In a flurry of leaves and a flash of color, Team Rocket tumbled head over heels out of the bush.

"James!! You spoiled the whole thing!!"

"I can't help it, Meowth poked me!!"

"I did not, ya leaned back onto my claw!!"

"You shouldn't have been so close!!"

By now, Ash, Brock and Pikachu were awake and watching Team Rocket argue. Misty felt stupid for getting so scared; this was nothing they couldn't handle, nothing they didn't handle every day.

"Hey, be quiet!" Brock commanded. Team Rocket froze, as if they'd just noticed the three sitting a few feet away from them. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

"None of your buisness, twerp," they said in perfect unison, folding their arms. Ash, Misty and Brock sighed. In the silence that prevailed for the next minute, a noise could be heard coming from the same bush Jessi, James and Meowth had come from. Everyone in the clearing, including the Pokemon, froze and looked toward the origin of the sound.

A black shadow floated from the bush and slowly materialized into the painfully familiar figure of death, in the form of the Grim Reaper.

All of the frightened people and Pokemon in the clearing looked at each other for a moment, in disbelief, until this sank in. Then they started screaming. Misty involuntarily clung to Ash, and, predictably, Jessi, James and Meowth huddled together screaming hysterically, right at the feet of the deathly silent entity.

Suddenly Misty's voice was cut off. Ash paused for a moment, glancing at her and just realizing how close she was to him. He had no time to be embarrassed, because he saw his friend clutching her throat in pain and fear. She couldn't breathe, it felt as if there were a hand clamped down on her neck, and the life slowly drained from her. She slumped to the ground, dead.

Ash shook her frantically. "Misty?! Misty!!" he screamed. There was, not surprisingly, no response. After a moment, Ash looked up at the Grim Reaper, enraged. Pikachu, sitting next to him, started to go up to the figure, but Ash grabbed his tail and held him back. Ash saw the black figure's gaze fixed behind him. He turned just in time to see Brock fall to the ground. "Brock!!" he yelled helplessly. Why was he to live while all of his friends fell around him? In a moment he was relieved of his worries as the phantom hand grasped his own neck.

Meowth was perched on Jessi's head, screaming along with the rest of his friends. He noticed that three of the voices that had previously been joining in were silenced. He decided to take matters into his own hands. Leaping up toward the black figure, he swiped his claws in the thing's face. It moved backward and fixed its cold stare on Jessi. She stiffened and fell.

James caught Jessi as she fell, but put her down gently. He sat there, breathing hard and staring at the ground. He knew the figure wasn't going to leave and forget about him, as much as he wished it would. Sure enough, after another few seconds, the figure had used its dark magic on him, and he fell beside his friend.

The Grim Reaper surveyed his work. Seeming satisfied, he began to fade away. After a moment he was gone.

Meowth and Pikachu were the only ones left alive in the clearing. All around them were the dead bodies of their friends.

"Pi... pikapi..." Pikachu sobbed, sitting next to Ash. Meowth wanted to act tough as usual, to make a smart remark, but his own friends had met the same fate as Ash. He only patted Pikachu's back sympathetically, and sat down beside him.

Voices echoing all around... why were they being so loud? She wanted to sleep...

"Misty, wake up," Ash said gently. He placed a hand on her shoulder and kept it there as she slowly came back into consciousness. But was that really accurate? They had all died, how could they be conscious?

Brock was sitting right beside Ash. "Where do you think we are?" he asked his friend. Ash shook his head, helping Misty sit up. The land around them was like a huge, endless field with tall grass waving in a strong breeze which picked up every once in a while. There were no trees at all, and the land was flat. The sky was black, and lightning streaked silently across the sky every few seconds, lighting up the land around them.

Misty looked around as well. "We died..." she remembered. At that moment the wind picked up, whipping her hair around.

Jessi and James had woken up about the same time as Misty. James began, "If we're dead, are we..."

"In heaven?" Jessi finished for her friend. "Or maybe..." They stared at each other for a second, then screamed.

