Author's Note: Thank you to those who favorited and followed! Thank you, SpectreLass, for your review. It literally made my day to know you're still reading.
I'm trying to keep the continuity of this story as much as possible, but there have been some notable changes. In the past, I used the "it" pronoun for pokemon, but I don't like this anymore as it's objectifying. So from here on out the pokemon will have genders (I may have done this in the last chapter as well) unless it is a genderless pokemon (i.e. a legendary pokemon), in which case I will avoid pronouns or use "they/them" when necessary.
You may find some other small inconsistencies and things that don't make sense, and well, it's bound to happen after an eight year break. I plan to do a huge edit and fix these at a later time, but if you find any, feel free to point them out.
This chapter covers a lot of ground! I hope you enjoy reading it. :)
TheFrogFromHell
13
Jessie wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it felt like an eternity. There was a gnawing hunger in the pit of her stomach, and her butt and legs were numb from sitting on the cold concrete floor for so long.
Also, she and Fin had run out of things to talk about. The two of them didn't have much in common, other than being on Rocket Inc.'s blacklist, but also the kid seemed to prefer silence at the moment.
Jessie noticed he was massaging his temples. "Is your head okay?" she asked.
Fin answered slowly, as if it pained him to speak. "I'll be alright," he said. "I'm just trying to tune it all out."
"Tune it all out?"
"Yeah. I can pick up on others' thoughts and emotions, and a few minutes ago I started sensing that someone nearby - could be a human, or a pokemon - is having a pretty rough time." He groaned. "Actually, it's probably a whole group, with how intense this feels."
It could be James and Meowth coming to rescue me, Jessie thought. If I'm lucky, maybe the two dragon masters are with them. But if that was true, the fact that their strong negative emotions were giving Fin a headache wasn't very encouraging. What if they're in danger? In any case, I have to get out of here soon!
"Fin," Jessie said, hatching a plan. "Can you use your psychic powers to break us out of here?"
He snorted. "Don't you think that if I could, I would have by now?"
"Ah... good point," Jessie said.
Still rubbing his temples, Fin elaborated. "Trust me, I wish I could. But trying to control my powers is like trying to shoot a Hydro Pump attack through a garden hose."
"You were able to move the cans earlier," said Jessie, trying to be encouraging.
"That's true," said Fin. He appeared to be weighing their options. "Well, I guess I'd be willing to try. But I can't promise that you, or whoever else might be in this building, won't get hurt."
That last part did make Jessie nervous, but what did they have to lose?
"Fine," Jessie said. "Just do it. I can't stand being trapped in this hideous place for one more second!"
Fin nodded and got to his feet. Jessie noticed how painfully thin he was.
"Okay," he said. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
Jessie began to feel a sensation of pressure. It was subtle at first, but slowly she felt herself being pushed into the wall.
Fin grunted, and the pressure increased. She felt as if she was experiencing gravity sideways, but much more intense. Then, to her excitement, she noticed the metal bars of the cell beginning to bend.
"Keep going," she said. "It's working!"
"No, shit!"
Jessie was pushed into the wall even more forcefully. With much effort, she flipped herself over and pressed her hands into it to protect herself.
"Hurry up, or I'm going to be a pancake!" she yelled, starting to panic.
"Just hang on," Fin said. Jessie grit her teeth. Just when she thought she couldn't take it any more, there was a loud creaking noise, and the cell's bars twisted apart, creating a hole just large enough for them to exit through.
Unfortunately, Fin had simultaneously bent a thick metal pipe on the wall near the cage. With an ominous "THUNK", a segment of the pipe dropped to the floor, and water began gushing out.
"Damn it!" Fin exclaimed. The two scrambled out of their confines, rushing to the door. It was locked, as Jessie had assumed it would be.
Jessie and Fin looked at each other fearfully. "What now?" asked Jessie.
"I don't know," Fin replied. The water was pooling on the floor, already at least an inch deep. It was a small room, and it wouldn't be long before they were submerged. "I'm sorry," Fin said, bowing his head and looking down at their soaked feet.
"I was the one who told you to take the risk," said Jessie. "And now, I'm going to ask you to take another one."
"You can't be serious!"
