Sami checks his watch. "It's a couple hours until the convention starts," he comments to Starr. "The Topaz City Mall is a couple blocks away from here. Do you want to get something quick to eat?"
    "Sure!" Starr smiles. The two of them head towards the mall.

    After entering the Topaz City Mall, which had the closest restaurant to them, Ash and company meet up with a rather nasty surprise.
    No pets, not even trained ones, are allowed in this particular restaurant.
    "But Pikachu's my friend!" Ash insists to the waiter who had told them this. (Misty had been lucky enough to be able to effectively hide Togepi inside her backpack.)
    "I'm sorry, young man, but rules are rules! I can't change them, and they say your Pikachu has to wait outside!" the waiter argues.
    Misty cuts in, "Ash, just leave Pikachu outside! It's smart enough not to go wandering or let anybody take it away, and we'll just bring it some extra food."
    "Pika pi chu!!" Pikachu adds, which translates into, 'Bring ketchup!!'
    Ash considers this. "Well… I guess that's the only way we'll get any service…" he mutters reluctantly. "Pikachu, will you stay outside the store and wait for us, please?"
    Pikachu nods, saying, "Pika!"
    Ash smiles. "Well, I guess that settles that! Let's go! We'll bring you back something good, Pikachu!" Misty, Brock and he enter the restaurant, and Pikachu waves good-bye from the window.
    Pikachu watches her trainer and friend disappear into the crowd of people, then sighs. "Chaaa…."
    "Raichu?" an unfamiliar voice sounds behind her.
    "Pi?" Pikachu turns her head, and sees a Raichu. "Pika! Pi pikachu?"
    "Rai rai rai," the Raichu, a male, replies.
    "What are you looking at, Raichu?" a female voice calls out. A redheaded, green-eyed girl wearing a black sweater approaches him. Following her is a boy (Pikachu thinks, she's not sure) with lavender hair, red eyes, and a black trenchcoat. Following that girl is a Kadabra. "Oh! A Pikachu!" She kneels in front of her. "Are you lost, little fella?"
    "Pika," Pikachu replies, shaking her head. "Pi pi kachu pika pikachu." Crossing her arms, she adds, "Pi~~, pi pikachu! Pika pika pika……"
    The girl blinks. "Huh?"
    "She said her trainer's inside the restaurant, and she's out here because they don't allow Pokémon inside," the other girl tells her smoothly. She kneels down in front of her. "My name's Sami Hill. What's yours?"
    "Pi, Pikachu ka."
    "Just Pikachu, hmm?" Sami smiles, resting her chin on her hand. "Your trainer doesn't have a lot of imagination." She turns to the other girl. "Let's go, Starr. This restaurant's obviously no good if they don't let Pokémon in."
    "Sure, Sami," Starr replies. The two of them get up.
    "Rai rai, raichu," Raichu says in good-bye.
    "Pika!" Pikachu smiles, waving.
    Pikachu watches them walk off and disappear into the crowd before deciding, heck with it, she can remember where Ash is. With a quick glance at the restaurant to imprint its looks in her mind, she runs after Starr and Raichu. "Pika piiii!!"
    "Rai?" Raichu turns around just in time to see Pikachu run up Starr's leg and perch on her shoulder. "Rai! Raichu rai?"
    "Pi, pi…" Pikachu laughs, rubbing the back of her head. "Pi, pikachu pi. Chu!"
    Starr looks blank. "Uh, what?"
    "Pikachu likes you, in short," Sami tells Starr with a slight smile on his lips. "She's just going to stick around for a while, then she's heading back to her trainer."
    Starr laughs, blushing slightly. "Gee, thanks, Pikachu…" she smiles. "I wish I could understand what you're saying like Sami does…"
    "Not a problem," Sami says smoothly. "Batts, please translate Pikachu for Starr."
    <Hai,> Batts replies quietly.
    "<His mouth doesn't move…>" Pikachu comments, peering down at him.
    "<Batts is kinda weird that way,>" Raichu tells her, "<but he's cool. He talks entirely through the mind. Figures, since he's a psychic Pokémon and all.>"
    Starr blinks. "That… is a really weird feeling," she decides to announce.
    "That's usually how it is," Sami tells her mildly. He glances to the side. "Oh, look, another restaurant. Wait here, I'll ask if they let Pokémon in."
    Starr, Pikachu, and Raichu stop, and watch him as he walks in and over to one of the waiters. "Say, Pikachu, what's your trainer's name?" Starr asks, looking over at the electric rodent perched on her shoulder.
    "<His name's Ash Ketchum. He's pretty dense, but I like him,>" Pikachu replies. "<He's a good trainer. He's got a couple friends who follow him around, named Misty and Brock. I like them too, they're all good people.>"
    "It's good to hear you're being treated well, Pikachu," Starr smiles.
    "They allow Pokémon here, as long as they behave themselves," Sami announces from the restaurant entrance. "Let's get a table, Starr; I'm paying. Pikachu, you can get whatever you want too, I've got plenty of money."
    "<Thanks!>" Pikachu cheers. "<Can I have ketchup?>"
    Sami blinks. "That's a weird request, but… sure." He turns around. "Let's go."

