This story is co-developed and edited by Titan127.
Disclaimer: Pokémon is a registered property of Nintendo, the Pokémon Company, and GameFreak. This work respectfully uses the world and characters of the Pokémon series, with no intent of harm on the original creators. Please support the official releases of the Pokémon franchise.
Chapter 32: The Pretender (8,070 words)
"I don't have a son," Ariana said. A cigar rested between her index and middle fingers, trailing smoke at her side. She brought it up to her lips and nursed it as she let her words linger. As if it was the only thing in the world that mattered, as if she wasn't being threatened in her bastion by a squad of Trainers and watching her Syndicate crumble around her.
Asshole. She knew every which way to poke and prod him, with her offhanded gestures and halfway glances and breathless silences. Every way she could, she ignored him, unless he demanded her to pay attention like a whining child and proved her mocking gaze right. Even facing police officers and skilled Trainers alike, she selfishly claimed the stage as her own in that gaudy white suit. He hated it. He hated her.
"I want you to fail," he said.
"Are you going to make that happen?" the woman asked. Another drag on her cigar consumed what was left in fire and she tossed the butt into a tray on her desk. "That's not like you."
He motioned behind him. He specifically wanted her to notice the two-and-a-half-meter behemoth under the Champion's command. He wasn't stupid enough to oppose the Pokémon League, and she wasn't either. But he couldn't read anything about her that told him she was scared.
One of the police officers stepped forward. He said, "You are under arrest on suspect of masterminding criminal operations. Come quietly."
Also presenting himself in front was that blond-haired kid and the burning creature to his side. "You don't have anywhere to go," he said, with a nerve Ariana didn't appreciate. "We've destroyed you."
No, she wouldn't come quietly. That wouldn't be her "style". The woman scoffed at the notion and continued chastising Silver. "Losing this facility means nothing. Failing a mission means nothing. The state of the world means nothing. You of all people should know what being a Rocket means."
He felt an intense aura descend upon him. Slowly turning his head, he saw the Champion's face. The man was already up his ass. Silver knew he'd be putting himself on the line by helping them, because nothing would change what he did in the past. Everything was on the table from this point on.
"Obviously you've forgotten those lessons since you left. That Pokémon you stole isn't serving you. It looks more like a showpiece than a fighting machine," she taunted. Yang's muscles were tensed to smash the desk. In her opinion the Pokémon's low, guttural echo might have been a whimper. Silver couldn't comprehend how or why that pissed him off. Even though the insult was aimed at the Pokémon, it went straight to his head. He hadn't felt that same unbridled, blood-pumping, sight-blurring anger since the day he left and cursed everything behind him.
"You don't know what the fuck you're talking about," he said. For the first time in his life, his mother ceded to him—he had never once seen her flinch at his words.
Since the day Crystal saw them off, Silver worked towards an agreement No, he'd been working for it long before that, in their stupid training sessions and the stupid goody-two-shoes work and the stupid agreement he made with her at Azalea. But why was it stupid? He couldn't even remember. The time seemed to escape him when he looked back on it and he only realized what had changed one day shortly after his Pokémon evolved. Something he saw must have been a riot, because he smiled at it. And the Pokémon copied him. Silver wasn't sure the reptile comprehended the gesture's meaning but witnessing his Pokémon—his partner—take his actions as a model hurt him deep in the most ass-backwards way.
That's what finally gave him the courage to give Feraligatr a nickname, and miraculously, he accepted it. Yang.
"I don't understand what it means anymore. I'm not sure you do either, Ariana," Silver said.
Whatever polite demeanor she had vanished behind a blank face. It was something horrifying masking itself as neutrality. "Choose your next words carefully."
"You have no room to be issuing threats," the Champion boomed, though it was clear Silver was also the object of the command. As he did this, his Dragonite took a few steps forward and bared its claws. "Stop this bickering and come along peacefully so we aren't forced to take drastic action."
Silver decided to keep going despite the Champion's intense stare. He disobeyed the Region's so-called hero. "You can talk big all you want about being a Rocket. But you aren't willing to let everything go. Your philosophy is bullshit and you've been leading these idiots wrong."
"Silver! What do you think you're doing?" asked Crystal behind him, teeth clenched. He cast her a sideways glance and hoped she'd understand that he needed to do this.
He was going to break her, because maybe then, the Rocket Syndicate would break too. Her composure slipped for a second. The tiniest twitch in her eyelid. A crease in the wrinkles above her eyebrows.
"This entire organization," he said, emphasizing the last word heavily, "is a sham. You're a sham! And Giovanni isn't coming back!"
In a single moment, the woman reached under her desk. She stood with murderous intent, like a starving wild Pokémon or a doped-up backstreet thug. There was a flash of metal. Ariana leveled a handgun across the desk with Silver in its sights.
