The convoy of Tamers as well as prisoners were halfway through the forest when Akira decided they should take a break. "We still have plenty of daylight left so lets take a quick rest." Akira informed his team.
From the cries of appreciation he received from those around him, Akira knew that he wasn't the only one who wanted or needed a break. Though this break would also give the group time to hopefully allow both Mikey and Gilbert to capture another Pokémon. "Ash would you take Mikey out and help him capture another Pokémon. I don't want him to be rejected because he didn't actually capture one. I am going to go out with Gilbert to help him capture one as well." Akira inquired of the raven haired boy as he threw him an empty Pokéball that he could let Mikey use.
Ash gave Akira a quick nod of his head before both he and Mikey wandered off into the forest. Once Akira saw that Ash and Mikey made it safely into the forest he turned and looked at Forrest. "While we are gone Forrest please make sure that our prisoners are on their best behavior." Akira commanded as he and Gilbert wandered off into the forest themselves though they headed in a different direction.
Gilbert trailed after Akira, slightly terrified at what they would find within the forest especially with what he had went through within Team Rocket's base. Though with Akira beside him, he knew that they would get through this forest with no problems. While Gilbert was contemplating the terrors that could lay within this forest, Akira was thinking that it would be good to have another set of eyes watching out for both Team Rocket as well as any Pokémon that appeared. With this thought in mind Akira pulled one of his Pokéballs off his belt to call out the creature that it held within. "Inari, come on out." Akira called out and as the red glow that surrounded the Pokémon vanished it revealed Inari's lavender form.
Once Inari had joined them, he had picked up a scent that he wanted Akira to follow. With a yip to his master Inari took off into the forest. Not wanting to lose his Pokémon, Akira took off after him with Gilbert following right behind him. Akira could see the trail that Inari had left him from the broken branches to the claw marks that were carved through nearby trees. With this trail, Akira was able to find his Vulpix without any trouble and was soon standing by him once more.
Upon arriving where Inari stood, Akira could see that they were brought to a Pokémon that was the same species as Inari was though this one looked similar to the pack that Inari was once apart of. Akira could see that the Vulpix hadn't noticed them yet which was fine by him since it gave them time to allow Gilbert to call out his own Pokémon as well as give him an empty Pokéball.
"Gilbert. You need to call out your Pokémon. That is how you are going to capture that Vulpix." Akira informed his companion in a hushed tone of voice.
Hearing what Akira told him, he threw his Pokéball into the air to call out the creature inside. This revealed to Akira that Gilbert had a purple snake Pokémon that had yellow circle that went around it's neck as well as both a yellow underbelly and tail. "Now you have to send it to attack the other Pokémon." Akira explained to the amateur Tamer.
Gilbert gave Akira a quick nod before commanding his Pokémon. "Attack!" Gilbert cried out. Though Gilbert didn't give the creature a specific move to use, his Pokémon understood what its master meant and as such the snake Pokémon sent three purple colored needles twirling at the unaware Vulpix.
Akira watched as the Vulpix was struck by each of the needles and knocked to the ground though this wasn't the only attack that Gilbert's Pokémon used and soon Akira was tracking the creature soaring towards the downed Vulpix. Gilbert's Pokémon slithered around the Vulpix until only its head remained.
This was the perfect opportunity for Gilbert to capture the Pokémon and Akira was just about to tell him that though before he could, the Pokéball that Akira gave him went soaring towards the Vulpix's head. Moments later the Pokéball opened up to suck the creature inside. Both Akira and Gilbert waited patiently for the Pokéball to stop moving and when it did, Akira turned to Gilbert and gave him a pat on the back. "Good job Gilbert. You can return your Pokémon as well as go and collect your new one." Akira informed the boy who was quick to do as Akira ordered.
Once Gilbert had returned to Akira and both his Pokéballs were fitted to his belt, both he and Akira as well as Inari made their way back to where they left Forrest and the prisoner. The return trip didn't take long and pretty soon they were coming up their companions which allowed them to see that Ash and Mikey had already returned. "Did you manage to help Mikey capture another Pokémon?" Akira questioned as he came upon his friends.
