The Year of Rocket's Revenge
Session: March, Part 3 (03.14.06/02.21.08)


Ash, Misty, and Pikachu all had wings on their backs and were wearing white togas as they floated up, around, and through the clouds.

"Ash..."

"Yeah, Misty?"

"About that white light you tugged me into..."

"Yeah?"

"ARE YOU SURE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO LEAD US HERE!"

"PIKA PI!"

"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT THE WHITE LIGHT LEADS TO..."

Ash never finished his sentence, as Misty pulled a rubber mallet out and gave him a hard whack on the head, knocking him out.

"Typical Ash," Misty grumbled.

"Pika," Pikachu said, sweatdropping.


Monday, March 11th, Celadon City Pokémon Center

"There you go... all of your Pokémon have been restored!"

"Thank you, Nurse Joy."

With that, a hand reached into the tray and started attaching the Pokéballs to a belt, one by one. Once that was complete, the trainer turned about and walked towards the exit.

"Hold on a second, you!"

That last shout didn't come from Nurse Joy...

"I know you from somewhere!"

The trainer froze cautiously, though the voice did seem familiar...

"It is! It is you!"

The young man turned around, intending to refute the claim, but as he opened up his mouth to speak, he recognized the face of the guy standing there.

"Number one..."

The guy, though, didn't return such kind greetings.

"You decided to show your face again, huh?"

"What?"

"Perhaps I should refresh your memory. We were set to advance to the A-Level Class as the top two students. But then... YOU DECIDED TO DROP OUT!"

"Hey!" the ex-drop out waved his arms about in defense. "I was in the middle of a badge journey, remember? I wanted to challenge Erika again, and then continue trying to get enough badges to get into the Pokémon League!"

"That couldn't wait? I thought you aspired to be better than me!"

"I did and still do, Jin."

"Is that so, Arius?"

The two stared at each other, with sly grins on their faces, as they recalled their most epic battle...

"Still got that Zubat?" Jin asked.

Arius nodded. "You betcha. He's a Golbat now. And you and Mankey?"

"That's Primeape and I! And yes, we're still together!"

"Wanna give me another chance to beat you?"

"That sounds like a great idea!"

Arius laughed with anticipation.

"But... the Jin you used to know died a long time ago."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

Jin sighed. "I don't know how to tell you this... but I stopped aspiring to be a Pokémon Master quite awhile ago."

Arius was stunned by the news.

"It's... a long story."

"I bet it is. You gonna tell me it?"

"Yes. But not here. I feel it'll go over better if you're having fun when I tell you."

"In other words..."

Jin reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card-sized ID badge that had a picture of the Celadon Game Corner on it as well as his name, Jin Siraguchi, and the letters 'VIP AA' under that.

"Feel like hitting the slots?"


Not long after, Arius and Jin were sitting side-by-side inside Celadon's famous casino, playing the slot machines hoping to win more coins and a prize or two.

"So let me get this straight," Arius said as he inserted a coin into the machine. "Because you work for a local security company, you get free access to play here anytime you want? That sounds like a comfy gig!"

"Well, it's limited... the Game Corner's in the business of making money, after all. And given I'm a regular employee and not a big wig, our allowance is 30 free tokens, plus 10 free same-day tokens for one guest a month. Not much, when you think about it."

"You could always win some," Arius stated as he pulled the lever and the machine started up.

"Easier said than done..."

The reel came to a stop and Arius saw he had drawn a 7, a cherry, and a Pikachu. Arius took another token from the coin pouch he had rented, and put it into the machine.

"So you have a job... that won't prevent you from eventually hitting the road one day and becoming a Pokémon Master, right?"

"Yeah..."

"I mean, eventually you'll quit when you realize what's important in your life and that your dream matters more than making a few bucks..."

"It's not like that! I have a sense of duty to stay here in Celadon!"

"Sense of duty?" questioned Arius.

Jin nodded as he lowered his head in sadness. "Being a local Celadonian, I was there at the New Year's Eve celebration downtown..."

"You were there when it all happened, weren't you?"

Jin nodded again.


Monday, December 31st, Celadon City Business District

The ball had just dropped, and confetti was blowing all about the area. Noisemakers whizzed and whirled everywhere, and shouts of 'Happy New Year' could be heard coming from the mouths of practically every human and Pokémon that had squeezed into the block for the celebration.

