"Your reports have pleased me substantially. Truly this is a mark of competence that I seek within all of my associates."
Two Team Flare agents, clad in red business suits, knelt before the hologram of the shadowy figure that had spoken to them. The room was dark, lit only by the faint glow of the projected image.
The agents responded in unison, "It is merely our job."
"Indeed. I hereby approve of your mission. You may proceed."
The agents stood and saluted.
"It will be carried out," replied one in a monotone voice.
"We shall return with the quarry," responded the other, equally flat.
The shadowy figure returned the salute, and the hologram switched off. This prompted the lights in the room to turn back on, revealing dark gray canvas walls that waved as a breeze passed by. The agents nodded to one another and left the room through a flap in the large tent's wall.
The taller agent, sporting a red pompadour hairstyle that was shaped to resemble a flame, approached a device that sat atop a pedestal just outside of the tent. He pressed a button, causing the entire tent to recede into a canister at the base of the pedestal. The apparatus itself collapsed into a small cylinder that the shorter agent, whose hair was also red and sported a short spiked style, snatched from the ground and placed in the rear of a large red SUV that sat under a tree.
The two agents had been observing Raozya's movements ever since the Trainer had vaporized the Team Rocket grunt on Route 6 four days prior. While his actions had been interesting, it was his talking Espurr, Joas, that the agents were far more interested in. They had reported their findings to their leader, Lysandre, who ordered them to continue their observations and report their results until he could make a firm decision on their course of action.
The taller agent clasped his hands behind his back and observed his associate. "The target is on the move, Miller."
"Then we should offer our assistance at hindrance, Brown."
They nodded once more, donned a pair of sunglasses each, and entered the vehicle, heading off to Route 7.
• • •
Napalm eagerly snapped its head back and forth as the number of city sights increased, filling its eyes and mind with wonder. Raozya set foot upon a paved side street that featured several merchant kiosks and buildings along either curb. The main road, Route 7, was just beyond that, and it was only a short journey further before they would enter the district that held their hotel and the desired seafood restaurant.
They passed the merchant area and entered an alleyway that separated two long sections of three-story buildings that strafed Route 7. At the alley's halfway point, Raozya suddenly found himself airborne, careening forward at high speed with a sharp pain in his back. He hit the pavement hard, rolling and coming to a stop on his side. He jumped up and sprinted off the road to avoid being run over by a large truck, then grabbed onto a light post and struggled to catch his breath. WHATWHATWHATWHAT?!
Agent Miller, standing in the short alleyway that Raozya had been launched from, lowered the foot that had just delivered the powerful kick. He threw himself backward a moment later to avoid being flattened by a psychic discharge delivered by Joas, who was floating just above the rooftops. The Espurr had flung himself up there an instant before Raozya had been kicked.
The discharge exploded, leaving a spherical hole where earth and walls had once been and launching debris into the sky. At the same time, Napalm appeared at the end of the alley between Agent Miller and Raozya and unleashed an Ember attack, sending a shower of flames at the attacker. Agent Miller leaped back again and disappeared around the corner, allowing the flames to harmlessly erupt from the alley entry.
Joas turned his attention to Raozya, who was still clinging to the pole in shock. "I believe you have a secret admirer!"
A movement in the corner of Joas' eye prompted him to launch himself backward, missing an airborne net by a fraction of an inch. He eyed the culprit who was standing on the roof, Agent Brown, and charged up another psychic attack. Before he could release it, he was blasted in Raozya's direction by a discharge of electricity fired from the other adjacent rooftop.
Agent Miller, who had used the high-voltage stun gun after making a superhuman jump up to the roof, sprinted to the edge and prepared to fire again. The stun gun bore a striking resemblance to the SIMBYL Domination that Raozya owned, but was nothing more than a knockoff brand.
Everything was happening so fast that Raozya nearly threw himself into traffic in his attempt to catch the flying Joas, stopping himself short of becoming the new bumper of a bus. He jumped as the line of traffic closest to him had cleared enough for him to stand in the road for a few seconds, allowing him to catch the dazed Espurr. Napalm sped across the road and dove into Raozya's backpack right as he made a break for a different alley with Joas cradled in his arms.
Agent Brown and Agent Miller watched as their prey disappeared into a cluster of buildings, undoubtedly heading deeper into the city to lose them. They smirked in unison.
