The FireRed/LeafGreen/WaterBlue Chronicles

Chapter IX

Casino Showdown


"By the way, I met your sister. She's here." Red recalled as he and Green were walking from the gym to the mall.

Green's expression changed to one of horror. "What?! We have to get out of here before she finds us! That evil, bitchy, awful-"

Red started to laugh, knowing full well that the only person Green was scared of was his older sister.

"Actually Green, when I said she was here... I meant here."

Green froze. "So you're saying... she's right behind me, isn't she?"

Daisy grabbed his shoulder. "Sure am, li'l bro. You're still as mean as always I hear."

Green apologized repeatedly, but Daisy stopped him.

"Sorry, Green, no time for that. Guys, there's something important I need to tell you. There's something you two need to know."

Red and Green leaned in.

"Red told me earlier that Team Rocket kidnapped Blue. Well... they took grandpa as well."

Green and Red's eyes widened in surprise.

"Gramps!"

"They took the professor?"

Daisy interrupted them. "There's more. They're here."

"WHAT?!"

"I just heard from some locals," she whispered, "apparently they've taken over the casino, that's why it's closed. They've been using it as a hideout for weeks."

"Why isn't the police doing anything?" Green asked.

"People say that they forced the owner to sell it to them, and there's no signs of them actually doing anything illegal there. That means the police has nothing to go on, so they can't get a warrant or anything. The previous owner keeps insisting it was a normal deal and that the casino's currently renovating." his sister answered.

Red started shaking with anger. "Right. Green, you know what this means?"

Green nodded, also looking very angry.

Daisy seemed confused as the two started walking away.

"What are you two doing?" she shouted.

The two turned around to answer her.

"The only thing we can do." Green replied.

Red immediately added; "We're going to save our friends and stop Team Rocket!"


A young, low-ranking member of Team Rocket walked toward a door and opened it. The room behind the door was dark. The only source of light was a computer-screen. The Rocket-member moved toward it to see what was on it.

"Step away, or I will be forced to remove your testicles from the rest of your body."

The member let out a girly scream as he jumped away from the computer.

The higher-ranking member who had threatened him stepped out of the darkness and closer to the computer. "What's your name, boy?"

The low-ranking member wiped a drop of sweat from his forehead. "Uh, it's Joey, sir. My name is Joey"

"You look young."

"Well, I am young. I only joined the organization a week ago."

The older man looked at Joey, twirling his mustache in a sinister fashion. "Why did you decide to enter our ranks, Joey?"

"Uhm, well, people were always making fun of me and my Pokémon. You see, my Rattata is in the top percent-"

"Are you serious?" the mustached man interrupted. "Just... just shut your mouth. Tell me, why are you here?"

Joey didn't answer.

"Well, say something, kid!"

"But you told me to shut-"

"Are you the dumbest person in this world?!"

Joey took a step back. "I'm sorry. Ms. Zuka told me to tell you that the two remaining Dex-holders have broken into the casino."

The other Rocket grinned. "Very well. You're excused, Joey. Leave this building and take all of our fellow members with you. Let me and Ms. Zuka take care of this."

Joey ran out of the room.

The higher-ranking member turned to the computer and clicked on an icon. A feed of a security cam appeared on the screen. He clicked three more times, switching to different cameras until he found what he was looking for. He chuckled as he observed the two teenagers trying to sneak around in the casino's storage room.

"Oh, you silly fools. You escaped my grasp on the cruise ship. But this time... you're mine!"


"Red, be careful. You almost knocked that box over." Green hissed.

Red rolled his eyes. "I can't see anything, Green," he whispered back, "it's too dark. If you would've just let me light this place up-"

"Are you stupid?!" Green replied. "We're trying to sneak in!"

Red pointed toward one of the room's corners. "Guess what, Green. Do you see that up there? That right there? That red blinking light? That's a friggin' security camera! Which means they've probably seen us already. They know we're here! And do you know what?" He threw a Pokéball. It flashed and released something, but Green couldn't see what because of the darkness.

"We're going to do this!" Red continued. "We're going to defeat these guys, we're going to rescue Blue and the professor, and we're going to find out why they took her and what they want with us!"

Green had never heard Red sounding as determined as he did now.

"ARE YOU READY?!" Red shouted.

Green knew that there was no way they would be able to go on unnoticed after those three words were shouted. He took a moment to sigh, and chuckled. "Alright, Red. Light this place up!"

Red smiled, and his Pokémon released a bright light.

Green noticed it was a Raichu! "Wait! When did you evolve your Pikachu?"

"When Vileplume did. Your sister didn't just give me a leafstone. She gave me a thunderstone, a waterstone and a firestone as well."

"I've told her not to give you things." Green complained as the light started to fade.

Red and Green noticed a door.

