Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.
Note: I am English, so some of the wordings, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.
Chapter Forty-Nine: The Chapter Before the Fiftieth
The Rocket Hideout lift was unlike any Red nor Leaf had been on before. No carpet, no mirror at the back, not a single note of music that irritated the heck out of you after only a few seconds. It was cold, sterile, no sound apart from the whirring and clunking of all the mechanical doohickies that worked together to get the children to their destination.
Finally, the lift stopped.
With a groan much like that of an old man rising from his chair with his creaky bones, the doors slid open.
A man greeted them.
The dreaded purple 'R' of a Rocket executive was splashed proudly upon his chest. He cocked his head curiously at them. "I must say, I always thought if we were ever infiltrated, it would have been by the International Police, never children."
Red and Leaf took a step forward determinedly, refusing to be fazed by the Rocket. Pikachu and Eevee mimicked their Trainers, growling at the man, growling more aggressively than they had ever done before.
The Rocket Executive stared impassively back at them. "Good to see you two remember me."
The growling continued to reverberate.
Red and Leaf faltered slightly. "What do you mean?" the former asked. "You know our Pokémon?"
The man dismissed Red's question with a careless wave of his hand. "Our esteemed leader will explain everything. He wants to meet you after all. Oh, forgive my rudeness. I have not introduced myself: my name is Archer. Now, if you would not mind, follow me. And do not worry for no harm shall befall you on the way. However, after he is done speaking to you…"
"How can we trust you?" Leaf asked icily. "How do we know there's no ambush up ahead?"
"You don't," Archer replied. "But do you really have much choice now? If you did decide to flee back into the lift, all I would have to do is make a single call and a Team Rocket squad will be there to greet you the moment the doors open, and I can't imagine they will be at all delicate."
Red and Leaf clenched their fists, chests rising and falling rapidly, sharing the same thought: was coming here, without telling anyone, truly the wrong decision, and was there no hope of escape should things go from bad to worse?
o~o~o~o~o
Neither Red nor Leaf knew what to expect from the one who controlled Team Rocket, the one from whom all their evil, all their maliciousness and greedy endeavours were born from.
Was he a demon? Was he a malevolent force from another dimension? Did he wear a black, billowing cloak? Did he hide his face behind a monstrous mask?
None of these applied to the man sitting behind a varnished, mahogany desk.
Indeed, he was just a man. His eyes were sharp, his hair slicked back, and the aura he exuded seemed to both chill and burn simultaneously.
Yet, he was still human. A human like Red and Leaf. A human like so many good people in the world like Professor Oak, Brock, and Misty.
How could someone cause harm to their fellow humans? How could someone cause harm to Pokémon? How could someone cause harm to anyone and anything, so callously.
Despite their trepidation, Red and Leaf combatted the man's overwhelming aura and glared at him, clutching Pikachu and Eevee, who became even more agitated.
However, the man bore his eyes into theirs, unblinking. Their glares flickered.
"Red and Leaf," he said. His lips curled. "A pleasure to finally meet you."
A sliver of ice ran down their spines at the sound of their names coming from the Rocket leader's mouth.
"I am Giovanni," he went on. "As Archer no doubt explained, I run Team Rocket."
Red and Leaf remained silent.
"For years, Team Rocket has strived for domination, for riches, for glory." Giovanni rose from his desk, taller than Red and Leaf imagined, his back straight and upright. "And we have succeeded many times in all facets of our undertakings." He narrowed his eyes. "Yet, recently, we have had trouble. We have been hindered. Would you like to guess by whom?"
Red and Leaf remained silent.
"Children. Novice Pokémon Trainers." Giovanni's jaw twitched. "How have you two and Professor Oak's grandson caused us so much trouble? It is so ludicrous that I want to laugh, yet so frustrating that I don't. Pray, tell me, why do you interfere? Why did you come here today?"
"Mostly because you keep getting in our way," Red said, the curse of self-imposed muteness broken. "Everywhere we go, you Rockets always appear. Besides, stopping evil people like you is the right thing to do. And that's why I'm here now: your Rockets took a box with a bunch of Pokémon inside it and I'm here to take them back."
"Ah," Giovanni said, clasping his hands behind his back. "You must be talking about the Meltan."
Red swallowed. "You know what they're called?"
