Sitting in the middle of Route 3 is Mt. Moon, a massive mountain and home for various flora and pokemon. One can see it miles away, and when coming up and close? Massive is an understatement.
There's a two way to reach Cerulean City from Pewter. First, the traditional route using the age-old natural-made tunnel underneath the mountain. Second, taking the long, recently made years ago, the road around the mountain. Additionally, you also can head straight to Saffron through small towns and villages. Most Trainers, the ones who first set out on their journey, and wishing to take the League, however, prefer taking the tunnels. It has been an age-old rite of passage. An unofficial saying that if a trainer didn't take the Tunnel Route at least once, they aren't considered 'good enough. They don't have to like or enjoy it, they just have to pass it.
Trying to climbs up the mountain? Don't be stupid. Only Ace Trainers, high-ranked Pokemon Ranger, and Elite themselves can climb the mountain and make it down safely. The dangerous terrain aside, the Pokemon above there are vicious. If the spearow in Route 1 was bad, the flocks that live up on the mountain is even worse.
The Tunnels is no less adventurous. Yes, it has less danger, but it was more confusing, trying to navigate the maze-like tunnels. Since one can't see the sky, the compass is a very valuable piece of equipment, alongside a reliable map. Another must-have item was a flashlight.
Regarding of Pokemons who living there, there are colonies of Zubat, Sandshrew, Paras, Geodude, Onix, and finally, the prize of Mt. Moon local Pokemon, Clefairy line. Clefairy is rare and only a few ever see it, much less have it.
Ash hoped Gary didn't manage to catch one, or he would be insufferable. Speaking of insufferable...
"Pikachu! Thunderwave!"
"Chu!"
The colonies of Zubat fell to the ground. Twitching pitifully. They are not the only ones.
"What the hell?" Cursed Ash. "What are Zubats doing, going out when the sun is still out?! It's two p.m. for Moltres' burning tail!"
According to the book, Zubat lived in caves and comes out at night due to their sensitive eyes would burn when showered with bright light. There is a reason why they generally attacked anyone that dare to shoot a flashlight in their direction. Any trainer who passed Mt. Moon Tunnel had one universal advice: "Don't aim your flashlight to the ceilings unless you fancied being chased by colonies of Zubat".
People who catch Zubat are advised to train their Pokemon to get used to bright light. Starting from dawn/dusk, then under shades, etc, until the Pokemon can withstand daylight without being in pain.
To find they were attacked by Zubats before they even enter the tunnel, in broad daylight, was more than confusing.
Still, he better put them under shades before the sun fried them good.
"A nocturnal pokemon goes out during daylight?" Muttered Steven. His eyes narrowed. "Ash, stay close to me."
"Huh? Okay, but why?"
Steven didn't answer. He just leads the way in. The inside of the tunnel made Ash appalled.
The Mt. Moon tunnel did have some lights to mark the way, but they are generally dim-lit, barely just enough to see the road, hence why Flashlight is needed. This is to not disturb the local population who are not used to bright light.
However, when they ventured inside, the walls are lined up with a bright, bright lamp.
It certainly has an adverse effect on the local pokemon, if the condition of Paras, Zubats, and Sandshrews they encountered was any indicator. The Geodudes look fine, but they are irritable.
Ash has Pikachu short-circuited those lamps. They were plunged into the darkness, but it's fine. They have a flashlight.
"As I feared." Spoke Steven. Without changing his expression, he opens up a Pokeball. His trusted Partner, Metagross, materialized. Gaze as sharp and wary as its trainer. "There's something wrong here."
"I figures." Replied Ash, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Whoever set up those lights are going to be in big trouble."
"And there's no other human beside us." Steven ignores the sass. "You did say Mt. Moon is route all Trainer take, but where are they? And you can't use the 'it's still months away from League' reason. We did pass some trainers on our way here. We should have been encounter some more by now, yet there's no other human insight. That's not even accounting field scientist and researchers."
Ash paused at that. That... Steven was right. Something is odd here. Mt. Moon isn't supposed to be this empty. Add with the bright lights and Zubats odd behavior...
"Does someone do Illegal digging here?!" He shouted.
Before Steven could answer that, the ground shakes. Violently. The culprit revealed itself not too long after. Several boulders that stuck together rise. It was when a pair of angry angry eyes opened, no, it was not boulders. It was an Onix. An angry Onix. It was bigger than Brock's. Clearly, a survivor, if the amount of scarring and uneven rough surface on its body was any indicator.
"Uh... Steven?" Ash whispered. Eyes still glued at the massive Pokemon. "Any clue why it's angry?"
"My guess is it's been trying to sleep in but get increasingly angry because the light been bothering it. Your yell might be the final straw in the back."
"Oh so now it's my fault?"
