Episode 12: False Security
Sabrina, Michael, and I resumed navigating the maze of arrow and stop pads quickly, the large man in tow. He had decided he would wait until we had made it out to reclaim Eevee from me. We all stepped on an arrow pad pointing north and made our way through a narrow corridor, which led us out of the maze. We saw a staircase leading upwards in the middle of the room and headed directly for it.
"So, where exactly are we?" I asked the big guy, "And how did you know I had Eevee?"
"I used to work for Team Rocket," he explained. "This is their hideout, their base. We're underneath the Celadon City casino, in case you didn't know. They probably knocked you guys out and dragged you down here. What did you do to piss them off, anyway?"
"Uh…nothing?" Michael suggested innocently.
"Well, I helped bust their chops back in Mt. Moon…they had some sort of illegal operation going on, and I took out several of their grunts in fair Pokémon battles. I guess they just can't take a loss."
"That sounds just like Team Rocket," the man said bitterly. "There's a reason I left the organization, you know."
We emerged on another floor with a corridor housing some arrow pads to the right and a Rocket grunt standing a few feet from us, apparently on patrol. Fortunately, he had his back to us and didn't notice our arrival. We quickly ducked into the corridor to avoid being spotted.
"What should we do?" Michael whispered.
"I guess our best bet would be to go ahead and take him out. I don't see any other grunts around, so just one of them shouldn't be too hard. What do you say, Sabrina?"
Sabrina nodded slightly, and I grabbed Eevee's Pokéball off my belt and boldly stepped around the corner, tossing the ball. "Hey! You over there! Let's fight!" I yelled at the Rocket grunt.
"Stop right there, intruder! I'm going to give you a taste of Team Rocket!" the grunt yelled back. He grabbed a Pokéball and threw it to reveal an Ekans. Eevee quickly knocked out the Ekans, and the Rocket grunt blacked out. Well, that was easy. I felt a hit on my head and saw the big guy who was following us giving me a gaze of death.
"Quit using my Eevee! He's not yours, you know. I'm getting him back as soon as we're out of here," he chastised me.
"Right," I retorted sarcastically. I recalled Eevee, and the four of us cautiously stepped past the unconscious grunt, rounded a corner and ascended another flight of stairs. We emerged facing another flight of stairs and sneakily went over and ascended them. As we climbed the stairs, I heard the shuffle of running footsteps, and my heart began to sink. I looked back over my shoulder, and sure enough there was a group of Rocket grunts running towards the stairs. Michael hadn't even waited to say something; he was all ready shoving past me to get up the stairs. Sabrina continued her usual pace.
"Oh crap! Here come more grunts!" I hollered, quickly darting up the stairs. Sabrina and the big guy were lagging behind. "Come on, you two! What, do you want us to get caught?" I turned to look forward and came to an abrupt stop behind Michael. Oddly enough, at the top of the staircase there was no exit. The stairs just led to a solid wall in our way. The Rockets were rapidly ascending the stairs behind us, and the four of us were standing at the wall in a stupor. I had no idea what to do. "Michael! What the blazes is going on!" I spat frantically.
"I don't know! Why are you asking me! Look, here come the Rocket grunts!" said Michael.
"Hey, you four! Don't move a muscle! You're in serious trouble! Giovanni's gonna' eat you guys alive!" yelled one of the Rocket grunts. I grimaced, and, out of frustration and anger, turned around and punched the wall in front of us as hard as I could.
"Oww!" I yelled, gripping my fist. I looked at the spot on the wall where my fist had hit and saw that I had punched some sort of funny-looking spot. Suddenly, the wall slid up and revealed a room in front of us. "Whoa, it must be some sort of secret passage!" I exclaimed as the four of us ran through into the room. We were sprinting frantically about, trying to find a safe haven from the grunts hot on our tail. I took a right and realized I was in a back corner of the Celadon casino. "Guys, follow me!" I said, motioning Michael and Sabrina. The big guy was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he had rejoined the Rockets, or perhaps he knew where to go to escape. I wondered why he hadn't thought to push the button on the secret door. The three of us ran down one of the aisles of the casino, darting past gamblers who were playing on the slot machines.
"Hey, you kids! Stop right there!" came a voice from the back of the casino. I glanced over my shoulder and saw employees of the casino chasing us alongside the Rocket grunts. Apparently they controlled this whole building. I figured the casino must have just been a front for the Rocket base.
