A loud ferocious-sounding roar woke Sonya up from a sound sleep. She quickly sat up and grabbed her blankets. Suddenly, the door burst open. Two strange shadowy figures stood in the doorway. Startled, she reached for a Poke Ball.
"Sonny! Sonny!"
Sonya's fear quickly turned into annoyance upon hearing the familiar voice.
It was just Mindy and her Lycanroc.
"Hurry up! Petrel wants us at Mt. Moon!" Mindy yelled.
Sonya rubbed her head and squeezed the bridge of her nose.
"Is it even daylight yet?" Sonya asked as she groggily rubbed her eyes. Her question was answered as her blurry vision focused on the full moon in the background.
Sonya raised an eyebrow at Mindy,
"Should you even have that Pokemon out? Aren't we only allowed to take Pokemon from our region on missions?" Sonya asked.
Mindy rolled her eyes and gave a sarcastic smirk.
"Don't worry, Sonny, I'm not planning to get us in trouble, not this time anyway; I was just using Rocky here for the wake up call," Mindy said.
"Lycanroc!" the Pokemon yelled.
Casually, Mindy pulled out a Poke Ball and recalled it.
Mindy crossed her arms and looked at Sonya.
Sonya briefly glared at Mindy then turned and yawned.
"Can't I at least have some time to get ready?" Sonya asked. She seemed frustrated.
"We'll give you ten minutes," Mindy said coolly, looking at a watch. She then stepped out of Sonya's cabin and closed the door.
Sonya threw her head back and sighed to herself. It had been quite a week. She was finally a full-fledged Rocket grunt, no longer just a trainee, and now that she was entrusted with real missions, she was also being granted real freedom, like the freedom to finally sleep. It was a rare luxury, so Mindy's news that they had a new mission was not appreciated.
It was nice while it lasted, she thought.
Slowly, she combed through her hair with her hands, stretched, yawned, and made her way to the shower.
It felt nice to finally be able to bathe and put on clean clothes, even if it was just another drab black Rocket uniform.
Once she was finished with her grooming routine, she took out her Raichu and started combing through its fur. It cooed as she brushed it, but then she noticed her own hair standing on end from the static and decided that was probably enough. She put her Raichu back in its ball, called out her Pikachu, and repeated the process.
Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Before Sonya could open it, the door was flung open with a loud "swish" and Mindy and her Lycanroc appeared.
"What on Earth is taking so long?" Mindy complained.
"Lycan?"
Sonya heaved a sigh, set the comb down, called back her Pikachu, and put the Poke Balls in her pocket.
"Ready," she said flatly.
"Finally! Come on, if we screw this mission up, Butch and Cassidy probably won't let us out of their sight. You don't want that, do you?" Mindy asked.
Sonya winced. She had mixed feelings about it. Playing lackey in general wasn't so bad. They were supposed to mainly stay out of trouble and for the most part only handle technical stuff, but the thought of being near Cassidy still gave her the creeps. Plus, it's not like she was free of guilt when she was around them either, as they often used her and Mindy as gofers for stolen weapons and Pokemon, which wasn't even in the "lackey" job description.
Meaning she was basically tasked with doing what she was tasked to do on her other missions-stealing Pokemon, robbing trainers, attacking trainers, etc., with the added disadvantage of having to listen to Butch and Cassidy yell at her.
When she framed it that way, she felt like grunt work might have been the lesser of the two evils. At least she didn't have to deal with all of those feelings she got when she was around Cassidy, and, if she was lucky, she could let someone else steal the Pokemon and just run interference.
You do what you have to do, Sonya thought.
She looked up to notice Mindy still staring at her. She either wore a sarcastic smile or a small scowl. Her beret cast a shadow over her face, so it was actually a bit hard to tell in the early morning light.
"Lycanoc," the Pokemon said. Sonya thought it looked like it wanted to bite her.
She cautiously took a few steps toward Mindy who turned and started walking out the door.
Mindy looked at Sonya and made a scoffing sound.
"Where's your hat and mask?" Mindy asked.
Sonya heaved another sigh.
"Why do I have to wear that?" Sonya asked.
"Because there's a dress code, and we have to follow it; some rules are okay to break, and others just aren't worth the trouble," Mindy said matter-of-factly, with a look on her face that said, "you should know better by now, you moron,"
Mindy paused and called back her Lycanroc.
"...besides, I think it kind of looks chic," Mindy said. She tilted the hat to one side and gave a cute smile.
Sonya shook her head then turned to go back and get the rest of her outfit. She had no idea how Mindy managed to make something as goofy looking as the Team Rocket grunt uniform stylish, but she somehow pulled it off remarkably well. She was standing at an angle that made the mask across her face look like a pair of sunglasses.
She could probably look intimidating in Pikachu pajamas, Sonya thought.
