Their eyes locked, staring at one another until someone else within the group countered their gaze. One man spat at the girl as she inched closer to her Charizard with comfort.

"Virginia," gritted Yellow, "Never thought I'd see you alive."

"Virginia, huh? Mind telling me what you plan to do with the damage you caused on this bridge," raised Bruno with a long, furrowed, bushy brow.

"I plan to destroy the rest of this bridge if I win. If I lose this battle, however." She relented after retrieving a Poké Ball from her cloak pocket. She flung the toss directly toward Yellow, and out of that cast appeared before her opponent a Vileplume, the same Oddish that once urged us on the moon had grown twice as big as Yellow and I both remembered.

"....Then you get to walk across this bridge no questions asked."

This answer made Bruno laugh with a loud titter. Did she honestly think she would outclass a Trainer and an Elite Four member? Virginia either had the utmost confidence or had a game plan. But she seemed to be the only one on the bridge so far.

"Do you really think you'll be able to beat me, I'm Bruno of the Elite Four, no one can stop me!"

"Did you think I'd let you off this bridge with just the two of you facing me?" She giggled with a tease as she observed a boy flying in the northern direction with his motorcycle and flinging his helmet off directly toward the man, grinning and flexing his muscles for a fight. Bruno caught hold of his helmet and brutally crushed the fiberglass with his bare hands.

"Hahahahahaha!! Bring it on! I've been tasting for a fight ever since our attempt at entering the Safari Zone. Guess it's going to be slow going."

The boy leaped off his bike and gracefully landed on the ground, barely making a sound. He had fluffy dark hair and red eyes. He was wearing a similar motorbike uniform to Virginia, only he wasn't wearing a cloak. At the same time, the motorbike crashed along the pavement. The boy masked himself along the darkened road of the bridge and as darkness began to fall along the western horizon of Kanto. Bruno noticed that he had somehow disappeared.

"Ah, so Team Love have ninjas on their roster, Koga would certainly like you lot. No matter," he grinned, pulling out a Poké Ball to begin the match before him.

"Be prepared to face your darkest foe, I'm Hansel, an elite guard and member of the Fourteen Apostles, you destroy Black Clover, I destroy you."

While they were engaged in their battle on the North end of the bridge of Cycling Road, Yellow furrowed his brow at his opponent on the southern end.

"So, how is Leaf doing?" She asked with her usual calm attitude. She was smiling with glee, almost as if she had reunited with her long-lost friends.

"She's becoming stronger every day."

"So I've heard, my gosh it's been so looooong! I've wanted to try and catch up with you guys but I've been super-super busy." She smiled with wide glee.

"What happened to you?..."

"Huh?.."

"Why are you working for Team Love?"

"Seems like Team Love and the Rocket gang don't want us to cross this bridge, don't they," inquired Mewtwo within the Poké Doll.

The girl grinned wide as Yellow tossed out his throw with a cast of his pole. Out from that ranged cast from the fishing pole appeared Dodo, his Dodrio Pokémon who had just recently gone through his evolution. Instead of the usual cluster of brown feathers, this one had a trim of both red and black. Along with it grew a third head, which dominated the other two. This bird stood twice as high as his previous form.

"Vileplume, Acid!" The Pokémon obeyed her Trainer's first command, and the battle ensued with a spray of purple ooze out of his flower bud.

"Dodge it!" Commanded Yellow to the Pokémon obediently, and Dodo did so with his swift and agile body. He avoided the ooze that soon landed everywhere on the battlefield.

"Drill Peck," furthered Yellow to his Pokémon's pageantry.

But as soon as the Pokémon used his beak to drill downward toward the leaf Pokémon in question. Vileplume avoided the attack and swiftly rebounded toward his opponent. His fist curled and ready for a close-range hit. All while Dodo drilled downward into the asphalt.

"Cut!" Called out Virginia with a vibrant confidence as the move slashed the bird across the rounded feathery body with a critical hit.

"Great work holding out Dodo! You got this!"

"You've made a mistake Yellow."

"Drill Peck! Let's land a super effective move on her!"

"Diiieedriio," decried Yellow's Pokémon with valor.

"Sunny Day!" Shouted Virginia back a command to her Vileplume once more.

