Pokemon: DemonStone
Dawn
"Sabrina, do we have any Mist Stones?" I asked my fiancé, the psychic gym leader.
"I don't think so, we can pick some up at the nearest pokemart, though."
"Where is it, is SuperPokemart Saffron done, it's been a while since we came through."
"I think so, we can go see, if you want," she responded, flicking her black hair over her shoulder. She was beautiful. I shouldn't be thinking like this around heavy machinery, or I'll end up missing an arm or something. She was bent over the Fustone Device, one of Professor Oak's newest discoveries. It fused pokemon stones together to create new elemental stones, and pokemon. Now she, my partner, David, and I were trying to fuse all of the known stones to make a super stone that heightened pokemon powers. Sabrina fitted the fire stone into a slot in the machine's tray. I dropped a water stone in. She handed me the thunder stone, and I dropped it into its place.
"Let's see, we need a leaf, moon, psy, ghost, and mist stone to completes the experiment," she said.
"David says he'll get the leaf stone, he knows where to get one for just $10," I told her, but he'll be a couple of hours, he has to fly on his Articuno," I told her.
"Bummer, for him at least. It'll just give us more time to prepare for the wedding," she said. Our wedding was the next week at the Saffron Psychic Temple. Her parents had first thought the idea of their little girl getting married to a secret agent that traveled through time was absurd. Only after heavy discussion with her had they okayed her choice. Goddish knew I wanted this to work out. I had no parents I could remember, and had been raised by wild Alakazams. My poke-parents had been better than humans, I think, catching me pokemon and amusing me with their powerful psychic stunts. They had brought me my first pokemon, an odd pikachu who had an affinity for grass stones. After I gave it a thunder stone to evolve into Raichu it kept evolving into Pikabud, a new and powerful pokemon. That's how I started out on the path I had chosen, the path to becoming the greatest psychic trainer on Earth, and beyond. The path that lead through Indigo Plateau, Pokemon league, The Invitational Tournament, to David, Brock, Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Sabrina.
But now I had better things to think about, like my wedding, my fiancé, and of course, my work. We teleported to the Pokemart and picked up all the stones, except the mist stone, which required going to the top story and negotiating a price with a short, round, balding, pungent man named Victor.
"Tree hunded!"
"I am not going to give you three hundred dollars for that mist stone. I'll give you one hundred and fifty, no more."
"Hundred-fifty, eh? Deal!" I paid the man and took my mist stone, hurrying out of the room to escape the horrible odor. Sabrina met me in the corridor, where she had waited, unable to bear the nasty smell. We walked back to the hotel, checking off the stones we had collected. David wouldn't be back for four hours, and we could go out to dinner.
"Well Sab, what do you want, Italian, French, Room Service, Arabic?"
"Arabic sounds exotic... Room service gets old after a while. Let's go with Arabic."
"Fine by me," I said. I liked Arabic, and I had spent some time in Arabia, learning the language and eating the food. It always felt like home when I heard Arabic on TV, and to take my fiancé out to eat my favorite foods brought back memories from years before.
"Syrian House of Wonder. Sounds interesting," Sabrina said as she looked at the sign of the restaurant in downtown Saffron. It was located on a back alley in a not quite desirable part of town. But it was all right. The restaurant had been built years before and was rated five stars before everyone forgot about it. We walked in the door. It was dark inside, lit only by candles. We were met by a waiter who showed us to a romantic, dark, comfortable booth, lit by a lantern. We sat down, next to each other. The waiter appeared out of the gloom and handed us menus. Sabrina scanned it, but it was written in Arabic, a language she couldn't read. I read the menu to her, explaining the dishes as I went along.
"Then I guess I'll have a shawarma," She said. They were kind of fast food, but I wasn't going to argue. I couldn't remember what the word sheep tongue looked like, and I didn't wan to risk it. I could read shawarma.
"Me too." I had always liked shawarmas, and was starving. We ate our meal, talking about the day, the experiment, and the ever-approaching wedding. Sabrina was starting to say something about the honeymoon arrangements when my pokedex beeped. Ash's face flashed onto the screen, blinking once before focusing.
"J, Sabrina, sorry to interrupt your meal, but we have some top priority business to discuss. Report Immediately," Ash instructed us. We stood, and I left a wad of cash on the table, and teleported to Indigo Plateau. We walked into Ash's boardroom. Ash sat at his desk, toying with a pokeball. Pikachu sat on his shoulder, making little grunts of satisfaction as it ate a sliced apple. The door opened, revealing Misty, Brock, and Joy. Slate followed them into the room, accompanied by a boy just a bit younger than I was, in a dark coat.
"James, Sabrina, meet Ranger K, a specialist from the mainland pokemon labs. He will be working with you on this assignment."
"Which would be?" David Whitley, the famous Ranger D, who had captured Mewtwo, said, walking in the door.
"David, glad you could make it. This is Ranger K, he'll be..."
"You said it once, what's the assignment?"
"Well, to get to the point, this may be the most dangerous assignment you have ever had. Team Rocket has built an illegal pokemon factory on the mainland. You'll be accompanied by Ranger K to the factory, where you will be working undercover to steal Rocket technology and shut them down. We can't have the Rockets back in function, with their growing power, that could mean the end of pokemon, as we know it. First off, you'll stay in Azure City for a night, and attend a party that high-ranking Rockets may be attending. You will say you are aspiring trainers looking for a good job, and want to join the Rockets. With their current organizational problems they should buy it. The dance is tomorrow though, and you will set off tonight to Azure City. Good luck Rangers! You're gonna need it!"
"Pikapika!" Pikachu agreed. We walked out to the League Helipad, where a copter was waiting. K, whose full name was Keith, helped us load the pre-packed garments Pokemon League Administration had gathered for us. Sabrina grabbed the handle and I helped her in. Keith jumped in and I hovered into the chopper. The pilot took off, making a beeline for the mainland. We strapped ourselves in and chatted on the way.
"So, how long have you worked for the League, Keith?" Sabrina asked.
"Two years now," he replied.
"What type of pokemon do you train?" I asked, jumping subjects, one of my flaws.
"Fighting, mostly, few other types, like a mix," he said, his British accent echoing over the whir of the blades. I looked over at Sabrina, her hair whipping around in the wind. We all retreated to the back of the copter, which was very large, with two rotors. It had several rooms in the back. Keith took one saying, "the ride is about ten hours, get some sleep. You'll want it for the party tomorrow. G'night!" And with that he closed the door. Sabrina and I took the next door, which opened into a storage room.
"Well, I guess we won't be sleeping here, let's try the next one."
"Yeah," I told her, "I don't think the shelf would be all that comfortable." We walked past two more doors, a bathroom and another storage area. Then we came upon a second bedroom, very cramped, but the only other bedroom on the chopper. Sabrina and I squeezed through the door, face to face and tossed our bags on to the bed. Finally, alone time! Damn demanding job! I shut the door and kissed Sabrina. We fell back onto the bed, kissing, embracing. I moved my hands up her back, to the buttons on her shirt, running straight down behind her head... and David opened the door. Then I noticed his bag on the bed.
