"So here we are," Venomoth said, leading us towards the entrance of the facility.
"Wait, wait. We're wanted and we're going to just walk through the front door?" Ember protested.
"Actually, the problem isn't so much that we're wanted, it's that we're being actively hunted for," I pointed out.
"Me squish!" Spark said suddenly, jumping on Venomoth. I stared at them strangely for a moment, smirking slightly as Spark started jumping on her back again.
"You really need to stop doing that," Venomoth said, grunting slightly as she flew back into the air, examining her wings quickly.
"Me no like mean bug," Spark insisted, hugging Ember tightly, who winced from the pressure.
"He's stubborn," I told Venomoth who nodded, smiling slightly.
"I'll be worried when he gets big enough to actually hurt me by jumping on me." she said calmly. She led us to the main entrance and examined the security panel. "Ember, is it? Can you type in 0-2-0-3-2-0-0-8?" she asked and the Charmander walked over, typing in the digits quickly. The door lock disengaged, allowing us entry into the facility.
"How do you two know these codes?" Ember demanded.
"Pokémon of an executive. Admittedly, I didn't know that one," I replied, casting a quick look around the entrance hall. Unlike the laboratory, this area bore signs of recent inhabitation, the biggest clue being a human sleeping at the security desk in the corner. A lot of good he's doing there. Venomoth glanced at the human expertly.
"The Hunters are usually instructed to come to this facility after a capture. I know the code from past visits. That human is only sleeping lightly," she said, flying over to the man, then glowed briefly, a small psychic wave hitting the man, who slumped over further, audibly snoring.
"Curious, how do you know Hypnosis?" I asked her.
"I know Sleep Powder also. I learned Hypnosis when I was training with a psychic type, somehow I picked it up. I was recommended to practice it, because it can really catch opponents off guard. I use Hypnosis every chance I get, and notice an improvement in the power of it, but it's still fairly weak," Venomoth replied.
"Best keep our guard up. This place is occupied," I warned, leading them down the corridor ahead of the entrance, wary for any possible threats.
"Where are we going?" Ember asked nervously, Spark running around her excitedly. He always picks the worst times to become hyperactive.
"We're looking for the most recent reports, as well as the record of the transfer of the Raichus you're looking for," Venomoth answered and I turned towards her suddenly.
"How did you know what we're looking for?" I asked seriously. Venomoth blinked in surprise.
"The Hunters were not informed of all the details of your betrayal, but it was suggested to use the Raichus as bait, but the idea was shot down as being too risky for the research," Venomoth explained. I scowled at the thought of the Raichus being experimented on, as well as them being used as bait to lure us to wherever the Rockets wanted.
"Me want Mommy and Daddy!" Spark wailed and Ember winced from the volume the Pichu was using, worried that it would attract Rockets to our location. "Me sad cuz me no with Mommy and Daddy!" Spark said sadly, hugging Ember again, who sighed in annoyance.
"We're working on it," I assured the kit, glancing at Ember worriedly. We may be working on finding the parents, but like last time, we might fail at the last moment. I felt the surge of anger rise up again, but quickly shook the emotion away.
"This way!" Venomoth said suddenly, moving down a different corridor. I followed, still looking around warily for the signs of humans. I find it odd that despite the supposed great security of the Rockets, there are rarely any grunts or guards around. Venomoth stopped in front of a door and paused, turning back towards us. "There are three human inside this office, and I believe that some information is inside," she reported.
"Is the door locked?" Ember asked, concerned.
"Yes, but it's not hard to get through," I replied, sending a Hyper Beam at the door. The door burst off its hinges with a tremendous bang, flying into the room and hitting the wall. The humans within cursed loudly, running to the door to see what caused it. One yelled in terror upon seeing the small army just outside the door.
"Idiot, use your Pokémon!" snapped an unseen human inside the room. Although the voice seemed familiar, I couldn't immediately place it, nor could I see the speaker from my angle.
"Yes, sir!" replied the two grunts, each pulling two Pokeballs from their belts and flung them on the ground. Four Pokémon appeared in one unified burst of light. First there was a Bulbasaur, then a large bee-like Pokémon with sharp stingers on its arms, which I recognized as the dreaded Beedrill, then another bug Pokémon that looked like a large butterfly, and finally a brown rat-like Pokémon with sharp claws and layered spines on its back.
"So a Bulbasaur, Beedrill, Butterfree, and Sandslash?" Ember said, sounding slightly amused.
"Don't get too confident. Those Pokémon can be very tricky," Venomoth warned, gesturing to the Beedrill and Butterfree. "The Bulbasaur should be the easiest to pick off, and Sandslash is slow, but powerful," she added. Ember and I nodded, understanding the fight was not going to be easy. Spark struck his fighting pose again, causing the Bulbasaur to snicker slightly. It abruptly stopped snickering when Ember and I sent streams of fire directly into the stupid thing's face.
