The Great Crossover Crisis Disclaimer: Has anyone seen a short-tempered, uncute tomboy with a big mallet? No? Good! Now I can write this without fear of... oh, hello there! What brings you...? No wait! Don't! I didn't mean to call you... AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH! WHAM! Last episode: The four Ranmas had finally escaped from the Slayers World and are now traveling through the dimensional stream of infinite realities, trying to find their way back to their home universes. However, fate seems to have other plans for them. Note: This episode takes place after P-Ranma had just earned his Marsh Badge and his sixth Pokemon. You will also notice a few things have happened at this point, but they will be explained eventually in the separate Fist of the Pikachu story. < >: Thoughts (* *): Computer responses * *: Pokedex responses D-Ranma: Ranma from Dragon Child (Draco) T-Ranma: Ranma from Ranmatech (Prototype) B-Ranma: Ranma from Fighting Blind (Ranma) Kojiro: Ranma from Cat Fist Fury (Kojiro) P-Ranma: Ranma from Fist of the Pikachu (Trainer) Chapter 4 Ranma Number Five On a world that was very much like Earth, a streak of fire was racing along the highway at well over 200-mph. The streak of fire was in fact the fastest of all ground Pokemon, the Rapidash. This particular specimen was the fastest of its species, thanks to the intense training from its owner, Ranma Saotome. As the Rapidash and its rider raced along the highway, leaving fire trails in their wake, the two suddenly noticed another streak of fire that was blazing across the sky. P-Ranma pulled up on his reins and urged Wildfire to slow down as he looked at what appeared to be a shooting star. Ranma and his steed watched as the object hurtled down toward the ground into the distance, and disappearing over the horizon. By his estimate, the object was about some hundred miles away. "Pika." Ranma turned to his Raiden, his Pikachu and first Pokemon, who was perched on his backpack. "What do you think Raiden? We've got about a week before we meet up with Sam and Jeanette at the Fuscha Gym. Want to go check it out?" Ranma's normal traveling companions, Jeanette Fisher and Sam Ryker had went off to take care of some family business and agreed to meet up with him at the next gym. The electric rodent shrugged and nodded. With Wildfire's speed, they could afford to take a little side trip. Ranma smiled as he urged his fiery steed toward where the object had landed. Meanwhile, at the landing site, T-Ranma's cruiser was powering down its engines as the surface of its hull quickly threw off the heat of reentry. A few moments later, the main hatch opened and the ramp descended to the ground. The passengers of the space ship exited and began taking deep breaths and stretching out their limbs. "Ah! It's good to get out of that ship." Kojiro remarked as he took in the scenery of the world they had just landed on. "I'll say!" D-Ranma agreed as he stretched out his arms. "So where are we now, Prototype?" "Hold on a minute." T-Ranma replied as he began scanning the area with his eyes. The four Ranmas had decided to give each other different names, as it was too confusing to call each other Ranma. T-Ranma had settled on the designation of Prototype as that what he was when he had been rebuilt as a nanotech soldier. D-Ranma chose the title of Draco, which meant dragon. Kojiro was happy to stay with his name, as he never wanted to be called Ranma. As for B-Ranma, he had decided on the name Ranma. "Is this Earth?" B-Ranma asked. T-Ranma shook his head. "Yes and no. This appears to be Earth, but not one of our Earths. I'm picking up life-form readings that don't match to any terrestrial animals that can be found on our worlds. The geography of the landmasses is also different. It looks like we've landed on another parallel world again." "Aw nuts! We're not home yet?" Kojiro pouted. "It's been two months now!" "I know it's frustrating." T-Ranma soothed. "But like I said before, without the exact coordinates to any of our home realities to use as a reference, we can't do anything more than to check out each dimension as we come across them. At least we've managed to narrow down the search to this sector of the dimensional vortex that pulled us in the first place. That's where the spiritual trails of our initial entries seem to indicate. Without even that tiny lead, we'd be randomly visiting dimensions for the rest of our lives." "And you have to admit, so far it's been a wild ride." B-Ranma remarked. "Yes, that we'll all agree to." D-Ranma said. "Remember those Boomers that Prototype blew away?" Flashback to the MegaTokyo, year 2033... Priss and the other Knight Sabers were shocked as they saw T-Ranma in his Phase I Exo-Armor, as he faced off against fifty Boomers. The armored vigilantes had been less than a heartbeat away from destruction after being ambushed by the death machines. Their hardsuits were too damaged from the battle and the girls were about to be destroyed when this newcomer in black showed up and took out a dozen Boomers in less than a minute with strange energy blasts. Then some hi-tech armor appeared around him and adhered to the full body suit he was wearing. Small panels in the T-Ranma's leg, hip and chest armor opened up to reveal micro-missile launchers. Twin plasma cannons appeared on each shoulder, while his forearm gauntlets materialized armor-piercing auto guns. His hands were filled with XT-7000 particle beam rifles, each with a proton grenade launcher mounted below their muzzles. His helmet also powered up the ion blaster built into the visor as his computer began selecting the first targets. "Hasta la vista... Boomers." T-Ranma said as he pulled the triggers and let loose with a murderous storm of firepower. Micro-missiles shot forward like swarms of angry hornets. Though