Dodo sadly struggled to land a second hit on Vileplume as his evasiveness became more assertive after each turn. The plant avoided the move, and the poor bird dug their beaks into the ground again.

"No! You guys okay?"

Suddenly, after the Pokémon let out a cry, the plumage on Vileplume's head started to brighten the night, and what began to feel like dusk had suddenly turned to morning. The light-evoked from off the plumage was so intense that even Yellow and Bruno had to shield their eyes. But this opened up an opportunity for Dodo, now that Vileplume had used such a power. He became more of a target.

"Fury Cutter!" Screamed Yellow in desperation.

The three-headed ostrich Pokémon obeyed his master without effort and swiftly darted with their sharp beaks downward. The Pokémon pecked and slashed across the Vileplume so that he rarely put up a defense. He received wounds that depleted some of his energy, but with each beak in succession, it dealt three times more damage than was expected.

"I don't get it! How did you not die on the moon back when I rescued Leaf!?"

"Oh... you want to know about that part?" She asked with sizzled excitement. "Also, whatever happened about not being happy to see me? Stun Spore!"

Vileplume engaged her opponent and scampered after the bird with her flower bud exposed downwards. The yellowed powder ignited outward and flung most of it directly on Dodo's feathery head. Once the powder made contact, Virginia had stricken Dodo with a jolt, and both legs collapsed onto the blackened, charred road.

"I made a choice Yellow, I was weak and had no direction in life. All I ever wanted was to feed my poor family and myself and being with Team Rocket didn't put food on the table. Acid!"

Vileplume released a rapid amount of ooze out from the top of the flower, and the ooze made contact, sapping most of Dodo's energy; the bird had finally collapsed from the weight of the move.

The boy tipped his hat down and pulled out his Poké Ball to retrieve his Pokémon.

"Rest easy, buddy."

The boy took a moment to gather in all that was said. He could relate because there was once a time when he was a child when Yellow had nothing; all Yellow had was the Pokémon he could talk to.

"I understand what it's like, being alone. But that doesn't mean we should make the choice of becoming evil. Pika, you ready?"

"Chu!" Declared the little Pikachu with confidence.

"Thunder Wave!"

"Pika!" Cheered the mouse as a large swath of volts shot straight towards the Vileplume, the waves of those volts undulated in place as the light from them stunned Vileplume on either side.

"Return," declared Virginia's most prized Pokémon back within her Poké Ball, and as she moved her other Pokémon beside her, it seemed the light emitted from Vileplume had not left. Charizard, the Charmander that she rescued, smiled alongside her.

"Evil is subjective Yellow, maybe you ought to rethink that one. I've found my home and I'm not going to let anyone take it away when I've found something that truly works. Had you and Leaf not interfered I would have had it all. My belly is full and my family's needs are met. Tell me, what exactly is evil about that? Flamethrower!"

The flying lizard pushed his hind legs upward; flaying his wings, he remained in flight, blasting a massive heatwave that seemed to intensify as the poor electric mouse roasted from all sides from the billowing flames.

"PIKA!!" Roared Yellow desperately as he clamored along the rough asphalt to get to his Pokémon, who had already slumped from the intense heat.

Yellow had caught wind of some of that heat, and Virginia placed her hand alongside her Charizard's neck and petted him to close the vaulted flames.

"Do you think I'm still going to forgive you of this Virginia, hurting my Pokémon. I guess Leaf was wrong about you after all, all you've ever done is harm those around you."

"You're in the way of our plans, how can I not stop you?"

"By letting us cross this bridge and finishing our job. Leaf isn't going to like what you have become after I tell her."

"Really," raised Virginia's brow with a loud giggle. "Hmmm.. well, if you see her, tell her I miss her." She smiled again while pulling out a small black remote connected to the Pokémon underneath the bridge. She pulled the trigger and detonated the remaining Voltorb underneath Bruno and Yellow. The blast caused them to lose footing as the road and concrete gave way.

Yellow held fast to his charred Pikachu, and Bruno growled after his opponent waved goodbye to them above the broken segment of the bridge left over. They were splashing into the depths of the ocean. All while underneath, the water's current pulled them deeper into the abyss.

"And if you really survive this one, tell Leaf the Black Clover has returned, with a vengeance."