"At least if you try to break down the door, we'll have a chance of getting out of here alive," Jessie said, raising her voice. "If you don't try, then we'll drown."
Fin made a frustrated noise and brought his fingers to his temples again. "Maybe you're right. Hopefully this time will be better."
"Not hopefully," said Jessie. "It will!"
Closing his eyes again, Fin said, "Alright. Here goes nothing."
...
"Go, Houndoom!" called out one of the Rocket executives - named Archer, as Lance had just learned.
"Drowzee, you know what to do!" yelled his partner, Ariana.
The two shadow pokemon materialized in a flash of translucent purple light.
That's odd, thought Lance. For every other pokemon he'd seen, it was always red.
Glancing over at Clair, Lance couldn't believe how terrified she appeared to be. Whatever happened at the radio tower, it must have been bad, he thought. It should have made him anxious about this battle, but he wouldn't allow his mind to go there.
The rest of the Rockets also released their pokemon, who were almost all variations of Ekans, Koffing, and Grimer. At least most of them don't look as strong as Archer and Ariana's pokemon, he noted.
"Alright. If this is the way we have to settle this, then so be it," said Lance, making sure he sounded confident and unwavering. "Dragonite, you're up!" His dragonite, which was still out of its pokeball from earlier, stepped forward.
"Go, Victreebel!" yelled James, releasing the grass pokemon. Lance was legitimately surprised to see that he owned an evolved pokemon. Maybe he won't be completely useless after all. Then, the pokemon started attacking James's head, and Lance shook his head in embarrassment.
Meowth stepped forward, baring his fangs and claws. "Any of yous ever heard of cat scratch fever?" he asked threateningly. Lance respected Meowth's initiative but didn't expect him to fare very well in battle.
Lance was surprised to see Clair standing frozen, staring at her pokeball as if in deep contemplation "What are you waiting for?" he asked her.
"I can't," Clair answered quietly. "My strongest pokemon are already injured, and the other two could be killed if I allow them to battle." Her eyes met his, and although Lance didn't know the details of her battle at the radio tower, he didn't need words to recognize how truly catastrophic the outcome had been. I've never seen her like this, he thought concernedly. I hope her pokemon are okay. I wish we could just shake off these damn Rockets.
"Here," said Lance without hesitation. He had plenty of strong pokemon to battle with, and she didn't have any. He could afford to lend her his dragonite. Given that she was family and they often trained together, the pokemon would probably listen to her without any complaints.
"Thank you," she said sincerely. Throwing the pokeball, she called out, "Dragonite, let's go!"
The dragon pokemon emerged and immediately bellowed out his best war cry. He stared down his opponents, obviously itching for a battle.
Ariana smirked. "I guess our little skirmish at the radio tower wasn't enough for you to learn your lesson, hmmm?"
It was obvious she was trying to provoke Clair, but Clair didn't take the bait.
"As I recall, that battle didn't go so well for you either. Your murkrow doesn't even listen to her own trainer!" retorted Clair.
Ariana scowled. "Stop telling lies. You should be thanking your lucky stars that I let you get away."
Clair snickered.
Lance was dying to hear what happened with the murkrow, but it would have to wait.
"All this talk is boring," Archer complained. "Let's get on with it!" His Houndoom let out a menacing roar of approval.
"Good thinking, Archer," said Ariana. "Drowzee, Poison Gas!"
"Houndoom, Flamethrower now!"
Drowzee exhaled an ominous black cloud, while Houndoom expelled an enormous fireball. The two attacks swirled together into a deadly concoction heading straight for Lance and the other trainers.
"Dragonite, Light Screen!" Lance and his cousin yelled out in unison. But Lance had already realized that although their dragonite would be protected, he and his other allies would not be. In a space this small, the attack could badly injure, if not kill them. Lance held up his arms and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the impact.
The sound of a huge explosion caught him off guard. What the...? He barely opened one eye just in time to see the concrete floor splitting open. A powerful stream of water spouted up from the cracks like a geyser, extinguishing the fire and squelching the gas attack. Everyone screamed as the floor completely caved in and the group fell downwards into a pool of freezing water.
"Dragonite, return!" yelled Lance.