"Of course. You didn't think I wouldn't hire a couple of historians to help us uncover their species, did you?" He chuckled, low, dangerously. "And such rare Pokémon they are. Mythical to be more exact. No doubt you two know that though; you allowed Lorelei to leave with one of them, did you not, Red?"
"Er… what are you talking about?" Red said.
"Don't play dumb with me," Giovanni said. "Lorelei saved you and my Rockets had to leave without that Meltan. I've no doubt the Meltan is in the possession of one of the Elite Four, perhaps locked away at the Indigo Plateau, an impossibility for us to obtain right now."
"But what does that matter to you?" Leaf said, pictures of the suffering, caged Pokémon spurring her on. "You've got a heaping load of them now. What difference does one make?"
"You evidently have not done as much research on the Meltan as we have," Giovanni said. "If you did, you would see why. However, that does not matter as much. Finding the Meltan was random luck, so that can wait. We have other pressing actions that must be accomplished first."
"And that involves the suffering of more Pokémon?" Leaf said. She raised her voice, screaming at Giovanni. "Like the ones in the cages! The ones who are in torment!"
"Hold your tongue, girl!" Archer shouted back. "Don't you dare –"
"Archer!" Giovanni said sharply.
Archer bit his tongue yet shot daggers at Leaf.
"Indeed, Miss. Green," Giovanni said. "To succeed, we must crush anyone who opposes us, we must use anyone and anything to achieve our goals and throw them aside once they have outlived their usefulness. Pokémon are no different. If we weren't meant to use them as tools, we would not be able to capture them. Those Pokémon we have here are merely a means to an end, prizes to encourage more and more stupid people to foolishly spend their money in effort to continue to fund our projects."
So enraged she could barely get a word out, Red took over. "You're a monster!" he spat. "I've been attacked by a swarm of Beedrill, a Rhyhorn, and twice by a Gyarados, but they're not evil, not ugly monsters like you and every other Rocket is! They attacked me because I'm stupid, but you attack others because you're stupid! I don't know how you can sleep at night, but Leaf and I have defeated your Rockets over and over again already – heck, we wrecked your guys here in your hideout – and we're going to keep doing it! We're going to save the Meltan, free the caged Pokémon, and we're going to bring you all down!"
Too many words took its toll on Red's tongue, and he stopped his outburst. Leaf, still as incensed, afforded him an admirable gaze.
"You dare…" Archer said, a vein in his temple twitching, face so crimson one could fry an egg on it, grinding his teeth, that calmness he had when he greeted them outside the lift extinguished. "You dare talk to the great Giovanni like that!" He brandished a Poké Ball. "I will ensure you regret –"
"Archer!" Giovanni said. "Please. You're not acting like yourself. Calm down."
Heeding his boss' words, Archer stepped back, all traces of anger gone from his visage in an instant, although an invisible fury continued to engulf him.
"Strong words, Red," Giovanni said. "They would hurt if I hadn't heard it all before. And you wouldn't want to know where those people are now." He inclined his head at Pikachu and Eevee. "But they seem to agree with you."
Indeed, they did. Pikachu's circular red cheeks crackled, stray electric sparks dancing off them, while Eevee's hackles were raised, her growling almost guttural, alien, both sent into new realms of rage with every second that passed by.
"Pikachu?" Red whispered. "Hey, Giovanni or whatever your name was? Answer me this: why do Pikachu and Eevee seem to hate you and your loser lackey over there so much? I mean, they've dealt with your guys before, but I've never seen them this riled up. Explain!"
Archer's fingers twitched, as though imagining wringing a certain child's neck.
"Very well," Giovanni said. "It's quite simple really. We were experimenting on these Pokémon."
A hush.
"What?" Leaf said, her voice hollow.
"It sounds unbelievable," Giovanni admitted, "that two of the few Pokémon that have ever escaped us have returned to us under the ownership of the Trainers who have been ruining our plans, but that's how it is. I have been watching your battles against my subordinates, and the power your Pikachu and Eevee have is unnatural for their levels and their evolutionary stages, which was the subject of the experiment in question. Imagine a Charmander with the power of a Charizard yet still capable of evolving to unlock power that could rival Pokémon told of in legend. Oh, it intrigued Archer, Ariana, and I so much that we tried to be there as often as we could to watch over the experiments." He breathed deeply. "Do you see everything we do? This is but one of many, MANY others."