Briefly, she imagined tough looking Mindy in the ridiculous outfit, and the thought made her smile. '
Quickly, she ran back inside and grabbed her mask and beret. She kind of wondered why berets were part of the outfit, since they were popular mainly in the Kalos region. Talk about looking slightly out of place. As she pulled it on, she noticed that the hat had a small bridge, so it wasn't exactly a beret, but there was no way to tell that unless you were the one wearing it.
I wonder why we can't just wear black baseball caps; we'd look a little more like actual Pokemon trainers, Sonya thought.
The next step was the mask. It looked like a black eye mask with holes in it, and it made Sonya feel like going back to bed. She yawned as she felt the mask slip over her face. She peered out the little slits in the mask and made her way back outside.
This stupid thing's making it harder to see, Sonya thought.
She also didn't like what the masks insinuated. They wore them to conceal their identity and make it harder for people to identify them in a lineup. If they were being required by their overseers to wear them that might mean they were going to be doing something really illegal.
Sonya shivered a bit at the thought.
I hate these dumb assignments; why can't the admins steal their own Pokemon?
She thought for a minute as she walked out the door to meet back up with Mindy.
Hopefully it's just part of the dress code.
Upon stepping outside, Sonya didn't see Mindy anywhere. Almost on impulse, she ran to the nearest clearing.
Mindy was standing in some low grass, looking bored.
When she saw Sonya, she looked up to meet her eyes.
"What took you so long, Scardey Skitty?" Mindy asked.
"Stop calling me that!" Sonya said.
"Make me," Mindy said with a smirk.
She noticed Mindy reaching for her belt and thought she was reaching for a Poke Ball. Sonya quickly called out her Pokemon in anticipation of a battle. In a flash of light, her Raichu was standing in front of her, its cheeks sparking.
"Raichu!" the Pokemon yelled.
Mindy quirked an eyebrow and produced the item she was fiddling with. It looked like a miniature DVD in a shall case.
"Chu?"
"I don't think Raichu can learn to fly, Sonny," Mindy said sarcastically.
Sonya stared at the item in Mindy's hand, wide-eyed.
"We...have to teach a Pokemon to fly?" Sonya asked.
"...well, unless you have a better idea of how to get to Mt. Moon in time to meet up with Petrel and the others," Mindy said.
"I...thought you had this all planned out!"
"Tsk, maybe I would have if someone wouldn't have spent so much time getting ready," Mindy said.
"Well...I..."
Sonya looked down at her Raichu for a second.
"Chu?"
"Wait a minute...how is this my fault?" Sonya asked.
Mindy didn't answer.
"I guess the only thing we can do is steal ourselves a flying Pokemon; consider this a valuable lesson, Sonny," Mindy said.
"Why do we have to steal a Pokemon? Couldn't we just use your Scyther?" Sonya had a nervous expression on her face.
Mindy quirked an eyebrow.
"How would that work? My Scyther doesn't have enough strength or stamina to carry us all the way to Mt. Moon, genius,"
She clicked her tongue at Sonya in disapproval.
"I can't believe you would even suggest that, science geek. Don't you know how flying works?"
"Honestly? I've always thought it was just something people did for fun,"
"Raichu," Raichu cooed, agreeing with its trainer.
"I mean, we have planes, so what's the purpose of using a Pokemon?"
"Great. What do you suggest we do, board a plane to Mt. Moon?" Mindy asked.
"N-no," Sonya said.
"Raichu?"
"Then what?" Mindy asked. She wore a scowl on her face that was barely visible under that black mask.
"M-maybe we could just call Petrel and explain that..."
"We can't make it? Sonny, he would probably leave us as live Pokemon bait if we did that," Mindy said.
"I'm hoping you're...exaggerating?" Sonya asked.
"Do you wanna find out?" Mindy asked. Her hazel eyes gleamed through the outline of the black mask; she looked angry and wild.
Sonya and Raichu shook their heads and then stepped a few feet back.
"Me neither. That's why we've gotta find a flying Pokemon. The easiest way is to steal one," Mindy said. There was now an odd gleam in her eyes.
"Or maybe we could just catch one," Sonya said.
Mindy scoffed.
"None of the Pokemon in this area are strong enough to support our weight; we'd need a fully evolved bird Pokemon to-"
"Like a Fearow, right?" Sonya said, pointing at something.
Mindy, not paying attention, continued her speech.
"Now, where are we gonna find a-"
A loud shriek cut her off.
"Fearrow!"
The two Rocket grunts looked up to see the huge brown buzzard like bird Pokemon gliding across the sky.
"Right there,"
"Raichu!"
Mindy leaned against a tree and turned up her lip, unimpressed.
"Tsk, what are you gonna do now, Scardey Skitty, battle it? I'm surprised you haven't tried to run back to your cabin,"
"We do have a type advantage," Sonya said while looking at her Raichu.
