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 wording, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.
Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Rocket Siblings
The scientist's Magneton whirred in distress as Charmeleon charged into it with his flaming body. The Magnet Pokémon dropped onto the tiled floor and was subsequently returned to its Poké Ball.
"So you're actually a Silph scientist?" Red asked, peering at the nametag that revealed him as Taylor. "How come you're helping Team Rocket?"
"Team Rocket offered me more than Silph," Taylor replied. "And they actually respect my work and my talent."
"Team Rocket does?" Red said sceptically.
Taylor's face darkened. "This blasted company sent me off to the boondocks. To a no-man's land, a frozen tundra, and kept me there months longer than I was meant to. To have them lie about that and to then ignore my many emails to them was disgusting. You're too young, so you won't realise how terrible it is to go for so long without seeing your wife and kids, but it is a horrific feeling, especially when you can barely contact them. And you know what? I still worked hard, still did everything I was asked of, made our research move on leaps and bounds. And when I returned, did I get a promotion? A raise? A pat on the back? No. I got a pay cut. They claimed Silph had suffered losses because Devon were destroying them in the Poké Ball market so 'sacrifices would have to be made'." Taylor snorted. "But I don't see the president, the shareholders, all those bigwigs doing the same.
"So, I unwillingly gave them months of my life, stealing it away from my family, and was rewarded with less money and no acknowledgement of my hard work.
"Then Team Rocket came along, and it didn't take much convincing for me to join them. I mean, I'd rather not be aiding a syndicate, but they offer much more than this rotten place, and like I said, they treat me with respect. My hard work is acknowledged and rewarded. As a matter of fact, they love my work so much they want to move me to the Sevii Islands with my family after this to work on something else."
Red so wanted to call him a fool for abetting Team Rocket, for assisting in the making of Kanto a worse place, but even he could not deny his reasons. Did he fully understand them? No, but he could somewhat relate; it was not like he and his mother lived in the lap of luxury, and she worked so hard for very little at Pallet Café. When he thought about it, travelling the region and earning money by defeating Trainers eased that burden ever so much. Maybe that was one of the reasons people became Pokémon Trainers, and not simply to befriend the strange creatures and travel the world? Boy, that was a depressing thought.
"I get it," Red said, grimacing at Charmeleon and Pikachu, who shared slightly sympathetic expressions. "But Team Rocket? Dude, they killed my Cubone's mother, and stole my other Pokémon's family. Heck, they experimented on my Pikachu. How can you side with people so evil? Don't you have other options?"
Taylor looked away. "Sometimes options just don't exist. Or if they do, they are the worst possible ones you could ever hope to choose between."
There was finality in Taylor's words. He turned on his heels, lab coat billowing behind him, leaving Red to contemplate his words.
But only for a second. Someone burst into the room, wearing a white Rocket costume.
"Glad I finally get to meet you," the lady said, bowing with a degree of scorn.
"Do I know you?" Red asked.
"You will," the lady said. "I'm one of the four Rocket Siblings. My name is Gnee."
"Knee?"
"No, 'Gnee'."
"Oh."
"And it is my duty to stop you in your tracks. Be prepared to lose."
Red switched out Charmeleon and summoned a freshly decontaminated Clefable for battle, and she once again pirouetted and bowed to her opponent, a Sandslash.
"Rip it with Slash!"
"Meteor Mash!" was the counter.
Clefable's shining pink fist deflected away Sandslash's piercing claws, and she followed it up with a kiss that would be best described as being rather draining to the Ground-type.
"Meteor Mash again!" Red said, feeling the battle was almost certainly already over.
But as Clefable sunk her fist into the Mouse Pokémon's abdomen, Gnee issued a command that Red at first did not realise how devastating it would be:
"Use Counter."
Sandslash's body was stiff as it tanked Meteor Mash, digging its clawed toes into the floor to keep it in place. It shook, as though filled with tonnes of energy it could barely contain. As it would turn out, that was the case. Majorly damaged from Meteor Mash, Sandslash paid back the pain two times over to its opponent, striking Clefable with the flat end of its bladed fingers. With the force of a Hyper Beam, Clefable found herself embedded in a wall.