• • •
Sweat dripped from Raozya's body as he panted and puffed, lungs burning as he attempted to catch his breath from the marathon sprint he had just undertaken. His human disguise was blurring sporadically due to his broken concentration. At least the concrete of the overpass support pillar he was leaning on had a delightful cooling effect, complemented by the shade of the road overhead and the breeze blowing beneath it. He just hoped he had lost those Team Flare goons.
"Raozya."
The addressed fugitive looked down at Joas, who was still being cradled in the former's arms. "What?"
"Although I enjoy a good sauna every now and then, I am being saturated by the vile fluids being excreted by your skin. Put me down before I fantasize any further about scrubbing you from the face of the planet."
Finding no logical argument against Joas' ultimatum, Raozya set him down on the sloped concrete surface beneath them. Joas stumbled momentarily before leaning against the pillar.
Napalm popped out of Raozya's backpack and yipped at him, prompting an idea. "Oh! If you want, I can send out Felicity. She's pretty good with soothing a wound."
Felicity, the Audino that Raozya had caught on his first day, had proven to be quite the asset. While it hadn't learned Heal Pulse just yet, its ability to comfort its allies complemented Raozya's personal medicine stash and negated the need for regular visits to a Pokémon Center.
"Oh, please. Those thugs simply caught me off-guard. Nothing but a brief stun and a sting, and I'll be doing much more to them when they return. I don't want that smiling pink blob thing touching me, either. It creeps me out."
Raozya's face went blank. "You mean 'if', not 'when', right? Isn't that kind of pessimistic?"
Joas pointed to a distant part of the road they standing next to. A red SUV was speeding along, doing double the speed limit and weaving in between the other motorists. The occupants of the vehicle could not be seen, but something within Raozya told him that this wasn't going to end well. For a moment, he considered dropping his disguise and firing a Dark Pulse, but that would have needlessly put innocent lives at stake. The only option for now was to run.
Before Raozya could sprint again, Joas took a stand in front of him and held out his stubby arms. His ears, normally folded, began to lift up in unison with the increasing glow of his eyes and the purple aura surrounding him. A swirling orb of Psyshock energy formed between his paws and shot toward the speeding SUV.
The two Team Flare agents threw themselves from their respective doors and landed atop two other vehicles a moment before the Psyshock collided. The front of the SUV crumpled into the pavement before exploding in a brilliant fireball, scattering the nearby vehicles like toys and sending a few of them over nearby rooftops.
Raozya didn't consider himself to be a particularly panicky individual, but any flame of anxiety that had resided in his heart had just been turned into a bonfire. The subsequent shockwave didn't help. "We're murderers."
"And that didn't take care of them."
True to Joas' word, the agents had played hopscotch with the other vehicles, escaping the blast and putting themselves ever closer to their targets. Baffled over the agents' superhuman feats, Raozya unceremoniously crammed Joas into his backpack and made a run for it.
The agents jumped from the roofs of the vehicles and tumbled to the area that Raozya had just been. In unison, they adjusted their sunglasses and smirked before resuming their pursuit with even greater speed.
Due to Joas' sudden presence in the backpack, Napalm fired out of the top as though it was a cannonball, fur standing on end, and landed on Raozya's head.
Joas would have preferred to have his tail stepped on than to suffer the humiliation of Raozya's impulse decision. "You ignoramus! Stop stuffing me in here like I'm a toy! I can fly!"
"Then do so! Maybe you can send another Psyshock at them, but keep the casualties down! For CRYING OUT LOUD, please keep the casualties down!"
Joas hopped out of the backpack and floated high into the air right as Raozya jumped over a fence. They were now in a train yard that held several metropolitan monorail trains, a few of which were moving. Raozya picked the one that appeared to be accelerating and jumped onto the back.
The Team Flare agents treated the fence as little more than a speed bump, leaping over without effort. They spotted Joas in the air and leveled their stun guns, firing at the same time that Joas released another Psyshock attack.
The Psyshock plowed through one stun discharge but missed the other, allowing it to slam into Joas' tiny body. The agents dodged the ball of Psyshock energy moments before it exploded. The blast carved a large crater into the ground, sending chunks of train track rails sailing and managing to derail two nearby trains.