Red frowned, thinking back over all the battles he and Pikachu shared. Yes, Pikachu had managed much better than he would have expected a Pikachu to. Hadn't Lt. Surge even mentioned something about it, wondering (albeit jokingly) if Pikachu had eaten a Light Ball? He had no real clue about Leaf's Eevee, but she seemed incredibly tough too in the short time he had used her, Leaf's lack of battle enthusiasm notwithstanding.
Did it also explain their loathing towards the prospect of evolution? Did the prospect of evolution remind them of their torrid time being experimented on? Did they refuse to evolve because that is what Team Rocket wanted, because that was the desired, ultimate result of the experiment and they did not want to give them the satisfaction?
He hugged Pikachu closer to his chest.
"I've had enough," Leaf said, marching forward. "You've proudly talked about all the horrific things you've done and I'm sick of hearing you speak. Someone needs to take you down a peg or two, and I'll be more than happy to oblige. Giovanni, I challenge you to a battle!"
Giovanni's raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Leaf," Red said, taking hold of her hand. "Leaf, I thought I was going to battle him? Come on, you don't have to do this. Let me take him on, okay? This is super serious right now, so you can't let your anger mess you up, okay?"
Leaf squeezed Red's hand. "I can't let them get away with their crimes, Red. I know I've got it in me to defeat him. I'm doing this."
Red averted his gaze away from her, finding his trainers. "But… but…"
"I'm doing this, Red," she said softly.
Red bit the inside of his cheek. "Fine. Make sure he cries."
"I plan to."
However, Leaf would not make Giovanni cry. Yes, it would have been absolutely hilarious to witness the head of an evil syndicate blubber like a baby, but someone threw a spanner into the works. A someone by the name of Archer. You remember him? Yeah, neither do I.
"I challenge you, Leaf Green," Archer said, bringing his Poké Ball back out.
"What?" Leaf said. "Get lost, I don't want you."
"You must prove you can defeat me before moving on to my boss. The same would go for the boy too."
"I said I don't –"
"I agree," Giovanni interjected. "Prove to me how powerful you are by defeating Archer. Use your entire party of six if you must."
Use her entire party of six? That could work. She did not have Aerodactyl on her, but she was positive the six she had would pull her through.
Archer first, Giovanni second.
"Okay," she said. "Archer, let's battle."
The two battlers took their places either side of Giovanni's expansive office, far away enough from Giovanni's desk and every other piece of furniture and equipment to avoid damaging them (because describing the destruction the battle would cause would be tedious).
"I'll give you the advantage and pick first," Archer said. "Persian, up and ready."
Archer's slinky feline Pokémon took to the field/floor, stretching and yawning as though it was called upon for a brisk morning walk.
Persian, a Normal-type Pokémon, and the evolved form of Meowth. Although its fur has many admirers, it is tough to raise as a pet because of its fickle mEanNesS.
Did her Pokédex sound a little different towards the end there or was it her imagination? No matter, she had a battle to win. On Leaf's end, Growlithe appeared, once more chasing his tail. Leaf clenched her jaw, the haunting image of the caged Growlithe swimming in her mind's eye.
Neither Red nor Giovanni acted as the referee, merely watching in silence.
Then, Leaf made the first move.
"Ember, Growlithe," she called, and her puppy Pokémon peppered Persian with tiny balls of fire, which the feline dodged with as much ease as if they were harmless specks of slowly drifting snow.
"Ember again," Leaf said.
The same result.
And the same the third time.
"Darn it!" Leaf said, seething. "Get in close, Growlithe. Flame Wheel!"
Growlithe transformed into a rolling ball of fire and shot like an arrow towards Persian, who barely leapt out the way.
The momentum was theirs. Persian evaded every time, but Growlithe was getting closer with his constant Flame Wheels, hardly needing to halt the attack, learning quickly to change direction on a dime.
Finally, it connected. Persian hissed and spat as it took on a face full of fire.
Nevertheless, they had to keep pressing their advantage,
"Flame Wheel again!" Leaf shouted.
"Don't even think about it!" Archer bellowed. "Persian, Dark Pulse!"
From the red jewel on its forehead, a mass of dark energy formed, building and building as Growlithe headed for it.
The mass of dark energy became a wave of dark energy that Persian let loose.
Fire and dark connected.
The dark snuffed out the fire and blasted the puppy into the wall.
