Elsa approached the radio tower around 4:00 that afternoon. Her mission didn't start until "later", but she needed to get to start getting a layout of the tower for the Duke. Upon entering, she came across two men having an argument of sorts.
"Naveen, this is not up for discussion. You're going to have a lovely dinner with your wife on the anniversary of her restaurant opening. Because you and I both know that siccing Louis on you is only the third worst thing she can do to you."
Elsa immediately recognized both men. The darker man, Naveen, owned the radio station. She had never been introduced to the man, but she had seen him quite a few times at Tiana's Palace, the most famous restaurant in Johto. He had the great fortune of being married to Tiana, who Elsa knew quite well. The other man could present a serious problem for her mission. The bald and bearded young man with the Honchkrow on his shoulder was none other than Ethan, a multi-certified Pokemon league champion.
Elsa and Ethan had faced off in the semifinals of that ill-fated Kanto tournament. He had never lost a single battle in his professional battling career until that day, and he did not take the loss well. Immediately after his loss he left Kanto in a rage, and reportedly punched out a security guard on his way out. He had completely vanished from public eye after that.
"Are you sure? You're not gonna get overwhelmed?" Naveen asked as Ethan began to push him towards the door.
"Naveen, I practically run the place when I'm here on Saturdays. I'm a two time League champion. I'm gonna be just fine. Go spend some time with your wife."
Naveen seemed to relent at last and began to walk in the direction of the front door.
"I'm sending Peckinpah to pick up my supper. If Tiana doesn't sign off stating they you're present and enjoying a nice dinner with her, I'm sending Brutus after you!" The champion called after him. His Honchkrow cawed, confirming the playful threat.
As he turned to return to work, Ethan paused. He seemed to lock onto Elsa, staring and tilting his head, as if trying to place if he had seen her before. After a tense moment, the champion shrugged and ascended the stairwell.
Elsa froze for a moment after seeing Ethan. She didn't think he would be out of his self-imposed exile. Though she had heard that some woman miraculously brought him out of hiding. Having someone who could recognize her hanging around could end very badly for her. But for now, she had to focus on meeting her new 'agent'.
After arriving in Goldenrod, Elsa had frequented Tiana's Palace. The best part about the restaurant was that it wasn't crazy expensive like most high end places, but it had the best food in all of Johto. Of course, you had to be considered "stylish" in order to enter. Apparently, that was the standard policy for high end restaurants across the globe. Thankfully for Elsa, once she was seen on the arm of Señor Senior Junior she was allowed admittance. The kid loved pop music and pop stars, so it just so happened to work perfectly.
After getting in a few times, she let slip that she would sing in local restaurants and bars back in the Sinnoh region. After that, Junior had insisted she sing with Louis… the trumpet playing Feraligatr. The two strug up a pretty jazzy tune that had all eyes on them. After a few more, at the insistence of the audience, Elsa stepped down and hid away from the crowd. Not long into her 'date' with Junior, Elsa was approached by a woman who promised to make her into a pop star. And so, "Lizette" was born!
The week after, Elsa had to return to the radio station to meet her new agent. Truthfully, she was a little nervous about the attention she was getting and hoped that no one would recognize her.
"Ah! Lizette! You're early my dear." Her agent, Cruella said, extending her hand to her.
"Well, ma'am, to be early is to be on time." Elsa explained, putting on a bit of an accent. "That's what my ma and pa taught me." She had said she lived in Sinnoh, so now she had to act it.
"And a good saying that is! Come. We have a lot of work before we can turn Lizette and her pet Banette into the pop idols of the century."
Yay… Elsa thought sarcastically as she followed Cruella up the steps of the radio tower.
When Anna and Kristoff stumbled out of Union Cave, it was mid afternoon and the rain was pouring down on them.
"Ugh!" Anna groaned out, "It's almost as bad as that cave!" Joan seemed perfectly content in the rain, as did Sven, but neither trainer seemed to be thrilled.
"Well that way it to Azalea Town, and it looks like the rain is letting up more down the road that way." Kristoff said while glancing down at his map. "I bet we can get there in the next ten minutes or so!"
"Well let's run!"
And run they did. Like Kristoff had predicted, the rain let up the further away the got from the cave. As they walked down the path and approached Azalea Town, they stumbled across some kind of a situation. A tall man in black stood, blocking entrance to the town's well. He appeared to have some kind of argument with an old man. The man in black began to shout about the well being closed and pushed the old man back towards town.
"There's something suspicious about that guy." Kristoff said as they watched the old man hurry back to town.
"Oh good, glad I'm not the only one who noticed." Anna mumbled out.
As the two drew closer, Anna noticed the bright red 'R' emblazoned across the shirt of the man in black. Team Rocket. Anger gripped Anna something fierce, after all, Team Rocket was the reason that Elsa had been gone. If Team Rocket wasn't at the Pokemon League, Elsa would have come home!
"Calm down…" Kristoff muttered in her ear. "We don't need to draw attention to ourselves."
"They're the reason Elsa is gone." Anna growled. "We should take them down."
"We don't know that." Kristoff replied, trying to drag her away from the man. He seemed to be guarding something and he was staring at the trainers with mild curiosity. "Maybe Elsa is off with Hans and-"
"And what?" Anna growled. She glared at the Team Rocket member once more but then let herself get pulled away.
