Never Lost

Eight: Hitting The Road

Ash, Brock, and Pikachu waited at the entrance of Ever Grande City for Luca and Luke. Just then they saw a jeep coming down the road towards them. It slowed down to a stop when it got close to them. The Drivers side door opened up and a tall built man with short brown hair stepped out.

"Hey, are you the guys with Ranger Hart?" He asked the three standing there. They looked like the ones she had described to him earlier. "Where is Ranger Hart anyway?" As if on cue he saw her motorcycle in the distance coming towards them from inside the city. As she got closer he saw another rider on the back with a backpack on their back. Who is that on the back of her bike? The man wondered as they got closer. Her passenger appeared to be wearing clothes similar to hers. It took till they stopped for him to realize that it wasn't a human on the back of her bike. Instead it was a Pokémon... wearing a helmet and bracers...?

"Whoa Luke! That helmet looks awesome!" Ash said as he ran up to the duo.

Luke? Thought the other ranger.

"Thank you Ash." He said as he dismounted the bike, taking the helmet off from over his head. It was molded perfectly for him. There were places for his snout, ears, and tendrils, keeping everything protected. It had to latch on differently than a humans, however it would do the same job.

"No way I'm going to have him on my bike and not be protected. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and all that." Luca said with a smile. She then turned her attention to the ranger leaning up against his vehicle. "Ranger Marco!" She said as she extended her hand out to the man.

"I thought we were well beyond the handshake thing Ranger Luca." He said as he took her hand in his and shook it. "After all, we spent a year and a half traveling together around the regions and all." He released her hand after holding on to it for a prolonged amount of time.

"Be thankful I'm not calling you Ranger Graves." She said with a laugh. "You're still my trainer. It would be improper for me to be that informal."

"Jeez, you make it sound like I'm more than five years older than you. Plus I'm not your trainer anymore." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Out of nowhere he heard the woman giggle with a delight he had never heard from her before. He looked up to see her grabbing the paw of a Lucario and bringing him over.

"Ranger Marco, it's my pleasure to introduce you to Luke! My best friend!" She stated with an ear to ear grin.

"This is the Luke?" He asked the woman before him.

"It's a pleasure to meet Luca's mentor." Luke said as he extended his paw.

"Well I'll be darned." He said as he accepted the Pokémon's handshake. "I've heard a lot about you. Glad to see you're fairing fine." He released from the greeting and looked back over to Luca. "Does this mean your father is back too?" He asked with a slight excitement. "To be able to meet the great Ranger Hart... that would be an honor I couldn't even imagine."

Luca and Luke both looked at each other, then down to the ground. "Sadly he didn't make it." She said as she made eye contact with the man before her. She noticed that Luke hadn't looked back up though. She could sense much guilt where her father was concerned. "It's like my father used to say. Sometimes the magic doesn't work." She got behind Luke and hugged him. Her cheek resting on top of his head. "But when it does, it's usually when you need it the most."

Luke went rigid for a moment when she had surprised him. She didn't blame him at all. He could feel that from her. However it was something that was hard to let go for him. "I agree." He replied simply.

"Anyway." Ranger Marco stated as he set his sights on the others. "I'm Ranger Marco from Pewter City." He said as he extended his hand out.

"I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town." Ash said as he was the first to take the man's hand. "This is Pikachu."

"Pikachu." He said as he waved his hand.

"Brock Tekeshi, I'm also from Pewter City." He shook the Rangers hand firmly.

"Wait, as in former Gym Leader Brock?" Some excitement came back to his voice. "I remember watching my friend battle you many years ago. It took him half a dozen times to defeat you and earn his badge." He let the man's hand go. "Guess I got to meet somebody famous after all." He said with a grin.

"I wouldn't go that far, but thank you for the compliment." He said in return. "I guess now that we got that out of the way, we should get going. We need to catch up with Butch and Cassidy before they go after more psychic Pokémon."

"Brock is right." Ash interjected. "Those guys are a pain in the butt. No matter where we are, we always run into them. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Jessie, James, and Meowth at some point in our journey.  It's Team Rocket after all."

"Don't forget about the Afterburners." Luke reminded them. He had spoken more about them earlier in the day while they had been getting ready. "They may be a new faction of Rocket, but they are no laughing matter." He said as he put his helmet back on as Luca did the same. She got on the bike and he right behind her. The backpack on his back again.

"Then let's go. We don't have a moment to lose." Luca stated as she turned her engine on.

Meanwhile back at Team Rocket Headquarters.

"Achoo!" James sneezed into his elbow.

"It is a bit chilly in here, isn't it?" Jessie asked.

"Meowth... I thinks it's just yous guys imaginations."  He said with a shrug.