Growlithe had fainted.
"What… what…" Leaf tried to say. "What… happened?"
"What happened is that your Growlithe was too weak, weak enough to be taken out in a single hit by Archer's Persian," Giovanni said. "I thought that would be obvious."
Red scowled at the Team Rocket head honcho, yet he could not deny his words. Leaf was blind to the gulf in strength between Growlithe and Persian, the poor puppy not standing a ghost of a chance. He absentmindedly chewed on his thumbnail. There was evidence of her growing stronger as a Trainer despite her distaste for battles, but that was a skill that had to be continually honed otherwise it would dull quickly.
A Mankey was Leaf's next Pokémon, yet it could not take advantage of its typing as Persian dealt with it with a single Slash, Mankey's Karate Chop not even close to connecting.
How about a Stun Spore from Venonat? That would stop the speedy feline in its tracks, right? It was a perfectly sound strategy!
Oh, Persian's Ability appeared to be Limber. No paralysis on the menu for it. Instead, it felled Venonat with another Slash.
Leaf was struck dumb, returning Venonat to its Poké Ball unconsciously, mumbling words that should have been encouraging to it, not knowing what they were.
What was happening? How was she getting swept aside by this man, this criminal, this Rocket? She glared up at him, at his impassive face, sensing the ghost of a smirk his mouth craved to form and the superiority he exuded.
She would make it disappear.
"Eevee," she said. "You're up."
Eevee yipped and jumped in front of her Trainer, facing Persian who looked down at her condescendingly.
"You know," Archer said, "you could simply forfeit the battle right now. It would be less embarrassing than having your whole team fall to Persian." He paused. "Then again, they will be in our possession soon enough, so maybe this battle is a fine parting gift to you from them."
"Shut up!" Leaf hissed. "You're not taking any of my Pokémon. I'm taking you down right now! Eevee, start off with Baddy Bad!"
Eevee slammed her font paws on the floor and a wave of blackness stretched over Persian, giving it no time to take cover. It snarled and tried to bat away the gloom, its paws going through it like it was air, before it screeched as a pillar of white light exploded beneath it. Persian was flung across the room like a ragdoll.
Archer's eye twitched. "Persian?"
Shakily, Persian pulled itself up off the floor, its breathing haggard.
Darn. Baddy Bad did not knock out Persian. The good thing was that Reflect had been set up, but it would have been a boon for them if the Classy Cat Pokémon's endurance was just a tiny bit lower.
"Slash!" Archer ordered.
"Sizzly Slide!" Leaf countered.
Persian's claws raked against Eevee's side, yet Eevee's flames seared Persian in turn. Persian winced, patches of its cream-coloured fur now reddish.
"Looks like physical attacks are definitely out of the question," Archer muttered under his breath, which was a fair assessment. With the burn and Eevee somehow putting up a Reflect with that strange technique, a straight up physical onslaught would be as ineffective as a Charmander battling underwater.
The obvious thing to do next was use Dark Pulse, which brushed the hairs upon Eevee's head as she barrelled into Persian with Quick Attack.
A barrage of shining stars riddled Eevee like bullets, but the smaller Normal-type ignited herself once more with a heat more intense than Growlithe's Flame Wheel. As Persian fell, before its eyes became clouded with temporary nothingness, it gave Eevee a stare that swore brutal revenge.
Thus, Leaf took down one of Archer's Pokémon.
Archer had no kind words for Persian, no words at all as a matter of fact, simply returned it to its Poké Ball and unleashed a second team member, a strange creature that looked like a bigger version of a Voltorb, except the colours were reversed and it sported a visible mouth, unlike its pre-evolution.
Electrode, an Electric-type Pokémon, and the evolved form of Voltorb. It stores electric energy under very high pressure. It often explodes with liTtLe Or nO pRovoCatIOn.
Okay, her Pokédex definitely sounded different, more guttural as it finished giving information on Electrode. A certain beast from Cinnabar Island burst through Leaf's mind, growling at her, eager to eradicate her with a destructive beam of carmine energy.
Ignore it, she told herself. Deal with it later.
"Another fully evolved one," Leaf said to Eevee, pulling herself away from thoughts of MissingNo. "Nothing we can't handle, but let's be on our guard."
And if Eevee did faint to it, then at least she had Baltoy on her. Still, she would rather not have her faint at all if she could help it.