Their banter was cut short when Onix roared in anger and began shaking. The tunnel also shakes and several rocks and stalagmites fell down. It didn't scare Steven a bit. With a calm and controlled voice, he commands out,
"Metagross, Bullet Punch, chain it with Hammer Arm."
His trusted partner rumbles in affirmation before moving fast destroying the biggest and sharpest stalagmite that heading to them, before destroying the rest. Ensuring none but dust and small pebbles that fell upon them.
"Psychic."
Metagross glowing pink as it faced Onix, who also glowed pink and lifted several feet above the ground. It tried to wiggle and squirmed, trying to break free, but to no avail. Metagross is much more powerful and skilled than mere Cave Dwellers.
"Metagross—" Steven was about to order him to threw away the Onix, but stopped.
They were inside a tunnel. Throwing several dozen kilos of Pokemon would cause turbulence that may lead to unwanted complications. Mini earthquake aside, it could accidentally crush smaller Pokemon. Sandshrew and Geodude might survive the impact, but Paras would be flattened in seconds. Not to mention it would serve as an alarm. Throwing Onix is not worth it. Not when they are still speculating what happened here.
But putting Onix down would just only lead it to attack them again. Dang. Metagross can't use Hypnosis and he doesn't have any Pokemon who could. If Metapod had evolute into Buterfree then he might ask for his help, but since the Pokemon still a cocoon... how should he solve this predicament?
Well. Steven did want an Onix.
However...
The ball refused to capture it.
"Oh? You're captured?" Steven frowned. "But that means..." He paused in horror.
"Steven...?"
...that means... someone deliberately attacking them...
Fuck.
"Metagross."
Metagross glowed brighter for the briefest moment, before turning to a direction and threw Onix there. Several people quickly run away to avoid getting crushed, revealing themselves.
Men. Wearing a black bodysuit with dark gray gloves and boots. A single big R emblazoned on the top of the suit. R? For wha—
"Team Rocket?!" Shouted Ash.
Steven's eyes narrowed. So this is the terrorist who dares to attack Pokemon Center? The ones who stealing Pokemon? If they are not the ones behind the strangeness here, Steven will eat his left shoe.
"Fuck you, pretty boy!" One of them cursed out and Steven snorted. Pretty Boy? How long since the last time he had been called that? "You gonna pay for that!"
The grunts—and they must be grunts because Steven had once dealing with Terrorists before and he knew higher ups have more class and presence—threw out their Pokemon. A purple rat, a bigger angrier rat with brown fur, a gas bomb, gas bomb v.2, a purple snake that reminded Steven of Seviper except for no sword-tail, a drooling stinky plant, a ferocious-looking bird, two zubat, and one yellow Pokemon who carried a pendulum. Looking at it makes Steven drowsy for a brief second before he could reorient himself. Psychic-type then.
In response, Ash eagerly calls out his. Pikachu growling and sparking with anger, Pidgeotto flapping wings and screeching, especially at the other bird, and Metapod... glaring? Quite a jarring sight.
"Pikachu. Thundershock."
"Bloom, Stun Spore! Rattata, Quick Attack!"
"Raticae, Hyper Fang! Koffing, Assurance! Zubat, Poison Fang!"
"Spearow, drill peck that overgrown bird! Ekans, Bite!"
"Drowzee, Hypnosis! Weezing, Sludge Bomb!"
"Zubat, Astonish! Onix, Get back here and attack!"
"Metagross. Scary Face followed with Take Down to that pendulum-carrying Pokemon." First-order in business: knock out the Psychic Type before they immobilize you via Hypnosis. As for the rest, "Aggron, Iron Head and Heavy Slam to Onix. Skarmory, Agility, and Metal Claw. Take out as many as you could without hurting Pidgeotto, Pikachu, or Metapod." He calls forth his other heavy hitter, who wastes no time before attacking.
Among his current rooster, only Metagross and Aggron are strong enough to take Onix with little to no damage, and Steven needs Metagross to take care of that Pendulum Pokemon—what was it called? He'll ask Ash later—simply because being part Psychic means he has some resistance to Psychic Type attack. Aggron, not so much.
The tunnel was cramped with attack and Pokemon. Thankfully Ash did the smart thing by ordering Pidgeotto to blowback Stun Spore before it could affect their side. This followed by Metagross threw the Rocket's Psychic Type to that plant Pokemon, which would prevent them from using devastating status effect.
Pikachu nimbly gets between the mass of limbs and attacks before tackling the other bigger brown mouse Pokemon with a static covered body, shocking them good, before sending a thundershock to Zubat. Skarmory finished the Seviper-wannabe with a well-placed Metal Claw. Metapod is having a hard time with the purple mouse—wait, did it just evolved? That was fast. Still, it was a boon on their side. The Beautifly-like Pokemon helped to finish the battle... or, more like the one-sided beatdown.