"Whoa!" shouted the blond kid next to him. Silver mind was blurring, and he was losing control of his surroundings. There was an uproar among the entire crowd and the standoff deepened, especially because the International Police hounds didn't have equal firearms to counter.
"Put the gun down, now!" ordered an officer.
Silver looked down the barrel of death. Firearms were illegal for civilians in every Region except Orre. He knew from personal experience that the Rockets took massive advantage of that black market for guns. They were a symbol of status and a declaration of power over the Pokémon League, and staring at one absolutely terrified him. His arm shook—and his legs, and his spine, and his everything. But for some reason, Silver kept talking.
"Giovanni isn't coming back, ever," he said. His voice cracked. It made him sound like a fucking kid. Yang's offensive posture tried to stand in for him.
Her arm was shaking too, and the firearm wavered in her clenched fingers. She danced with the trigger, putting gradual pressure on her index finger. Bile burning in his throat as seconds ticked away.
"He doesn't care about you. He hasn't thought about you, or me, or anyone but himself since the day he left, because that's what a Rocket does. If he even saw your heist on the news, he'd see a spoiled brat crying for what she can't have."
"Stand down, both of you!" ordered a police officer. It was a vain attempt to reel in the situation. There was only one way it could end now, and Silver was too far over the line to step back.
"Face it, Ariana! The Rocket Syndicate is dead, and you killed it!"
The gun fell in silence. Everyone jumped when it clattered on the desk, afraid of a sudden discharge, but it simply rocked back and forth until it was still. The Rocket Boss fell backwards into her nice lounge chair behind her nice desk, slumped over, and didn't move. An officer quickly retrieved the handgun, removed the magazine, and pulled back the slide to empty the loaded bullet. The threat was neutralized.
Silver lost all control of his legs and dropped to his knees before her. Even though he had to look up at her, he knew he'd won. She couldn't hold herself high anymore.
"You reminded me so much of him before you left," she croaked. A new cigar slipped from her fingers when she tried to light it up. "Now I don't even know who you are."
He didn't have an answer. Silver may have once claimed that he knew what he was all about, but sometime in the past year, that understanding was unceremoniously dumped on the side of the road. He kept reaching back while those two dragged him around the Johto Region, but he never got his hands around it. Crystal had the answer—maybe not the answer he wanted, but an answer nonetheless—and offered her hand to help him up.
She said, "He's our friend. That's who he is."
Ariana had nothing snide or witty or tough to say. Two of the officers, the beat-up looking ragged ones, scooted around her desk and pulled her from the chair. Cuffs were locked around her wrists behind her back, wrinkling her fine white sleeves. It took everyone in the room a while, even with the gun contained, to finally cool off.
They walked the confined halls with their high-profile prisoner. He kept himself at the front to put the weird Gym Leader family between himself and his mother. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but no more chatter passed between the people there. Not even Crystal, who seemed unsure of how to break the tension of the officers and that stuck-up Champion who all had their eyes on him. An oppressive aura crept up on him as he led them back up the stairs. He felt it grab his shoulders and crush him.
"Dude, that was so badass!" Gold said, leaning his head over Silver's left side. "Oooh, wait, that's dirty language. But anyway, I knew you were gonna pull some PokeStar Studios move!"
A tremendous sigh left him. "I can't believe I actually missed you, you moron."
"It's 'moron' from you, and 'idiot' from her. I'm like an old-timey noble, marrying off all my children and snatching every title in the kingdom. And this is my crown." He held up the Togepi in his arms. Despite the standoff in Ariana's office, it wasn't on-edge, probably because the tiny thing didn't know any better. That must be nice.
He didn't know how long his tolerance for the wide-eyed zeal would last. The guy shoved himself in front of Yang and examined him all over. There was some care behind it; no matter how much he pried, he made it a point to never physically touch the Feraligatr. He was afraid of bringing up old memories. He said, "You've grown so big since grandpa last saw you."
Crystal came up beside him with the blond kid. Err, what was it? He knew it started with a 'C'. She had mentioned it a few times before, and he'd seen it somewhere in Goldenrod, because Crystal and Gold watched him fight in that boring tournament.
"I, um, don't think we were ever properly introduced." He put a hand forward as they walked.
Silver eyed it. He searched his face for some unstated judgement, some superiority that he was hiding behind a sickeningly pleasant facade. Then he realized what a dumbass he was being and shook. They exchanged names. Ciel, that was right. What a dumb name.
"So that was the Totodile you, umm…" He trailed off. "Sorry. A lot happened that I wasn't there for."
"It's fine. Whatever," said Silver. The kid, like Gold, had also received a Pokémon from the jittery Professor in New Bark, hadn't he? He only caught a glimpse of it at the tournament, back when it was a weak little squeaking thing, but now it was a show-stealing powerhouse. The partially melted, waylaid doors to the executive suite were probably its doing.
