Bulbasaur's health had increased rapidly since his surgery two days ago. After much rest and reapplication of the fungicide, the bottom layer of his bulb had healed completely. Professor Oak said he was allowed to go outside and play with the other Pokémon, just as long as they took it easy.

To Violet's delight, Teddi got along swimmingly with the grass-type Pokémon. The two spent most of the day together, eating, playing, and napping. When Violet asked Teddi if she would be alright with Bulbasaur joining their little family, she responded with a joyous, "Teddi-Ursa!"

It was mid afternoon, and Violet was in her usual reading place under the maple tree. Teddi was asleep with her head using her owner's leg as a pillow while Violet petted her head. Bulbasaur was cuddled next to her on the other side, snoozing away peacefully.

Violet had decided that she wanted to know all she could about her new Pokémon so that she could take the best care of him. She knew it would be different than taking care of a normal type Pokémon like Teddi. So she had taken the book on Bulbasaurs from Professor Oak's library to read for the day.

She was so engrossed in her book, that she didn't notice the police officers approaching her. They had parked their cruiser on the side of the road and were now about thirty feet away from her.

"Miss Lestrade?"

Their sudden appearance startled her, and when she jumped at his voice, both of her Pokémon were stirred from their nap.

"Uh, yeah, that's me." An odd mixture of dread hope welled inside of her. Did they have news about her father? If so, would it be good or bad?

The first policeman spoke. "My name is Officer Larry, and this is Officer Mark. We need to bring you down to the station so we can ask you a few questions."

That hadn't been expected. "The police in Newbark Town already questioned me, though. I told them everything I knew."

Well, she had told them everything except what Professor Oak had informed her about her father. She didn't want anyone to know of her father's connection with Team Rocket. Part of her was afraid that maybe he would get into even more trouble than he already was if she spilled the beans.

"Yes," Officer Mark explained, "but some new evidence has come up and we need to know if you can help us to decipher what it means."

"What is it?" If there was one thing that years of distancing herself from people had given her, it was an instinctual feeling of caution around strangers. Something didn't feel right here. Why had they come to the back yard instead of going to the front door? Did Professor Oak know they were here?

Officer Mark drew a little closer. "I'm afraid we're not classified to tell you at the moment, but Detective Harrison will explain everything at the station."

Violet stood up and took uncertainly took a couple steps towards them. She stopped. "I should tell the professor that I'm leaving."

"That won't be necessary. We've already informed him that we would be coming."

She still didn't like it. She wanted to see the professor confirm this himself. After all, he was her legal guardian while Val was missing. "Well, I'll let him know you that you're here." Violet started walking towards the house, but didn't make it three steps before something wrapped tightly around her legs and yanked hard. She screamed and crashed to the ground painfully. It was a vine from a Weepinbell. One of them must have let it out of a PokéBall while her back was turned.

"I'm sorry, but the professor can't know about this just yet."

Her eyes widened. The caution she had shown had proved her right, but oh how she wish she had been wrong!

At the sight of Violet in danger, Teddi and Bulbasaur let out battle cries and rushed to help her. Mark sent out a Machop in retaliation. It defeated the Teddiursa with ease, grabbing hold of her by the arm and punching her face, sending her flying. As for Bulbasaur, his wound made it difficult to perform any attack, and his vine whip failed and fell limp on the ground.

Violet pulled at the vine with all her might and tried to kick it off, but Weepinbell only squeezed tighter. Larry grabbed her by the arms and lifted her up. She managed to get out one "Help!" before his hand clamped over her mouth. She struggled hard against him and before Mark could grab her too she got one arm free and punched him in the face.

"You little bitch!" He jabbed her knee into her stomach and knocked the wind out of her. Between the two of the men and the Weepinbell, they forced her towards the car. She continued screaming through Larry's hand. Mark opened the back door of the vehicle. Once she was in, there was no saving herself. She couldn't get in that car. She could not get in that car!

Uryu?! Uryu, where are you?!

"Fire spin!"

A rush of heat surged throughout the surrounding air. Both Mark and Weepinbell screamed and Violet felt their grips on her loosen. She kicked Weepinbell away and pushed at Mark, but Larry still had a tight hold of her. He whipped around so he could see the attacker, forcing Violet to do the same.

Noah was rushing at them, a look of pure rage and adrenaline on his face. He commanded his Quilava to attack again, and the Pokémon obliged in kind. He lunged at Larry and sank his fangs into the man's arm. He shoved Quilava off, but had to take his hand away from Violet's mouth to do so. She stomped on his feet with her own in an attempt to get away completely, but he was strong and clung tight with his other arm. By then, Noah had almost reached them, but Mark's Machop was close behind him.

Violet thought of Hitmonlee attacking Val and gasped. "Noah, look out!"

"Got it covered!"

At his words, Machop was stopped in its tracks and knocked off its feet by some invisible force. Natu stood at the top of the hill. Her eyes were glowing faintly as she paralyzed Machop with her psychic powers.

Noah pulled back his arm and landed a punch on Larry's face. The impact loosened his grip enough for Violet to wriggle free. She retreated and turned to face the scene. Mark was nursing his burnt arm, while Weepinbell was equally overcome from the fire spin attack. Natu kept Machop at bay, and Noah faced Larry, alongside Quilava.

Finally, Mark stood and returned Machop to its PokéBall. "Larry, let's just leave. It's a no-go!"

Larry took one final look at Violet and snorted. He grabbed Noah and threw him to the ground before calling back Weepinbell. Quilava stood in front of his owner in defense, in case of any more assaults. Before the two Rocket members could reach their vehicle, a bright, brilliant beam of white light shot through the sky. It hit the car and the explosion sent Larry and Mark flying off their feet. Even Noah and Quilava were forced backwards.