Then the bomb bag pulsates as if about to explode. Metagross quickly throws them away. KA-BOOM! Close call! If those two explodes here, not only the table will get turned, but there's a chance he and Ash will get separated, or worse, buried.
In retaliation for that dirty tactic, Pikachu uses Thundershock on them. By them, Steven means the grunts, not the Pokemon. The paralyze give chance for Steven to tie them up.
"Alright." He clapped his hand. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Frankly, I prefer the easy way, less messy, and relatively painless." And less traumatic for Ash.
He got a face full of dust when one of the grunts kicked the ground.
"You...!"
Before Ash could do more than take a step forward with fist raised, Butterfree had done something. The wings sparkled and the eyes glowed, and suddenly the grunt becomes dazed.
"Metagross?" Steven asked.
'Confusion.' His partner replied through telepathy. 'Fabricating. Reality. False information. We. Newbie. Does not last long.'
Aha. Smart boy.
"Looks like you could use some help." Said, Steven. "We're here to pick up your slack. How far the Project go?" He covered Ash's mouth before the boy could say something that might break the psychic effect.
"Project Moon is underway. We haven't found the Moon Stone but it seems we are making process." One of the grunts, the female one, replied in a daze. "Executive Petrel getting angry. The professor is not cooperating and many trainers stumbled upon our ground. Thankfully we manage to catch them off guard and steal their Pokemon."
"Lead the way."
~X
They were hiding behind a large rock, watching how the operatives doing. Thankfully with the well-lit room, it's easy to see the whole area.
Discounting the unconscious ones they've been dealt, there are seven rocket grunts. Wait, no, make them six grunts and one executive. Executive Petrel if Steven remembers it correctly. Four grunts were on guard duty. Two were guarding a cage where local Pokemon were caught, and two more, this time with their Pokemon out. One is the evolution of that purple Snake—Arbok, according to Ash's Pokedex, and the other is a menacing black canine with white stripes and a pair of curved horns.
Steven observed the captives and what he saw made his blood run cold. The Pokemons were in bad conditions. They were trembling, either in anger or fear, and they certainly don't look healthy. Especially that green Sandhsrew that stood out. Not just because of its unusual coloring—Shiny—but because the other Sandshrew avoided it. That... kinda brought back some less than pleasant memories.
Shaking his head, Steven focused on human captives. He saw Misty among them. Aside from her, an adult man was wearing a lab coat and looks like he has seen better days; a brunette boy with a cap, a dark-haired girl in a flannel shirt, and a young adult with a black eye—must be getting into a fight with one of the grunts.
As of Team Rocket's Pokemon... mmhmm... mmhmm... and the cage... there's a cable leading to the Pokemon's cages. Ah. The cages were saturated with electricity.
"Alright. Ash, I have a job for you." the boy jolted with attention. "Normally I don't like involving a Rookie Trainer in Terrorist capture mission, nor I make habit of it. But you are the only one I can rely on, so you will listen to what I said and follow it correctly, understand?"
"Yes sir."
"Good." Steven nodded. "Your job is to free those people and Pokemons. Be careful. The Pokemon's cages are saturated with electricity. Have Pikachu dealt with it. Keep your distance and don't look threatening or they will mistake you for the bad guy. Once you are done, set them free, I want you to find the missing Pokeballs if any. Here." Steven handed him a Pokeball. "I entrust Beldum to you. He is yours to command for this mission."
Ash stared at the Pokeball and gulped. "I... I understand." He held it tight. "What... what about you?"
"Me?" Steven turned his attention to the grunts. "I'll become bait."
"B-bait?!"
"Someone needs to draw their attention so you can go unnoticed. There are more grunts and one executive. All of them are adults." Who certainly have loose morals. No way he subjected Ash to them even without the threat of having Lance and whomever Ash's parents go after his blood. Having him freeing the captive was a much safer option. "Don't worry. I'll be alright."
"A-alright..."
"Good. Now, wait until my signal."
~X~
Steven walked out from their hiding place, putting up a surprised facade. "Oh dear me. What is happening here?" He asks loudly, being as obnoxious as possible. It works. All attentions now are on him.
"Hey, what are you doing here?! This place is off-limits!" One grunt shouted. "What the fuck those guards are doing?!"
"Probably slacking off." Another one replied. "You make mistake. Seriously, how dumb someone can be?"
"If you cooperate, we will let you off the hook. If not then you can join them." One jerked his head on the cage. Steven's heart almost leaps off. Ash isn't get caught, is he? "Now, give us your Pokeballs."
Surrounded by all sides, Steven sighed dramatically. "Very well." He took out four Pokeball. Two of each hand. He saw those grunts smirking as if they have won, yet the executive still look at him appraisingly.
"Is that all you have?"