    "This is boring!!" James whines. "And I'm hungry!!!"
    "Quit complaining!" Jessie snaps, arms crossed. "This is bad enough without me having to listen to your annoying voice!"
    Meowth refrains from mentioning how awful it is be for him to have to listen to both of them whine. Instead, he says, "Could you guys shut up already? I'm trying to catch some Z's."
    Jessie apologizes by hitting Meowth over the head. "Shut up, you!!!"
    "Say, I've got an idea!" James proclaims. "Sami and Starr aren't here to stop us, so why don't we head over to the mall and shop?"
    "Oh, James, that's a GREAT idea!!" Jessie cries, clasping her hands together. "I need to stock up on hair gel and make-up anyway, I'm running out…"
    "But didn't you just go make-up shopping only a week ago?" James queries. "Gee, and with that load I thought for sure you'd last a month!"
    "You know how much make-up Jessie slaps on her face. She looks like Mr. Mime when she's done!" Meowth cuts in.
    "That's true," James muses, snickering.
    Jessie, the flames of rage surging around her, brings out her Paper Fan of Personal Pride and makes some Northern Crater-sized dents in her teammates' faces. "DON'T YOU DARE EVER CRITICIZE MY FACE EVER AGAIN!!!!!!!" she roars. "Now bow down and call me Queen before I REALLY get mad!!!"
    "Yes, m'Queen!!" Meowth and James comply, bowing before Jessie.
    Jessie smirks a little. 'That's more like it,' she thinks to herself, none too smugly. "As punishment, you must take me shopping AND pay my bill! Oh, and carry my bags, too, without complaining!"
    Meowth gazes up at her with tear-filled eyes. "But Queen Jessie," he protests, "I am merely a slight Pokémon with no money! It would not be worth your while to take me along!" He gets up, a smugly cheerful look on his kitty face, and boots James forward. "James, on the other hand, is the poifect mule!"
    "HEY!" James snaps. "I resent that remark!"
    "Let's GO, James!!" Jessie snaps, grabbing him by the neck (and forcing James to cutely stick his tongue out). "We're heading to the Topaz City Mall, your treat!"
    "Have fun, guys!" Meowth grins, waving good-bye as Jessie drags James off. James manages to spare him an 'I'm-going-to-KILL-you-for-this' look before Jessie throws him forward and orders him to walk on his own.
    Meowth sighs contentedly, then lies down next to the helicopter and relaxes. "Finally," he purrs to himself, "some peace and quiet so I can finally have a catnap!"