The noise of Archer's houndoom howling in pain echoed off the walls; being submerged in water didn't bode well for a fire pokemon. Archer and all of the others recalled their pokemon frantically. It wasn't very easy to tread water in his heavy clothing, but Lance didn't panic.
"Go, Kingdra!" Clair exclaimed, hopping on the water dragon's back as soon as he materialized.
Lance had a similar idea. "Gyarados, go!" The dragon emerged, appearing to be enjoying the water. Lance climbed onto her back, then grabbed James and Meowth and hoisted them on as well.
Meowth was shivering. "They say cats hate water, and I'm no exception!" he whined.
"Better to be wet than burned to a crisp!" said James, who also looked cold. He also clearly wasn't used to riding a dragon pokemon and kept sliding around, but he seemed very determined not to fall off. For all James's faults, the man was certainly entertaining. Lance chuckled to himself.
Also to his amusement, the Rockets didn't seem to be faring too well in the water. Only one of them had a water pokemon - a poliwrath - who appeared to be growing increasingly annoyed with being used as a living life raft.
Then, a splash and a loud gasping noise startled Lance (and evidently, James too.) To their shock, someone's head had suddenly emerged from the water. The person was gasping and sputtering, their face completely covered by their soaking wet fuschia hair.
"Jessie?" James asked. He squealed as he lost his balance and fell backwards. Lance reacted quickly, grabbing his wrist and stabilizing him.
"Thanks," said James in a higher pitch than normal, his face flushed (in embarrassment, Lance assumed). Lance raised an eyebrow. James was so awkward that it was somehow contagious. "Yep," Lance muttered and quickly averted his eyes.
"James?" exclaimed the floating head, who tossed her hair back to reveal that it was, indeed, Jessie. Clair reached out a hand to help Jessie aboard Kingdra's back, but she refused.
"Hold on, there's someone else. A kid! Please help... he's unconscious underneath the water!"
...
It was still and quiet that morning, so early that the calls of wild hoothoot were dying down whilst the pidgey and spearow's chirps gradually became audible. It's too quiet, thought Giovanni. I don't like it.
Dark storm clouds obstructed the view of the sunrise as Jerome took the exit for Violet City. Giovanni had opted not to travel in his limousine or a Rocket Inc. company car, instead asking to be transported in a discrete black sedan.
He was hours early for his meeting with Falkner and hadn't slept a wink. It was just as well, though, as he needed to get away from his estate. More accurately, he needed time away from his wife.
Jerome slowed as he passed through downtown Violet. "Is there anywhere specific you'd like me to drop you off, sir?"
"Here is fine," Giovanni answered. Jerome slowed to a stop, got out of the car, and walked around to the side to open the door for his employer.
Getting out, Giovanni faced Jerome and said, "That will be all for now. But don't go too far; I may need you sooner than anticipated."
"Understood, sir," said Jerome in his usual relaxed tone.
If only my wife was so compliant, Giovanni thought, giving his driver an obligatory smile. In truth, he'd been wearing himself thin lately, and keeping up with niceties was even more exhausting than usual.
Jerome got back into the vehicle and drove off, leaving Giovanni where he stood in front of Earl's Pokemon Academy. He casually peered into one of the windows of the institution, finding that the view of the inside was concealed by blinds.
Giovanni started towards Falkner's gym slowly, knowing that he had more than enough time. However, he couldn't shake the feeling that something strange was going on. Even with it being as early at it was, he still found it suspicious that there were almost no cars on the streets and that most of the other buildings had also covered their windows.
Of course, whenever Giovanni traveled, he was always prepared for the worst. He carried six of Rocket Inc.'s strongest pokemon with him, and he was confident that he would have no trouble crushing any opposition that stood in his way.
After some time of walking, he approached Violet City's gym. It appeared to be exactly what it was - a below average pokemon league challenge gym - complete with the generic pokeball emblem decorating its front awning. Giovanni could already picture it looking so much more stylish once Rocket, Inc. took ownership. In fact, the entire town could use some renovations.
Giovanni's pristine leather shoes squeaked as he cut across the dewy grass on his way to the gym's entrance. Falkner must have heard him coming, for he stepped outside to meet him, quickly closing the door behind his back.