"Do you think we'll be able to do this? Take down Team Rocket?" Green asked.

Red laughed while returning his Raichu. "Sure!"

Green gave Red a disappointed look. "Sure? I wanted something with a bit more confidence."

Red shrugged. "I wanted to do the catchphrase, but you told me that it's stupid."

Green sighed again. "Just this once."

Red grinned. "Say please."

"I am NOT going to say please!"

"Fine." Red laughed. "Okay, I'm ready. Ask me again."

"Do you think we'll be able to take down Team Rocket?" Green asked.

Red grinned. "Piece of cake!"

The two threw themselves at the door, bursting it open. They fell down on the floor and checked their surroundings. They were in a narrow hallway. Green got back up and helped Red get on his feet. Red brushed some dust from his shoulders as Green pointed toward a door. They opened it and stepped into the next room. It was pitch black.

"Where are we, Green?" Red asked.

"I don't know."

They heard a sinister chuckle. The lights turned on, and they could see that they were inside the main room of the casino.

Red stared at the slot machines, the roulette wheels and the poker tables, not even noticing the two people lurking behind a counter.

Green tapped Red's shoulder to get his attention, and pointed toward the counter.

Two Rocket-members stepped out from behind it.

Red and Green instantly recognized the man. He was the man with the mustache from the S. S. Anne. One of the men who had caused them to throw themselves off a ship into the ocean and lose their Wigglytuff and Raticate.

"Giallo!" Red screamed with fury. Green held him back.

Giallo chuckled. "Hello again, boys. Allow me to introduce my associate, the beautiful Ms. Zuka."

Ms. Zuka was a broad-shouldered woman with bright pink hair. She wore a gold version of the usually black costume the Rocket members wore, which seemed to threaten to rip under the stress of her muscles.

Red and Green were both thinking the same thing. "This woman is not beautiful."

Giallo smirked. "So boys, are you prepared to-"

"What did you do to Blue? To Wigglytuff and Raticate?!" Red screamed.

Giallo's face turned annoyed. "Boy, did I allow you to talk?!" he shouted back. His mustache twitched as Ms. Zuka giggled.

"Your friend is locked up in our main HQ with the professor and all the other useful people we've kidnapped." Zuka laughed. She turned to Giallo. "Now tell them, Giallo," she insisted, "tell them what we did with their precious rat and pink blob."

Red and Green were tense as they awaited Giallo's answer.

"Heh," he chuckled, "fine. Your Raticate and Wigglytuff put up a brave fight, but in the end, of course, they were outmatched. We took them and experimented on them. Unfortunately, they were of no use."

Red grinded his teeth. Green clenched his fist.

"Therefore," Giallo smirked, "we disposed of them. They're no longer among the living."

Red and Green grabbed their Pokéballs.

"You goddamn bastards! I'll kill you!" Red shouted.

It took all of Green's self-control to not shout as well. He figured one of them had to keep their cool.

Ms. Zuka giggled again. "They were so weak. You should have seen their faces when we told them you had been found dead in the ocean."

That was the last drop. Green snapped. "You two... are... dead!"

He released Ivysaur, Pidgeotto and Kadabra. Red released Charmeleon, Raichu and Vileplume. Giallo's and Ms. Zuka's smiles disappeared as they tried to reach for their Pokéballs, but were unable to when Red's and Green's Pokémon attacked them all at once.

Pidgeotto grabbed Zuka's hair and lifted her into the air, and Ivysaur whipped her with its vines. Vileplume threw a handful of powder in Giallo's face, causing him to cough violently, and Charmeleon blasted fire, burning half his face.

The two villains tried to get away, but tripped and fell, dizzy from Kadabra's mind influence. They lied on the ground as Raichu shocked them repeatedly.

Red and Green showed no emotion as they stood and watched. They both thought the same thing. "This isn't like us. To do something like this. But those two aren't just anyone. What they did to our Pokémon. It can't be forgiven."

Giallo screamed, while Ms. Zuka was nearly unconscious.

Suddenly, right after Raichu stopped shocking the villains and they were both unconscious, the room started shaking, and the lights flickered. A deep, thoroughly evil laughter filled the room.

"That was truly cold-hearted," the deep voice bellowed, "maybe we're not so different after all."

Red and Green looked on in fear as an UltraBall was thrown into the room and a large Nidoking was released.

Their Pokémon barely had time to react before it attacked. Its horn glowed white and extended before it quickly moved toward Kadabra and stabbed it. The large Pokémon's body became surrounded by a whitish-blue aura, and it shot at Raichu with its head pointed at it, slamming into the mouse with its head. Pidgeotto and Vileplume charged toward it, but it turned around and, with one fist covered in sparks and one fist covered in an icy glow, punched them both.