Watching on, Red frowned. If Electrode was anything like Lt. Surge's Voltorb, then it would more than likely have a fireworks display in its back pocket. If that were the case, hopefully Leaf and Eevee would take it out before that happened.
Eevee recommenced the battle with a surge of psychic power, sending Electrode ping-ponging about the room. A golden light merged with the purple one already on Eevee, transforming it into an aurora-like veil.
Unfortunately, Electrode rolled around until it was before its Trainer again, its grin never wavering, looking no worse for wear from the Glitzy Glow.
Eevee whined and turned to Leaf questioningly.
"Don't worry," she reassured her Pokémon. "We've got the screens up, so we'll be dishing out a lot more than we'll take. Go for a Quick Attack!"
"Gyro Ball," Archer said, his face a blank canvas that would not betray his increasingly rapidly beating heart.
Electrode let it rip like a spinning top, whirling around so quickly its face became lost in the blur, the blur itself taking on the hint of a metallic sheen.
Quick Attack and Gyro Ball met, said 'how do you do?' got into an argument, and Gyro Ball clobbered Quick Attack. A dazed Eevee bucked and shook her head, begging the world around her to stop spinning.
"I hope you're not getting cocky by simply defeating my Persian," Archer said. "You're going to have to try a lot harder to claim victory over me."
"Shut up!" Leaf snapped. "Hit it with a Sizzly Slide, Eevee!"
Eevee tried. Eevee failed. Electrode merely rolled out the way of Eevee's barrage of attacks, first Sizzly Slide, then Glitzy Glow, and Baddy Bad came to nothing also. Only Quick Attack got close, and even then, Gyro Ball worked as quite the competent counter.
What was going on? Why was Archer content to allow Electrode to roll around like a Poké Ball-coloured beach ball? Was he playing around, confident of his victory, or was he biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment before he struck?
She received her answer shortly after.
"Leaf!" Red shouted. "The screens! They're fading!"
"What?"
They were indeed. The Reflect faded at that very moment, turning the rainbow coat into one of yellow, the Light Screen looking like it was not too far from following its sibling into the netherworld.
That was it! That was what Archer was waiting for! Even if Eevee fainted, the screens would still pass on to Leaf's remaining two Pokémon, yet if they vanished and Eevee was no longer able to battle…
The yellow light dissipated.
Oh no.
"Eevee!" Leaf screamed. "Glitzy Glow!"
"Discharge," Archer said indolently.
With speed that did its species proud, Electrode let loose sporadic streams of electricity that bounced off the walls, the furniture, and the floor, everything except the humans, striking Eevee before she could perform her attack.
Her attempt at Glitzy Glow faded.
Her ears and tail dropped.
Thin lines of electricity did the conga along her body.
Paralysis.
Leaf called out Eevee's name, and the poor thing whimpered back.
An onslaught of Gyro Balls followed, doing negligible damage to the super slowed Eevee, an exercise in taunting an already downed opponent, the Normal-type unable to muster the time and focus needed to perform any of the techniques her Trainer called out for.
And, when both Trainer and Pokémon seemed to become bored, Archer had Electrode finish off Eevee with a final Discharge. Eevee flopped onto her side, health completely depleted.
"Impressive," Giovanni said. "As you can see, your Eevee was able to perform far better than a standard one would against such opponents at its level. Do you see how beneficial Team Rocket can be for unlocking a Pokémon's true power? Friendship and trust are all lies, merely children's wishes. This is reality."
"That is exactly right, sir," Archer said. "Friendship and trust –"
"Shut up!" Red snapped, hurrying over to Leaf, who was gradually making her way over to him, Eevee in her arms. "Leaf, are you –"
"Take Eevee, please."
"Huh? Are you still going to battle?"
"I've still got two Pokémon left," Leaf said, her voice low. "I can take him down."
"Leaf…" Red sighed. "Fine, give Eevee to me, then. Knock him dead."
With Eevee safe with Red, Leaf retook her place opposite Archer. Yet, despite her words, doubt and anxiety flooded her body like poison, infecting her mind, her spirit. Was the battle already done? Had she battled so poorly already that the result was a foregone conclusion? Was this the consequence of not battling as much as she should have, of not taking on the Gym Challenge? Did everything she learned under her grandfather mean nothing if she did not put it into constant practical use?
