Shared Story (Shadow and I): "Shadow Shifts"

[Shadow]

Gloom tackles Arcanine even though it is partially paralyzed.
Jenny: "Take down!"
Erika: "Acid!"
Arcanine jumps into the air when Gloom shoots acid at it, knocking it out, but then it falls on Gloom, kocking it out as well.
Referee: "Both Pokemon are unable to battle! This match ends in a tie!"

Joseph: "Seems like we both got our way this time. You're just lucky."
Shadow: "Oh did we?"

Announcer: "This just in from the judge panel, since Arcanine fainted first, Jenny loses the match!"

Joseph: "You little..."
Shadow: "I did nothing. If you wish to inquire further into the matter, Felicia is leader of the Judge Panel. In the mean time, I have to make preparations for round two, such as allow people to access the map to its location on the discs they won."
Joseph sulks off.

 

[Shadow]

Jessie: "So it's settled, we work together next round, starting by sharing these discs."
James: "We can only scan them once, so who's name are we fighting under?"
Jessie: "Well I'm the prettiest, so of course mine."
Meowth: "Yeah right, I'm the leader!"
Wobbufett: "Wobbu! Wobbufett!"
Jessie: "Fat chance you two!"
James: "Well I'm the best at leading and supervision, it should be me!"
Cassidy and Butch appear behind them.
Butch: "Hah! You two lose as always! But because we're nice, there is an option to join as a group."
Jessie: "And how do you know about it?"
Cassidy: "Well uhhh we...."
Butch: "We only had time for one battle."
James: "I'm so sure you did Botch, you were just scared to fight without Cassidy helping you."
Butch: "BUTCH! And what about you him?"
James: "Well I...uh..."
Jessie: "He was getting chased by a lunatic girlfriend."
Growly: "Arf!"
Cassidy: "And I bet little Jessie was jealous."
Jessie: "NO I WAS NOT!"
Wobbufett: "WOBBUFETT!"
Cassidy: "Oh that's right, I forgot that you have to date your Pokemon."
Jessie: "WHAT?!?!?"
Wobbufett just blushes.
Meowth: "GUYS! SHUT UP!"
Jessie, James, Cassidy, and Butch look at him evilly.
Meowth: "Uhh, heh, we have to be at the location of the second round in a few mintues or we get disqualified."
Cassidy and Jessie: "We'll settle this in the next round!"
James and Butch: "And you better make that double for me!"
Cassidy and Butch strut off.
Jessie: "The nerve of that woman."
James: "So Meowth, where do we have to go anyway?"
Meowth: "We have to go to section D8. The computer ejected a key too!"

:: Corridor D8 :: 5:58 ::
May walks up to the hallway and her laptop vibrates. She opens it and a key comes out of a hidden drive. She looks up the hall and sees a metal door with a large padlock on it. She looks at it and notices two keyholes.
May: "Hmm, I must need to get in here for the next round, but where's the other key?"
Jessie, James, and Meowth walk towards the door, coming from the opposite direction.
James: "It's the twerp!"
Meowth: "Look, she has a key and the lock needs two!"
Jessie: "Let's take her's so we can eliminate her early!"

 

[Shadow]

::: Shadow's Tower :: 8:30 ::
Evice enters the room.
Evice: "I have finished all my preperatons"
Shadow: "Good, Round 2 would be a fitting to execute Part 2 of the tournament grand scheme."
Kenneth: "Why was I never informed of a Part 2?"
Evice: "Because it was my division. Strictly Cipher business until now."
Kennth: "So I assume Shadow Pokemon are involved?"
Evice: "Of course, we've been meaning to use this tournament to distribute Shadow Pokemon, in quite a few ways. The first being the most obvious, include a few Shadow Pokemon in the random Pokemon bank."
Shadow: "And offer a round two prize to keep one of the Pokemon you got randomly in each planned battle."
Evice: "Mehe, and don't forget, only use the staff Pokecenter and Pokemon food, the public ones may get a few surprises in the coming days of the tournament."
Shadow: "And you know how I love surprises, hehehe."

