BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm clock rattled off noise before a hand came smacking down on the Off Button.
Blanche groggily got her head off the pillow and looked at the clock. 8 A.M.
Today I'm supposed to ride out with Candela to Pewter City to look into that Team Rocket base. She thought, turning to Vaporeon, who was starting to wake up in bed beside her.
Blanche couldn't shake the feeling that all of this was a mistake. Talking with Willow yesterday proved that she was just a canary in a coal mine. No set protocol or anything, not even a quota for capturing Team Rocket members. They were supposed to be government law enforcement. How did Willow even get everything set up and approved by the state of Kanto? This entire thing just made her feel uneasy.
But she couldn't let Vaporeon know that. Blanche was responsible for her. She was Vaporeon's trainer, Blanche owed it to Vaporeon to be a good role model. She always had to give it her best and most serious effort for not just Vaporeon, but for all her Pokémon. That meant committing to questionable choices, like becoming a Guardian. Let's just get through today and see where it goes. She thought. Hopefully, they could wrap up the Team Rocket base in a neat fashion.
"Vaporeon, it's time to get up. We have work to do." Thinking about Vaporeon gave Blanche the extra energy she needed to get out of bed. "Get Candela and Flareon up. I'll go make breakfast."
Walking into the kitchen, Blanche looked into the refrigerator for ingredients. Eggs. That was a start. Citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit, with half a container of apple juice. She could work with this. She checked the cabinets. Instant brown rice and some granola. Good enough. She cracked an egg into and dumped the yolk down the sink.
The smell of food cooking on the stove wafted through the halls and underneath the doors, right into the nose of a certain little Eevee. "Eevee!" She jumped up with a start."Eevee! Eevee!" She reached up to the door to paw at the doorknob, but little paws couldn't grasp round doorknobs. She turned to Professor Willow, who was still asleep in bed. Only one logical thing to do. Eevee jumped off of the TV stand and splashed onto Willow's stomach.
"ACK!" The professor's senses kicked on from zero to overdrive in a nanosecond. "EEVEE!" he shouted, calming down enough to be coherently livid. "WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU-"
Eevee ignored her trainer's fury, turning back to the door. "Eevee Eevee!" she tried to explain.
"Oh...that must be the girls," Willow said. "I guess they're up. Wow." He sniffed the air. "I'm not gonna lie, that smells great. Guess we better get in on that before it's gone. AFTER I call Reed," he said sternly at Eevee.
Eevee settled down and patiently waited as Willow called his call. The call immediately died, and Willow found himself getting a text.
Reed messaged: Can't talk rn. in Viridian forest. What's up?
Willow's brow furrowed in concern. "Are you okay?" he texted back.
Reed messaged: The asshole ran off. Trying to find him and not be spotted.
"Oh goddamnit," Willow said. "I won't hold you up. The girls will be on their way soon. Going to eat breakfast with them right now." He texted.
Reed messaged: K. I hope ur wearing a shirt. And not those XXXSmall pajama shorts. U R, aren't you?
"No I'm not." Willow quickly texted back. He put down the phone and immediately reached into his closet looking for a white T-shirt and his long black pajamas. After a few seconds of quickly changing, Willow got back to his phone.
Reed messaged: Ur lying. I know ur lying. And as ur son I'm disappointed. Please wash ur face tho while we're at it.
"You have a mission to get back to." The professor texted.
Reed messaged: L8R. BTW Jolty says hi.
"Stay safe. I love you." Professor Willow sent out his last text before going to wash his face. and going down for breakfast.
Reaching the kitchen, Willow found Blanche serving out breakfast to the others. "Mornin' everyone!"
"Good morning Professor!" Candela said between bites of egg and rice. "Blanche made breakfast. It's really good."
"I...hope you don't mind," Blanche said, remembering just how rude it was to go in someone else's refrigerator. "I wanted to cook something before we headed out. But I probably should have asked first..."
"No it's okay, help yourself!" Willow waved it off. "Besides, I'm a terrible cook. The only things I make in the morning are cereal and the microwavable breakfast burritos I keep in the freezer. I'm not a very good cook, you see. Reed is a lot better than me. He's the one that does the cooking around here." He grabbed himself a plate of food and a glass of juice and sat down.