Among the revelers were Jin and his parents, as well as his younger nine-year old sister, who were taking in all the joyous sights.

"Happy New Year, son!" Jin's father said as he hugged him.

"Happy New Year too, Dad."

Suddenly, Jin started to feel someone tugging at his shirt. It was his sister, Gwen.

"C'mon, c'mon! I wanna hug Daddy too!" she protested.

"Wait your turn, sweetie!" their mother said aloud. "He'll still be here when he's done with Jin. Besides, given how attached you two are, one might be led to think you have a thing for..."

She never got to finish her thought, as the sight and sound of several explosions on the main stage and the sound of hundreds and hundreds of screams filled the air all at once. Panic set in almost instantly as people all around attempted to run off to safety, not caring what direction they were going as long as it was away from the chaotic area around the main stage.

Jin felt his father hastily let go of him and reach for the walkie talkie on his belt. He immediately began calling for his fellow co-workers into it, Jin clearly seeing the word 'SECURITY' in yellow letters on the back of his dad's black jacket. He then felt another tug... this one at his arm.

"Let's go, Jin! We've got to go!" Jin's mom rang out.

Gwen was screaming her head off as she clutched a hold of her mother's dress with the intention of not letting go lest someone ripped her off. Jin then noticed his dad trying to clear a path into the fleeing crowd, heading towards the stage.

"Dad!" Jin and Gwen called out.

"YUI!" Jin's mom screamed, calling out her husband's name in hopes of getting him to stop.

"GET THE KIDS OUT OF HERE!" he yelled over the screaming, panicking crowd around them. "I NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED!"

With that, Yui disappeared into the crowd. Jin's face quickly grew seriously... he knew that whatever was happening, it was something big. And his dad would need help...

Jin reached into his pocket and pulled a Pokéball out of it. He tossed it to the ground, and out popped Primeape.

"Let's go, Primeape!" Jin told him. "We need to help these people!"

Primeape responded in agreement, and the two pushed their way through the escaping crowd.

"JIN!" his mom cried.

"MOMMY, I'M SCARED!" Gwen exclaimed.

Torn between seeing both her husband and her son barreling head-first into the fire and her frightened daughter clinging to her, she had no choice but to trust that she would see her husband and Jin alive again as she grabbed Gwen by the arm and tried to pull her away from the scene.

Meanwhile, Jin and Primeape ran into the chaos, and immediately spotted a pair of Machamp and their trainers trying to lift some heavy debris that was lying on top of a guy's back and legs. They hastily made their way over and helped the group get the guy out of there.

Later on, Jin and Primeape were seen helping relay water to help put out fires and keeping a few injured people and Pokémon calm and stabilized until medical personnel could get to them. At one point, the two are seen even working side-by-side with Jin's father as they searched for anyone who might still be buried.


"As horrific as that day was, my father, even though I went against his wishes, saw the work that I did and recommended me for a job at Mori Lock, the private security firm he worked at. I was hired on the spot, and now I'm a guard part-time at several places around the city, including the Game Corner and the gym."

"You work for the gym?" Arius gasped in amazement.

"Miss Erika's gym was the pride of the city. Even though she's gone and her replacement hasn't changed a thing in there since taking over, I still consider it her gym... and I protect it with my life. Me and Primeape, that is."

"I see."

"So, enough about what I've been up to. What about you?"

"Who, me?" Arius pointed at himself. "You know, just the usually. Went out on a badge journey, tried to get into the League a couple of times but no dice, hanging out with a..."

"Huh?" Jin wondered, his interest piqued.

Arius shook his head. "It's just my travel partner. We... recently went our separate ways."

"Things didn't work out?"

"You... could say that."

"He must've been jealous of your awesome battle skills and determination, eh?" Jin laughed heartily.

"It was a she."

"You mean... a girl?"

Arius nodded. "And, trust me, she was a better battler than I ever was."

"You were traveling with a girl and you let her go? Man, what is wrong with you?"

Arius grumbled, under his breath. "It was what was wrong with her..."

"Oh well," Jin shrugged his shoulders. "It's one girl out of many. Your girl's out there somewhere... just give it time, man."

Arius didn't dignify him with a response as the slot machine in front of him was coming to a stop.

7...

7 again...

Cherry.

"Blast!" Arius shouted, kicking the machine in the redemption slot.