 

[Shadow]

Ash, May, and Max walk into the the dining room unharmed.
Meowth: "Wasn't there supposed to be a net?"
James: "I don't understand, oh well, I got a better plan! Follow me!"
Meowth and James run in a door labled "Kitchen; STAFF ONLY." Jessie walks towards the dining room and gets lifted into the air by a net.
Jessie: "What is this?! Hmm this net seems familiar... That's it! Let me down! JAMES! MEOWTH!"
Wobbufett: "Wobbufett!"
Jessie: "Help me!"
Wobbufett walks towards Jessie and gets lifted into another net.
Jessie: "The one day James had to remember a back-up net..."

Second Round Contestant's Dining Room :: 8:12 am, Day Three
May: "I can't beleive we get a new special dining room, and they come and server you expensive food! It's like being famous and rich!"
Max: "If you ignore the fact that it's Shadow's food..."
May: "I'm sure Ash could stomach any poison Shadow tries."
A waiter comes out and places three plates with lids on the table.
Waiter: "Breakfast is served!"
A snicker is heard from under his large, bulging hat as he rushes back into the kitchen.
Ash: "Let's see what they're serving today."
Ash takes the lid off a plate and gas shoots in his face, making him fall asleep.
May and Max: "ASH!"
The hear laughter and look over to see the waiting holding a mechanical hand that is holding Pikachu. The stand there for a few minutes, then Meowth jumps out from under his hat and the waiter reveals himself to be James.
Meowth: "ENOUGH WAITING FOR JESSIE! Let's scram!"
James and Meowth run back into the kitchen.
Max: "Pikachu!"
May: "We have to wake Ash up first!"
Ash slowly wakes up.
Ash: "What happened?"
Max: "James and Meowth got Pikachu!"
Ash: "What? No!"
May: "Don't worry, I'll see them in a little bit. The security isn't letting anyone in the second round leave the castle grounds. You'll just have to battle without Pikachu, I'll get it back."

Room 6 :: 9:00 am, Day Three
James: "Where's Jessie? We need her to get by the security!"
Meowth: "Why run? We got Pikachu locked in our room, so we should win the contest and get whatever cash prize Shadow is offering. And don't worry, I'll be your partner for the match."
James: "At least you're better then Jessie..."

 

[Shadow]

Jessie throws Max off her and against the wall.
Jessie: "Now that you're disabled, I can go and get your Pikachu and claim it for myself! Hahaha!"
Jessie starts to open her door, but a vine grabs her and lifts her over to two men in black attire and their Weepinbell.
Jessie: "Let me down!"
Shadow Inc. Grunt 1: "That girls and boys' match start in fifteen minutes, we can not have you delay them."
Jessie: "Mine does too!"
Grunt 1: "You're listed in a group of three. Your match can continue if you are absent, so long as your teammates make it."
Grunt 2: "Razor Leaf!"
The Grunt's Weepinbell fires a leaf that cuts throw the net, freeing Ash and May.
Grunt 1: "Report to your matches immediately."
Grunt 2: "Meanwhile, you Jessie will have to have a "time out" in the dungeons."
The Shadow Inc. runts walk away with their Weepinbell, still holding Jessie, hopping behind.
May: "Guess we should go."
Ash: "But Pikachu!"
Max: "You can win with the random Pokemon and your other ones. I trust May can win Pikachu back!"
May: "What is that thing holding Jessie? And what's a Razor Leaf?"
Max: "On the other hand, I'd like to point you to the Pokedex feature that lists wild locations of Pokemon you've already caught..."

 

[Shadow]

Second Floor: Room 6 :: 9:30 am, Day Three
Announcer: "And before we begin the second round, Shadow has a few words for the competitors."
Shadow's voice comes from the loud speakers.
Shadow: "First of all, congratulations and good luck to all of today's round two battlers! Now Round two is much different then the other rounds. You will have three scheduled battles and you don't lose the tournament even if you lose all three. Consider this a bonus round of sorts. Remember, to be in this round, you already have 4 discs, and by the end of round three, you need 30. The way this round works, is you get 5 discs for winning one of the first two battles, and ten discs for winning the third battle, which will have special rules by the way. There are also hidden targets on each battlefield that will score you one extra disc if your Pokemon hits them. So if you're lucky, you will have enough discs to procede to the finals after this round, if you can keep them in the third that is, but that comes later. I hope to see some great battles! Hehehe..."
Shadow's cackle ends in a burst of static.
Announcer: "Isn't this exciting? Let the battle begin!"