"Oh shit, Sab," I said, buttoning her shirt back up, "we're in his room." She straightened her hair and stood up. I got up and Sabrina and I walked out into the hall. David had an uncanny ability to show up at the wrong times. He always walked in on us. Oh well, he was probably asleep in his room now.
"He's probably asleep in his room now, anyway," she said, pulling me into the storage closet. We kissed again. I kicked the door lock and lowered myself and my fiancé to the floor, she, being the quick thinker, mentally unzipped the bag of clothes and was able to create a semi-bed with them. I lowered her onto the bed, and carefully unclasped her jacket. She let me slip it off her. I brought a leg up and kicked the light switch. The darkness surrounded us.
I woke up on the floor in the closet, I checked my watch. The flight would be landing soon in Azure City. Sabrina stirred next to me. She was still asleep, her head resting on my chest. She smiled at whatever she was dreaming of. I had thought about getting up, but didn't want to disturb her. I stroked her long black hair. Pikachu invited itself out of its pokeball, curling up on Sabrina. She opened her eyes, and sat up.
"You know, Sab, we should probably get ready to unload," I said, looking at the cluttered bed we'd made with clothes.
"Or we could go back to bed," she said with an evil glint in her eye.
"Sab, we'll be at the Pokemon Center tonight, and besides, David would probably walk in on us again," I replied.
"I guess I can wait until tonight. Pokemon Centers are better than the floor of a corporate choppers."
"You're right there," I said, rubbing my back. We stood up and packed our things. David opened the door, again.
"I figured you two would be here," he said, "c'mon we're landing."
Keith met us out in the main seating area.
"Did you have a good flight?" he asked.
"Yeah, yeah, it was great," I said, looking over at Sabrina. She smiled.
"Me too," David said. Then his cellphone beeped. He put it on speaker mode and answered it. He usually did that so if anything questionable was said, Sabrina and I could back him up on it. It was his wife, Jennifer Oak, head of Pokemon League.
"I'll be seeing you in Azure City tonight, honey. Hey, you don't have this on speaker mode again, do you?"
"Well, actually... How are you getting to Azure?"
"Corporate luxury jet, I'd have invited you, but..."
"Well, I'll see you in Azure tonight, I reserved us the best room at Ritz Azure. Bye, gotta go," she hung up.
"Well gang, looks like I got the best room in town," David said, looking superior.
"Well, Sab, he gets the Ritz, and we get PokeCenter Azure," I said, looking at my fiancé.
"Oh well, we'll just have to make do," she said.
"Yeah, I'm sure we can manage," I said.
When we landed Jennifer met us at the airport. She had a car ready to take us into town. It was around ten thirty at night. We went directly to the hotel. Actually they went directly to the hotel, we were dropped off outside the pokemon center. We checked with Joy and got a room. Joy kept our pokemon to revitalize them.
"Strange pokemon, I've never seen them before."
"We're from the island," I told the nurse. She nodded knowingly, "oh, I thought so."
Sabrina and I walked down to the room, number 94, Gengar's ID no. Irony was wonderful. Ha ha. We walked in and put our bags down on the table.
"I'm going to take a shower," Sabrina said. I sat and watched a documentary about pokemon training. After ten minutes she called from the bathroom, "Can you get me a towel from the closet?"
"Yeah, just a sec," I said, fetching the towel. I opened the bathroom door, and went in. I could see her silhouette behind the frosted glass of the Jacuzzi tub. We had the best room there, reserved for Gym Leaders.
"What do you need this for, there are already towels in here?" I said. Then she psychically pulled me into the Jacuzzi with her. I teleported my clothes off before the good suit could get wet. I righted myself and landed sitting.
"Well, isn't this romantic," I said, noticing the glint in her eyes again.
"Yeah, and David isn't here to walk in on us," she said.
"Oh, and what does that mean," I asked, knowing exactly what it meant.
"This," she said, kissing me.
When we woke up in the morning the sun was shining through the window. Somehow it had gotten open, and we had gotten to the bed. I didn't remember that! I sure as hell remembered the hotub, though. I got up and put my clothes on. Sabrina stood up. I tapped her on the shoulder, holding her clothes out to her.
"You should probably be wearing something when we go to breakfast," I told her.
"Oh, yeah," she said jokingly, "can't forget that." I buttoned her shirt up the back for her and we went out front to wait for David and Jennifer. They drove up twenty minutes late.
"Sorry, slept in. We were up late watching movies on our eight-foot screen," David said. He didn't have to rub it in! I remember ed the screen in our room, 11 inches, and all tha it showed was "how they make cheese." Sabrina and I got into the car. We stopped at a stoplight, and Keith pulled up on a motorbike with a Moltres head painted on its front. He followed us to the Pokemon League HQ in Azure, a Gym. Azure Gym was blue with a lake out front. We pulled up and walked inside. The officials there were quite direct, but they stated the same thing as Ash did. We had to infiltrate the rocket base and find out about their creations. They said that we could spend the day at the Gym as Gym Leaders for a day. The first contestant was a boy, twelve years old, with an odd pokemon.
"Who're you? You're not the Gym Leader here," The kid said.
"Yes, I am," I told him, "We'll use two pokemon each."
"Ok! Jason calls Totodile, go!" He yelled, releasing a small blue pokemon that looked like an alligator.
"Articuno, let's rock!"
"Totodile, Bubble attack," the boy yelled. His Totodile's bubbles bounced harmlessly off Aticuno's feathers.
"Articuno, Flying Drill!" Articuno flew up and gained speed, then came down and whirled. It knocked Totodile out.
"You're too powerful. I forfeit," the kid said. I gave him the Azure Badge, anyway, for trying. The Gym Leader, a guy named Chris, walked up.
"I've never seen these pokemon. Let me see your pokedex. I showed him the Masterdex. He sifted through the entries.
"Haven't seen it, haven't seen it, haven't seen it, wow!" he exclaimed.
"What, those pokemon are common where I come from," I told him.
"Wait, I've seen some of these! I have their evolutions!" He said, whipping out his pokedex. I looked at the pokemon he was pointing to. Slowpoke, yeah, I had that. And Slowbro. I said so, too.
"What's Slowbro? Wait, look at these pokemon first. His pokedex showed a Slopoke with a crown on and a massive, sparkling Onix.
"SlowKing and Haganeru!" he said, unveiling the pokeballs.
"How would I go about evolving mine?" I asked.
"Well, for Slowking you have to..." he trailed off as the Gym filled with smoke.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"Not again!" Sabrina and David yelled.
"Quiet! And make that double," came the second voice, which inevitably came from James.
"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!"
