Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon.
Chapter 12: Operation Master Grab
It had been several minutes since the tour group that Lorain and the others had joined had been taken hostage. During that whole time, Ross was on the verge of chewing the furniture. He wanted nothing more than to beat the three Team Rocket goons holding them captive to a pulp, but Lorain was insistent that they needed to stay calm and wait. Ross was not the only one in the room who was agitated though. For the last few minutes one of the other members of the tour group, a six-year-old girl with sky-blue hair had been crying her eyes out for the last few minutes. Her mother had been trying to comfort her with no success, and it was driving one of the Rocket goons guarding the room nuts.
"Hey! Will you shut that brat up already?" the Rocket agent impatiently ordered the mother.
"Why don't you just let us go?" the mother told him.
"Dammit, I said shut her up!" the thug ordered as he walked towards them.
At this point, Ross stood up and blocked his path. "Just lay off!"
"What, you want a piece of me, punk?" the thug asked. In response, Ross punched him in the jaw and knocked him to the ground.
"Ross!" Lorain called out.
"That felt pretty good." Ross smirked. "I've been wantin' to do that all morning."
"You damn little…" the agent grumbled as he got to his feet and wiped his mouth. "I'm gonna make you regret that you were ever born!" He pulled out a pokeball and threw it. "Go Koffing!" The floating purple gas ball emerged from the ball.
"Go Poliwrath!" Ross called with his own throw. The polliwog Pokemon burst out to face Koffing.
"Wha… what the…?" the thug exclaimed. "A trainer?"
"Ice Punch!" Ross commanded.
Poliwrath jumped up and stuck Koffing in the face with a fist covered in a frozen mist. Koffing became covered in ice upon being punched and fell to the ground like a stone.
"Okay. Who else wants some?" Ross dared.
"Dammit! I'll handle this!" the second of the thugs declared as he pulled out his own pokeball. "Go Drowzee!"
Bursting out of the second agent's ball was a taper-like creature that stood on two legs. The top half of its body was colored yellow, while the bottom half was brown.
"Go Tyrunt!" Skins called as he stood and threw his own ball. The little T-Rex Pokemon burst out of the ball. "Use Crunch!"
Tyrunt charged at Drowzee and opened his massive jaws. When he came in range he bit down hard on Drowzee's left arm, causing the taper Pokemon to cry out. After a few moments Tyrunt finally let go of Drowzee's arm. Drowzee staggered backward and fell onto its back unconscious.
"A critical hit! Nice one, Skins!" Ross praised. "Looks like these guys are nothing but a bunch of wimps."
"Looks like it's up to me!" the remaining of the three thugs observed. "Go Weepinbell!"
Emerging from the thug's ball was a large yellow plant-like creature in the shape of a bell. It had two round eyes, and on the sides of its body were two large green leafs that looked similar to wings. On the top of its body was a short brown vine that looked like the remains of a stem.
"Go Paras!" Lorain called with her own throw. The red mushroom insect emerged from its ball. "Use X-Scissor!"
"Attack with Acid!" the thug ordered.
Weepinbell fired a shot of purple liquid that struck Paras in the face. The liquid gave off a hissing sound as it burned the insect. Paras recovered after a moment and jumped into the air. As it came down towards Weepinbell, Paras' arms began to glow red. What Paras came in range, it slashed Weepinbell in the face and left a red X-shaped mark.
"Use Sleep Powder!" Lorain commanded.
Paras landed on the ground and glowing blue spores flew from the mushrooms on its back. The spores struck Weepinbell as well as the three Team Rocket agents. In seconds all those hit with the spores fell to the ground and were sound asleep. Lorain breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dammit kid! Why didn't you do that sooner?" Ross asked her.
"I was trying to figure out a way to do that discreetly!" Lorain argued. "But then you had to go and punch one of those guys out!"
"What, so I was just supposed to sit on my hands while he roughed up a little kid and her mom?" Ross pointed out. "How the hell could I have looked myself in the mirror again if I had done that?"
Before the argument could get too far, the metal door to the room suddenly opened up. Bolt and Quinton walked into the lab.
"Hey guys." Bolt greeted. "You all okay?"
"Where the hell have you been?" Ross demanded to know. "And who's this guy?"
"Long story, man." Bolt told him. "For now, let's just stay I didn't do a good job of watching my step."
"How'd you even get in here?" Lorain asked.
"With this little card key." Quinton answered, holding up the key. "Bolt and I got it off this employee turned traitor. He's locked in a broom closet right now."
"Hey Quinton, do we need that key to get into your dad's office?" Bolt asked.
"Nope. All we need to do is step on the teleport pad in this room and we'll be in the hallway right outside his door." Quinton answered.
