The Team Rocket Chronicles
By Red Dragonfly (aka Rebecca Lang)
. . .
Chapter 5
Damages
. . .
. . .
"So far, we've lost most of our food, and our communication equipment is either gone or damaged," Jaquie inventoried out loud. Which is good, she thought, because I am in no mood to talk to Giovanni anyway.
The beach was scattered with crates and boxes, some empty, some full, and a wreckage of paraphernalia strewn across the sand. There were packets of food, cooking equipment, clothes, tents, and the useless pieces of the damaged communication equipment lying out in the open. But the weapons had been carefully stored back in the chest after being thoroughly counted and examined.
"At least all the medical equipment is here," Jared said cheerfully as he pieced together the machine. "Electrabuzz, hold these wires together, will you," he instructed his electric pokemon.
Jesse, James, and Meowth grimaced as they unloaded the crates.
"This stuff is heavy," whined James. "Why do we have to unload everything?"
"Quit your griping," snapped Meowth. "Save your strength to unload these boxes."
James turned on Meowth. "You have no right to complain! You're not doing anything to help. Me and Jesse are the ones doing all the work. You're just standing around!"
"I'm supervising!"
"Would you two both be quiet?" muttered Jesse.
"Meowth started it!"
Jesse pried the top off a crate marked "pokeballs."
"We're supposed to be reporters, not movers," she grumped. "But, no, now we've got to do whatever Jaquie tells us to do."
"Do I sense some resentment?" remarked Meowth.
Jesse dropped the lid on his tail. "Do you sense some pain?" she replied as Meowth hopped about, clutching his swollen tail.
James reached into the crate to lift out whatever was inside. But instead of pokeballs, James felt something heavy and rectangular and familiar.
"Hey, Jesse!" he exclaimed. "Our camera! I found it!"
Jaquie looked up. "What camera?"
Jesse clamped her hand over James' mouth. "There's no camera," she said in a voice both sweet and phony. "We're just so excited about unloading these crates that we, uh, wish we had a camera."
Jaquie was less than convinced. "What camera?" she said again, approaching the trio. When there was no answer, she shoved James out of the way and looked for herself. "You brought along your video camera."
"And extra tape," James added and was rudely elbowed by Jesse.
"Your video camera and five extra reels of tape," repeated Jaquie, "in a crate that was supposed to be filled with our pokeballs."
Jesse yanked out the camera and held it close. "We need it to record our story," she insisted, cradling her precious camera. "You can't take it away from us."
Jaquie rolled her eyes. "I don't care about your camera. This crate was loaded with pokeballs!" She did a quick count. "There's only twenty-eight left. What did you do with the rest?"
"Well, they were just pokeballs. We had to throw them overboard to make room for our camera."
"You did WHAT?"
Jesse, James and Meowth cringed. "We brought some of our own pokeballs with us," said James, holding them out as a peace offering.
Jaquie cracked her whip against the sand, and the trio jumped. "Those are useless! We need the modified ones!"
"What's going on?" asked Jared, awakened from his work by the noise.
Jaquie took a couple of deep breaths. Patience, she needed patience. She hadn't lost her temper yet, but her annoyance was taking control. She looked at Jesse, James, and Meowth in the eye, one by one. "I'm going to ask you once," she said softly. "When you decided to stowaway on the ship, where did you hide?"
One by one, as she glanced over them, they looked down. "We hid in the crates with the pokeballs in them," Jesse said.
"What!" exclaimed Jared. "You mean the pokeballs are gone? I had to work hours on those things!"
"Jared," said Jaquie placidly, "do you think you could make some more?"
"Out of what? With what? Why do you think I made those in advance and packed them for the trip?"
"And our pokeballs won't work at all?" asked James timidly.
Jared looked at the pittance James offered and sighed. "I might be able to modify those slightly," he said in his regular voice. "They won't be as good as the ones I made before, but they'll be better than the regular ones."
Jaquie nodded. "Thank you, Jared. And we still have those twenty-eight in the crate. We'll be able to capture some pokemon at least."
How would this fit into her plan? Certainly she wouldn't be able to capture as many pokemon as she had first calculated. Which meant that she would have to make every pokemon she caught count.