    "Chaaa!" Pikachu says happily, licking the ketchup from the tip of her nose before returning her attention to the large-size bottle of Heinz the waiter has so thoughtfully provided her with.
    Starr grins and takes a large bite out of her cheeseburger. "Thish wuz a good idea. I wuz shtarved," she says, though her voice is somewhat obscured by the pickles, onions, lettuce, special sauce and sesame seed bun.
    Raichu takes advantage of Starr's preoccupation with the burger to sneak a French fry, lean over, and borrow some of Pikachu's ketchup. As an afterthought, he offers Pikachu a fry. "<Want one?>"
    Pikachu looks questioningly at the fried potato wedge. "<What is it?>"
    "<It's food,>" Raichu explains. He demonstrates precisely what the purpose of a French fry is, taking a huge bite, then relieving Starr of a few more fries and handing them to Pikachu.
    Pikachu experimentally tips the ketchup bottle and squeezes, effectively coating the fry in tomato-based garnish, then picks up the french fry and swallows it. "<Mmm, great stuff!>"
    Sami observes this with a faint grin. "Starr, I'd keep an eye on your lunch if I were you."
    "Hmm? Why?" Starr swallows the bite of cheeseburger and looks down.
    Raichu freezes with his paw on a fry, then grins and blushes.
    Batts looks amused, letting out a small Kadabra chuckle before resuming his concentration on resting.
    Starr looks at her watch. "Hmm. It's one-thirty. We still have a bit of time to go before we have to leave, but there's no harm in being early."
    Sami nods and signals for the check.
    Pikachu looks up at Starr and is about to ask why when suddenly she realizes what time Starr had said it was. She immediately jumps up, dropping the ketchup.
    Sami looks up at the noise. "What's the matter, Pikachu?" he inquires.
    "Pi~~~! <I'm REALLY late!! I promised Ash I wouldn't wander off, and he's probably looking for me now, worried sick!>" Pikachu says frantically, jumping up and down.
    Starr nods. "Sorry, Pikachu, I didn't know lunch would take so long. I remember where that restaurant is. If we hurry, we should be able to get you back before your trainer starts to worry."
    "Leave that to Batts," Sami says. "Batts, teleport us to that restaurant."
    "…" Batts states before the white light of teleportation washes over the group.
    The waiter, who'd been coming to pick up the check, blinks, then shrugs. She doesn't really care how people decide to leave the restaurant, particularly when they leave tips like this group has.

    By the time they arrive, however, Ash, Misty and Brock are no longer present. Starr holds Pikachu and reassures her while Sami goes into the restaurant and asks if a group of kids has recently left. The waiter replies, "Yeah, two guys and a girl, only a little while ago. The one kid had a Pikachu. He seemed pretty upset about having to leave it outside. Just went off looking for it a while ago."
    "Thank you," Sami says, coming back outside.
    Pikachu sighs.
    Starr strokes her head. "Don't worry, Pikachu, we'll find your trainer." She turns to Sami. "Hmm. I wish we knew where they went."
    Sami shrugs. "It doesn't really matter. We can just go to the main office and have them page Pikachu's trainer. You know, tell him we've found his Pikachu and to come pick her up."
    "Oh, yeah." Starr puts a hand to the back of her neck. "Should have thought of that."
    The group heads over to the mall's main office, and Sami tells the woman waiting to put a message out over the P.A.
    A few minutes later, the P.A. system chimes to life. "Attention everyone! If there's an Ash Ketchum in this mall, your Pikachu is okay. She's waiting here at the front desk for you to pick her up. Thanks."

    Ash sighs with relief at the sound of the message. "Oh, good, they've found Pikachu!"
    He, Misty and Brock charge off toward the mall's main office.
 

    Elsewhere in the mall, two other shoppers catch the tail end of the message.
    "Did you hear that, James?" Jessie exclaims.
    James, staggering under the weight of Jessie's recent purchases, opens his mouth to reply, inhales a large cloud of scented powder, and has the sneezing fit to end all sneezing fits. When he finishes, he says, "They did just say that Ash Ketchum's Pikachu was waiting at the front desk, didn't they?"
    "Of course! Haven't you been listening?!?" Jessie snaps, pulling the infamous paper fan from her pocket, then deciding against whapping James, in case he should pass out from the impact and drop any of the merchandise. "Come on, James, if we get to the office before those twerps, we can claim Pikachu!" With this she grabs her partner by the arm and hauls him off, scattering lipstick, blush, eyeliner and various articles of clothing in their wake.