"C'mon." Kristoff muttered, roughly dragging her away. "For all we know, they are off like that one fancy singer with the ghost pokemon."
"You mean Ethan?" Anna asked looking up at Kristoff.
"Just a guess. Remember, he left after Elsa beat him at the Pokemon League, and no one heard a word about him for two years. After the chaos that happened there, I wouldn't be surprised if Elsa was hiding atop some mountain and surrounding herself with ice pokemon." Kristoff explained simply. "Having a few of your pokemon die on you must be traumatic. I'd probably want to be away from people too."
"It's still Team Rocket's fault." Anna decided, still upset that she hasn't heard from her sister.
"Yeah, alright." Kristoff replied. "Let's hit the Pokemon Center. I bet everyone could use a break after that cave."
"Yeah, let's go."
Team Rocket didn't hide around the city. Men and women with bright red Rs on their chests, walked around the small town as if they owned it. It created a somewhat uneasy atmosphere as Anna and Kristoff made their way to the Pokemon Center.
"I can't believe so many people are broadcasting that they support this bunch of thugs." Anna growled as the two ducked into the Pokemon Center. It seemed to be the only place without Rockets… so far.
"I think the Rockets have taken a greater hold than people realize… We should not mess with these guys. Just hit the gym and get out."
"Gym's closed." A voice said, drawing the pair's attention. "The Rockets have it shut down."
"What?" Anna asked, looking over at the eavesdropper.
She had red hair like Anna and dressed in green cargo pants and a black longsleeve. "Name's Kim. I heard the Rockets we're getting up to trouble here and the police can't go investigate without a warrant."
"So what do you do?" Kristoff asked.
"Oh, this and that. Things and stuff." Kim said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I was about to head off to see Maurice. He knows everything that's happening in the town. Figured he would know what exactly is going on in the Slowpoke Well."
"Slowpoke Well? Is that what that Rocket is guarding?" Anna asked her, now interested.
"Yup. Couldn't tell you why though. Got a lot of rumors flyin' around but we can't make heads or tails of them." Kim admitted.
"We?" Kristoff asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Wait? Tails? Slowpoke Well?" Anna whispered. She then turned to Kristoff and gripped his shirt. "Kris! They're the ones cutting off Slowpoke Tails for people to eat!"
"They're cutting off Slowpoke Tails!?" Kim exclaimed.
"Kristoff, remember that shady guy, by the Pokemon Center on the other side the cave? He was trying to sell Slowpoke Tails! This must be where they get them from!" Anna exclaimed. She then turned to Kim. "We had a guy try to sell us one before we hit the cave like two days ago. It was crazy expensive!"
"He asked for a ridiculous amount. Like, ten thousand bucks or something. Like we even have that much to begin with…"
"Well they are a delicacy some places, but that is extreme…" Kim mumbled. She pulled out her PokeGear and started typing away furiously. "But I definitely need to tell Maurice about this. Feel free to come find me at his house." With that, the mysterious redhead was gone.
"Well? Let's go!" Anna said, heading back toward the door.
"Hold up." Kristoff told her, grabbing her by her collar. "We need to let everyone rest for a bit. We just got out of that cave. Give it a few hours rest for everyone and then we go find this Maurice."
"Fine…" Anna pouted, turning back towards the front desk of the Pokemon Center. "But afterward, we kick some Rocket ass."
"Whatever you say." Kristoff rolled his eyes.
"Well, let's give them a lesson in pain!" An old man shouted as Anna and Kristoff entered Maurice's house.
"Who are we beating up?" Anna asked.
"Ah there you two are! Just told Maurice what you put together. He's agreed that it's time we take some action. Hope you two are ready for a fight, because the Rockets have one coming for them." Kim was sitting at the table with her Pokegear out. She was typing off a quick message to someone.
"Well let's go kick some ass!" Anna exclaimed, eager to beat up the people who took her sister from her.
"Uh, sorry to be a bit of a downer but you do realize that it's almost night time." Kristoff said to the group. "Anna, you and I have been traveling for the last week to get here. I vote we take care of Rockets tomorrow."
As much as they all wanted to go and take out the Rockets that day, Kristoff made a very good point. So that night, the trainers got caught up on sleep and ate a large breakfast in preparation for their attack.
"Alright everyone, let's go save some Slowpoke!" Kim told the group once they assembled in Maurice's house that morning.
"Hang on Slowpoke! Maurice is comin' for ya!" The older man shouted while running out of his home.
"Papa!" A younger brunette shouted after him. The man didn't seem to hear her though.
"Don't worry, Belle, I'll make sure he's alright." Kim promised. "Come on you two. We're saving some Slowpoke."
"Yeah!" Anna shouted. Beside her, Joan chirped in agreement.
The trio swiftly made their way through the town. When they reached the well, they found that neither Maurice nor the rocket guarding the Well's entrance were anywhere to be seen.
"C'mon… They must be inside already." Kim said, racing down to the well. The entrance was quite wide. A human could easily slip inside. There was even a rather sturdy ladder to help someone get into it. "Don't follow until I say so. It may not be safe."