"Persian! Dat's right!"
"Mew, let's rock!" I yelled. Persian was already on it. Mew took a bite in the head before I caught Persian in midair.
"Persian, tell me something, did you like being a Meowth?"
"Well, kinda, it woiked bettah wit da motto!"
"I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! Mew, Devolution Beam!" SHHHHHINK! Mew pulsed out psychic energy.
"Look what they did to Meowth! Arrrgh!" yelled Persian, errr... Meowth! He had been de-evolved. Having already reached level 100 he could never go back to being a Persian!
"Freeze!" James had a gun. I pulled out a pokéball, recalling the tired Mew.
"Pokeball, go!" I yelled, throwing the next pokeball on my belt. Sabrina shrieked when it showed Trex. I could feel my psychic power draining. Mewtwo came out of its pokeball to form a psychic barrier against the blackout. I didn't expect this! I had to call Trex back, but where was the pokéball?
"Looking for something?" Jessie asked, holding the Monsterball.
"Gimme that, damn it!"
"Muddog, go, Tackle, get that pokéball!" David yelled, on queue. Muddog leapt, James shot at it. The bullets passed throught the muddy body and ricocheted off the walls. I dove. Mewtwo teleported me behind James with his last strength as the resistance field closed in on him. He was relieved of his power, but I had teleported. Sabrina just stood there on the other side of the room. She had actual physical strength, one of the last remnants of her days as Evil Sabrina. She had been in enough fist fights that her psychic power had been forgotten, and I could still see evidence of it in her. I jumped James from behind, kicking his gun and whipping out both of mine, which I kept in a harness in my jacket.
"Don't move, under Pokémon League authority I am placing you under arrest. No reading of rights, if you move I'll blow your brains onto the wall," I yelled. David and Sabrina had their guns out by now also, keeping Jessie and Meowth under wraps. I kicked James gun away, and he backed into a wall.
"I said, "don't move," remember that?"
"Uh-huh," he said, nodding.
"Then don't move!" I yelled, cocking the gun.
"Come on, you couldn't kill your own father, could you, son?"
"Huh?" everybody except Jessie and James yelled. I just gasped.
"Quit the bluff, Rocket."
"It's true. Return the Trex and you can prove it yourself with your psychic power," Jessie said. I called Trex back. Then I examined James and My DNA psychically, I almost passed out. Sabrina caught me as I fell. He wasn't lying. He was trying to save himself from the bullet. I stood back up.
"How did this happen?" David asked. The Rockets looked at each other, then James began.
"Thirty years ago we got married, as you probably know from our records." I nodded. Jessie started, "on our honeymoon we got a bit too drunk, and well, several weeks later we discovered you."
"Yes, but when you were born we gave you up for adoption. Your temporary home was blown up by our boss the next day, but we said nothing. Out of sight out of mind, if you will," said James.
"And then I was raised by Alakazams in the forest," I said, finishing it for them.
"That doesn't explain the psychic abilities, though," said David.
"But it does," put in Sabrina, "the Alakazams imparted them to him as their foster child and student."
"Oh great, my parents are these guys?"
"Yes, unfortunately. I told you James, you shouldn't have had the second martini!"
"You're the one who had all the Champagne, Jessie!"
"Will you two stop yappin'?!" Meowth yelled as the two argued over who had been drunker. I was about to turn them in, but realized I shouldn't do that to my own parents. I erased their memories and teleported them Rocket HQ.
"That'll fix 'em," Sabrina said, recognizing the technique.
"Bye, I have to take a rest," I said, lying badly. I needed to get away from the reality that the world's worst bad guys were my parents. They were bad at being bad! I teleported back to the room at the hotel and sat on the bed, suppressing tears. I hated emotions, and had thought about eliminating them from my system. Then I remembered that would take away my friendship with David, and my love with Sabrina. I knew there was one place I would feel welcome. I teleported to Saffron City, hours away. My hometown looked all right, but I knew Sabrina couldn't come here. Only people at the gym let her into the town, and she was not well liked outside of the Gym compound. Everyone remembered insane Sabrina, from years before, and the fact that she hadn't aged a day since then wasn't helping anything. I sat on the doorstep of what had once been a home, before the accident. Sabrina and I didn't talk about it anymore, it was after that little accident that she had become Dark Sabrina. I hadn't done anything but show up, but half of Saffron had been destroyed in the fight. I had left, under her father's instructions. The town imprisoned Sabrina in her own Gym. She had hated the people of the town, and maybe for a good reason. After Ash saved her she was herself again, and I was glad. We had fallen back in love, and now we were going to get married. Her parents had liked me in the beginning, but now, the harbored some hidden resentment at me. One I was helpless to brush off. Now I was back, and her parents already knew. They would be here any second to give me a talking to. This was the part I hated. Then he materialized. I couldn't see him, but could feel his presence. Sabrina's father had a powerful aura. He also was a very powerful trainer. I didn't want to mess with him. If anyone on Earth could beat me, it was he.
"Hello, James," he said reservedly. I turned.
"Hello, dad, can I call you dad?" I asked in what I hoped was a harmless tone. A smile crossed his face, but for only a second. Then he psychically lifted me into the air and brought me close to his face.
"And how is my daughter?"
"Fine, sir," I answered, very directly. I wanted, more than anything to avoid a fight.
"Then why are you here, not keeping her safe?" What part of 'she can take care of herself' didn't he understand.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me," he growled. I started. Then he slammed me at a wall. I used all my power to slow myself down, but couldn't stop. Then I felt another presence, and I was stopped.
"Lay off him dad," Sabrina said, materializing behind me.
"Is he treating you alright?"
"Yes, fine, just go home dad," she told the old man. He teleported away after a little more coaxing. Sabrina turned to me.
"James, you can't run away from the truth. Just because they are evil doesn't mean you are."
"Maybe I am, can you really trust me anymore, knowing who I am?"
"Yes, I trust you, you're my fiancé, for Goddish sakes! I love you!"
"Do you, now?" I asked, not even trusting myself at all.
"Yes, damn it," Sabrina said, on the verge of tears. I enfolded her in a hug, not letting her see the tears forming on my own eyes. We remained at the ruins of the house for a while, until it started to rain, and we teleported to a café. The afternoon sun had been blotted out by clouds, making it dark as night outside. Night, that reminded me. We had a party to go to, tonight at Ritz Azure. Sabrina walked up to the counter, and proceeded to order two cups of coffee, or tried to anyway. In a second the waiter had a gun in her face.