Who are these people, and why are they so powerful?! For that matter, why is Joas so powerful?! Raozya asked himself this while also wondering how Joas had been hit so easily. He watched in horror as the smoking Espurr tumbled out of the sky, and this was not helped by the fact that the train was in the process of leaving the station. "Napalm, go get Joas!"
Despite its reservations, Napalm darted off Raozya's head and retrieved Joas, carrying him by the scruff of his neck back to their master and narrowly dodging another airborne net.
The train continued to accelerate and left the station. Raozya let out a sigh of relief, but was well aware that their issues might not be over. This was confirmed when he saw the very much intact agents charging after the train and actually making progress in catching up, despite the fact that the train was now traveling at the speed of the vehicles on the adjacent highway.
The agents fired off a few more shots, prompting Raozya and Napalm to run further ahead on the train's roof. Joas continued to hang from Napalm's jaws, not quite able to move on his own due to the residual effects of the agent's stun gun. The indignity of his situation gave him nothing less than the desire to fire the agents into a mountain at Mach 50.
The train entered a tunnel that passed through a massive skyscraper, replacing the sunlight with a strobe effect of tunnel lights. Unfettered, the agents ran along the tunnel's bore, making a corkscrew up and over the train and dropping atop it, leaving large impact dents. Raozya lost his footing due to the jolt and nearly rolled off the edge, but steadied himself at the last moment.
Fury ignited within Raozya's eyes. Whoever these guys were and whatever they wanted, it needed to stop. He was exhausted, sick of running, and he craved a pickle like never before. He stood to face the approaching agents and held up his hands, then began to slip off his backpack.
Napalm hopped onto Raozya's back once the backpack had been removed, clinging to his shirt with its claws and keeping Joas secure. The latter felt his energy returning, but it wasn't as fast as he wanted.
The agents slowed their pursuit, and Agent Miller shouted out, "Don't bother with the backpack. All we want is the Espurr."
"Huh? You want money? I have that!"
Agent Brown responded, "No, the Espurr! Give us the Espurr!"
Well aware of what the agent had said, Raozya reached into his backpack with one hand and whipped out the Domination, leveling it on Agent Miller. He then threaded his free arm through one of the straps of his backpack, heaving it back up to his shoulder before gripping the gun with both hands.
The moment the gun's aim had fallen upon the new target, a series of metal plates pulled away from the front half of the gun, exposing inner electronics and giving it a jagged appearance. The heads-up display that was being projected onto his eyes from an aperture on the back of the gun showed the number 591 next to Agent Miller's head. This represented a huge criminal potential in the target, making it possible to use a high discharge setting.
A bright burst of energy escaped the slit-like barrel of his gun, followed by several more as he continued to squeeze the trigger.
In a display of agility that Raozya would have thought impossible, Agent Miller and Agent Brown both dodged every shot, their upper bodies blurring due to the speed of their movements while their legs remained firmly planted on the roof of the train. The wayward shots arrowed out from the entrance of the tunnel and exploded against several buildings in the background. Finding a gap in the swarm of projectiles, Agent Brown steadied himself and snapped off a shot at Raozya.
A sharp, hot pain flared up in Raozya's right hip, causing him to shout and lose his grip on the Domination. His mind became flooded with a sense of panic—he had been hit. The impulse from such an impact caused him to stumble backward toward the edge of the train car.
Joas' body kicked into overdrive, granting him movement. He used his psychic abilities to pull the escaping Domination back toward Raozya while slowing his fall, but this wasn't enough to keep him from going over. At the same time, Napalm dropped from Raozya's back onto the edge of the train car and fastened its jaws onto Raozya's sleeve, preventing its master from disappearing completely over the edge.
The tunnel suddenly ended, exposing the train and everyone atop it to the brilliant sunlight and the dizzying vertical expanse of the inner city. Raozya was now hanging over the edge by his fingers, dangling like a ribbon. Being no fan of heights, Raozya's survival instincts were kicked beyond maximum. He swung a foot into the side of the train car, causing his long Zoroark toe claws to stab through his shoes and into the thin metal siding.
Like the stun charge from earlier, an idea hit him.
Agent Miller and Agent Brown watched as Joas and Napalm disappeared over the side. Surprised, they peered over the edge, but saw no falling bodies. They did, however, notice several small holes further along in the side of the train car, as well as a damaged door.