Referee: "Both trainers are allowed two Pokemon each! Begin!"
May: "Go Pokeballs!"
James: "Go Cacnea!"
Meowth: "Pokeball! Go!"
James Cacnea comes out and gives him a big hug. A Kingler comes out of Meowth's Pokeball. A Delibird and Elekid comes out of May's Pokeballs.
James: "Pin Missle Cacnea!"
Meowth: "Kingler! Use your Bubble!"
May: "Elekid! Light Screen! Delibird Present!"
Elekid generates a shield that blocks Cacnea's and Kingler's attacks. Delibird flies over it and throws a box at Team Rocket's Pokemon, which explodes in a few seconds.
May: "Elekid! Thudnerbolt!"
Elekid doesn't obey, but charges Kingler in a rage.
Meowth: "Crabhammer!"
Kingler knocks the extremely aggravated Elekid back with its large claw. Elekid charges again with no order, and expecting Kingler's claw, grabs it and throws Kingler onto Cacnea.
May: "Present!"
Delibird throws another box, but this time, the box glows white and heals Team Rocket's Pokemon.
May: "That was weird... Why wont Elekid obey me either?"
Meowth: "How'd that little runt get so strong?"
James: "Do you think its one of those Shadow Pokemon?"
Meowth: "Purrrhaps..."

 

[Shadow]

Second Floor: Room 12: Audience Stands :: 9:43 am, Day Three
Cassidy: "So is that a Shadow Pokemon?"
Butch: "It sure is powerful. Imagine if they used it on that Pupitar the runt has and had it evolve!"
Cassidy: "Too bad there's a side effect that the Pokemon can't grow stronger and evolve while still being tainted. They must be waiting for that thing to evolve before submitting it to the project."
Butch: "And imagine if they let loose a full-grown Shadow Tyranitar in here. Why, it'd destroy the place and ruin their reputation easily!"
Cassidy: "Butch...That's a wonderful idea! Sabotage Shadow Inc., get a super strong Shadow Pokemon, and steal the prize for Giovanni!"
Butch: "With a strong Shadow Pokemon, we wouldn't need him!"
They cackle maniacally as a Persian watches them from underneath the stands.

Second Floor: Room 6 :: 9:45 am, Day Three
May: "Delibird Fly!"
James: "Poison Sting!"
Delibird soars into the air as Cacnea tries to hit it with purple stingers.
May: "Present!"
Delibird avoids Cacnea's relentless Poison Sting and throws a box at Cacnea. It lands and opens and Cacnea glows silvery for a few seconds.
Announcer: "It seems Delibird gave Cacnea a real present!"
James: "Are we battling or playing Pokemon Center here twerp? Needle Arm!"
Fully restored, Cacnea jumps up and strikes Delibird, knocking it down cold. Cacnea then realizes it can't stay airborne for long and falls to the ground, landing on a target causing another ding.
Announcer: "It's now down to Norman's daughter's disobedient Elekid and James' Cacnea!"
May: "WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP!?"

 

[Shadow]

Max: "Hmm...must be some new...hidden feature."
He clicks on accept and walks out of the stadium. Cassidy and Butch look out from under the stands.
Butch: "Why are we hacking it so the kid gets to keep the Tyranitar?"
Cassidy: "Because it would get suspicious if one of us kept getting it in battle. And when it goes into a Shadow Trance, we can be long gone!"
Butch: "Excellent plan!"
A tiny walking monitor walks in front of them, it flicks on and a shadowy-bald figure appears on it.
Giovanni: "I agree for the most part."
Butch and Cassidy stand at attention and salute the best they can, sitting crowded under the stands.
Butch: "Sir! What is wrong with it?"
Giovanni: "Treason. Need I go on?"
Cassidy: "Sir! We would never abandon you!"
Giovanni: "Then get to work on your plan with one minor change. Bring me and my scientists the Shadow Pokemon you obtain immediately."
Butch and Cassidy: "Yes! Sir!"
The TV goes blank and walks off on its metal legs.

 

[Shadow]

Ash: "So where's Pikachu?"
May looks back in shock.
Max: "You did get Pikachu back from James and Meowth after winning, didn't you?"
May: "Uhhh..."
Ash: "MAY!"