"I get the feeling that she is one of those people who does things on her own a lot." Kristoff mumbled as Kim slipped down the well. He called out a Pokeball and held it up to Sven. "Alright buddy, in you go for now." The Pokemon looked at him sadly, but obeyed him. In a red flash, Sven was safely tucked inside his pokeball.
Anna did the same with Joan, though she didn't quite like it. "She's probably been adventuring longer than the both of us combined."
"That's not very hard…" Kristoff pointed out.
"All clear!" Kim called up.
The two hurried down the well to find Maurice and Kim standing by him. he was laying on his back in a small puddle, groaning.
"I found him like this." Kim told the two quietly. "If you two can stay with him, I'll take care of these thugs."
"No way. I came here to kick some Rocket butt! After what they did to Elsa, I plan to kick their ass all the way back to Kanto!" Anna replied hotly. "So that's what I'm going to do!"
"I can stay with him." Kristoff offered, hoping to diffuse the argument before it started.
Kim looked at the two, then to the PokeGear in her hand. Then back to Anna. "Fine… but keep quiet and let me take care of this."
"I can help!" Anna insisted as the two walked away.
"Then help by watching my back." Kim whispered. "I don't need to get Elsa Silverbell's sister hurt in the crossfire."
"You know Elsa?" Anna asked quietly.
"Everyone knew Elsa." Kim replied as quietly as she could. She peered around a few boulders, making sure that it was all clear before continuing. "I fought her in the Johto League. First loss I ever had. It was a damn good battle." Kim smiled as if she was remembering the fight itself. "Ah well, come on. They're bound to be around here."
Like Kim predicted, the two encountered the Rockets within minutes. Two of them at the same time.
"I got the one on the left and you take the right?" Kim asked.
Anna nodded and threw herself into battle. It was finally time to kick some Rocket butt.
"Let's go Joan!" The Leafeon was released from it's pokeball, only to land in the mud. The Pokemon looked up at it's trainer only to glare at her. "What?" Anna asked her, but she received another glare in response. "It's not my fault that we're in a well, Joan. There's mud everywhere."
The Rocket threw his Pokeball, and a Rattata emerged. What was it with team Rocket and Rattata? It's like it was team policy for every grunt to carry a Rattata, Zubat, or something. Either way, the battle was on.
"Use quick attack! Don't give them a chance to start!" The grunt ordered his Rattata, who charged into Joan.
The hit landed but didn't seem to do very significant damage to Joan. She glared at the rat pokemon and smacked it with the back of her paw.
"Joan," Anna sighed, "Use bite."
The Leafeon caught the rat pokemon in it's jaws tightly and shook it about. When she released it was sent flying into a boulder.
"Get up!" The rocket shouted at his Rattata. The Pokemon struggled, but managed to get back on its feet. However, it looked very weak. "Another quick attack, come on!"
"Alright, Joan! Use quick attack back!" Anna could have sworn she saw the pokemon smirk before charging. The Grass type moved in a blink of an eye and soon the Rattata was knocked out and down for the count.
"Got anything else left for us?" Anna asked with a confident smirk.
"Zubat!" The grunt called out his second pokemon. Of course it was a Zubat.
"Let's get through this one quick, Joan." Anna said, glaring the Rocket down. "Quick attack, then bite!"
Joan charged towards a larger rock and used it as a stepping stone to leap into the air and at the Zubat. The Leafeon caught the flying type in its mouth and shook it around, throwing it into the same bolder it had tossed the Rattata into moments ago. Unlike the Rattata, the Zubat was not able to rejoin the battle.
Anna looked around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kim. The other redhead had long since defeated her foe, and was moving in on the man in charge of the operation. However, before Anna could rush in to join the fight, two more Rocket grunts came rushing towards her. One of them had a noticeable limp. Upon closer inspection, Anna realized that this was the grunt who had been guarding the well's entrance.
"Hey! Two on one isn't fair!" Anna protested.
"Since when were Rockets about fighting fairly?" The healthier one snapped back as he called out his Koffing. The injured grunt called forth an Ekans.
"Anna, take out those guys! I've got this one!" Kim shouted, already calling out her Pokemon.
From Anna's position, she couldn't see who Kim's opponent was, but she had more things to worry about. She had some Rocket asses to kick.
"Looks like it's time to bring out Arthur." Anna mumbled to herself, calling forth the Growlithe to help even the odds.
"Koffing, blow out a smokescreen!" The left grunt called out to his Pokemon, who began to pump out a thick smoke from its pores.
"Joan, tackle that Koffing!" Anna shouted to her Leafeon.
"Not a chance! Ekans, wrap it up!" The right grunt commanded. The snake Pokemon rushed to intercept the Leafeon, catching it in its coils before it could reach the Koffing.
"Arthur, go help Joan! Bite the Ekans!" The Growlithe rushed to assist his companion, following the sounds of struggle to locate the entangled opponents. Chomping down on the Ekans, the snake released its grip immediately, but swung around to strike Arthur with a venomous bite of its own.
Anna grinned at Arthur. "Arthur! Let's see if that Ekans can take the heat! Ember!" She shouted at her Pokemon.
Arthur had yelped in pain from the bite, but obeyed and let a stream of fire burst through his mouth. It was aimed right at the snake pokemon's face. The flames burned the Pokemon and it reared back in pain.
