The door to the hospital opened. Ethan Gold slowly walked over the sterilized linoleum, listening to the echoes off the white walls. Gazing around the room, he flipped the black, rain-soaked hair out of his eyes.
He strode past the families huddled over coffee tables in the lounge, past the police officer quietly talking to someone in the corner. At the desk, he reached into his dripping backpack as one of the nurses looked up.
"How long does restoration take?" he asked.
The nurse sighed. "Usually, about a quarter hour... but we've had so many today, it might be a while longer."
"No rush." He pulled out of his backpack several round capsules, the same hue as his bright red sport jacket, and placed them on the counter, smiling slightly. "Thank you."
An excited whisper from the other side of the room drew his attention, and he turned to see the officer gesturing out of the window. Whatever they're talking about, he thought as the policeman jabbed a finger in his partner's face, it can't be good.
He removed his gold and black baseball cap as he neared them, coughing nervously. The policeman glanced over, then dismissed him with a wave of his hand and continued talking.
"Excuse me," he said loudly, voice cracking. The policeman turned with an exasperated sigh.
"What do you want, kid?" he asked.
"My name's Ethan. I think- I think I can help." The officer just stared, and Ethan was conscious of how dumb he must have looked, in a soaking wet jacket and shorts, next to the man's sharp police uniform.
The woman he was talking to- strawberry-blonde hair, sunglasses, a neat black suit- stepped forward. "Look, we appreciate it-" she began.
The policeman cut her off. "You're gonna help?" He leaned in close, dark hair drooping just past his eyes. "Look, kid, if this is a prank- and it better not be- get out. If it's not, and you just have no idea what you're talking about, get out."
"It's a public building, sir," Ethan mumbled.
"What was that?"
Ethan took a deep breath. "The professor sent me."
The woman raised her eyebrows. "Really? Well, in that case, I'm Special Agent Whitney. You'll have to forgive Officer Falkner, but he's not too keen on outside help."
The officer interrupted her again. "That old coot doesn't know a thing about these criminals. Clearly, he's losing his mind, as he sent a child here to go up against a group of dangerous terrorists!"
Ethan gritted his teeth. "Sir, the professor is the one who discovered the link between what happened at Raging Lake and what's happening now. I was there, I've seen the-"
Falkner snapped his fingers, and a police dog that had been sleeping under one of the small tables bounded to his side. Its fur was bright orange, with a small tuft of white hair on its head. "Grab the files," Falkner ordered, and the dog raced across the room.
"Listen, kid. You think this is going to be easy? You think the Rocks are just going to give up because they heard about some hotshot who knows what they're up to?" As he spoke, his dog was rummaging through a briefcase, scooping out a binder with its front paws. "This was years in the making. The Rocks kidnapped anyone they had to to get their people in here."
The dog raced back, lifting the binder in its mouth as Falkner grabbed it. "The lake was only the start. Here, they have-"
"Sir!" Ethan yelled, louder than he'd meant to. "I was there. I saw them, at the lake- and I followed them back to their headquarters nearby."
"Wait." Whitney turned towards him. "Are you saying you were in their base?"
Ethan smiled. "Yeah, and not only that..." He grabbed a newspaper off of one of the hospital's tables. The headline read, Secret Base Exposed, Destroyed.
Falkner took a step back. "You?! I knew someone had stopped them, but... a kid?"
"Well, I had a little help."
Whitney seemed impressed. "I'd say that having the famous Lance by your side is more than 'a little help', but nice job, none the less."
Turning furiously, Falkner glared at her. "You knew about this? I didn't hear anything about Lance! He's the most famous detective in the world!"
Calmly, Whitney replied, "I guess that information was given out on a need-to-know basis."
Face beet-red, Falkner spun back to Ethan. "You were saying?"
He tried not to laugh as he explained. "I saw what they were doing, and I even picked up some details from a few of their operatives in the base. The Rocks were testing out some kind of experimental radio wave, and the animals in the lake were the subjects. The fish and stuff started growing stronger, so it was considered a success-"
"Wrong." The policeman grabbed the file back off the table and flipped through its pages. "It didn't make them stronger. Maybe you left too quickly, but everything around that lake started changing. The people in the area reported a few headaches and nosebleeds, but the animals... they lost their minds. Pets tried to attack their owners, and the fish attempted to eat each other."
Ethan blinked. "I-I didn't-"
Whitney placed a hand on Falkner's arm. "Maybe we shouldn't-"
He glared at them both. "No. If the all-knowing professor," he spat, "thinks this kid can take on the Rocks, he should know the whole thing." He flipped a few more pages. "The next day, they added a new frequency to the radio transmission. We have reports of schools of fish working together to capsize boats. Animals, breaking into people's houses and stealing electronics. They figured it out, kid. The Rocks have this signal, and they're going to use it."