~~Second Floor :: Janitor's Closet :: 10:05 AM ~~
James and Meowth walk inside.
Meowth: "I can't believe you lost to that twerp."
James: "I can, sadly..."
They hear a mumbled "Pika" and see Pikachu still sitting there tied up.
Meowth: "I can't believe she forgot to rescue Pikachu either."
James: "That I can't believe, good thing though."
Meowth: "I feel like we forgot something too..."
They wait a few seconds waiting for another remark.
James and Meowth: "JESSIE!"

~~Dungeon :: Cell 23 :: 10:05 AM ~~
Shadow Inc. Grunt: "The matches you attempted to delay are over. You are free to go. But I may have to hold you in custody Friday night at the movies and perhaps some dinner..."
Wobbufett jumps out of his Pokeball and lands on the Grunt, knocking him out.
Jessie (still in a cell): "Good work blubbo, he was going to let me out. YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE THAT EARLIER!"
Wobbufett: "WOBBUFETT!"
Jessie: "Errrg...just get the key."
Wobbufett gets the keychain from the guard, which has about a hundred keys on it, a different one for each cell. He tries one but it doesn't fit, so he tries another, and another.
Jessie: "HURRY UP!"
Wobbufett drops the keys in shock. He picks them up and stares at them a minute, trying to figure out where he left off. Eventually giving up, he shrugs and starts all over.

 

[Shadow]

James and Meowth run around a corner and into a very furious looking Jessie, with a badly beaten Wobbufett behind her.
Jessie: "WATCH WHER...Oh, it's you two. Don't tell me. You lost Pikachu."
James: "Actually, the twerp forgot to take Pikachu back after I lost...but..."
Jessie: "So where is it!?!"
James: "Well, just now..."
Jessie: "Don't tell me it got away!"
Meowth: "Jess! Wait! Some Shadow Inc. Exec-type took it away! I doubt they'd return the twerp's Pikachu, how much Shadow hates him too."
Jessie: "That's still bad, now Shadow's got it and not us. Better then the twerps though, Pikachu won't listen to Shadow and won't shock us..."
Meowth, James, and Wobbufett nod, sage-like.

:: Around the Corner :: 10:09 AM ::
Shadow picks up Pikachu's cage, an evil grin on his face. Pikachu tries a Thunderbolt, but the cage absorbs it like most Team Rocket ones.
Shadow: "I'll take this to Ein. He'll be sure to have...fun experimenting on a Pokemon that is already powerful for it's kind without undergoing the shadow-fication process."
Kenneth: "You sure that's a good idea? Won't people get suspicious if word gets out a Pokemon is missing? Especially if those three blab an Executive took it to return it?"
Shadow: "They won't say anything without risking their own cover. And Ash'll get it back...soon."

 

[Shadow]

Ash: "Perhaps we should ask someone else...like him!"
Ash points at a teenager walking down the hall wearing sunglasses, a leather jacket, a blue shirt and black jeans. He carries a large black box that doesn't seem too heavy though.
Jack (telepathy): "I sense something...about him..."
Max (telepathy): "Me too..."
Ash: "Excu--huh?!"
Ash get's pushed out of the way by a male and female reporter, a Meowth, and Wobbufett camara man. (...does it really need to be said...?)
Female: "Excuse me sir! We're from L.C.N.! You're part of the Shadow Inc. Board of Directors, are you not?"
Meowth: "Yeah, the newsletter from Team Rocket lis---"
The last part is muffled by the male reporter's hand.
Male: "We heard a Pokemon was stolen by Team Rocket, those evil brutes..."
Female: "Brutes?!"
Male: "Yes, most of the brutish grunts lost a Pikachu they stole. I mean stole a Pikachu. Any news on the matter from Shadow Inc.?"
The teenager eyes them one after another, sighing.
Joseph: "Yes I am Joseph, leading member of the Shadow Inc. Board of Directors. Word from us on the matter is such: Buzz off you low-life Rocket members."
Jessie: "Lo---Ahhhhhhh!"
Jessie is cut off by a Sneasel jumping from nowhere, slicing their disguises to bits and leaving large gashes on Jessie's face. They run off scared and screaming. Joseph withdrawls Sneasel and lifts the lid off the box he was carrying and Pikachu jumps out.
Joseph: "Next time don't lose it, I won't help next time. Shadow almost did some horrible things to it..."
Max: "Why are you helping us in the first place?! Didn't you just say you were on Shadow Inc.?"
Joseph: "If everyone that worked in a company agreed, would we need a Board of Directors?"
Joseph chuckles and walks off while Ash hugs Pikachu.