Charmeleon and Ivysaur watched as all four of Red and Green's other Pokémon fell to the floor, unconscious. They looked at each other nervously as the Nidoking approached them. Charmeleon tried to run around it to attack from behind, while Ivysaur intended to attack from the front.

The Nidoking smirked, and released a stream of orange-red fire from its mouth, burning Ivysaur. Immediately after it dealt with Charmeleon by surrounding its powerful tail in a stream of water that spiraled around it, before slamming it into the fire lizard.

Red and Green looked in horror at their Pokémon, all lying on the floor, unconscious. The two teenagers, while shaking in fear, returned them to their Pokéballs.

"I must say, I am impressed you dared to come here." the deep voice continued, "but I cannot forgive what you did to my underlings. For that, I will make you feel a world of pain!"

Nidoking was returned just as two GreatBalls were thrown into the middle of the room, releasing a Rhyhorn and an Onix. The Onix filled the large room, leaving no chance of escape.

Red whispered to Green, "Hey, Green? What do you have left?"

"Eevee and Magikarp. You?"

"Butterfree and Growlithe."

"Okay then."

Red and Green released Butterfree, Growlithe and Eevee.

Green noticed he'd started sweating. "You do realize that with these Pokémon we don't stand a chance, right Red?"

Red nodded. "Do you care?" He pointed his finger toward the Onix. "Butterfree, Sleep Powder!"

Butterfree flew over the two rock-types to release the powder, but was swiftly smashed into the walls by the Onix's tail, and Red returned it.

Green told Eevee to use Take Down, and Eevee threw itself into the Onix, which didn't even seem to notice it.

"Growlithe, Flame Wheel!" Red ordered.

Growlithe cloaked itself with fire and charged at the Rhyhorn. The Rhyhorn headbutted Growlithe away.

The deep laugh bellowed again. "Useless! You're both useless!"

Green turned to Red. "You can't use that move!"

"Why not?"

"It's a physical attack. That thing is a friggin' tank! If you don't have anything that's super effective then you should stick to special attacks!"

"Really?" Red countered with an annoyed tone, "And what are you doing with your Eeve exactly? Gonna use all its attacks so that it can use that Last Resort move again?! Don't you realize it'll faint before it gets the chance?!"

Green wailed his arms around. "So what am I supposed to do?"

"I know something that might work."

"Fine," Green replied, "let's switch! Eevee, listen to this dumbass!"

"Growlithe, listen to this asshole!"

Growlithe and Eevee nodded to signal that they understood.

The deep laughter bellowed once more. "Really? You have such little confidence in your own Pokémon you take command of each others? And here I thought Dex-holders were supposed to have the potential for greatness."

The words lingered on Green's mind, but he wasn't sure why.

"Eevee, Trump Card!" Red shouted.

Eevee released an electric-like energy which hit the Onix, though it seemed unaffected.

Green commanded Red's Growlithe. "Come on, Growlithe! Hit it with a Flame Burst!"

Growlithe released a stream of fire from its mouth into the air in which the flames formed a ball of fire.

The Rhyhorn stared at the fireball.

The deep voice roared. "Rhyhorn, Rock Blast!"

Three light blue rings appeared and spun around Rhyhorn's body. The rings turned into glowing white rocks, still spinning around Rhyhorn. The fireball bursted into multiple streaks of fire which flew toward Rhyhorn. The spinning rocks were sent flying toward Growlithe. Growlithe managed to dodge them all, but Rhyhorn was hit straight-on. It seemed to be in a slight discomfort for a second before it shook it off.

"Dammit," Green thought, "fire won't do." He noticed that Red had been using the same move against Onix five-six times, all the while dodging Onix's attacks. "What are you doing?" he shouted.

"Trump Card." Red replied loudly, "The attack grows stronger and stronger the more it's used. Once Eevee only has the strength to use it one last time, it will be really powerful."

His rival's words gave Green an idea. "Nice! How many more until that happens?"

Red replied, unsure of what Green had in mind. "I think this one's it."

Green smiled slyly. "Great! Do it, but hit them both!"

"But that'll split the power?"

"Just trust me!"

Red turned to Eevee. "One final time! Trump Card!"

Green shouted to Growlithe. "Growlithe, Helping Hand!"

Growlithe released a bolt of blue electricity which hit Eevee. Eevee seemed to be strengthened by it, and the energy it released turned blue as well.

Red and Green grinned as they observed the energy enveloping Rhyhorn and Onix, making the two Pokémon twitch before they fell down to the floor unconscious. The two rivals pumped their fists into the air.

"We did it!" Red laughed.

Green was relieved. "We did it. We won!"

"Well, that was interesting." the deep voice spoke. "But remember kids, most trainers have more than two Pokémon."

Another UltraBall was thrown into the middle of the room in the same moment that Onix and Rhyhorn were returned. A Kanghaskan appeared from the Ball.