"Speaking of girls that have problems..."

Jin produced a copy of the local newspaper, the Tamamushi Times, and held up the front page. Right there, dead center, was a full body picture of Cassie, wearing a knee-length business-suit dress, in the midst of cutting a ribbon being held up by Brock. It was at the re-opening ceremony for the Pewter City gym held two days ago. The major headline read 'Junior Master reopens gym, pushes new initiative against Team Rocket in process.'

"Sure, she's pretty proactive for an unofficial League official... and pretty pretty, if you don't mind me saying... but, you know, I think she's sticking her nose out a bit too far. After the first two Junior Masters disappeared and were kidnapped, respectively, you'd think she'd be smart enough to stay out of the limelight. It would be a shame if someone as cute as her were to suffer an even worse fate, like..."

Jin lowered the paper to look at Arius, but he was no longer sitting there. In fact, he had gotten up and walked away the second he saw Cassie's photo.


But Arius hadn't walked out of the Game Corner. He had trotted over to the pay phones, where he was in the process of looking up the number to Cassie's office at the Indigo Plateau. Because, being an 'official' of the League, she got an office in the League's headquarters. Locating it in the phone book, he proceeded to dial the number.

Arius grew a serious look on his face as the phone line on the other end began ringing. After two rings, someone picked up. A voice of a young woman rang through the receiver, but Arius instantly recognized that it wasn't Cassie's.

"You've reached the office of Pokémon Junior Master Cassie Banks, how may I direct your call?" the woman asked.

"Yes... I'd like to speak to Cassie, please," requested Arius.

"I'm sorry, but she won't be back in the office until Wednesday, as she's on a business trip. May I take a message?"

Arius hesitated for a second, and then responded.

"No thanks. I'll try again later in the week."

He then hung up the phone.

"What am I worried about?" Arius thought to himself. "We're not together anymore. And besides, she never needed my help taking care of herself!"

"HEY!"

Arius turned around and saw Jin running up, a bit out of breath.

"What's the big idea running out on me, almost exactly like last time?"

"Sorry," Arius bowed in apology as he came out of the booth. "That picture just reminded me that there was an important call I had to make."

"Oh. Well, I had this odd thought that you have something against this girl."

"What makes you think THAT?"

Jin shook his head and smiled. "It is true what people say about me... I suck at making hunches and assumptions. Rely on hard facts, they say. That's where I shine."

"I see."

Jin then showed his Pokéball off to Arius.

"Say... I'm feeling a little nostalgic. You still want that opportunity to beat me a second time?"

Arius chuckled, then took out a Pokéball of his own.

"You're on!"

The two then ran out the front doors and started looking for an open spot to wage their battle.

"Who needs Cassie?" Arius thought in his mind. "I can have fun and manage without her!"


Vermilion City Harbor

Cassie was standing on the docks of Pier 6, glancing about at the fishing ships and freighters that littered the harbor, though most of them were anchored for the off-season. Despite sporting a sweatshirt with the logo of the Pokémon Fan Club on it - after all, she had just come from a personal meet and greet with their members - over a just-above-knee-length yellow lace-frilled skirt, she was shivering as the wintry sea winds whipped up around her. But she gritted her teeth and bared it as she pulled out a small photo of her and Arius together. She casually ran her hand over Arius, sighing after realizing how much she missed him.

Her thoughts were thrown asunder when she noticed a small motor-powered yacht pulled into the pier, and Lt. Surge was standing at the bow, arms crossed over his chest and a stern look on his face. She managed to pocket the photo before he noticed it, just as he began to address her.

"Well, well, looks like even the Junior Master can be on time once in blue moon!" he chided.

"Says you!" Cassie retorted back. "You said I was to meet you here half an hour ago!"

Lt. Surge laughed heartily. "That's what I like about you... you've got spunk, girl!"

"Just tell me what this meeting's about," Cassie growled, wanting Surge to get to the point.

"There's someone I want you to meet," Surge said to her.

The door to the cabin opened, and Cassie turned in that direction. Out of it emerged an old man in a buttoned-up lab coat.

"This is Professor Werner Geissler," Surge introduced.

"Guten tag!" Geissler greeted in German.

"Let me guess..." Cassie said, closing her eyes and extending a palm towards the professor. "He's from Germany?"

"How do you know that?" Surge asked. "You don't look like you know German!"