They emerged in the main commons area of the base. In front of them were legions of active Pokémon. The victorious mood cracked. Everyone—Yang, the Champion's Dragonite, the Gym Leaders' Froslass and Houndoom, what's-his-name's Typhlosion, and Crystal's Azumarill—primed an attack. Even that stupid little Togepi waggled its little nub back and forth.
"This must be the group from the barracks," informed the male Gym Leader.
Those idiots hadn't collapsed that part of the building by then? It was one half-assed military operation if you asked him, and now they were up to their asses in it. Silver's sight was blocked by Yang throwing himself in front. He appreciated the gesture in the moment, even if he wasn't sure how much it mattered.
"Kill them!" shouted one, maybe two, or even three grunts in the offensive pile. There were other cursing declarations and blood lusting calls among them, but all Silver cared about was the descending wave of power.
Fearow, Golbat, Donphan, Tauros, Tangela, Lickitung. Those we're all he could pick out just scanning his eyes, but there were dozens more in the mass. They attacked. Psychic waves flew. Able-bodied Pokémon charged. Thunderbolts fired.
In front of them, the floor paneling was suddenly hoisted by an unknown force. It raised at least three meters and the wave of attacks from the other side crashed into their sudden shield. Silver saw that stupid, in-over-its-head Togepi waggling its finger in Gold's arms. The Champion ordered his Dragonite to charge a Hyper Beam during their respite. Not that it was going to last long, as the paneling was already cracking as the attacks attempted to bust through. Entire pieces fell away.
In the same moment that a Tauros's Giga Impact shattered the raised flooring into pieces, one voice cried out above the rest.
"I order you to stop!"
She should have just kept her mouth shut and let them deal with her mess so he wouldn't have to listen to her anymore, but she couldn't let him have his way. And the Rockets listened.
"All of you, just stop. Stop it now. It doesn't matter," she said, starting as a command and ending as an aimless mutter. The officers kept their grip around her arms. "The Rocket Syndicate is formally disbanded, on my word. All of you stop fighting and give me some peace and quiet."
This stopped the Rockets, for only a moment. All those among them whispered amongst themselves, probably thinking all high and mighty that they could take the opposing group by sheer numbers. Visible confusion rippled between them and their Pokémon.
Dozens of agents of the International Police suddenly spilled into the hallways and came up the rear of the remaining Rockets from the direction of the entrance, many of them with Pokémon in tow. They put the sniveling group of desperate children to shame. That just riled them up further and they shouted for another attack.
Surrounded, desperately outmatched, and leaderless, it was already over. Ariana's declaration didn't matter, but of course, she needed to have the last word. That bitch.
Just as Lance claimed, Mahogany was populated by International Police agents by the time they returned to the surface. They had blocked off major exits to the town in no time flat. All the activity and shuffling feet was carving into the snow layer, and the fog had dissipated in the past hour. Crystal glanced around at the commotion and was disturbed by the arguments between the authorities and the surprised residents—one officer shoved a man to the ground after he raised his voice. She wanted this whole situation to be over.
The group that followed them down emerged shortly after with the first wave of restrained Rockets in tow, leading them to some nearby waiting vans. Mahogany barely had a prison, so she guessed they'd be taken to Goldenrod and then flown to trial at the Indigo Plateau. Lance barked at his subordinates to check every corner of the complex for stragglers.
There wasn't much to do while they waited for the mess to be cleaned up. The International Police shoved her away when she offered to help and now half the town was behind tape. She hugged herself to keep out the cold and stood by her friends. Silver was despondent and wouldn't take his eyes off the Rocket headquarters' dismemberment
Ciel and his father retrieved the small group of medical staff from the Pokémon Center and an old medical cart pulsing with machinery. They spoke with the person she assumed was the head of the Center staff, an older woman tied up with a bandana. Officers came by to deposit capsules confiscated from the Rockets at regular intervals.
The younger Trainer broke away and jogged over to them. He looked worse for wear and she had to remind him to zip his jacket after he started shivering. He said, "The staff say there's not enough room for all the Pokémon involved, but they can check for major injuries and handle what they can."
Crystal offered a capsule. Maron was sitting on his rump at her side, dozing. She tapped the button and recalled him, and once the materialization beam fully retracted, he took it.
"Maron should be fine. He'll probably be in and out of naps for a week, but he's taken a lot worse." She'd avoided Maron taking another injury like the scar from Slowpoke Well. That was a success in her eyes.
Rather than the polite option, Gold tossed a capsule directly at him. It hit Ciel in the forehead, he grunted, and then it fell into his open palms with hers. He said, "Gee, thanks."
"I don't even need med stuff," Gold said, cross-legged on the floor and playing with the ball's respective Pokémon. A piece of his clothing—she didn't know or want to know where it was ripped from—was wrapped around the Pokémon's body to keep it warm. He put forward a hand and the Togepi delivered the highest-effort high-five she'd probably ever seen. "Crown here didn't even take a single hit."
"Then do you want your—"
"I'm participating!" Gold shouted, cutting him off.