"Clefable!" Red screamed. "Darn it! Clefable, are you okay?"
Stirring, Clefable gave Red a weakened smile and pulled herself out of the wall. She collapsed onto the floor, her fluffy tail ragged, her wings listless.
"Too predictable," Gnee said, laughing at him contemptuously. "Counter is so easy to use against Trainers like you."
"Looks like we'll have to battle smarter," Red said. "Life Dew."
Gnee's eyes widened in horror as Clefable formed a sphere of water that glistened with rainbows and dropped it on her head. A beam spread across her visage, some of her wounds gone without a trace.
"So what?" Gnee sneered. "You've got a healing move? Big deal. Try hitting what you can't see. Sandslash, Sandstorm!"
Sandslash spun like a spinning top, and from its quills came vast quantities of, you guessed it, sand. There came so much, so quickly that Red could swear they were no longer in a building in Kanto but in one of the many deserts all over the world. Face stinging, Red peered through narrow eyes through the sand, spying the hazy silhouette of Sandslash.
"In front of you!" Red shouted. "Meteor Mash!"
Clefable hopped further into the sandstorm, but her fist missed as Sandslash seemed to fade out of existence before materialising elsewhere. Clefable howled in agony as, like a ninja, Sandslash swooped in and raked its claws across her back.
Draining Kiss missed too. Meteor Mash found nothing a second time either.
"Not pleasant, is it?" Gnee bellowed jubilantly over the roaring sandstorm. "Can't hit us and Sandstorm is chipping away at Clefable's health bit by bit. But what can you do?"
What could Red do? Well, the first thing he could do was not worry about Clefable taking damage from the Sandstorm; Magic Guard saw to that. For some reason, Sandslash was harder to hit in the sandstorm, but if Red just got one more hit in, just a single attack, then victory would be guaranteed. However, waiting out the sand was not an option. Life Dew would only stall for so long, and a critical hit would doom Clefable.
He just needed one hit.
Just something to land.
Oh! Wait a minute! How could he forget?
He called out to Clefable: "Magical Leaf."
The glowing green leaves Clefable fired from her hands pushed through the intense sandstorm, zipping through the thick cloud and homing in onto their target. No amount of dodging could get Sandslash out of that situation. It whined as the leaves peppered it and robbed it of its remaining stamina.
From the sandstorm came a cry of rage. And quickly the source of that cry of rage came into view as the sandstorm died down, leaving the floor and surfaces dirty and gritty.
"You think you're good, huh?" Gnee said, baring her teeth at Red. "You think you're hot stuff? Nuts to that! I'm not going to lose to some upstart punk! I'm one of the totally awesome Rocket Siblings!"
Red resisted the urge to roll his eyes but said nothing to Gnee, instead watching in silence as her second Pokémon took to the stage, a Tentacruel.
"Good job, Clefable, return," Red said, suddenly struck by inspiration. "Gyarados, go!"
Gnee's Tentacruel, so confident, so proud, shrunk as it was seared by Gyarados' glare. Gyarados' snarled at it, and it became even smaller.
"Remember, Gyarados," Red said hastily. "It's not the same one from before."
It was quite fortunate Red told her that, but it did not make much difference to Tentacruel's chances of standing even a ghost of a chance against the sea serpent. First up was Dragon Rage. Second was Aqua Tail. Tentacruel was squashed flat on the floor.
Gnee dropped to her knees. "Flame out," she mumbled, recalling Tentacruel.
"Whoa, that was quick, Gyarados!" Red said gleefully. "Still on a high from beating Blaine, huh? Or is it because it was a Tentacruel?"
Gyarados growled something in response: Maybe a bit of both she seemed to say.
"And what about you, Gnee?" Red said to the Rocket. "Do you know where I can get a Card Key? Or do you have any Pokémon left to battle with?"
Gnee pulled herself up off the floor and stuck out her chin. "You will get nothing from me!" She stamped her foot. "I can't believe you beat me! No, no…" She took a deep breath. "It's no matter. My siblings will avenge me. You can count on that. Unless I can find some Revivet, my siblings WILL avenge me!"
Gnee disappeared the same way Taylor did, and Red, Pikachu, and Gyarados were left alone. For now.