"Welcome," said Falkner, flashing Giovanni a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
"Thank you," Giovanni replied, matching Falkner's level of sincerity. He held eye contact with Falkner until the gym leader coughed and looked away. That was a tell - he was definitely nervous about something, and Giovanni was going to get to the bottom of it.
"You're early," said Falkner.
Giovanni laughed. "It is my tendency to be overly punctual, but I was surprised to notice that you seemed already prepared for my arrival."
Falkner was still standing on a concrete step below the gym's awning, so he was just barely looking down at the CEO. Giovanni took the opportunity to step up next to Falkner, coming uncomfortably close to him in order to do so. Falkner, quickly backed away from Giovanni, avoiding eye contact.
"Aren't you going to invite me in?" asked Giovanni innocently.
Falkner once again met his gaze. "Actually, I thought we could just talk here. My colleagues are training inside at the moment, and besides, this is probably the last decent weather we'll get before the storm hits."
"True," said Giovanni with a smile. "Well, since we're both ready, let's get down to business. I'm assuming you must have had time to look over my proposition."
"Yes, of course," Falkner replied. "It looks great. I just wanted to, uh, go over some of the fine print."
"Absolutely," said Giovanni. "What clarifications do you need?"
"Well... um, actually please excuse me for one second."
Giovanni frowned as the gym leader pulled out his pokedex from his pocket, evidently to send a message to someone. This angered Giovanni. His time was valuable, and others texting while in his company showed that they weren't giving him the respect he deserved!
"Something important?" Giovanni asked with an ere of impatience.
"Sorry, yes," said Falkner. He finished his message and pocketed the pokedex, meeting Giovanni's eyes again. This was a mistake; although his was doing his best to hide it, he had the look of a meowth who had eaten a pet pidgey.
Giovanni's expression darkened. No more games! He had to know what Falkner was up to.
"Why did you agree to meet with me today?" Giovanni demanded.
Falkner laughed. Giovanni almost smirked at the gym leader's pitiful attempt at manipulation. "What do you mean? I wanted to discuss allying with Rocket, Inc. You know that. Now, let's get on with - "
"You're lying to me," Giovanni said, lowering his voice. Falkner was making him so angry, he wished he could grab the kid by the collar of his ridiculous blue jacket and rough him up. Given that they were outside though, he couldn't risk damaging his public image. He stared at the gym leader with eyes full of contempt as he said, "If there's one thing I despise, it's dishonesty."
Falkner stared back at him, choosing not to deny his deception again. But Giovanni didn't like what he saw in his expression. There was surrender, hatred... and also a hint of triumph.
"Step away," said a different voice quietly, but firmly. Giovanni looked up to see at least eight of Sprout Tower's sages standing all around him.
Unable to stop himself, Giovanni burst out laughing. Am I supposed to be intimidated by this bellsprout cult?
"I admit that I wasn't expecting this," Giovanni said. "But since you've all come to ambush me, I must warn you that challenging me is unwise. My pokemon are in a class of their own."
"Your pokemon have been tortured and manipulated," said one of the sages. "I can sense their emotions. They are suffering greatly."
Giovanni laughed again. "Don't be ridiculous, old man! My training methods are perfectly safe and extremely effective."
The sages all moved closer. It didn't appear that they were going to back down easily.
"I don't want to hurt your pokemon. But if you force me to battle you, I have no choice," Giovanni warned. Despite maintaining a calm exterior, he was livid. He wouldn't mind punishing these trainers and their pokemon for wasting his time, but he knew he had to restrain himself.
The sound of car doors slamming and footsteps made Giovanni look up. More sages had arrived, along with a half a dozen other trainers, some flying in on their pokemons' backs. A large van pulled up, and even more trainers got out. Giovanni recognized them as the Kimono Girls and Ecruteak's gym leader Morty. Also with them was an unfamiliar man who appeared to be dressed as a magician.
Giovanni scowled as even more people kept coming - Bugsy and his proteges from Azalea Town, Jasmine from Olivine, Chuck from Cianwood. Sailors, swimmers, bug catchers, pokefans. All types of trainers from all over the region were gathering together to fight Giovanni. He felt blindsided and betrayed.
