Path of the Chosen 6: A World of Beauty

Well you guys, it's been forever! But I think I'm finally ready with the next installment of Cara's Pokémon adventure. It might be slow going on this one, but I'll update when I can.

If you'd like to see how Cara got here, feel free to check out her other stories on this account (though fair warning, some of them are pretty ancient, and I really want to revise them XD )

Polaris-Ponyta, Tlaloc-Braviary, Link-Raichu, Kinesis-Alakazam, Clora-Weavile

Chapter 1: Burning

"I am so done with Team Rocket," I snarled. After two years, I thought I'd never have to hear from them again. But all it took was trip to Kanto to visit my parents and I'd stumbled into Team Rocket once more.

Those stupid, clueless grunts thought they could sneak into a Pokémon Center and steal MY Braviary? Well, they had no idea who they were dealing with. Which is probably good, because I had no desire to get back on Team Rocket's radar. But that wouldn't stop me from breaking into their hideout and getting my Braviary back.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you?" Ben asked.

I shook my head. "I'll be less obvious if I'm the only human. I really need you to mess with their surveillance."

Ben frowned but nodded.

Hari threw his arm in the air. "And I keep watch and make sure that no one else gets inside. Or gets away"

"Yes." I took a deep breath. "Okay, let's get to it."

Hari dashed down the street and Ben released his Metagross from its Pokéball. It was an ex-delta Metagross, which meant that it wasn't the normal steel-psychic type. This one was steel-electric. Ben had trained him to work with electrical grids, so he'd be able to wreak impressive havoc on the building's systems. His Joltik already sat on his shoulder. With Joltik's delicate electric webs and Metagross's powerful blasts, the two made an explosive combination when it came to manipulating anything electronic.

Hopefully it wouldn't do too much damage to the other buildings around us that weren't owned by Team Rocket. But I figured it was worth a temporary blackout if it meant weeding out a Rocket rat nest.

It looked like an unobtrusive warehouse in a normal business district. This was probably just a small hideout. Who knew where their real headquarters was. Ben would be calling the police in just a few minutes, which would give me a head start to get in there and grab my Pokémon. By the time I got out, the police should be there to round up the Rockets. Most normal people would let the police handle everything. But I was a league champion in Kanto, so I thought I should do something to help. I had experience with Team Rocket, and I was going to flush them right into the police net.

I released my Charizard – Charren- from her Pokéball and leapt on her back. We took to the night air, rising high above the rooftops and circling the target building.

We waited, well out of sight of any surveillance systems. After a couple minutes, my phone pinged – the signal from Ben that his Metagross had started to overload the building's grid.

I suppose it's strange that Ben and I – two 18-year-olds – had so much experience breaking into weird compounds. And Hari was only twelve, but he took to it like a pro. It's not that I'm very stealthy or anything. I just have really awesome Pokémon, and I know how to use their abilities to get stuff done.

I gave Charren the go-ahead. She tucked her wings and dropped out of the dark sky. We dove down toward the roof, and my eyes watered from the cold blast of wind. My Charizard opened her wings and arced out of the plunge. She hovered a couple feet from the rooftop and I leapt from her back, rolling and coming to my feet. Charren soared back into the sky, circling overhead to keep watch or to raise hell if anything went wrong.

I didn't waste any time, but tossed out three of my Pokéballs. In a flash of red, an Alakazam, Raichiu, and Weavile appeared. They already knew the drill. They followed me to a nearby door, and Clora – my Weavile – leapt forward. With a slash of her claws, she sliced the lock from the door. I pulled it open and we descended the dark staircase.

Only dim green emergency lights lit our way. They were down to backup power. Ben had done his job. And since it was near midnight, there shouldn't be too many people around.

As we continued down the flights of stairs, I turned to Kinesis, my Alakazam. "Do you sense him?"

He shut his eyes, reaching out with his psychic powers to latch onto my Braviary. "Yes, I sense him," he said through telepathy. Since I had some minor psychic abilities, I could hear the thoughts of Pokémon. That's probably the only reason I became champion at such a young age. "He's underground. There must be several basement levels."

"Thanks, Kinesis. Lead the way. Link?" I turned to my Raichu and he nodded. "Keep your ears open, and be ready to attack. You too, Clora." Both of them gave the affirmative.

