Team Rocket. Team Aqua. Team Magma. Team Galactic.
Evil teams in the mainstream Pokémon games have been going on ever since Red and Blue first began. They create dilemmas (most of the time extremely frustrating ones) and stir up trouble in the region you're playing in. Most of the evil organizations are absolutely badass (with the exceptions of Aqua and Magma), and sometimes you just wanna join them for rocking.
Beating Team Rocket was pretty easy in Heart Gold. I never had the chance to play Red/Blue or Fire Red/Leaf Green, so Heart Gold was the first time I ever experienced fighting against them. Their plot line was overall satisfactory, and my only wish was that Giovanni had shown up in at least some part in the main game (Wi-Fi events don't count). The grunts were stupid as usual, the officers were cool, and they had a good array of Pokémon.
Don't even get me started talking about Team Aqua and Team Magma. They shouldn't even be counted as an evil organization. Since I played Pokémon Ruby, I know more about Team Magma. But I know from Emerald that they both had the same plots, just different reasoning. The main goal of Team Magma was to expand the Earth's landmass. I mean seriously, what the hell? Same with Team Aqua, but they wanted to expand the oceans. Don't ask me why. The game creators in Japan must have drawn a blank when it came down to writing the plot line. Both teams annoyed the shit out of me, and I was glad when that plot ended. It needed to desperately end. Walking down the Magma/Aqua path will never be on my game agenda ever again.
I'll admit, I adore Team Galactic. Cyrus, their boss, was really the grand master of all things bad. What I loved about them was that they actually had a purpose, unlike Hoenn screw-ups Magma and Aqua. Saturn and Mars were my all time favorite commanders, especially in the anime. The game plot line was good too, especially the scene at Mt. Coronet and the Reverse World. I was pretty sad when I defeated them, so I actually would go back to Veilstone City to their HQ and talk to Saturn at least once every two days! Crazy much?
Now that I'm in the Pokémon world (or my mind), it's especially crazy to me. After what happened to Taylor and me today, I don't think I want to step foot anywhere near Team Galactic, or any of those other evil organizations for that matter. But, a game is just a game, right?
I couldn't have been farther from the truth.
DTDTDTDTDTDTDTDTDTD
It had been a rigorous training day, and if I thought that I was about to suffer from a heat stroke, then I couldn't imagine what my Pokémon were feeling. Even though the day had been mostly cloudy, I could still feel the heat like the sun was only a mile away from the Earth.
"That was great guys, you two are doing really well for having only a day's worth of training!" I exclaimed to Chikorita and Vulpix. I had put them against each other in a battle and both had done exceptional. Chikorita held her ground against a Fire-type Pokémon, and for that I was proud. And even though Vulpix was somewhat slower than the average stat, she had an amazing defense and attack. "Let's stop for the day."
Taylor slowly stood up from where he and Mudkip were sitting on the patch of grass outside the cafe. Mudkip yawned and stretched, looking to be worn out just from watching the spar.
I returned Vulpix to her Pokéball, and put Chikorita on my shoulder. That had become a regular spot for her, so I let her stay. It was nice to know that I had Chikorita's support for our team and our cause.
We walked into the cafe, spotting Beth at the register. Beth was the owner of Little Beth's Cafe and Inn, and we had met her this morning. She was a plump elderly woman with gray hair fixed into a bun on the top of her head and wore a cute flowery apron. She waved to us and we waved back, seeing that fresh cookies were sitting on the counter, cooling down. It sounds very cliché, I know, but very thoughtful of Beth nonetheless.
Chikorita hopped off my shoulder and onto the counter, instantly grabbing a cookie. She yelped when it burned her mouth and I couldn't help but smirk a little. She glared at me, but then it turned into a little smile.
"Thanks for the cookies, that was really nice of you," I told Beth.
Beth nodded and fingered a pattern on her worn apron. "It's an old family recipe, one that my mother gave to me. But I added just a little more sugar for you two," she said, patting Taylor's cheek. He smiled in response, his mouth too full to say anything.