That only left Silver, who still hadn't peeled his gaze away from his mother and her empire. The physical resemblance was uncanny. Obviously, they had spent years together, yet here he was, permanently throwing away his family and severing connections to his twisted childhood. She knew Silver wouldn't look back, but there was something undeniably sad about him being forced to start anew to what Crystal believed was no fault of his own.
Ciel stepped up beside him and asked, "What about you? Does your Pokémon need anything?"
He waited, and was about to ask again, when Silver turned to him. He provided three Poké Balls after recalling the standing Feraligatr. "Sorry. I'm just not feeling great right now. Yang was battling for a while, and I've also got a Golbat and a Haunter. Don't mess with them."
He shoved his hands into his hoodie and shrunk in on himself, leaving Ciel to return to his father. Once all the Pokémon were accounted for, the few nurses and doctors pushed the cart back through the snow. A few of the International Police's trainers accompanied them just in case any of the Rocket-owned Pokémon tried to cause any damage.
A commotion began shortly after. Lance had broken away from the police units and approached Silver, armed with palpable anger. He backed away and shouted, and though he kicked off to run, the larger man grabbed the boy's arms and locked them behind his back. The contorting pain made Silver shout.
"Wait, stop!" shouted Lyra. They should be celebrating the victory against the Rockets, not causing even more grief. She already hated how the officers were manhandling Mahogany.
"Great work. I needed him separated from the Feraligatr so he couldn't do something stupid." The Champion aimed the sickening praise at Ciel, which made him drop his head. He was just helping the Pokémon. The man continued, "He's a thief, he's associated with the Rockets, and he escalated a police operation to the point that a gun was almost fired. Either I arrest him or someone with a less gentle touch does it for me."
"Get off me!" shouted Silver, but he couldn't oppose the Champion's overpowering strength.
Lance squeezed further on his arms. The boy stopped resisting when the cuffs fastened around his wrists. He mirrored his mother meters away as the doors of the police transport closed—restrained and slowly letting his will slip away. He was forced to his knees and he slumped over. Lance called over officers to move him to the van.
Crystal's eyes darted to her friends. The twitching in their bodies meant they wanted to move but couldn't. How could they? He was the most powerful Trainer in the region, one of the most respected people worldwide who had the entire Indigo League on his side. She pleaded to Ciel with her eyes to help, because he'd had the gall to challenge the Champion down in the base, but his adrenaline had evaporated by the time they reached the surface.
Even if she could move, she couldn't muster up a disagreement. From almost every perspective, Lance was in the right. Silver had done all those things and helping to stop one criminal enterprise wasn't an even trade for his years of service to them. It was a logical and just course of action.
For the third time, she was too paralyzed to take the step. She was watching him fade away when she should be jumping to help. Why the hell was she so stupid? She was always stupid.
It dawned on her, however, that she needed to be stupid. It was stupid not to chase him further into Route 29. It was stupid to let him run away at that Olivine restaurant. But here, the stupid choice was to stand up and fight for him. She said, simply, "No."
Of course, it was ignored. It wasn't loud, and the scuffle of the officers dragging the boy on the ground gave no room for distractions.
She repeated it louder. Silver caught it. He muttered an inaudible something, and whatever it was, it gave Crystal the courage to cry out.
"No!" she exclaimed with enough power to stun the Champion. "Let him go!"
Lance stared. The officers stopped in their tracks and waited for his order, and when he collected himself, he said, "This isn't your decision."
"Yes, it is! You said we could have any one thing we wanted. I want you to grant Silver a full and unquestioned pardon," Crystal said, "and I expect the Champion of Indigo to keep his word."
She'd be the greediest person on Earth and take what she could. He had his foot in the Plateau's door, and he could pull the strings to make it happen. If he was offering any wish on the planet, then for the tiniest moment, she could steal due process.
Lance stepped up to her. His towering presence threatened to crush her if she gave in. She wouldn't. There was no way she would give up everything they had worked towards.
"Why do you care about him?" he asked.
"Anyone who's willing to take a second chance deserves to receive it," said Crystal.
"That's what rehabilitation is for, young lady," the Champion replied dryly.
"If you're going to go back on your word, then just say so."
He leaned down and fought her in a subtle battle. If her words made any effect on him, he didn't let it show—he simply swung his iron will at hers and expected her to crack. When she didn't, when she stood strong like a pillar, he backed away, motioned to the officers, and frowned. They released the cuffs and Silver fell on his hands and knees.
"We're going to be in Mahogany for some time while we clean up. It would be fair to contact Professor Elm for his opinion and confirm his involvement with the Rocket leader. I'll make my decision by the time we leave." Lance didn't wait for a reaction, flared his cloak on his turn, and returned to the sealed-off souvenir shop. The officers had set up a temporary "camp" around it for lack of proper government buildings.