they were no bigger than cigarettes, they each had an armor-piercing tip and an explosive charge equivalent to twenty hand grenades. The shells launched from his auto guns shredded through the boomers as if they were made of parchment and the plasma cannons reduced whatever they hit to slag. The particle bolts blasted apart armor plating and ion beams played havoc on microcircuits. For a full thirty seconds, T-Ranma let loose with enough destructive force to level a small city a hundred times over. Luckily for the citizens of MegaTokyo, the nanotech soldier was directing his barrage in an abandoned area of the urban sectors. Of course, he could have used his Annihilator but he thought that would have overkill. ^_^ When the guns and weapons of T-Ranma finally stopped, the Knight Sabers were stunned to see that not a single Boomer was left standing. In fact, there was nothing more than unrecognizable heaps of debris that wasn't even fit for recycling. T-Ranma lowered his arms as his guns were still smoking a bit. He turned toward the Knight Sabers and smiled. "I just LOVE the silence after a salvo, don't you?" Priss was the first to regain her voice as she and the others continued to stare at the stranger. She then whispered, "I WANT one of those!" It was not sure whether she was referring to the armor, the weapons or the very well built man who was carrying them. Of course, the other Knight Sabers all agreed with Priss. End of flashback... T-Ranma smirked at that. "Well, you guys helped some too you know. I think that Linna had a soft spot for you Ranma, when you blew up that Boomer with just a finger." B-Ranma reddened a bit as he remembered the feisty dancer and best hand-to-hand combatant of that group. Linna had almost been crushed by a Boomer when B-Ranma used the advanced Breaking Point to reduce it to scrap. Then after displaying his Amazonian Wu Shu and Unseen Light techniques, destroying Boomers with just a staff and ki blasts, Linna couldn't stay away from him. The blind martial artist could beat her, even when she was in her hardsuit. That and the fact that he was good-looking and his humble personality appealed to her. The four Ranmas had created massive havoc and irreparable damage to the Genom Corporation during that week. When they finally left that universe, it seemed that the Knight Sabers had nothing more to do than a light mop up. "Yeah, things got pretty exciting ever since we left Lina and her friends." Kojiro admitted as he joined in with the others with reminiscing. "Remember the look on Quincy's face when Draco blasted into his office as a dragon?" The Cat Fist fighter chuckled at the memory. "Oh and I suppose your hybrid and tiger forms are not as scary." Draco retorted sarcastically, but in a friendly manner. Kojiro had given a lot of Genom employees nightmares when he showed up as a saber-tooth tiger, then began ripping up the Boomer factory as a psuedo-werebeast. "Yeah, well anyway, we've got a week before the phase drive generates enough of a quantum field for us to make another dimensional jump, so it looks like we're stuck here for now." T-Ranma remarked as he looked around again with his scanners. It was then that he picked up something that was approaching their position at very high speed. "Hold on guys! I'm picking up something coming towards us. It's pretty fast! I'm clocking it at 250 mph!" "What is it?" Kojiro asked as he and the others got into their ready stances. "It's over there!" The techno-Ranma toward the horizon as a small dot of red and white came speeding toward them. "I can't see from this distance. Do you have any idea what it is?" Kojiro asked. "Hold on." T-Ranma began engaging his telescopic vision and when he focused in on whatever or whoever was approaching, his eyes widened in disbelief. "No way! It can't be!" "Huh? What are you talking about?" D-Ranma inquired as he used his dragon-enhanced vision to see what approaching. He too gasped at what he saw. B-Ranma was getting very edgy as well as he sensed a spiritual essence that closely resembled that of himself and his counterparts. It was at that moment that P-Ranma saw the ship and the people in front of it and pulled back on the reins. "Whoa Wildfire!" When the flame horse screeched to a halt a few meters in front of the ship, the Pokemon trainer, Wildfire and Raiden could do nothing and stare at the strangers. The strangers could do nothing but stare back at the person who was mounted on the horse. Finally, after a long, long moment of silence, B-Ranma was the first to speak. "Ranma Saotome, I presume?" A very long time later... "So you guys are actually me, but from other dimensions?" P-Ranma asked as the four Ranmas had introduced themselves and told them of their own life stories. In return, the Pokemon trainer had related the story of his own life and how he had arrived to the Pokemon world. The five of them were sitting around a campfire near the ship and were eating their dinners. P-Ranma had let out his Pokemon so they could eat as well. They were a little surprised to see four copies of their master, but P-Ranma assured them that they were sort of his lookalike cousins. The Pokemon relaxed after that since they had already seen dozens of Officer Jennys and Joys. "Well, basically that's the general idea." T-Ranma replied. "Most of us were lucky enough to get away from that idiot Genma at an early age, except for Kojiro here." He pointed to his feline counterpart. "So when did you leave him?" P-Ranma addressed Kojiro. "It was just after I fell into a cursed spring and..." "You mean Jusenkyo?" "You know about it?" P-Ranma nodded. "That's where me and Pop parted ways too. Well, it was more like an accident, like I told you before, but all things considered, I'm glad it happened. From what you guys have told me about what Genma is doing