The elderly woman poured us glasses of milk, then we sat down at one of the tables closer to the counter. Because we were Pokémon trainers (and kids), Beth had given us a slight discount. "I haven't done that in years," she told us. "Then again, there haven't been any Pokémon trainers that have come from Peachgrove Town in quite a while."
Taylor and I ate in comfortable silence. I thought about how the training day went, and the progress we achieved. Chikorita's Razor Leaf needed a little work, but that was a minor issue. She just needed some help figuring out how to send out multiple leaves with one swipe of her central leaf on her head. Her balance needed a bit of work, too. Chikorita tended to fall to one side whenever she would run, and that caused her to slow down a little when she reached her target. She wasn't very fast to begin with (but she is a Chikorita), but with a little work, that could change.
Chikorita and Vulpix really meshed well with each other, and that was wonderful since Kioku mainly focused on double-battling. They were going to be my main powerhouses for my team right now. The only problem was that they clicked so good, they couldn't fill each other's weaknesses (except for the type disadvantage). They were both slower Pokémon, and they had a bunch of the same stats. Now I just need to come up with a strategy that utilizes their skills as a whole...
The cafe bells chimed, signaling that someone was entering through the main door. Taylor and I both glanced up from our thoughts at the same time, looking to see who had arrived at the tiny cafe/inn. A man with spiky black hair a black coat walked in with his head down. He headed straight for Beth at the counter, his boots squeaking on the floor. "I need to speak with the owner," he announced.
"Well, uhh, that'd be me, sir," Beth answered nervously. I could tell he was making her uncomfortable by the way she was speaking, and she twisted her hands anxiously. "What can I do for you?"
The man leaned in, talking in a hushed voice to Beth. I looked at Taylor, and our eyes locked. Something was up, and it didn't look good.
A few minutes passed, and the strange man was still talking to her. Beth's face turned a pale shade of white, and I heard her mutter, "...I can't do that for you, no sir."
"Just hand it over, damn it!" The man shouted, banging his fists on the counter and making Beth, Taylor, and me jump. "I have my bosses on speed dial, perhaps you'll cooperate if you talk to them?"
Taylor and I stood up. "What's going on here?" Taylor demanded. He instinctively drew his hand to his Pokéball clipped on his belt.
The man smirked. "So you've got kids fighting your battles, eh, Grandma?" He curled his lips in a snarl. "Grandma and I were just trying to settle a little money issue, it's nothing to worry about. It's not any of your business."
"The hell it isn't," I hissed. "Leave her alone and get out of here. Now."
Chikorita growled menacingly, which wasn't helping at all since she looked adorable. "Leave her alone," I repeated.
By this time, Beth had reached into the register and pulled out what looked to be about three hundred dollars. "Just take it and please don't come back here." She shakily handed it to the man, but I intercepted it just in time and snatched it away from her.
"I'm not letting him take your money, Beth!" Panicked, I tried to back away from the counter to get away from the man, but he grabbed my arm and twisted all the way around to where it pressed against my back. I screamed in pain while Taylor lunged for him, cursing. The person yanked me onto the ground and I fell face first, busting my nose on a chair in the process. The pain was so blinding that all I could do was lay on the floor frozen in agony.
"I generally don't hurt little girls," the man said to me. "But you're an exception." He pulled away from Taylor and made a beeline for the door, knocking over chairs in the process.
"Growlithe, go!" Taylor called out the fire puppy. Growlithe instantly appeared. "Follow the man and pin him down, now!" The Pokémon shot out the front of the café right after the man with his tail streaming out behind him.
I had finally regained some balance to stand up, but blood was heavily pouring from my nose. Feeling dizzy, I stumbled over to Beth to make sure she was okay, but tripped over myself and fell in a chair. Taylor had gone after Growlithe, so I figured that he wouldn't need my help. That was a first.
"Call Officer Jenny, Beth," I moaned. "Is she in Syntha City?" God, I hope so.
"N-no, she's c-closer, there's a p-police st-station near here," Beth stuttered. She made her way toward the phone hanging on the wall while I tilted my head backward to stop the flow of the blood. My head was pounding, and I hoped Taylor was okay out there by himself, without me.