"Arthur! Tackle it to the ground! Joan! Go for the Koffing!" Anna barked out. The smokescreen from Koffing was filling the well, causing Anna's eyes and lungs to burn. She had to take it out!
"Not so fast!" The grunt growled! "We're out of here twerp! Koffing! Use your self destruct!"
"What!?" Anna shouted. But before she could react, the Koffing self destructed, knocking her back against the cold muddy ground.
All she could hear was a ringing sound. It reminded her of a time when she put a pot on her head and Kristoff started banging on it with wooden spoons… But way worse.
"This isn't the last of us! Team Rocket is back to finish what Rourke started!" A man's voice hollered out. It seemed a little familiar to Anna but she couldn't place it.
"Anna! Anna!" Kim called out to her.
The young trainer blinked a few times before she managed to see Kim's red mane. "Kim, they- they-"
"I know. They got away." Kim said, trying to help her up. "But we saved the Slowpoke, so it wasn't a failure." The older trainer grabbed Anna's arm and slung it over her shoulder. "Cmon. Let's go. Call your Pokemon back. We need to tell Azalea Town about our success. Maybe tomorrow you can take on Flik."
"Yeah…" Anna mumbled, still thinking about that man's vaguely familiar voice.
"And that's how it's done, Kristoff!" Anna proclaimed triumphantly, showing off her second badge. Flik's gym was pretty easy with Arthur on her side. After resting up, Anna had returned to Union Cave to catch a few more Pokemon. Her newest addition, a Sandshrew she named Mole, was able to see his first gym battle after a few days of training.
"Alright there Feisty Pants. Let's see how Maurice is coming along with my Pokeballs." Maurice, with the help from his daughter Belle, created special pokeballs from Apricorns. Kristoff had been collecting as many as he could on his way up to Azalea Town because of him. He typically helped trainers, for a modest fee; but after helping out with the Slowpoke, Kristoff and Anna got free specialty pokeballs from him.
"Ah! There you two are!" The elderly inventor said as the two walked through the door. "Excellent! I have your orders ready to go!" The two were then presented with a set of Quick Balls.
"Thanks Maurice!" They both chimed, eagerly inspecting them. They were quite impressed. Maurice's work was incredible. It was no wonder that trainers all over Johto swore by his handiwork.
"Feel free to come back anytime!"
"Are you two leaving town today?" Belle asked from the kitchen.
Anna looked down at her watch. She had gotten to Flik's gym as early as possible to battle him. It was still relatively early in the day, so it made sense to get going. They had already been in Azalea Town for five days and she was eager to see Goldenrod City
"Probably, the Ilex Forest is pretty big and easy to get lost in." Anna said with a shrug. "So the sooner we get there, the sooner we get to Kris' family's place."
From behind her, Kristoff groaned. Ever since they left Violet City, Bulda had been calling him at least once a day asking where they were. At this point he had started sending her messages about where they were so she would leave him alone.
"Well the take this!" She brought out a large basket of food for the two trainers. "I remember what it was like, being on the road all the time! Having a nice meal only happened in big cities!" Belle laughed as if she was remembering something. "Think of it as a thank you from me! I'm so happy that you saved the Slowpoke!"
"Aw thanks Belle!" The two tucked the food in their backpacks and then bid farewell to the two natives before taking off to the Ilex Forest.
Kim. Kristoff and Anna headed to Ilex. Belle.
Soon enough she got her reply. Roger. Thanks for your help earlier. Your orders still stand.
Understood. Good luck. Send my best to everyone.
Roger.
"...Should've been back hours ago! Ohhhh man, I'm going to be in trouble!"
As the pair entered Ilex Forest, they could see a boy having some sort of a fit. Accompanying the boy was an older figure, well-dressed with a top hat.
"I warned you, Pinocchio. I told you that you shouldn't goof around on the job, especially with Geppetto's Farfetch'd being as jumpy as they are." He said sternly.
"Hey! You two!" The boy shouted over to the pair as they approached. "Hey, can you help me?"
"What's up?" Anna asked nonchalantly.
"I was watching my father's Farfetch'd, but they got away on me! I asked Gaston to help, but he said he had to handle something at the well, and it's been hours! Please, I'll be in so much trouble if we lose those Farfetch'd!"
"Sure, we could spare some time." Kristoff said. "Where'd they run off?"
"That way!" Pinocchio pointed down a pathway.
"Geppetto's Farfetch'd are rather timid and sensitive, with very good hearing. One of you must distract them, and then the other must sneak up from behind it and grab it." The old man with the top hat advised.
"Sounds easy enough." Anna shrugged. "We'll be back in no time!"
And so they vanished into the forest.
After what seemed to be a half an hour or so, a rustling of the underbrush alerted the two. Kristoff broke away from Anna, hoping that it was the Farfetch'd. He crept through the underbrush as quietly as her could. Then he saw a flash of red and pounced!
"Got ya!" Kristoff shouted as he grabbed the figure.
"Ah!" The figure shouted back. It whirled around to hit him and the taller man shoved into a tree.
"Ouch!" When Kristoff finally looked at what he pounced on, he flushed. "Oh, sorry Kim. I thought you were a Farfetch'd."
"What are you doing out here?" Anna asked as she helped Kristoff up.