"So it's not just Falkner," Giovanni growled. "You're all two-faced! So pleasant over the phone, yet here you are, cornering me when I'm supposed to be having a meeting. How unprofessional!" The trainers said nothing and continued to surround Giovanni. It was obvious this had taken a lot of planning on their part.
"I came here to meet with Falkner about improving things in Violet City, and across the whole Johto region," said Giovanni. "I came here for you!"
There was a chorus of "boos" and other insulting phrases directed at the Rocket, Inc. CEO. No longer able to contain his fury, Giovanni removed two pokeballs from his belt, pressing their buttons to enlarge them. He held them up threateningly and yelled, "I didn't want to hurt your pokemon, but now you've given me no other choice. How dare you disrespect me and my company like this! Go... Dugtrio, Golem!"
Translucent purple light projected from the pokeballs, and the two formidable creatures materialized. The color of the light was an unintentional side effect of Rocket Inc.'s enhancement process. Giovanni wasn't entirely thrilled with it, since it immediately distinguished Rocket Inc.'s pokemon from all other pokemon, but all things considered it was a small price to pay.
"Go, Bellsprout!" yelled a sage. The rest did the same, except for one - presumably their leader - who also released a noctowl.
"Dodrio, Pidgeot... give it your all!" Falkner exclaimed, releasing his treasured bird pokemon with a determined expression. Giovanni was eager to wipe it off his face.
The other trainers in the crowd followed suit, bringing out their pokemon in twos. They were all various types and levels - Some of the most notable were a high-level alakazam (who belonged to the magician man), Morty's two gengar, Bugsy's scizor, and Jasmine's steelix. The Kimono Girls' evee-lutions weren't particularly strong individually, but as a group they were a force to be reckoned with.
If Giovanni was battling with six ordinary pokemon, being severely outnumbered would have concerned him. But these naive trainers had no idea what they were getting into. Giovanni had spent enough time in the arena (and in the lab) to know exactly what his pokemon were capable of, and eliminating all of these opponents was well within reach. He was more worried about media backlash than anything. The last thing Rocket Inc. needs is another Cerulean City fiasco, he thought begrudgingly.
He decided to put these thoughts out of his mind, for now. The Johto gym leaders' cooperation with Rocket Inc. certainly would have been the easiest route, but when it came down to it, Giovanni planned to take control of the entire region by whatever means necessary.
Giovanni smirked. This battle may have started as an ambush, but these trainers had walked into their own trap! The terrain was perfect for his ground-type pokemon, giving him an even greater advantage.
"Time to rumble," he said. "Golem, use Magnitude now!"
...
Clair didn't hesitate. "Kingdra, let's dive down and help them!"
"Draaaaaaaa!" the water dragon roared before plunging down into the water. Clair held her breath and clutched her pokemon tightly. Being a water pokemon, Kindgra had better underwater vision than she did, but she had arms.
Pressure built in Clair's ears as they descended. Thankfully, Kingdra spotted the person before they were deep enough to be in danger. Clair's vision was cloudy in the murky water, but she could make out the kid's hair waving around like blonde seaweed. Upon closer look, she saw that their pant leg was caught underneath a chunk of concrete.
Clair swam over and attempted to free the fabric. The concrete was extremely heavy and it took all of her strength to budge it. Her body started reacting to the lack of air, but she forced herself keep trying.
She just barely managed to free the kid. Her lungs were screaming for air as she dragged him onto Kingdra's back, and the water pokemon swiftly ascended.
She reached the surface, gasping and sputtering. As Jessie had said, the kid was unconscious, and his dead weight wasn't easy to keep holding onto by herself.
"He's not breathing!" Jessie exclaimed, swimming towards them.
Clair tilted the kids' body to the side, and some water drained out of his nose and mouth.
"How long was he down there?" Clair asked.
"I don't know. A long time," Jessie replied, obviously very worried.
Clair decided to try mouth-to-mouth resusitacion. Pinching his nose, she exhaled four times into his mouth. Nothing happened. She tried to find a pulse, but to no avail.
"Help me hold him up!" said Clair. Lance and Jessie both came closer to assist her in keeping the boy on Kingdra's back.