Baltoy's Poké Ball was as heavy as an Iron Ball as she called forth for the Clay Doll Pokémon.
Archer raised an eyebrow. "A Baltoy? Have you travelled to Hoenn, Miss. Green?"
"I haven't."
"Then, how did you capture this Baltoy?"
"If you must know, I got it on Route Three."
"Ah, I see," Giovanni said, interrupting the conversation. "You see, Archer, there are certain Pokémon not indigenous to Kanto that can yet be found here, albeit once in a blue moon, which means Miss. Green here got extremely lucky."
"I see, sir. That will make it quite the interesting new tool for Team Rocket."
"Over my dead body!" Leaf snapped, forcing rage and ire to burn throughout her body and give her a flaring boost of confidence. "You're going down now! Baltoy, Sand Tomb!"
Baltoy hummed and beeped, summoning sand from its body that drifted towards Electrode and settled around its, for lack of a better term, 'feet'. The sand increased, about to engorge itself on the living sphere, to trap it within itself and whittle away at it until Electrode went the same way as Persian.
But Archer's command came in the nick of time: "Magnet Rise."
Just as the sand was about to claim Electrode, the Ball Pokémon vibrated rapidly, emitting a hazy yellow glow. To Red's disbelief and Leaf's annoyance, Electrode hovered above the floor, out of reach of the now useless Sand Tomb.
"Covering for a Pokémon's weaknesses is what makes a great Trainer," Archer told Leaf. "Do not expect your tricks to work against me." He shut his eyes and tapped his chin. "Giovanni, sir, do forgive me, but I believe it would be prudent to end this as quickly as possible. This battle has dragged on far too long for my liking. This technique though…"
"Do what you feel, Archer," Giovanni said.
"Very well, sir. Electrode, Hyper Beam."
Leaf was midway through saying 'Psybeam' when she froze. Hyper Beam? Hyper Beam? Her Pokédex seemed to shriek in delight, and Leaf turned away and covered her eyes, Baltoy's attack left unsaid.
When she looked again, Baltoy had fainted, lying insentient in a crater that fortunately had not drilled right through the floor.
"Baltoy…" Leaf croaked, inching over to it. "Baltoy…"
"You are down five Pokémon, Miss. Green," Giovanni said. "Would you like to forfeit the fight and save your blushes?"
Leaf ignored him, placing a hand on the Ground and Psychic-type. She had turned away. She had let her fear overwhelm her and abandoned her Pokémon, her teammate. It was only for a few seconds but it was enough, in her opinion, for her to disgrace the meaning of being a Pokémon Trainer. She could only apologise so many times to Baltoy before ushering it into its Poké Ball.
Now, anyone else would admit defeat and let Red handle things next, wouldn't they? It was quite reasonable to think so, wasn't it? However, Leaf had gone this far, so why shouldn't she see it through to the end?
It was all up to Ivysaur.
She could only hope he was in the right state of mind to do this.
Short story: he was not.
He shifted his head from side to side, as though agitated, only desiring the comforts of his Poké Ball. He glanced up at Electrode warily and shuffled backwards.
"No, Ivysaur," Leaf said, keen for desperation to not enter her voice. "Please, I need you. You're my last hope."
Ivysaur turned to her, frowning, as though saying 'I'm the last one? Everyone else has fainted? How poorly are we doing? How could you let this happen?'.
"Please, Ivysaur," Leaf pleaded. "Let's do this, okay? We've taken down Team Rocket before, haven't we? Let's do it again right here, right now."
Ivysaur beheld Leaf with such a stare that Leaf could not meet it. Nevertheless, with more than a degree of reluctance, he swung around and stood ready to battle.
"Begging your Pokémon to battle for you?" Archer said. "Miss. Green, you are the Trainer. Pokémon should serve their Trainers implicitly, as all tools should. Doing as you have has poured shame all over what it means to be a Trainer."
"He's not a tool!" Leaf shot back, face growing hot. "None of my Pokémon are! They're my friends! Being friends with them is what being a Trainer is about!"
"Really?" Archer said coldly. "And how are those convictions currently holding up against mine?"
"I…I…"
"Don't listen to him, Leaf!" Red shouted. "You've come so far already based on what you believe! Don't let him mess with your head! What they're doing with Pokémon is wrong!"
"Red…" Leaf whispered. Her eyes hardened. "Let's do this, Ivysaur. Get it going with a Vine Whip!"