Jesse, James, and Meowth were huddled together, apparently expecting some great punishment to be hurtled down from the sky.
"Get back to work," Jaquie told them simply and walked away.
Jesse, James, and Meowth all let out their breath at once. "That didn't go too badly," said James hopefully.
"Unless she's going to punish us sometime later, and she's just not telling us now," Meowth pointed out sourly.
"Well, at least she let us keep the camera," said Jesse squeezing it tightly. "Our new boss would fire us if we messed up this important assignment."
"Maybe we can tape some footage later," said James, feeling cheered. "We can explore the beach and tape the..."
A Pigey interrupted them. Visibly tired, it screeched considerably as it flew towards Jaquie's party, trying to communicate something. Flying close to Jesse, James and Meowth, it landed in the sand and collapsed.
"Meowth, what did that Pigey just say?" asked Jesse, turning towards their translator.
"Now what's going on?" Jaquie walked over.
"Pigey, Pigey, Pigey," the pokemon weakly managed.
"It's saying that Karen and Kris are in some kind of danger," Meowth told them.
"Danger...?"
"How does this Pigey know Karen and Kris?"
"Pigey. Piiiigey," said the bird.
"It says it's not a Pigey..." said Meowth.
A few moments later a Ditto stood where the Pigey had been.
"That must be Karen's," stated Jaquie grimly.
"Ditto, ditto, ditto, dittoooo." Ditto tried furiously to explain
"Karen and Kris are in trouble," Meowth translated. "They were attacked by wild pokemon, and they need your help Jaquie."
Jaquie nodded. She walked over to one of the crates and picked out a deflated backpack. Going to various crates, she filled the backpacks with choice potions, weapons, and other items she would need.
"When have Karen and Kris ever gotten in trouble," whispered James to Jesse.
"And when have they asked for help?" Jesse whispered back.
"How good of trainers are those two?" asked Jared, joining the conversation.
"Very good. Frighteningly good."
Jaquie had finished packing and fitted her backpack onto her shoulders. "Jesse," she said, scooping up Karen's Ditto, "do you know how to work that camera?"
"Yes, but..."
"Good, you're with me." Jaquie threw down her pokeball. "Jared, you're in charge until I return." Dodrio came out. Jaquie climbed on, pulling her flabbergast sister on with her. "Ditto, you'll have to give me directions. Dodrio, let's go."
A moment later, in a cloud of the smooth, soft beach sand, Jaquie and Jesse vanished. Jared, James, and Meowth found themselves alone on the beach with the crates, still half-unloaded.
. . .
A sharp kick jabbed Kris in the ribs. The pain revived him immediately.
"Ow!" he cried, clutching his side. "Jeez! What'd you do that for!"
"I didn't have time for you to wake up on your own," snapped Karen. Kris knew enough to recognize that they were in a bad situation. Karen got cranky when she was worried. "We're under attack. I don't think this is the best circumstance for you to be taking a nap."
Kris groaned. Sarcasm. They were in a really bad situation. He groaned again. His ribs were sore and bruised, and he could hear the blood throbbing in his head like a painful drumbeat. In the muffled distance came the sound of pounding. It didn't make his head feel any better.
"What's going on?" he muttered and tried to get up.
Karen helped him. "I told you we were under attack! Use your eyes!"
"My head," moaned Kris.
"I am no less hurt than you are," said Karen. "But I'm up and working. Now quit griping and help me, Kris. I need you." She was panicked and utterly terrified, he could tell.
Kris blinked in light, opening his eyes for the first time. They were walled in again the semicircle of rocks. Karen's Maimer had projected a barrier and was struggling to maintain it. The pounding came from the other side of the barrier. The Magmars and Machokes were punching and blasting it relentlessly, tying to tear it down.
"Okay," said Kris, breathing in quickly and trying to get his brain in order. "Now that I'm up, we can attack again. This time, I'll use Ice Storm to-"
"Kris, are you crazy?" Karen burst. "Your pokemon are totally shot, and you can barely stand! How do you plan to beat them?"
"Then, we can use your pokemon to escape-"
"I tried that! But my pokemon are exhausted, and you wouldn't move, and when I tried to get Tunneler to dig us to safety, they did some weird attack and the tunnel collapsed. They won't let us get away!"
