Servitude
The island Pokémon Centre was unusually quiet. But then again, so was most of Cianwood at this time of the year. I lent on the main counter and drummed my fingers on a clipboard that contained several 'legal' documents and my signature. A Chansey wandered in and out of the emergency room, bringing with it several bags of garbage and cleaning utensils. It offered me a quiet greeting before getting back to its job.
"Master Lance, here are the Pokémon," Nurse Joy arrived from the back room, carrying in her hands a tray containing four pokéballs. "Ready to be transferred to the safari zone. We tracked down the trainers who abandoned them and I believe the PGM are in the process of revoking their trainer's licences."
"Excellent," I nodded, taking the balls and clipping them to my belt. As a Pokémon League official and a member of the PGM, I was entitled to carry around more than six Pokémon for the purpose of rescue, transport and re-homing.
I handed over my clipboard and she took up a pen, signing her name 'Catherine Joy' underneath mine. Then bidding her farewell, I left the Pokémon Centre.
The afternoon was just as chilly as the morning had been and I took to pulling my cape tighter over my shoulders as I walked. Being a small, tight nit community, the locals were very well aware of my presence but were polite enough to keep their distance and allow me to get about my business. One of the consequences of being a Pokémon Champion was that I generally had to put up with fans approaching me.
Making my way across the beachside town, I headed further inland until I approached a rocky wall that stretched high above me. Etched into the wall was a small foot cavern that trailed the height of the cliff and would eventually lead me to the top where the entrance of the Cianwood Safari Zone was located. Sparsely lit with old fashioned torches imbedded in the walls, the strong smell of dampness mixed with salty, ocean spray seemed to permeate through the cavern.
The trail seemed to zig-zag in and out of the cliff, giving travellers a sense of exploring foreign and unknown territories. Keeping my head low and my pokéballs hidden, I made sure to avoid the occasional trainer that passed me by, not so much worried about getting into a battle, but rather the end result they would have to face against the likes of my Dragons.
I soon became aware of the two figures that followed me at a distance but took no notice. This was a narrow trail after all. It was only when I managed to catch a fraction of their hushed conversation that I realised who they were.
"Is that the guy we're looking for?" A woman with long, orange pigtails spoke to her companion in a hushed whisper.
"I think so. Can't you tell by the read hair?" replied her companion, a much taller man with green hair that loosely hung over his eyes.
Both figures wore long trench coats.
I kept walking, keeping my head low and speeding up my pace to get around a large bend. Yes… I knew exactly who they were. It was only a matter of time before they caught up with me.
I heard the woman yelp from behind as she suddenly realised that I was disappearing from their line of sight. She grabbed her companion by the arm and the two raced on ahead… only to realise that I was gone. She and her companion cursed out loud and hurried on through the passage.
Once I was sure they were gone, I pulled myself from hiding in the shadows of a small crevice in the wall, frowning and cursing no one but myself for having gotten so slack. They were from Team Rocket, which meant that contrary to what the PGM had reported back to me in the past few months, Giovanni was still very adamant on locating us.
This proved to be a problem to me. Due to the cooler weather setting in through the mountains, I'd since moved Kair back to my estate. And it was there that she currently resided while I did my rounds of Johto. Had her father already gotten to her? I hadn't spoken to her since yesterday.
A wave of panic suddenly set in and I quickly burst into a bolt back down the passage. I didn't even see the huge, dark figure step out in front of me, nor the swing of his colossal fist that made contact with my face…
The young man landed on the gym floor with a thud. Wheezing, he choked in attempt to force air back into his lungs and cast a glare at the woman responsible for his downfall.
"Get up!" the woman in question scowled in return, offering him a low toned growl. "You are as useless as my good-for-nothing half-brother!"
Pulling himself into a crouching position, he watched the floor by his feet, heaving and counting backwards from ten to one in his mind just as his tutors had taught him. "Why are you doing this to me?" his voice was shallow and confused. "Do you not know who I am?" Even in spite of the rage that continued to billow inside of him, he still chose to remain poised.
"Right now, you are a nothing more than a pathetic laggard. Now get up and repeat the exercise, and don't stop until you get it right."
Pulling long hung strands of tea-green hair behind his ears, the young man got to his feet to face this woman who dared call herself his 'tutor'. Standing at least a foot taller than her, his lean body seemed to tower over the old Shadow Dragon Master. "I am not doing this any longer. You are cold and heartless. Your ethics are less than to be desired."
Sa'lu blinked in response, placing her hands on her hips she gave him the dangerous rise of an eyebrow. "You dare judge me and my training ethics? Boy, you are meddling with the wrong woman. You have no idea what I am capable of."
"I have some idea," he alluded to the black pokéballs that sat strapped to her belt. "You are a Dragon Master after all."
"That I am."
"And yet I have never seen your Dragons," the boy continued. "Since I have been here, you have not once released them from their pokéballs. Are they really doomed to spend the remainder of their existence in such servitude?"
"For as long as I deem them useful anyway," Sa'lu replied with an indifferent sniff. "That is the key to your leadership; make no one in your organisation indispensable. Subjects, agents, Pokémon, they all serve their purpose and that is to serve you, their king," her last word came out as a leer.
The young man seemed unfazed however. His mind still fixated on Sa'lu's Pokémon, he watched her belt with a careful eye. "What say you let them out and at least let them chose for themselves whom they want to follow? You or freedom?"
A dangerous smile slowly made its way across Sa'lu's face. "Alright," she said with a hint of menace. "I'll let my Dragons decide."
Grabbing two balls in a single hand, she released their inhabitants in two beams of black. The dragons formed on the floor between them - a Garchomp and a Haxorus. The hammer-headed Dragon and his Unova-native companion stood motionless, dead eyes gazing into nothingness
The boy couldn't help but stagger backwards over his own two feet, heaving a loud gasp, "Their voices… they… have no voice!"
Sa'lu on the other hand seemed intrigued by his reaction. "So it is true," she whispered in an undertone. "You do have the gift."
"You did this? You destroyed their voices? Their own free will?"
Sa'lu was unfazed by his accusations. "Yes. They serve me better this way. Single minded."
"If you expect me train Pokémon in the same manner, then I'm afraid you have set yourself up for disappointment."
Sa'lu said nothing. Instead she simply waved a hand in the direction of the boy, and simultaneously her Dragons seemed to come to life. Eyes locked onto the scrawny Human and tracing his every step backwards, they fell into a slow slink around him, eventually trapping him up against a wall. The breath of monsters blew across his face and ruffled his messy hair, teeth dripping with Dragon saliva only inches from his head.
Pinned between the Dragons and the cold, stone wall of the gym, the boy let out a loud cry only to be drowned out by Sa'lu's bellow, "Lesson one! As Team Plasma's leader, you will need to use Pokémon, even if it is simply to defend yourself against evil-doers like me. Those Dragons won't hesitate to kill you. Do you understand, Natural?"
"I understand!"
Satisfied, Sa'lu recalled her Pokémon and stood by, watching as the boy slid to the floor in a crumpled heap. He heaved a breath, wiping Dragon salvia from his cheeks. Then he gazed up at her, his glare seething with hatred for the woman. "The name is N."