 

[Shadow]

A stand with a podium rises from the center of the battlefield, Shadow standing on it, glancing over notes for the last time. Shadow notices he is in sight of everyone and quickly drops the papers on the podium and clears his throat.
Shadow: "Once again, I welcome you all to my castle and my tournament! As you must know, being intelligent people that always check your participant and spectator laptops (Shadow rolls his eyes), this is the last of the second battles of the second round. One more battle will occur for each trainer after this one! As I mentioned before, the third match in this round is special, worth double points and ...interesting rules. Now you may wonder, "Why don't I explain this at the first third battle instead of now?" Simple, I'll be part of the first third battle and will need to prepare. Knowing this, you can tell the order for these bouts are not random, but instead, chosen, painstakingly hand-picked to be exact. You see, first we selected trainers that would work well as a team for this battle and the next round, through past experience or matching battle styles and skills. Then once we have the teams, we selected the opposite team, their rivals for this battle, and the upcoming third and final round, split into several parts. The third battle and a major battle of the third round will be the rival teams against each other. You will recieve an e-mail bright and early tomorrow morning with your teammates, your new room, and instructions for the beginning of round three. And now...!"
Shadow messes with a lever, making the platform lower back below the floor. Shadow's voice is then heard throughout the castle via surround sound.
Shadow: "Let the games begin!"
Referee: "2 Pokemon each! Begin!"
Ash, Kent, Fred, and Ester throw their Pokeballs. Ash's results in a Octillery, Kent's a Beedrill, Fred's a Rhyhorn, and Ester's a Koffing.
Ash and Ester: "Smokescreen!"
Octillery and Koffing both spew forth ink and clouds, making seeing anything in the arena impossible.
Ash and Ester: "Ooops..."

 

[Shadow]

Fred throws in another Pokeball, this time getting a Vaporeon.
Fred: "Hydro Pump Vaporeon!"
Ash: "Water Gun!"
The two spurts of water collide, equal in strength, splashing water everywhere.

Max: "Woah! That Octillery's basic Water Gun is as strong as that Vaporeon's Hydro Pump! We've got to stop this!"
Jack: "We can't stop the fight, and alerting the public would cause too much a ruckus. (underbreath) I'm actually glad they shut up May."
Jack tries pushing the seat down, but it's obviously locked back in place and won't budge. They both run to the back of the stands and slide off to the ground.

Ester: "Koffing! Blind that Beedrill with a Sludge in the face!"
Kent: "Beedrill! Agility!"
Beedrill begins flying around the arena super fast, dodging all the waves of scattered fluid from the dueling water Pokemon as well as Koffing's Sludge attack.
Ash: "Ice Beam Octillery!"
Octillery's Water Gun freezes over, making Vaporeon's Hydro Pump slowly turn to ice, and freezing Vaporeon when it reaches her.
Referee: "Vaporeon is unable to battle!"
Fred: "That's cheating! Ester! Give me your second Pokeball!"
Fred lunges at his partner and grabs an extra Pokeball, releasing his team's fourth Pokemon, a Furret.
Ash: "Can he do that?!"
Kent: "It's in the rules, a teammate can give one of his extra Pokemon to his partner if that partner lost all his. Not that I'd call that giving, but still..."

 

[Shadow]