Ivysaur unleashed two vines, although unleashed might not be the word to describe how they moved towards Electrode. 'Unleashed' implies a forceful release, something with intent, yet Ivysaur's vines were lethargic, slow enough that a paralysed Shuckle could dodge them and have time for a cup of tea and a chat. Electrode rolled out the way and spun into Ivysaur, knocking him onto his side. Awkwardly, Ivysaur righted himself up.
"You're good, Ivysaur, you're good," Leaf said, although the tone of her voice belied her words. "You've just got to put more oomph into it. Razor Leaf this time!"
Those sharp, leafy projectiles fared a bit better than Vine Whip, in that they seemed to have a bit more 'oomph' to them. Nevertheless, they still did not reach their target; the random electric bolts of Electrode's Discharge saw to that, burning the leaves to crisp and giving Ivysaur a slight shock for good measure.
Not good, not good at all. Ivysaur's mind was not in it, even though he knew who he was up against, had those memories of previous encounters with Team Rocket. Why was he not fighting his darndest? For a second, Leaf regretted not depositing him into the Pokémon Box before heading down here, before realising they were willingly walking into Team Rocket's lair.
Electrode evaded a Sludge Bomb before dropping delicately to the floor, the electromagnetism wearing off, and promptly rammed into Ivysaur with Gyro Ball. Ivysaur got back up, although it appeared to be more out of habit as opposed to having the desire to win.
Nothing was working. None of their attacks were hitting. What else could they do? Maybe it was time to hand it over to Red, as much as it sickened her because why should she have to rely on someone else? Or maybe she could treat it like a tactical retreat? Wording it like that did not make it seem as bad. Yes, before Archer saw fit to order Electrode to use –
"Hyper Beam."
Oh. Oh dear.
Leaf tried to scream out Ivysaur's name, but her throat was tight and her tongue was numb. She tried not to look away, but all she saw was that carmine glow. Her eyelids fluttered shut and she despised herself once more.
An eardrum-wrecking explosion.
A force that knocked Leaf off her feet.
Dust that prickled her face.
Head spinning, ears ringing, Leaf picked herself up and opened her eyes, penetrating the dust cloud that concealed all from her.
She called to Ivysaur, her voice returning to her, yet received no answer. No surprise. That Hyper Beam was most certainly more powerful than the previous one.
Voices. She heard voices. Apologies. It sounded as if Archer was apologising to Giovanni for doing more damage to his office. Another voice. Red? Yes, it was Red, sounding panicked. She shouted to him, and his panic appeared to subside.
But what about Ivysaur?
The dust seemed to take an age to clear away, so much so Leaf considered taking her Butterfree out from her Pokémon Box and getting her to use Gust to hasten the dust's exit, but common sense told her that it would all be gone in the five minutes it would take her to do the exchange.
Eventually, everything became clear again.
Electrode was grinning, barely able to keep balance yet ecstatic with its battling success.
And before it was Ivysaur.
Conscious.
Leaf took a sharp intake of breath. Yes, he looked worse for wear, his fronds askew, face bruised, bud torn, but he was still standing.
"Ivysaur," Leaf whispered, hardly daring to believe it. "Ivysaur."
"Impossible," Archer said. "Electrode hit it point-blank."
Giovanni smirked. "It appears as if that Ivysaur has a bit more to it than we first thought. I suppose we can credit Miss. Green to that."
"Ivysaur!" Leaf exclaimed. "Ivysaur, you're amazing!"
Ivysaur turned back to her. Leaf faltered. "Ivysaur?"
Rage. That had to be it. Leaf had never imagined such an expression could exist on something so sweet before, but here it was. Pure fury.
Ivysaur tore his glare from her and settled it on Electrode. He growled and bucked his head, his bud pulsing on his back. His growling grew louder. He shuddered.
He disappeared, cloaked in a blinding light.
Archer narrowed his eyes, Giovanni rubbed his chin thoughtfully, Red and Pikachu watched, mouths agape, and Eevee willed her friend on.
And when the light dimmed, Ivysaur was gone. In its place was another Pokémon, much larger than Ivysaur was, although a quadruped like it was too. It did not have the dark green patches of a Bulbasaur and an Ivysaur, replaced instead by tiny bumps. Its bud had fully bloomed, becoming a large pink flower with white spots supported by a thick, brown trunk encircled by the green fronds of its previous form.