Once again, she exhaled strongly into his mouth. This time, his eyes opened and he began coughing violently.
"Wha... where am I?" he slurred deliriously after he was done coughing.
"You're safe, Fin," said Jessie. "And we're going to get you out of here."
That's optimistic, thought Clair. It was just then that Clair recognized the boy - he was the one who had stood up to Rocket Inc. at the town hall meeting at the Lake of Rage! She had many questions for him, but now was not the time.
"Oh... ok," the kid - Fin - replied. "Cool."
He still looked pretty worse for wear - blue in the face, half-starved, and shivering. Under normal circumstances, Clair would make sure he saw a doctor right away. But first, they had to figure out how to get out of here before even more Rocket Inc. personnel came after them.
Thinking of the Rockets, she looked back over to the group of them. They were still fighting over the one poliwrath as they had been earlier. However, she was sure that they had some way to contact headquarters. It wouldn't be long before backup arrived, and she didn't want to stick around for that.
"Lance," she said, "any bright ideas on how to get out of here?"
Unexpectedly, Lance smiled. "Yes," he said, unzipping his pack to reveal an Escape Rope. "I've been saving this for a special occasion."
Jessie swam over to James, Lance and Meowth. Thankfully, the dragon pokemon was large enough to accommodate three humans on her back. The others hoisted Jessie up, and the three of them embraced for a good long while.
"I'm so happy you're safe, Jess," said James.
"Yeah, we was worried about yous," added Meowth.
Clair found the reunion touching, but they needed to hurry. "Guys," she said, "let's do our catching up after we get out of here. Rocket Inc. could send reinforcements any second!"
"She's right. And, I'm hungry!" Jessie complained.
Meowth and James gasped. "That's not good," said James.
One by one, the humans began ascending up the rope to freedom. Lance carried Fin on his back, since he was still weak from his near-drowning. Clair climbed up last, and she made sure to take up the end of the rope with her, leaving the Rocket Inc. associates in deep water.
"Hey, what about us?" one of the grunts had the audacity to ask.
"Sorry buddy," Clair said sarcastically. "I'm sure you have plenty of tricks up your sleeve. You'll work it out."
She thought she heard Ariana scolding him, which made her chuckle.
Eager to get out of this place, Clair ignored the strange noise she heard at first. I've been up for almost two days, she rationalized. I'm probably just hallucinating. But then, the noise got louder.
"MMMMPHHH!"
She stopped climbing and looked around. They must have climbed up at least a floor already. The noise had sounded like a person, but who could possibly be up here?
"Is everything alright?" asked James, who was directly above her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought I heard a noise."
Then, she laid eyes on something. About thirty feet away, there was a door! She had assumed that the floor above them had completely collapsed, but apparently not. Again, she heard a muffled cry, and realized there must be someone trapped inside.
"Hang on!" Clair yelled. Turning back to James, she said, "Tell the others to go ahead. There's another captive here who needs our help."
James nodded fervently and began relaying the message. Clair waited until she couldn't feel the others' movements on the rope anymore and then began to swing back and forth. I just hope the roof doesn't decide to cave in, she thought. I wouldn't be surprised after everything that's happened.
Gaining momentum, she was able to swing far enough to reach a tiny ledge that jutted out in front of the door. She tried to land at gently on it as she could, willing it not to crumble under her weight.
Her heart sunk as she noticed the door was locked and required a combination to open.
Shit, she thought. Then, something came to mind. Wait! What were those numbers the murkrow rattled off? Nine five... something.
She tried a couple of combinations beginning with those numbers that didn't work. She took a deep breath and quieted her mind, doing her best to retrieve the memory.
Nine five... nine five... Nine-five-two-four-five!
Something about that combination felt right. Sure enough, when she punched it in, the light turned green and she was able to open the door.
Inside sat a man in a chair, with his mouth covered in duct tape and his hands tied behind his back. He must be terrified, she thought.
Even with tape over his mouth, Clair thought she knew who the captive was. The top hat and leather jacket were dead giveaways. "Mr. Jacoby?" she asked, ripping the tape off in one swift motion.
