Chapter Four: The 'King' and 'Queen' of Losing
It was strange, Jule thought, that Kris would come home and head straight to bed—and without dinner! It was just past ten o'clock when he came trudging in with Quilava, both looking completely exhausted. They didn't say anything to anyone but just went to bed.
Whatever training they were doing must be rough. Jule couldn't help but smile as she walked down the hall to Kris's room. The wafting smell of bacon, eggs and cinnamon toast mixing in the air. They didn't have any dinner, so she was sure they would want for a great breakfast.
Jule knocked on the bedroom door and announced cheerfully, "Kris, Quilava, breakfast is ready! Come get it while it's hot!"
There was no answer at the door. Jule knocked again but still no answer. Becoming irritated she grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open—only to see that there was no one inside. Jule looked around in disbelief. The bed was a mess, proving he had been there. Did he wake up early and leave already?
Jule stomped her foot in anger, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "Darn it, Kris!"
The sun was barely coming over the horizon. Celadon City looked like a black silhouette to the backdrop of red and pink clouds. A chill air nipped at her skin, but she shrugged—or rather shivered it off. Pikachu sat atop her head as he and Misty both waited for their pupil to show—if he would show this early.
"I don't know, Pikachu," she said rather glumly, "maybe he doesn't have the tenacity to be as tough as Ash, not if he can't get up at the crack of dawn."
"Chu…"
Misty looked down at the bag in her hands. It was full of breakfast sandwiches she had pick up from the convenience store before heading outside of the city. "I guess the promise of breakfast wasn't enough for him. I bet the wild Pidgey and Growlithe would enjoy it."
"There's no way I'm letting you give away breakfast to wild Pokemon."
Misty looked up, surprised to see a groggy trainer with wild hair and his Quilava coming up the path. Misty felt a sudden joy inside but did her best to keep it at bay. Kris looked like a Miltank had done Rollout all over him, and Quilava wasn't in much better shape.
Kris let out a big yawn, not even bothering to stifle it with his palm as he reached under his shirt to scratch his belly. "So what's the big deal, getting up so early?"
"This is how Ash trains," Misty explains. "He goes from the time the sun comes up until his body can't even move anymore."
"Big whoop. I'm not Ash, nor do I wanna be. I just wanna be stronger than him."
"He's a pro. Sometimes it's good to mimic the pros, and maybe develop your own ways." She tossed the bag she held at Kris who instinctively reached out to catch it but almost fumbled the breakfast. "Here. Let's eat, then we can get started."
The cat Pokemon sat in silence, contemplating the loss his group suffered the other day. It was weird—he had more men, and they brought even stronger Pokemon, yet he still lost to one of those twerps. How was a Meowth to keep his sanity with that kind of logic?
Without the gadgets, and his two buddies, it wasn't the same as it had been since leaving Team Rocket. Was it the right choice, he wondered? It's not like those nincompoops did any better.
Meowth sighed. He had to think of something to better his team, but once a failure always a failure it seemed.
"Boss, you have guests."
Meowth looked up. "Who could dat be? Send 'em in!"
Two figures walked into the dimly lit room. Meowth gaped. He couldn't believe his two cat eyes.
"It's been a while, Meowth," one, a male, said.
"Are you prepared for trouble?" the other one, a female, chimed in.
"Yous guys," Meowth said, a hint of emotion in his voice as his eyes teared up.
The two humans smiled with evil in their eyes. "It's been a long time," the woman said as she stepped into the dim lighting, revealing her long scarlet colored hair wearing an outfit from a local deli. "I can't believe how many years it's been since we disbanded in Sinnoh."
"But we've come back to repair that broken bond," the man said as he stepped forward as well, revealing his suave features and blue hair hanging passed his cheeks.
"Jessie, James," Meowth said slowly. "Why would yous two come back? A'ter all da horrible t'ings I said back den?"
James gave a throaty laugh. "We understand your frustration, Meowth."
"We were pretty upset with ourselves as well," Jessie added. "But those days of failure is over!" She and James both held up black Pokeballs with a red "R" on the front above the gray button. "Since then we've been saving our money to buy these little gems that will guarantee our victory."