"That sucks," Red muttered. "Oh well, let's find that Card Key. Wait a minute," he rubbed his chin and his face broke out into a grin, "Guys, we've got an Item Finder! That should make finding a Card Key a sinch."
He pulled it out from his rucksack, set it up, and it began beeping. "Awesome! And Pikachu, you can do that thing you did in the Underground! You remember, where you told me where things were with your tail! Oh ho, we've just changed up the game! That Card Key is as good as ours."
o~o~o~o~o
"Are you okay?" Leaf asked the terrified man.
"I-I," the man stammered, eyes so wide and unblinking it was as though he did not possess eyelids. "Th-They just c-came and… and… they w-wanted my… my…"
"It's okay," Leaf said kindly. She gestured at Eevee, Jigglypuff, and Poliwrath. "We got rid of the lot of them."
"Why is this happening?" the man asked, speaking slowly, as though if he spoke any faster none of the words would come out. "Why here? Why now?" From his pocket, he produced a Great Ball. "I couldn't even defend Lapras here. What use am I to him?"
"Don't say that," Leaf said. "This is a bad situation no one should ever expect to find themselves in. You're reacting like a normal person would."
The man eyed her. "Then, why are you doing this? Why are you here battling Team Rocket? You're a child, and this doesn't even concern you."
Leaf pursed her lips. "I've had run-ins with Team Rocket before. I'm just showing them that I'm not going to lie down and let them get away with stuff like this."
"That's crazy."
"It is, isn't it? But they've got Pokémon, and I've got Pokémon too, so that evens it out a bit."
"But there's more of them."
"Yeah, but their Pokémon can't compare to mine." Leaf ducked behind her Pokémon and pulled them close. "I have a lot of them, but I love every single one of them, even if any… don't love me back. Team Rocket haven't got with their Pokémon what we've got."
The man, who was squatting beside a wall, allowed his eyes to fall onto his knees. His chin wobbled. "That's… that's… you really care, don't you?"
"I do," Leaf said. "My Pokémon give me strength."
Clapping. Someone was clapping. But it was not the man. Nor was it any of the Pokémon (I know, how on earth could Eevee clap?). And it most certainly was not Leaf.
It was a man, a Rocket, whose white uniform made Leaf do a double-take.
"Nice uniform," she scoffed. "Doesn't make you look as threatening as the black one would, though."
"I enjoyed your little speech," the man said, disregarding her quip. "It was humorous, juvenile, naïve though. Do you honestly believe that nonsense about love? You do know we live in the real world?"
"Ooo, let me guess," Leaf said, making her tone dull and monotonous. "Since you're in Team Rocket, you believe in pure power. Any talk of love and trust and respect with our Pokémon is nonsense because they're just tools, right?"
"You got it pretty much spot on," the man said. "You're still young. When you're older, you'll start to see things from other points of view."
"I probably will," Leaf said. "My grandpa told me that's what makes the world go round." She lowered her head and glowered at the man. "He also told me that some points of view should never be looked from when they're objectively evil, when they make everything bad for others and everything around us. Just like you lot."
"Hey," the man said, raising a finger at her. "Evil can be fun, and it pays well."
"Doesn't sound worth it. Anyway, are you going to be getting in my way?"
"Only because you're getting in ours." Before him appeared a Parasect, who tapped its claws on the sterile floor and stared at Leaf and her Pokémon through its milky, blank eyes.
Leaf returned both Jigglypuff and Poliwrath and called back Eevee to her side. Her Butterfree's elegant wings glittered in the sunlight pouring in through the gleaming windows as she circled over her Trainer's head.
"Energy Ball," the man said.
From a hidden mouth beneath those disturbing eyes, Parasect formed a green sphere it launched at Butterfree, whose antennae shivered. The Energy Ball paused, as though time froze, and it was returned to sender, who simply stayed staring unblinkingly, unaffected at having its own attack thrown back at it.
"Psychic again," Leaf said.
With more power than a Confusion could ever produce, Butterfree mustered a wave of invisible energy that hurled Parasect into the air, its spindly legs scuttling wildly. It hit the ceiling and began its descent towards the floor where a thumping landing awaited it.