"Leave me alone, demon!" He shouted. I tossed the gun away, walking up and letting Mewtwo out of his pokéball. My legendary birds, Sabrina's Alakazam, and her Gengar followed. Mewtwo leapt, almost gracefully to the counter top. He stared down at the waiter, narrowing his eyes, letting a psychic ball of fire gather in his palm. He pulled his arm back, readying to fire. The waiter cringed, sensing his impending doom. A man in the restaurant jumped up, pulling a semiautomatic that was obviously illegal out of his jacket. He let off a couple rounds, hitting Gengar, the bullets stopped in the middle of its body, floating as if in jelly. Gengar looked down at the peculiar things in his body. Mewtwo released the ball of fire at the man, frying him into a crisp. The waiter used the second to whip out a shotgun. He fired at Sabrina, yelling, "Demon!" Gengar took the shot, jumping in front of her. He fell, puzzling at the round objects joining the semiautomatic bullets in his body. I jumped on the waiter, pinning him. I knocked the shotgun away.
"Just apologize and I won't fry you!"
"Go to Hell, demon lover!" I got up off him.
"Sabrina, we're leaving," I said, forming a plan. We called back our pokémon and walked out. The waiter stood speechless. After we had gone twenty feet I spun on my heel and dropped into fighting stance. I gathered psychic energy in my hands. Sabrina followed suit. Tiny orbs of psychic energy gathered in our hands, manifesting themselves into larger balls. Then, simultaneously, we released. Two burning hot balls flew at the café. The waiter looked at us in disbelief. The first ball hit the building, melting through the window and hitting the counter. The second followed, destroying a table. Then the building exploded. Debris crashed around us. We walked away, letting Jenny and a fire squad handle the inferno. Another thing for them to hate us for. Well, once Jenny investigates, she'll find out it was a drug lord's hideout. We walked to the city limits, and then teleported back to the mainland. We arrived in the Gym, next to David and Chris. Agent K had entered while we were gone. He had his pokemon out when we arrived, and was sparring with David.
"Let us play," Sabrina said, pulling out a pokeball.
"Three on three, Sab," I said pulling out three pokeballs and letting them all out. Articuno Zapdos Moltres. My favorite trio.
"Sabrina calls Gengar, Alakazam, Mr. Mime!" she said, releasing her three. My birds gathered. Then the MasterDex beeped.
"It is said that when all three legendary birds gather their trainer can order them to use the Summon attack. No one has ever done it, though, because it is only possible with the original three," Dexter read out. My birds, they were the originals. I had traveled in time to collect them, and now I would see what they could do. Sabrina heard the readout too, and stood watching.
"Ok, well, Zapdos, Articuno, Moltres, Summon, now!" I yelled. The birds moved together, firing each of their respective elements into the middle of the circle they formed while flying. There was a blinding flash of light and a pokemon appeared. It was a huge bird. My pokedex analyzed it.
"Lugia: summoned by all three legendary birds. It is the most powerful bird pokemon known to date," said Dexter. Chris gasped. Agent K looked on wonderingly.
"Wow, I thought that was only a legend!"
"It is, Keith," I said. I checked my watch. It was six thirty, we had time to go back to our rooms and get ready for the Rocket Party. We rode back in the car with David and Jennifer, even though Sabrina and I could have teleported back. It was more social. We arrived at the Pokemon Center, and Sabrina and I got out. We checked in with Joy while Jennifer and David took Keith to his house.
Sabrina and I went into the room and changed for the party. I wore my assigned gear: a beginner trainer's fatigues. Sabrina changed into a sexy black dress. We had about ten minutes to kill before the others returned. We decided to watch TV. There was a movie on. We sat down and watched. Ten minutes passed. They weren't there yet. Twenty minutes passed. Forty minutes. Sabrina was asleep on my shoulder. I let her down slowly. I arranged a pillow under her head. Then I called David on the cell phone.
"David, where are you?" you said you'd be here in half an hour.
"An hour and a half, James," he said, pointing my mistake out.
"Oh, shit, sorry, man. Bye," I said, hanging up. I put the phone down. And went over to Sabrina and kissed her on the forehead.
"At least aim right," she said, her eyes still closed. She pulled me back to her and kissed me harder. I lay down on the bed next to her. We kissed again.
"You know, James, it is kind of naughty to do it in the Pokemon Center," she said.
"We did it last night," I countered, "besides, naughty is fun." She giggled girlishly. We had had no time to ourselves because of our demanding jobs. Now we got to spend more time together. Even more next week on our honeymoon to the Mandarin Islands on the Cruise Ship Tangerine. I knew right now that that wouldn't work, and that we'd end up in Puerta Vista with a bunch of old friends. Call it a premonition
"Naughty is more fun," she said. She had really changed from the Sabrina that had split her personalities. The one who had mercilessly beaten Ash and Gary. That was also forty years ago. I undid the clasp on her dress's back. We kissed again. Then someone knocked on the door. We broke apart the passionate embrace. I quickly redid the clasp on her dress. She got up.
"David," we said, in unison. Sure enough, there was David. We got in the car, and drove to Keith's house. We rang the doorbell.
"Shit! Coming!" he yelled. There was a clatter and he opened the door.
"Ready?" I asked. He had his things packed in a bag, which he slung into the trunk with our stuff. A girl followed him out the door.
"And who's your date?" Sabrina asked, looking over at the girl. I immediately knew it was a water trainer.
"Lily Waterflower, daughter of Daisy Waterflower of Cerulean City, pleased to meet you," she said. Misty's niece. They piled into the car with us. Sabrina and Lily were fast friends, discussing hair, make-up, and whatever else girls talk about. It surprised me that Sabrina would even think about that stuff.
"Does he walk in on you too?" Keith asked.
"Yeah, just ten minutes ago, actually," I said.
"Does he plan that?"
"Nah, it's just a David thing. Like Goddish gave him the strangest timing in the world. He's there whether you need him or not."
We got to the party, which was in a not so really incredible neighborhood. The party was in a clean building, probably to encourage new recruits. David and I sat down in a sitting area while the girls went off to chat. Keith went to talk to the Rockets.
"So, how are things with you and Sabrina?"
"How so?"
"You know," he said, "do you ever, well, you know."
"Well, actually," I had reservations about discussing my personal life with anyone, even my best friend, "go figure. We're getting married next week."
"Oh," he responded, knowingly.
"I don't have to ask you the same question," I said.
"Why not?"
"Because, I'm psychic."
"Yeah," I said. Then my attention was attracted by a familiar presence. Dave! And Jake, with Marissa. I saw the three enter, worried looks on their faces. Dave spotted me and told the other two. They walked over.
"What are you doing here? Are you here for the Rise?" Jake asked, using the slang for our undercover operation.
"Yeah, why?"
"We're the Rangers that're working with you," he said.
"Yeah, I'm now officially Ranger H," Dave said.
"And I'm Ranger T," Jake said.
"Why not J?" I asked Jake.
"My real name is Troy, Jake's my middle name."
"Oh," I said.
"How's everything?" David asked.
"I got new Pokemon," Dave said, revealing new pokeballs. There was a Charmeleon, and several others that weren't incredible. Then our conversation was interrupted as a Rocket stood up to a podium and began to speak.