to your lives now, I'm not so sure I want to go back to my home world, if that kind of crap is waiting for me. Pop actually sold me for a fish? I'm engaged to Ucchan and she's a girl? I have how many fiancées?" B-Ranma nodded. "Uh huh. Since your life is pretty much the same as Kojiro's here, up to the point of Jusenkyo, we have to assume that all of the stupid stunts Genma pulled had occurred with you. The number of fiancées may vary, but you get the idea." T-Ranma nodded. "And of course, all of our early experiences are parallel to each other except at some key point which caused each of our lives to diverge." "I get it." P-Ranma was deep in thought about what these four had told him. They were so much like him. What was he thinking? They WERE him! They knew of secrets that he only he knew of. Yet, once they had separated from Genma, they had also changed. From the looks of it, they had changed for the better. He shuddered at the thought of how he could have turned out if he had remained with Genma. Being transported to this world was probably the best thing that had happened to him. He turned his attention back to Kojiro. "You told me that you fell into a cursed spring. Which one was it, Nyannichuan?" "I don't what that one is, but the one I fell into was something the Guide called the Spring of Monster Tiger." "Tiger? Cool! Can you show me?" "Are you sure? I mean, you told us that you went through the Neko Ken training and survived. Aren't you afraid of cats?" "Nope. Not any more. Come on, show me." He poured out a glass of water from his canteen. "Here's some cold water." Kojiro waved it off. "I don't need it. That spring I fell into was different from the others and I can transform any time I want to." He then gave P-Ranma a serious look. "Are you sure you want to see my cat form?" "Trust me, I won't get scared." He then addressed his Pokemon. "Raiden, Wind Rider, Wildfire, Razor, Sea Storm, Bruiser, our friend is going to change his appearance, like I do. Don't be alarmed. Keep calm, got it?" "Pikachu." "Slash!" "Golduck!" "Neigh!" "Pidgooo!" "Machop!" T-Ranma noted that the Pokemon were well disciplined. "You've trained them well." "Thanks. Go ahead Kojiro." Kojiro gave the Pokemon trainer one final look before nodding. He got up and backed away from the group for more room. In a flash of ki energy, Kojiro transformed into his saber-tooth tiger form. The Pokemon were a bit startled from the appearance of something that made a Persian look like a kitten, but a wave of P-Ranma's hand calmed them down. Kojiro looked at his Pokemon trainer counterpart and saw that he didn't even flinch at the sight of his feline shape. He then shifted to his hybrid form, which elicited a whistle from P-Ranma. "Cool!" The Cat Fist fighter nodded as he said, "This is my hybrid form. I get most of the power of the tiger, but still retain all the advantages of a human form. Of course, I still have a lot of the tiger's power even as a human." With these words, Kojiro shifted back to normal and sat back down. "That was neat! And you can control the Neko Ken as well as transforming?" "That's right. Though I am curious as to why you didn't freak out at the sight of me. I thought the Neko Ken caused anyone who survived the training to be scared to death of cats." P-Ranma nodded. "Before I came to Jusenkyo, I was scared of cats. But thanks to a gym leader named Sabrina, I managed to overcome my fear. Sabrina happens to be a very strong telepath and she used her psychic powers to erase my mental trauma." "I see." Kojiro nodded. P-Ranma shrugged. "In any case, since I'm on a Pokemon journey, it wouldn't do for me to keep on being afraid. Eventually, I'm going encounter another Meowth or Persian." "Meowth? Persian? What are those?" D-Ranma inquired. P-Ranma took out his Pokedex and brought up the entries for those Pokemon. *MEOWTH, A CAT POKEMON. IT HAS RAZOR-SHARP CLAWS AND ITS SLASH ATTACKS ARE VERY STRONG. IT IS VERY AGILE AND TENDS TO HAVE A PLAYFUL DEMENOR. * P-Ranma shuddered a bit as he remembered his last encounter with Team Rocket's talking Meowth and then that Persian by that other group. The Pokedex then switched to the other entry. *PERSIAN, THE PANTHER POKEMON. THE EVOLVED FORM OF MEOWTH. ITS CLAWS CAN SLICE THROUGH EVEN CONCRETE AND ITS AGILITY MAKES IT VERY EFFECTIVE IN CLOSE QUARTER BATTLES. * "Interesting." T-Ranma remarked as P-Ranma put away his Pokedex. "This entire world is inhabited by these... what did you call them, Pokemon?" The Pokemon trainer and martial artist nodded as he said, "Yep. And as a Pokemon trainer, I have catch and train them all." "So that means, you're a sensei?" B-Ranma asked. "Basically, that's the idea. I've been teaching my Pokemon in how to fight in the Anything Goes style and I've picked up a few techniques from them as well." "Really. I'd like to see them sometime. Maybe we could have a match." Kojiro said with interest. After sparring with B-Ranma, he was curious to see just what kind of martial artist this new guy was. "I might just take you up on that. And my Pokemon are no pushovers either. They've been great sparring partners, and my best friends." P-Ranma nodded to his Pokemon. They all nodded and smiled back at him. "By the way." B-Ranma said. "You mentioned that about the Nyannichuan. That's the Spring of Drowned Girl, isn't it? IS that what you fell into?" P-Ranma sighed and nodded. "Yes, that's what Pops knocked me into. But, like Kojiro here, I've gotten used to my curse and I've got a way to control it, at least partially." He reached into his shirt and pulled out the Water Stone pendant he always wore. "This Water Evolution Stone keeps my body locked in one form. Hot and cold water do not affect me when I'm wearing it." "So if you were a girl and wearing it when splashed with hot water..." D-Ranma surmised. "I