"Miller, I believe it's time for Plan B."
"I believe you are correct, Brown."
• • •
Raozya and the others slowly but surely made their way into the preceding train cars. He hoped nobody would notice the holes in his shoes, not that most sane people would suspect them of having been worn by a Zoroark. Napalm and Joas were both occupying his backpack, keeping low until the next encounter.
The train jolted hard from the rear, throwing people from their seats and nearly making Raozya stumble to the floor.
Still standing atop the train, Agent Miller chucked another grenade toward one of the trailing train cars. The grenade bounced into the small gap between two segments and exploded just before it could hit the track. The blast lifted the connected ends of the train cars and created a starburst of debris. The three rearmost cars derailed and careened into the busy traffic far below the suspended railway, and the new rearmost car was now positioned at a slight horizontal angle from the track, sending out sparks as its undercarriage dragged against the track without wheels under its back half.
Agent Brown entered Raozya's train car amongst the panicking passengers, initially unseen by Raozya. The Team Flare agent called out, "Mister Raozya, I believe your time is up."
Raozya felt as though winter had come early. He turned around to see Agent Brown standing near the back door, having leveled his stun gun on Raozya's head. "Oh."
"Hand over the Espurr and these people will be spared. Resist, and I'll pluck the Espurr from the wreckage of this train."
The rearmost train car, lacking its back wheels, began to swing outward as the train came upon a curve. Its frontal wheel structure pulled loose from the track, allowing it to swing out further and pull the preceding car from the track as well. This instigated a zipper effect that culminated in the entire train being pulled rear-first off the track in a free-fall toward the highway below.
Due to the different area they were in, the highway and railway were much closer together, making the fall much more moderate than it would have been earlier. The train landed on its side and began an uncontrolled skid across the pavement, kicking vehicles off the road like soccer balls. Agent Miller had been tossed at high velocity and collided with the side of a semi trailer, almost breaking it half and sending it tumbling off the road to meet its end as a dazzling fireball.
The train's impact threw the screaming passengers against a wall—now the floor—and knocked the stun gun from Agent Brown's hands. Amidst the chaos, Raozya managed to pull enough willpower together to jump up to the wall above him and yank open a door, pulling himself through. While unbelievably perilous, he felt as though an escape from the agents was of greater priority.
He stood atop the skidding train and spotted a passing semi, then readied himself for the longest jump of his life. "Joas! Levitate while in the backpack on my mark!"
With a muffled voice, Joas gave an affirmative.
Raozya leaped as soon as the semi had come close enough, commanding Joas to levitate. He floated above death itself for a brief moment that felt like an hour, all while his backpack appeared to be lifting of its own accord. The moment the semi's trailer was beneath his feet, he commanded Joas to stop levitating lest he overshoot. He dropped and landed atop the trailer, rolling a short distance and coming to a stop near the opposite edge.
He slowly pushed himself up, silently thanking the sky that he hadn't ended up as a giant red streak on the pavement. He looked back and watched as the train broke through the highway's elevated siding, crumpling the barriers like aluminum foil. The train careened into a cluster of fuel tanks and disappeared in a roaring fireball.
This had to be some sort of dream. Raozya's life NEVER had this kind of action. He was just a small town Pokémon Trainer with humble goals. Was the universe out to stop him? Was it really so bad that he wanted to have immeasurable wealth, fame, and to capture other Trainers to use as servants?
Raozya pushed himself into an upright position and sat cross-legged, relishing in the breeze that was rushing over the top of the semi. "Still breathing, guys?"
A muffled "Fenne!" and "Kill me now," were the responses that emanated from his backpack. He chuckled and shook his head.
A hand appeared over the back edge of the trailer, then another. Agent Brown hauled himself up and adjusted his scuffed red suit, popping his neck in the process. He was missing a large chunk from the right lens of his sunglasses, and his scowl spoke volumes of his disapproval without him uttering a word. He reached into a lapel pocket and excavated a new pair of sunglasses, replacing the older pair which he tossed to the road. Raozya could practically see the agent's confidence return; even his disheveled hair corrected itself.
Agent Brown struck a confident pose, fists balled and ready for combat.
Raozya wasn't quite sure what to make of the situation. His heart was still pounding out of his chest, and his brain was still struggling to grasp how he had survived his leap of death. "Guys. One of 'em survived."