Meowth stood, gaping at the Pokeballs. "Yous mean you have strong Pokemon?"
"The strongest," James assured.
An evil toothy grin crossed Meowth's cat lips then. "Den I know the perfect person to test them on." He began laughing maniacally, followed by both Jesse and James.
Kris huffed and wheezed as he tried his best to keep up with Misty, Pikachu, and Quilava ahead of him. When he had asked Misty to train him, he didn't expect to physically train, with jogging being just a "warm-up." What did she have planned after this?
Quilava dropped back and barked teasingly at his trainer. Kris glared at Quilava with evil eyes. He looked ahead to Misty and called out, "Hey! Can we … take a break?" He stopped and dropped to his knees. "My chest … might explode!"
Misty and Pikachu stopped, looking back at Kris. They were barely even winded. As Misty approached Kris she shook her head and said, "You're sure outta shape, aren't you?"
Kris tried to pick himself up, but his legs burned way too much. "Since when … does Pokemon training … involve … human training?"
"A battle is intense for the trainer as much as the Pokemon. It's good to train yourself as much as your Pokemon."
Finally Kris stood, his knees wobbly. "Who said that? Your boyfriend?"
Misty face turned red at the mention. "He's not my boyfriend. He's … just a friend." Quickly, to change the subject, Misty reached into her backpack and pulled out a couple water bottles. "Here," she said as she tossed one to Kris who accepted it with haste, popping the cap open and squirting a mouthful down his parched throat.
Kris wiped his mouth on the back of his hand before saying, "Let's take a break. My legs still hurt quite a bit."
Misty check her watch. "We haven't even been running very long, but I suppose we can take a breather and then maybe just do a brisk walk?"
"Sounds—" Kris cut off then. Something felt strange suddenly. He glanced to Quilava and Pikachu and noticed they had felt it as well.
"You okay?" Misty asked.
Kris remained silent. He and Quilava shared glances. Something big was coming, but what was it? The earth moved in a strange way, and the wind was shaky. Quilava's back arced and his teeth bared. Pikachu's ears perked.
Misty took noticed of the strangeness in the Pokemon as well. She stepped back to look at all of them in a single view. "Okay, you guys, what's going on? Quit being so creepy."
Quickly Kris grabbed Misty suddenly as he shouted, "Watch out!"
Just where Misty had stood the ground erupted and earth flew through the air. A massive horned Pokemon rose from the ground with a bellowing roar. Another stood beside it, its horn small and the color of its skin a light blue instead of a dark purple.
Misty, who had been thrown on the ground by Kris, now looked up and gaped in horror. "A Nidoking and Nidoqueen? What are they doing here?"
"I'm not sure," Kris said, "but they don't look friendly. Quilava, on guard!" Quilava barked, ready to fight with his plumes ablaze.
A loud cackle broke through the air. A chill crawled down Misty's spine as she recognized the voice. It couldn't be … them?
"Prepare for trouble!" a female voice called out.
"And make it double!" chimed in a deeper male voice.
Out of the smoke created by the gigantic Pokemon walked two adults, one with long red hair and the other with shoulder-length blue, both of them wearing black leather clothes, with a red "R" on their chests.
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite the peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jesse!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!" came Meowth as he flipped out of the whole and landed in front of the human duo.
Kris stared in disbelief. "Um, what was that?"
"They're Team Rocket," Misty said, "the trio that used to harass Ash and me during our travels. Hey," she called to the strange group, "I thought you guys broke up! What's the deal?"
"The gang is back together!" Jesse said.
"And stronger than ever!" James chimed in, motioning to the powerful Pokemon duo next to them.
"And this time we won't lose, twoips!" Meowth finished.
Kris cross his arms, studying Jesse and James. Something seemed awfully familiar about them, not to mention their entering theme. But what was it? Where had he seen them before? Finally it hit him though, and he snapped his fingers with a large grin on his face as he said, "I know where I've seen you before!"
The Team Rocket trio, along with Misty and the Pokemon, all looked at Kris with quizzical expressions. Misty, however, was the only one to ask, "You've seen them before?"