Minutes later, I found out that Growlithe had indeed caught the man, and Officer Jenny was on her way with a squad from a nearby police station. Beth and Chikorita had gone outside to check on Taylor, then returned to stay by me to make sure I didn't go into shock, and I now sat in the café with a bag of ice on my nose. Beth had examined it, figured that the break was clean, and that I just needed to take it easy.
But my nose was the least of my worries. Who the hell was that guy, and why did he come to steal money from a café/inn that barely anyone knows about? I was angry and scared. Maybe Officer Jenny would be able to give me details when she gets here.
Yet my eyes wouldn't stay open for that long. I felt myself slowly nodding off, and Beth stood me up and walked me to my room. I was trying to fight the feeling of unconsciousness, but it overcame me like a wave when I hit my bed.
DTDTDTDTDTDTDTDTD
"Daisy? Daisy, wake up." Someone was standing over me, but I didn't care who. I just wanted to sleep.
"You've gotta wake up… we've gotta talk." I figured out the voice belonged to Taylor, but since I've ignored him in the past I thought that I could do it now, too.
"Hello? The robbery?"
Oh, shit. Now I remembered. We were freaking robbed yesterday. The damn guy broke my nose, and I couldn't stay awake for Officer Jenny's report. I slowly sat up in my bed, and gingerly rubbed my nose. "'Morning, sunshine," I muttered. I opened my eyes to find Taylor exactly three inches away from my face. "Get away, fag."
"Good morning to you, too." Taylor scowled. He backed away from me and Chikorita, who was still sleeping under my sheets next to me.
Feeling slightly guilty for being mean to Taylor first thing in the morning (which I usually don't do; I wait till we've been awake for at least an hour), I decided to say, "That was really brave, what you did yesterday for Beth."
Taylor gave a wistful smile. "I guess it was. But I can't believe he hurt you, Daisy... the nerve." His eyebrows furrowed together like they always did when he was mad.
I laughed. "He only broke my nose... it wasn't that bad, and it could have gotten worse if you hadn't have done something about him. What did you find out from Officer Jenny?"
Taylor rubbed his temples and sat on my bed. "The guy was part of a gang called Team RAMG-"
"Team RAMG? What kind of gang name is that?"
"-and since we don't know a lot about it, Jenny and the squad took him in for questioning, and we haven't heard from them yet-"
"Rest assured macho girl. Ring at my gorrilla. Rape and molestation great. Red armadillos may go. Raichu ate my garbage!"
"-Beth and I were downstairs making pancakes for you."
"Chocolate chip?"
"You know it."
Smiling, I said, "You know me so well." I climbed out of my bed and threw my hair into a sloppy side ponytail. Feeling nice, I leaned in to hug Taylor. "Thanks for being such a good friend."
He hugged me back. "What are friends for?"
I tried to pull away but he wouldn't let go. "Taylor."
"Yeah?"
"Please let me go."
"Sorry. Cherishing the moment, you know."
"Right..."
On the outside, I was happy. Aside from the whole robbery incident, this day seemed like it could be a good one. But no matter how hard I tried, I still couldn't shake the feel of worry about the information that Taylor had told me.
DTDTDTDTDTDTDTDTDTD
Wow! Isn't that like 3 chapters in three days or something? New record! New record! And another thing, I've noticed that the linebreaks I've been putting in to divide time in chapters are disappearing... hmmm... this has happened to some other fics that I've read, so I'm going to do what the other authors do and put in letters for linebreaks instead of my signature asterick/squiggle alternation (DTDT, for DaisyTaylorDaisyTaylor). Also, I'm going to make it a habit of replying to the reviews I get (and then hopefully, I'll get so many per chapter that I can't. Just kidding). So without further ado:
sweetlilsunshine- I know, right? I just love Chikorita: she's my most favorite starter Pokémon of all time!
rgooch- You sound like you know what you're talking about. Thanks for the encouragement and I hope I do too!