Joseph stands behind May, tied to a chair, and beside a computer, which upon further inspection has an older man sitting at it, typing. At Joseph's feet is a Ninetails, obviously the candle lighter.
Max: "Joseph! The board's chairman! But uhh...who's that old geezer?"
Joseph holds back a snicker as the old man peers away from the computer, adjusts his spectacles and stares at Max.
Old Man: "Hasn't anyone taught these kids to respect their elders?! Sheesh! First the girl who won't shut up about the "evil demented" chair! Now this! I'm not paid enough..."
The old man goes back to typing.
Joseph: "You have to excuse him, he's very busy mining in Shadow's programs to find out the future rules, and Shadow's firewalls can be tricky."
An even more robotic sounding (if possible) "Voltorb!" comes from the computer before a video game-esque dieing noise is played as the computer blacks out.
Old Man: "I'll Voltorb Virus him one of these days! And as for you rude little runts, I'm Randawl, Director of Shadow Inc. Technologies. I invented the Shadow's Stand Super Seat Stealer and Sealer you're trapped in little girl!"
Max: "Based on the name, you're losing it...geezer..."
Randawl begins to say something but an air vent pops open and a Parasect crawls out, immediately cheering the elder executive up.
Randawl: "Ah! You've found a new prime location Parasect?"
Parasect makes an affirmative motion and sound.
Randawl: "Good, this place was risky! Joseph?"
Joseph recalls his Ninetails and brings out a Gengar which follows Parasect into the vent as Randawl heads towards the door.
Joseph: "I'll give you three a hint. Don't let anyone know about the Shadow Pokemon here. This is your only warning."
Joseph and Randawl exit nonchalantly as Max and Jack untie May.

Randawl: "So where do we meet your Gengar for it to lead us to Parasect's hiding place?"
Joseph: "Around the corner here, then up the stairs."
Two figures follow them far behind.

 

[Shadow]

Kent: "Darn, I'm out of Pokemon."
Ash throws Kent a Pokeball.
Ash: "Use my extra one. Meanwhile, with not other targets Octillery must attack Furret, Ice Beam now!"
Ester: "Furret! Dig out of the way!"
Octillery misses Furret as it burrows, encasing the top of the new hole in ice. Kent throws their team's last Pokeball, getting a Diglett.
Kent: "What luck! Diglett! Go find Furret and Tackle!"
Diglett jumps underground. A minute passes before Furret comes flying out of the ground, Diglett underneath, its subterrainean attack successful.
Ash: "Surf!"
Octillery causes a giant wave to appear, catching Furret and Diglett, knocking them out, as well as throughly drenching all four trainers and the referee.
Referee: "Octillery is the only one left! Ash and Kent win!"
Ash tries to withdrawl Octillery, who dodges the Pokeball's beam a few times before being caught and put back into the laptop.

Gary Oak walks up a tall tower before he reaches a large metal door, knocking on it with loud clangs before it opens up into a room with many monitors, Kenneth, and a chair which turns around to reveal Shadow.
Gary: "Hmmph. Finally decided that I'm the smartest one here and called me into the tournament late to just hand over the trophy? Hehehe..."
Shadow: "As much as I like the way you think, no. Quite sorry, but you need to earn it. I'm offering you a spot in this tournament as my partner until the final round, where you'll be on your own and allowed to win once I get what I want."
Gary: "Why would I care about winning? I prefer research now."
Shadow: "And did I mention the wondrous cash prize? Enough to fund as many research expeditions as you can imagine, to all parts of the world, the best equipment."
Gary: "I don't need your money..."
Shadow: "Oh, I hate it to come to this... But you need your grandfather don't you?"
The screens show a picture of Professor Oak tied up in an unrecognizable room as Kenneth picks up a cell phone.
Gary: "Let him go!"
Shadow: "Then battle with me! You know Ash Ketchum, his tricks, his strategies! You're better than him! If you help me beat him, and we don't lose, then your grandfather will be released. No strings. And you can even continue for the prize money!"
Kenneth: "Umm...sir."
Shadow: "Not now. So what do you say Gary? Join my tournament, beat Ash, rescue Oak, and possible take home a large sum?"
Gary: "I'll---I'll do it. But you better keep your word!"
Shadow: "Indeed I will. Kenneth?"
Kenneth: "It's Joseph, they're trying to hack again."
Shadow: "Give them our Surpise XV."