Red fell to his knees as the massive beast roared. "I-it's over. W-we lost." he stuttered.

Green bowed his head. "Eevee and Growlithe doesn't have anything left. And Magikarp is useless."

They returned their exhausted Pokémon and put their hands up.

"Alright!" Green yelled. "You won!"

"What happens now?!" Red shouted.

The deep voice was silent. Somehow, it was even more frightening than when he was laughing. There was absolutely no sound in the room until they heard someone walking.

Slow steps.

Eventually they could see a man wearing a black designer suit and black designer shoes. He had a red R pinned to his chest. It was too dark to see his face.

The man finally continued speaking. "What happens now? Oh, this is where the fun begins. You see, now that I won, you two are going to surrender. Then you're going to come with me. And you're going to do whatever the hell I tell you to do."

Green was enraged. "What do you want with us? And Blue? What do we have to do with anything?! We're just three kids from Pallet Town! We're nothing!"

The man laughed again. "Nothing? You are the Dex-holders."

"What's so special about that?" Red asked, grabbing his Pokédex and looking at it.

Green did the same.

"Do you know how many people exists who have that?" the man asked. "Three. You two and your friend. That's it!"

Green didn't seem surprised. "So? My grandfather didn't make more than three and he didn't give them to anyone but us."

"That's funny." the man continued, "You actually think that those devices are simply a technological wonder. You think it's a coincidence the three of you received them."

"What are you talking about?" Red asked.

"The Pokédex! They're an important part of the legend!" the man bellowed enthusiastically. "The Legend of Three! It's a common legend which has been heard all over the world!"

Green raised his eyebrow. "A legend?"

"Yes!" the voice spoke, "The Legend of Three! It says: When there is a great danger approaching, three will be chosen by the wise, and they will be handed the weapons they need to ensure the future of this world!"

The two wasn't sure what to make of it all.

Red stood up. "What are you saying?" he asked.

"I'm saying that I am the danger approaching, my organization and I." the man continued. "The wise professor gave you a starter and a Pokédex. And you three will ensure my success. I'm going to use you three to create the future I want!"

Green was furious. "Excuse me?! You're threatening the safety of our friends and family, you're doing everything you're doing because of some stupid legend?!"

"YES!" the man screamed. "YES! Because you three are going to lead me to the legendary bird trio!"

Green laughed. "Oh? So one ancient fairytale is going to lead you to a different ancient fairytale?"

"Yes." the man answered coldly.

"Why are you so sure?" Green asked.

"Because your grandfather told me I was right." the man replied.

Green was stunned.

"It's time to go." the man ordered. "Enough smalltalk. You're going to come with-" He was interrupted by sirens.

Police sirens.

"What is this?" he asked.

Green smirked. "The Pokédex. It happens to have a distress button. When I grabbed it, I pressed that button. It sent a signal directly to the closest police station. Congratulations. You lost!"

The man standing in the shadows was silent. He moved slowly into the darkness. "Fine. I'll give you this round. But this isn't over."

Red fake-pouted. "Are you leaving us already?" He chuckled nervously.

The man didn't answer, and disappeared into the shadows.

Red's legs felt like Jell-o. He fell down on the floor and started crying. "Oh man. Oh man." He wasn't able to say anything else.

Green sat down. He patted Red on his back and stared blankly out in front of him.

The police stormed in and found the two on the floor.

"Are you alright?" a policewoman asked.

Green looked up at her. "No. Not at all."


The police cuffed Giallo and Ms. Zuka, and took them into custody.

Red and Green received emergency treatment, and their Pokémon were brought to the PokéCenter.

The two sat on a sidewalk, each with a blanket covering them.

Red was still shaking from the experience.

Green noticed a policeman bringing something out of the building and showing it to the policewoman.

"Lt. Jensen, what do we do with this?" the man asked.

"What is it?" the lieutenant asked.

"It appears to be a Silph-product, possibly stolen. It was found on that Giallo-guy's person."

"Put it with the rest of the evidence." Jensen answered.

Green observed the man putting the gadget into a plastic bag and putting it in the trunk of the policecar. He then walked back to the casino without shutting the trunk. Green checked his surroundings.

All the police officers were back inside.

He ran over to the policecar, grabbed the Silph-product, and ran back. He sat down next to Red again in the exact same moment that the lieutenant and the officers came back out. Green made sure the blanket covered him and the gadget he took.

The lieutenant gave the two a compassionate nod before she closed the trunk and they all drove away.

Red turned to Green. "What was that about? Why did you take that?"

Green showed him the gadget. "I recognized it from a science magazine. It's called a Silph Scope."

"What does that mean?" Red wondered.

Green smiled faintly. "It means we're going to Lavender Town, Red. We're going to see Raticate and Wigglytuff again, one last time."


To be continued...

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