"So, about our mission today, in Pewter City," Blanche said, getting ready to wash dirty dishes.
"Yes. About that." Willow paused to scarf down some egg. "Lately, there has been a rapid disappearance of Pokémon in around the mountains and the Viridian Forest. The disappearances are pretty much Team Rocket's M.O. Reed, or Agent Instinct, has been in Pewter City looking for their hideout. Your job is to help Agent Instinct find the Team Rocket base. Find. Do not try to attack. We leave that to local and state police. You have the authority to arrest any Team Rocket grunts you come across.
"Job seems easy enough," Candela said. She checked the time. 8:35. "Blanche, wanna leave around 9:10?"
"Sure. That sounds good."
Done eating her food, Candela stood up from the table. "Flareon, I'm gonna go change. Why don't you go run around outside for a while and get a good morning exercise, ya bum?" Candela flicked a marshmallow from her pocket at Flareon, smacking her on the top of her head.
"Flare." her Pokémon hissed.
"Here's Reed's number. He carries it with him constantly. So if he doesn't answer the first time, you should probably send him a text," Willow said. "Here are your state-issued IDs. I packed a bunch of stuff in the trunk of the SUV outside, pretty much everything you're gonna need."
"In that case, I think that's everything." Blanche went through her Pokéballs again to make sure they were there.
Candela took the keys. "I'll drive. Let's go, Flareon." She went outside to the silver SUV and checked the trunk.
"Everything's packed. We're heading out Professor Willow! We'll call you when we reach Pewter City!"
"See you later ladies! Good luck!" Professor Willow and Eevee waved them goodbye as the Guardians drove down the road.
"And we're off!" Candela said. "It should only take us a few hours to get to Pewter City." She looked back at Flareon and Vaporeon in the back seat. "You two comfy back there?"
The Pokémon nodded. "Flare." "Vapor."
"Hopefully we meet Agent Instinct before we meet Team Rocket," Blanche said, looking out the window?
"You alright?" Candela asked.
"It just bothers me," Blanche said. "Why would so many people join these poachers?"
"I've dealt with a couple of small time gangs as a Hoenn Ranger," Candela said. "Every 6 months all the regions hold 'Ranger Seminars' to discuss things are are going on. So I kinda know a lot about groups like Team Rocket. Really, it's a trap. At least for the people on the bottom of the pyramid. Money's the bait."
"What do you mean?"
"You know how a lot of people first run into Team Rocket?" Candela asked. "A Team Rocket member will dress up as an old lady or an old man and ask for help catching a Pokémon or two. They can't do it since they're 'disabled' and crap. Once you catch them, they give you a decent amount of money for it. And then they get your name. So now, they have your face and your name. They look you up in something like Whitepages, and now they have your name, your face, your address, and your phone number. Basically, they only met you once in like a park or a mall or something but somehow they have your entire background check. They know who you are but you know absolutely jack shit about them. And that's how they drag you in," Candela said. "They'll blackmail people into capturing more Pokémon. I've met some of their victims. They know how to give a threat."
"So just like how Professor Willow had us running around the cruiseship."
"Yeah, kinda like that."
Blanche thought back to the little 'test' Willow had set up for them on the cruise ship. Someone she had never even met knew who she was, what she was doing, and where she was going. "I know who you are, Blanche Paige, and I'm coming for you." She could still remember her heart skipping several beats the first time she read it. When she was in the dining hall, waiting for Candela to come find her, every bone in her body was begging her to take Vaporeon and the rest of her Pokémon, lock herself in her cabin and wait out the cruise looking at the door in anticipation. When Candela was creeping up on her, it took all her composure to not take the knife an inch from her hand and rush Candela, and she somehow stayed stoic the entire time.
"I've seen kids as young as 10 fall into traps like that. It's pretty much a standard strategy wherever you go," Candela said.
"They go after kids?" Blanche asked. "That's sick. I mean I know I probably shouldn't be surprised because it's Team Rocket we're dealing with, but still, that's sick."