"Raichu," the Raichu made an expression that looked like a smile.
"Besides, how are you going to catch it without a Poke Ball?"
Sonya's expression suddenly fell.
"Great..." Sonya said.
"Raichu,"
The Raichu's sad expression mirrored that of its trainer.
Mindy smirked, reached into her pocket, pulled out a Great Ball, and tossed it to Sonya.
"Knock yourself out," Mindy said.
Sonya felt a rush of excitement.
My first unassisted Pokemon hunt. My parents would totally freak out if they saw me doing this.
"Raichu!"
With the empty Poke Ball in her pocket, Sonya took off to higher ground to get a better shot at the Fearow.
Mindy lazily watched Sonya out of the corner of her eye.
"Raichu, thunderbolt!" the novice Pokemon trainer-turned Rocket grunt commanded.
The mouse Pokemon shot a clumsy thunderbolt straight at its target and missed.
This is harder than I thought it would be.
"Try a thunderwave attack!" Sonya commanded.
Raichu surrounded itself with electricity and attempted to fling it at the hovering Fearow. It didn't do anything, though.
"Hurry, it's getting away," Sonya said.
Sonya didn't want to lose this Fearow, because she hated the prospect of actually having to steal a flying Pokemon from a trainer. Plus, even though this was more work, it was a lot more satisfying.
The Fearow flew right overhead.
"Raichu, um, try another thunderbolt!" Sonya commanded.
As blind luck would have it, it started to rain. Raichu aimed his attack directly at a lightning rod where the Fearow was landing to roost. The attack made contact and fried the giant bird Pokemon. When the sparks stopped flying, Sonya and Raichu had succeeded in getting the giant flying Pokemon's attention.
It looked like the Fearow was falling and heading straight for her. Sonya got her Poke Ball ready.
As the giant shadow fell over Sonya, she got a strange feeling. Something was wrong. The Pokemon should be on the ground by now. She looked up to see the Fearow wasn't fainted. It was angry and looked like it was attempting to dive bomb her.
"Fearow!"
"Raichu, try another thundershock!" Sonya yelled frantically.
The bulky mouse Pokemon shot electric attack after electric attack at the ferocious Pokemon, narrowly missing each time.
A sharp beak plunged itself into Sonya's arm, and she let out a scream.
"Raichu, help!"
In a panic, the mouse Pokemon started shooting electricity randomly. A few stray bolts hit Sonya and she fell to the ground.
"Fear-row!" the Pokemon called.
Sonya screamed as she saw the giant rotating beak about to tear her to shreds.
Raichu rammed into it at the last minute and delivered a paralyzing body slam. It provided enough of a distraction for Sonya to roll away from it before it struck. Instead of doing any damage, its rotating beak hit the soft ground and it unintentionally buried its head. It clawed the ground and pulled frantically, trying to get unstuck.
"Thunderbolt!"
Before the giant bird-like Pokemon could make another move, Sonya's Raichu unleashed another barrage of thunderbolt attacks, threatening to fry the creature to a crisp.
Sonya fingered the Poke Ball and signaled for Raichu to stop.
I only have one shot at this.
Carefully, she lined up her aim for the throw. She was so nervous; she was shaking and sweating so much that she felt herself losing her grip on the ball.
The giant body of the bird Pokemon started moving as the paralysis quickly wore off. This must have been a strong one. Sonya watched half awed and half terrified as the Pokemon struggled to free itself.
Suddenly, its head popped out of the ground, and it let out a menacing screech.
Almost on reflex, Sonya threw the ball. It hit the top of the angry Pokemon's head and opened.
The creature appeared to disintegrate into tiny fragments of red light as it was pulled into the device. Sonya clutched her Raichu in fear, ready to make a run for it if it didn't work.
The ball rolled once, twice, three times, then-
It stopped. The glowing light in the middle faded, signaling a successful capture.
Sonya stared in disbelief.
"I caught it? I caught it!"
"Raichu!" the Pokemon yelled, appearing to sense her excitement.
She reached her hand down into the wet grass and held the Poke Ball triumphantly over her head as the rain beat down on her clothes.
It's cold.
Her moment was interrupted by the sound of slow clapping in the background.
"Good job, Sonny. You almost got killed, but good job," Mindy said.
Sonya whipped around to see Mindy and her midnight form Lycanroc just a few feet behind her.
She flashed Mindy a nervous smile.
"Tsk; just hand me the Pokemon," Mindy said.
Carefully, Sonya handed her catch to Mindy who pulled out an odd looking red cube and placed the Poke Ball inside with the little DVD from earlier. The box blinked a few times and then beeped.
"Okay, we're ready to fly," Mindy said.
"A-are you sure it's going to be safe? I'm pretty sure that Fearow did not want to be caught," Sonya said.
Mindy took the Poke Ball out and threw it in the air with a flourish.