Dawn
"Sabrina, do we have any Mist Stones?" I asked my fiancé, the psychic gym leader.
"I don't think so, we can pick some up at the nearest pokemart, though."
"Where is it, is SuperPokemart Saffron done, it's been a while since we came through."
"I think so, we can go see, if you want," she responded, flicking her black hair over her shoulder. She was beautiful. I shouldn't be thinking like this around heavy machinery, or I'll end up missing an arm or something. She was bent over the Fustone Device, one of Professor Oak's newest discoveries. It fused pokemon stones together to create new elemental stones, and pokemon. Now she, my partner, David, and I were trying to fuse all of the known stones to make a super stone that heightened pokemon powers. Sabrina fitted the fire stone into a slot in the machine's tray. I dropped a water stone in. She handed me the thunder stone, and I dropped it into its place.
"Let's see, we need a leaf, moon, psy, ghost, and mist stone to completes the experiment," she said.
"David says he'll get the leaf stone, he knows where to get one for just $10," I told her, but he'll be a couple of hours, he has to fly on his Articuno," I told her.
"Bummer, for him at least. It'll just give us more time to prepare for the wedding," she said. Our wedding was the next week at the Saffron Psychic Temple. Her parents had first thought the idea of their little girl getting married to a secret agent that traveled through time was absurd. Only after heavy discussion with her had they okayed her choice. Goddish knew I wanted this to work out. I had no parents I could remember, and had been raised by wild Alakazams. My poke-parents had been better than humans, I think, catching me pokemon and amusing me with their powerful psychic stunts. They had brought me my first pokemon, an odd pikachu who had an affinity for grass stones. After I gave it a thunder stone to evolve into Raichu it kept evolving into Pikabud, a new and powerful pokemon. That's how I started out on the path I had chosen, the path to becoming the greatest psychic trainer on Earth, and beyond. The path that lead through Indigo Plateau, Pokemon league, The Invitational Tournament, to David, Brock, Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Sabrina.
But now I had better things to think about, like my wedding, my fiancé, and of course, my work. We teleported to the Pokemart and picked up all the stones, except the mist stone, which required going to the top story and negotiating a price with a short, round, balding, pungent man named Victor.
"Tree hunded!"
"I am not going to give you three hundred dollars for that mist stone. I'll give you one hundred and fifty, no more."
"Hundred-fifty, eh? Deal!" I paid the man and took my mist stone, hurrying out of the room to escape the horrible odor. Sabrina met me in the corridor, where she had waited, unable to bear the nasty smell. We walked back to the hotel, checking off the stones we had collected. David wouldn't be back for four hours, and we could go out to dinner.
"Well Sab, what do you want, Italian, French, Room Service, Arabic?"
"Arabic sounds exotic... Room service gets old after a while. Let's go with Arabic."
"Fine by me," I said. I liked Arabic, and I had spent some time in Arabia, learning the language and eating the food. It always felt like home when I heard Arabic on TV, and to take my fiancé out to eat my favorite foods brought back memories from years before.
"Syrian House of Wonder. Sounds interesting," Sabrina said as she looked at the sign of the restaurant in downtown Saffron. It was located on a back alley in a not quite desirable part of town. But it was all right. The restaurant had been built years before and was rated five stars before everyone forgot about it. We walked in the door. It was dark inside, lit only by candles. We were met by a waiter who showed us to a romantic, dark, comfortable booth, lit by a lantern. We sat down, next to each other. The waiter appeared out of the gloom and handed us menus. Sabrina scanned it, but it was written in Arabic, a language she couldn't read. I read the menu to her, explaining the dishes as I went along.
"Then I guess I'll have a shawarma," She said. They were kind of fast food, but I wasn't going to argue. I couldn't remember what the word sheep tongue looked like, and I didn't wan to risk it. I could read shawarma.
"Me too." I had always liked shawarmas, and was starving. We ate our meal, talking about the day, the experiment, and the ever-approaching wedding. Sabrina was starting to say something about the honeymoon arrangements when my pokedex beeped. Ash's face flashed onto the screen, blinking once before focusing.
"J, Sabrina, sorry to interrupt your meal, but we have some top priority business to discuss. Report Immediately," Ash instructed us. We stood, and I left a wad of cash on the table, and teleported to Indigo Plateau. We walked into Ash's boardroom. Ash sat at his desk, toying with a pokeball. Pikachu sat on his shoulder, making little grunts of satisfaction as it ate a sliced apple. The door opened, revealing Misty, Brock, and Joy. Slate followed them into the room, accompanied by a boy just a bit younger than I was, in a dark coat.
"James, Sabrina, meet Ranger K, a specialist from the mainland pokemon labs. He will be working with you on this assignment."
"Which would be?" David Whitley, the famous Ranger D, who had captured Mewtwo, said, walking in the door.
"David, glad you could make it. This is Ranger K, he'll be..."
"You said it once, what's the assignment?"
"Well, to get to the point, this may be the most dangerous assignment you have ever had. Team Rocket has built an illegal pokemon factory on the mainland. You'll be accompanied by Ranger K to the factory, where you will be working undercover to steal Rocket technology and shut them down. We can't have the Rockets back in function, with their growing power, that could mean the end of pokemon, as we know it. First off, you'll stay in Azure City for a night, and attend a party that high-ranking Rockets may be attending. You will say you are aspiring trainers looking for a good job, and want to join the Rockets. With their current organizational problems they should buy it. The dance is tomorrow though, and you will set off tonight to Azure City. Good luck Rangers! You're gonna need it!"
"Pikapika!" Pikachu agreed. We walked out to the League Helipad, where a copter was waiting. K, whose full name was Keith, helped us load the pre-packed garments Pokemon League Administration had gathered for us. Sabrina grabbed the handle and I helped her in. Keith jumped in and I hovered into the chopper. The pilot took off, making a beeline for the mainland. We strapped ourselves in and chatted on the way.
"So, how long have you worked for the League, Keith?" Sabrina asked.
"Two years now," he replied.
"What type of pokemon do you train?" I asked, jumping subjects, one of my flaws.
"Fighting, mostly, few other types, like a mix," he said, his British accent echoing over the whir of the blades. I looked over at Sabrina, her hair whipping around in the wind. We all retreated to the back of the copter, which was very large, with two rotors. It had several rooms in the back. Keith took one saying, "the ride is about ten hours, get some sleep. You'll want it for the party tomorrow. G'night!" And with that he closed the door. Sabrina and I took the next door, which opened into a storage room.
"Well, I guess we won't be sleeping here, let's try the next one."
"Yeah," I told her, "I don't think the shelf would be all that comfortable." We walked past two more doors, a bathroom and another storage area. Then we came upon a second bedroom, very cramped, but the only other bedroom on the chopper. Sabrina and I squeezed through the door, face to face and tossed our bags on to the bed. Finally, alone time! Damn demanding job! I shut the door and kissed Sabrina. We fell back onto the bed, kissing, embracing. I moved my hands up her back, to the buttons on her shirt, running straight down behind her head... and David opened the door. Then I noticed his bag on the bed.