"Zachi! What are you doing? Hurry up! Come on, we have to get out of here!" Michael said frantically, beckoning me towards the exit. I took off and followed him and Sabrina. We flung open the doors of the casino and found ourselves in the streets of Celadon city once more.
"What should we do?" I queried Michael.
"I don't know!" came his frantic response. I looked back and forth, to the left and right. Just then, Rocket grunts burst out of the casino behind us and the coin exchange building to our left. Knowing nowhere else to go, I grabbed Sabrina and Michael by the wrists and hopped the fence to our right, realizing too late that we were all headed directly for a pond. Splash! In an instant, I was totally submerged in water and could only vaguely hear the frantic shouts of the Rocket grunts from the other side of the fence. I surfaced, gasping for air, and noticed Michael and Sabrina frantically kicking and swimming for the edge of the pond, which was apparently directly in front of some old lady's house. She was sitting on her porch in an old rocking chair. She spotted us and stood up slowly.
"Hey you young'uns! Come quick!" she cried with a raspy, old lady voice. The three of us swam to the edge of the pond and got out, running quickly into the old lady's house through the open door she had left us.
"Thank you so much, miss, I'm so sorry we're all wet and that we dived into your pond and made a mess out of things and—" I began rambling.
"…and we're so sorry if we're making a mess out of your stuff and getting stuff all wet and we don't mean to impose—" Michael joined me.
She cut us both off, smiling and saying, "Oh, it's no big deal. You're not the first group of kids that Team Rocket has been after. They're a bunch of no-good criminals, you know. You three must be cold in those wet clothes. Do you have some spare clothes, by any chance? You could go change in the restroom, if you need to…"
Michael and I both simultaneously reached back for our backpacks and found them to be totally filled with water and soaking wet. We both sweat-dropped.
"Well, you might as well empty your bags on the floor and give 'em a chance to dry. I'll make some hot tea. As for you, young lady, I have an old thing or two from when I was your age you could put on for a bit, if you'd like…"
Sabrina gave a tiny smile—she never did smile much—and got up to follow the old lady, who smiled one of those really big smiles again. Michael and I stood there in the doorway, still dripping with water. After a few seconds, Michael reached over and locked the deadbolt on the door.
"Just to be safe, you know," he said with a slight chuckle. I grinned at him and gave him a friendly slug in the arm.
"Well, that was our craziest adventure to date, wouldn't you say?" I asked him with a grin.
"Yeah, really, who would have thought we would have made it out of Team Rocket's own base alive!"
"Whatever happened to that big guy, anyway? I've still got his Eevee…" I said, looking down at Eevee's Pokéball on my belt.
"I don't know; he just disappeared after we made it through that secret door."
I shrugged and took Eevee's Pokéball off my belt, tossing it in the air and catching it. A few moments later, Sabrina and the old lady re-emerged from the back of the house. Sabrina was no longer in her usual violet coveralls/jumpsuit; she was wearing a bright pink poodle skirt and a matching knit sweater. I've seldom seen Sabrina blush, but she surely did blush when she walked out there. Michael started laughing at her, and her eyes glowed a bright violet. She raised her hand and did a pushing gesture at Michael, shoving him back against the wall.
"Hey, that's not funny!" Michael exclaimed, picking himself up and brushing off his clothes.
"Heh, well, maybe if you had kept your mouth shut…" I said, giving him a friendly slap on the chest. He looked disgruntled and crossed his arms. "Do you think maybe we could have a towel or two to dry off a little?" I politely asked the old lady.
She smiled brightly and said, "Sure, just slip off your shoes and come back to the restroom, I'll get you some of my nice, fluffy towels." Michael and I followed her back to the restroom, where she retrieved some towels from one of the cabinets. Michael and I quickly dried ourselves off to the best of our ability and slipped off our wet socks. I took off my wet vest and hat, and we walked back through the old lady's house. "You might try spreading those things out on the back patio so the sun can dry them out," she suggested.
"That sounds like a great idea," I added, and Michael and I stepped outside. We both emptied our backpacks and spread out our belongings on the hot cement. Moments later, the four of us were sitting in the old lady's living room on her old couches drinking hot green tea. Michael and I sat on our towels. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and Michael followed suit.
"Man, it's been a crazy day, huh, Zachi?" Michael said passively.