wouldn't change back into a boy." P-Ranma finished. "Here, look at this." He took off his pendant and laid it on the ground beside him. He then used the cup of cold water and doused himself with it. Instantly, he became a very attractive and well-built, red-haired girl. Kojiro teasingly gave a low wolf whistle. "Very funny." P-Ranma-chan said with sarcasm as she used her ki to heat up the remainder of the water in the cup, doused herself with it and reverted back to male. He put his pendant back around his neck. "I noticed that you have very good skills in ki manipulation." T-Ranma said. His scanners had analyzed the process in which P-Ranma had used to convert his ki into heat. P-Ranma smiled as he said, "Yeah, well I learned a lot from watching my Pokemon with their attacks. I figured why couldn't I do that as well? I'm working on my own branch of martial arts, suing Pokemon attacks. I think I'll call it Pokemon Ken. The very next day... "This is great! This will give Wildfire a chance to rest." P-Ranma remarked as he watched from the viewscreen of T-Ranma's cruiser as it sped across the sky. The ship was of course using its cloaking device, which made it invisible to radar or the naked eye. The Pokemon trainer had recalled all of his Pokemon except for Raiden, who was sitting on his shoulder. "Are you sure you guys want to come with me and Raiden?" Kojiro shrugged. "It's no big deal. We've been fighting and bouncing around dimensions almost nonstop for two months. It'll be a nice change to just take in the sights and relax for a while." "Besides, it'll be a week before we can leave this world, so we might as well have some fun. It's not like we have anything else to do." B-Ranma shrugged. T-Ranma considered their new friend. He had the same basic DNA as the rest of them, though he was shorter than they were. P-Ranma was about 5'6", and T-Ranma could only detect a small spurt in growth recently. He assumed that the ten years of malnutrition suffered under Genma's care might have had something to do with it. The other Ranmas, including himself topped over six feet. P-Ranma would probably grow a few inches more, now that he was eating better away from his father. Putting those thoughts aside, the techno-warrior said, "I am kind of worried that people might stare at five identical Ranmas." "Don't worry about it." P-Ranma replied. "With all the Jennys and Joys in this world, I don't think people are going to take much notice of us." "Who?" D-Ranma asked. "You'll see." As the group streaked across the sky, the four other Ranmas had decided on the name of Trainer for their new friend, to avoid more confusion. P-Ranma accepted the nickname without any debate and began discussing more about the similarities and differences between his own life and that of his counterparts. "So where are you headed?" Kojiro asked. "Well, I was headed toward the Fuscha Gym to get a Soul Badge, but I'm not really in any hurry. The girls I'm supposed to meet there aren't due for at least a week. "Girls huh?" B-Ranma grinned. D-Ranma and Kojiro also gave him a sly look. "Hey! It's not like that!" P-Ranma denied. "Sam and Jeanette are just good friends and training partners, that's all!" "Sure they are." B-Ranma remarked. His senses were already detecting the blush forming on his counterpart's cheeks. "Really! They're just friends!" "Pika." The Pikachu on P-Ranma's shoulder smirked. Raiden knew how nervous his master was around the female gender, despite the fact that he was cursed to be one if he was splashed with cold water. The Water Pendant did help him control that problem, at least partially. As time went on, it didn't seem as much as a problem anymore. T-Ranma shook his head while smiling and decided to change the subject. "So do these girls know about your... condition?" The Pokemon trainer shook his head and replied, "Nope. Don't see any reason why they should know." He held up his Water Stone. "As long as I wear this, they'll never have to know." D-Ranma looked at the pendant for a long while and then said, "You know, it is possible that I can remove your curse altogether." "What?" This also got the attention of the other Ranmas. The dragon warrior nodded. "Just remember that I have had extensive training in the mystical arts and I know a thing or two about removing curses. Though I have to warn you. I've never tried to remove a Jusenkyo curse before. The magic of that place is quite powerful. I haven't had much practice in removing shape-shifting curses, but with a little work, I think it can be done. Would you like me to try?" P-Ranma became silent at this offer to remove his curse as he considered the possibilities and consequences. The elimination of the curse would be a welcome thing. Even with his Water Stone, Ranma had found it very irritating that water had a habit of seeking him out and sometimes he would be caught without his pendant. He was always wary of being near large amounts of water. However, there were other things to consider. For one thing, Draco was not giving him a total guarantee and his meddling with his curse might not make things better. The worst-case scenario would be if he became permanently stuck in his cursed form. P-Ranma had long since gotten used to his curse before he had received the Water Stone and now considered it as just another one of his abilities. It did have its advantages and he found it extremely handy in evading fans and wannabes. He could also get away with things that he never could as a boy. He had been given a better insight toward the mysteries of girls and that helped him immensely when dealing with them. "Trainer?" D-Ranma prodded. P-Ranma slowly shook his head and replied, "Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. Like you said, you're not really all that sure that you could do it. You might screw up the