"Then give Ross the key." Bolt requested. "Ross, you and the others go through the building and get the other hostages out. You might want to let the cops know what's going on here too."
"And why am I taking orders from you?" Ross asked as Quinton handed him the key.
"Because you know I'm right." Bolt answered. "Plus you still think you owe me for the whole Nugget Tournament thing."
"…Fine." Ross finally agreed.
"Let's get goin', Quinton." Bolt told him as he headed for the pad.
"Right behind ya." Quinton replied. In moments the two of them stepped on the pad and vanished.
Cassidy stood with her arms crossed, looking out the large window of the president's office overlooking the city. Behind her, Butch was leaning against the corner of the polished wooden desk in the office. Tied in the chair that went with the desk was President Mercury, a man with pale blonde hair and wearing glasses and a purple suit and a red tie. Cassidy and Butch's irate Raticate was at President Mercury's feet, growling at him.
"I'm just about out of patience, Mr. President." Cassidy told him, not once turning away from the window. "For the eighteenth time, open the safe for us and give us the disc. Otherwise this time I'll be forced to have my dear Raticate make you a little more cooperative."
"And for the eighteenth time I'm going to say no." President Mercury told her. "You can do whatever you want to me, but I'll never allow you to have the plans for the Master Ball."
"C'mon pops! Be reasonable!" Butch told him. "We really don't want to do this the hard way, but we will if you make us."
"This operation of ours has been years in the making." Cassidy told the president. "We've come too far to come away from it with nothing. So I'm going to ask you just one more time. Give us the disc."
"No matter how many times you order me to, I will not hand that disc over to you." President Mercury told her.
"Well, I tried." Cassidy sighed. "Raticate…"
Before Cassidy could finish her command, the sound of an electric guitar riff sounded from the door. Soon after, Magnezone flew in and shocked Raticate with a bolt of yellow electricity. The large rodent fell onto its back and was out cold.
"Sounds like you guys need to learn the meaning of the word, no." Bolt told the duo as he entered the office with Quinton.
"Who the hell are you?" Butch demanded to know.
"Me? I'm the badass rocker of Sinnoh, Bolt Hanson." The rocker proudly answered.
"Dad, are you okay?" Quinton asked.
"Quinton! What on earth are you doing here?" President Mercury responded. "You need to get out! It's too dangerous!"
"I'd listen to your dad, kid." Butch told him. "We're not playing around here."
"Well neither am I!" Quinton declared.
"You know, you guys seem kinda different than the other Team Rocket losers I've had to deal with." Bolt noted. "Who the heck are you guys?"
Cassidy smirked and took a dramatic pose. "You'd better prepare for trouble."
"And you'd better make it double!" Butch added as he took his own pose.
"To infect the world with devastation!" Cassidy spoke.
"To blight all people in every nation!" Butch added.
"To denounce the…" Cassidy began.
"Magnezone, Thunderbolt!" Bolt commanded, cutting her off. The magnetic Pokemon shot of bolt of yellow lightning at Butch's feet.
"What the hell was that for?" Butch demanded to know.
"What the hell were you guys even doing?" Bolt responded. "I was just wanted to know your freakin' names, and you give me this weird song and dance?"
"Forget it, Bolt! These guys don't have names worth remembering." Quinton declared.
"Yeah, you're right." Bolt agreed. "Besides their boss and that masked gal I met in Johto, one Team Rocket jerk's the same as the other."
"How dare you!" an offended Cassidy protested. "My partner and I happen to be high-ranking officers in Team Rocket!"
"Cassidy! Let's teach these brats a lesson!" Butch told her.
"Great idea!" Cassidy agreed as she pulled out a pokeball. "Go Houndour!"
Bursting out of Cassidy's pokeball was a black dog with a red snout and underside. Atop its head was a white crest that resembled a skull. On the dog's back were two white strips that looked almost like rib bones, and around its ankles were thick white bands.
"Go Chrome!" Quinton called, throwing his own pokeball. The saucer Pokemon flew up to hover next to Magnezone.
"Chrome?" a rather surprised President Mercury repeated.
"Go Mightyena!" Butch called as he threw his own ball.
Emerging from Butch's ball was another large dog with black and grey fur. The beast was slightly larger than Houndour and had red eyes.
"I'll handle the president's kid! You take care of rocker boy!" Butch told his partner.
"Fine!" Cassidy agreed before turning her attention to Bolt and Magnezone. "Houndour, use Flamethrower!"
"Dodge and use Thunderbolt!" Bolt ordered.
Houndour opened its jaws and breathed out a stream of flames at Magnezone. The mechanical Pokemon flew to the side and avoided the blast before shooting an electrical bolt down at Houndour. The dog Pokemon was struck but managed to stay standing.
"Chrome, use Metal Claw on Mightyena!" Quinton commanded.