"Oh shit, Sab," I said, buttoning her shirt back up, "we're in his room." She straightened her hair and stood up. I got up and Sabrina and I walked out into the hall. David had an uncanny ability to show up at the wrong times. He always walked in on us. Oh well, he was probably asleep in his room now.
"He's probably asleep in his room now, anyway," she said, pulling me into the storage closet. We kissed again. I kicked the door lock and lowered myself and my fiancé to the floor, she, being the quick thinker, mentally unzipped the bag of clothes and was able to create a semi-bed with them. I lowered her onto the bed, and carefully unclasped her jacket. She let me slip it off her. I brought a leg up and kicked the light switch. The darkness surrounded us.
I woke up on the floor in the closet, I checked my watch. The flight would be landing soon in Azure City. Sabrina stirred next to me. She was still asleep, her head resting on my chest. She smiled at whatever she was dreaming of. I had thought about getting up, but didn't want to disturb her. I stroked her long black hair. Pikachu invited itself out of its pokeball, curling up on Sabrina. She opened her eyes, and sat up.
"You know, Sab, we should probably get ready to unload," I said, looking at the cluttered bed we'd made with clothes.
"Or we could go back to bed," she said with an evil glint in her eye.
"Sab, we'll be at the Pokemon Center tonight, and besides, David would probably walk in on us again," I replied.
"I guess I can wait until tonight. Pokemon Centers are better than the floor of a corporate choppers."
"You're right there," I said, rubbing my back. We stood up and packed our things. David opened the door, again.
"I figured you two would be here," he said, "c'mon we're landing."
Keith met us out in the main seating area.
"Did you have a good flight?" he asked.
"Yeah, yeah, it was great," I said, looking over at Sabrina. She smiled.
"Me too," David said. Then his cellphone beeped. He put it on speaker mode and answered it. He usually did that so if anything questionable was said, Sabrina and I could back him up on it. It was his wife, Jennifer Oak, head of Pokemon League.
"I'll be seeing you in Azure City tonight, honey. Hey, you don't have this on speaker mode again, do you?"
"Well, actually... How are you getting to Azure?"
"Corporate luxury jet, I'd have invited you, but..."
"Well, I'll see you in Azure tonight, I reserved us the best room at Ritz Azure. Bye, gotta go," she hung up.
"Well gang, looks like I got the best room in town," David said, looking superior.
"Well, Sab, he gets the Ritz, and we get PokeCenter Azure," I said, looking at my fiancé.
"Oh well, we'll just have to make do," she said.
"Yeah, I'm sure we can manage," I said.
When we landed Jennifer met us at the airport. She had a car ready to take us into town. It was around ten thirty at night. We went directly to the hotel. Actually they went directly to the hotel, we were dropped off outside the pokemon center. We checked with Joy and got a room. Joy kept our pokemon to revitalize them.
"Strange pokemon, I've never seen them before."
"We're from the island," I told the nurse. She nodded knowingly, "oh, I thought so."
Sabrina and I walked down to the room, number 94, Gengar's ID no. Irony was wonderful. Ha ha. We walked in and put our bags down on the table.
"I'm going to take a shower," Sabrina said. I sat and watched a documentary about pokemon training. After ten minutes she called from the bathroom, "Can you get me a towel from the closet?"
"Yeah, just a sec," I said, fetching the towel. I opened the bathroom door, and went in. I could see her silhouette behind the frosted glass of the Jacuzzi tub. We had the best room there, reserved for Gym Leaders.
"What do you need this for, there are already towels in here?" I said. Then she psychically pulled me into the Jacuzzi with her. I teleported my clothes off before the good suit could get wet. I righted myself and landed sitting.
"Well, isn't this romantic," I said, noticing the glint in her eyes again.
"Yeah, and David isn't here to walk in on us," she said.
"Oh, and what does that mean," I asked, knowing exactly what it meant.
"This," she said, kissing me.
When we woke up in the morning the sun was shining through the window. Somehow it had gotten open, and we had gotten to the bed. I didn't remember that! I sure as hell remembered the hotub, though. I got up and put my clothes on. Sabrina stood up. I tapped her on the shoulder, holding her clothes out to her.
"You should probably be wearing something when we go to breakfast," I told her.
"Oh, yeah," she said jokingly, "can't forget that." I buttoned her shirt up the back for her and we went out front to wait for David and Jennifer. They drove up twenty minutes late.
"Sorry, slept in. We were up late watching movies on our eight-foot screen," David said. He didn't have to rub it in! I remember ed the screen in our room, 11 inches, and all tha it showed was "how they make cheese." Sabrina and I got into the car. We stopped at a stoplight, and Keith pulled up on a motorbike with a Moltres head painted on its front. He followed us to the Pokemon League HQ in Azure, a Gym. Azure Gym was blue with a lake out front. We pulled up and walked inside. The officials there were quite direct, but they stated the same thing as Ash did. We had to infiltrate the rocket base and find out about their creations. They said that we could spend the day at the Gym as Gym Leaders for a day. The first contestant was a boy, twelve years old, with an odd pokemon.
"Who're you? You're not the Gym Leader here," The kid said.
"Yes, I am," I told him, "We'll use two pokemon each."
"Ok! Jason calls Totodile, go!" He yelled, releasing a small blue pokemon that looked like an alligator.
"Articuno, let's rock!"
"Totodile, Bubble attack," the boy yelled. His Totodile's bubbles bounced harmlessly off Aticuno's feathers.
"Articuno, Flying Drill!" Articuno flew up and gained speed, then came down and whirled. It knocked Totodile out.
"You're too powerful. I forfeit," the kid said. I gave him the Azure Badge, anyway, for trying. The Gym Leader, a guy named Chris, walked up.
"I've never seen these pokemon. Let me see your pokedex. I showed him the Masterdex. He sifted through the entries.
"Haven't seen it, haven't seen it, haven't seen it, wow!" he exclaimed.
"What, those pokemon are common where I come from," I told him.
"Wait, I've seen some of these! I have their evolutions!" He said, whipping out his pokedex. I looked at the pokemon he was pointing to. Slowpoke, yeah, I had that. And Slowbro. I said so, too.
"What's Slowbro? Wait, look at these pokemon first. His pokedex showed a Slopoke with a crown on and a massive, sparkling Onix.
"SlowKing and Haganeru!" he said, unveiling the pokeballs.
"How would I go about evolving mine?" I asked.
"Well, for Slowking you have to..." he trailed off as the Gym filled with smoke.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"Not again!" Sabrina and David yelled.
"Quiet! And make that double," came the second voice, which inevitably came from James.
"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!"
"Persian! Dat's right!"
