I seem to have neglected an intro to the first chapter. The rush of creating a new story! What does the summary mean by "have they moved on to people?" You'll just have to wait and see! -evil grin-
Disclaimer: I own one of every three games for Gameboy and DS (ex. Yellow, Crystal), but I do not own Pokemon itself. However, I do own the character Merenwen and other random OCs such as her mother.
Chapter 2: Who Would do That to an Innocent Pokémon?
"Is it going to be okay?" Merenwen asked finally, as Professor Birch left the Eevee where it lay sleeping. Only a few minutes ago she had rushed into the lab, trying to quickly explain about the helicopter and give the Eevee to Professor Birch. The poor, battered Pokémon was so frightened that it refused to come out of its cage, but before Merenwen could do more than assure it soothingly that they only wanted to help it, it had passed out. Professor Birch and his assistants instantly got it out and began healing its wounds. Now it lay on a table, bandaged and sleeping somewhat fitfully.
"Yes, the Eevee will be fine," Professor Birch assured her. "Now, please tell me one more time. This helicopter had the letter "R" on the side?" Merenwen had relayed the unusual story to the professor while he worked on the Eevee.
"Yes. Do you know who they were, Professor?" Merenwen asked. "I'd like to return the Eevee to them, if I can."
"I don't think you want to do that," Professor Birch frowned. "I'll have to check with Professor Oak on this, but I'm pretty sure that that "R" stood for Team Rocket, a gang of crooks operating in Kanto. I don't know what they think they're doing here in Hoenn, but it's bound to be bad news. And whatever they wanted this Eevee for probably wasn't good either." Professor Birch turned on his com-link and called Professor Oak while Merenwen absorbed this. The gray-haired Kanto professor's face appeared on screen.
"Good morning, Birch. To what do I owe the honor?"
"Nothing good, I'm afraid," the paunchy professor sighed. "Tell me, Professor Oak, do you know what the Team Rocket symbol looks like?"
"A fancy capital letter R. Why, have you been having trouble with them too?"
"Too? What do you mean too?" Birch asked, surprised. Merenwen listened attentively.
"They've been unusually active lately. I gather from Professor Elm that they've been appearing in Johto also. There's no word from Sinnoh, but it seems only a matter of time," the poetic professor looked grave as he imparted this news.
"Oh my, that is a problem," Birch said worriedly.
"If you get wind of their activities, do let me know."
"Of course," Birch replied as his colleague closed the link.
"So this Eevee was being experimented on by criminals?" Merenwen asked indignantly. Who would do something like that to an innocent Pokémon?
"I'm afraid so," Professor Birch said sadly. They both turned to look at the sleeping Eevee.
An idea occurred to Merenwen, one she had been secretly thinking about since she found the Eevee in the cage. "Professor Birch," she spoke up excitedly, "does this mean I can keep the Eevee? I mean, I did sort of find it, and there's no way we're giving it back to Team Rocket, right?"
"No, we certainly are not," the professor agreed. He continued to stare at the Pokémon, seeming to consider something. Finally he said, "I suppose there's no harm in letting you have it, but I'd like to keep it here for observation for a few days. Team Rocket may have done something to it."
"Okay," Merenwen agreed easily. Eevee would have to rest anyway, and it would be best for Professor Birch to make sure there was nothing wrong with it. Merenwen couldn't imagine what sort of horrible things criminals would do to a Pokémon, but she figured it wouldn't be nice. She hoped the Eevee was all right, not just because she wanted it but also because she didn't like to think of such an adorable Pokémon suffering.
Then she realized something. "Uh oh!" she exclaimed, causing Birch to look around. "If Eevee has to stay here, then I have to stay here too! I'd better go tell my mom. See you later professor! I'll come back to check on Eevee!" she shouted these last fews words as she dashed outside. What would her mom say to find her still at home?
As it turned out, her mom was surprised, but happy, to have her back. She listened with interest to her daughter's story of the helicopter, the Pokémon and the evil Team Rocket, and sympathized with Merenwen's hope that the Eevee would be okay. Then she set about fixing dinner as usual. "I certainly don't mind having to wait a while before my baby leaves me!" she fake-sniffed. Merenwen rolled her eyes, but was glad that her mom was so understanding. While her mom made dinner, Merenwen called her dad's travel phone and left an explanatory message. Then she headed to her room to do research on Team Rocket.
Her room had not changed. The walls were her favorite shade of deep blue, which her dad always joked clashed horribly with her bright red hair. All of her posters and drawings still adorned the walls, and her chair was tucked neatly under her desk. The bed was a lot better made than usual, and if one opened the drawers it would be immediately noticed that all Merenwen's clothes were gone, but altogether the room still felt like home. Since Merenwen was an only child and their house already came with an extra room, her mother and father had decided to leave her room the same. After all, said her mother, she would come back to visit sometimes; her father added that the drawings were much too pretty to be put in storage. Merenwen had always enjoyed drawing, and her walls were covered with depictions of Pokémon and far-away, mystical places. She was going to miss those drawings, but she had a brand-new sketchbook, a going-away present from her mom. As Merenwen sat down to turn on the computer, she thought about how she would miss it too, but Professor Birch had told her that her Pokédex and Pokénav would give her all the information she would need on her journey. Still, she would have liked to have brought a laptop or something, but she admitted that it would be far too cumbersome. She would have to make do with Pokémon Center resources if necessary, she supposed.
Despite being willing to wait for the Eevee, Merenwen was still impatient to start her journey. She had been looking forward to it for so long! As she typed in her search, she thought of possible names for the Eevee. She knew not everyone named their Pokémon, but she wanted to give hers individuality. And then she looked at the search results, and all thoughts of Pokémon names and computers flew out of her head.
There was an incredible number of results for Team Rocket! News articles from every sort of newspaper and magazine imaginable displayed Team Rocket's many crimes, with pictures of masked people stealing Pokémon and a few shots of abandoned labs. Team Rocket seemed to have been menacing the Kanto region for several years, and now, after the downfall of Teams Aqua and Magma in Hoenn (Merenwen dimly remembered news items about those two from her youth), they seemed to be moving on to this region as well. One editorial voiced the opinion that while Team Galactic still ruled in Sinnoh, Johto was fairly open to exploitation by both teams, and it was only a matter of time before Team Rocket became truly universal. Merenwen was horrified at some of the things Team Rocket was accused of doing; myriad schemes to kidnap important scientists and businessmen to take over the world, experiments to make Pokémon stronger through technology...all sorts of ruthless, megalomaniacal things. Merenwen shook her head and was glad that that Eevee had fallen out when it did; it could have been seriously injured or mutated had Team Rocket had their way. There were heartbreaking pictures of dead or deformed Pokémon left behind in abandoned laboratories. Merenwen thought how lucky the Eevee was to have escaped that fate, but wondered just how much Team Rocket had gotten the chance to do to it. It might have some condition that would cause it to meet a similar end anyway.
Merenwen shook her head. She refused to believe that the Eevee was hurt in any way. It would be fine. Professor Birch would take care of it, she assured herself. She was starting to worry as much as her mom!
"Merenwen! Dinner!" Speaking of whom...
"Coming!" she called back. Merenwen shut down her computer and went downstairs, thinking dark thoughts about Team Rocket. This Eevee may be fine, but what Team Rocket got up to was unforgivable. If Merenwen ever met one of them, she vowed, they would be in trouble.