"I wanna go home!!" James said,

"Me too!!" Jessi agreed, and the two fell into each other's arms, crying comically.

Ash rolled his eyes. Suddenly he noticed something- all of his Pokeballs were gone! "Guys, where are all of my..." He trailed off, realizing his friends were having the same problem he had.

"Arbok is gone!!" Jessi sobbed.

"So is Weezing!!"

"WE'RE GONNA DIE!!!"

"You two shut up!!" Ash snapped. He looked around again. If Team Rocket was in this with them, he didn't know how long it'd be until his patience was shot. From the looks of things, not long.

A clap of thunder broke the uncomfortable silence. All eyes turned to the sky, where they saw the same being that had come to them earlier. The same one who had brought them here. The same one who had killed them.

The group backed away from the Grim Reaper. But he did a thing that surprised them- he took off his hood. Instead of being ugly and old, as one would expect Death to be, he was quite handsome and young, with wild dark brown hair and blue eyes.

Jessi spoke up quietly, "Where are we?"

Death turned a piercing glare on her. She shrank down, pride keeping her from hiding behind James. The menacing young being nodded slightly, and began to speak.

"I regret having to go to such extreme measures to bring you here. In the mortal world, I am not allowed to speak, or I would have done so instead of killing you." Ash made a scornful sound, and got a non-fatal glare from Death. He cleared his throat, annoyed, and continued. "You five should be honored that you have been chosen."

"Chosen? For what?" Misty wanted to know.

"I am getting to that. You will all be returned to your bodies in the mortal world. When you do, you will be changed, in such a way that will play upon your weaknesses and make them your strengths. This is also a test of your courage and friendship. You are expected to do well, but there is an argument among the Powers..." He trailed off, then continued. "What you must know is that what I am about to tell you will seem odd, but you must listen closely."

Around the group, the lightning had increased terribly. It highlighted the sky behind Death's shadowy figure. The large voice, coming from such a small figure, seemed to fill the air. It sounded alot like a riddle, and every member of the group tried to listen and remember.

"There will be a battle fought, and the warriors have already been chosen. They are weak when standing alone, but together, they are strong. The battle will be long and hard, but the warriors will overcome their enemies and ultimately triumph over the darkness." His tale finished, Death let this sink in.

"We are the chosen warriors..." Brock whispered, incredulously.

"How can we be strong enough?" James asked.

"'Together we are strong'," Jessi quoted, then realizing who she had just said that to, looked away, blushing slightly.

"Now," Death continued, "it is time for you to return to your bodies. I hope you find your new forms satisfactory... I designed them myself. Remember the story, and be ready, I will call you when the battle is to be fought. Train hard and learn your new strengths, and remember most of all, friendship is what pulls you through the hardest times and lasts all kinds of trials."

These were the last words they heard as they were transported back to the mortal world.

"How many times tonight am I going to wake up?" Misty grumbled. She forced her eyes open, and looked down at her hands, remembering Death's talk of a 'change'. She blinked. And stared. And blinked again. She didn't have hands anymore. Try paws. With deep brown fur.

She sat up. She had no shoes on, and her feet were black-furred paws. A thin black tail curled around from under her, with a lightning-shaped tip. She felt her ears with her hands- no, paws- and found that they were swept-back, and oddly shaped. She felt her face and found that her nose was small and mouselike.

A Raichu. She was melded with a Raichu.

She looked over at Ash and gasped. His ears had been changed into blunt yellow horns. He had strange feet with claws, the same yellow tone as the rest of him. His arms had changed, as he was, to those of an Alakazam. He was still unconscious, and Misty hesitated to wake him, knowing that none of them would get any more sleep that night. She decided to let him stay as he was.

The next person Misty inspected was Brock. He had gained almost catlike ears with spikes of pale fur on the tips. His arms were furred and muscular, with metal bands on his wrists. There were also bands of the same kind on his ankles. Melded with a Primeape.