Akira watched as all his companions as well as his two prisoners jumped upon suddenly hearing his voice which caused Akira to almost bust out laughing though not wanting to get punished by Forrest the next time they are alone together, Akira kept the laughter to himself.
Once Ash had calmed down after being scared by Akira, he started speaking. "Yes. Mikey was able to capture another Pokémon, though I was able to as well." Ash informed his friend and team leader.
"That is fantastic Ash! Though we should get going. I want to get this contract turned in and inform the Commander about what we learned." Akira replied back as he made his way towards the prisoners so he could pull them both to their feet. Once this was done Akira and his party continued to make their way towards the Tamer Compound.
Akira and his team were able to push through Viridian Forest in no time and now were taking the same direction they Akira had taken when Ash and Brock first brought him to the Tamers. Knowing how close they were to completing this contract as well as some time to rest, Akira pushed his team harder. "Alright everyone we are almost there. So, lets hurry!" Akira commanded those who followed him.
With that said Akira started moving at a faster pace which forced those with him to as well and from what he could see the only ones who were having difficulty were the prisoners which Akira was all too happy to ignore for their crimes against the innocent.
From the new speed that the group was going they were soon upon the gate to the Tamer Compound. "It is good to be home!" Ash cried out as he pushed open the gate that would allow the rest of the team to enter.
As the group entered the compound, Akira could see both Mikey's and Gilbert's face gain an expression of shock. "This must have been what I looked like when I first saw what was past the gate..." Akira chuckled to himself before opening his mouth to speak to the whole group. "...alright everyone. We need to turn find the Commander and then go and turn this contract in."
Though before Akira and the others could get very far, the Commander came to them. "Boys! It is nice too see that you have returned to us safely..." Commander Drachnid spoke out as he came upon the group of returned Tamers. Though Commander Drachnid was quickly speaking before any of the boys were able to say anything. "...now who have you brought with you?" Commander Drachnid inquired as his hand went towards his weapon.
Akira could see that the Commander had become slightly nervous when he saw the prisoners that Akira had captured. Not wanting anyone to get killed the moment they walked through the gates, Akira started to speak in hopes of calming his Commander. "The two that are wearing the garb of Team Rocket are prisoners that I have captured while out on our contract and though they were a part of that despicable group they were quite helpful in the completion of our contract. So if you could, would you go easy on them..." Akira replied to the leader of the Tamers, though Akira could see that the Commander was still weary of the captive his hand did stray from the sword on his side. Now with the tension between them slightly eased, Akira moved on to inform the Commander about their newest members. "...and these other two our Mikey and Gilbert. Mikey was rescued from Team Rocket while Gilbert is the son of the Mayor of Pallet Town." Akira explained while pointing at each boy.
At the mention of having the son of Pallet Town's Mayor coming to join them, the Commander's eyes rose in intrigue. Though before he commented on either of the new Tamers he was wanting to conclude the business with the captives. "What are you wanting to do with the Prisoners?" Commander Drachnid inquired of Akira.
This shocked all those who were within the group since they figured that Commander Drachnid would make the call and though Akira was confused by this he didn't want to make the Commander think that he was unable to make difficult decisions. With this in mind Akira decided to inquire about the possible solutions to the prisoners. "If you don't mind me asking Commander, what are my choices?" Akira questioned the older male.
"You could either have them executed or sent to the slave market." Commander Drachnid responded.
Hearing this startled Akira though he was quick to hide this shock. Akira didn't really want to send someone like the boy he captured within the base to a public slave market and he promised the older male that he would convince Commander Drachnid to go easy on him. With this in mind, Akira made his decision. "I would like to keep the boy for myself if that wouldn't be too much of a problem while we can send the older man to the slave market." Akira informed the leader of the Tamers.
This decision was quickly accepted by the Commander who called over a few guards to take the older prisoner to the slave market. Once the other prisoner was fully gone from sight the Commander turned back towards those under his command. "Now, I would like you to follow me to explain about the others that have returned with you." Commander Drachnid commanded before he turned and started heading deeper within the compound.