"Mew, let's rock!" I yelled. Persian was already on it. Mew took a bite in the head before I caught Persian in midair.
"Persian, tell me something, did you like being a Meowth?"
"Well, kinda, it woiked bettah wit da motto!"
"I'm glad you enjoyed it so much! Mew, Devolution Beam!" SHHHHHINK! Mew pulsed out psychic energy.
"Look what they did to Meowth! Arrrgh!" yelled Persian, errr... Meowth! He had been de-evolved. Having already reached level 100 he could never go back to being a Persian!
"Freeze!" James had a gun. I pulled out a pokéball, recalling the tired Mew.
"Pokeball, go!" I yelled, throwing the next pokeball on my belt. Sabrina shrieked when it showed Trex. I could feel my psychic power draining. Mewtwo came out of its pokeball to form a psychic barrier against the blackout. I didn't expect this! I had to call Trex back, but where was the pokéball?
"Looking for something?" Jessie asked, holding the Monsterball.
"Gimme that, damn it!"
"Muddog, go, Tackle, get that pokéball!" David yelled, on queue. Muddog leapt, James shot at it. The bullets passed throught the muddy body and ricocheted off the walls. I dove. Mewtwo teleported me behind James with his last strength as the resistance field closed in on him. He was relieved of his power, but I had teleported. Sabrina just stood there on the other side of the room. She had actual physical strength, one of the last remnants of her days as Evil Sabrina. She had been in enough fist fights that her psychic power had been forgotten, and I could still see evidence of it in her. I jumped James from behind, kicking his gun and whipping out both of mine, which I kept in a harness in my jacket.
"Don't move, under Pokémon League authority I am placing you under arrest. No reading of rights, if you move I'll blow your brains onto the wall," I yelled. David and Sabrina had their guns out by now also, keeping Jessie and Meowth under wraps. I kicked James gun away, and he backed into a wall.
"I said, "don't move," remember that?"
"Uh-huh," he said, nodding.
"Then don't move!" I yelled, cocking the gun.
"Come on, you couldn't kill your own father, could you, son?"
"Huh?" everybody except Jessie and James yelled. I just gasped.
"Quit the bluff, Rocket."
"It's true. Return the Trex and you can prove it yourself with your psychic power," Jessie said. I called Trex back. Then I examined James and My DNA psychically, I almost passed out. Sabrina caught me as I fell. He wasn't lying. He was trying to save himself from the bullet. I stood back up.
"How did this happen?" David asked. The Rockets looked at each other, then James began.
"Thirty years ago we got married, as you probably know from our records." I nodded. Jessie started, "on our honeymoon we got a bit too drunk, and well, several weeks later we discovered you."
"Yes, but when you were born we gave you up for adoption. Your temporary home was blown up by our boss the next day, but we said nothing. Out of sight out of mind, if you will," said James.
"And then I was raised by Alakazams in the forest," I said, finishing it for them.
"That doesn't explain the psychic abilities, though," said David.
"But it does," put in Sabrina, "the Alakazams imparted them to him as their foster child and student."
"Oh great, my parents are these guys?"
"Yes, unfortunately. I told you James, you shouldn't have had the second martini!"
"You're the one who had all the Champagne, Jessie!"
"Will you two stop yappin'?!" Meowth yelled as the two argued over who had been drunker. I was about to turn them in, but realized I shouldn't do that to my own parents. I erased their memories and teleported them Rocket HQ.
"That'll fix 'em," Sabrina said, recognizing the technique.
"Bye, I have to take a rest," I said, lying badly. I needed to get away from the reality that the world's worst bad guys were my parents. They were bad at being bad! I teleported back to the room at the hotel and sat on the bed, suppressing tears. I hated emotions, and had thought about eliminating them from my system. Then I remembered that would take away my friendship with David, and my love with Sabrina. I knew there was one place I would feel welcome. I teleported to Saffron City, hours away. My hometown looked all right, but I knew Sabrina couldn't come here. Only people at the gym let her into the town, and she was not well liked outside of the Gym compound. Everyone remembered insane Sabrina, from years before, and the fact that she hadn't aged a day since then wasn't helping anything. I sat on the doorstep of what had once been a home, before the accident. Sabrina and I didn't talk about it anymore, it was after that little accident that she had become Dark Sabrina. I hadn't done anything but show up, but half of Saffron had been destroyed in the fight. I had left, under her father's instructions. The town imprisoned Sabrina in her own Gym. She had hated the people of the town, and maybe for a good reason. After Ash saved her she was herself again, and I was glad. We had fallen back in love, and now we were going to get married. Her parents had liked me in the beginning, but now, the harbored some hidden resentment at me. One I was helpless to brush off. Now I was back, and her parents already knew. They would be here any second to give me a talking to. This was the part I hated. Then he materialized. I couldn't see him, but could feel his presence. Sabrina's father had a powerful aura. He also was a very powerful trainer. I didn't want to mess with him. If anyone on Earth could beat me, it was he.
"Hello, James," he said reservedly. I turned.
"Hello, dad, can I call you dad?" I asked in what I hoped was a harmless tone. A smile crossed his face, but for only a second. Then he psychically lifted me into the air and brought me close to his face.
"And how is my daughter?"
"Fine, sir," I answered, very directly. I wanted, more than anything to avoid a fight.
"Then why are you here, not keeping her safe?" What part of 'she can take care of herself' didn't he understand.
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me," he growled. I started. Then he slammed me at a wall. I used all my power to slow myself down, but couldn't stop. Then I felt another presence, and I was stopped.
"Lay off him dad," Sabrina said, materializing behind me.
"Is he treating you alright?"
"Yes, fine, just go home dad," she told the old man. He teleported away after a little more coaxing. Sabrina turned to me.
"James, you can't run away from the truth. Just because they are evil doesn't mean you are."
"Maybe I am, can you really trust me anymore, knowing who I am?"
"Yes, I trust you, you're my fiancé, for Goddish sakes! I love you!"
"Do you, now?" I asked, not even trusting myself at all.
"Yes, damn it," Sabrina said, on the verge of tears. I enfolded her in a hug, not letting her see the tears forming on my own eyes. We remained at the ruins of the house for a while, until it started to rain, and we teleported to a café. The afternoon sun had been blotted out by clouds, making it dark as night outside. Night, that reminded me. We had a party to go to, tonight at Ritz Azure. Sabrina walked up to the counter, and proceeded to order two cups of coffee, or tried to anyway. In a second the waiter had a gun in her face.