"You said it, man…" I replied, taking a sip of my tea. The old lady's house was humid and musty and smelt of, well, old ladies. Sabrina, as usual, sat silently on a separate couch from Michael and me. The old lady was in another rocking chair, this time knitting.
"So you three are Pokémon trainers?" the old lady asked passively, not looking up from her knitting. The three of us nodded. "What brings you to Celadon City? You intend to challenge Erika for the Rainbow Badge?"
"My trusty Pokémon are going to cream Erika! Just you wait; I'll have the Rainbow Badge by tomorrow. My Nidorina can handle any Grass-type Pokémon," Michael announced proudly.
"Oh, is that so?" the old lady responded cheerfully. "Well, you should be careful. Only Erika's Tangela is going to be harmed by Poison-type moves. Her Victreebel and Vileplume can send the poison right back your way, you know."
"Well, if that's the case, Graveler's Dig will make them bite the dust," Michael retorted with a laugh.
"Erika is no weak Pokémon trainer. Don't be so haughty; she might make you eat those words soon enough. Her style is different, but her determination is intense. She can wear your Pokémon down, and her junior trainers are just the same. Be careful, and don't let your confidence go to your head."
"How do you know so much about her?" I asked curiously.
"Well, she's my granddaughter. My son taught her everything she knows about Pokémon, and he's a Pokémon League champion."
I jumped up from the couch. "A Pokémon League Champion!"
"Yes, he defeated the Elite Four a long time ago, back before you three were born. Did you know there used to be a Grass-type trainer in the Elite Four?"
"No, how did he manage that, I mean, what Pokémon did he use?" Michael said, apparently curious as well.
"He was the proud owner of Kanto's best Grass-type Pokémon. His lineup boasted some of the same Pokémon his daughter Erika's does—a Victreebel, a Tangela, a Vileplume—but also a Venusaur, an Exeggutor, and a Parasect. Back before the League started getting so soft, the Elite Four members were allowed six Pokémon in their lineup as compared to modern times' five Pokémon lineup."
"So basically he had all six final form Grass-type Pokémon?"
"Yes, son. And they were no level 40, 50, or 60 Pokémon. His Pokémon were in the 70's and 80's. Twenty years ago, beating the Elite Four meant something far more than being a tough Pokémon trainer; it meant being more like a Pokémon master."
I nodded thoughtfully. "So what happened to your son?"
"Yeah, what happened to him?" Michael chimed in.
"Well, he left the League when some of the modern regulations started to go into effect. He didn't feel like any of his Pokémon should be left out of his lineup, so he just couldn't continue to hold his position. I don't know what's become of him these days. A few years back, he told me he was going to venture to the land of Hoenn, but I heard nothing of it. God knows where he's at now."
"Hmm," I muttered. "Well, I'm all the more pumped about defeating Erika then! Then I can say I defeated the child of an ex-Elite Four member!"
"Yeah, definitely!" Michael added. The old lady chuckled.
"We should get going, guys. When we get back to the Pokémon Center we can dry our clothes there and crash for the night. What do you say, Michael, Sabrina?" I announced.
"Sounds like a plan!"
Sabrina nodded slightly. I jumped up and began to gather my things.
"How can we thank you for your kindness?" I said to the old lady.
"Just stay as far away from Team Rocket as you can, you hear?" the old lady said motherly. She smiled brightly again. "Before you go, have this as a gift, in case you need it against Team Rocket, or better yet, Erika." She walked over to a dusty old chest in the corner of the room and opened it, reaching in and retrieving a small object. "This is the 41st technical machine. It will teach certain Pokémon the move Softboiled."
"Awesome! Man, thanks!" Michael said, swiping it before I even had a chance to react. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Whoa, what, hey!" Michael exclaimed as the device floated out of his hands and into Sabrina's. I laughed aloud, and Sabrina gave a tiny grin. Michael angrily glared at her and resumed gathering his belongings. In a matter of moments, we had our things and were out the door. "Thanks again for everything!" Michael hollered back as we left.
"Say, why are you still wearing that old lady's stuff?" Michael questioned Sabrina, pointing at the old clothing pejoratively.
"She said I could keep it," Sabrina quietly replied. The three of us walked into the Celadon City Pokémon Center and checked into the lodging section of the building. We had tossed all our wet clothing into one of the dryers in the washateria there. Sabrina had her own room, and Michael and I were walking around in our skimpies in our room.