"Yeah," Kris said. "They work at a sandwich shop near where I live."
Jesse and James blushed, trying to hide their befuddled expressions. "That was, er—" Jesse stammered.
"Just temporary," James finished for her, "until we could finally afford these marvelous Pokemon here!" He motioned to Nidoking and Nidoqueen again.
"Right," Jesse said, recovering herself, "but we have always been members of Team Rocket!"
"That's great," Misty said, "but get to the chase already. Why are you here?"
"For dat twoip dere!" Meowth said as he pointed at Kris. "I ain't never seen no one take on my gang da way he did and make it out alive. For dat, we're gonna force him to join Team Rocket!"
"It's fun fighting in the arena," Kris said, shrugging, "but I'm not interested in joining organized crime. Tough luck."
"Good choice," Misty said. "So get lost, Team Rocket!"
Pikachu climbed up to Misty's shoulder and let out an angry cry of agreement with Misty, "Pika!
Team Rocket's eyes all glinted in the direction of Pikachu. A concerned look overtook Misty's stern expression.
"Is that—?" Jesse said.
"Could it be?" James chanted.
"That Pikachu?" Meowth squawked.
"Now's our chance!" James cried in a premature triumph. "Pikachu will be ours for the taking!"
"And easily capture without that other twerp to get in our way!" Jesse exclaimed jubilantly.
"Stop talking and order dose t'ings to attack already!" Meowth demanded.
"Nidoqueen, Hyper Beam!"
"You too, Nidoking!"
The two large Pokemon began charging an attack in their mouths. Misty, thinking quickly, called to Pikachu, "Quick, Iron Tail!"
Pikachu's tail turned a metallic hue as he leapt toward the monstrous Pokemon. Nidoking launched the beam first. Pikachu whipped his tail around and hit the beam sideways. It ricocheted and connected with Nidoqueen, stumbling the gigantic Pokemon and causing the other Hyper Beam to shoot off into the air. The electric mouse landed on the ground, huffing. His tail was singed from the attack.
"Don't get shown up, Quilava!" Kris called to his Pokemon. "Engulf them with Flamethrower!"
Quilava barked obediently and loosed a stream of fire toward the Nidoking and Nidoqueen. Both were recharging from the powerful attacks they used so couldn't protect themselves from Quilava's onslaught.
"Don't put up with that!" James said angrily. "Nidoking, use Thrash!"
Nidoking charged through the fire, catching Quilava off guard. A strong bash from Nidoking's massive fist sent Quilava flying through the air and skidding across the ground.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack and change it into Iron Tail!" Misty ordered. "Use the momentum to power up the attack!"
Pikachu darted across the dirt road from side to side. His tail glazed over metallic once again as he approached Nidoking. The large Pokemon, however, was ready with his continuous onslaught of Thrash. He punched out at Pikachu, connecting with the Iron Tail that shot a shockwave through the mouse's body, sending him flying backwards and landing next to Quilava.
"Man, they're strong," Kris remarked, gritting his teeth. "Come on, Quilava, get up! Try a Flame Charge!"
Quilava stood slowly. He glared at Nidoking who began to stagger. Kris could tell he was confused from using Thrash. As Quilava started with Flame Charge, Kris knew it would connected easily.
"Nidoqueen, Water Pulse!" Jesse demanded.
Nidoqueen stepped in front of Nidoking and let out a pulsating surge of water at Quilava. The blast hit him hard, destroying the fire surrounding him and drenching him as it slammed him into the ground.
"No good," Misty said. "And Pikachu can't use his electric attacks because they're ground types." She reached for a Pokeball in her backpack.
"Not so fast!" Meowth said as he swooped under Misty and snagged her backpack away. "You're not calling any ot'er Pokemon!"
"Give that back!" Kris called.
"Make me, twoip!" Meowth said, sticking his tongue out.
"Quilava, get up! It's time to put these guys in their places!"
Quilava struggled to rise, having taken a big hit from the Water Pulse, but still firing up, quite literally, to continue battling. "Blind 'em with Smokescreen!" The fire Pokemon released a burst of smoke that covered the battlefield. "Now use Flamethrower!"