curse even worse than it already is. If you had asked me when I was back in Jusenkyo, I would have jumped at the chance, and to hell with the consequences. I've had this curse for so long, I've kind of gotten used to it and with this Water Stone, I really don't think about it very much. The curse has helped me out a couple of times." P-Ranma remembered back to when Butch and Cassidy of Team Rocket had captured him. If his cursed form had not been smaller, he wouldn't have been able to free himself from those two. "Are you sure? I mean, you might not get another chance to be normal." Kojiro said. "If that's the case, then why didn't you have him remove your curse?" The Cat Fist fighter was taken aback as he thought about P-Ranma's suggestion. Yes it was a possibility that Draco could remove the Jusenkyo magic from him as well. But the Felinar LIKED his form and the power it gave him. The Jusenkyo pool of Drowned Monster Tiger (Felinar) had helped him overcome the flawed Neko Ken and gave him to ability to openly defy his idiot father Genma. That stupid panda and his attempts to force him into an engagement to Akane Tendo were continually thwarted, thanks to the power of the True Cat Fist. It would not have been possible if he had not fallen into that pool that fateful day. "I get your point." Kojiro said. "I've gotten so used to my curse that it didn't seem like a curse anymore. For me, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. As I think back on my life, I remember when I felt that the curse was irreversible and I would have done anything to be normal again." The Felinar recalled the time he spent in the Chinese wilderness as a tiger. Then he remembered the Rite of Passage, and what he had accomplished afterwards. All of that was possible due to his mastering of his initially hated curse. He then turned to his blind counterpart. "I'm beginning to understand why you turned down Prototype and Draco's offer to restore your sight. You've gotten used to your lack of sight, yet it's not really a handicap to you, is it? In fact, you're a damned better fighter than a lot of sighted people I've faced off." B-Ranma nodded. "We were all dealt different cards and we made the best of what we had. We've overcome those obstacles and have become better from them. It would not do for us to be handed something that we didn't work hard to earn, now would it? That would have made the lessons learned seem to be pointless. Furthermore, I consider my blindness as a symbol of my accomplishments and a reminder to NEVER listen to Genma." "I guess I can think of my Cat Fist as the same way." "You got it." B-Ranma smiled. Though he still didn't like the way Kojiro viewed the Amazons, he was forming a bit of a kinship with the Cat Fist Fighter. They had both used Genma's mistake of the Neko Ken and were far better than they would ever have been under that moron's tutelage. "I still kind of feel sorry for..." B-Ranma held up his hand. "Don't ever feel pity for me, Kojiro. I do not want nor deserve such feelings. In any case, I feel that if Kami-sama wishes for me to see again, then it will happen and it will be because I had worked for it, not because someone pitied me." Kojiro sighed and nodded. It seemed that the Unseen Light Fighter would brook no more arguments. "So where are we?" T-Ranma asked the Pokemon Trainer. P-Ranma looked at the map readouts on a monitor and replied. "We're actually near Fuscha City and the seaside. I was heading there for a Soul Badge. Hey! We can go to the beach on Sea Foam Island! I've heard that Professor Westwood is there." "Who's Professor Westwood?" T-Ranma asked. "He's the guy who programmed the Pokedex." P-Ranma replied. "This is great! I'd love to take a trip to the beach!" Kojiro exclaimed. "Hmmm, it might be all right. Okay, let's head on over there." The ship then made a beeline for the coast for a day of sun, sand and surf. Some time later... "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH..." All five Ranmas sighed as they stood on the boardwalk that lead to the beach. Waves were gently splashing against the surf as the hot summer sun cast its rays on the sunbathers lying on the sands. T-Ranma scanned the area as the group began maneuvering around the crowds of people. As P-Ranma had said, any passerby would just glance at them, shrug and continue about his business. Some would mutter something about a person named Joy or Jenny, but overall, the five identical Ranmas were paid very little notice. That is, male spectators paid them very little notice. Female spectators were giving them quite the look. They were all ogling the five like Ash Ketchum's friend Brock would be ogling Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny or any other pretty girl. B-Ranma was dressed in a pair of blue shorts and had a beach towel slung over his shoulder. His chest was bare and the females who were watching him were absolutely drooling over how fine his form was. Being raised by a caring Amazon healer and trained in both the Unseen Light and Amazonian Wu Shu had given the blind Ranma a fine physique. His build was like a lean gymnast's. They were very intrigued by the small scars that crisscrossed his back, back and chest, symbols of his intense training in the Joketsuzoku. They did not make the girls repulsed by their appearance, but rather they enhanced the muscular definition of his body, which made him seem more experienced and mature. Where B-Ranma had a serene and quiet beauty, Kojiro was sensual and bursting with fire. Wearing nothing but a pair of black swimming briefs and sunglasses, his more massive form had the girls itching to sink their teeth into him. He had more muscle than B-Ranma but retained a lithe grace that signified his tiger side. He was like a more slender Arnold Schwarzenegger. Not quite as bulky, but