But, at the man's command of "Spore!", Parasect's mushroom opened and from it drifted out powder of sickly white that fell upon Butterfree like a fungal snow. Butterfree's antennae drooped and her batting wings started to slow. Parasect hit the floor with a crunch yet got back up, albeit gingerly.
Sleep began to possess Butterfree, but maybe, just maybe, she had it within herself to perform one attack, only one, before Spore took its full effect on her, something to take that smug look of the Rocket's face, something to catch him unawares.
"Butterfree, use Whirlwind!"
With a last spurt of effort, while gradually sinking to the floor, Butterfree beat her wings like no tomorrow, creating a mighty gust that barrelled into Parasect, it once more being taken off the ground. It was whipped around and around until its body was suddenly engulfed in a red light. It shrunk and shrunk and then, in the form of the light, it raced towards its Poké Ball. The man's calm demeanour deteriorated more so as another Poké Ball on his belt twitched and a different Pokémons appeared through no desire of his own. Leaf recognised it with a dull pain in her stomach as a Marowak. As quick as a flash, she withdrew Butterfee before she could completely lose herself to slumber.
The man bit his bottom lip, frowning at his Marowak and at Leaf. He shrugged and his frown turned upside down. "Whirlwind," he said, shaking his head as though someone told him a bad joke he could not help but find funny.
Who was Leaf to use against Marowak? Eevee, Jigglypuff, and Poliwrath still needed to be healed and she had just recalled Butterfree. She did have her Grass and Poison-type that would do well against both his Pokémon, but maybe she should play smart and save it just in case things went pear-shaped. Resolved, she made her choice: "Growlithe, let's go!"
The fluffy good boy promptly ran up to his Trainer and jumped up at her, pawing at her legs, tail wagging, tongue lolling. He barked happily.
"And I love you too," Leaf said, tickling both his ears. "But we've got a battle to win."
Growlithe pricked his ears and turned to face the Marowak and his Trainer. He whined playfully and wagged his tail double-time.
"No, they're not friends," Leaf said sternly. "No playing. It's a battle. BATTLE. Got it? You know, that thing Red and Blue like doing. Remember Team Rocket? This is them."
Growlithe plopped himself on his bottom and gave himself a satisfying scratch. The man laughed. "I've got to give you credit. Attempting to battle me with such a harmless-looking thing – and with a type disadvantage no less! You have my respect. It is Leaf Green, isn't it?"
"It is."
The man nodded. "And I am Itchy, the eldest of the Rocket Siblings. You know, my siblings are probably encountering your friends about now. How do you feel about that?"
Leaf shrugged. "Don't know. How does it feel that, if they are, you're probably all going to lose at the same time? Kind of poetic, right?"
Itchy snorted and doubled over with laughter. "I like you, I really do. I'm glad that it is you I get to battle instead of the other two."
"Your praise means so much to me," Leaf said sarcastically. "Growlithe, Ember."
"Mud Slap, Marowak," Itchy said, and the Bone Keeper Pokémon swung its club and from it a spurt of mud splattered out, dowsing the embers.
A Growlithe conflagration rolled towards Marowak as the latter bashed its club against him, knocking him all the way back as though he was a bowling ball. The puppy shook his head, dazed, but protected from the worst of it somewhat by his coat of flames.
"Double Kick," Itchy said.
The first kick caught Growlithe in the jowls, but the second kick was not as successful, the foot finding itself bound by the jaws of the puppy. Marowak winced as Growlithe sunk his fangs deeper into its ankle and only managed to free itself thanks to a timely Bone Club. It limped back towards its Trainer's side as Growlithe reeled, barely able to stay standing. He would not last too much longer. This is where they would shake things up again.
"Roar!"
From Growlithe came not the excited yelp of a playful puppy but the potent raw of a monster, so tremendous even Leaf had to wonder for a split second if he was still the same Growlithe.
Itchy flinched and his Marowak cowered as he took the form of an amorphous red light and streaked all the way back into his Poké Ball. Parasect came back out, the confusion evident even in its blank eyes. But the confusion quickly faded, replaced by insentience as Growlithe rolled into it with Flame Wheel, forcing a strangled, anguished scream from the mushroom creature. It collapsed onto its side, spindly legs twitching.