All of her friends had fared well, she thought. Then she remembered Team Rocket. She supposed since they were in this together, she should check them out. She looked for a moment, and found them, obviously in the same positions they'd been in when they were killed. It struck Misty that they looked almost cute together, even in death-poses, by the fact that James had fallen beside Jessi with one arm draped over her side. It was also interesting because of the Pokemon they'd been melded with.

James had black ears poking out from under his hair, and a small black cat-nose. Founains of whiskers lined his cheeks. Also, he had a long pale-colored tail, curled into a spiral at the tip. His gloves had been mysteriously removed, and Misty saw that he had paws like her own, differing in color and shape. His boots were also missing, and he had paws instead of feet, as well. A Persian.

Jessi was harder to see because of her position behind James, but when Misty saw her, she was awestruck. Her skin had taken on a blue shade, and her ears were white and feathery. She had webbed claws instead of hands and feet, which Misty knew because Jessi's gloves and boots were also missing, set in a nearby pile along with James'. She had a blue tail with two darker blue globes on the end. Jessi had been melded with a Dragonair.

Misty now knew what Death had meant by forms that 'play upon your weaknesses and make them your strengths.' Ash was an Alakazam, which meant he had the intelligence of a supercomputer. Misty thought with a small smirk, that Ash certainly hadn't ever been known for intelligence. And Primeape was a fighting type. Brock was more the type to think things out calmly before acting. Dragonairs were famous for their peaceful nature. Misty thought of Jessi's notorious temper, known to flare up at the smallest amount of provocation. Definitely not like a Dragonair. And James? A Persian was mean and cold, with a certain degree of grace and poise. Misty had to cough to keep from laughing. Not! This would be... interesting.

Ash rolled over, waking up. He had a similar experience to the one Misty'd had, looking at his hands and arms and inspecting the rest of him, marveling at his new form. When he looked up at Misty, she saw that his eyes had gone from brown to deep purple. They were quite striking, actually.

"Wow, Misty, you look... different..." Ash said staring a little too openly for Misty's liking. At least, for the former Misty's liking. This Rai-Misty was even amused at Ash's actions, hiding her mouth with one paw.

"Well, so do you, Ash," she said playfully. Mentally, she screamed to herself, 'AHHH!! You stupid, what the heck do you think you're doing?! He's smart now, he'll find you out!' But Ash only looked at her sideways and went to wake up Brock. Misty sighed and decided to wake up Jessi and James.

When Misty shook Jessi awake, she was not met by angry words, as she'd expected. Instead, Dragonair-Jessi smiled slightly at the sight of Misty's Raichu ears.

"That's the last thing I'd expect to see you as," she pointed out. She blinked slightly, and Misty got the impression that a calm reaction wasn't what Jessi had originally planned on.

Then Jessi noticed how close she was to James, and scooted back quickly, blushing. The movement woke him up, and his ears curved back and tail uncurled for a moment as he stretched. He sat up, and caught sight of Jessi, who was watching him. His mouth dropped open and his ears pressed flat against his head. Fortunately, Jessi didn't notice, as she had just discovered her webbed hands and her tail.

"I'm a Dragonair?" she asked no one in particular. Then she caught sight of her tail, and was completely enthralled.

James sat up, looking at his paws. Misty, watching him, noticed that his green pupils were dilated to an abnormal size, taking up most of his eyes. His tail was swishing slowly. "This is... weird," he said, quietly. His voice was almost a purr.

"If that was what death is like, I don't know whether to be scared or excited," Jessi commented, in a pleasant tone uncommon for her. "That death guy was cute."

"It was boring," James said, not looking up from his tail, which he had been watching, not quite having control over it yet. Jessi glanced at him, but didn't say anything.

"You're okay?" Misty asked them, not entirely acting on Raichu instinct. Jessi smiled at her and gave a thumbs-up sign. Misty looked at James, but he didn't bother to answer, or even look at her. He got up distractedly, and walked off. Jessi watched him go, but Misty shook her head and got up as well, going over to see how Brock was.