"Leave me alone, demon!" He shouted. I tossed the gun away, walking up and letting Mewtwo out of his pokéball. My legendary birds, Sabrina's Alakazam, and her Gengar followed. Mewtwo leapt, almost gracefully to the counter top. He stared down at the waiter, narrowing his eyes, letting a psychic ball of fire gather in his palm. He pulled his arm back, readying to fire. The waiter cringed, sensing his impending doom. A man in the restaurant jumped up, pulling a semiautomatic that was obviously illegal out of his jacket. He let off a couple rounds, hitting Gengar, the bullets stopped in the middle of its body, floating as if in jelly. Gengar looked down at the peculiar things in his body. Mewtwo released the ball of fire at the man, frying him into a crisp. The waiter used the second to whip out a shotgun. He fired at Sabrina, yelling, "Demon!" Gengar took the shot, jumping in front of her. He fell, puzzling at the round objects joining the semiautomatic bullets in his body. I jumped on the waiter, pinning him. I knocked the shotgun away.
"Just apologize and I won't fry you!"
"Go to Hell, demon lover!" I got up off him.
"Sabrina, we're leaving," I said, forming a plan. We called back our pokémon and walked out. The waiter stood speechless. After we had gone twenty feet I spun on my heel and dropped into fighting stance. I gathered psychic energy in my hands. Sabrina followed suit. Tiny orbs of psychic energy gathered in our hands, manifesting themselves into larger balls. Then, simultaneously, we released. Two burning hot balls flew at the café. The waiter looked at us in disbelief. The first ball hit the building, melting through the window and hitting the counter. The second followed, destroying a table. Then the building exploded. Debris crashed around us. We walked away, letting Jenny and a fire squad handle the inferno. Another thing for them to hate us for. Well, once Jenny investigates, she'll find out it was a drug lord's hideout. We walked to the city limits, and then teleported back to the mainland. We arrived in the Gym, next to David and Chris. Agent K had entered while we were gone. He had his pokemon out when we arrived, and was sparring with David.
"Let us play," Sabrina said, pulling out a pokeball.
"Three on three, Sab," I said pulling out three pokeballs and letting them all out. Articuno Zapdos Moltres. My favorite trio.
"Sabrina calls Gengar, Alakazam, Mr. Mime!" she said, releasing her three. My birds gathered. Then the MasterDex beeped.
"It is said that when all three legendary birds gather their trainer can order them to use the Summon attack. No one has ever done it, though, because it is only possible with the original three," Dexter read out. My birds, they were the originals. I had traveled in time to collect them, and now I would see what they could do. Sabrina heard the readout too, and stood watching.
"Ok, well, Zapdos, Articuno, Moltres, Summon, now!" I yelled. The birds moved together, firing each of their respective elements into the middle of the circle they formed while flying. There was a blinding flash of light and a pokemon appeared. It was a huge bird. My pokedex analyzed it.
"Lugia: summoned by all three legendary birds. It is the most powerful bird pokemon known to date," said Dexter. Chris gasped. Agent K looked on wonderingly.
"Wow, I thought that was only a legend!"
"It is, Keith," I said. I checked my watch. It was six thirty, we had time to go back to our rooms and get ready for the Rocket Party. We rode back in the car with David and Jennifer, even though Sabrina and I could have teleported back. It was more social. We arrived at the Pokemon Center, and Sabrina and I got out. We checked in with Joy while Jennifer and David took Keith to his house.
Sabrina and I went into the room and changed for the party. I wore my assigned gear: a beginner trainer's fatigues. Sabrina changed into a sexy black dress. We had about ten minutes to kill before the others returned. We decided to watch TV. There was a movie on. We sat down and watched. Ten minutes passed. They weren't there yet. Twenty minutes passed. Forty minutes. Sabrina was asleep on my shoulder. I let her down slowly. I arranged a pillow under her head. Then I called David on the cell phone.
"David, where are you?" you said you'd be here in half an hour.
"An hour and a half, James," he said, pointing my mistake out.
"Oh, shit, sorry, man. Bye," I said, hanging up. I put the phone down. And went over to Sabrina and kissed her on the forehead.
"At least aim right," she said, her eyes still closed. She pulled me back to her and kissed me harder. I lay down on the bed next to her. We kissed again.
"You know, James, it is kind of naughty to do it in the Pokemon Center," she said.
"We did it last night," I countered, "besides, naughty is fun." She giggled girlishly. We had had no time to ourselves because of our demanding jobs. Now we got to spend more time together. Even more next week on our honeymoon to the Mandarin Islands on the Cruise Ship Tangerine. I knew right now that that wouldn't work, and that we'd end up in Puerta Vista with a bunch of old friends. Call it a premonition
"Naughty is more fun," she said. She had really changed from the Sabrina that had split her personalities. The one who had mercilessly beaten Ash and Gary. That was also forty years ago. I undid the clasp on her dress's back. We kissed again. Then someone knocked on the door. We broke apart the passionate embrace. I quickly redid the clasp on her dress. She got up.
"David," we said, in unison. Sure enough, there was David. We got in the car, and drove to Keith's house. We rang the doorbell.
"Shit! Coming!" he yelled. There was a clatter and he opened the door.
"Ready?" I asked. He had his things packed in a bag, which he slung into the trunk with our stuff. A girl followed him out the door.
"And who's your date?" Sabrina asked, looking over at the girl. I immediately knew it was a water trainer.
"Lily Waterflower, daughter of Daisy Waterflower of Cerulean City, pleased to meet you," she said. Misty's niece. They piled into the car with us. Sabrina and Lily were fast friends, discussing hair, make-up, and whatever else girls talk about. It surprised me that Sabrina would even think about that stuff.
"Does he walk in on you too?" Keith asked.
"Yeah, just ten minutes ago, actually," I said.
"Does he plan that?"
"Nah, it's just a David thing. Like Goddish gave him the strangest timing in the world. He's there whether you need him or not."
We got to the party, which was in a not so really incredible neighborhood. The party was in a clean building, probably to encourage new recruits. David and I sat down in a sitting area while the girls went off to chat. Keith went to talk to the Rockets.
"So, how are things with you and Sabrina?"
"How so?"
"You know," he said, "do you ever, well, you know."
"Well, actually," I had reservations about discussing my personal life with anyone, even my best friend, "go figure. We're getting married next week."
"Oh," he responded, knowingly.
"I don't have to ask you the same question," I said.
"Why not?"
"Because, I'm psychic."
"Yeah," I said. Then my attention was attracted by a familiar presence. Dave! And Jake, with Marissa. I saw the three enter, worried looks on their faces. Dave spotted me and told the other two. They walked over.
"What are you doing here? Are you here for the Rise?" Jake asked, using the slang for our undercover operation.
"Yeah, why?"
"We're the Rangers that're working with you," he said.
"Yeah, I'm now officially Ranger H," Dave said.
"And I'm Ranger T," Jake said.
"Why not J?" I asked Jake.
"My real name is Troy, Jake's my middle name."
"Oh," I said.
"How's everything?" David asked.
"I got new Pokemon," Dave said, revealing new pokeballs. There was a Charmeleon, and several others that weren't incredible. Then our conversation was interrupted as a Rocket stood up to a podium and began to speak.