"Ice Beam!" Jesse commanded Nidoqueen.
"And Dragon Pulse, Nidoking!" James ordered.
Kris and Misty watched in horror as the two attacks burst through the smoke, dispersing it on the ground level. Quilava was nowhere to be seen. Misty looked to Kris with a questioning look, and he only smiled. He pointed to the sky, causing Misty and all of Team Rocket to look skyward. "Unleash it now!"
The smoke in the air dispersed now as a stream of fire shot down at the Nido-duo. Both embraced for the attack as it hit and they were both engulfed in flames that danced around them. Jesse, James, and Meowth watched in horror.
Quilava's flames stopped and he fell to the ground, landing gently. He and his trainer, with Misty who was now at Pikachu's side to see if he was okay, watched the fires continue to roar. To everyone's horror, Nidodking rushed out of the fire and hit Quilava with a hard Take Down.
"Quilava!" Kris cried in worry.
"Nidoqueen," Jesse said, "use Ice Beam on Pikachu! Freeze it so it won't be any trouble."
Nidoqueen obeyed as she shot the icy ray toward Misty and Pikachu. Fear crossed Misty's face as the beam came closer. To her surprise, Kris rushed in front of the beam, blocking it with his back. Ice wrapped around his shoulders and a chill went down his spine.
"Kris," Misty said softly, awestruck that he put himself in danger to protect her.
Kris dropped to his knees, shivering uncontrollably. "I-I'm ok-k-k-kay." He looked to Pikachu as he continued, "I n-n-need you t-t-t-to listen to me P-P-Pikachu." Pikachu lifted his head, waiting for what Kris had to say.
"Give it up!" Jesse said. "You won't be able to last against our unstoppable Pokemon!"
"That's right!" James agreed. "We're the 'king' and 'queen' in this fight!"
Kris stood and turned slowly to Team Rocket. "I-I-I can beat y-y-you, j-just wait. I-I-I-I w-won't lose to anyone! Quilava, F-F-F-Flame Char-r-ge!" Quilava, recovering from the Take Down, stood and lit up his plumes. He rushed straight for Nidoking and Nidoqueen. "Now, P-Pikachu, V-V-V-Volt T-Tackle!"
Pikachu obliged, much to Team Rocket's dismay. He rushed alongside Quilava with electricity circling him while fire circled the fire Pokemon. Their attacks formed together, turning the fire to a hot blue. Team Rocket looked on in dismay at the combined attack. The Pokemon together hit Team Rocket's Pokemon, sending them straight into their own trainers.
Kris, finally starting to warm up, raised a finger toward Team Rocket. "Use Thunderbolt and Flamethrower together!" He pointed toward the sky then. "Send them rocketing into the atmosphere!"
Pikachu and Quilava let out cries of their names as they unleashed their signature attacks. The flames and sparks circled them rapidly until the combination erupted, sending the trio and their Pokemon soaring through the air.
Meowth sighed to his teammates as they flew through the air. "If dere's anyone I love blasting off wit', it's yous guys."
"I've really missed this," James balled into his sleeve.
"I guess the old routine isn't so bad," Jesse said. "How about for old time's sake?" Her friends nodded as they all shouted together, "Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
Looking on after the crime team, Kris raised a brow. Finally he looked to Misty behind him who still sat on the ground, flabbergasted. "Are you okay?" he asked. Misty quickly nodded and stood.
"That was, um, amazing," Misty said. "You controlled Pikachu so well. He must trust you a lot if he was willing to listen to you in battle."
Kris looked to Pikachu and Quilava who were both checking over each other's wounds. "I think he wanted to work alongside Quilava. They're an awesome duo." Kris then spotted Misty's backpack on the ground where Meowth had been standing. He walked over to it and picked it up, returning it to Misty. "Here you go."
"Thank you," Misty said as she blushed.
The two stood in silence for a moment. Finally Kris broke by saying quickly, "So I think we've had our exercise for the day. How about we head back to the city and grab a bite to eat?"
Misty smiled warmly. "Sounds great!"