She almost had a heart attack. Ciel barely caught her when she toppled over and she held there just to catch her breath. Gold offered himself as a second support and she graciously accepted.
"That was… crazy," Ciel said.
She was crazy. That could have made her an enemy of the entire Pokémon League and she didn't care one little bit. She did it for a friend.
Silver picked himself up off the ground and staggered over to them. She didn't even need to say anything. She put out her arms. The four of them joined into a warm embrace, and for a little while, everything was fine.
Ciel wondered how the Pokémon Center would manage. He'd only visited for a short time with Pryce once, but the building was about as large as the average tatami room and there were only a few centimeters between his head and the ceiling. Not only that, it was falling apart at its frame, rotting away slowly from years without maintenance. How exactly could it handle hundreds of Pokémon coming through for a check-up?
The answer: it couldn't. Ciel could barely fit in the doorway past the workers and Pokémon spilling outside. He managed to worm his way past feathers, plating, fur, skin, and waylaid medical equipment to shove himself on an empty bench. Not only were the Center staff and two-person Mahogany police force there, but volunteering residents were receiving instruction from the head nurse. His mother was already hard at work bandaging a Weepinbell and shouting at people to keep in coming and get it moving.
The Center's dying lights were supplemented by contributed candles and lanterns. It revealed the peeling wallpaper in greater detail, which flaked at the slightest touch and stirred up into a powder. No matter the facility's condition, the staff and townsfolk gladly did what they needed
He wanted to help. But he needed time to sit. Sit and even out. So, he watched the madness with a thin smile. The hanging panel for Pokémon in the back room could only hold six names on deck, undoubtedly more than those that needed proper treatment. He was surprised to see "ABSOL" at the very top.
Not long after he settled in, one Pokémon was released that didn't take kindly to the treatment. It was a simian creature with white fur and sharp claws. Once it materialized, it thrashed in the center of the room and slashed at the nurse nearest.
His mother already had her Froslass ready. "Onno, Powder Snow!"
The air around the attacker chilled into a slush, dispersing heat further into the room as it was sapped from the moisture. The snow stuck to it more and more and quickly cooled its body temperature until its limbs locked and it had no more energy to move. Once clear, the nurse moved in.
Most of the Rocket Pokémon accepted medical aid but none were comfortable. A Gligar snapped pincers at the slightest touch and forced the poor villager to use absolute caution while checking its vitals. Others had similar knee-jerk reactions that made Ciel even more livid at the criminals. They needed to be put down long before. At least the League would eventually put those poor Pokémon in good hands.
His father pushed his way inside and Pryce was right behind him. A Rocket Machoke elbowed him in the head when he tried to push through the crowd. Pryce cackled. He was eventually able to brave the minefield and meet his wife, while the older man approached the Center head and shared with her a short kiss. Ciel's mother was more determined and shooed her husband away, and soon he beelined towards him on the bench.
He groaned as he sat down and said, "That should be the last of them. The IP's moved onto seizing evidence, so we'll only get more if they happen to stumble upon anyone in hiding." He pointed up the status screen. "I made sure she was the first for major care."
"Thanks," said Ciel. "How are you, erm, I mean, are you doing good?"
Ugh. He was stumbling over his words for no reason. He and his father still needed to talk around some things, and it would only happen with time, but so many times the past week his tongue had been tied. It's like he was afraid of it. He sat on the edge of something new, unsure how to jump off even though they'd shown together that a soft landing awaited. His father didn't pay it any mind though.
"I still hear ringing. Honestly, I might get that checked. I told Houndoom that I liked the enthusiasm but to tone it down next time," he said. Ciel couldn't even imagine the scene of his father telling-off his wicked canine like it was a puppy. Really. He didn't recall it ever happening before. "Other than that, I'm okay. Thanks to you. You and your partner were really brave down there."
He blinked. "Why did you let me go?"
"Hard to say. When your mom sent you off the first time, she thought you were ready. I, well, I didn't," he said, bluntly.
He didn't believe it either, to tell the truth. He'd scraped by on the skin of his teeth and thought she was crazy for sending him off. He was ready to turn back by Cherrygrove. Then Brent dragged him full speed ahead.
His father continued. "I guess I had to be the one to talk her out of her doubts this time. I trust the you that she believed in, and I think you've proven that's who you are."
He was probably beet red. Hearing it out of his father's mouth was implosive. He had nothing to throw back, no proper thanks, and no easy way to tell the man how much it meant. He was able to ask, however, "Armed criminals?"
The man shrugged. "We had Lance. The guy just makes you feel like you can do anything."
Whatever shot him into the stratosphere faded when the conversation died. He plummeted back down to earth, especially when he remembered that he still hadn't convinced someone important to believe in him. She trusted him for a moment, but he still felt terrible for using a strategy like that, even in a perilous situation. He wasn't thinking straight. She was hurt because of him.