Cassie shot a sly smile back at the Vermilion gym leader, and he quickly got it, slapping his forehead over not realizing it before.

"I forgot... you're like Sabrina, only without that creepy sadistic edge she had at one point or another. So... you probably already figured out what he's doing here and what you are as well, right?"

"More or less."

"And... yet you're still here and not running away?"

Cassie nodded. "I've come to realize how dangerous Ash Ketchum and the others may be if they've fallen into Team Rocket's clutches. I want to find these five and have something done about them. Even if... even if I turn out to be one of the five."

Surge knelt down to pull out the gangplank and extend it out to the pier. Once it was secure, Cassie made her way onto the yacht.

"You've done the Pokémon League a great service by willing to assist with this search," Surge said as he pulled the gangplank back aboard once Cassie was safe on the deck.

"That's part of my job description. I am the Pokémon Junior Master, after all."

With that, the yacht's driver started guiding the ship away from the pier and back out to sea. Surge, Cassie, and Professor Geissler made their way down into the cabin. Once inside, Cassie and the professor took seats at the lone table, sitting so they were facing each other. Surge plopped down on a sofa, where he had a good view of both of them.

"Let's get down to business, shall we?" Surge said, smirking.

Cassie nodded as she started to study Professor Geissler in detail. He, in turn, seemed to be doing the same in regards to her. Surge just sat back, content to just observe as the two interacted before him.

"I see..." the both of them said simultaneously.

"You feel as if you're on the level," Cassie deduced psychically.

"And I can sense your willingness to tell the truth," the professor said in return. "Let us begin..."


Two hours later, Surge was up on deck, lounging in the beach chair as he fished for Pokémon while his Raichu peered over the side. Suddenly, Surge felt a tug at the other end of the line. Wasting little time, he pulled back as hard as he could, instantly forcing the catch out of the water. Leaping into the air, Surge saw that it was a Magikarp.

"Damn it, that thing's not edible!" Surge cursed. "Raichu!"

"RAI!" Raichu bellowed, charging up and delivering a powerful Thunderbolt to the wild water Pokémon.

The attack sent the Magikarp soaring many feet away from the yacht, eventually landing fin-first in the sea, weakened and rejected.

"There's never a good meal in the sea when ya want one," Surge stated, disgusted.

Suddenly, he heard the cabin door open. Surge and Raichu both turned their attention to it, and they saw Cassie emerge, followed by Professor Geissler.

"So? What's the deal already!" Surge exclaimed, standing up.

"Sad to say..." Professor Geissler replied, "the results of the test were inconclusive."

"You mean... you can't tell either way? Damn it!"

Surge slammed his fist on the railing, angry at not getting anywhere.

"I'd like to say it's a relief," uttered Cassie. "But I can't relax given I'm still subject to frequent fainting spells... one of the most telling signs of the syndrome."

"Oh, thanks," Surge quipped sarcastically. "Your feelings really matter to me right now."

"Oh, yeah?" Cassie yelled. "Well, then, maybe I shouldn't tell you about the discovery the professor and I came across while he was analyzing me!"

Surge's ears perked up.

"Discovery? What discovery?"

"I can answer that question," Professor Geissler jumped in. "You see, using her psychic powers and my inherent knowledge of the syndrome and what little the late Miss Erika had found while she was staying at my cottage a few months ago, we stumbled a common occurrence that may be another detectable side effect!"

"Really? This I've got to hear!"

"Apparently, every living thing in this world, be it human, Pokémon, or plant, gives off an energy signature. This signature is near darn impossible for any normal person to sense..."

"But you see," Cassie cut in, pointing to her noggin, "those trained in the art of the psychic can!"

"Yes," the professor nodded as he continued his explanation, "using her psychic abilities, she can sense these signatures. In most living organisms, this signature is steady, yet very faint. But the strength of the signal depends on the emotional state of the organism itself. In other words, it can spike to several times its normal size if the person or Pokémon is in an adrenaline-powered state."

"Such as when they're enduring in a physically- and or mentally-pushing activity," Cassie added. "Like, say... an intense Pokémon battle."

Surge gasped in amazement. "I see. But... hey, wait a minute! You know how many people engage in Pokémon battles everyday?"

Cassie coughed. "Show some patience... we're getting to the point."