"We have to get moving," Ash said, in a tone that told his friends he wasn't going to change his mind. "I want to find Pikachu... and Meowth... before morning." All of their Pokeballs had disappeared; they hoped it was Death's planning, and that they hadn't been stolen. But they'd found Pikachu and Meowth's footprints leading out of the clearing and then lost them in the grass.

"We don't know where we're going!!" Brock was more irritable than ever before. He seemed to be making up for any time he had stayed calm in the past. He was sitting on the ground, a bit away from everyone else.

In the last two hours, Jessi and Misty had gotten closer as friends than they could ever have hoped. Misty didn't really know whether she was happy about that or not, but her new carefree Raichu attitude made her feel the more friends, the better. She had never liked Jessi before, but now that she was as kind and gentle as a Dragonair, she was better as a person.

"What do you think, Misty?" Jessi asked.

"I don't really mind either way," she said, shrugging. She brushed some dirt off her fur and stood up, tail waving. "Let's go, then."

Brock scowled at her, but got up along with everyone else. Ash ran a hand through his messy hair, thinking about the heightened brainpower inside his head; he was almost scared of it, he was thinking in a way he never had before, and had never expected to. He glanced at Misty, and smiled at her without thinking. She smiled back. Ash suddenly realized that if she was still her normal self, she would have hit him over the head for such an action. Maybe this thing had some advantages.

"Hold it, guys," Jessi exclaimed. "Did James come back?" The youth had sulked off by himself into the trees, and they hadn't seen him since. His personality had really changed for the worse; he wouldn't look anyone in the eyes when they talked, seldom bothered to answer anyone, and he had snapped at Jessi when she asked him how he felt.

"He's still gone," Brock reported. He was calm half the time, but he had a fierce temper that would lash out unexpectedly.

"I'll go look for him," Misty said cheerfully, and went off in the general direction he'd disappeared to. She walked through the trees, bathed in moonlight, savoring the silence of the night. She was, strangely, not worried about anyone finding her. Perhaps she should have been...

James silently padded into the clearing where his companions were waiting for Misty's return.

"Is Misty with you?" Ash asked, anxiously. James looked at him and blinked.

"I never saw her," he replied carefully. "She isn't here?"

"She went out to look for you," Jessi informed him. James started to say something, but suddenly his ears perked up.

"Did you hear that?" he asked. "It was like..." His eyes widened and he turned and ran through the trees toward the sound. The others in the clearing looked at each other, surprised, then followed.

James skidded to a halt in front of a frightening scene. A rocky, serpentine Onix was looming over Misty, who seemed to be stuck in place. She took a small step back. The Onix growled and reared back, ready to strike. In a flash, James jumped into a nearby tree and bounced off onto the Onix's snout. He unsheathed the claws on his front paws and slashed at the creature's eyes.

The Onix roared and thrashed around, throwing the boy off and slamming him into a tree. At that moment the others arrived. The Onix had one eye closed, blood trickling from it slowly. It saw the humans and was enraged at the sight, roaring again and lunging at them.

Ash saw the huge Pokemon coming at him, but felt as helpless as a small Pikachu. He just wanted it to go away... he closed his eyes tightly, it would all be over soon.

The Onix stopped, suspended in midair, surrounded by a bright purple energy. James sat up, leaning against the tree he'd slammed into. He watched, amazed, as the rock creature was lifted into the air with Ash's psychic power. In a moment, the energy disappeared and the Onix dropped back to earth. Misty was rocked back by the force of it; the rest stepped back purposely.

Still, the Onix wasn't beaten. It got up, growling at the humans. Brock stepped forward bravely. The Onix cocked its huge head, seeming to mock him, but Brock ran forward and karate-chopped the Onix on its underside. The Pokemon backed up, in pain; fighting attacks were effective against it.

Jessi raised her hand in the air, angrily. Blue sparkles circled in the air around her, then converged before her hand in a stream of water that hit the Onix with incredible force.

Misty looked at the Onix, soaked with water from Jessi's attack. She decided to help out in her own way. She felt a charge go through her body, but it felt pleasant and comfortable. She extended her hand and allowed the charge to flow through her hand, and out toward the Onix as electricity. The water carried the electricity, zapping it thoroughly. The Pokemon fell to the ground.