still radiated a sense of power and animal magnetism that women would have found almost irresistible. It was a good thing that he had not turned to his hybrid form; otherwise, the pheromones that he gave off in that shape would have caused a riot as the female hormones would have gone sky-high. T-Ranma's nanites had rebuilt his damaged body to become the pinnacle of perfection. His body was like a cross between Hercules and Adonis. He was conservatively wearing a pair of cutoff jeans and a white T-shirt, but even those clothes couldn't hide the rippling pectorals or well-defined abdominal muscles. It was hard not to notice him, as he was the tallest of the five, at a height of 6'4". D-Ranma's body showed what living in the Dragon World could do and he received more than his share of stares. He was build much like Kojiro and T-Ranma, with extra muscle mass, yet not appearing too bulky. His smooth skin seemed to reflect the sun, despite the fact that he was not wearing any sun block. This was because his skin cells acted like dragon scales and reflected off the heat and light, giving him the appearance of someone with a golden tan. The dragon warrior reveled in the heat as strode in a pair of Bermuda shorts and was bare-chested. He carried volleyball and a net. P-Ranma, though not quite as tall or well developed as his counterparts, was still admired by females. His training under Genma had given him a lean, martial artist's body, but he had gained a bit more muscle mass after getting a better diet and training with Pokemon, instead of people. His constant battles had given him a form of inner strength that made women stop and give him a second glance. The five Ranmas were getting leers, ogling looks and lustful stares that began to make them nervous. They quickly moved toward a more deserted area of the beach. After settling down their beach towels and picnic basket of food, they began applying lotion and began their day of relaxation. B-Ranma and Kojiro decided to challenge P-Ranma and one of his Pokemon to a volleyball match. The Pokemon trainer accepted and called out Bruiser, his Machop. Soon, an intense game was underway. D-Ranma and T-Ranma sat with Raiden on the sidelines, along with Trainer's other Pokemon. The group became so engrossed with having fun that they were unaware that they were being watched from afar. About a mile out from the beach, a periscope popped up and focused in on the Ranmas as they continued to have fun. Connected to the spying device was submarine that was shaped like a Magikarp. Inside the sub were three familiar figures. Jessie looked through the periscope as she and her cohorts continued to pedal to keep their sub moving. "I must be seeing double... no... quintuple!" "What are you talking about?" James asked. "Remember that trainer we fought back at Professor Oak's lab when we tried to get the plans to that Mega-Transporter Pokeball? I think his name was Ranma." "Oh yes. He's the one the boss is offering a huge reward to bring in. I thought he was a girl." "No he's definitely a guy. And those must be his brothers or cousins." She licked her lips at the sight of the prime male flesh she was seeing. "Huh?" James was more confused than usual. "Right now I'm seeing him and his Pokemon, as well as four others that look just like him!" "So what does this mean?" "Think of it James! Why settle for one extraordinary trainer and his Pokemon, when we can nab FIVE?" "Are you sure those others are Pokemon trainers?" "They have to be. All Joys are Pokemon Nurses and all Jennies are police officers, right? So it stands to reason that all Ranmas are Pokemon trainers!" "You're right! The boss would be so pleased at us, that he'll probably give us five times the reward!" Following along this kind of logic, (if one could call it that), the third member of their group nodded. "So what are waiting for? Let's go get them!" Meowth said. After their humiliating failure to steal a Tododile, the worst members of Team Rocket were eager to collect the bounty for P-Ranma's capture. Little did they know that they were in way over their heads! It was at that time that Kojiro leapt up and spiked the ball. Unfortunately, he had been so engrossed into the game that he had forgotten about his superhuman strength and hit the ball too hard. P-Ranma's Machop saw it coming and wisely decided not to return it. Jumping out of the way, Bruiser barely managed to avoid being flattened as the volleyball slammed into the ground and exploded, kicking sand all over the place. When the cloud of sand cleared, there was nothing left of the volleyball except for a few scraps of rubber and plastic. "Oops!" Kojiro became red-faced as he realized he had hit the ball with too much force. B-Ranma shrugged as he said, "Oh well. I guess that's the end of the game. P-Ranma smiled good-naturedly and said, "Ah, that's okay." He turned toward Prototype. "We can always have the ship make us a new ball, right?" T-Ranma nodded. "I think next time, I'll make the ball out of super-resistant kinetic rubber. I don't a normal ball could take that kind of abuse." The five shared in a chuckle as they sat down to have lunch. Just as they were biting into some sandwiches, T-Ranma's scanners and B-Ranma's danger sense went off. "What's wrong?" D-Ranma asked as he saw the heads of two of his counterparts suddenly jerk up. "We've got company." B-Ranma as he quickly stood up. "Confirmed." T-Ranma acknowledged. It was then that something broke the surface of the water some fifty feet from the shoreline. P-Ranma moaned, as he was relatively sure as to who it was. The other four Ranmas were startled as a giant metal Magikarp appeared. The hatch opened and some ominous music began to play. Two figures began to emerge from the hatch. "Prepare for trouble!" "Make it double!" "To protect the world from