"Oh, you know… this and that. Things and stuff." Kim shrugged. "You guys are headed to Goldenrod City, right?"
"Yeah! Well, kinda." Anna said. "We're helping some kid find his dad's Farfetch'd."
"Pinocchio?" Kim sighed.
"Yeah, that's what the old guy said, wasn't it?" Kristoff asked. "You know him?"
"Yeah. Both of them. The old guy had a top hat, right?" Kim asked, to which Anna and Kristoff nodded. "That would be Jiminy. He used to be the gym leader until… I don't know but it wasn't that long ago. He chose Flik to replace him when he retired. He's good friends with Geppetto, Pinocchio's dad. And he was kind of like a mentor to me, when I was here."
"Sounds like a great guy." Anna commented.
"He is. So, the Farfetch'd are loose? I can help you round them up, no problem. Help you get back to your little adventure a little quicker." Kim stretched a little.
"Sure. We'd love the help." Kristoff shrugged.
And that's how the three trainers spent two hours chasing various pokemon around a forest. The end finally came when Anna jumped on the last Farfetch'd and successfully captured it in a bag.
"Haha!" Anna shouted victoriously. "I win!"
"I didn't know this was a competition." Kim said with a small grin. "If it was, I would've won."
"I think it's a tie between me and Anna. After all, we caught them." Kristoff replied holding up another bag with the other Farfetch'd. "But let's get back to the others. That way we can get moving. With any luck, we can get to the Day-Care by tomorrow afternoon."
"I'm all about that life!"
The trio began a brief trek back towards Azalea Town, where Pinocchio and Jiminy still waited. This time, joined by an older man Anna could only assume was Geppetto.
"See! I told you they'd find them!" Pinocchio spoke loudly, though relieved as he pointed at Anna and Kristoff.
"Kim? It's been awhile. What have you been up to?" Jiminy asked as his young friend approached. "Let me guess…"
"Things and stuff." The entire group said simultaneously.
"Do I say it that often?" Kim asked sheepishly.
"Yes." Anna and Kristoff said in tandem as they passed the bird Pokemon over to their rightful owner.
"I guess I'm pretty predictable then…" She said with a sheepish grin. Her Pokegear chimed and Kim quickly looked at the message. "Well, looks like I gotta run. Got some business popping up." She said with a light blush on her face.
"Have fun!" Anna called out while she watched Kim run off.
"Here. Accept this gift for helping retrieve my Farfetch'd." Geppetto said, handing over a disc.
"HM 01. Cut." Kristoff identified the item as it passed from the old man's hands to Anna's. "I bet your Sandshrew could learn that."
"Thank you, Geppetto!" Anna said as she tucked the HM away for the time being. This was the second HM that they had received. They proved to be quite useful.
"Good luck on your journey. Please swing by again sometime." Jiminy said, with a tip of his hat.
"Thanks!" Kristoff called off before the pair headed on their way through the woods.
The two walked through the underbrush of the forest. They could hear bug Pokemon skittering around their feet, but the duo seemed more focused in getting through the forest. They had the occasional random encounter with a wild Pokemon, but they either hurried on their way, or achieved a quick and effortless victory.
Eventually they arrived at a small shrine in the middle of the forest. Surrounding the shrine were small offerings and flowers left by various travellers. Pokemon food had even been left, but none of the wild pokemon had touched it.
"Whoa Kris, look at this!" Anna said after her Sandshrew, Mole, had cut down a few trees blocking their path. "What do you reckon it is?"
Kristoff quickly ran up to the structure and then started walking around it. "I couldn't tell you." He answered after one turn. "I guess it's a shrine to the forest protector."
"What makes you say that?" Anna asked him.
"Because that's what is says right there." He replied, pointing to a metal plaque nailed to the shrine. This shrine is dedicated to the Protector of the Ilex Forest.
"Oh." Anna said. "Let's take a selfie!"
"Hell yeah!" And so the two trainers stood in front of the shrine and grinned. Joan jumped up and placed her front Paws on Anna's head. Sven slipped his massive head between Anna's and Kristoff's and then Anna snapped the picture with her PokeGear.
"Awesome. Send that to me!" Kristoff said as they admired the picture.
"HEY!"
The random shout drew the duo's attention away from their picture and towards a pair of men headed their way. One looked like quite the meathead, absurdly muscular and fairly good-looking. Probably self-absorbed. The other was short and pudgy with a big nose. He trailed behind the bigger man like a Remoraid to a Mantine.
"I wanna talk to you two!" The larger man said.
"Yeah! He wants to talk to you two!" The pudgy man repeated.
Anna and Kristoff both shared a look of confusion. "Can we help you?" Anna finally asked them.
"Imagine the scene…" The pudgy man said overdramatically. "The great Gaston, local hero of Azalea Town, returns from business in Goldenrod to discover that Team Rocket has returned to muck with his hometown! As fast as he can, he rushes to the Slowpoke Well… only to discover that somebody has somehow cleared out the Rockets! And then he hears that Geppetto's Farfetch'd are loose! So Gaston rushes off, tirelessly searching the entirety of Ilex Forest… only to find that somebody has already caught both of them, rendering his hard work completely pointless!"
Anna and Kristoff both looked at each other. "Well you're welcome I guess. Now you can go take a rest or something."