Ciel cast his gaze back up to the board, where Raven's species name had disappeared from the top. A woman appeared from the door and called out that she was ready. His father stood and extended his hand. Ciel didn't take it immediately, yet the belief etched into his face convinced him to grab on and drag himself to his feet. They walked into the back room of the tiny center once they cleared the menagerie.
The showdown inside wasn't what he expected nor what he knew how to deal with. Filling up the room and having to arch its back just to fit under the ceiling, Silver's Feraligatr was locked in stance opposite Raven on the bed. An intensive care capsule laid beyond that was thankfully empty. Both growled, chirped, and bellowed, cycling through sounds, leaving him confused on what exactly was happening.
The back room was slightly better maintained than the lobby. At least the wallpaper stayed on the walls and he didn't feel like he was inside a moldy garden shed. Most of the machinery, while outdated, pulsed with life and showed no signs of malfunction, but he wasn't an expert to know that for sure.
The two Pokémon dominated the space around them and barely noticed them enter the room. The nurse squeezed herself between him and his father. "Can you find this one's Trainer? It's harder to keep nudging him outside than to just let him be. This is bad procedure."
She seems to have forced him into some kind of transparent garment that fell around his front and posterior, though it wasn't long enough to reach his legs. Ciel assumed it was an attempt to keep the area as sterile as possible. The place certainly smelled like exhausted Pokémon, so if there was anything in the air, that ship had sailed. Raven didn't have any outside wounds for it to matter too much.
Hesitantly, he pushed himself forward and tapped the button on Raven's capsule to enlarge it to ready state. He wasn't sure if it was going to be visceral and he could only guess for signs of escalation. Twitching claws, raised hairs, he couldn't see any obvious signs. He was still uneasy.
"It's, uhh, time to go," he said, holding out the Poké Ball. Not that he expected her to take it, of course.
A side-eyed glance was all she conceded before returning to her battle. Their psychic line was an impenetrable steel thread that neither had the strength to pull away from. It's not like the two knew each other. Did they just get off on the wrong foot, or did Silver's Feraligatr overstep his boundaries? Pokémon communication was beyond confusing and there was no telling what one species considered aggressive. The massive stature held by the reptile was frightening on its own.
Looking back, his father was prepared to send out his own if things got very out of hand, very quickly. The responses were increasingly heated and challenging—they were pushing further into each other's bubbles. Now it was definitely escalating. Ciel held out a hand. "Ma'am, stay behind us."
And then, it stopped. The communication, whatever it was, ceased when Feraligatr leaned back. The reptilian Pokémon lumbered past him, but it stopped for a few seconds and stretched a clawed, scaled appendage tapped him on the head. It was a mechanical motion, binary, just up and down, but Ciel supposed the spirit was there. The Pokémon made for the door and burst through the upper wall as it left, not bothering to duck to meet the doorframe. Drywall and insulation spilled around the floor.
Leaving his father to deal with the melting-down nurse, he presented himself to his partner. The bed sat high enough for her to meet him at eye level. Her black tail was at attention and her blade shined under the bar light. He almost thought she was going to strike.
He withdrew a can of Pokémon food from his bag. It was really basic stuff; preserved Stantler meat dressed in a berry puree. It was all he could manage to grab in the few seconds he dropped by the house. After cracking it open and setting it on the bed, he said, "I brought this, just in case. I didn't know how long you were gonna be here."
The floor must have looked interesting because that's all he wanted to look at. His father had finally calmed the nurse down, and though he missed the conversation, Ciel assumed he goaded her into the lobby to give them a few moments alone, as he heard the door close among what remained of the doorframe. He wasn't making good use of the time already, so he decides to skip to the point.
"You let Arden decide for you last time. Do you really want me as your Trainer?" Ciel asked
She didn't give an obvious answer. It was never obvious. She leaned down to inspect the can of food, then scratched herself with a hind leg before dropping to her stomach. It was as if he didn't exist at all. He could never get through to her to tell him how he felt, and he could never properly make up for abandoning them the first time, could he? He clutched the Poké Ball tightly enough to break his fingers. He looked among all the waylaid medical tools, metal instruments, forceps, blades, and numerous pieces of bulky vital-recording equipment, none of which should have been necessary.
He sometimes thought about the Trainer-Pokémon relationship since he discussed it with Chuck. Pokémon do like to battle, at least most of them, but only if the Trainer provided a safe and supportive environment. He'd failed to meet her expectations, and worse, he'd intentionally put her in harm's way to save himself. Yet she'd trusted him then. Ciel, more than anything, wanted to know. Know that he was doing the right thing. Or even know that he was doing the wrong thing, and that he should release her back into the wild. Any message that would save him from drowning in the pool of thought that had filled since Olivine and threatened to spill over.
It was mostly quiet in that backroom. He could hear echoes of the commotion in the lobby. But it was quiet, and there was no one but the two. She laid unmoving on the bed.
