Louis leaned against the wall outside of the Pokémon Gym and counted his blessings as he stared down in awe at his new Boulder badge. It sparkled like a jewel in the sunlight of the noon sky. He had done it; his first step on the path to the Championships was here. Even if he didn't make it that far he still had a lot more to aspire towards – being a great Pokémon Breeder for example. Maybe he should have asked Brock for tips on being a breeder when he was in there; Brock was supposedly an expert on the subject. Regardless of if he was a good trainer or not he still had to thank his Pokémon for doing such a good job. He held their PokéBalls in his hand and he did not say a word – his partners knew he was thankful. The door opened behind him and both of his trainer friends emerged from the rock face. They smiled and showed the badges in their hands. He had been sitting outside for half an hour and he had never noticed how much time had passed.
"How did you guys do?" Louis asked. Chase shrugged.
"We did okay, but Fenrir got pretty beat up, so we should go to the Pokémon Center." He suggested.
"Then we have to pack up our stuff and leave." Breanne said.
"Okay then, let's go."
They packed up everything they could bring with them that would be useful and then set off to the Pokémon center. Breanne did not even take the time to say a proper farewell to her parents; she instead left a note behind saying goodbye and numerous other clichés when leaving your family behind for something bigger. They found their way back to the all too familiar Pokémon center and met with the nurse there.
"You got your first Badge! Congratulations!" she cheered.
"Thank you." Louis said cheerfully. They received some glances from other trainers in the center, but no one said anything. "Here's my Pokémon." He handed over his two PokéBalls to the woman and she smiled. The two other trainers put theirs upon the counter as well.
"Would you like a free blood test while your Pokémon are here?" she asked casually.
"Blood test?" asked Louis.
"Yes, a rare infection called Pokérus has become more common recently and we are giving free blood tests to see if your Pokémon have it." She smiled like usual.
"Well… Sure I guess. Is that alright with us?" the trio gave sounds of agreement. "They'll take the tests then."
"Excellent! We'll be back in a moment."
Half an hour later of nervous waiting and the nurse returned with the five Pokémon. In her hands she held five pieces of paper and she handed two of them to Louis.
"Thank you!" he said.
"It was my pleasure. Please come back and see us again if you are ever in need." She then stepped off back towards her desk. Louis skimmed over the test results. He had heard of Pokérus before and he knew that it was not a bad thing. It helps your Pokémon grow stronger and makes them more powerful as well as more attuned to their elemental powers. He read up and down the page looking for a sign indicating that they had the infection. Instead he found something different on the page – there was no sign of the nutrients and vitamins entering his Pokémon's blood stream at any time; they were duds. Yet he still beat Brock with hardly any challenge. And then he saw it, at the bottom of the page was a small orange smiley face that had been stamped there. Both of his Pokémon had Pokérus and from the test results it seemed like it would not be going away any time soon either.
This was amazing; his Pokémon had Pokérus!
"What did your test results say?" asked Chase. Louis turned away and crumpled up the papers almost impulsively. He didn't want his friends getting jealous, that would likely just rip a hole in their friendship.
"Negative, no Pokérus." He said with a convincing look of passiveness on his face.
"Me neither." Breanne said with a look of disappointment on her face. She crumpled up her paper and chucked it into a nearby garbage can as she collected her messenger's bag off the ground.
"Same." Sighed a let-down Chase. They gathered their bags and threw the luggage over their shoulders. They walked to the edge of town keeping their heads low and their hoods up to keep away privy rockets.
They made it to the town entrance and exit to the east, and to Mt Moon. They looked out at the rocky canyon that lay before them and exhaled simultaneously at the intimidating sight.
"Let's do this!" cheered Louis.
Meanwhile, south of Kanto, in the Orange Islands…
A Team Rocket grunt was sitting at a table with a few of his comrades; they were playing a friendly game of poker in the dimly lit room made of steel from ceiling to floor. This one of many hidden bases was well guarded and the overly-cocky nature of its protectors was its only downfall. The grunt put his hand in front of his friends and showed his pair of Kingdras.
"Read 'em and weep boys!" he mocked victoriously. The two other players threw their cards onto the metallic table top and groaned as their friend laughed in triumph.