 

[Shadow]

Joseph leans against the wall while crossing his arms.
Joseph: "Got it yet?"
Randawl: "If someone would stop distracting me!"
Joseph sighs. Jessie, James, and Meowth peek around the corner.
Jessie: "A surprise?! I love parties!"
James: "I think it's more of a computer virus."
Jessie: "Shadow's sinking to biological warfare now?"
James, Meowth, and Wobbufett sigh. Wobbufett shrugs and taps Jessie's back.
Jessie: "Not now Blobbo. So what now?"
Meowth: "I imagine, these guys don't seem to like Shadow...perhaps if we can reunite Shadow Inc. and Team Rocket via this Board of Directors, Giovanni will reward us for returning a lot of the advanced technology! Just imagine this, the day of the big board meeting, The Boss didn't much sleep the night before so his alarm clock didn't wake him up. Then his new Shadow Inc. made bed pushes him into his meeting suit! At the meeting, he realizes he forgot his coffee, so his new Shadow Inc. controlled Pikachu jolts him awake! All while his new Shadow Inc. OS displays his best Powerpoint yet! And then he'll say, 'All this great stuff is thanks to Meowth and those two others who helped reunite our companies.'"
James: "Yeah! We'll be promoted to the new Board of Directors!"
Jessie: "We'll get ne---"
Wobbufett pokes Jessie's back again.
Jessie: "Stop it Wobbufett...Where was I? Oh yes! We'll get new limos!"
Meowth: "Rich, famous, and stockholders!"
Wobbufett pokes Jessie once more. She turns around this time, shaking her fist.
Jessie: "What did I tell you---?!"
Jessie stops silent as her face is slashed by a Sneasel, back there for the whole time apparently.
Joseph: "Imaginitive plan, I'll give you that."
Meowth: "Ack! Spotted! Cheese it!"
Meowth starts to run but Sneasel Ice Punches him, freezing him in his tracks.
James: "Can I go? Please?"
Joseph: "No, I've got an interesting plan for you three to make some trouble."
James and Jessie exchange nervous glances before jumping to their feet.
Jessie: "In that case, Shadow better prepare for trouble."
James: "We may not be executives, but he better make that double!"
Joseph: "Hehehe..."

 

[Shadow]

~~ Shadow's Tower :: 11:44 AM ~~
Kenneth: "Shadow. Gary is ready. The first third battles of Round 2 are in fifteen minutes, including your's and Kent's."
Shadow: "Yes, yes. I know. So. Evice... I heard you created a show for our friends?"
Evice: "Yes I did Shadow. They were getting close to the Shadow Pokemon. I had to distract them. Worse still, Wes and Rui, my twerps, are here. We will lower the number of Shadow Pokemon in distribution for the next few battles until they can be taken care of. That girl is especially troublesome as she can see contaminated ones. Her and her partner will be on the block list for Shadow Pokemon."
Shadow: "Yes, that's good. At least I have one competent ally on the Board of Directors... Now if only Felicia and Kay would pick a permanent side... I must go. Kenneth, monitor things with Evice while I'm at the castle, alright? Venomoth, Teleport!"
Shadow sends out his Venomoth who latches onto his shoulder, both of them disappearing a second later.

~~ Upper Hallway :: Corridor 4 :: 11:50 AM ~~
A monotone voice rings from speakers all along the hallway.
Announcer: "Participants of the final round 2 battles, please report to your areas. That is Rocket Shadow and Gary Oak vs. Ash Ketchum and Kent Rogers to Stadium One. Jack Rogers and Max White vs. Liam Carter and Reene Carter to Stadium Two. Subsequent matches will be announced at a later time."
Ash: "Did he just say Gary?!"
Brock: "I thought he became a researcer?"
May: "Erm, who's Gary?"
Kent: "Ash's longtime rival. I guess Shadow did say we'd be paired with a 'rival' team..."
Max: "We better get going though!"
Brock: "Erm, guess we need to split up though..."
May: "I'll go with Max and Jack. You can go with Ash and Kent, Brock."
Wes: "We will continue investigating the castle for more clues of Cipher involvement."
Rui nods. Liam and Reene are missing.
Ash: "Let's do this! Gary's back for another beating!"
Everyone else sighs.

 

[Shadow]

Shadow: "Hehehe. Nidoking! Thunderbolt that Corphish!"
Kent: "Confusion Alakazam!"
Nidoking sends out a burst of lightning that turns back and hits itself.
Shadow: "Kent, you never were the smart one! Even that twerp's Pikachu can barely scathe Nidoking with electricity! That horn helps him ground it all! Why don't you let Alakazam take a closer look with your Megahorn!"
Nidoking begins charging at Alakazam with his head lowered and horn glowing.
Ash: "Shadow, you talk too much! Corphish, Bubblebeam!"
Corphish opens its claws and sends a wave of bubbles that hit Nidoking and makes it lose its balance, stop in its tracks, and almost topple over.
Shadow: "Gary! What are you doing?"
Gary sighs and lowers his head.
Gary: "Nidoqueen, Seismic Toss."
Nidoqueen runs up to the attacking Corphish and grabs it, soon spinning in circles to gain momentum before chucking Corphish at Alakazam.