We continued down the stairs, which reached deep into the hideout. Aboveground, the building only looked two or three stories tall. But it also stretched four levels underground. Kinesis lead us from the stairs and into the dark hallways.

They were empty. Anyone who was awake was probably trying to fix the power supply. I could see cameras fixed to the ceilings, but they were dead. The lights were dead too, and some of the hallways were pitch black. Luckily Raichu store electricity in their fur, so Link served as a sort of nightlight.

"I hear footsteps approaching," Link said. We ducked through the nearest door and waited for the sound to pass. Then we continued on.

"He's through here," Kinesis said.

The door he'd indicated had a control panel, which required some kind of ID. And this door was metal. Clora wouldn't be able to slash it open so easily.

"Hey, Link, have you been practicing manipulating that electricity of yours?"

Link grinned. "Oh, yes." He bounded forward and sent a tendril of static into the mechanism. With a click, the door popped open.

"It looks like Ben's hacking lessons paid off. You're awesome, Link." Link smacked me a high-five and we headed inside.

I froze. We were in a lab. I could feel a chill creep through my blood and I shuddered. My Tlaloc, my Braviary had been stolen and experimented on. I'd seen the results of some of Team Rocket's experiments. The thought that one of my Pokémon – a Pokémon I was supposed to train and protect – had ended up here made me feel ill.

I was so stupid. Some Team Rocket jerk had seen Tlaloc battle a trainer, and wipe the floor with them. Then when I took him to a Pokémon Center, they'd broken in and stolen his Pokéball. Could I not even trust Pokémon Centers anymore?

Shivering, I took a step forward.

"What are you doing in here?" The sharp voice made me spin around. But Clora was way ahead of me. She bounded onto a nearby shelf, right behind the Rocket scientist. And a moment later, her claws were at his neck.

He froze, feeling the icy points hovering above his skin.

I walked up to him, wishing I could brandish claws like Clora. "If I were you, I wouldn't move. Or shout for help. Or anything. Where is my Braviary? And any other Pokémon you stole?"

Trembling, the main raised his arm and pointed to the next room. Kinesis reached out with his psychic powers and nodded. The coast was clear. He and Clora waited behind. Link followed me.

I still hesitated as I entered the room, afraid of what I might find. A huge computer covered one wall. To the other side were cages – mercifully empty – and a tank of fluid. Something about it seemed familiar, but I had more important things to focus on.

There. An exhale of relief rushed out of me. A tray of Pokéballs sat near the computer screen. One of them had my green sticker on it. Tlaloc.

Shaking with relief, I snatched the Pokéball and clipped it to my belt.

"Are you okay in there, buddy?" I asked with telepathy.

"Where have you been?" Came the tired, but relieved response. "I've been waiting for you for ages."

"I'm sorry. It took a week to track them back here. Did they hurt you?"

"Not really. But they took some of my blood, for some reason."

That made me pause. It triggered something in my mind but I couldn't quite latch onto it. "I'm going to get you out of here. Then we can make sure they didn't do anything to you."

"Sounds good."

I snatched a duffle bag that was hanging from the back of a chair and dumped the tray of Pokéballs into it. No doubt other frantic trainers would be happy to get their stolen Pokémon back.

As I turned to leave, my eyes swept over the machinery. Everything clicked into place. The fluid –filled tanks. Them drawing Tlaloc's blood.

Rage and horror erupted inside of me. Cloning. This was a cloning machine.

Images flashed through my mind. Mewtwo, curled asleep as he hung suspended in a tube of liquid. Mewtwo waking up and finding himself the tool of Team Rocket. Mewtwo's rage and pain as he burned the lab to the ground and fled. I hadn't been there, but I knew what had happened. If Mewtwo were here now, he would send this whole place up in a cloud of smoke.

Well, I would just have to do that for him.

I spun and sprinted from the room. I charged up to the captive scientist and snarled in his face.

"How many Pokémon did you clone here?"

"U-uuh," he stammered, "We had just started this project. There aren't any clones here. The-the captured Pokémon were still being examined and the preparations being made."

I glared at him. "How many people are in this building?"

"H-how many?"

"Yes. Because I'm guessing you'll only have a few minutes to get everyone out."

I didn't tell him that the police should be waiting up above, ready to snatch anyone who tried to escape. I hadn't intended to trash the place, but I didn't know what was going on here. I would make sure that none of this cloning machinery could be used again. Hopefully there wasn't any backup data elsewhere.