"Well, there's only one way to find that out, isn't there?" Mindy asked. She was wearing an evil grin.
Sonya clutched her Raichu in fear. It mirrored the nervous expression of its trainer, shaking and covering its face with its paws. Sonya and Raichu braced themselves for whatever was going to happen next.
"Hey, Sonny, are you going to stay down there all day?" Mindy asked.
Sonya uncovered her eyes to see Mindy mounted on top of the giant bird Pokemon and fastening what looked like a harness. Carefully, Sonya moved toward it and stroked its feathers.
"Fearow!" the Pokemon cooed.
Mindy leaned over with a grin on her face.
"Again science geek, I'm not impressed by how little you know. Climb on before we're late," Mindy said.
Obediently, Sonya and her Raichu got onto the giant bird Pokemon's back.
She felt the smooth feathers underneath her as the creature rose into the air. The wind swept over her face and blew her short brown hair behind her. She grabbed on tightly to the harness and closed her eyes as they gained altitude.
"Mindy?"
"What?"
"I give up. How is this Pokemon obeying us so well all of a sudden?"
"Tsk, like I said earlier science geek, former Pokemon lab assistant, I'm stunned by your lack of knowledge," Mindy said.
Mindy took in a sharp breath.
"See, we taught this Pokemon a move by use of something called a technical machine and by doing so we reprogrammed its mind," Mindy said.
Sonya's eyes got wide.
"This Fearow we're riding is kinda like a zombie right now; it'll do anything we say," Mindy said with a little smirk.
"That sounds terrible,"
"Yeah, machine training is actually a banned practice now, so there's probably a reason you've never heard of it,"
"Banned? Is it dangerous?"
"Calm down, Scardey Skitty, it doesn't really hurt the Pokemon, and it's not like the programming doesn't wear off. Lucky for us, though, when it does, this thing'll be a lot easier to handle," Mindy said.
Sonya continued to give Mindy a sad wide-eyed look.
"Our alternative would have been trying to convince a very angry very strong Pokemon to do what we wanted, and you should know how that would've turned out," Mindy said.
"Now, you might wanna fasten your seat belts. Next stop, Mt. Moon!" Mindy yelled.
"What seat belts?" Sonya said as she clutched on to the Pokemon's harness for dear life.
The flight to Mt. Moon via Pokemon was surprisingly fast. It couldn't have been more than just a few hours.
Sonya, Mindy, and Raichu dismounted. Mindy called back the Fearow and put the ball in Sonya's hands.
"Hold on to that," Mindy said.
Sonya struggled to gain her footing again. It felt like the ground was wobbling, and her legs felt a bit like jelly.
Anxiously, Sonya looked around for Petrel and signs of the other grunts.
"Where is everyone?" Sonya asked, regaining her balance.
Mindy was fighting to hold back a giggle.
Sonya quirked an eyebrow.
"I definitely know how to get you, don't I, Scardey Skitty?" Mindy asked.
"What are you talking about?" Sonya asked.
"There is no mission at Mt. Moon, silly! I made it all up to get you out of bed," Mindy said. She crossed her arms and smiled proudly.
Sonya's quizzical look melted into a scowl.
"You what?"
"Raichu?"
"Originally, my idea was to make you steal a Pokemon, but you still battled that Fearow, so I think you're at least making progress," Mindy said.
Sonya looked at Mindy with wide eyes. She balled up her fist and tried to make an angry grimace, turning her upper lip up and exposing her teeth.
"I can't believe you-" Sonya said.
"Rai Raichu!" Raichu's cheeks started sparking.
Mindy giggled, threw her hands behind her head, and leaned against the opening to Mt. Moon.
"I've heard they have Clefairy here. It's a rare fairy-type Pokemon that's worth a lot of money," Mindy said.
"I know what Clefairy are, and no. You said we didn't even have any Poke Balls," Sonya said.
Mindy fingered her back pocket.
"Well, I lied," Mindy said as she pulled out a handful of shiny Great Balls.
Sonya looked at the Poke Balls. Her upper lip relaxed, and she stopped grinding her teeth.
"Come on; let's go exploring. You like catching Pokemon the old fashioned way, right? Let's do it," Mindy said.
Gingerly, Sonya reached out her hand, and Mindy placed three or four of the tiny Poke Balls into it.
"I've also heard they have prehistoric Pokemon fossils here," Mindy said.
"Yeah, but those are just rumors," Sonya said.
"Oh yeah? There was a team out here doing a mission during a dig. Team Rocket doesn't follow unfounded rumors," Mindy said.
Sonya eyed the opening of the cave, wonder evident in her eyes.
Mindy grabbed Sonya's arm and dragged her in.
"Come on,' Mindy said, gently leading her into the cave.
Reluctant, yet submissive as usual, Sonya followed Mindy into the darkness.