~~ Stadium Two :: 12:06 PM ~~
Reene: "Swampert! Mud Slap that Munchlax!"
Jack: "Blast it back with Water Gun!"
Swampert begins shooting soil at Munchlax but Mantine jumps in the way and blocks it with a stream of water.
Liam: "Now, Signal Beam!"
Ledian flies above Mantine and begins charging a lazer beam.
Max: "Munchlax! Body Slam!"
Munchlax hops on Mantine then leaps into the air, tackling Ledian, both of them collapsing beside Swampert.

~~ Stadium One :: Announcer Booth :: 12:06 PM ~~
Announcer: "What a great match here between some of the top ranking trainers across the lands! It's---"
The Announcer is muffled by hands on his mouth which pull him out of his chair. Meowth jumps up to his table as Wobbufett beside him attaches a device to the stereo system.
Meowth (with a voice perfectly disguised as the Announcer's): "Sorry about that. There was a bug in here. Now where was I? If you turn your attention away from Shadow for a moment folks, you'll see Ash Ketchum, who has a super-powered Pikachu, 8 badges from three, count them, three regions..."
Meowh continues boasting of Ash's accomplishments that they witnessed as Jessie and James sneek out of the booth, the real announcer tied up and gagged behind Meowth and Wobbufett.

 

[Shadow]

~~ Stadium One :: 12:09 PM ~~
"Announcer": "What? Wobbufett! Wobb! What do ya mean they're coming? Ack! Bzzzzzzt..."
Kay (via the Announcer's mic): "Sorry about that. Just some microphone troubles. So, let's get back to the battle!"
Shadow sighs.
Shadow: "At least they got that solved... Nidoking! Megahorn Alakazam now!"
Nidoking begins running towards Alakazam once more with Shadow focusing on it and nothing else, Jessie and James taking the moment to swipe his laptop and run under the stands.
Jessie: "Now... Joseph said put this disc in there... I don't see a place for a donut to go in..."
James: "Give me that!"
James snatches the computer and opens the disc tray. A CD painted like a Pokeball is already in the tray.
Shadow's laptop: "Tell Joseph that won't work..."
James: "Oh, it's not a Pokeball, it's a Vol---"
The computer explodes under the stands as Meowth and Wobbufett and chucked out of the Announcer booth.

~~ Cellar 3 :: 12:10 PM ~~
Randawl and Joseph watch Jessie and James as the laptop blows up in their faces.
Randawl: "I knew those three would fail..."
Joseph: "Better them getting blasted than us... Perhaps we can use them again as bait..."
Randawl: "Shadow is onto us now. We have to convince Felicia and Kay to vote against him... If Shadow befriends one of them, we can't get rid of him yet..."
Joseph: "Legally..."

 

[Shadow]

Reene's Pokeball brings out a Scyther.
Reene: "Scyther Slash on that Munchlax!"
Max: "Munchlax! Counter!"
Scyther glides towards Munchlax but is thrown away into Ledian, fainting it.
Liam: "Errg, return! Go Pokeball!"
Liam tosses in another Pokeball which contains a Muk.
Liam: "Eww..."

~~ Stadium One :: 12:11 PM ~~
Shadow smirks, throwing his new Pokeball into the fray, a Porygon 2 emerges from it. Porygon 2 then appears to cover itself in a shell matching Corphish's, though it keeps the exact same shape.
Felicia: "Oh! Shadow's new Porygon 2 has traced Corphish's Shell Armor so attacks cannot become critical against it!"
Shadow: "Porygon 2! Conversion!"
Porygon 2 begins glowing a slight yellow.
Felicia: "And now it appears to be the Electric type!"
Shadow: "Hehehe, Lock On to the Corphish and Zap Cannon!"
Porygon 2 fires a ball of lightning at Corphish, instantly fainting it.
Ash: "Corphish come back! Go Pokeball!"