"On behalf of Team Flare," started Agent Brown, reaching for his belt, "I challenge you to a Pokémon match."
An awkward pause followed. It took Raozya a few moments to realize that Agent Brown was missing his stun gun, explaining his willingness to battle with Pokémon. Before he could respond, a dusty meteor fell from the sky and collided with the trailer right next to Agent Brown.
It wasn't a meteor. A tattered and smoking Agent Miller stood up from the new dent beneath him, dusting himself off and adjusting his suit as well. He then struck the same confident battle pose as his associate. "We both challenge you."
"Domination."
Raozya rotated his hidden vulpine ears to hear the whispering, backpack-interred Joas more clearly. He looked down and muttered under his breath, "Wut."
"Use...the freaking Domination. Don't fall for their schemes. End this madness now. Blow off the end of the trailer."
Both agents remained unmoving in their pose, waiting for a response while having the unintended effect of making Raozya take them less seriously. Curious of Raozya's whispering and downward gaze, Agent Miller called out, "We await your decision."
"Uh, yeah, sorry, just muttering to myself. Gotta think this through." He turned his attention back to Joas, returning to a whisper. "I dunno, maybe I could go for a battle. It's a change of pace."
"Imbecile. Do you think they'll let you go if you win? That is a massive IF, by the way."
With his illusory capabilities, Raozya made it seem like he was still staring at the trailer, allowing him to turn around and get a better look at his surroundings without arousing suspicion. The four-lane highway was soon going to split in half, with the approaching fork sending either half in opposite directions. He turned back around and spotted another tractor-trailer heading along the adjacent lane that was to branch off in the opposite direction. He knew what he was going to do. "Levitate when I tell you to. Napalm, get ready."
"You...okay, fine." What are you planning?
Raozya locked eyes with Agent Miller, then Agent Brown. "Very well, I accept your challenge."
"Good." Agent Miller had slightly more energy in his otherwise droning voice.
"You may pick two Pokémon; we shall each pick one," finished Agent Brown.
Raozya nodded. "I'll start with one. Napalm, I choose you."
Napalm dove out of the backpack and took a stand in front of its master, facing the agents with a sneer and a challenging glare. Joas zipped the backpack shut again.
Agent Brown tossed his chosen Pokémon first. "Conkeldurr, fulfill your purpose."
The ogre-like Pokémon materialized ahead of the agent, its massive hands gripping a pair of short concrete pillars that it would almost assuredly be trying to flatten Napalm with in the near future. Its sadistic, drooling grin, frequent grunts, and heavy troglodyte brow foretold a truly savage beating.
The Fennekin struggled to keep its bladder from releasing. Raozya, on the other hand, stuck to his plan, using his peripheral vision to keep track of the other semi that was approaching from behind theirs.
Agent Miller was next. "Chesnaught, it's time for you to show them that this is our world and our time."
A tall, upright hedgehog-like creature materialized at Agent Miller's command. It appeared to be more of a royal guard than anything, sporting a sophisticated beige and green color scheme with a domed, spiked shell on its back. It stared coldly and bellowed its name at the Fennekin, more than audible over the roar of the vehicles on the highway.
There wasn't much Napalm could hope for beyond a quick, painless demise. It hoped its master wasn't using it as a sacrifice or a punching bag; but if that meant they would all make it out alive, even if on life support, then it was a risk worth taking.
The other semi drew closer, prompting Raozya to give Napalm its first orders. "Napalm, use Ember, wide-spread with plenty of smoke."
Napalm did just that. A curtain of fire exploded from the Fennekin's mouth, shrouding the opponents and making them and the agents shield themselves.
Raozya called Napalm back into its ball a moment before diving off the edge of the trailer and telling Joas to levitate. They landed on the next semi as the highway began to split, drifting away from the danger. To buy more time, Raozya created temporary illusion doppelgangers of himself and Napalm where they had once been.
Angered, Agent Miller called out, "Chesnaught, use Giga...wait a minute."
The illusions quickly blurred and dissipated.
Visibly displeased, Agent Brown clenched his teeth and fists. "Illusions."
"The Espurr helped its master escape," continued Agent Miller.
"But not for long."
"Our other eyes will find them..."
"...And deliver the appropriate punishment."