Venusaur, a dual Grass and Poison-type Pokémon, and the evolved form of Ivysaur. The flower on its back catches the sun's rays. The sunlight is then absorbed and used for energy.
"I… I can't believe you evolved all the way, Ivy – er, I mean Venusaur," Leaf said, catching herself. "That's incredible."
She ran over to her new Venusaur and placed a hand on his rubbery skin…
… and was promptly knocked onto her bottom as Venusaur shifted and nudged her away with his now huge noggin.
"Venusaur?" Leaf said. "Venusaur, what's the matter?"
A rumbly growl left his throat, and he took a step forward towards Electrode, who eyed him with a degree of caution.
"Oh, you want to finish the battle?" Leaf surmised, hoping that would explain his action. "Okay, let's do it."
"So, we are continuing, then?" Archer said. "Very well. I hope you know that an evolution, while it makes a Pokémon stronger, does not replenish their hit points. Venusaur took a full force Hyper Beam, so I do not give it much hope."
"We'll see about that," Leaf shot back. "Venusaur, are you ready?"
Venusaur did not even look in Leaf's direction. Leaf's stomach tied itself into knots. Instead, he roared, suddenly surrounded by a golden glow, much like the sun was shining deep from within him, and his flower became bigger more so. He roared again.
"Is… is that a new move?" Leaf wondered. "No, it can't be that. Wait! Overgrow?"
Deciding to test out her theory as to what the golden gleam was, Leaf asked for a Razor Leaf as Archer responded with a Gyro Ball. And her theory turned out to be correct about it being the Ability Overgrow as Venusaur's Grass-type move did more damage than it normally should have.
Unfortunately, it was not the technique she asked for.
Two thick vines snapped forth like a pair of snapping Ekans and wrapped themselves around Electrode, stopping it mid-spin. Venusaur raised it high into the air. When he could not raise it any higher, he brought it crashing back into the floor with a boom that rivalled the devastation of the Hyper Beams.
Then he repeated it.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Electrode was already knocked out after two of those titanic Vine Whip slams, yet Venusaur was intent on keeping up the brutal onslaught. Leaf's words fell on deaf ears, and he even headbutted her away when she ran in front of him, begging him to stop. Even Archer was powerless to return Electrode back to its Poké Ball, Venusaur simply moving his Pokémon out of reach of the red beam of energy.
Leaf tried to do the same, yet Venusaur resisted the order to return, fending off the beam with as much effort as it was using to decimate the poor Electrode.
What was wrong with Venusaur? Why was he acting so merciless? Why was he disobeying her?
From the corner of her eyes, Red pulled out a Poké Ball.
However, it was not any of Red's party that appeared.
It was a Rhyhorn and it charged at Venusaur, its horn rotating like a drill.
The horn connected, and at its touch, Venusaur's vines loosened around Electrode, dropping it like a stone, and the Grass and Poison-type followed the Ball Pokémon into that all too familiar state of void.
Shaking, Leaf returned Venusaur to his Poké Ball, asking herself ten thousand questions. But only one stood out to her: was this her fault?
"Leaf!" Red shouted, rushing over to her, Eevee in his arms, Pikachu right beside him. "Leaf, are you okay? What happened there?"
"I… I don't know," she replied. "He evolved and he… and he… I don't know. I just don't know." She sighed and gestured at the Rhyhorn. "Is that another one of Archer's Pokémon?"
"It is mine," came the cold voice of Giovanni. "As much as I love the ruthlessness a Pokémon can muster, your battle was becoming mildly annoying. I sought to end it quickly, and a one-hit knockout technique on a preoccupied foe can work wonders. Yes, Horn Drill and other such moves can be quite necessary even if they rarely connect."
Leaf hung her head in shame. She had failed. Majorly. Her whole team got swept aside, only Eevee and Venusaur able to hold their heads up, and the latter not so much. But it was not their fault. She was their Trainer. She failed them.
Her Pokédex chuckled, although she was the only one who heard it.
Something furry was pressed into her chest, and the widest brown eyes found hers. She hugged Eevee close to her and buried her face into her fluffy head.
"You were awesome, Leaf," Red said, adjusting his cap. "You always are. But it's my turn now, and I'm going to win for both of us and all the Pokémon they have trapped here too."