The radio tower director winced. "Yes," he confirmed. With a sudden look of recognition, he said, "Wait... I remember you from the Lake of Rage! Clair, was it?"
"That's right," she said as she worked on untying his hands. "You said you had some 'business to attend to' in Goldenrod City when you left. I take it things didn't go as planned?"
"How could you tell?" asked the director playfully. Clair laughed, appreciating the humor at a time like this. She finished untying his hands, and he stood up from the chair.
"Argh, I'm sore," he said, rubbing his lower back. "I was sitting in that position for hours, maybe even a day."
"I'm sorry," said Clair. She did feel a little guilty; it had been on her radar to find out what Rocket Inc. had done with him, but she'd gotten distracted with killer pokemon and Rocket Inc.'s dirty laundry.
"Don't be," said Mr. Jacoby. "You're here now."
Clair nodded. "Let's get out of here. The building's infrastructure must be very unsta- "
There was an ominous rumbling, and outside the door Clair saw pieces of the roof tumbling down. Great, thought Clair. Just great.
The two screamed as the floor they were standing on collapsed. Clair braced herself for the impact, praying she'd hit water and not concrete. But instead, she heard the rustling of a large pair of wings, and her fall was arrested by Lance's Aerodactyl.
Clair had never been more grateful to her cousin than she was at this moment. He must have sensed that something was wrong and sent Aerodactyl to check on me, she figured.
The flying pokemon screeched and took a sharp turn to avoid a falling boulder.
"CLAIR!" Mr. Jacoby screamed, reaching out a hand as his falling body bypassed Clair and Aerodactyl.
"Aerodactyl, we have to grab him!" Clair yelled. The pokemon made a nose dive, and Clair held on for dear life. Aerodactyl just barely caught up with the director in time to swoop him up before he fell into a treacherous pool of muddy water and concrete.
Aerodactyl was so expertly trained that he was able to dodge most of the falling rubble as he ascended up and out of the building. Here and there, a small rock would hit him and he cringed. He'll probably end up with some cuts and bruises that'll need to be treated, Clair thought.
"Hang in there, Aerodactyl," Clair said. "You're doing amazing. We're almost there!"
They finally cleared the roof of the building, which was now collapsing at full force. Even through the storm clouds, Clair could see the sun just coming over the horizon. The others were standing in a group waving, appearing relieved to see her. Despite being cold, wet, filthy, and starving, she hadn't felt this free since before coming to Goldenrod.
"We made it, Mr. Jacoby!" she said with a huge smile on her face.
"Thank you so much for rescuing me, Clair," said the director. "And please, call me Ken."
...
The rain started innocently enough. Domino was on the edge of losing consciousness when she felt the cool drops touch her forehead. They were somehow soothing.
Even through her distaste of water, Ruby the persian remained by Domino's side. I mistreated pokemon through so much of my career, Domino thought remorsefully. That whole time, I never made any effort to learn how compassionate they can be. If she hadn't ended up here, spending what were likely her final moments lying in the grass with only a pokemon to provide solace, she never would have uncovered this truth.
Warm tears welled up in her eyes, mixing with the cool rain drops. She wasn't crying for herself, but for her son. Without her, Silver would most likely grow up to be a menace just like his father. That is, if he even made it to adulthood. Giovanni had never shown any signs of genuinely caring about the child; to him, Silver was just another trophy, like his many lavish possessions, or the pokemon he collected solely for ornamental purposes.
Domino was brought back to the moment by the unnerving feeling of being watched.
"Hello?" she said, her voice weak.
Hello, said a voice in her mind. She recognized it as the pokemon who had visited her before. It is I, Entei.
"Entei," she repeated in disbelief. With much effort, she turned her head and was able to make out a pair of glowing red eyes through the fog. From what she had seen of this creature last time, it certainly resembled the artists' depictions she'd seen as a kid, but she refused to believe legendary pokemon were real. After all, she and Giovanni had been searching for years (Giovanni for his entire life) and they never seen one.
However, she couldn't deny there appeared to be one here with her now, unless it was a hallucination from blood loss.
After our last meeting, I gathered with the other pokemon guardians, communicated Entei, and we have determined that I was mistaken. It is not you who should not exist.