Ash went over to Misty and put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" he asked shakily. She nodded, leaning closer to him, almost hugging him. He was shocked but enjoyed the feeling. Behind Misty, Brock shot Ash a grin, and Ash stuck his tongue out at him. Misty wasn't looking, or she would have been confused.

Jessi, out of breath, hurried over to James, who was leaning back against the tree, eyes closed.

"James, are you all right?" Jessi asked softly. His green eyes snapped open and he glared at her.

"I'm fine," he snapped. Jessi tentatively held out a webbed hand to help him up. He batted it away with one paw and stood up by himself, leaning on the tree for support.

"I could've beaten that thing by myself," James muttered. Brock had approached the two, and heard him say this.

"Interesting, considering that rock type attacks are deadly against normal types," Brock pointed out.

"Whether you beat him yourself or not, it was brave of you to attack the Onix," Misty said, coming over. "Thank you."

James blushed and his ears flicked in embarrassment. "Yeah, well... don't make any more Pokemon mad 'cause I'm not going to do that again."

Sure you aren't, Misty thought. She was beginning to understand James' new attitude; it was exactly like a Persian's, independant and aloof, but powerful and quick to help out if it was really necessary.

"Guys, there's something weird with this Onix," Jessi told them, having gone over to it to check it out. The Pokemon was knocked out, but began to glow a light purple color. Suddenly it flashed and began shrinking, taking the shape of a small Ditto.

Jessi leaned over and picked up the creature. "You caused us some trouble," she scolded it.

"Well, I had to test your powers," the Ditto squeaked. Jessi almost dropped the small Pokemon, but held on, and set it down carefully.

"That thing... just talked?" Misty asked, amazed.

"It did," Ash said, walking over to the Ditto. "Okay, spill it. What are you? How can you talk? And why did you freak us out like that just to test us?"

The Ditto glowed briefly, then changed shape again, this time to a young human girl. She had long blond hair and green eyes, and her skin retained the purple tone of a Ditto.

"I am sorry," she apologized in a sincere tone. "My name is Renita. But, if I hadn't put you in danger, your powers wouldn't have been unleashed."

"Are you a Ditto?" Brock asked her, curious.

"Not unless I want to be," she replied happily. 'I had a run-in with Death a year ago, similar to yours. He took me instead of the person he'd been sent after. Since he'd made such a big mistake, and he'd taken a liking to me, he let me choose a Pokemon to be melded with."

"And you chose Ditto?" James asked, incredulously. Renita glanced at him, then morphed into Jessi, complete with Dragonair tail and ears.

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it," she scolded, in Jessi's voice. Ash, Misty, Brock, Jessi and James all stared at her, mouths open. "And don't stare," she added. They blinked.

Renita returned to her normal form. "Anyway, I can take any shape I want, whether it's living or not. Before I was sent back, Death told me about the five warriors that would be sent in a year. He told me I had to watch out for you, and when you came, I was to guide you and help you develop your powers. Which I've done."

"Well, yeah," Misty admitted. "But you really scared me!"

"And you gouged my eyes out, used psychic power to crush my mind, karate-chopped me, drenched me in water, and zapped me with one thousand volts of electricity!" Renita retorted. "But I'm not complaining. You guys have to build up your power levels if you want to win in that final battle of yours!"

"The one Death was talking about, right?" Brock guessed. Renita nodded.

"You're all fairly powerful, but you can do better," she told them. "You can use your powers now, and my first job is done. But you still aren't used to your new personalities, I see."

"I don't like this very much," Jessi admitted, glancing at James. "We're all so different. Plus, now that I'm the exact opposite of what I used to be, I can understand how terrible it must have been to hang around me." She looked at James apologetically, but he refused to meet her gaze, looking anywhere but at her. Renita noticed Jessi's hurt expression and scowled in James' direction.

"I know someone who needs an attitude adjustment," she said under her breath, so only James could hear. His ear pricked briefly; the only sign that he had even heard.