"Yeah, go enjoy your nap or whatever." Kristoff added, trying to get a move on. With all the delays that he and Anna had, they wouldn't be making it to the Day-Care until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.
"Now hold on there!" The pudgy man shouted as the duo tried to turn away. "No one steals Gaston's thunder!"
"I can speak for myself, LeFou." Gaston interrupted, stepping forward. "You must think you're some big shot, coming in while I'm away and trying to take my place in this town."
"Dude. We were just trying to get a Gym battle. Kim did mostly everything." Anna replied in a clipped tone. This guy was starting to annoy her.
"...Who's Kim?" LeFou asked.
"One of Belle's 'friends', I think." Gaston muttered over to the smaller man. He then turned back to Anna and Kristoff. "That's not the point! The point is I'm challenging you to a battle, right now! You're gonna pay for making me waste my time, running around this forest and the Slowpoke Well!"
"No one can win a battle like Gaston!" LeFou shouted, like some kind of cheerleader.
"Uh…?" Anna looked over to Kristoff, but he instantly took a step back.
"Aw hell no, Feisty Pants, you can take care of this one." He told her while shaking his head. Even Sven shook his head.
As if to show how serious he was, Gaston unleashed a male Nidoran from a Pokeball.
"Scared to face Gaston? Of course you are!" LeFou taunted.
Anna groaned. Why did this have to happen to them? "Whatever fine." She mumbled out. She withdrew a Pokeball from her pack and sent it flying. "Bring it, Mole!" Anna told the Sandshrew. At least Mole would stand a decent chance against a Nidoran, being a ground type.
"Hurry up and kick his ass so we can go." Kristoff said in his best sarcastic cheerleader voice that he could manage.
"Alright, Mole! Let's start this off." Anna growled. Before she could call out a move, Gaston shouted.
"Horn attack!" Gaston ordered. The Nidoran charged forward, charging into the Sandshrew to strike with all it's might.
"Mole! Defense Curl!" Anna shouted. The pokemon rolled up into a little armored ball. The Nidoran's attack hit, but thanks to the tough body plating on Mole, it mostly was brushed off to the side. Mole did roll away a little bit from the impact.
"Don't let up!" Gaston shouted orders as Nidoran turned for a second charge. Once again, it barely caused visible damage, and Mole rolled around the battlefield from the impact like a ball in a pinball game.
"Mole! Use Magnitude!" Anna called out with a grin on her face. The Sandshrew bounced a little off the ground and came back down hard, causing the area to shake a little and rocks to burst up from the ground. Unfortunately for Gaston's Nidoran, one rock burst up from directly underneath it. In a series of unfortunate events, the Nidoran landed on a clear spot from which another rock burst up, sending it flying for a second time.
"Get back up and use poison sting!" Gaston called to his weakened Nidoran.
"...But isn't that ineffective?" LeFou asked on the sidelines.
"Yes. But it may poison the little runt anyway." Gaston sighed.
"Wow! No one knows battle strategy like Gaston!" LeFou cheered. Gaston slapped a palm to his face as his Nidoran fired spines towards the Sandshrew.
Much to Gaston's displeasure, Mole was not poisoned. Anna had the pokemon quickly retaliate with Rollout, sending his Nidoran flying back into one of the jagged stones, effectively knocking it out.
"What else you got, loser?" Anna taunted the man from her position.
"Machop, let's go!" Gaston growled, sending out his next pokemon.
"Anna stop toying with him." Kris moaned, now leaning against the forest shrine. "Hurry up."
"Machop! Handle that rat!" Gaston called out.
"I… I think it's a-" LeFou started before a heavy fist descended upon the top of his head.
Machop charged for the Sandshrew, scooping the rolling Pokemon up as it charged towards him. With a little grin on it's face, it dribbled his opponent around like a basketball before slamming it back into the ground at Anna's feet. It then flexed before her with a wink.
"Mole!" The pokemon did it's best to stand, but even Anna knew that it was hopeless. He was far too weak to go on much longer. "Oh fine. Come on back." She quickly traded out pokemon and soon Arthur was in the game.
The Growlithe gave an intimidating bark to the Machop and then bared it's teeth. The Machop put up it's fists, ready to fight.
"Tackle it down!" Gaston called. Machop rushed forward, but Arthur jumped out of the way, causing Machop to fall face-first into a mud puddle. Enraged and embarrassed, Machop blindly struck at Arthur's general location, not connecting with a single hit.
"Arthur! Ember!" The pokemon nodded and let forth a stream of fire. With Machop's face still being covered in mud, it barely saw the flames coming and could not get out of the way in time.
"Walk it off, and get back to it!" Gaston ordered as he pulled open a satched.
"Gaston, it looks like he's got a nasty burn!" LeFou pointed at the weakened Machop.
"Well, he'll just have to wait until I figure out which berry helps burns!" Gaston shouted in LeFou's face as he carefully examined each of the berries.
"While he's doing that, Bite that burn!" Anna called out with a grin. She was totally going to win this. How this guy is the 'great local hero' or whatever of Azalea Town was beyond her. Did anyone even like him?
Arthur latched onto Machop's shoulder and spun around, tossing the Machop towards Gaston.