    Starr scans the crowd, holding up Pikachu so she can see whether or not Ash is coming. "Can you see anyone, Pikachu?"
    Pikachu holds a hand over her eyes, then gasps. "<There! There he is!!>"
    "What, who do you see?" Starr asks.
    In reply, Pikachu launches herself at a kid with spiky black hair wearing an official Pokémon League hat.
    "Pikachu!" he says joyfully, catching the small furry yellow projectile and hugging her close.
    "Oh, you must be Ash," Starr says, smiling.
    "Huh?" Ash looks up. "Oh, yeah. Thanks for finding Pikachu. From now on, I'll only eat at restaurants that'll serve ALL my friends. So you wanna go get some lunch, Pikachu?"
    "Pi pika!" Pikachu smiles, then points to Sami and Starr. "Pi pika chaa!"
    Ash blinks. "Oh, they bought you lunch already?" He reaches into his pocket. "I'll pay you back, if you want..."
    Sami holds up one hand. "It's no problem. All Pikachu had was ketchup."
    "And a few of my fries," Starr mutters, poking Raichu gently with her foot.
    Misty observes Sami and Starr with a pensive expression on her face. Something about these two seems familiar, but she can't quite place it. "Brock," she whispers, "do you notice something unusual about these two?"
    Brock doesn't reply.
    "Brock?" Misty repeats.
    "Brriii?" Togepi adds in, staring at the ex-gym leader.
    Brock still doesn't reply, as he's too preoccupied with blushing and gazing at Starr.
    Starr notices and acquires a faint sweatdrop. "Uh, hi."
    Brock snaps out of it. "Ah heh heh…"
    Fortunately, he's spared further embarrassment by the sound of chaos breaking loose a few feet away. Everyone turns quickly to see multiple shopping bags go sailing into the air and crash to the floor as whoever is carrying them trips over his own feet and executes a perfect face flop onto the tile.
    Starr coughs, fanning at the clouds of scented talcum powder that have exploded from the dropped parcels in an attempt to improve visibility. "What the heck???"
    From within the pink clouds, a feminine voice proclaims, "PREPARE FOR TROUBLE!"
    "And make it double," a male voice adds.
    "Oh, no, not you again!" Ash groans, exasperated.
    As the clouds of powder settle to the ground, the shoppers can now see two figures posing on a bench.
    "To protect the world from devastation!" Jessie announces.
    "To unite all peoples within our nation," James proclaims, pulling a rose from somewhere in the void.
    "To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
    "To extend our reach to the stars above."
    "JESSIE!"
    "Jaaaaames."
    "TEAM ROCKET! Blast off at the speed of light!"
    "Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
    "SHUT UP OR WE'LL BE HERE ALL NIGHT!!!!" Starr screams in complete exasperation.
    Everyone blinks.
    Starr blushes.
    Sami sighs. "I've had about enough of the song and dance." He detaches two Pokéballs from his belt. "Fuu! Umi! Go!!"
    There's a flash, and the form of Umi the Vaporeon takes shape on the floor. "Por Vaporeon!"
    Another flash, and Fuu the Jolteon is standing next to her. "Jolt!"
    "Umi, let's clean up this mess," Sami commands. "Water Gun attack! Fuu, use Thunder Shock to electrify it!"
    "Vaporeo~~~~~~~n!" Umi agrees, sending a large jet of water at Jessie and James.
    "JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLT!!!!!!" Fuu exclaims, sending a well-aimed thunder-shock into the deluge.
    "BLARGLE!" James exclaims as he and Jessie are washed out the door, along with the mess of shopping bags and cosmetics on the floor. "WE'RE BLASTING OFF AGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNN………!" The waterlogged-then-zapped Team Rocket sails off into the distance. Later, there's a faint THUD, but nobody really cares.
    The crowd that's gathered since Jessie and James began speeching applauds.
    "Fuu, Umi, take a bow," Sami says gently, smiling. Umi blushes, but does so. Fuu looks as though she's enjoying the attention but trying not to show it.
    "Wow, that was great!" Ash cheers.
    "You should have gotten Pikachu to fry them, too." Starr snickers under her breath. "Maximum voltage…ehehehehehe."
    "Save your insanity for later." Sami taps Starr on the shoulder. "We're going to be late for the Pokémon convention."
    "Oh." Starr stops laughing maniacally. She turns to Ash and smiles. "It was nice meeting you and Pikachu."
    "Likewise." Ash grins and shakes hands first with Starr, then with Sami. Misty follows suit, still holding Togepi, as does Brock. When the former gym leader takes Starr's hand, he blushes.
    "It was nice to meet you, Brock," Starr says.
    "Maybe we'll see each other around sometime…would you like my phone number so we can keep in touch?"
    "Erm," Starr replies and follows Sami out of the mall.
    Misty begins to giggle.
    Brock turns a very interesting shade of pink.