"Then we can... we can..." Kris' knees buckled and his head began to spin. He felt absolutely sick. "Why don't you figure out what we should do!" he yelled. "You're the clever one!"
"I have thought of something! I sent Metamorpher out to get, Jaquie."
"Jaquie!" Kris leaned weakly against the wall, but still managed to shout. "What do we need her for!"
"Don't act so stupid!" Karen shouted back. "If we try fighting these pokemon we'll be creamed!" Kris slumped downwards. "And don't you dare faint on me again or I'll kick you harder!"
A Machoke punched through the barrier. Karen grabbed one of Kris' revolvers and shot the Machoke's extending hand. The Machoke pulled back, and Maimer moved quickly to seal up the hole.
More punching and more ear-piercing shattering glass. Two more Machokes and a Magmar had broken through. Karen fired three more shots.
Kris felt his brain going numb. The pokemon were closing in, but they seemed so far away...
"Kris, you'd better not faint! Not now!"
Kris tried to stay conscious. He couldn't leave Karen alone, he couldn't...
Brain... Numb... Pictures... Blurring... Fading...
"KRIS!"
There was a deep rumbling sound, and, all of a sudden, a crack spread across the ground where the Machokes and Magmars stood, stopping just in front of the barrier. The crack became a deep fissure that swallowed the wild pokemon into the earth.
"Lower the barrier! Lower the barrier!" Jaquie, Jesse, and Jaquie's Ryhorn came running around the fissure towards Karen and Kris. "Lower the barrier, now!" The Magmars and Machokes were climbing out of the crack.
The barrier down, Jaquie and co. entered. Maimer, exhausted, didn't have the strength to put it back up. Jaquie put down Metamorpher. She had given it some potion, and it looked refreshed.
"Ditto, transform into Mr. Mime and put the barrier back up!" Jaquie ordered. Metamorpher obeyed.
"Now," said Jaquie, her voice hoarse from yelling, "can either of you explain what's going on?"
Kris fainted again.
. . .
James and Meowth were bored. A little frightened and anxious for Jesse, but mostly bored. Without Jaquie to take inventory, there was really no point in unloading the boxes, so they were left with nothing to do. Jared, busy working on his medical machine, didn't care what they did or where they went as long as they stayed out of his way.
They wandered as far from Jared as they dared, to the end of the beach, where the jungle began. There they sat, with nothing to do.
Above them hovered Jared's Venomoth. Jared didn't trust them alone, apparently having listened to too many of Karen and Kris' remarks about them, and sent his pokemon to watch after them. That was humiliating. They may be the worst Team Rocket members ever, but they were capable of taking care of themselves.
James sighed. "This assignment was supposed to be our big break. But so far it's been a complete failure. We haven't done a thing since we've been here."
"Hey, speak for yourself," said Meowth. "I'm not a failure. And you," he yelled at the Venomoth, "get outta here! Quit spying on us!"
Venomoth fluttered out of sight, but James was pretty sure it hadn't gone away.
"Let's face it," James said. "We're total losers. Even Team Rocket won't take us back."
"They'll take us back once we show up filthy rich," said Meowth. "If we nail this story, we'll have enough to ride back in a limo. The boss will welcome us back with open arms."
"I guess," said James.
He didn't want to admit it to Jesse or Meowth, but he had his doubts. Being back with Team Rocket, he remembered what it was like to be bullied and in constant danger. He was beginning to enjoy his reporter job. At least here he made enough money that he didn't have to steal food just to be able to eat. Plus, he kind of liked reporting.
But he couldn't tell that to the rest of the team.
"All we have to do is take some shots of the pokemon on this island, and, bam, we'll be rich," Meowth continued. "What could go wrong?"
There was a slight rustling in the bushes.
"What's that?" said James, standing up.
Out popped a small, cute pokemon. It looked like a pale blue rabbit with long round ears, sharp claws, and intelligent reddish brown eyes.
"A Nidoran girl?" said Meowth.
The pokemon bristled at the sound of his voice.
"Where'd you come from?" Meowth asked it.
The pokemon attacked.