"Damn you! That's the fifth game so far!" said one of the fiends.
"Maybe he has an Ace up his sleeve?" suggested another voice. The two opponents laughed.
"Ha-ha, yeah… wait, who was that?" a fist came out of nowhere and clocked one man in the jaw – the fist was attached to a burly, hairy arm. The other grunt whipped around and brandished a switch blade, but that was knocked from his hands by the man as well. He received a punch to the gut and just when the last remaining grunt went to stand up the man whipped out a stun gun and electrocuted the man. He convulsed violently before falling to the ground. Numerous other people and Pokémon flooded into the room.
"Okay men! Spread out and find the comms station!" shouted the man who dispatched the others, seemingly the leader. He was a tall man and he had the face of the man in the photo Louis had found of his father.
"Neil! We need your help!" shouted another man. Neil reached down to his belt and produced an ultra-ball. He threw the ball against the wall and a bright light cut through the surrounding shadows. An Umbreon, standing tall and proud called out to its master.
"Ummm-breon!" it cried.
"Are you ready for this, Obsidian?" Asked the big man.
The three-foot-tall black fox wagged its tail and the yellow rings around its slender ebony body glowed bright. "Breon!" he yelped. His red eyes were glinting in the low light of the underground base.
"Then let's do it!"
He felt guilty for not telling Chase or Breanne about the Pokérus, but he had to be sure that they wouldn't be fawning over his Pokémon all of the time trying to get their own Pokémon infected; it's just not a healthy obsession. Louis kicked up dirt as they made their way through the rocky terrain on their route to Mount Moon. The path was riddled with trainers and wild Pokémon that were primed for battle. After defeating Brock Louis had become almost overly confident in his abilities as a Pokémon trainer, but rightfully so because he tore down any trainer that challenged him along the way.
He made a good bit of Pokédollars from fighting so many opponents on the trail, and so did both of his friends. Many trainers snarled at them as they passed and some just flat-out refused to battle with them because of their previous mêlées. For the most part it seemed to be smooth sailing for the trio to the Pokémon Center in front of Mount Moon. Chase tripped over a large tree branch and ungracefully fell forward, into a field of tall yellow grass.
The head of a Sandshrew poked up out of the grass and it stared at Chase with its deep black eyes. Breanne and Louis stood completely still as the Sandshrew, with its tough yellow hide blending in almost completely with the golden colored grass around it. Chase eyed it back while he reached slowly down to his belt so he could get his Beedrill.
"I'm not gonna hurt you…" he whispered softly. Louis laughed softly at his attempt to calm the creature. "I just want a new friend!" he screamed as he jumped up and threw his PokéBall to the ground. In the resulting flash Stinger appeared, ready to attack.
The Sandshrew jumped back and snarled at his new opponent with a startled look in its eyes.
"Stinger, use Twineedle!" Chase called out. His Beedrill flew up and then buzzed loudly as it swooped down on the Sandshrew with its spiked arms held forward. The Sandshrew curled into a ball and then rolled at its attacker. When they connected, the spears on Stinger's arms only penetrated less than an inch into the shell of the armored Pokémon before being flung away by the sheer force of its rolling attack.
The Pokémon unrolled itself and stood in a ready stance. It moved a step and winced at its wounds, but continued stepping forward to attack. Its claws began to glow a hot white color as it charged forward.
"Stinger, use FuryCutter!" the bug Pokémon buzzed in agreement and then flew forward as fast as it could. It hit the other Pokémon before it could strike and slashed across its yellow armor again and again. The Pokémon flew backwards and rolled across the grassy field, coming to a stop as its back hit a rock with a loud thud.
"Shrewwwww…" it moaned.
"PokéBall, GO!" shouted Chase as he threw an empty PokéBall at the injured rodent Pokémon and it was sucked by a red light into the capsule. It made its point clear that it did not want to go by clawing at the ground before it was vacuumed inside. Chase and the others held their breaths as the ball tumbled back and forth on the ground, and then came to a stop as the button turned from a tense red into a cool white.
"Impressive," said Breanne, "You actually got it on your first try." She was carrying Shell-Shock in her arms and it cheered in agreement. The shiny Eevee on Louis's shoulder yelped the same agreeing tone.