"As you already know," Professor Geissler said, referring back to the information Surge knew based on Erika's findings, "anyone with this 'ability' ends up with a Pokémon body that temporarily houses the spirit of both the trainer and the Pokémon!"

"I'll make it simple for you," Cassie stated, making sure the idea got into the muscle-bound gym leader. "Two energy signals sharing one body, working in tandem..."

"My God!" Surge caught on. "Their powers combine, meaning an even larger energy signature than either of them can produce on their own!"

"Exactly!" Cassie exclaimed. "And our theory is proved because of what happened at the Junior Master tournament! When Marco fainted and his Absol starting glowing red, I noticed how much Absol's energy signature grew! Even though I'm a novice compared to someone like Sabrina, it didn't take much to realize whatever was happening, it wasn't normal."

"So... just what exactly are we supposed to do with this? It's not like we can walk up to every person, challenge them to a battle, and have you analyze their energy signatures!"

"We don't have to!"

Cassie pulled out photos of the four 'knowns,' Ash, Misty, Brock, and Marco, as well as the three 'unknowns,' Shingo, Giselle, and... herself.

"We just have to find one of these seven and run a test battle to find them."

"Theoretically," Professor Geissler said, "even if they don't access the 'ability,' if they come close to it, then we'll notice an abnormal growth of that trainer's energy signature."

"I see," Surge smirked. "Raichu!"

"Rai!"

"Thunderbolt!" he yelled, pointing at Cassie.

"Rai-CHUUUUUUUUU!"

Cassie instinctively threw out a Pokéball, out of which came her Ivysaur. The grass-type took the full force of the attack, but it had very little effect given the type advantage over Raichu.

"Saur..." Ivysaur uttered calmly, shaking it off.

"WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?" Cassie screamed angrily.

"You said the only way to bring out this abnormally gigantic signature is to push a trainer and his or her Pokémon until their 'ability' comes out! And seeing as how you're on the list..."

"How am I supposed to detect my own energy signature, particularly when I'm concentrating in a Pokémon battle?"

Surge froze, unable to answer that question.

"Well... uh... you see..."

"That's what I hate about guys like you! All brawn, no brains!"

"Hey! I'll have you know the Elite Four wouldn't have put me in charge of this investigation if he thought I couldn't get to the bottom of it!"

Cassie shook her head. "Could you at least think before you act? At least ONCE in awhile?"

"Stand down, Raichu!" Surge ordered. "We'll show Miss Junior Master over there what for when we get someone who can do her job for her."

"Hardy har har," Cassie responded in mock jest.

"May I suggest finding a more available candidate?" Professor Geissler conjectured. "Why don't we start with this one..."

He took the photo of Brock from Cassie and walked over to Surge to hand it to him.

"The gym leader in Pewter... heh, I like the way you think, old man!"

"Meanwhile," Cassie said, regaining her composure, "I suppose we better set someone up on finding the rest of them. After all, the more test subjects, the more accurate our findings will be. Right, professor?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Your brain, after all? I am psychic, after all!"

"I know you've associated with a good deal of them, girl, so you'd better not try to protect them by lying!"

"I told you, I'm on your side! The sooner we can find them, the sooner we can do something about their condition!"

"Oh, leave that little detail to the professor," Surge told Cassie. "He knows what to do with them after we get through with them."

Cassie looked back at the professor, trying to deduce what that plan might be. But strangely, this time she could pull it out of the professor's mind. Ironically, she also developed a pounding migraine in her head.

"Whoa..." she muttered, reaching a hand up to her forehead, "why does my head suddenly hurt?"

"The interview must've been harder on you mentally than I thought," the professor quickly stated. "Perhaps you should rest..."

He took a hold of Cassie's other hand and started guiding her back to the cabin.

"I guess so..." she admitted. "Man, my head hurts..."

"Go ahead and get your rest," Surge yelled at her. "Because once we get to shore, we're going after Brock! At the very least, he'll be able to lead us towards the fifth legendary!"


As soon as Cassie was lying sound asleep and resting in the cabin, the Professor reached for the phone and made a call. Once someone picked up on the other end, he uttered a few simple words.

"Prepare the Dissolution Chamber..."

With that, he hung up the phone and then walked back to the stairs leading out of the cabin. Cassie continued to lay their resting, unaware of the events that were about to transpire.

To be continued next week in Part 4!