Neo, Hope, Star, Crystal and Mech were waiting in one of the back rooms of the Blackthorn City Pokémon Center waiting for Chad to arrive to bring them to the Team Rocket Headquarters in the Silver Mountains.
Mech: How much longer is he going to take?
Crystal: Be patient, Mech. He'll be here soon enough.
Mech: I just wish he'd hurry up. I'm itching to bust up Team Rocket's Headquarters.
Crystal: Well, you'll just have to find something else to do until he arrives.
While Mech and Crystal argued about the length of time Chad was taking to arrive, Neo was off to the side with Hope and Star discussing other matters.
Star: Are you sure we can trust this trainer you called for?
Neo: Of course. I admit I was a bit skeptical when I first met him. But he turned out to be good.
Star: I hope you're right.
Neo: While we wait, I want to know something.
Hope: What is it?
Neo: I'll understand if you don't want to talk about it, but I wanted to know about whoever it was you asked Kirkland about.
As soon as he mentioned it both Hope and Star's attitudes changed. The Vulpix sisters were very hesitant to say anything about the matter.
Neo: I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It…
Hope: No. It's alright.
Neo: But…
Hope: You have a right to know if we are to go into battle against Team Rocket together.
Neo: Well, if you're okay with telling me.
Star: We are.
Neo: Then I guess my first question is, who is she?
Hope: She's… our mother.
Neo: Your mother!
Hope: Yes. All three of us lived in peace with our father near Mt. Pyre until a few years ago.
Neo: What happened, if you don't mind me asking.
Hope: Like I said, for as long as we could remember we always lived in peace with our mother and our father, an Arcanine named Blaze.
Neo: Your father's an Arcanine?
Star: Not only that but he's really strong.
Hope: Yes, but our mother wasn't one for conflict. She always wanted to resolve disputes peacefully while our father had a more physical approach.
Neo: Sounds like your father could handle any situation.
Hope: That's what we believed as well, but all that changed when Team Rocket attacked.
Star: They caught us when Hope and I were out with our father during one of our training sessions. We heard a ruckus coming from the base of Mt. Pyre where we lived. When we got back there Team Rocket agents were everywhere, capturing Pokémon left and right.
Hope: We tried to stop them, but their numbers were too great. Then, one of them managed to get in a blind attack on our father. He was hurt pretty bad. He was just about to be captured when our mother jumped in the way. She was already weakened from trying to fight them off herself and wasn't able to break free of the Poké ball.
Neo: This is starting to sound all too familiar…
Hope: When they finally left we were able to help those who weren't captured. We wanted to go after them to rescue our mother right then, but with our father injured we couldn't. So, we stayed behind to help. We were able to leave a few months later, but we didn't have any leads on where to look for the Rockets that attacked our home.
Star: After months of searching without finding anything we were on the verge of giving up. That's when we met Crystal and Mech. We told them our story and they agreed to help us. They even knew a place where there had been some Team Rocket activity.
Neo: Where was that?
Hope: Goldenrod City. We arrived there months later and found that it did indeed have Team Rocket activity. But before we could find out what we were captured and brought here. We were prisoners there for a little more than a month before you were brought in.
Neo: I…had no idea.
Hope: Well, now you know.
Neo: You have my word that I'll help you rescue your mother.
Star: You don't have to. It's not your fight.
Neo: I'm making it my fight. I know what it's like to have a loved one taken away. I won't just stand by and let another Pokémon suffer like that.
Star: What do you mean? Are you talking about those three Pokémon we're going to rescue?
Neo: No, not really. I'm talking about someone who means the world to me.
Having ended their arguing and hearing what Neo, Hope and Star were talking about, Crystal and Mech joined them.
Star: If not them then who?
Neo: Another Pikachu. Her name is Sasha.
Hope: Is she your sister?
Neo: No. She's my mate.
Hope: What happened to her?
Neo: It all started a little more than two weeks ago. Everything was going fine when one of our friends said he needed to talk with me about something. I left Sasha back at our den and went to meet him.
Hope: What was it about?
Neo: He told me he saw a suspicious-looking group of trainers in the forest and told me I should be careful. It wasn't until her left that I found out it was Team Rocket.
Star: How did you find out?
Neo: They attacked me.
Mech: Oh man, that sound like Team Rocket alright.
Crystal: What happened next?
Neo: I fought off my attacker only to realize that there were probably more out there and they could have been after everyone else. I rushed back to the den only to find it empty.
Star: Did they catch your friends?
Neo: I thought they had. But then I saw a Thunderbolt attack being fired in the distance and knew that Sasha was still fighting them off. I hurried there as fast as I could only to find I was too late. Skye, Bandit and Buzz were captured and both Ziggy and Angel were badly injured. Sasha was protecting them.
Hope: At least you were able to save them, right?
Neo: No.
Star: No? What happened?
Neo: One of the Rockets had a Seviper with a new type of poison they developed. When my back was turned he sent it to attack me, but…
Hope: What?
Neo: Sasha…she shoved me out of the way and took the attack. She was poisoned instead of me.
Crystal: No…
Neo: I was so angry that I attacked the Seviper. During my attack the Rocket got hit with its tail and was poisoned as well.
Hope: Wait a minute. He must have had an antidote in case something like that happened.
Neo: He did, but in order to prevent me from saving Sasha he threw it away and died.
Mech: That bastard!
Neo: You said it.
Star: What happened to her after that?
Neo: Ziggy, Angel and I needed to get her help, so we decided to head out of the forest and look for some. That's when Chad found us and took us to Pallet Town to see Professor Oak.
Crystal: Was he able to?
Neo: No. Without a pure sample of the poison he couldn't create the antidote.
Star: She didn't die, did she?
Neo: No. She's in a cryogenic state back in Professor Oak's lab. She'll be that way until I can find the antidote.
Hope: I'm sorry to hear that. It must be hard on you.
Neo: It is, but I'm not going to stop until I save my friends and find that antidote. Until that happens I will not rest.
Hope: Well, I promise that we all will do whatever we can to help you.
Star: That's right.
Crystal: Absolutely.
Mech: You got that right.
Neo: Thanks you guys. You have no idea how much better that makes me feel.
Hope: It helps when you have friends.
Then, Nurse Joy walked into the room.
Nurse Joy: Excuse me, but there's a man in the lobby named Chad. He said you'd be expecting him.
Neo: Sounds like our escort's here.
Hope: Time to hit Team Rocket's Headquarters.
Mech: About time! I was getting anxious.
Crystal: You're always like that, Mech.
The group shared a laugh before heading out to meet Chad.
In his office Giovanni was waiting. Ever since Kirkland informed him that Neo and the others had escaped he knew they would eventually come here. Just then, one of his agents walked in.
Giovanni: Has it been done?
Agent: Yes sir. All of the data regarding the poison and the antidote has been erased. All that's left is this one vial.
The agent took out a vial of antidote and gave it to Giovanni.
Giovanni: Good. You are dismissed.
The agent bowed and left the office. Giovanni turned to his Persian and pet it.
Giovanni: We should get ready to greet our guests.
The Persian let out a sinister meow before following behind Giovanni as he left his office to get ready for Neo and the other's arrival.
While Neo and the others prepare to invade Team Rocket Headquarters, Giovanni is planning something for their arrival. Will the attack go as planned, or will Giovanni's surprise be enough to bring it to an abrupt end? The attack begins in the next chapter of Battle for Life and Love!
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