devastation!" "To unite all peoples within our nation!" "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" "To extend our reach to the stars above!" "Jessie!" "James!" "Team Rocket! Blast off at the speed of light!" "Surrender now or prepare to fight!" "Meowth! That's right!" As soon as Meowth appeared to finish the introduction, P-Ranma shook his head while pinching the bridge of his nose and mumbling. "What are these guys? Punishment from God? Did I do something bad in a previous life?" His counterparts all had confused looks on their faces complete with sweatdrops. D-Ranma moved over to Trainer and asked. "Do you know these guys?" "Enough to make me wish I didn't. Just let me take care of them, okay?" He then glanced to the others. They all shrugged and nodded. It was his world after all. The Pokemon trainer stepped forward with his Pikachu and addressed Team Rocket. "All right you three. I would have thought that last time would have been enough. So what are you doing here?" Jessie sneered at him and replied. "I would have thought it was obvious by now. We're here to take you and those Pokemon of yours back to the boss." James nodded as he added. "The leader of Team Rocket recently tripled the reward for whoever brings you to him. And I think he'll be extra happy when we bring him your family of Pokemon trainers as well." "Huh? But they aren't…" Meowth chose at that moment to produce a remote control and pressed a button. The mouth of the Magikarp opened and fired off a bundle attached to a chain. The bundle expanded into a weighted, steel net that covered the entire group. The five Ranmas made no move to evade it as it draped itself on top of them. "And what's this supposed to be?" P-Ranma said in an annoyed tone. Jessie smirked as she said with pride, "That net is made of reinforced steel fibers and you can't use your Pikachu's electric shocks without harming the others, now can you?" James nodded as he said to his partner, "We've learned from our defeats from that twerp, haven't we?" "Oh shut up!" Jessie snapped. She did not want to be constantly reminded of how many times they had lost to a little boy. "I don't need to shock anything." P-Ranma gestured to Razor. "BUZZSAW BARRAGE!" "Slash!" The Sandslash curled up into a ball and spun at a very fast rate. T-Ranma's scanners went alive as he detected a high amount of ki energy being focused in the Pokemon. B-ranma also detected the energy within the Sandslash. Both Ranmas had the same thought. The Sandslash quickly burst out of the net and made several passes over the group, cutting them free from the net without harming them. Once the last of the net had been reduced to steel confetti, the mouse stopped spinning and returned to his master's side. "Not bad." Kojiro remarked. The Sandslash had displayed an impressive cutting ability. The Cat Fist fighter wondered if he could develop a technique like that. Not that he or the others were worried. They could have easily freed themselves from the net at any time. Team Rocket however, was not that happy that their net had failed. However, they weren't finished yet! "Oh yeah? Well try this on for size!" Meowth tried another button. A nozzle popped out and released a huge cloud of noxious fumes. Inside the submarine, James' Wheezing was blowing into a tube. P-Ranma shrugged as he raised his arms and swept them down like wings. "HURRICANE GUST!" The sudden blast of wind blew the fumes right back at the terrible trio, causing them to cough and sneeze as they were subjected to Wheezing's Smog Attack. D-Ranma thought. When the fumes cleared, Team Rocket was black with soot and looking more pathetic than usual, (if that was possible). Jessie angrily stomped her feet and grabbed the remote from Meowth. "Give me that!" She turned to the Ranmas and said, "Let's see you handle this!" She pushed another button. Inside the submarine, Arbok shot a blast of acid out of an open hatch, followed by a barrage of poison sting needles. The other Ranmas backed off a bit as they sensed that the next attack was more dangerous, but Trainer simply nodded to his Golduck. Sea Storm's eyes suddenly glowed. The acid and needles hit some invisible wall in front of them, and were reflected harmlessly away. "Thanks for the psychic barrier, Sea Storm." P-Ranma praised. "Golduck!" The waterfowl then tilted his head and asked. "Golduck?" "Yes you may. CONFUSION ATTACK!" The blue Pokemon smiled as he raised a webbed hand, pointed at the sub and focused his psychic powers. Team Rocket lost their footing and fell down the hatch when the sub was suddenly lifted out of the water. The sub went bouncing up and down in time with Sea Storm's hand as he waved it up and down. Then with a final sweep of its webbed digits, the Magikarp sub slammed down hard onto the shore. Inside the sub, Jessie, James, Meowth and their Pokemon were dazed after bouncing around inside the craft. It had felt as if they were in a pinball machine. They were all seeing little Golducks spinning around their heads. Outside, P-Ranma pointed to the sub and said to his Golduck, "TORPEDO ATTACK!" The Golduck shot forward like a missile, its body enveloped in a blue aura. It slammed into and through the entire sub, punching a hole in either side of the craft. Water began flowing into it as Golduck swung around and swam back to shore. Jessie, James and Meowth were surprised to see Sea Storm go in through one side and pass by them as he exited the other side. They then screamed in horror as they saw water gushing into their sub. P-Ranma smiled as he patted the head of his Golduck and then gestured with a thumb to the sub. "RAIDEN, THUNDERSHOCK!" Raiden grinned evilly as he dipped a tail into the water and let loose with a sizzling bolt of electricity. The water that was entering the sub conducted the wattage inside. Team