell and tackled the man, pulling him to the ground with her. She held a firm grip.