"The kids don't really ask questions," Candela explained. "And they don't really understand what's going on. To them, going off to catch a Pokémon for a random person is like being asked to mow a lawn by a neighbor. 'Hey kid, do this for me and I'll give you money. Sound cool?' The kids don't even think about what happens to the Pokémon once they've been handed over to groups like Team Rocket. And even if they do, any lie will work. 'I'm giving one as a gift to my sister.' 'All my Pokémon are in the Pokecenter right now.' 'I'm new to the area and I don't know which Pokémon are where.' Just enough to where a kid will nod their head and run off with their new money. Even if the kids aren't recruited into the crime syndicates, they're still the ones doing the actual poaching, so it's harder for police to track and make arrests. Who's gonna arrest a little kid for poaching?"
"I guess you're right," Blanche replied. "I hate to say it, but it's pretty smart."
"Most of the kids do it just to have a little extra money going around. Buy some new sneakers. Save up for a phone. They aren't a part of the organization, but they are a big factor in keeping them going. And you have the actual organization." Candela rubbed her temple. "A decent amount, especially the grunts, are ex-cons that can't get a decent job elsewhere and decide they've got nothing left to lose. I wouldn't be surprised if the people we fought on the cruise ship had records. They're the expendable ones. Your placement in the syndicates depends on your loyalty and your dedication to the ideal of the group. Most ex-cons do it for the pay. Honestly, a small amount of me feels kinda bad for them. It's really a no-win situation for them. They're in survival mode 24/7."
"What about the higher-ups?" Blanche said.
"Those are the psychotic fucks that actually torture and experiment on the Pokémon once the grunts bring them in. The goal of groups like Team Rocket is to capture Pokémon and use them to take over the world. And they actually think they can do it. And they'll do anything to benefit themselves." Candela white-knuckled the steering wheel, stepping the gas pedal a little harder. "Team Rocket's one of the most dangerous groups in the world. Never thought I'd get a chance to go after them."
"I read up a little on Team Rocket last night. Don't they also do mugging, too?" Blanche asked.
"Yeah." Candela sighed. "Basically they like to ambush people when they go out alone. Sometimes they wait in a forest, they'll drag someone into an alley, stuff like that. Ugh, They're such gutless cowards. We can't get there fast enough."
Blanche notice Candela was going 15 over the speed limit. "Try not to get a ticket. You're going a little fast there."
"Sorry! My bad." Candela started to slow down. "I just get worked up about this kind of thing. I sorta start rambling. Sorry if I do that, by that way."
"No it's fine." Blanche assured her. "I was kinda wondering something else too. I noticed Willow didn't talk about anyone else other than Agent Instinct. Candela, doesn't this whole Guardians thing seem kinda... disorganized and meek to you?"
"Yeah, but I didn't want to say anything," Candela said. "He seems like a nice enough guy. He's a Pokémon Professor, not an Officer, Ranger, or anything dealing with law enforcement. This feels like working for a start-up company. But if it means I get my hands on Team Rocket, I'll give it a try. At least for now."
"So, since we have time, why don't you tell me one of your ranger stories?"
"Well, okay. So one time, we decided to have a picnic outside. Everything was going fine until a huge swarm of Venomoth attacked us. You haven't seen the epitome of the human spirit until you see someone fistfight 5 Venomoth and win, all over a chocolate cake. Stung to absolute hell too."
"Over cake?"
"In his own words: 'I paid two thousand Poke Dollars for that cake. I ain't leaving without eating it.' I mean, he was a pretty big boy. Probably would have ate the Venomoth if we had given him the chance."
Blanche wiped a tear from her eye from laughing. "That's incredible."
"You should have been there to see him. He looked like a pin cushion." Candela chuckled. "At that point we had to let him eat the whole cake because frankly, he just deserved it. So, what about you? You got any stories of your own?"
"Not much. Just boring stories of me staying up all night studying."
"Oh come on. You went to university right? There had to be something going on over there."
"There was, but I never got into any of that stuff. I never even joined a sorority. I had a couple of people I worked with. But if it wasn't working it was just me sleeping and watching TV, honestly."
"That's fair. Honestly. Hey, want me to tell you the story of the Ditto and the break room?"
An hour later, the group took their first steps into the Viridian Forest. Blanche got out her phone. "Hello, Professor Willow? We're on the trail."
"Good. Reed was in the Viridian Forest looking for the Team Rocket Base. He said he'll meet you at Trail Station 3. After that you can explore the forest. "
"Alright. Agent Mystic, over and out." Blanche put her phone again. "He said go to the Viridian Forest. Trail Station 3."