And then, he heard a sound, a noise he barely recognized because it had been months since it last passed his ears. It was a low rumble of comfort and happiness. She was purring.
He reached hand and rested it on her head. There was no growl to be heard nor any aggressive motion to make him back off. He ran his fingertips along the dense hairs on her head, above the singular spot of black, which made her angle into the contact. She never acted like this. Ciel kneeled and rested his elbows on the edge of the bed.
"What did he say to you?" he asked.
"I might know," said someone. They must have slipped in while Ciel was bumbling around his own head. He turned to see Silver standing idly by the doorway, leaning back against the wall, hands shoved into his hoodie and looking washed-up. Why he'd even want to poke around after what happened with Lance was beyond him, but Ciel was glad he wasn't just talking to himself.
Ciel stood up to meet him when he walked over. He said, "Yang saw a lot in me, even if I don't really get it. Maybe he wanted yours to see something she wasn't."
"Do you think you'll ever make up for what happened?" he asked. He hated how blunt it was, but there was no taking it back once he blurted it out. No one would want to revisit that time—whether to hide what they did or to move on—but by asking, he wasn't giving Silver a choice.
"No," he said. "But I guess it's not up to me. I just have to trust his decision."
Trust. It was an equal exchange, just like Chuck said. He needed to trust in her decisions, and the intent of her feelings behind them, just like she needed to trust his. Even when there were mistakes, he still trusted her. Maybe she finally built back up hers in return.
The nurse pushed her way back into the back room. She noticed the two Trainers, and said, "Everyone, out! I need to wipe this whole place down for the next patient. Bad practice!"
His father poked his head in as well, "Ciel, some people are switching off duty out here to eat. We need some extra hands."
He looked to Silver a moment, who shrugged, and then to Raven, who had dozed off in place on the bed. He gently placed a hand high on her back, above where her heart was. He nodded to himself. "Right behind you."
When they finally escaped the Pokémon Center, it was deep blue at the end of twilight. Gas torches lit the path home where Ciel walked with his parents. His mother had one arm around him with a fold of her robe draped over him, helping him to stave off the cold.
During the short walk through the village, he couldn't keep his eyes off the bright lights emanating from the International Police's taped-off camp. They had already sent their vehicles across the mountains, first the prisoner transports and second for the cargo of Pokémon in need of minor medical treatment. However, they obviously weren't yet cleaned up, as they'd stacked various pieces of mechanical equipment outside the souvenir shop. An entire tree was knocked over and stripped of its needles, revealing it not to be organic but a giant mechanical antenna. Agents were tearing it apart, along with tubed engines wired to it.
He didn't care. He just wanted to get home and see his sister and talk with Crystal and Gold and lay about his room trying to sleep, not knowing if he'd be out when he hit the pillow or too rattled to close his eyes. With his friends staying over, they could chat through the morning hours and sleep until the afternoon. As they passed through the trees, flashes of artificial light peeking through each gap, he noticed that his friends weren't back at the house like they said they'd be.
He mentioned this to his parents, and they veered off course through the brush. Two agents guarding the taped area moved aside to allow them to pass. The closer he neared, the more apparent the dreadful atmosphere was. Crystal was melting snow with her pacing. Gold and Silver were talking quietly amongst themselves. Gold being reserved was what really tipped him off.
Lance and Tadashi stood central to the three, along with a few more agents examining the salvaged equipment. He must have contacted the Professor by then. Was this Silver's trial?
"What's going on? Can we please give it a rest for the night?" asked his mother. She put a hand on her hip.
"We, uhh, we might have a problem, Ciel," said Crystal.
He motioned to the red-haired boy, but she shook her head. His relief lasted only until Lance spoke up.
"Kori, Daku, I'm sorry to say this, but I need to call on your family again. Our intel reported that the Rocket organization was about one-thousand strong, and even if this was their main base, we only detained a fraction of their forces. Our agents discovered a sealed room in the complex less than an hour ago containing all their communication equipment," said Lance. Ciel's eyes drifted to the downed radio antennae and other junk lying about.
"Isn't that a good thing?" His mom let out a yawn. "Now they can't communicate with any stragglers from high up. They have no more leadership."
Tadashi presented a small recording device in his hands, thumb hovering over a button on the side and shook his head. "This is their last transmission. We cut it off as soon as we could, but it's been broadcasting on their secure channel since shortly after we captured Ariana."
He pushed the button.
"Attention all Rockets. The time for our rebirth is at hand," said a voice that was unmistakably identical to their boss. "All units converge onto Goldenrod City and overtake the city's public radio tower. All current operations are hereby suspended until this is complete. We will summon Giovanni to lead us into our new future. Glory to the Rockets! Attention all Rockets. The time for our rebirth is…"
It repeated. Then again. When Tadashi finally shut off the device and returned it to a pocket on his vest, Ciel felt like the message was permanently burned into his brain.