"Found it!" Gaston announced as the fainted Machop landed at his feet. Looking up, he could see Arthur offer a playful bark as he wagged his tail.
"Alright, that's it!" Gaston roared as he unleashed a third and final Pokemon: a Tauros.
"Oh shit." Anna mumbled, eyes widening at the massive pokemon. Where the fuck did this guy get a Tauros? "Arthur! Ember, quick!"
The puppy pokemon leaped back and let out a second stream of fire. This one more powerful than the last. The Tauros ignored the fire completely, running through it to ram the Growlithe with a powerful headbutt.
"Don't let up! Ramming speed!" Gaston called as his Tauros furiously snorted and prepared for another charge.
"Oh yeah?" Anna shouted, "Bite it's legs Arthur!"
Arthur tried to time it, and managed to dodge the attack, but missed the bull's legs. When he tried to repeat the attack, the same thing happened.
Seeing that the only way for Arthur to get a clear attack in would be for the small pokemon to stand it's ground, Anna quickly withdrew Arthur and sent Joan into the fray. At least her companion would be able to handle a raging Tauros or two.
"New target, same rules! Charge!" Gaston ordered as his Tauros continued its rampage and rushed towards Joan.
"Good." Anna mumbled. "Grasswhistle, Joan!" The trainer called with a victorious grin. Leaves sprouted from around the pokemon and Joan snagged one between her paws. With a gentle blow, a soft melody sounded and started putting the charging Tauros to sleep. The Pokemon landed fast asleep in a tangled clump of legs right at Joan's paws, snoring loudly.
"Got ya." Anna muttered to herself. "Alright Joan, take care of it. Magical Leaf!"
"Wake up!" Gaston shouted to his Tauros as the leaves struck it. Immediately, the Tauros opened it's eyes, glaring daggers at Joan. "Not get up and take that runt down!"
"While it's down, Sword Leaf Combo!" Anna told the Pokemon with a smile. The combo in question was the move Swords Dance, followed up with a rather sharp Razor Leaf. Both attacks hit their mark, but the Taruos returned to his feet nonetheless.
"Attaboy! Ramming speed!" Gaston clapped for his Tauros who rushed in circles to build up momentum. Despite looking in rough shape, the bull's rage kept it at peak strength.
"Oh for the love of- Joan! Magical Leaf again! Knock it to the floor!" Joan nodded and sent a massive burst of sharpened leaves toward the bull Pokemon. With any luck, Joan could knock out the Pokemon before it landed a solid hit on her. Obviously that wasn't in the cards for them.
While the leaves connected, Tauros showed no signs of slowing and rammed into Joan at top speed, sending her into Kristoff and knocking him over.
"Hey! Watch it!" Kristoff shouted, picking up Joan and placing her gently on the ground next to him.
"Sorry Kris!" Anna shouted. "Joan, use Giga Drain!" The hit was a strong one, but not enough to put Joan in the same shape that the Tauros was in. But this would patch her right back up while sucking the energy from the Tauros.
Vines extended from Joan and wrapped themselves tightly around the massive tauros. The two pokemon glowed brightly for a moment and then the next moment, Gaston's Tauros had slumped over in defeat.
Gaston and LeFou were silent for a solid minute.
"...Well. At least no one saw that." LeFou commented.
"I thought I told you to stop toying, Anna." Kristoff said, getting up from the ground. "That would have gone twice as fast with Joan."
Anna shrugged. "I figured that Mole and Arthur would want a chance to fight. We are Pokemon Trainers."
Gaston recalled his Tauros and pointed an angry finger at Anna, "You wait. I'm going to avenge this embarrassment."
"No one avenges like Gaston!" LeFou shouted as he followed behind Gaston.
"...Those guys are weird." Kristoff commented.
"Agreed." Anna mumbled. "Let's go. Maybe if we run, we can get there at a reasonable time?"
"I'm not running."
"It was worth a shot." Anna replied.
The next day Anna and Kristoff had arrived at the Day-Care in the late afternoon. After travelling for so long, Bulda and pabbie had prepared them a large dinner. The two ate everything they could before going to sleep in actual beds.
Later that night in Goldenrod, Elsa noticed a voicemail on her PokeGear. Sighing, she picked it up and held it to her face.
"Hey Elsa! It's been awhile so I thought I should call. So now I have two badges! I fought Flik and won, like super easy. Arthur totally kicked butt! I also caught a Sandshrew and named it Mole. We also fought Team Rocket… Did you know that they're back? Is that why you haven't come back? Are they after you!? Oh who am I kidding, you won't answer me. Just be careful. Bulda and Pabbie said they're gonna take us into Goldenrod City tomorrow! I remember you said it was cool so I'm excited. Okay, I'm tired. Night Elsa… please call me or do something so I know you're alive…" The message clicked off and Elsa threw the offending item down on a side table.
At that moment there was a knock on Elsa's door. She hesitated slightly but then went to open it.
"You would not believe what just happened!" A redhead grumbled while stomping into the house.
"Yes, hello Hans. Please, come in." Elsa replied sarcastically before closing the door.
Hans collapsed on the couch, covered his head with a pillow and groaned into it. "Elsa everything went so wrong!"
Well that was never good. Slowly Elsa came around and took a seat in a chair facing the couch. She picked up two glasses of wine on the way and left one for her companion.