Such was the turn of events, Itchy did not respond. It seemed he could not respond, simply gazing at his fainted fighter as though he could not fathom what had just occurred.
"Good boy, Growlithe," Leaf said, giving him a cuddle as he panted heavily. "You deserve a nice rest. We'll finish this."
Itchy had finally freed himself from his stupor and had brought Marowak back out, who appeared less sure of itself, eyeing Leaf and Eevee with caution. Itchy, on the other hand, had an expression filled with what could best be described as resignation.
Butterfree took to the air one more time, and Itchy sighed. With a half-hearted grin, he asked for Marowak to use Double Kick.
It never reached Butterfree as the butterfly flapped her wings and blew it away with a shimmering gust of wind, the silvery dust the squall carried shredding Marowak like specks of glass. Its club fell to the floor. It followed immediately after.
Itchy groaned and looked to the heavens, which took the form of overhead lights. "Aack! My dear siblings, I lost!"
He shook his head and to Leaf said, "You beat me well and truly. Phasing moves… I was unprepared for that. Go on with whatever you have to do, then, but I have faith my siblings will destroy you after finishing off your friends. As for me…"
Itchy shook his head again and marched off, head hanging low. Leaf, Eevee, and Butterfree did not take their off him in case he tried to pull off something sneaky.
"Y-You really defeated him."
Leaf jumped. Ah, of course, she was also protecting the Lapras man.
"It was tough," Leaf said. "But we got through it. How are you doing?"
"I'm okay," he said, still trembly. "Thanks to you."
"Glad to hear it," Leaf said, pulling out potions of all sorts from her rucksack.
"I should've helped," the man went on. "I shouldn't have a child defending me. But Team Rocket, they're just… they scare me."
"They would scare anyone," Leaf said, spraying Butterfree with an Ether. "They're a criminal group, and what's worse is they're an organised one. Dangerous. When you think about it, you'd have to be insane to take them on."
"But you're fighting them!"
"Yeah, exactly."
o~o~o~o~o
Blue rolled his eyes for what was probably the umpteenth time since he started this battle. He had not expected to run into Rockets wearing a different uniform to the norm, nor had he expected to encounter two of them at once. And he would be darned if he expected them to challenge him to a double battle.
However, that was what was exactly happening.
They had introduced themselves as Sahn and Yohn, spouting off nonsense about being twins and members of the 'Rocket Siblings', whoever they were, doing weird, synchronised poses with each other, at one point even leaning over and tapping their index fingers together and saying 'FUSION-HA!', whatever that was.
Blue had already made them lose a Pokémon each, but they were not shabby battlers; his Jolteon had fallen and now Meowth was standing alongside another of his six chosen members, glaring back at Sahn and Yohn's battlers.
Blue was not sure if he wanted him on his team overall, but he had proven useful, most especially after he found a Leaf Stone on the outskirts of Cyan Village. And now what was once known as Exeggcute was now Exeggutor, looking like a walking palm tree whose body was thick and brown, encircled by thin rings, standing upon two thick legs which further stood upon two-toed feet. It had three coconut-shaped heads and above them, much like a crazy hairstyle, sprouted long, thin, green leaves. Each of the heads possessed a relaxed, happy-go-lucky expression.
On Sahn and Yohn's side were the long-tongued Normal-type Lickitung and the leek-wielding Farfetch'd.
"Lickitung, use Lick on Exeggutor!" Sahn commanded with a heroic(ish) pose.
"Farfetch'd, ready a Razor Wind!" Yohn shouted with a dramatic flourish.
Lickitung bounced forward, its impossibly extended tongue whipping towards Exeggutor as Farfetch'd spun around, slowly. A draft started to fill the room.
"Meowth, take the Lick," Blue said, eyes unable to settle on a single facet of the battle, having no choice but to take everything in. "Exeggutor, Extrasensory on Lickitung."
Meowth hopped in the way of the slimy tongue, letting it splatter on him, yet he barely seemed to notice. As a matter of fact, if he did not see it, Lick would not have registered with him at all. Thankfully, Exeggutor sent forth a wave of golden energy towards Lickitung, sending it ricocheting off the walls, floor, and tables like a beachball, sparing the feline any more of the viscous saliva.