"Well," Steven smiled. In one smooth motion, he threw up the Pokeball and released the Pokemon. His battle-ready Pokemon. "Aggron, Scyther, Metagross, Skarmory, go wild."
Screech and roar and pandemonium ensues.
"Shit!" One nearby grunt fumbles around his belt. "Go—"
Steven didn't let him finish. He quickly swept him down with a tackle to the leg. Breaking his concentration and causing the Pokeball to roll away. To make sure he didn't get up, Steven shocks him with a taser.
He never goes anywhere without a Taser nowadays. It was simply too useful, especially in a situation like this.
He hears sounds of more Pokemon manifesting, followed by a roar, screech, grunt, and other sounds of battle. A quick glance at the battlefield shows that there are many Pokemon surrounding them. "Metagross, Magnet Rise, follow it by Confusion and then Meteor Mash. Skarmory, Fury Attack-Metal Claw combo. Scyther, Leer, Double Team, and Fury Cutter. Aggron, Iron Defense, Heavy Slam, and finish with Iron Tail."
The pokemon hit by Confusion staggered in their movement, allowing Metagross to punch them away. Screech and several poor Pokemon were ripped into shreds. Metaphorically. Steven didn't order them to use Lethal Mode. Slash! Those that Skarmory missed were hit by Scyther. Aggron finished the last batch with a battering ram, turning around, and hit the Pokemon with his tail.
Not just shouting command, Steven quickly move. Nimbly and agile, dodging the punch aimed at him. Crossing his hand before his face and block one kick, then twisted the leg. Slamming the grunt to the floor and broke his leg. Shock!
Puh! One punch nearly collides with his cheek, had he didn't tilt his head to the side on time. He responded by grabbing the hand and kicking the guy in the crotch. Giving him the worst pain a man ever felt on top of dislocating his shoulder. Tasing him.
Turning around he kicked another grunt, disarmed him, followed with an uppercut punch. Another jumped on him and restrain him from the back. Steven responded by bowing and flipping him over and twisted the shoulders. He may not look like it but he is very fit. One touch with a taser and he's out cold.
Bang!
Bang!
A bullet was fired. It didn't hit him as Metagross teleported before Steven, tanking the attack with his body, not even gaining a small dent.
"You are not a normal trainer, aren't you? You are way too strong for that. A G-man? Or Pokemon Ranger, perhaps?"
Steven didn't reply. Busy glaring hole into the executive's head.
"Let's make a deal here." The executive replied. Twirling his gun. "You will surrender and hand over your Pokemon."
"If I refuse?"
"And if you refuse, well," The executive smirk coldly, "then I guess you didn't care about your little friend over here?"
Steven froze, before cursing in his mind. Shit. He forgot one last Grunt! No wonder he's missing one! That one... that one sneak and captured Ash. Fuck! Where is his Pokemon? He didn't see Pikachu, Butterfree, Pidgeotto, or Beldum anywhere. Don't tell me they were beaten? That snarling hound... is that... Bite? Fuck. A dark-type! No wonder Beldum can't do a thing.
"Now, what is your answer? Houndoom's Bite is painful, you know?"
...damn it. He...
'Master. No.'
Metagross?
'Pikachu. Is up. Wait.'
Steven search for the little yellow rodent. Ah. There is it. Behind Ash and that damned grunt. Crawling carefully to not be noticed. Their eyes meet and Pikachu gives a small nod. Good boy.
He now needs to stall time.
"What's your guarantee you won't just finish us once I handed over my Pokemon?" He asks out loud.
Executive Petrel grins. It was a nasty grin. "You don't. You are not in a position to bartering." He moves past Metagross and yanks Steven by the collar. "Should have done so before you attack."
Steven glared.
"What do you say? There are not many options you have."
His eyes briefly flickered to Pikachu. He now was close.
Steven closed his eyes. "Ash, I'm so sorry about this. I'll make it up later, ok?"
"S-Steven?! What are you—"
"Thundershock!"
Screams echoes as Pikachu shock both the Dark-Type, the grunt, and Ash. The sudden attack startled the Executive. Steven didn't waste his chance.
He hit him with the taser, right between the eyes.
Steven glared hatefully at the fallen Terrorist. "I," he stated, "will never, ever, work with a terrorist. Metagross. Subdue him. Make sure he can't do anything." With that, he runs over to Ash. Checking him over and ignoring the pain when static touched his skin.
"Don't mind me." Ash groaned, sitting up. "This not the first time Pikachu shock me. Worry about others."
Nodding, Steven pulled out his phone and dial a number.
"Lance. We've run into the terrorist in Mt. Moon tunnel. The terrorist was subdued. No one died, but some required medical help. Bring the best medical team you can assemble, your best squad, a containment for terrorists... and at least one Ranger. Meet us at the tunnel entrance leading to Pewter City. Be fast."
TBC