Chapter 144 - 10 - Cousin-to-cousin Friendship

If the cousin-to-cousin relationship was that strong and good, then suddenly, Team Rocket came to Rico and Serena to ask where is Ash. In response upon seeing them, both cousins stand up from their seat in quick resentment, along with their Pokémon.

"Team Rocket!"

"Oh, not you guys again!"

"Now where's that twerp and his Pikachu?" James demanded in style as he and the rest of his team are on hot air balloon, with a Meowth-style of the balloon itself.

"We won't tell you!" Rico responded with resistance and resentment. Lucario and Prinplup then responded with resentment.

"Oh! What is this?" Jessie responded with sarcasm, changing the subject quickly. "A time for romance? Such a cute duo!"

"Yeah," Meowth responded with style. This really annoys the two cousins a lot.

"What?!"

"No, we're not!"

"Not unless you tell us where is that twerp!" Jessie retorted with a singsong voice. Wobbuffet then responded with saluting.

"You bunch of idiots," Rico replied back while turning 90 degrees away in resentful style, "trying to steal that Pikachu from him." This offends Team Rocket a lot, a bit slightly more than the last one to Rico and Serena.

"How dare you offend us, twerp of a twerp?"

"Yeah! Why?!"

"You're the one who wanted that!" Rico shouted back rudely.

"That's it! A battle then!" James responded back. He and Jessie then called their Weezing and Arbok, and they stepped into battle with an intimidating look. Meowth then joined in as well. The Poison-type Pokémon caused Rico to shiver from bottom to top, but it eventually faded and focused on the battle, with his Pokémon stepping in. Serena and Delphox then joined them against Team Rocket.

"This is gonna be hard," Rico thought in his mind seriously. "But Ash, where are you?"

Meanwhile, Ash and his team came home at his house, only to find out about Rico's family relationship with Serena, and quickly went out to find them.

Back at the battle, Jessie commanded Arbok with style, "Arbok, use Acid!" Arbok then used Acid, spitting a black acid from its mouth at Lucario.

"Delphox, use Flamethrower, quickly!" Serena commanded Delphox seriously. Delphox then used Flamethrower, pointing its wand stick at the Acid and form a red-orange flame at its tip. It then releases a red-orange stream of fire from the tip of its wand at it, burning the Acid immediately with effect.

"Lucario, use Bone Rush!" Rico quickly commanded Lucario. Lucario then used Bone Rush, putting its paws together and spreads them apart, creating a light green bone of energy. It then hits Arbok with it, striking it with great power. This weakens Arbok severely, alerting Team Rocket quickly.

"What?"

"That's powerful!"

"That's because me and my Pokémon train together," Rico responded to their comments with cool seriousness.

"How dare you, twerp of a twerp!" Jessie responded rudely.

"Oh, will you stop saying that type of name!" Rico retorted back harshly.

"That's it! We'll take yours as well as Pikachu!" James responded. That threat really boils the Pokémon Trainers' resentment against Team Rocket. But they didn't have to because Ash and his team came to the rescue, commanding Greninja to use Water Shuriken against Team Rocket's Pokémon. Greninja then used Water Shuriken, striking Weezing and Arbok with great power. This really caused Team Rocket to freak out on Ash's Pokémon, which is stronger than before.

"Ash!" Rico and Serena called quickly upon seeing him and his team.

"How are you two?" Ash jumped to a question. His Pikachu then responded with greeting.

"We're struggling here!" Serena responded back. Her Delphox then responded seriously.

"Ah! Not that Pokémon again!" James exclaimed in fear of Greninja.

"Greninja, use Water Shuriken!" Ash commanded Greninja seriously. Greninja then used Water Shuriken, forming a shuriken of water in its hand. It then tosses it towards Weezing and Arbok, striking both with great power.

"No fair!" Jessie responded with a negative outlook.

"Prinplup, use Peck!" Rico commanded Prinplup seriously. Prinplup then Peck, charging towards Weezing and jabs it with a pointed beak, striking it with good power. But it only did a minimum damage on the Poison-type, and Weezing managed to get up, escalating the battle a bit more.

"What?" Rico responded with surprise.

"You're such a fool," Jessie commented that attack by Prinplup. But then, Weezing was struck by Delphox's Flamethrower, severely weakening it to the ground.

"Woah! Thanks, Delphox," Rico positively thanked Serena and Delphox. Prinplup then responded with a thank you. Delphox then responded with a nodding.

"Why are we unlucky?" James commented in desperate.

"Oh yeah? Fury Swipes!" Meowth responded with retaliation as it charged towards Delphox and Pikachu and used Fury Swipes, repeatedly scratching them with its glowing claws. But before any of the claws would land on Pikachu or Delphox, Lucario quickly punched it hard, sending Meowth blasting back to its original position, in pain.

"Oh, no! Meowth!" Jessie responded in alert. In retaliation, Jessie commanded Arbok to use Acid. Having managed to get up from the previous attack, Arbok used Acid again, spitting a black acid from its mouth at Lucario.

"Quickly, Greninja, use Water Shuriken!" Ash commanded Greninja seriously and quickly. Greninja then jumped high and used Water Shuriken, forming a shuriken of water in its hand. It then tosses it towards the Acid, hitting it with a clash, before dissipating into nothing.

"Rico, now!" Ash told Rico immediately.

"Lucario, use Bone Rush!" Rico commanded Lucario. Lucario then used Bone Rush, putting its paws together and spreads them apart, creating a light green bone of energy. It then hits Arbok with it, striking it with even more power. This time, Arbok suffered great damage from it, resulting in a defeat, shocking Team Rocket a lot.

"Oh no!"

"Alright then, Greninja, use Water Shuriken!" Ash commanded Greninja and Pikachu. "And Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Lucario, use Focus Blast!" Rico commanded Lucario and Prinplup. "Prinplup, use Hydro Pump!"

"Delphox, use Flamethrower!" Serena commanded Delphox. Then, together, Greninja, Pikachu, Lucario, Prinplup, and Delphox used Water Shuriken, Thunderbolt, Focus Blast, Hydro Pump, and Flamethrower, striking Team Rocket and their Pokémon with a great amount of power. So much so, it created an explosion, partially caused from striking the hot air balloon, that can be heard and seen from a distance, alerting their friends. And out of the smoke, Team Rocket and his now defeated Pokémon are blasted to the sky as they said their farewells to the Pokémon Trainers, "We're blasting off again!" They then disappeared into the sky with a blink, ending the battle finally.