"Drink." She ordered him before pouring her own glass. "I'm sure we both need it."
Hans threw the pillow away and then took the glass. "Good taste." He commented before taking a sip. "So. Where should I- oh my God what happened to your hair?" He nearly dropped the glass but caught it last second.
"Focus Hans. What happened?" Elsa responded in an exasperated tone. She ran her fingers through her now darkened locks. It was part of the ways Elsa was hiding her identity. It was still new to her and still made her jump when she looked at a mirror.
"Well. Like we guessed, Suicune didn't purify the water." Hans started. Though they both knew that was because Elsa had told the Pokemon not to do so. "Then Kim came along!"
"Say what now?" Kim Possible was not in the plan. "I told her it was under control!" Elsa growled. She grabbed her PokeGear and was about to type out a furious message when Hans kept going.
"Oh but it gets better!" The man grumbled. "Not only did Kim come but she brought some friends. You'll never guess who they were." The redhead grumbled while glaring at Elsa.
"Something tells me that I am really going to to hate what you say next." Elsa mumbled, looking away for a moment. "Hold on." She downed the rest of her wine and then set the glass down on the end table. "Alright, tell me."
"She brought Anna and the blonde fellow. Kristoffer, right?"
"She did what!?" Elsa screamed now standing up in a rage. Out of nowhere, a Banette materialized right in front of Elsa as if to protect her from Hans.
"Oh! Banette no! It's ok. I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you!" Elsa cooed to the Pokemon. She slid back down into her seat and gestured for her new partner to join her. "I'm sorry I scared you. Don't worry, Hans is a friend to us."
"Nice new partner, Lizette." Hans quipped. "I heard your song the day I had to clear out the well. It's catchy."
"Banette and I make a good team." Elsa replied with a smile. "Don't we?" The Pokemon gave a happy chirp as confirmation.
"Cute. But anyway, somehow Kim and Anna fought through the well to get to me. Thankfully Kim fought me and we caused enough of a smokescreen that I got away without being seen." Hans explained. "But seriously. I know Kim is in charge in Johto but we will be caught if she rushes in like this!"
"I'll talk to her." Elsa promised. "I can't believe Anna got involved…" Yes she could. Anna was her sister and Elsa had thwarted Team Rocket with Hans during her own journey.
"We did the same thing when we started our journey." Hans mumbled, swirling the wine in his glass. "But it can't happen again. I had everything worked out so that Gaston would come and be victorious. He was supposed to do it the very next day!"
"I know, Hans. It was a good plan." Elsa replied, trying to calm him down.
"Kim cannot do this to us again!" Hans told her. "We have too much to lose!"
Didn't she know it. They didn't just stay with Team Rocket to keep themselves safe. The Duke was blackmailing them and keeping the two in his clutches with threats against their friends and families.
"I'll talk to her. And I'll tell her to keep Anna out of this. Or work does not concern her." Elsa promised. "Want to come crash with me? I haven't been able to sleep."
"Yeah. Just keep your cold feet off me." Hans mumbled. "Sure your boyfriend won't mind?" He joked out.
"You are disgusting." Elsa replied while giggling slightly. "And we are not dating."
"Tell that to the tabloids." Hans mumbled, getting to his feet. The young man finished the last of his wine and followed Elsa.
The two headed back and slipped into Elsa's large bed. At first they stayed on their own side of the bed, but after a minute, Hans pulled Elsa into an awkward hug.
"I talked to Entei." He finally said. "He was going to see if Raikou and Suicune would be willing to watch over Anna. Just to see if they're alright."
"That will put those three in more danger." Elsa pointed out. While it was sweet that the legendary dogs were willing to watch over Elsa's sister, she didn't want them to be caught. She and Hans had risked too much for them to be caught.
"Entei still wants to try. He knows what's been happening so far. Says it's the least that they could do for us." Hans explained to her. "Also Suicune went back to fix the water. It's all good now. He's worried about you."
"I'm fine. Just spending my days singing, putting Rockets in the Radio Tower and all over the city. I forgot how hard being famous is." Elsa joked out weakly. After being the Johto Champion and Runner Up, Elsa and Hans were always in the public spotlight up until they supposedly died. "I think Snowflake has been enjoying the massages and pampering though."
"Well you better cut back. Anna is on her way to Goldenrod." Hans told her. "And she knows what Snowflake looks like better than anyone. Except maybe me."
"I know. I'll have to rearrange my schedule so that I can do my best to avoid her. Now I guess it's time for a new wardrobe." With Anna coming to town, Elsa definitely would need it.
"Does that mean a shopping spree?" Hans asked, eager to get some clothes that weren't Team Rocket related.
"Do you want to come?" Elsa teased him.
"Not if you're going to be like that." He mumbled, pushing her away.
"Go to bed. I'll talk to Cruella tomorrow." The woman told him before curling up on her side of the bed.
"And Kim." He reminded her quickly.
"Yeah. That too..."
Well hello! I'm sure everyone is wondering why the hell this took so long and I'm going to say, blame life. Also it's because I wanted to add too much in this chapter and that was another reason. So as an apology for the wait, have a really long chapter. Thank you to Ethan who is practically my co-author. Enjoy!