"Use Shadow Ball!" Butch ordered.
Chrome flew towards Mightyena as its golden claws began to glow white. Mightyena opened its mouth and fired a ball of crackling black energy at Chrome. The silver Pokemon managed to withstand the attack and slashed Mightyena in the face twice.
"Mightyena, use Crunch!" Butch commanded.
Before Chrome could fly out of range, Mightyena clamped onto the metal Pokemon's left arm with its jaws. Mightyena shook Chrome and threw him across the office into the wall. After a moment, Chrome flew back up into the air.
"Hey Quinton! What say we switch things up a bit?" Bolt suggested.
"Fine by me." Quinton agreed.
"Magnezone, use Magnet Bomb on Mightyena!" Bolt commanded.
"Chrome! Hit Houndour with Take Down!" Quinton ordered.
Magnezone crackled with blue electricity and fired a ball of blue energy at Mightyena, striking the dog in the back. At the same time, Chrome tucked his arms back and flew at Houndour like a rocket and rammed into its side. The fire-breathing hound was hurled into a bookcase that stood against the office wall.
"Let's end this!" Bolt decided. "Magnezone, finish Houndour with Electro Ball!"
"Chrome, take down Mightyena with one more Metal Claw!" Quinton ordered.
Magnezone turned around and fired a ball of yellow electricity from its left magnet. Houndour was struck by the attack just as it had gotten back to its feet and collapsed. At the same time, Chrome zoomed in and slashed Mightyena in the side with its glowing claws, causing the beast to fall on its side. Seeing that there was no longer any fight in the two dog Pokemon, Cassidy and Butch called them back.
"You may have won this round, but we're just getting started!" Cassidy declared.
"Okay. If you wanna keep playing, I'm game." Bolt agreed as he called back Magnezone. "But I think I'm gonna go ahead and change things up. Let's rock, Raikou!" The tiger of thunder burst out of Bolt's ball and roared at Butch and Cassidy.
"What the… how the hell does this kid have a Raikou?" a shocked Butch asked.
"Dammit! We weren't prepared for anything like this!" Cassidy spoke.
Butch gritted his teeth and threw another pokeball. "Go Abra!"
Emerging from Butch's ball was a small bipedal creature with a head resembling that of a fox. Its eyes were closed and it sat on the ground with its legs crossed. Much of its skin was colored a brownish yellow, with the skin of its upper torso colored completely brown and resembling armor.
"Where did you get that Pokemon?" Cassidy asked.
"I traded my Primeape for it back at HQ." Butch answered. "Now we gotta get outta here! Operation Master Grab is a bust!"
"But…" Cassidy began.
"Abra! Get us out of here with Teleport!" Butch ordered. "Raticate too!"
Abra's eyes opened slightly and its body glowed with a feint blue aura. Seconds later, Cassidy, Butch and their two Pokemon vanished with a flash of white light. With the Team Rocket duo gone, Quinton went over and untied his father.
"You okay dad?" Quinton asked.
"I'm fine." President Mercury assured him as he stood up. "You handled yourself very well in that battle."
"Your son's a pretty good trainer, Mr. Mercury." Bolt informed him. "Probably one of the best I've met."
"Is that so?" President Mercury replied. Just then, the intercom buzzer on his desk buzzed, prompting him to answer. "Yes?"
"Mr. Mercury, this Officer Jenny." The voice on the intercom replied. "My people have moved in and have started taking the Team Rocket members that have taken over the building into custody. So far none of your workers seem to be hurt."
"Dad, some of the employees are actually working for Team Rocket." Quinton told him. "That's how these guys were able to take over the building."
"We're going to be questioning everyone taking hostage to get a good picture of what happened." Officer Jenny told President Mercury. "If there are more turncoats here, we'll find them."
"Thank you, Officer Jenny. Keep me informed." President Mercury replied before shutting off the intercom and turning back to Quinton. "You've done me and the company proud today, son."
"Thanks dad." Quinton told him.
"Quinton… I know that taking this company over from me isn't what you want." President Mercury began. "And after seeing how you handled yourself against those two from Team Rocket, I've decided to let you go on a training journey."
"Dad, are you sure?" Quinton asked. "I mean… who'll take over for you when the time comes?"
"Your younger sister has expressed interest in running the company when she's older." President Mercury answered. "You just follow your own dream, son. I know you'll do great."
"Thanks dad." Quinton replied before turning to Bolt. "Hey Bolt, would you mind if I tag along with you and your little gang?"
"No problem, dude." Bolt agreed. "The more, the merrier."
Author's Note: Thus ends the epic Silph Co. chapters. I hope everyone enjoyed reading them. In the next installment, Bolt will be facing one of my favorite Pokemon gym leaders of all time. So stay tuned.
Please review and let me know what you think.