"I thought she formally disbanded them," Ciel said. She just seemed so tired in her words, and the base has been locked down since the last battle between the International Police and the remaining grunts.
"You trust a gangster to keep her promises?" Lance immediately shot him down, and once again he felt miniscule opposed to the most powerful man in the Region. He backed off, embarrassed.
Ciel's father tapped his foot and twitched his fingers while trying to process. He must have wanted time to rest, time to recover, because even his service to the Pokémon League had its limits. His wife took one of his hands to soothe his nerves. With defiant acceptance, he asked, "What resistance are we expecting?"
"Between here, Azalea Town, and the Indigo Plateau, we can only account for about one-hundred thirty Rockets. If this message somehow reached every Rocket in Johto," the Champion said, not bothering to hammer home the figure, "Then it's our duty to travel to Goldenrod to assist."
They still weren't finished. They wouldn't be finished until every last Rocket was in custody and they couldn't hurt anyone else, human or Pokémon. The bodies they left behind, from those Slowpoke to the rare Gyarados at the Lake of Rage to the potential thousands that went unrecorded, couldn't rest until they were stopped. There was no telling how much human suffering their accession had caused as well.
Crystal and Silver, bags under their eyes, shared a nonverbal confirmation. They refused to let their fatigue triumph over their need to make things right. They'd seen from both sides what damage they were leaving unchecked, and with the Pokémon League now fully committed to the Rocket menace, they were being given the chance to close the door permanently.
He would join them. He hadn't realized he was scratching the thin line on his neck until it started to rub raw. He'd been doing it unconsciously for months.
"Hey!" Ciel looked over to see his sister wading through the snow. She trudged through until the snow thinned around the cordoned-off site. Not even bothering to let the guards clear her, she ducked underneath the tape and sprung up on the other side. "I was wondering where everyone was."
He walked over to his sister and bent over to meet her at eye level. She was balled up in jackets and he could hardly tell where the girl was inside the endless layers. Her knees were white with snow and residue ran up her outer jacket's sleeves. It was cute how her nose matched the red tint of her hair.
"Why are the police here? They wouldn't let us leave school without an adult, so Pryce came to pick me up again," she said.
Ciel placed a finger over her lips and she giggled. His parents were obviously occupied, judging by the activity behind him, so it was up to him to divert her attention. "Don't worry about it. You know what day tomorrow is?"
She thought for a second, then lit up like the sun. It could have melted the village into an early summer. "January 6th!"
"And you know what we're gonna do when you get home from school tomorrow?"
"Birthday cake!" She threw her arms diagonally outward, fists closed.
"Stay with Pryce tonight and do your best tomorrow. It'll make the celebration even better." He ruffled her hair gently.
They both cast their eyes back to the commotion, where Lance had released his Dragonite. All three of them. The one with emerald scales stood in the middle, while more common orange-plated ones were raring at its flanks. They were extremely rare and powerful Pokémon, and he might have been one of few people to ever see more than one in the same place. There were some subtle differences between them. One had larger wings with more membrane sections, another had a stockier build, and Lance's shining partner had a longer horn and sharper snout. Ciel had no doubt they had the power to fly them to Goldenrod, assuming they could survive the trip.
Laina wasn't stupid. Not in the slightest. She asked, "Will you be okay?"
"With them? Absolutely," he said.
He bid goodbye. She wished him good luck, shouted an "I love you" to Mom and Dad as they prepared to take off, and disappeared back into the village toward Pryce's house.
The agents had retrieved riding gear from one of their remaining vehicles and were outfitting the Dragonite to fly. Crystal and Gold were already saddled up. Two could fit two each, but Lance's larger beast had space for three.
He had no idea how dangerous this would be. But he had some of the best Trainers and best friends he had ever met by his side. And he had his team.
He was still missing someone, though, someone who promised to be there when the time arose. He dropped his backpack and rifled through it. Crystal called, "Ciel, let's get going."
His Poké GEAR was gripped in his hand when he turned back. He said, "Hold on. I need to make a call."
This one went longer than expected (I don't even know if I should expect chapter lengths anymore), and I can guarantee the next one will go long as well. Having to delay this messed up my plans some. I was timing this so the final chapter (35) released on Saturday, March 14th, which is the tenth anniversary of HeartGold and SoulSilver's North American release. Chapter 34 might be shorter than my average, so there's still a chance I could make up the difference.
Landing this plane sometimes feels like a gargantuan task. I'll freely admit that I think I'm better at setting up plot points than concluding them, mostly because I heavily plan endings in advance and then have to reconcile them with emergent story elements. I'll be doing my best, as always.
Ever the RWBY fan, I was super pleased with the finale of Volume 7 and the volume as a whole. It struggled some to focus on development for cast members individually because of how large the cast of the show has grown, but I was still engaged and enjoying every minute. It's making me want to write for the series more and more, but we'll see.
Three Chapters Remain. Chapter 33: International Broadcast is February 21st. Let's finish this.