The meeting with the Commander went well and with both the information they collected from Team Rocket as well as the Pokéballs they had collected, all three Tamers were rewarded quite handsomely. Though this wasn't the only thing that happened within the meeting. From speaking to the Commander as well as Professor Oak, Akira learned that the Pokémon that he captured were known as a Sneasel and a Growlithe.
Akira was also pleased to learn that the Sneasel he had captured was considered rare because of the Shiny coat that it had.
As Akira, Ash, Forrest as well as the prisoner were making their way to the Command Center to turn in the contract that they had, they were discussing what they had been told within the meeting. "Can you believe that Professor Oak will be heading to Pallet Town to help with the construction of the new outpost there?" Forrest inquired of the group as they made their way through the market.
Akira could see that Ash was not to thrilled with Professor Oak leaving though he wasn't quite for sure why. Though he didn't have to wait long to find out the reason. "Don't get me wrong. I am happy that we are expanding our Order in Pallet Town but why does Professor Oak have to go?" Ash groaned out, though Ash's voice didn't stop there. "If Professor Oak leaves than my mom will go with him and it will just be me living inside our family home."
Understanding dawned on Akira and since he knew the feeling of being alone quite well, he decided to try and comfort Ash. With this thought in mind, Akira threw his arm around Ash's shoulder. "You dont have to be worry about being alone Ash since you have your friends here with you!" exclaimed as they came upon the Command Center.
Now that the group was at their destination, the group quieted down so they could turn their attention to turning in their contract. The distance from the entrance to the desk where Akira had picked up the contract and pretty soon they were standing in front of the desk. Once reaching the desk, the attendant that was standing behind the desk immediately started to speak. "How may I help you?" the red haired female that Akira was trying to remember the name of.
Though when Akira couldn't remember her name, he was going to just tell her what he needed without using it though Forrest beat him too it. "Hello Miss Joy, we have come to turn in a contract that we have just completed." Forrest explained to the female that Akira now knew the name of.
"I am glad to hear it! Just hand me the signed contract and I will get the reward ready for you." Miss Joy replied to Forrest.
Hearing this, Akira dove into his backpack so he could pull out the completed contract. Once this was done Akira handed the parchment over to Miss Joy who was all to happy to take it from Akira's outstretched hand. With the contract now within Miss Joy's hands, she disappeared through a doorway that was behind the area that she worked in.
Now with the contract gone, Akira waited patiently for Miss Joy to return with the rewards that the contract promised to allow him to choose from. Thankfully Akira didn't have to wait very long for Miss Joy to return and within her hands, Akira could see that she was carrying multiple items within her arms. As she laid each item down Akira analyzed them. The first item that Miss Joy placed in front of them was a book though what it contained within it was unknown to Akira. Next was a dagger that was beautifully designed and was one that Akira had never seen on any of the ones that were within the weapon shop he visited before he left for his contract. The last item that was placed in front of them was a Pokéball that had a pitch black top on it and a pure white bottom on it, though whether or not the item held anything within it was unknown to Akira.
Even before Miss Joy could tell them too choose a reward, Akira's hand was already reaching for the one that he wanted. Akira clasped the Pokéball within his hand and pulled it back towards him. "That is a very good choice. Now let me just get rid of these other items..." Miss Joy spoke out.
Remembering back on what Mr. Parkers told him, Akira stopped the female. "Our client told us to inform you that he would like you to give Ash and Forrest the other rewards." Akira informed the older woman.
Akira could see that Miss Joy was thinking on it though suddenly she started speaking. "That is fine by me. These items would have just been sent back to the client anyway and this will save me the trip." Miss Joy replied.
With that said both Ash and Forrest reached for the items that they wanted. Forrest took the dagger while Ash grabbed ahold of the book.
Now that everything was completed within the Command Center the group of Tamers as well as Akira's prisoner made their way from the structure.
Authors notes: Thank you too everyone who read the chapter. As always please review and comment on the chapter. Until next time!