The Grey Journey

Chapter Ten

Grey exhaled, his hands resting to the side of the Team Rocket-approved personal pokémon storage computer. His fingers drummed as he waited for his order to be accepted. Norman squeaked from his side.

"Rat-ta-ta?"

"Yes, Norman. We're getting the full team back. Father was so proud," he snorted the last part out with sarcasm, "When we got him a chunk of that rock."

"Ratta-ta."

"Yes, they'll probably be extremely pissed."

"Rattata-ra-ra!"

"No, you can't eat Bell."

"Ratta!"

Grey chuckled. "No, she can't eat you."

The pinging finished, and five pokéballs emerged from a lower hatch in the computer. Slowly, he grabbed them all. "Frankly," he muttered. "I forgot how powerful the feeling is."

He laughed quietly to himself, his shoulders shaking in excitement. "Ah, I feel good," he gave a nod to Norman. "Let's go Norman," he walked out of the room, the Rattata following him dutifully. "We have business in town?" he asked as he entered the main room.

Jessie nervously chuckled, hiding her hand of aces from sight. "Who? Us? Nah!"

James nodded too. "Absolutely, there is nothing to do."

Meowth chose that moment to enter, hands greased with oil. "I've got the water pumping machine ready! We can hit the gym at a moment's notice!"

Grey looked at the now paling duo, his arms crossed in front of his chest. "I suppose you'll be…"

"Gym-stepping!" Jessie exclaimed. "To keep the physique ready! You know, water exercises!"

"Like that one time you entered a beauty competition with James?" Grey's words trailed off as James gave off one of the very 'steel' glares he could muster.

"That never happened, boss."

"Sure," Grey blinked. "Of course it didn't. It's not like I have photos or anything to prove it happened."

Slowly, James' hand went to his pokéball. "I trust in a cloud of paralyzing gas to be enough…" he then gave a quick wary glance at Norman. "Maybe not," he acquiesced, letting go of the very stupid idea.

"So, you're hitting the gym?"

"And there's an old guy who has the 'Dig' technique," James continued. "We're leaving that to a few grunts."

"So, what am I supposed to do?" he asked calmly.

"Relax for a while, boss?" Jessie suggested. "Maybe get yourself an ice-cream?"

"Meowth! I want an ice-cream!" Meowth exclaimed, only for a glacial glare from Grey to still him on the spot.

"I have the full team again and you're telling me I have to wait, here, doing nothing if not having to suffer boredom?"

"The grunts have a mean console for gaming boss," James said. "They need a bit of cajoling, but the latest Monster Catcher Three is to die for in multiplayer!"

Grey just took a sit on the plush sofa and exhaled, bringing a pillow over his face. "Fine. It's not like I expect to have to bail you out of trouble anyway."

"Have some trust in us, Meowth!" Meowth exclaimed, but Grey wasn't hearing him. Norman jumped on Grey's stomach, before curling around and falling asleep, his tail twitching every now and then in rhythm with his whiskers.

Green

She couldn't believe her eyes when Grey had left on the Team Rocket balloon. She couldn't believe it, she wouldn't believe it. Grey wasn't a Team Rocket member! He treated his pokémon with respect, not with apathy! He never once hit Norman, or spewed anything about how pokémon had to be tools rather than friends.

Red and Blue had taken little to convince. They hadn't really hanged out much with Grey, preferring to take to the more 'rustic' activities outdoors. Grey was an indoor type. She knew that much. He was a Snorlax, if she had to give him a 'pokémon' definition.

Yet the abuse he had rained down, the words he had said, everything seemed to point him at being some sort of evil mastermind of Team Rocket.

Why help her then? Why teach her?

Ash wanted to take Grey on because he never could resist a challenge. Red and Blue wanted to follow through because of how he had managed to make them look like fools. She didn't want that.

She wanted Grey to repent for his actions.

Her breathing ragged and short, she stopped to take a sip of water. With Mount Moon caved in, the only other way to go was around the mountain itself —a longer path, and far more dangerous.

The fact they were going as a group was just slightly better than normal. Still, it meant it would take time to reach Cerulean city. Time Grey had for doing… Whatever he wanted, maybe leave once more for another place.

The positive note was that she now had an Oddish.

The negative note was that the Oddish seemed to love her Squirtle and hate her Spearow. It probably had something to do with pokémon types. It was the same reason her Squirtle was wary of Ash's Pikachu.

"Hey," Misty —the girl that apparently travelled with Ash until the latter would pay her back her bike— said, walking next to her. "Is everything all right?"

"I can't believe Grey would do something like this," she murmured back. "He didn't seem the type."

"Oh," Misty blinked. "You knew him?"

"We all do," Red butted in on the conversation. "He was a new arrival in Pallet Town. City's small and we know each other…he didn't seem a bad bloke. I never thought he'd be in league with the Rockets."

"I knew something was wrong with him," Blue snorted. "Hanging around with a Rattata…all Rockets have Rattata as a starter, because they're filthy rats."

"I don't understand," Ash said, shaking his head. "Grey…he was a wimp."

"He was not a wimp!" Green exclaimed, clenching her hands into fists. "He knew a lot of things about Pokémons!"

"Sorry! But," Ash continued, "He looked as if he wouldn't hurt a Pidgey."

"He killed my Geodude," Brock said firmly, being the guide of the team. "I'm not going to stop until I find and bring him to justice."

To those words, no one added anything.

Author's notes

Felt like it, added another chapter.