Falkner's voice echoed through the room, and Ethan suddenly noticed they were the only ones talking. Other than the nurse behind the counter, everyone in the lounge was staring at them. A little girl was clingling to her father's chest, looking at their table in fear.
While Whitney was hissing, "Keep your voice down, officer," Ethan looked at a photograph Falkner pulled out of the folder and handed to him. It was a giant fish- a type common to the lake- but instead of its usual blue color, it had a dark, rust-red hue, like dried blood. "But that's where we come in, right?" he asked, sounding more confident than he felt. "This is their last hideout, isn't it?"
Whitney looked out the rain-streaked windows. "There's more. They're here because this city happens to own the largest, strongest radio tower in the country."
Struggling to put the pieces together, Ethan dropped the pictures on the table. "So, if they control the tower-"
The policeman looked him straight in the eye. "The Lake... will be everywhere. They already have an army- vermin that steal whatever they need, monsters that obey their every command without question. The man in charge of the tower was one of the first to be replaced- we don't know where he is- but we think he hasn't told them how to broadcast the signal." He rubbed his eyes. "But they'll find out soon enough."
Ethan put his hat back on and spun it backwards. "So why don't we start now? Why not raid the tower right away, before we lose any more time?"
A flashlight roamed over the streets outside. "That's why," said the policeman, pointing out the window. "I'm sure you just flew in today, so you wouldn't know. The majority of this city's police force has already been abducted. Now that the Rocks aren't hiding anymore, they've got their puppets patrolling the streets, making sure no one gets in their way."
"Don't try to scare the kid, Falkner," said Whitney, but Ethan could tell she was afraid as well.
"We're trying to get backup from some other cities," said Falkner, glaring at her again.
"Sir?" The nurse was waving towards them. Ethan looked around once more as he headed back to the desk. Agent Whitney was watching the windows, the officer just seemed to be brooding, and the others-
He stopped. They weren't looking at them in fear, or talking, or... anything. Most were looking down, barely moving; they're like refugees in their own city, thought Ethan.
After thanking the nurse again, he pocketed the capsules and looked back at the room. "We're just going to let it all happen?" he said quietly.
Falkner took a deep breath. "This isn't one of your games, Ethan. The Rocks don't fight like you think. They use poison. They cheat. They'll kill if they get the chance."
Some of the families were watching him now. Ethan swallowed and started towards the door. "I'm not afraid," he lied.
Trying not to think about it too much, he put his hand on the door. "Kid!" Falkner yelled. "You can't be serious! We need a plan; we need to wait!"
"Maybe you're right," said Ethan. He felt himself open the door, saw his feet walk him onto the wet pavement.
No flashlights roamed the street now; he looked around, wondering where to go from here.
The door swung open; Falkner stumbled out into the rain, Agent Whitney close behind. "This is crazy; you know that, right?" he yelled.
Ethan grinned. "Probably, but we're running out of time."
Whitney slowly pulled one of the round capsules out of a pack on her belt. "So, where to? The radio tower?"
Ethan held up a capsule as well. "Maybe we don't have to come to them," he said. Pressing a button, he closed his eyes as a bright flash emitted from the ball.
In front of him, the light materialized into a small creature; yellow, with pointed ears and brown stripes along its back.
Falkner looked at them both. "What- here?" he cried.
"It's as good a place as any," replied Whitney. She nodded at Ethan, who took a deep breath.
"Light it up."
The animal tensed, and a brilliant light shot into the sky.
"Again," said Ethan. The light flashed through the rain a second time.
"One more."
As the light dimmed, he thought he could see shadows in the alleys around them.
Falkner snapped his fingers, and the police dog ran to his side again, shaking water off its fur. "Ready?"
Nodding, Whitney pushed a button similar to the first; a small pink animal, standing on two legs with a broad jaw and black-tipped ears, appeared at her feet. She turned to Ethan. "How about you?"
"Yeah." Ethan walked into the middle of the street, more afraid than he'd ever been.
"Hey!" he screamed. "We're here, and we're ready! Bring it on!"
Falkner snorted. "Please, is this a movie or something?" Whitney elbowed him in the ribs.
"I know you're out there!" Ethan yelled. "Get ready, because if you don't show, we're coming for you!"
"I challenge you- Team Rocket!"
[]
There were a few reasons for posting this.
It's one of the first fics I've ever written, and I thought it would be interesting to grab the original and post it here, without any editing or changes from years and years ago. My style has changed a lot, so it's fun to go back and see some old quirks and habits. Feel free to point out any clichés, or just bad writing in general.
Plus, I've been feeling... inspired, recently. Towards Pokémon, especially. So maybe this will convince me to try some new stuff. Who knows?
And there's the sentimental value. I wrote a lot of Pokémon early on, but haven't done much with the series in a while, so it's kind of nostalgic.
Oh, and one more thing- the original was posted in a context where people didn't know what Pokémon was at all. So I thought I was being really clever by changing up a few names and such.