"Oh...kay," said Domino.
At least, not only you. The destiny of this entire universe has been irreversibly altered. But the cause of this catastrophic imbalance can be traced back to you - or, as we now know, a duplicate of you.
I must be hallucinating, thought Domino. I don't believe any of this. Why is this happening to me now?
"I'm not sure about the destiny of the universe," Domino said, "and I can assure you that I am the only me - Domino Sorrentino, the Black Tulip, whatever you want to call me! But in case you hadn't noticed, I've been shot, and my son's life is going to be awful if I die. If you're really a legendary pokemon, you can heal me!"
Entei hesitated. I don't usually interfere with human life and death, the pokemon said. However, given the circumstances, perhaps I can bend the rules. But first, please answer this: are you the human who extinguished Ho-Oh's flame?
"What?" asked Domino incredulously. "I have no idea what you're talking about! I've been cooped up at home twenty-four seven, taking care of my son. I don't even believe in Ho-Oh!"
The pokemon went silent. Shit, thought Domino. I hope Entei didn't leave. I shouldn't have said I don't believe in Ho-Oh!
I sense that you are telling the truth, she heard finally. I will heal you, but I will have to erase your memory.
"Please do," said Domino. "I just want my son to be okay. All of this is way too crazy for me."
So be it, Entei communicated.
She gasped, and Ruby meowed in distress as Domino was enveloped in a warm, white light.
...
Domino awoke, confused to find herself lying soaking wet out on the lawn. Giovanni's persian Ruby was outside with her for some reason, meowing and whining incessantly.
What the hell? was Domino's first thought as she slowly sat up. How much did I drink last night?
Her memory was fuzzy, but she did remember having dinner with those three degenerates and helping two of them escape. They had all met up on the front lawn, and then...
She frantically patted her right abdomen. Was I shot last night? she thought in a panic. But there was no sign of injury, and she felt completely fine. Maybe I was visited by a parade of Drowzee last night. I sure feel like someone used a Nightmare attack on me. She knew this sounded ridiculous, but it seemed like the only possible explanation.
...
Lance was incredibly relieved that Clair had made it out of the underground safely. He was so glad he trusted his intuition and sent Aerodactyl when he did. The flying dragon landed, and the two passengers - Clair, and a man Lance recognized from the Lake of Rage - dismounted. He immediately pulled Clair into a tight hug.
"...Ack! I'm happy to see you too Lance, but you're crushing me!" Clair complained. Her voice was muffled, as her face was pressed into Lance's shoulder.
"Sorry," Lance said, releasing her. Turning to his pokemon and giving him an appreciative scratch on the head, he said, "Thank you, Aerodactyl. I don't know what we'd do without you. You can take some time to rest now!" He returned the pokemon to his pokeball.
Now that Clair was safe, Lance examined the rest of the group. What a motley crew we have here, he thought. Two dragon masters, three ex criminals (one of them a talking meowth magician), a scrawny teenaged boy, and a man Lance knew almost nothing about. At least he was a captive of Rocket, Inc. That means he's most likely on our side, he reasoned.
"Okay," Jessie said crankily. "Not to cut this short, but we have pressing needs! Like dry clothes, sleep, and cheeseburgers!"
"I gotta agree with Jessie on this one," Meowth said. "I could really use a cat nap! And then we should head to Olivine for the catch of the day."
"Guys, we all need those things, plus medical attention for some of us," said Lance, acknowledging Fin. "But we're fugitives now. First things first - we need to find somewhere to hide!"
Lance jumped a little as he heard a distinct beeping from inside his backpack - his pokedex. Clair's was making the same noise. Lance's face fell. The two quickly pulled out their devices. Lance was thankful now that they'd paid extra for waterproof phone cards, but he was apprehensive about what the message could be. Lance had recognized the sound as an emergency alert that only went out to a group of Johto's strongest trainers.
"What?" demanded Jessie. "Why do you guys look so nervous?"
Lance noticed that the message had actually come in a couple of hours ago. It was from Falkner. Damn it, he thought. We must have had no service in the Underground!
The message was short, but disturbing.
Battling Rocket Inc. CEO. Need backup STAT