. . .
Watching the Machokes shatter the supposedly "unshatterable" barrier of Mr. Mime had frighted Jesse. She'd been nervous just having to run past the Magmars and Machokes. But what truly terrified was seeing Karen and Kris' condition when she got there.
Kris was bleeding and unconscious against the rocks, and Karen wasn't much better off. She was sweaty and pale. Karen and Kris were strong, competent trainers. Their pokemon could actually win fights-consistently. Yet here they were bruised and scratched, dirty and desperate.
Desperate or not, Karen was not about to be polite to Jesse, not by a long shot. "What are you looking at?" she snapped as Jesse stared at her. "And what are you doing here anyway? Can't you ruin someone else's life for a change!"
"Karen, relax," said Jaquie. She, at least, was calm. Jaquie brought out one of her vials from her backpack and leaned over to revive Kris. "I brought Jesse along because she has a camera and knows how to use it."
"And what do we need a camera for!" Karen was yelling. At Jaquie. That frightened Jesse even more. No one ever yelled at Jaquie. "What good is a camera! This isn't a family reunion, for crying out loud!"
Kris revived just then. He awoke with a start. Jaquie moved away, and Karen rushed to help him.
"Hi," he croaked to Karen. "Is Jaquie here to save us?" he mocked. Then Karen moved out of the way, and Kris caught sight of Jesse. "YOU!" he roared, straightening up. "What are YOU doing here!"
Jesse quietly wished that she was somewhere-anywhere-else. It probably wouldn't have helped her to know that Karen and Kris were mortified to appear so weak to their former victim. All she knew was that they didn't want her here, and she didn't want to be here.
Kris spied Jesse's camera. "Are you here to cover your little story! I'll break your camera, then I'll-"
"I told Jesse to bring the camera," said Jaquie coolly.
Kris turned on Jaquie. "Oh, so you think this is funny. Your worst students are caught in a terrible mess, and here you come, the wise old teacher, to save us. I suppose you brought a video camera to treasure the moment." Kris sneered every word. "Well, we don't need you-"
"Calm down, Kris," said Jaquie quietly.
"-or your stupid camera-"
"I said, CALM DOWN." Jaquie's voice rose. She didn't yell. She didn't need to. Kris obeyed her.
"You think I brought the camera to gloat over your defeat?" she said softly. "I didn't. You think I expect to walk in and steal a victory where you failed? I don't. Consider it a compliment that whenever you ask me for help, I know your enemy must be strong. I also know that this will not be the first time we run into such opponents. That's why I need a tape of this battle. I need to see exactly what we do right and exactly what we do wrong. In short, I need to know our opponents, their strengths and their weaknesses. Otherwise, there's no way we can survive.
"Now," said Jaquie in a matter-of-fact tone, "I need to know exactly what happened. And take out your wounded pokemon; I have super potion to heal them." Karen and Kris obediently took out their pokemon. "Tell me everything about these pokemon that attacked you, and don't leave out any details," Jaquie warned. "They could be vital when I come up with a plan."
. . .
The Nidoran girl hissed, and a thick black liquid spurted from her mouth. Meowth yelped. The black goo covered his fur and quickly vanished, absorbed into his body. Meowth moaned, turned a hideous shade of purple, and fell flat on his face.
James cried out and jumped back.
The Nidoran girl turned to him and bristled.
Then, suddenly, she squealed. A psybeam from Jared's Venomoth sent her spinning back. Digging in her claws, Nidoran faced Venomoth and sprayed it with the same gooey, black substance.
The liquid slid off Venomoth and fell harmlessly to the floor.
Venomoth aimed another psybeam that sent Nidoran reeling backwards into the jungle. Crying out in pain, she retreated, gazing one last time at James and Meowth as it left.
James sighed with relief. He was safe.
Then he remembered Meowth.
Meowth was flushed when James picked him up. It reminded him of the time Meowth caught a fever, and in truth he was in no better condition: hot, half-conscious, and moaning in pain. But when Meowth was sick, he had turned a bright shade of red. Now Meowth was a dark, venomous purple.
James felt his stomach churn in dread.
"Help!" he cried. "Meowth's been poisoned!"