"Are you gonna name this one?" Louis asked. Chase pondered as he walked over to the red topped PokéBall and scooped it up off of the patch of grass that was pushed down.
"That depends if it's a male or a female." He said as he threw the ball up into the air. "Pass me a potion." He said.
Louis reached into his pack and produced a super-potion. He threw the potion straight at Chase and he caught it with both of his hands. The ball bounced off of the ground and cracked open on the seam in the middle of the capsule with a flicker of white light. The Sandshrew appeared, and then fell to the ground in pain. Chase rushed over to it, and so did Louis. Breanne stood back and watched as they tended to the Pokémon.
"He appears to be a male." Louis had learned from numerous books how to tell a male Pokémon from a female without… searching obvious areas. He was serious about being an expert on Pokémon caretaking.
Chase sprayed the Pokémon down with the potion, "Then I'll name him… Dug." He said as he rubbed in the spray on the Pokémon's hide. It made a soothed noise and then sat up.
"Sssshrew?" he hummed.
"You'll be alright, trust me." Spoke Chase with a smile on his wide face. The Sandshrew, now Dug, smiled slightly and stood up. Chase activated the PokéBall again and the Pokémon disappeared in a flash of red light.
Stinger began buzzing behind him, "Oh yeah, I forgot to put you back." He held out the Beedrill's ball and it disappeared into the capsule.
"Let's get going, we still have to get through Mount Moon." Suggested Louis with his arm pointing forward, towards the giant brown mountain in front of them.
"What are we dealing with here?" asked Neil to one of his lieutenants. The man wore a ball cap and a thick red vest. Communication equipment was swarmed on the wall of the underground base. Two more Team Rocket grunts sat against the wall, gagged and tied.
"Standard comms equipment; the usual." He seemed distant to Neil somehow.
"What is it you're not telling me?" Neil asked. In this light it was apparent that he had a rough and graying beard and moustache.
The man turned to him and sighed. "We found this on the wall." He said as he held out a poster he found on the wall along with many others. "I found it right beside yours…" he said cautiously.
Neil held his breath and covered his mouth compulsively. It said very clearly who they were after:
To be Distributed to ALL Team Rocket stations
WANTED
Louis J. Edleson
Son of current wanted list bounty: Neil Edleson.
Wanted for: Assault and resistance against Team Rocket personnel.
Must be apprehended ALIVE!
Was last spotted en route to Cerulean City with two other Pokémon trainers. Use extreme caution, target is armed with an electric baton and his Pokémon are considered by sources to be "Impressive and strong".
Below all of this information was a picture of him in his usual attire with a shiny Eevee on his shoulder; two more trainers were cropped out of the photo that seemed to have been taken from a distance. Neil Crumpled the poster in his large hands and tossed it at the face of one of the Team Rocket grunts. He grabbed the terrified man by his black collar and hoisted him higher than he could stand.
"If any harm comes to my boy…" he threatened as he gritted his teeth. The grunt was nearly crying, he had heard of what Neil was famous for and he saw his poster every day at his post – this man was fear itself for anyone working with team rocket. He grumbled and tried to scream with the gag still in his mouth. Obsidian the Umbreon came up behind his master and nudged his leg. Neil looked down and saw the insistent look in his companion's eyes. Neil looked back at his quarrel and dropped him. The man made a sigh of relief but flew back into a panic when he noticed the Umbreon's red eyes were glowing a strange pink color.
"Put him to sleep and then use DreamEater… I need to know what he knows." Neil said. The grunt struggled to get away, but it was too late. He fell asleep and the Umbreon jumped on top of him as he searched his memories. Neil walked back over to his lieutenant and sighed as he rubbed his tired eyes.
"I contacted my son in Cerulean, he'll watch over Louis." Said the man.
"But I thought your son was escorting another trainer through the Pokémon league right now?"
"They can travel together; I already called him and he said he would be honored." The man smiled with teeth showing.
Neil smiled slightly as well, "Honored? Huh, you'd think I was a Messiah of some kind… I'm no hero, I'm just a man who knows what's right and what's wrong." He turned to face his Umbreon as it sapped the man's memories, "I just hope I'm doing what's right…"