"You'll pay for that!" the Sandslash growled, darting forward and slamming those viciously sharp claws into Ember's side, which probably would have been a serious wound had she not turned towards it, sending her stream of fire at it. The Sandslash recoiled when the fire hit it, and his attack's momentum was weakened significantly. Ember yelled in pain, examining the small, bleeding wound before growling angrily, lunging at the offending Pokémon.
Meanwhile, the Beedrill had darted towards me with amazing speed, jabbing its arm stingers at me, requiring me to utilize a great deal of my dodging techniques to avoid the venomous stingers. The Butterfree was engaged in an intense battle with Venomoth, and I took a millisecond to appreciate the humor of a moth and butterfly dueling (two bugs humans often confuse for each other). That millisecond cost me, as my dodge was slow, and the Beedrill nicked my neck with the stinger, creating a painful scratch, which stung like hell due to the poison. Fortunately, it wouldn't do that much to me other than agitate the wound.
"Ok, you can just burn!" I snarled, sending a Flamethrower at the giant bee, but it dodged, the fire striking one of the Rocket grunts behind the Pokémon. It may not have been the desired target, but it was still satisfying to watch the grunt fall to the floor, clutching his new burn. The other grunt seemed to agree, because he was staring down at his partner with a look that clearly showed his glee at the other's misfortune. Humans can be so sick sometimes. I was just amused, this human was absolutely gleeful.
The Beedrill glanced at the fallen human indifferently before lunging at me, this time attacking with its tail stringer. I jerked to the side, swinging my tail and slamming it into the bee, which was knocked into the wall. I followed up with a Flamethrower, but the stunned bee split into 3, my fire obliterating both clones due to the narrowness of the space around us, but it had served its purpose. I scowled slightly, sending another burst of fire in the bug's direction, but it dodged, launching itself forward, glowing brightly. I stared in confusion, the moment of hesitation allowing the Beedrill to slam into me with unbelievable force, slamming me into the nearby wall, which cracked slightly. I've been hit with stronger attacks, but that one caught me by surprise.
"Giga Impact is like Hyper Beam, but physical," Venomoth said, sending a Psybeam at the Butterfree. Spark was punching the unconscious Bulbasaur, which had severe burns. Ember was engaged in an intense duel with the Sandslash, which appeared to be claw-to-claw combat. She was winning, but the Sandslash was holding its own quite well.
"Like Hyper Beam? So you wore yourself out, bug-boy!" I muttered, wrapping my body quickly around the poisonous insect. With it unable to retaliate, I wasn't in danger of him poisoning me, enabling me to prevent him from avoiding my close range Flamethrower. The bug let out a strange, pain-filled screech as it ignited, my fire-resistant scales preventing any damage to myself. I released the burning Pokémon, watched as it was sucked back into a Pokeball, along with the Bulbasaur. Spark ran over to me, talking excitedly, almost too fast for me to understand him.
"Me punch mean plant, and plant no hurt me cuz it hurt. Me punch and me punch and me win!" Spark exclaimed, confirming to me that the Bulbasaur was conscious until recently, when Spark apparently punched it out. "Me wanna help!" he said, pointing to Ember, but I shook my head.
"Not safe. That Sandslash has really sharp claws and I don't want you hurt," I told him, watching as Venomoth hit the Butterfree with a Hypnosis, causing the butterfly Pokémon to grow sleepy, but the Hypnosis was too weak to completely put it to sleep, but it had definitely given her the needed edge as a powerful Psybeam struck the Butterfly, slamming it into the Sandslash's spines. I winced slightly as the butterfly's wings were torn from the impact, the Butterfree collapsing, too injured and tired to fly, and was withdrawn into a Pokeball as well. "Nice one, Venomoth," I congratulated her, and Venomoth nodded humbly.
"Thank you. I appear to have aided your Charmander friend as well," she said, and I looked back at the Sandslash, who had lost its focus when the Butterfree had struck it. Ember had taken advantage of the distraction and had slashed the Sandslash's face, before punching it quickly, knocking it unconscious. A fourth beam of red light pulled the Sandslash into a Pokeball. I moved into the office and when I saw the third occupant, my jaw dropped in surprise.
"So good to see you, 'Boss'," the man seated at the desk said, rising to his feet, grinning gleefully. "I hoped I would get the honor of taking the traitors down, and looks like I get the opportunity. Besides, an old friend is dying to see you!" he sneered, throwing a Pokeball, which burst open, a large blue serpent appearing in front of us. Spark wailed at the sight of the Pokémon and I felt a twinge of hatred.
"Hello, Dragonair. Surprised to see me?" the Pokémon mocked.
"Venom." I replied curtly. "I was more surprised to see your precious 'Master Ed'. After seeing him, I knew you'd be here," I said coldly. Spark whimpered and Venom laughed.
"Still caring for the baby? Once I deal with you, I'll rip him in two!" Venom sneered, exposing his large fangs to the kit, which burst into tears, sobbing in terror, sparks flying from his cheeks.
"Not going to happen!" I snarled in reply.