Rocket were lit up like Christmas trees and showed their skeletons briefly as they blinked on and off. "OW OW OW OW! YEOW! IY YI YI YI YI YI YI YI YI!" P-Ranma shrugged as he thought that Team Rocket had enough and prepared to finish them off. He cupped his hands and pulled them back to his waist. The other Ranmas looked on with interest. "What's that?" B-Ranma asked as he felt a huge amount of energy being focused. P-Ranma smiled as he replied, "It's something I learned from Sea Storm last week." Between his cupped palms, small spheres of orange energy appeared and came together into a larger ball. When the orb grew to the size of a basketball, P-Ranma remarked, "Time for you to go, Team Rocket. HYPER BEAM!" The Pokemon trainer threw his hands forward and the sphere suddenly elongated into an orange-red beam of intense energy. The sub exploded and Team Rocket went shooting off into the air while saying their infamous farewell. "LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET IS BLASTING OFF AGAIN!" When they were nothing more than distant dots in the sky, Trainer turned back to his counterparts and said, "So let's get back to lunch. I'm starving!" Some time later, T-Ranma's ship was flying through the air again as the five Ranmas discussed with one another about the day's events. "No kidding! You mean that Team Rocket is always showing up?" Kojiro asked. "Yeah, well not always that group, but someone from that organization is always after me and my Pokemon. It seems like they have a one-track mind and never learn from their mistakes." "Heh. Reminds me of Kuno." B-Ranma remarked. T-Ranma and Kojiro chuckled at the memories of their encounters with the True Blunder, but Draco and Trainer became confused, since they never met him. "Who?" P-Ranma asked. "Remind me to tell you later." The blind fighter replied. P-Ranma shrugged. "Anyway, it's really great of you guys to give me a lift to the Fuscha Gym." "No problem." T-Ranma waved a hand as he sat in the pilot's seat. At the moment he was listening in on the various radio stations. "We should be there in…" It was then that several lights on his console began blinking and the craft began to shudder. P-Ranma and B-Ranma were thrown from their seats and the Pokemon trainer's Pokedex fell out of his backpack. "What's going on?" Draco asked. "I don't know!" T-Ranma replied as he interfaced with his ship's systems. (*Unidentified entity has entered the ship's navigational systems. Warning, quantum phase drive is now powering up. *) [*Analysis indicates that entity is made of pure energy and is accelerating the kerium's ability to produce a quantum field. Alert! Main drive is now engaging! *) At that moment, the cruiser shot upward and achieved escape velocity. Fortunately, the ship's inertia dampers were still active and prevented the Ranmas from feeling the effects of the sudden increase of G-Forces. On the front viewscreen, the five Ranmas could only watch in shock as they saw space warp itself around the ship. Before they knew it, they found themselves hurtling through the dimensional nexus. It was at that time that the front console let off a series of sparks and then something appeared above it and took shape. P-Ranma's eyes widened as he recognized the geometrical shapes the body was composed of. He quickly retrieved his Pokedex. *PORYGON, THE HOLOGRAPHIC POKEMON. THIS POKEMON WAS CREATED INSIDE OF CYBERSPACE. IT IS ABLE TO CAUSE COMPUTER MALFUNCTIONS AND IS COMPOSED OF PURE ENERGY. PORYGON ARE ABLE TO TRAVEL BY RIDING VARIOUS WAVES OF THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM, INCLUDING RADIO, TELEVISON OR MICROWAVES. * T-Ranma nodded after hearing the Pokedex. "What is that?!" Kojiro asked. "It's a Porygon! It must be the one that caused all this!" P-Ranma shouted as he took out a Pokeball to capture it. However, Porygon became untouchable as a spark of energy was emitted from the console. The energy enveloped the Pokemon, causing it to vanish. T-Ranma figured that the emergency transporter must have been activated. He put those thoughts aside as he struggled with the controls to get his ship back under his command. He then winced as he looked at the front viewscreen and saw that they were about to tumble into another dimensional vortex. The five Ranmas let off a scream simultaneously as the ship vanished into the space-time continuum. Somewhere else in reality, two cloaked figures watched a viewing portal. "Wasn't that a little extreme? Putting that Porygon in there?" The first one asked. "Well, we had to get him to go with the others somehow." The second one answered. "Yes, but he was happy in that world. It seems very unfair to take him from there and put him into this." "You know very well that he is needed. Things will turn out all right, you know that." "I know. So what about the Porygon?" "It was transported safely back to its home world." In yet another dimension, the ship reentered real space and was stabilized. Inside it, a Pokemon trainer screamed. "What?! What do you mean that we can't go back?!" T-Ranma sighed and sadly gave P-Ranma the bad news. "That Porygon messed up the navigational systems and I'm afraid that the coordinates to that world was… lost." "Does that mean…?" P-Ranma was in total shock. "I'm afraid so." He gave the others a weary glance. "Looks like this ship is going to be a little more crowded." P-Ranma sunk to his knees and stared off into nothingness as his Pikachu nuzzled beside him, trying to comfort his distraught master. To be continued… Author's Notes For those of you who were wondering how I was going to get Pokemon Ranma to join up with the group, I figured that (ahem) an 'accident' would be the best way of doing it. After all, the others were also pulled into this by an accident. Now as for what's next… that is a secret! (Thank you Xellos!)