I gestured for Link to follow me back into the room with the tanks. "See this big computer?"

He cocked his head and nodded.

"Use your full blast of electricity on it. The more it sparks and burns, the better."

Link looked startled. "But what if something catches on fire?"

I spoke through gritted teeth. "Something will definitely catch on fire. But not necessarily from the computer."

Hesitating, Link jumped up onto the keyboard. He wasn't used to seeing me in such a rage. I stepped out of the room, and a blinding flash erupted through the doorway. Crackling electricity and shattering glass made me flinch. Link bounded out of the room, escaping the shards of glass and sparks flying from the screen.

I turned to the Rocket scientist. "I suggest you find all of your scumbag friends and get out of here as soon as possible. Things are about to get very hot."

Clora released him, and the man fled.

I took out my last Pokéball and opened it. Polaris, my Ponyta appeared. "Polaris, go into that room, and incinerate everything you see."

She narrowed her eyes. "Don't you think you might be overreacting?"

"Do you remember what happened the first time Team Rocket successfully cloned something?" It was a rhetorical question, and I was being a sarcastic jerk. But I didn't care. "Do you really think that kind of technology should be allowed to exist?"

"That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the fact that you are reacting out of rage, not out of rationality. I agree that this thing should be blown sky high. But I don't like following your orders if they're stemming from thoughtless fury."

I clenched my fists, but tried to take a deep breath. I knew I was out of control. But I couldn't help it. Thinking of what Metwo had gone through, and what Team Rocket was capable of… I swallowed. This wasn't the first time I'd lost it when something happened to Mewtwo.

"Please," I said, sounding desperate.

Polaris rolled her eyes and stepped into the cloning room. She opened her mouth and a vortex of flames swirled through the room, making glass shatter and the walls blister.

Emergency sprinklers popped out of the ceiling and started spraying. They wouldn't be able to stop Polaris's Fire Spin.

I returned Clora and Link. Kinesis stayed by my side and we backed into the hallway. Polaris poured fiery vengeance through the rest of the lab. Flames burrowed into cabinets and books, gathering power as they ate. The walls were aglow.

I reached out with my telepathy, speaking to Charren who was still flying high above us. "Charren, are the police there?"

"Yes they're organizing themselves to cover the entrances. They haven't found Ben or Hari yet."

"Good. Grab Ben and Hari. Meet us at the rendezvous point. We'll only take a minute."

Polaris trotted out of the inferno and stopped at my side. I patter her neck. "Thank you."

She nudged my shoulder. "Just promise me you'll try to calm down. And can we please get out of here?"

"Yeah. Let's get the hell out." I returned her, and turned to Kinesis. The heat was making me sweat, and I felt my arm scorch as a tongue of flame tore through the open doorway. "Kinesis, Teleport."

The image of flaming walls fragmented, and a moment later I was surrounded by darkness. We were outside, but my fire-blinded eyes couldn't make out anything in the night.

Squinting, I pulled a sheet of paper from my backpack and scrawled a note on it. "These are Pokémon that Team Rocket stole. And by the way, call the fire department now." I handed the note and the bag of Pokéballs to Kinesis. "Can you take these to the police for me?"

He took the bag and disappeared. Five seconds later he had returned to my side. I didn't really want the police knowing that I was responsible for the fire, or I would have returned the Pokéballs myself. Within minutes, the building would probably be covered in a column of flame and smoke. But the fire department should have enough heads up to keep the fire from spreading.

Wing beats made me look up. Charren floated down from the sky with Hari on her back. Ben and his Pigeot came behind them. I jumped up in front of Hari, and we took to the air once more.

"Thanks, guys. I got Tlaloc back. Though… I may have over-reacted." I sighed and let my head flop forward onto Charren's neck. "We set the basement on fire."

"What?" Ben exclaimed.

I sighed. "I'll explain later. It was important."

"You burned the place down?" Hari asked, alarmed.

"Everyone should get out okay," I said. "And I got the Pokémon out."

"This was some detour," Ben muttered. "We should have been in Kalos by now. Instead we're fleeing a crime scene."

"Yeah, I know. Well, let's go home and get some rest. When things settle down, we can plan our trip to Kalos."