"The entrance was Trail Station 0, so depending on how far they stretch the trails out, this could be quite a hike," Candela jerked her thumb to the pathway that led to the Park Ranger's area. "You wanna get a bike?"
"If Team Rocket is around, we might have to sneak around. I'll be fine without a bike."
"Let's move. It probably won't be too bad. as long we stay on the path."
For the next hour, the party moved on a generously straightforward walk on level ground. Numerous times, the path would branch off into different routes.
"What do those lead too?" Blanched asked.
"Special areas, away from the Trail Stations." Candela said. "Those are for people looking for a challenge or other stuff. We should keep going the normal way."
"If you say so."
As Trail Station 1 approached, Blanched looked at Vaporeon. "Do you want to stop?"
"Vapor."
"Yeah I agree, This isn't so bad," Blanche said. "Hey, Candela, let's just keep going, no reason to waste time at Trail Station 1 when we have 2 more Trail Stations to get to."
"Are you see you don't wanna take 5 minutes to rest?" Candela said. "The next station is probably on the other side of those hills. Those can be a challenge if you're not used to walking up hills."
"I'm alright." She nodded.
Candela shrugged."If you say so. Onwards we go!"
Going up and down the hills, Candela noticed that Blanche started to go slower after several rather steep hills. "You need a sec?" She asked as they reached the top of another hill.
"I'm fine, we can keep going," she said, slighting panting.
"Come one, take some water, it's not a problem."
Blanche paused to grab and open her water bottle, and starting drinking as she walked downhill.
"Flare." Flareon murmured, eyeing Blanche and Vaporeon.
"Prove something? Nah, she's just committed. That's a good thing," Candela replied. "Might as well keep up with her."
After several more hills, they reached level ground again. Blanche was definitely walking slower than before. She's just trying to catch her breath. Candela surmised. It wasn't a bad walk for her. She was sweating of course, but she was in good shape.
As they reached Trail Station 2, Blanche elected to lean against the Trail Station. After drinking some of her water and having trail mix, Candela decided to contact Willow.
"Professor Willow, we're on Trail Station 2, we're just taking a little break."
"A little under two hours! Not bad girls!" Willow said. "I'm was just about to call you because I have a little bit of bad news. I lost contact with Reed a while ago. I think he turned his phone off. So be careful. Hopefully he's still at 3 or coming to your position. Contact me when you all rendezvous."
"Got it. Later."
She hung up. "Agent Instinct shut his phone off, we might want to do the same. Everyone, keep your eyes out."
"If that's the case, let's keep moving. Wait. Actually," Blanche pulled her binoculars and turned her attention back to the route. "I'm just going to survey the third Trail Station from here." Looking up, she saw the Trail Station ahead at an elevated position.
"Do you see anyone there?"
"No." She put the binoculars down, looking a bit worried.
"So he cut his phone off, and not where he said he would be. That's not good." Candela looked around. The trail was in a woodland area, they were surrounded by the Viridian Forest. She hadn't realized it before, but for a forest, this area was just a little too quiet. Not enough screeches, rustling bushes. Birds in trees. "And here we are, out in the open."
"While if anyone wanted to ambush us, they would have tree after tree to hide behind." Blanche started looking around. Vaporeon and Flareon got on alert.
"Even if they're just spying on us, Team Rocket knows where we are." Candela fingered the Pokéballs on her belt.
"So, you think they got to Instinct?" Candela asked.
"Well, we know Team Rocket is in the area. It's not hard to fathom that they ambushed him while he was at the Trail Station."
"I was afraid you'd say that." Candela said. "So, what do you want to do? Go to the Trail Station anyway, or just go back?"
"They've figured it out. Move in."
"I think we should-"
"Look out!" Candela tackled Blanche to the ground as a crack of lightning zipped over their heads, blasting into a tree and knocking it down.
"FLARE!" Flareon shrieked, tracing the blast to a bush.
"It's Team Rocket!" Candela and Blanche got back to their feet. "Flareon, use Ember!" Candela shouted.
"FLARE-ON!" Flareon let out a ball of fire. A Team Rock Member and an Electabuzz jumped out of the way just in time as the bush burst into flames.
An electric type. This isn't good. Blanche thought. "Vaporeon, use Wat-"
The ground started shaking, knocking Blanche off of her feet.