At the top of the hill a large and very pissed off Dragonite. At his feet stood Professor Oak, arms crossed and face furious. Even next to his towering Pokémon, he looked larger and stronger than anyone half his age. Here was a man with no tolerance for trespassers with evil intentions.

"Noah," he spoke without taking his eyes off of the intruders. "Take Violet and her Pokémon back up to the house and call the police. I will handle these two from here."

The newcomers had stunned everyone. The exploding car at the hands of Dragonite's hyper beam proved to be an effective end to their brawl. Noah obeyed and returned his Pokémon to their PokéBalls. He led a dazed Violet, who was now holding and comforting an exhausted Teddi, back to the lab.

Violet walked with her head in a haze. They had almost taken her. Ten more seconds, and they would have had her in that car. They would have whisked her away to god-knows-where to be threatened and yank Val's chain until he talked. Teddi and Bulbasaur had tried all they could to help her. Noah and Professor Oak had saved her. She hadn't done anything herself to get away. She wasn't able to save herself.

That alone was scarier than a hundred kidnapping attempts.

Miles away, the harsher, more dangerous depths of the Viridian Forest were teeming with activity of Pokémon, large and strong. It was a section of the forest which was rarely visited by travelers and avoided entirely by fresh trainers. The place was overrun by Beedrill, rampaging Nidokings, and flocks and aggressive Fearow.

It was here in this formidable atmosphere, that Ivan Moran was battling with his Pokémon... literally.

He stood in a fighting stance between Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan, eyes darting between them, wondering which would be brave enough to make the first strike. Both of his Pokémon were surveying him. They eyed him up to find any weak points they could target. Unfortunately for them, Moran had mastered protecting his weak points.

Hitmonchan made the first move. It aimed for a side hit, but Moran blocked the punch in time. An uppercut followed immediately afterwards, and in order to dodge it, Moran jumped to the ground completely, and Hitmonchan's fist landed on Hitmonlee's face instead. The kicking fiend had attempted to take advantage of Moran being distracted, but to no avail. Moran whipped his legs around in coffee-grinder fashion and knocked Hitmonchans own legs out from under him. Hitmonlee tried for another kick, but was blocked by Moran's arm. The Pokémon prepared for another assault. Then Moran's cell phone rang.

"Halt!" In an instant, both of his sparing partners ceased all movements. Moran stood and retrieved his phone, which was sitting on a stump nearby. He looked at the caller I.D. and frowned. Petrel. What did that buffoon want?

"What?"

"Ah, Ivan! Just the man I wanted to talk to."

"Who else were you expecting to answer?"

"Well, you never know—"

"What do you want? I'm in the middle of sparring." Moran waved away at his Pokémon, giving them the signal that this conversation might take a while. They sat on the ground in meditation as a response.

"Actually, that's exactly what I want to talk to you about." Moran couldn't tell by the tone of voice if Petrel was excited or dreading what he had to say next. It made him oddly more intrigued.

"Go on."

"Ah, well, you see, we've received nothing but silence from your end for almost a week, so in the event that you may have abandoned the mission, I took the lead and performed the job for you."

Moran tightened his grip on the phone. He could only have been talking about capturing Val's daughter. "What did you do?"

"I sent two of my finest men to Professor Oak's lab. Haven't heard back from them yet, but I'm sure I'll get a positive report soon."

"Don't sound so cocky. Did they even consider what would happen if Oak should discover them?"

Petrel took a couple seconds to think before blurting out, "Uh well, they are professionals."

"I'm the professional, Petrel. Why do you think Giovanni hired me instead of sending out his own men?"

"Y-yes, but—"

"You idiot!" Moran punched a nearby tree. It quivered, but his calloused knuckles barely felt a thing. "You didn't think this through at all, did you?"

"J-just wait, Ivan! They'll report back soon, I'm sure, and when they do..."

"Professor Oak is one of the most skilled trainers this side of Pallet Town, and with that girl there, I'm sure he's secured his place well. He practically has an army of Pokémon at his disposal, and you sent two grunts to do a trained assassin's job?!"

There was no reply from Petrel, save for some unintelligible stuttering.

Moran clenched his fist. "Did you even inform Giovanni of your actions?"

The Rocket executive seemed to have found his voice. "You were taking so long to act; I assumed that he was growing impatient."

"I have been in constant contact with him. He understands full well why I have chosen my course of action. You've ruined our plans, you fool!"

"He... he knew?!" Moran could just picture Petrel, sitting cross-legged in his office chair and shaking in his boots. That damn, damn dimwit. He continued blathering on about how it was all a misunderstanding, and how it was the assassin's fault for not keeping him updated.

"Goodbye, Petrel," Moran said coolly. "I look forward to hearing about your resignation." He hung up without another word.

How on earth did that moron make executive? He must have kissed ass all the way since day one.

Moran sat upon the stump and rested his chin on his folded hands. Sneasel and Vileplume had been injured during the raid on the Lestrade residence. This time had been dedicated to their recovery, as well as his fighting duo honing their skills. He knew he had wanted to wait anyway for Val's daughter to become more at home at Oak's laboratory, for her to be driven into a false sense of security. That was always the best time to strike a target, when they were off guard. He had been just two days from heading to Pallet Town to begin scoping out the grounds of the professor's lab, and now Petrel, in his hungry to please his superiors, has destroyed everything.

They would move the girl now, he was sure of it. The professor would want to keep her location a secret. But where would they take her next, he wondered. It would be somewhere comfortable, where she would feel secure. But what places were left for her? What place could feel like home for a lonely, broken-hearted young woman?

He stood and picked up his black jacket from the ground. As he donned it, he spoke to Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. "Boys, gather Vileplume and Sneasel from the river. Time for a little road trip."