"So, Michael…" I began, retiring to my bunk bed with a sigh. "You ready for Erika to hand you your butt tomorrow?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, are you ready to lose?"
"Lose! What are you talking about?"
"Oww!" Michael and I both simultaneously exclaimed, reaching up and grabbing our heads.
"Did you hear that!" I burst, jumping down from my bunk and staring at Michael.
He sat up from his bed, head in hands, and said, "Yeah…What was it?"
"It was Sabrina screaming in our heads or something…oh no…maybe Team Rocket got to her!" I frantically turned around to dash out the door of the room, but Michael tackled me to the ground.
"Dude! You're not wearing any pants! At least put on some pants!" he said, getting off me.
"Dang, don't you think you could have told me instead of jumping on me?" I got up and quickly grabbed one of my wet pairs of pants and slipped them on, tossing one of my shirts on quickly. I darted out the room, Michael in tow, and went directly to Sabrina's room.
I knocked on the door hurriedly and said loudly, "Sabrina! Are you in there?"
There was no response.
Knock again.
"Sabrina? Are you in there? Hello? Are you sleeping?"
Again, no response. Michael shoved me out of the way and began banging and hammering on the door.
"Yo! Sabrina! Wake up in there!"
Still no response.
I frantically reached down and began twisting the doorknob and launching myself against the door, all to no effect. Michel again shoved me out of the way and began running directly at the door. I was worried we were going to wake somebody up or get in trouble, but I didn't know what to do.
"Michael, let's both slam the door together. One, two, three, go!" He and I collectively charged the door and managed to break it open. Sabrina was not in the room, but all her stuff was still there.
"Hey Zachi, check this out. What on earth happened here?" Michael said, motioning me over towards one side of the room. He pointed up at the ceiling, where there was a gaping hole.
"Oh no, I bet Team Rocket broke in here and kidnapped her!"
"But why!" Michael answered hotly.
"I don't know, but we're going back in there!" I announced furiously, charging out of the room back towards our own room.
"But Zachi, it's flippin' 8:30 p.m.! It's all ready dark outside, and we should be hitting the hay in about two hours! You mean to go charge back into Team Rocket's hideout at this hour?"
"What, are we supposed to be polite about breaking in? They took Sabrina, for goodness' sake! We've got to go help her! What kind of friend are you!" I said, quickly packing all my things together.
"Yeah, I guess you've got a point. Well, let me get my stuff together. I guess this is going to be a long night."
I ran down to the washateria and retrieved our clothing from the dryer, tossing them quickly back into our rooms and then heading out the door of the Center. I stood silently outside, arms crossed, and stared at the dimly lit city. Michael emerged from the Center a few moments later. The air was warm and humid, like Celadon City air usually is, but now it was crisp, too, with a slight breeze.
"So, what, we just waltz on down there and hope we find Sabrina inside? And what if she's not even in there at all, and we just go get ourselves killed? I think we should talk to the police first or something…"
"Look, Michael, this isn't funny, and I want these guys to leave us alone. We never did anything wrong, you know? The police aren't going to help us. They seldom help anyone. Besides, let's be heroes for a change! Let's go take care of this ourselves!"
Michael shrugged, consenting. I pulled Nidoking's Pokéball off my belt and released him. "Nidoking, let me take a ride on your back," I commanded. The large violet Pokémon bent over a little, and I climbed up his back and took a seat on one of the few spots not covered in horns and spikes. I liked sitting on Nidoking. I was furious at the thought of a friend of mine being kidnapped, and Michael and I were going to have justice served. Here I had this strong Pokémon, this Pokémon that I raised, bearing me up. I felt invincible.
Michael released Graveler and climbed on top of him. Our Pokémon set out towards the casino, the cool night air blowing in our faces. Nidoking was clearly faster than Graveler, so we had to keep slowing down and waiting for him to catch up. We finally arrived at the door to the casino and found that the place was still booming with activity. In fact, it was even busier than before. Michael and I climbed off our Pokémon and walked up to the door.
I put my hand on one of the handles, the lights from inside reflecting off the glass door and dancing about my gloves, and turned to Michael and said, "Well, this is it. You ready?"
He nodded confidently.
"Well, let's go."
►To Be Continued…