But Farfetch'd had been left unattended.
A vicious whirlwind had been formed around it as it spun faster and faster, making loose papers fly, almost sucking the very oxygen from the air. Then from the spinning brown blur that was Farfetch'd came devastating blades of air that shattered light fixtures, smashed computer screens, dented tables. Most of them, nevertheless, hit their intended targets: Meowth hissed and snarled as the zephyr blades buffeted him into the nearest wall; Exeggutor fared better with its bulk although each of its faces grimaced as its body was riddled.
"What hope do you have when you have to battle both of us at once?" Sahn asked. He tutted and turned to his sister. "He should really give up, shouldn't he?"
"He should, Sahn," Yohn said, peering at Blue amusedly as if he was an infant having fun playing make-believe. She smiled condescendingly at him. "Our older brother and sister have probably taken care of your friends by now. Just give up and you can go play with them. Does that sound fun?"
"You know what sounds fun?" Blue said, grinning dangerously at them. "Showing you how powerful my Pokémon and I really are."
"Oh?" Sahn said. "Are you implying you're holding back?"
"I didn't mean to imply it."
Sahn and Yohn exchanged a glance before breaking out into fits of hysterics. "You've got to be kidding me," his sister managed to say between wheezes of laughter. "Farfetch'd, just use Cut on Meowth."
"Lickitung, get Exeggutor with Slam," Sahn said, oozing overconfidence.
But Farfetch'd's leek never slashed the cat as Meowth shielded himself with his claws, nor did Lickitung manage to give three simultaneous headaches to the Grass and Psychic-type as his tail never found its mark; from his three mouths, Exeggutor fired seeds like machine gun bullets which pinged off Lickitung's head, stalling its attack, fainting it.
"No," Sahn moaned.
Meowth's claws extended and glowed a deep purple. Paying back in kind for the attempted Cut, he hacked away at Farfetch'd. It could not endure the might of Night Slash. It shared Lickitung's fate.
"No," Yohn moaned.
Blue's heart was racing, his breath coming in quickly, yet he managed to compose himself as he said, "Got anymore? We can do this all day."
The twins dropped to their knees, spread out their arms, and screamed. "Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" They crumpled face down onto the floor and stayed like that, motionless. They did not say or do anything else.
"Weirdos," Blue said under his breath, and he, Meowth, and Exeggutor went about their business, grateful they had a lot left in the tank to defeat the twins, knowing the battle was a lot closer than how they made it appear.
o~o~o~o~o
"This can't be happening, Ariana."
"I wish it was a joke. They've defeated the Rocket Siblings."
Archer narrowed his eyes at the Rocket Grunt who had relayed the news to them. "They really defeated the Siblings?"
"Yes, sir," she said timidly before taking her leave, careful not to walk too quickly.
Archer sighed. "What has become of us? Why are these children constantly getting in our way?"
"You've had experience with them, didn't you say?" Ariana said, placing a hand on her hip. "Could you tell they were going to be this much trouble?"
"You could sense the potential within them," Archer admitted. "But many children have untapped potential. I do not know why they are so different. Genetics on the part of Leaf Green and Blue Oak perhaps? Nonetheless, they have been causing more trouble than their worth."
A silence befell the Executives before Petrel emerged from the president's office. "What did he say?" Archer asked.
"He wasn't happy," Petrel said. He scowled. "And thanks for letting me take the brunt of that by the way. Appreciate it, guys."
"Whatever," Ariana said. "What did he say?"
Petrel's annoyance vanished instantly, replaced by sheer glee. "He says we should jump in and teach those brats a lesson."
"If that is what Giovanni commands, then so be it," Archer said. "Ariana, should we ambush them one by one, or should we each take a victim?"
"We'll battle one each," Ariana said. "If we all ambushed a single one of those twerps, the other two could sneak through."
"True," Petrel said, running a couple fingers through his goatee. "But they'd need a Card Key anyway even if they got here."
Archer swivelled on his heels and strode away, beckoning for his associates to follow. "We can no longer put anything past those brats."
"Cool," Petrel said. "Just remember to let me have the cap kid."
"As you wish."