"Get out of the way!" Candela shouted. She recognized this. "It's an-
"RRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONIIIIIIIIIIIIIIXXXX!"
An Onix rose up out the ground, Blanche on top of its head. Seeing Vaporeon, the giant Pokémon smacked Vaporeon with its tail, and Vaporeon crashed into the Trail Station.
"OH SHIT!" Candela saw another Team Rocket grunt come from behind a tree.
"FLARE!" Flareon backed up into the back of Candela's legs, and the pair realized they were surrounded.
"Perfect execution!" Electabuzz's trainer said. "They never saw it coming!"
Blanche was hanging onto the fin of the Onix.
"Hey Onix," the other grunt said. "Why don't you go knock that flea off ya?"
The Onix shook its head as Blanche held on for dear life, but she could feel her grip getting looser.
The Onix whipped his head upwards and Candela lost control, and she found herself going flying.
"BLANCHE!" Candela shouted as her partner went skyward.
The ground was getting farther away, but Blanche felt her rise into the air slow down. She would have less than 5 seconds from her peak height until she hit the ground. Only one shot at this.
Grabbing the Pokéball on her left hip, she quickly threw it down and waiting for it to open. A couple of seconds later, she started to fall. She blinked, and the ground was suddenly much closer. She didn't even have time to scream.
Just before she hit the ground, she felt herself catch on something. As her senses came back to her, she realized she could hear the flapping of wings.
"Aerodactyl!"
She looked up and gave her Pokémon a smile of relief. "Just in time."
"No way!" The grunt with the Onix was dumbfounded. "She was supposed to go splat on the ground!"
"Flareon, quick use Flamethrower at Electabuzz!"
Flareon fired a stream of fire, blasting the Electabuzz right in the chest.
"Onix, use Tackle!"
Onix surged forward and dove, trying to crush Candela and Flareon. The pair both jumped out of the way.
"Vaporeon, use Hydro Pump!" Blanche shouted.
"VaPOR!" Vaporeon's overwhelming flood smashed into Onix's face. The Onix fell back and landed flat on its head.
"Requesting backup!" one of the Rocket Grunts shouted into his radio.
"Forget backup! Let's get out of here!" After reclaiming their Pokémon, they scrambled into the bushes.
"You are not getting away." Blanche said. "Vapo-"
"Let them go," Candela said, holding them back.
"Why?!" Blanche said, furious she couldn't finish the job.
"They called for backup, that means there's more, probably nearby. We need to focus on getting out of here. Those two clowns will only slow us down." She got out her phone. "I'm calling Willow."
Fortunately, Willow's voice came through. "...Candela? What do you need?"
"Professor Willow? We just got ambushed."
"WHAT?!" He shouted. "Are you two okay?!"
"We're fine. But Agent Instinct isn't at Trail Station 3. We think he's been captured."
"So he wasn't with you?" Willow's voiced trailed off. "Captured? There's no way... listen!" He regained his vigor. "You two need to get back to the car, ASAP. if you have a map, try to get off the path, you're an easy target there."
"I agree. We'll call you once we do that. Bye," Candela said, hanging up. "So much for an easy first mission.
"Vaporeon, are you okay? You looked like you hit your head." Blanche looked at the ugly bruise on Vaporeon and checked her bag. "Here. Take a potion." She sprayed it on Vaporeon's head, rubbing it in. The bruise on Vaporeon's head faded.
"Vapor."
"No problem. You deserve it."
"We need to move and get off the trail. Now." Candela got out a map. "I think I find a good route."
Then she turned to Aerodactyl. "Thank you, Aerodactyl, you saved my life." She tossed him a quick berry before returning him to his Pokéball.
Blanche's phone started ringing.
"It's Agent Instinct," she said in surprise. "This seems a suspicious. Should I answer this?"
"Oh boy," Candela said. "They just saw our little encounter with those low-level scrubs. And they want us to know where they're keeping him."
The phone kept ringing.
"I suppose so then," Blanche said was still looking around. How many more Rocket members were lurking around, just waiting to strike? They could only take on so many members at once. Numbers were not in their favor.
"Hello?"
"Good afternoon Ms. Blaise. And you too Ms. Paige. Nice to see you've made it this far," a voice replied. So... how was your little fight, ladies?"
